Interior Department’s No. 2 Stepping Down

David J. Hayes, the deputy secretary of the interior since the early days of the Obama administration, said on Tuesday that he would leave the post at the end of June.

Mr. Hayes, 59, who served in the same position in the second term of the Clinton administration, agreed to stay at the agency for several months to ease the transition of the new interior secretary, Sally Jewell, a former chief executive of Recreational Equipment Inc. in Seattle. (New Interior Chief Savors a Steep Learning Curve, April 30)

He has overseen many of the major initiatives at the department over the past four years, including opening the Arctic to exploratory oil and gas drilling, concluding a legal settlement with American Indian tribes, overhauling offshore oil regulations after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, and expanding production of solar and wind energy on public lands.

Mr. Hayes, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame and a law degree from Stanford, will join the Hewlett Foundation and teach at Stanford Law School in the fall.

Interior Department’s No. 2 Stepping Down

David J. Hayes, the deputy secretary of the interior since the early days of the Obama administration, said on Tuesday that he would leave the post at the end of June.

Mr. Hayes, 59, who served in the same position in the second term of the Clinton administration, agreed to stay at the agency for several months to ease the transition of the new interior secretary, Sally Jewell, a former chief executive of Recreational Equipment Inc. in Seattle. (New Interior Chief Savors a Steep Learning Curve, April 30)

He has overseen many of the major initiatives at the department over the past four years, including opening the Arctic to exploratory oil and gas drilling, concluding a legal settlement with American Indian tribes, overhauling offshore oil regulations after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, and expanding production of solar and wind energy on public lands.

Mr. Hayes, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame and a law degree from Stanford, will join the Hewlett Foundation and teach at Stanford Law School in the fall.

Q&A: Breaking the Bluetooth Bond

Q.

How do I “unpair” a Bluetooth mouse from my Mac?

A.

Bluetooth, a wireless technology often used to replace USB cable connections, requires that the two compatible devices be “paired” before they can communicate with each other. This pairing creates a secure connection and typically involves running a setup program or typing in a code when you get the new hardware.

Once you pair two Bluetooth-enabled devices, they stay paired until you break them up. When you want to dissolve the connection, open the Mac’s Bluetooth settings. In Mac OS X 10.8, one way to get there is to click the System Preferences icon in the dock and then click on the Bluetooth icon. You may also see a small Bluetooth icon (which resembles the letter B in a runic typeface) on the right side of the Mac’s menu bar. Clicking it reveals a menu with an option for opening the Bluetooth preferences.

Once you have the Bluetooth preferences box open, you should see a list of paired devices on the left. Select the mouse you wish to unhitch from the Mac and click the minus sign (-) underneath to remove the device. If you ever wish to use the same mouse with the Mac again, you will need to re-pair them.

The Bluetooth preferences box also displays information about each paired device and includes a check box for turning on the Bluetooth menu bar icon if your Mac does not already display it. The Bluetooth menu bar icon itself has some useful commands for quickly sending files from the Mac to connected devices like phones or other computers, and information like battery-charge levels. Apple’s site has more information on using Bluetooth with OS X.

The Early Word: Protégé

Today’s Times

• Though Jim DeMint, a former Republican senator, helped squelch a previous attempt at overhauling the immigration laws, his one-time protégé, Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, is now leading the charge on the issue, Ashley Parker reports.

• Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports on an annual poll by the Institute of Politics at Harvard University that documents what analysts see as a troubling trend: the declining idealism of youth, which is being replaced by a mistrust of government and a growing partisan divide among voters under 30.

• President Obama announced on Monday that he would nominate Anthony R. Foxx to be the next transportation secretary,  to succeed Ray LaHood as manager of the nation’s roads, bridges and airports, Peter Baker and Michael D. Shear report.

Around the Web

•  A resolution from Representative Barbara Lee of California, and a dozen other Democrats warns that  climate change could lead vulnerable women with limited socioeconomic resources to “sex work” and “transactional sex,” The Hill reports.

Happenings in Washington

• Mr. Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden are expected to announce employment-related news concerning veterans and military spouses in the East Room of the White House.

• Later, Mr. Biden will attend an event for his son, Beau Biden, the Delaware attorney general, in Washington.

The Early Word: Protégé

Today’s Times

• Though Jim DeMint, a former Republican senator, helped squelch a previous attempt at overhauling the immigration laws, his one-time protégé, Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, is now leading the charge on the issue, Ashley Parker reports.

• Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports on an annual poll by the Institute of Politics at Harvard University that documents what analysts see as a troubling trend: the declining idealism of youth, which is being replaced by a mistrust of government and a growing partisan divide among voters under 30.

• President Obama announced on Monday that he would nominate Anthony R. Foxx to be the next transportation secretary,  to succeed Ray LaHood as manager of the nation’s roads, bridges and airports, Peter Baker and Michael D. Shear report.

Around the Web

•  A resolution from Representative Barbara Lee of California, and a dozen other Democrats warns that  climate change could lead vulnerable women with limited socioeconomic resources to “sex work” and “transactional sex,” The Hill reports.

Happenings in Washington

• Mr. Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden are expected to announce employment-related news concerning veterans and military spouses in the East Room of the White House.

• Later, Mr. Biden will attend an event for his son, Beau Biden, the Delaware attorney general, in Washington.

Spending Cuts Threaten to Delay Research, Obama Tells Scientists

At a moment when scientists are on the brink of making breakthroughs that could significantly improve human lives, broad spending reductions that went into effect in March threaten to stall their progress for up to two years, President Obama told a gathering of scientists on Monday.

“Unfortunately, that’s what we’re facing right now,” Mr. Obama told an audience of researchers, scientists, and current and former government officials gathered for the 150th annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences. “Because of the across-the-board cuts that Congress put in place â€" the sequester, as it’s known in Washington-speak â€" it’s hitting our scientific research.”

