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Challenged by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch defends President Barack Obama's decision to shelter millions of immigrants from deportation though they live in the country illegally but she said they have no right to citizenship under the law, as she testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015 during her confirmation hearing before the committee. Lynch made her remarks in the opening moments of a hearing into her appointment as the nation's first black female attorney general. It is the first confirmation proceeding since Republicans took control of the Senate this month. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Attorney General nominee defends Obama immigration changes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronting skeptical Republicans, attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch pledged a new start with Congress and independence from President Barack Obama Wednesday, even as she defended the president's unilateral protections for millions of immigrants in the country illegally.