WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is summoning Central American leaders to the White House to discuss the influx of young immigrants from their countries to the U.S., hoping to show presidential action even as Congress remains deeply split over proposals to stem the crisis on the border.

The meeting comes as the administration is considering creating a pilot program giving refugee status to young people from Honduras, White House officials said Thursday. The plan would involve screening youths in their home country to determine whether they qualify for refugee status. The program would be limited and would start in Honduras but could be expanded to include other Central American countries.

Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, speaking Thursday in Washington, said he hadn't heard about the plan but expected it to come up today. He said Central American nations have sought to pursue a unified approach. “We expect that the solution to this problem also is equal for the three countries,” he said.

Besides Molina, Obama was to host Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez and El Salvador's President Salvador Sanchez Ceren today, the day after they met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill who are considering Obama's requests for emergency funds and additional authority to send unaccompanied children back to their home countries more quickly.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz vowed Thursday to continue blocking confirmation of a series of ambassadorial and other diplomatic nominees despite the Federal Aviation Administration lifting a ban on U.S. airline flights to Israel. The State Department criticized the Republican lawmaker.Cruz said he wouldn't release the holds until the Obama administration answers his questions about the FAA's prohibition, which went into effect Tuesday after a rocket landed about a mile from the Tel Aviv airport. The FAA ended the ban late Wednesday, after Cruz accused President Barack Obama of imposing an economic boycott of Israel while it is fighting the militant group Hamas in Gaza.“There are still serious questions as to the decision-making that went into the ban on flights and whether it was driven by political consideration at the White House or by objective expert opinion at the agency,” the Texas senator said Thursday.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — They sent a creepy feeling through several Southern California families, but authorities say the person who left porcelain dolls on doorsteps didn't mean any harm.The Orange County Sheriff's Department said Thursday that someone had left the dolls wearing nightgowns and lace dresses at as many as eight homes in a San Clemente neighborhood this week.The families were worried because they felt each doll resembled a young girl who lived in the house, setting off an investigation and call for public help in finding who had placed them.But later Thursday the sheriff's department said it found the person responsible and the intent had been goodwill. No further details were released.