In his 2014 budget, Mr. Obama proposed increasing spending on science and research by about 1 percent, to $143 billion, according to the scientific journal Nature. But his financing proposal, which was already unlikely to become law, now faces the shears of sequestration. Federal agencies have already had their budgets reduced by an average of 5 percent this year, with even more cuts expected next year.

As a result, Mr. Obama said, research is left in limbo.

“Instead of racing ahead on the next cutting-edge discovery, our scientists are left wondering if they’ll get to start any new projects, any new research projects at all over the next few years,” he said, “which means that we could lose a year, two years of scientific research as a practical matter because of misguided priorities here in this town.”

Mr. Obama said the country could not afford delays that would make it difficult to keep up with the pace of technological innovation or allow other nations to get ahead of the United States in science.

“And I say that, by the way, not out of just any nationalistic pride â€" although, obviously, that’s part of it,” he said. “But it’s also because nobody does it better than we do when it’s adequately funded, when it’s adequately supported.”

Echoing his speech at the White House Science Fair last week, Mr. Obama called for increasing investment in scientific research and development to levels “that we haven’t seen since the height of the space race.”

The National Academy of Sciences was established by federal charter in 1863, during the Civil War, with a mandate to advise the government on scientific matters. President Abraham Lincoln called on the academy’s scientists to help fix a problem with the compasses on the Union Navy’s ironclad ships.

The iron siding made the ships’ compasses unpredictable, “so it skewed navigation, and they were bumping into things and going the wrong way,” Mr. Obama explained. About a year later, on the advice of the scientists, bar magnets were installed on the ships to correct their navigation.

“So right off the bat, you guys were really useful. In fact, it’s fair to say we might not be here had you not â€" certainly I would not be here,” Mr. Obama said, alluding to his status as the first African-American president of the United States.

The academy is made up of more than 2,200 member scientists and 400 foreign associates. Members are elected annually and serve voluntarily, a fact that Mr. Obama jokingly said was “fortunate, because we have no money anyway.”

He also emphasized the need to keep science free from political influence and to finance education initiatives for young researchers and scientists, like those who participated in the science fair last week.

“I know you guys were smart when you were their age, but I might give them the edge,” he said before giving examples of some of the projects that students exhibited at the science fair.

“They were all dreaming to grow up and be just like you,” he said. “Maybe with a little less gray hair, but they shared your passion.”

The academy is friendly territory for Mr. Obama, who spoke at the organization’s annual meeting in 2009. Ralph J. Cicerone, the president of the academy, introduced Mr. Obama, comparing him to another president from Illinois: Lincoln, who signed the charter that created the body.

“Like President Lincoln 150 years ago, President Obama clearly understands the importance of science and technology to the future security and prosperity of our nation,” Dr. Cicerone said. “Since taking office, he has been unwavering in his commitment, for example, to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, and in his support of the scientific community.”

Spending Cuts Threaten to Delay Research, Obama Tells Scientists

At a moment when scientists are on the brink of making breakthroughs that could significantly improve human lives, broad spending reductions that went into effect in March threaten to stall their progress for up to two years, President Obama told a gathering of scientists on Monday.

“Unfortunately, that’s what we’re facing right now,” Mr. Obama told an audience of researchers, scientists, and current and former government officials gathered for the 150th annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences. “Because of the across-the-board cuts that Congress put in place â€" the sequester, as it’s known in Washington-speak â€" it’s hitting our scientific research.”

In his 2014 budget, Mr. Obama proposed increasing spending on science and research by about 1 percent, to $143 billion, according to the scientific journal Nature. But his financing proposal, which was already unlikely to become law, now faces the shears of sequestration. Federal agencies have already had their budgets reduced by an average of 5 percent this year, with even more cuts expected next year.

As a result, Mr. Obama said, research is left in limbo.

“Instead of racing ahead on the next cutting-edge discovery, our scientists are left wondering if they’ll get to start any new projects, any new research projects at all over the next few years,” he said, “which means that we could lose a year, two years of scientific research as a practical matter because of misguided priorities here in this town.”

Mr. Obama said the country could not afford delays that would make it difficult to keep up with the pace of technological innovation or allow other nations to get ahead of the United States in science.

“And I say that, by the way, not out of just any nationalistic pride â€" although, obviously, that’s part of it,” he said. “But it’s also because nobody does it better than we do when it’s adequately funded, when it’s adequately supported.”

Echoing his speech at the White House Science Fair last week, Mr. Obama called for increasing investment in scientific research and development to levels “that we haven’t seen since the height of the space race.”

The National Academy of Sciences was established by federal charter in 1863, during the Civil War, with a mandate to advise the government on scientific matters. President Abraham Lincoln called on the academy’s scientists to help fix a problem with the compasses on the Union Navy’s ironclad ships.

The iron siding made the ships’ compasses unpredictable, “so it skewed navigation, and they were bumping into things and going the wrong way,” Mr. Obama explained. About a year later, on the advice of the scientists, bar magnets were installed on the ships to correct their navigation.

“So right off the bat, you guys were really useful. In fact, it’s fair to say we might not be here had you not â€" certainly I would not be here,” Mr. Obama said, alluding to his status as the first African-American president of the United States.

The academy is made up of more than 2,200 member scientists and 400 foreign associates. Members are elected annually and serve voluntarily, a fact that Mr. Obama jokingly said was “fortunate, because we have no money anyway.”

He also emphasized the need to keep science free from political influence and to finance education initiatives for young researchers and scientists, like those who participated in the science fair last week.

“I know you guys were smart when you were their age, but I might give them the edge,” he said before giving examples of some of the projects that students exhibited at the science fair.

“They were all dreaming to grow up and be just like you,” he said. “Maybe with a little less gray hair, but they shared your passion.”

The academy is friendly territory for Mr. Obama, who spoke at the organization’s annual meeting in 2009. Ralph J. Cicerone, the president of the academy, introduced Mr. Obama, comparing him to another president from Illinois: Lincoln, who signed the charter that created the body.

“Like President Lincoln 150 years ago, President Obama clearly understands the importance of science and technology to the future security and prosperity of our nation,” Dr. Cicerone said. “Since taking office, he has been unwavering in his commitment, for example, to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, and in his support of the scientific community.”

N.B.A. Player Cites Representative Kennedy in Decision to Come Out

BOSTON â€" One bright June day last year, Joseph P. Kennedy III marched in Boston’s gay pride parade, waving energetically to the spirited crowd that had gathered along the route. At his side was Barney Frank, the gay congressman from the Fourth District of Massachusetts, whom Mr. Kennedy was campaigning to replace after he had announced his retirement.

As it turns out, Mr. Kennedy’s march made a deep impression on a former college roommate, Jason Collins, the N.B.A. center who on Monday came out as the first openly gay male athlete playing in a major American team sport. A coming-out essay he wrote was posted on the Web site of Sports Illustrated.

In the essay, Mr. Collins said it made him realize that he wanted to show the same kind of public pride as Mr. Kennedy, who made equality for gay, lesbian and transgender individuals part of his platform during his successful run for Congress.

I realized I needed to go public when Joe Kennedy, my old roommate at Stanford and now a Massachusetts congressman, told me he had just marched in Boston’s 2012 Gay Pride Parade. I’m seldom jealous of others, but hearing what Joe had done filled me with envy. I was proud of him for participating but angry that as a closeted gay man I couldn’t even cheer my straight friend on as a spectator. If I’d been questioned, I would have concocted half truths. What a shame to have to lie at a celebration of pride. I want to do the right thing and not hide anymore. I want to march for tolerance, acceptance and understanding. I want to take a stand and say, “Me, too.”

Mr. Collins came out to Mr. Kennedy a few weeks ago, and the two plan to march together in the pride parade this year, on June 8.

“For as long as I’ve known Jason Collins he has been defined by three things: his passion for the sport he loves, his unwavering integrity, and the biggest heart you will ever find,” Mr. Kennedy said in a statement. “I’m proud to stand with him today and proud to call him a friend.”

Lew Names Chief of Staff at Treasury

The Obama administration’s second-term staff reshuffling continued on Monday, as Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew named Christian A. Weideman as his new chief of staff. Mark A. Patterson, who has served in the role managing the Treasury Department’s day-to-day operations since President Obama took office in 2009, plans to depart at the end of May.

Mr. Weideman is a well-known presence in the department. A lawyer by training, he is currently the department’s deputy general counsel, and he assisted with Mr. Lew’s confirmation process this year. He has also served as an associate counsel to Mr. Obama and has worked at the Williams & Connolly law firm.

Mr. Lew, a budget expert and former White House chief of staff, took over as Treasury secretary after the long-anticipated departure of Timothy F. Geithner, an international finance expert who is now at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Cruz Breaks With Senate Tradition While Criticizing Colleagues

In his short time in the Capitol, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has shown little regard for long-standing rules of decorum in the ultimate exclusive club, the 100-member U.S. Senate. But on Friday, the freshman Republican violated the club’s Omertà, publicly disclosing the closed-door dealings of the Senate Republican Conference â€" and trashing his colleagues in the process.

Stopping by a Texas summit of the Tea Party-aligned group FreedomWorks, Mr. Cruz called many of his colleagues “squishes,” forced to stand on conservative principles by the uncompromising stands of a triumphant trio of Republican “constitutionalists:” himself, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

At stake was the gun control legislation that the Senate dragged down earlier this month. At issue for Mr. Cruz might be his exposure of a series of closed-door luncheons in which fellow Republicans took the three to task for announcing in advance that they would filibuster every single vote on the gun measure, including the simple motion to take up and begin debating the bill. Such meetings are expressly off the record.

“We’ve had probably five or six lunches with a bunch of Republican senators standing up and looking at Rand and Mike and me and yelling at the top of their lungs, I mean really upset,” he told the group to laughter and titters, according to a video posted by a Tea Party blogger and promoted by the liberal group People for the American Way. “And they said, ‘Why did you do this? As a result of what you did, when I go home, my constituents are yelling at me that I’ve got to stand on principle.’ I’m not making that up. I don’t even bother to argue with them. I just sort of let them yell.”

The cause for criticism was a letter the trio of Tea Party-backed senators had written a letter announcing their intention to filibuster gun safety legislation that was making its way through the Senate, meaning that even the motion to proceed to the gun legislation would take 60 votes. That gave President Obama an invitation to publicly demand fair consideration of the bill and proposed amendments â€" and a refrain, “they deserve a vote.” In the end, the filibuster on that motion was easily broken, 68-31, with 16 Republicans joining joining the Democrats. That proved to be the bill’s high-water mark. No other significant gun control amendment could muster 60 votes, the Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, of the majority leader, pulled it from the floor rather than press forward to a final filibuster vote that it could not overcome.

By Mr. Cruz’s account, the procedural vote to take up the bill had deeply divided the Republican conference, split between those who were prepared to keep gun control from even reaching the Senate floor and those who said the issue should be openly debated.

“Here was their argument,” Mr. Cruz said of his adversaries in the Republican Conference. “They said ‘Listen, before you did this, the politics of it were great. The Democrats were the bad guys. The Republicans were the good guys. Now we all look like a bunch of squishes.’”

“Well,” he said he responded, “there is an alternative. You could just not be a bunch of squishes.”

His account of those closed-door meeting does conflict with others. The New York Times reported on one blow-up when Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, angrily confronted the three senators about advertisements running in her home state accusing her of backing an Obama-backed gun grab. Those ads were financed by an obscure gun rights group with close ties to Mr. Paul. According to several aides familiar with the confrontation, Mr. Cruz defensively jumped in to say he had nothing to do with the ads. Mr. Paul, in contrast, stormed out, saying he felt subject to an Inquisition.

Friday’s speech was not the first time Mr. Cruz may have acted counter to some of the Senate’s norms. Earlier this year, he suggested a former Republican senator, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, might have accepted money from the nation’s enemies, prompting some Senate Democrats to accuse him of McCarthyism.

And last month, in a testy exchange in the Senate Judiciary Committee over guns, Mr. Cruz accused Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and one of the Senate’s most senior members, of an insufficient understanding of the Constitution and its Second Amendment.

“I’m not a sixth grader,” she snapped back. “I’m not a lawyer, but after 20 years I’ve been up close and personal with the Constitution. I have great respect for it.”

“Senator Cruz’s speech further cements his reputation for grandstanding and representing the Tea Party instead of the people of Texas,” said Michael Keegan, president of People For the American Way. “Cruz is rapidly alienating senators on both sides of the aisle. He may be a darling of the Tea Party, but he’s a growing political liability for the G.O.P.”

“Senator Cruz promised 26 million Texans that he would fight for conservative principles every single day, and that’s exactly what he has done and will continue to do,” said Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cruz. “Privately and publicly, he is urging Republicans to stand for principle, and he is encouraged that in recent months so many Republicans are standing up for liberty. Whether on drones or guns or repealing Obamacare, Republicans have stood together and defended the Constitution, and, as a result, are winning the argument.”

Follow Jonathan Weisman on Twitter at @jonathanweisman.

Lawmakers Call for Stronger U.S. Action in Syria

Lawmakers in both parties on Sunday urged President Obama to take stronger action in the Syrian civil war, with some Republicans calling for Mr. Obama to arm rebel troops and possibly establish a no-fly zone, and some Democrats urging the administration to step up humanitarian assistance.

The lawmakers’ remarks, on the Sunday morning television talk shows that are a public policy staple in the capital, followed revelations that the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, had likely used chemical weapons against his own people. Mr. Obama has said that the use of such weapons would be a “red line” that would prompt an American response, and said Friday that any use of chemical weapons by Syria would be “a game changer.”

But just what the response should be seemed a matter of debate here on Sunday. Republicans and Democrats agreed that the United States should not send in ground troops, but beyond that they, like the White House, seemed to be wrestling with what course the administration should take, and what role other countries ought to play.

Senators Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona, Republicans who tend to see eye to eye on national security matters, both said they opposed putting “boots on the ground” in Syria. Mr. McCain, who has called for establishing a no-fly zone to neutralize Syria’s air defenses, told David Gregory, the host of “Meet the Press” on NBC, that “the worst thing the United States could do right now is put boots on the ground in Syria - that would turn the people against us.€

Mr. Graham, in particular, criticized the administration for what he characterized as an overly cautious response, providing only non-lethal aid to rebel forces. He warned that inaction in Syria would have dire consequences across the Middle East, by sending a message to Iran that the United States will tolerate a nuclear buildup in that country.

“If we keep this hands-off approach to Syria, this indecisive action towards Syria, kind of not knowing what we’re going to do next, we’re going to start a war with Iran because Iran’s going to take our inaction in Syria as meaning we’re not serious about their nuclear weapons program,” Mr. Graham said.

He added, “There’s nothing you can do in Syria without risk, but greatest risk is a failed state with chemical weapons falling in the hands of radical Islamists and they’re pouring into Syria.”

The White House said Thursday that the Syrian government had probably used the agent sarin in the two-year civil war that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and resulted in 70,000 deaths. So far the United States has taken limited military steps in Syria, and has confined American assistance to non-lethal aid - providing equipment like night vision goggles and body armor - for the rebels fighting the Assad government.

Democrats speaking on the Sunday shows, including Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota, seemed less inclined to step up military aid and more focused on providing humanitarian assistance to displaced Syrians.

“I believe the United States could play a greater role in dealing with the humanitarian crisis,” Mr. Ellison said on “Meet the Press.” “We have spillage and refugees in Jordan, in Lebanon, and internally displaced people in Syria. The suffering is intense, and I don’t think the world’s greatest superpower, the United States, can stand by and not do anything. “

Sunday Breakfast Menu, April 28

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

National security and foreign affairs share the limelight on the Sunday political shows this week, featuring conversations about the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings and the response to new developments in Syria’s civil war.

NBC’s “Meet the Press” will interview Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and a member of the Armed Services Committee. After the acknowledgement from the White House on Thursday that Syria may have used chemical weapons against civilians, he will discuss whether President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has crossed a line to provoke American intervention.

Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York, who serves on the Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees, and Representative Keith Ellison, Democrat of Minnesota and a Muslim, will also appear on the program, talking about whether warning signs were overlooked before the Boston Marathon bombings.

A few days after the dedication of George W. Bush’s presidential library, Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, will reflect on his time working with Mr. Bush. Karen P. Hughes, a former Bush adviser; Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota; and Representative Joaquin Castro, Democrat of Texas, will join NBC’s panel.

Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, and Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, will weigh in on national security in the wake of the attacks in Boston on “Fox News Sunday.” Michael B. Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, shares his thoughts on Syria.

CBS’s “Face the Nation” looks at the latest developments in Boston and Syria with Senators Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina; Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri; and Saxby Chambliss, Republican of Georgia.

Three high-ranking members of the House Intelligence Committee will appear on ABC’s “This Week” to talk about Boston and Syria: Representatives Mike Rogers of Michigan, the committee’s chairman; C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the ranking Democrat; and Jan Schakowsky, Democrat of Illinois.

Two other members of the congressional intelligence committees â€" Senator Dan Coats, Republican of Indiana, and Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California â€" will be on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Also on the program are Michael Chertoff, the former secretary of homeland security, and R. Nicholas Burns, a former under secretary of state.

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee; Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee; Representative Jason Chaffetz, Republican of Utah; and Representative Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, will join CNN’s panel.

Mr. Thompson will also appear on TV One’s “Washington Watch” at 11 a.m. Eastern with Mayor Michael A. Nutter of Philadelphia, discussing the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Representative Adam Smith of Washington, ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, is scheduled to join C-Span’s “Newsmakers,” talking about defense.

Representative Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Texas, will be on Univision’s “Al Punto” at 10 a.m. Eastern. Along with Cecilia Muñoz, President Obama’s domestic policy adviser, Mr. Cuellar will discuss national security in the wake of the Boston attacks.

