Today’s Times
- President Obama met with Senate Democrats on Tuesday about potential changes to entitlements, Mark Landler and Jennifer Steinhauer report. Even though the lengthy discussion remained civil, some senators voiced concerns about cuts to popular programs like Medicare and Social Security.
- The Justice Department confirmed that its voting rights section has been torn over ideological splits between liberal and conservative factions dating to the Bush administration and continuing into the Obama era, Charlie Savage writes. The report recounts an array of “troubling†episodes and a distrustful culture.
- It was a good day for President Obama’s gun-safety agenda in Congress, with the Senate Judiciary Committee passing two measures designed to curb shooting violence. The approved bills - one aimed at expanding background checks to private gun sales and another that would renew a grant program that focuses on school safety - are now likely to go to the Senate floor for a full vote, Jennifer Steinhauer writes.
- An appeals court ruled that Mr. Obama violated the Constitution when he made recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board last year, but the White House disagrees. The administration is now preparing to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, Charlie Savage reports.
- No one is safe from Internet hacking - not the vice president of the United States of America, not even Beyoncé. An investigation was started on Tuesday after a Web site originating in Rus! sia posted the home addresses, Social Security numbers and other personal information of more than a dozen celebrities and politicians, Michael S. Schmidt and Nicole Perlroth report.
- Though both sides have been reassuring the public that a bipartisan compromise on a budget deal is possible, Senate Democrats and House Republicans outlined vastly different approaches to coming up with a solution - a reminder of how far apart they remain on fiscal policy, Jeremy W. Peters and Jonathan Weisman report.
- Annie Lowrey provides a news analysis about the debate over balancing the federal budget. While some economists agree that keeping a gvernment’s debt within reasonable limits is good and necessary, there is some disagreement over how important balancing the budget actually is.
Around the Web
- Officials at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs “were either unwilling or unable to say†who is leading the department, The Hill reports.
Happenings in Washington
- President Obama will swing by Capitol Hill again Wednesday, this time to meet with the House Republican Conference. Later, he will meet with C.E.O.s in the White House to discuss cyber security and to get their input on how the government and private sector can work together to help eliminate threats to the nation’s technological infrastructure.
- Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. will speak at an event in! Rockvill! e, Md., about the need to reduce homicides related to domestic violence.
- Michelle Obama will deliver remarks to C.E.O.s of the Business Roundtable to promote her Joining Forces Initiative, which helps members of military families find jobs.
