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WASHINGTON (AP) - A small, bipartisan group of senators is quietly trying to reach a compromise on expanding the requirement for background checks to cover nearly all gun purchases. A deal could give political momentum to one of the key elements of President Barack Obama's gun-control plan.

The private talks involve liberal Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who is the No. 3 Senate Democratic leader, and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a National Rifle Association member and one of the Senate's more moderate Democrats.

On the Republican side, participants are Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, another NRA member and one of the more conservative lawmakers in Congress, and moderate Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois.

The NRA says expanding background checks would do little good because criminals largely get their guns illegally.

Although the housing market may be picking up, assessed home values in St. Louis are expected to decline for the third time in a row.

St. Louis County's first elected assessor, Jake Zimmerman says preliminary computer models show values dipping slightly. Zimmerman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that human assessors may tweak the figures after examining individual homes.

He says anyone whose assessed property value increases will be notified by mail right away so that there's plenty of time for an appeal before the bills go out in the fall.

The Cardinal's will break ground today on phase one of the Ballpark Village development.

The team released new renderings of the development on Twitter yesterday.

The $100 million project will include the Cardinal Nation structure with a two-story restaurant, Cardinal Hall of Fame museum, and rooftop deck seating with a view of Busch Stadium.

A live concert venue and brew house will also be included in the first phase, which is set to be completed by opening day of 2014.