On Bloomberg’s “Capitol Gains” at noon Eastern, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, talks about his objections to the broad proposal to overhaul immigration currently before the Senate. The committee will begin examining the bill in May. Steven VanRoekel, the government’s chief information officer, will also be on the program, discussing the challenge of orchestrating technology for millions of federal workers.

And Senator Angus King, independent of Maine, was on Bloomberg’s “Political Capital” on Friday. Repeats of the program will be broadcast throughout the weekend.

Obama and G.O.P. Spar Over Direction of Cuts

WASHINGTON - President Obama sparred with Congressional Republicans on Saturday over who was to blame for long flight delays this week but neither side moved closer to a consensus on how to minimize the broader impact of federal spending cuts on the public.

A day after Congress voted to avert further air traffic slowdowns, Mr. Obama chided lawmakers for looking out for their own interests as frequent fliers rather than caring for less privileged Americans harmed by other spending cuts.

Republicans responded by accusing the president of deliberately provoking a crisis for political purposes.

The back-and-forth underscored the partisan divide over the so-called sequester, a series of automatic spending cuts that both parties agreed to in a failed effort to force the two sides to come together to craft a more judicious plan to rein in huge deficits. When furloughs of air traffic controllers resulted in a cascade of airport backups this week, lawmakers rushed to authorize the transportation secretary to move around funds.

“This week, the sequester hurt travelers, who were stuck for hours in airports and on planes, and rightly frustrated by it,” Mr. Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address taped in advance and aired on Saturday. “Maybe because they fly home each weekend, the members of Congress who insisted these cuts take hold finally realized that they actually apply to them too.”

In the Republican response, Representative Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania, chairman of the House transportation committee, asked why the controllers were furloughed.

“Because,” he said, “there are some in the Obama administration who thought inflicting pain on the public would give the president more leverage to avoid making necessary spending cuts and to impose more tax hikes on the American people.”

Both Mr. Obama and Mr. Shuster in their addresses called for replacing the sequester with a more targeted plan to avoid such indiscriminate effects, but the White House and Congressional Republicans have starkly different ideas about what such a plan should look like.

It hardly went unnoticed in Washington that the two sides have not managed to come together to ameliorate the impact of budget cuts on many other Americans. The air passengers inconvenienced this week, however, included business travelers and relatively better off Americans with the ear of their representatives.

Mr. Obama pointed out that the sequester continues to affect children kicked out of Head Start, seniors deprived of Meals on Wheels and military families cut off from services.

“We can’t just keep putting Band-Aids on every cut,” he said. “It’s not a responsible way to govern. There is only one way to truly fix the sequester: by replacing it before it causes further damage.”

Mr. Shuster said the Obama administration always had enough flexibility to avert the airport bottlenecks of the last week. “This episode is yet another demonstration of why we need to replace the president’s sequester with smarter, more responsible cuts,” he said. “The American people deserve better, and leaders in Washington have an obligation to respect your time and money.”

Redistricting Likely to Hamper Democratic Efforts in 2014, Study Finds

Thanks largely to the way Congressional districts were drawn in the latest round of redistricting, even a dramatic wave election like the one in 2008 that swept President Obama into power and added to Democratic majorities in Congress would do little to alter the composition of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, a new, nonpartisan study found.

FairVote, an organization that examines voting patterns and laws, predicts that Republicans will maintain control of the House in 2014 unless Democrats meet the unlikely threshold of winning 56 percent of the vote nationwide.

In nonpresidential elections, the president’s party rarely gains seats in Congress.

Few external factors are likely to change what has effectively become a fixed game, FairVote said. Republicans seem likely to hold the House even if Democrats have another banner year like 2008. Even the ever-growing flow of money into politics is unlikely to make a difference in the outcome of races, the study concluded.

The study contained other startling findings. A majority of House members â€" 262 out of 435 â€" are in such safe districts that they are expected to win by at least 16 points. FairVote notes that this is a cushion “far outside what it would take to put them at risk even in a year in which their party does very poorly over all.”

“As a result,” the group said, “most Americans will not have a realistic chance to elect a Congressional representative of a different party.” Only 21 races â€" less than 5 percent â€" are expected to be tossups, defined as races in which the incumbent is expected to receive 47 percent to 53 percent of the vote in a two-party contest.

FairVote acknowledges that its predictions are not based on an ingenious model or on the prowess of its number crunchers. In fact, the group says the system appears to be so rigged that “the outcomes of most Congressional races are effectively predetermined long before the election takes place.”

FairVote based its projections on recent presidential and Congressional election results, not on poll results.

In Speech to Planned Parenthood, Obama Criticizes New Abortion Laws

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times President Obama spoke on Friday at a Planned Parenthood event in Washington where he assailed conservatives who have sought to restrict access to abortion and contraception.

President Obama waded back into the nation’s volatile culture wars on Friday as he assailed conservatives who have sought to restrict access to abortion and contraception, and promised women’s activists he would stand with them “fighting every step of the way.”

Addressing a meeting of Planned Parenthood, Mr. Obama singled out lawmakers in North Dakota, Mississippi and, by implication, the nation’s capital for proposing and in some cases enacting “absurd” laws that he said would return the country to the days before the Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing abortion rights.

“When you read about some of these laws, you want to check the calendar,” Mr. Obama said. “You want to make sure you’re still living in 2013. Forty years after the Supreme Court affirmed a woman’s constitutional right to privacy, including the right to choose, we shouldn’t have to remind people that when it comes to a woman’s health, no politician should get to decide what’s best for you.”

Mr. Obama was originally scheduled to address the group on Thursday but had to postpone his appearance to attend a memorial service in Texas for firefighters killed in a fertilizer plant explosion last week. Rather than pass off the obligation to another member of his administration, Mr. Obama asked the group to let him come a day late so he could speak out on an issue that galvanizes his liberal political base.

The president’s speech came at a time when several states have passed restrictive new abortion laws, and not long after a furor in Congress in which some Republicans objected to administration policies intended to ensure that insurance companies cover contraception.

North Dakota just enacted a law banning abortion when a heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Arkansas this spring similarly banned most abortions at the 12th week of pregnancy. In Mississippi, conservatives tried to ban all abortions, only to have their effort rejected in a referendum in 2011. In Washington, some Republicans have questioned federal financing for Planned Parenthood because it provides abortion services, among other health care services.

Abortion opponents have also drawn attention lately to the trial of a Philadelphia doctor charged with killing viable fetuses during abortions. Three of seven murder charges against the doctor, Kermit Gosnell, were thrown out by a judge this week, but the grisly details of the case have, in the view of abortion opponents, highlighted the moral questions underlying abortion in the United States.

Mr. Obama did not mention the case but condemned lawmakers who have targeted Planned Parenthood. “When politicians try to turn Planned Parenthood into a punching bag, they’re not just talking about you, they’re talking about the millions of women who you serve,” he told the group’s gathering, at a Washington hotel. “And when they talk about cutting off your funding, let’s be clear they’re talking about telling many of those women you’re on your own.”

He pledged his loyalty to the group. “You’ve also got a president,” he said, “who’s going to be right here with you fighting every step of the way.”

App Smart Extra: Dictionaries on the Go, Both Fancy and Simple

This week, my App Smart column was all about the delights of using dictionary apps on your smartphone or tablet. These apps can help you quickly look up a word’s meaning and usage or learn new words. Compared with a printed paper edition, dictionary apps on your mobile device can also let you share words you’ve found over social media or even quickly swap between looking up text in a dictionary or a thesaurus.

Many big names in dictionary publishing have released apps, and Oxford is perhaps one of the best known. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is one of the most powerful apps you can get on iOS, though you have to pay $29.99 to access it. Where some similar apps emphasize quick access to word definitions and other useful information like synonyms, this app instead offers full dictionary entries that include examples and even photos.

The app can also teach you the right pronunciation with real British and American voices instead of computer voices. You can download the audio database for all of the 116,000 example sentences so they can be accessed offline. The app even suggests spelling, so you can find the word you’re looking for even if you don’t exactly know how to spell it. The main drawback is that this app’s screen can seem cluttered on a small iPhone display. If the clutter bothers you, you can choose to tell the app to, for example, turn off photos or example sentences.

An alternative, simpler iOS dictionary app is WordBook English Dictionary and Thesaurus, at $1.99. Its design is plainer than many of its peers. It offers a basic ability to look up a word in its database of some 150,000 entries. Each entry includes a pronunciation guide and spoken audio, although you need an Internet connection to get the audio to work. The app includes both British and American spellings of words, but the entries are written in American English.

It also has the ability to search several different online dictionary sources if the word you want can’t be found in its built-in word database. For fun there’s also a “puzzle solver” system that can help you solve anagrams or find words from partly solved crossword clues. It’s not the prettiest app, and you may find yourself yearning for a bit more context or background in each dictionary entry, but at least it’s speedy to use.

On Android there’s also the Dictionary app by Farlex. It’s free in an ad-supported edition, and includes both British and American audio pronunciation guides, and when it returns data on words, it can display some very extensive information. For example, the word “tap” returns some four or five scrollable pages of text, including images and alternative meanings of the word, example uses, history of the word and so on.

But sometimes it can seem like there’s too much data to look through, and it’s all presented in a similar way, which means you have to exercise your own judgment as to which of the results are useful to you. On the other hand, it can work offline, though you have to download data to the app while you have a connection. Plus it has the ability to look up words in several foreign languages, including Spanish and Russian.

Have fun improving your vocabulary!

Quick call: Paper Toss 2.0 is a new edition of the popular casual game, free on Android. The objective is simple: You have to toss scrunched-up paper balls (or bananas and a number of other objects) into a target trash can. The company says it’s like the classic office “time waster” game made digital.

Q&A: Adjusting a Camera’s Image Quality Settings

Q.

The photos from my point-and-shoot digital camera definitely do not look at good as when I first got the camera. I clean the lens regularly, so what might have caused this?

A.

One quick thing to check is the camera settings for file quality. “Quality,” in digital camera-speak, typically refers to the amount of compression the camera uses when saving the photos you shoot in the JPG format. (The photo files are compressed to save storage space on the camera’s memory card and make room for more pictures.)

The higher the compression, the less visual data is saved with the file. This means pictures with a high rate of compression will not generally look as sharp and detailed compared to those that are saved with a low level of compression. Files with higher quality/low compression take up more room on the memory card than images with lower quality/high compression, though.

Most cameras let you choose the level of compression in the Quality settings, although the terminology varies between camera manufacturers. Some use terms like “Normal, Fine and Superfine” or “Good, Better and Best,” but they are all relative to each other â€" the “Best” setting uses less compression and therefore makes for a richer-looking image. (The Image Maven site has examples of different quality settings.)

So it is possible the image-quality setting may have gotten changed inadvertently, which is not all that uncommon on cameras with tiny buttons and multiple menu screens. Changing it back could resolve the issue. Many cameras also include settings for image resolution as well, which affects the look of the pictures when printed. Photos that have too low a resolution for the chosen size of the print will look blurry and jaggy.

If a trip through the camera’s settings doesn’t fix the problem and the lens is clean, there could be a problem with the camera’s image sensor or another hardware issue. Check the support area of your manufacturer’s Web site for troubleshooting and repair information.

The Early Word: Crossing the Line

In Today’s Times:

• The White House said Thursday it believes the Syrian government has used chemical weapons on a small scale in its civil war but added that it needs more evidence before taking action as President Obama warned it would, Mark Landler and Eric Schmitt report. 

• A bipartisan group of senators is quietly working to revive the gun debate, looking for lawmakers willing to change their votes and building a campaign to harness broad public support for a major overhaul, Jeremy W. Peters reports.

• Lawmakers, counterterrorism officials and experts were divided Thursday over whether the nation’s security apparatus had failed to prevent the bombings at the Boston Marathon after Russia warned the United States two years ago that one of the suspects was a radical Islamist, Scott Shane, Michael S. Schmidt and Eric Schmitt report.

• Three former presidents joined the current one in honoring George W. Bush at the dedication of his presidential library in Texas on Thursday, putting aside arguments over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to focus on the positives, Peter Baker reports.

Washington Happenings:

• Mr. Obama will speak at the Planned Parenthood Gala in Washington on Friday before meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the afternoon. Later, he is scheduled to talk to business leaders who have significant interests in Mexico and Central America before his trip to Mexico and Costa Rica next week.

• In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee will hold a hearing on Islamist extremism in Chechnya at 10:30 a.m.

• The Commerce Department will announce the first-quarter gross domestic product at 8:30 a.m.

The Early Word: Crossing the Line

In Today’s Times:

• The White House said Thursday it believes the Syrian government has used chemical weapons on a small scale in its civil war but added that it needs more evidence before taking action as President Obama warned it would, Mark Landler and Eric Schmitt report. 

• A bipartisan group of senators is quietly working to revive the gun debate, looking for lawmakers willing to change their votes and building a campaign to harness broad public support for a major overhaul, Jeremy W. Peters reports.

• Lawmakers, counterterrorism officials and experts were divided Thursday over whether the nation’s security apparatus had failed to prevent the bombings at the Boston Marathon after Russia warned the United States two years ago that one of the suspects was a radical Islamist, Scott Shane, Michael S. Schmidt and Eric Schmitt report.

• Three former presidents joined the current one in honoring George W. Bush at the dedication of his presidential library in Texas on Thursday, putting aside arguments over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to focus on the positives, Peter Baker reports.

Washington Happenings:

• Mr. Obama will speak at the Planned Parenthood Gala in Washington on Friday before meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the afternoon. Later, he is scheduled to talk to business leaders who have significant interests in Mexico and Central America before his trip to Mexico and Costa Rica next week.

• In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee will hold a hearing on Islamist extremism in Chechnya at 10:30 a.m.

• The Commerce Department will announce the first-quarter gross domestic product at 8:30 a.m.

Obama Officials Hold Early Budget Talks With Republicans

Four senior White House officials, led by the chief of staff, Denis R. McDonough, met with more than a dozen Senate Republicans on Thursday about prospects for bipartisan budget discussions.

The meeting was following up on groundwork from President Obama’s two recent dinners with some of the lawmakers. But a person familiar with the meeting, who would not be identified talking about the private get-together, was quick to advise against interpreting it as a sign of progress toward a grand bargain to stabilize the debt. Instead, it was described as an early step in a long process, with an end goal of both raising tax revenues and curbing the growth of spending for Medicare and other entitlement benefit programs.

The organizer for the Republicans was Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia, who also performed that role in picking attendees for an April 10 dinner with Mr. Obama at the White House.

That dinner came a month after the first such gathering that Mr. Obama arranged in March at a restaurant a couple of blocks from the White House. The March 6 dinner opened Mr. Obama’s second-term strategy of outreach to Senate Republicans, reflecting that his legislative relations with Republican leaders in Congress had hit a wall after a tumultuous two years. Since they have refused to negotiate with him further about raising taxes on the wealthy, he has turned to Republican senators who have variously signaled openness to a tax-and-spending compromise along the lines that Mr. Obama wants.

The ultimate goal of the White House strategy is to reach a deal that would get bipartisan approval in the Democratic-controlled Senate, thereby putting pressure on the Republican-controlled House. But first there has to be a deal between the Senate and the White House. The initial report on the administration officials’ trip to the Capitol suggested that the two sides have some way to go and are only now discussing what form any substantive talks would take.

Barbara Bush on Son Jeb in 2016: ‘We’ve Had Enough Bushes’

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After having a husband and a son in the White House, Barbara Bush said she did not miss “one darn thing” about life there. And she does not want another reason to go back, even if it means depriving the country of the “best-qualified man.”

On Thursday, Mrs. Bush, the former first lady and first mom, announced on the “Today” show that she does not want her son Jeb Bush to run for president.

“He’s by far the best-qualified man, but no. I really don’t,” Mrs. Bush told Matt Lauer when asked if she wanted to see Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, make a White House bid. “I think it’s a great country, there are a lot of great families, and it’s not just four families or whatever. There are other people out there that are very qualified, and we’ve had enough Bushes.”

Since before President George W. Bush left office, the political prospects of Jeb Bush have been a constant source of speculation in Republican circles. And it seems to always be Barbara Bush and former President George H.W. Bush who put a damper on the presidential rumors.

Ahead of the 2012 presidential campaign, the elder Mr. Bush told Larry King in 2010: “I think the bottom line is, he just doesn’t want to try, doesn’t want to do it.”

(In that same interview, Mrs. Bush said of Sarah Palin, who was also thought to be considering a 2012 bid: “I sat next to her once. Thought she was beautiful. And she’s very happy in Alaska, and I hope she’ll stay there.”)

Mrs. Bush joined the wife and daughters of George W. Bush on the “Today” show ahead of the dedication ceremony for the younger Mr. Bush’s library in Dallas.

“I don’t think he’ll run,” she said of Jeb Bush. “He’ll get all our enemies, half our friends.”

However, members of Jeb Bush’s own generation in the family are expressing a different preference.

In an interview with ABC News’s Diane Sawyer that was broadcast on Thursday morning former President George W. Bush had one piece of advice for his brother: “Run!”

A $2 App That Refocuses Photos Like a $400 Lytro

Photographers have been wowed by the Lytro, a camera that can refocus a shot after you take it. But the Lytro costs $400 to $500, and that’s a lot to spend for a feature that is a bit of a novelty.

A $2 iPhone app called FocusTwist uses some software processing tricks to imitate what the Lytro does. So you can take some photos with your iPhone using FocusTwist to see if it’s worth it to buy the more sophisticated Lytro.

The way the app works is to take several shots at different focus points - dozens, said the co-creator Ahbi Shelat - and then shift between the images to create the effect.

Try it here by clicking on the part of the photo you want to be in focus:

There are some tricks to getting the most out of FocusTwist images.

