Nov 7 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- Beijing is considering allowing Wall Street firms to run their own investment banking businesses on the mainland, a long-awaited step that would give them more access to China's hard-to-crack domestic market. http://on.wsj.com/2etQuk0

- Regulators in California recently discovered software installed on some of Volkswagen AG's Audi models that appears to have allowed the cars to cheat carbon-dioxide emissions testing standards. http://on.wsj.com/2etOV5H

- Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said no new evidence has been found to warrant charges against Hillary Clinton in the investigation stemming from her use of a private email server while in government http://on.wsj.com/2etP35b

- U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab forces in Syria began a long-anticipated offensive against the Islamic State-controlled city of Raqqa, an operation timed to leverage a similar push in Iraq to crush the extremist group. http://on.wsj.com/2etJ4NO

- With days before the election, Democrat Hillary Clinton has several apparent paths to the White House, while Republican Donald Trump must sweep battleground states and seize at least one Democratic-leaning state. http://on.wsj.com/2etLUSM

- The Department of Commerce is expected to launch a formal investigation Monday into whether Chinese steel companies are shipping steel through Vietnam to avoid U.S. import tariffs. http://on.wsj.com/2etQOiz

- New details have emerged about warnings issued by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration advisory panel regarding potential fueling hazards on SpaceX's future manned rockets. http://on.wsj.com/2etQQHd

- Regional airlines that feed the nation's biggest carriers are boosting starting wages to fight a pilot shortage, hoping to encourage aspiring aviators to endure what has become lengthier training. http://on.wsj.com/2etK9VD

- China's top legislative body effectively barred two Hong Kong politicians from taking office as local lawmakers in a decision that overrides Hong Kong's legal authority. http://on.wsj.com/2etIAXN

- Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had broad support for overhauling Italy's constitution, but the pro-reform consensus has collapsed ahead of the Dec. 4 referendum. http://on.wsj.com/2etMO1u (Compiled by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru)