Today’s Times
- Trying to gain the upper hand in the latest fiscal clash, President Obama called on Congress to delay the scheduled March 1 reductions in domestic and military spending by passing a new package of limited spending cuts and tax increases, Michael D. Shear and Jackie Calmes report. Republicans quickly dismissed the appeal.
- President Obama will travel to Israel for the first time since taking office as he tries to restart a relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that has been rocky since the start, Peter Baker writes.
- Members of both parties in the House came to a rare agreement on Tuesday on a plan to stiffen penalties on the illegal purchase and transportation of guns, Jeremy W. Peters reports. As the law is written now, “the penalties are so weak it’s like a slap on the hand,†said one the bill’s sponsors.
- House Republicans on Tuesday pushed an approach that could include legal residency but not a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country, Ashley Parker writes. Though Democrats and immigration advocates want to tackle the larger issue of citizenship, Republicans say they are open to working on smaller bills that address specific parts of the problem.
- Problems in the American election system extend beyond isolated voting issues in a few locations, with flare-ups occurring in states both rich and poor, Adam Liptak reports.
Around the Web
- President Obama will present posthumous Presidential Citizens Medals to the teachers and administrators killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn, Politico reports.
-  Representative Joe Courtney, Democrat of Connecticut, is saying that the director Steven Spielberg took too much creative license in “Lincoln,†Politico reports.
Happenings in Washington
- President Obama will attend the Senate Democratic Issues Conference in Annapolis, Md.
- Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will administer he oath of office at a ceremonial swearing-in for Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department. Later, Mr. Biden will deliver remarks at the House Democratic Issues Conference in Leesburg, Va.
