Bits: Silicon Valley Chiefs to Meet With Obama

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg jumped into the center of the immigration debate Thursday with the launch of a new lobbying group aimed at fixing the country's "strange immigration policy."

Business trips to Silicon Valley rarely include downtime for a day trip or long weekend, but if they do, most visitors head straight to San Francisco or Napa Valley.   But sticking with the familiar means missing out on what’s literally right over the hill. Just an hour’s drive south of Silicon Valley, you will find quaint seaside villages, miles of hiking and biking trails, and local haunts serving famous dishes.   Don Jacinto, general manager at the Joie de Vivre Dream Inn in Santa Cruz, says the area’s small-town charm is often overlooked.

Republicans said Thursday they see no major obstacles to Senate confirmation of James Comey, the former deputy attorney general in the Bush administration who is expected to be nominated by President Barack Obama as the next FBI director. Comey, who would replace Robert Mueller as head of the national security organization, is certain to face tough questions about his work as a counsel for a major hedge fund and his ties to Wall Street as well as how he would handle current, high-profile FBI investigations.

Manitoba chiefs are not poised to cede from the Assembly of First Nations, but leaders gathered in Winnipeg on Wednesday raised questions about the national body’s mandate to represent aboriginals on treaty issues.

In Roll Call, Norm Ornstein games out Thursday's health-care summit: