In Today’s Times:
- President Obama’s meeting with House Republicans on Wednesday highlighted the divisions between the parties over fiscal priorities as both sides acknowledged the increasing unlikelihood of reaching an overarching deal, Jeremy W. Peters and Ashley Parker report.
- Service members who have been victims of sexual abuse offered emotional statements before a Congressional panel on Wednesday during the first Senate hearing on sexual assault in the military in nearly a decade, Jennifer Steinhauer reports.
- Hoping to channel his supporters’ energy toward lobbying Congress for his second term agenda, Mr. Obama spoke to supporters and former campaign staff members on Wednesday during a two-day meeting of an independent group called Organizing for Action, Nicholas Confessore and Michael D. Shear report.
- In preparing for his first visit to Israel, Mr. Obama is facing the reality that any place he chooses to visit â€" or not visit â€" can hit a nerve, Mark Landler reports.
- The Club for Growth, a conservative organization focused on backing candidates who support its small-government, low-tax philosophy, is encouraging primary challenges to Republican lawmakers and countering more pragmatic efforts to put Republicans in power, Richard W. Stevenson reports.
Washingto! n Happenings:
- Mr. Obama is scheduled to go to the Capitol on Thursday to meet with the Senate Republican Conference and the House Democratic Caucus.
- The Conservative Political Action Conference will open with remarks by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Jim DeMint, former senator from South Carolina and president of the Heritage Foundation.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Thursday on a proposed ban on assault weapons.
