U.S. Senate

The Senate has set a vote for Wednesday on a bipartisan plan for expanding background checks to more gun buyers, with supporters facing an uphill path to victory.

Sen. Roger Wicker is acknowledging a letter sent to his Washington office is the subject of an investigation by the United States Capitol Police and the FBI.

A bipartisan proposal to expand background checks to more gun buyers seems in jeopardy as more Republican senators are expressing opposition to the proposal, perhaps even enough to derail it. But there is plenty of time for both sides to change lawmakers' minds.

Four Democratic and four Republican senators have reached agreement on all the major elements of sweeping legislation to remake the nation's immigration laws, and expect to unveil the bill next week.

The Senate's top Democrat says there will be a showdown vote on Thursday on his party's effort to enact new gun restrictions.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg says he won't be going back to Washington next week when the Senate returns from a two-week recess.

The Senate has passed a huge spending bill to keep the government open through the end of September, preventing a government shutdown but leaving in place automatic spending cuts that will mean job furloughs for hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, the nation's oldest senator at 89, plans to return to the Senate this week after being sidelined with pain and weakness in his legs.

Senate Democrats are preparing a catchall government funding bill that denies President Barack Obama money for implementing signature first-term accomplishments like new regulations on Wall Street and his expansion of government health care subsidies but provides modest additional funding for domestic priorities like health research.

The Senate has cleared the way for confirmation of John Brennan to head the CIA after the Obama administration bowed to Republican demands and specified limits on the president's authority to order drone strikes against American citizens on U.S. soil.