CONGRESS-REPUBLICANS

WASHINGTON — Hardline Republican lawmakers say they could support Rep. Paul Ryan for House speaker, opening a potential bridge between bitterly divided factions within the majority party. 

MEXICO-MISSING STUDENTS

MEXICO CITY — Mexico's attorney general follows through on a pledge to make public her office's investigative file for the disappearance of 43 students, releasing 85 volumes of material. 

MISSISSIPPI FLAG

JACKSON, Mississippi — Civil-rights leader Myrlie Evers-Williams, Mississippi-born rapper David Banner and a prominent South Carolina lawmaker are calling on Mississippi to remove the Confederate battle emblem of the pro-slavery South during the U.S. Civil War from its state flag. 

BERGDAHL

HOUSTON — A former member of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's platoon says he's angered by an Army officer's recommendation that Bergdahl face a lower-level court martial and be spared the possibility of jail time for leaving his post in Afghanistan. 

COLUMBUS DAY NAME

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — More U.S. cities are recognizing Native Americans on Columbus Day this year as they revive a movement to change the name of the holiday to celebrate the history and contributions of indigenous cultures around the country. 

ALAMO FACE-LIFT

DALLAS — As the Alamo prepares for a face-lift costing at least $48 million, some critics say the landmark — one of the most recognizable in U.S. history — must be transformed from a one-dimensional attraction that's struggled to find its footing amid the clamor of downtown San Antonio. 

GUN RESEARCH BESIEGED

NEW YORK — Amid the bloodbaths of 21st-century America, you might think that there would be a lot of research into the causes of gun violence, and which policies work best against it. You would be wrong.