In Today's Times:
- As he travels the country trying to pressure Republicans on taxes, President Obama has been pretty quiet about what spending cuts he would support to resolve the fiscal impasse in Washington. Peter Baker notes that Mr. Obama's one-sided approach is causing consternation among Republicans and even some Democrats.
- Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, is going for the “nuclear optionâ€â€" proposing to change Senate rules to make it harder for the Republican minority to use the filibuster to stall or kill legislation and nominations. Jennifer Steinhauer reports that the Republicans are loyally opposed to the move while feelings are mixed among Democrats, many of whom are frustrated by Republicans' frequent use of the tool but wary of not having it available when they are in the minority someday.
- With Republicans' political emotions running high over the Sept. 11 Benghazi attacks, mis statements about the administration's response have jumbled the career trajectories of two senior administration officials, Scott Shane reports. Besides galvanizing Republican opposition to Ambassador Susan E. Rice's potential nomination to be the next secretary of state, the tangled talking points have also muddied the path of Michael J. Morell, the acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency, to securing the agency's top job.
- The Obama administration is likely to make a decision as early as next week on whether and how to help topple President Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria, David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt report. They write that the administration is considering the risk to Americans and of setting off a larger conflict as it reviews its policy toward Syria.
Happening in Washington:
- Economic data expected today include gross domestic product for the third quarter and weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m., followed at 1 0 by pending home sales for October and weekly mortgage rates.
- At 10:30 a.m., Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver remarks in recognition of World AIDS Day at the State Department.
At 12:30 p.m., President Obama and Mitt Romney, his former Republican rival for the presidency, will have lunch together at the White House.
At 2 p.m., a House Financial Services subcommittee with jurisdiction over monetary policy will hold a hearing on potential savings from changing the metallic content of certain coins and from replacing the $1 bill with a $1 coin.
Also at 2, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will have a hearing to examine the rise in autism diagnoses.