First, you need to frame your photo with a foreground subject that is three to six inches away. The distant subject should fill the background. So a flower in a meadow with a mountain in the distance would be a likely candidate.

When you go to take the picture, tap your screen where you see that close subject so the software knows that is the near focus point. It will figure out the other focus points itself.

Because the camera is going to take a bunch of images, it’s best if the phone is very stationary. That means using a tripod. Joby makes a nice one. If you don’t have a tripod, brace the phone against something steady. The FocusTwist software will do what it can to take the shake out of the images.

If you get an image you like, there are a couple of ways to share it. One is to e-mail it. The email will have a link to the FocusTwist site, where you can see and manipulate the image.

Or the app can post a link to Twitter (the developers are working on the ability to post to Facebook, said Mr. Shelat). But be aware that if you share to Twitter, it’s public.

Your image may also show up on the FocusTwist gallery, which you can see on the app.

Schumer and McCain Express Optimism on Chances for Immigration Overhaul

Senators John McCain and Charles E. Schumer, who are leading a push for bipartisan immigration legislation, said Thursday that they were aiming to win 70 votes in the Senate and hoped to gain the backing of a majority of senators in both parties.

Q&A: Changing How iTunes Automatically Downloads Files

Q.

How do I stop the Apple iTunes program on my work computer from automatically downloading songs and television episodes from the season pass I bought on my home computer?

A.

The iTunes program preferences include settings that let you stop the software from regularly checking for downloads bought with your Apple ID account. You can also keep the program from automatically downloading preordered content like TV show season passes, purchased movies and newly released music.

To get to these settings in iTunes, go to the Edit menu on the Windows version (or the iTunes menu on the Mac edition) and choose Preferences. In the Preferences box, click the Store tab. Here, you can turn off the check boxes next to “Always check for available downloads” and “Download preorders when available.”

The Store tab contains other settings you can adjust. In addition to turning off Automatic Downloads for Music, Apps and Books, you can choose to automatically download album artwork for music you rip from CDs and opt to keep the playback position in sync when you watch video or listen to audio files on different devices that are all using the same Apple ID account.

If you download high-definition movies, you can choose between the 720p and 1080p resolutions for files that are available in both formats. When you have finished adjusting your iTunes Store Preferences, click OK for the changes to take effect.

The Early Word: Awkward

In Today’s Times:

Having offered up plenty of unflattering critiques of his predecessor, President Obama has to find something nice to say about George W. Bush at the opening of the latter’s presidential library in Dallas on Thursday morning, Peter Baker writes. In the afternoon before heading back to Washington, the Obamas will travel to Waco, Tex., for a memorial service at Baylor University to pay tribute to the workers who died in an explosion at a fertilizer plant in nearby West, Tex.

Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia’s efforts to soften the Republican party’s image is not going terribly smoothly in the House, where Jonathan Weisman observes that legislation the Republican majority leader hoped would achieve his goal has been ignored, greeted with yawns or fought over in his caucus.

The automatic budget cuts imposed by Congress are forcing the Federal Aviation Administration to operate like a starving airline, the agency administrator told skeptical Republicans at a hearing on Wednesday, Matthew L. Wald reports.

With support from backers and critics alike, Janet L. Yellen, the vice chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, seems to be the most plausible successor to Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the central bank, whose term ends in January 2014, Binyamin Appelbaum writes. Other potential candidates for the job, which has been held only by men, include Timothy F. Geithner, Mr. Obama’s first Treasury secretary, and Lawrence H. Summers, the president’s former economic adviser.

Authorities searching for the person who sent ricin-laced letters to President Obama; Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi; and a local judge have shifted their focus to a martial arts instructor, Campbell Robertson and Cynthia Howe report.

Around the Web:

Now that he is not running for re-election, Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, must decide what to do with the $4.8 million left in his campaign coffers, according to the Associated Press.

Happening in Washington:

Economic reports expected Thursday include weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m., followed at 10 a.m. by weekly mortgage rates.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s agenda includes a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the Naval Observatory at 8:30 a.m., then a meeting with gun safety advocates at the White House at 2 p.m.

Separate House Appropriations subcommittees will hear budget testimony from Jack Lew, the Treasury secretary; Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services secretary; and Joseph Szabo, the administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. All hearings begin at 10 a.m.

Also at 10, a subpanel of the House Committee on Homeland Security will examine counterterrorism efforts aimed at preventing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks on American soil.

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, at a 10 a.m. hearing, will take up the topic of securing the nation’s prescription drug supply chain.

At 2:30 p.m., a subpanel of the House Committee on Ways and Means will hold a hearing focused on the Internal Revenue Service and the 2013 tax return filing season.

Obama Tells Democratic Donors He’ll Keep Reaching Out to G.O.P.

DALLAS â€" President Obama vowed Wednesday night to continue trying to work with Republican lawmakers even if doing so irritates some of his Democratic supporters who think he is “a sap.”

Straddling the line between governance and politics, Mr. Obama told wealthy contributors at a Democratic fund-raiser here that their party was not the only one that cared about the troubles of the country, and he renewed his commitment to bipartisanship despite the divisions in Washington.

“Occasionally I may make some of you angry because I’m going to reach out to Republicans, and I’m going to keep on doing it,” he said. “Even if some of you think I’m a sap, I’m going to keep on doing it because that’s what I think the country needs.”

He went on to say he still would prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress, because when his party can set the agenda, “we don’t have a country where just a few are doing really well.”

The fund-raiser was held the night before the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum here, which Mr. Obama will attend. In keeping with the spirit of that event, he offered praise for Mr. Bush to an audience of Texas Democrats who have long opposed him. “Whatever our political differences, President Bush loves this country and loves its people and shares that same concern,” he said.

About 60 donors paid between $10,000 and $32,400 to attend the dinner at the home of Naomi Aberly, a Democratic bundler, and her husband, Laurence Lebowitz, a hedge fund investor. The 12,000-square-foot home, which resembles a concert hall, was valued at $10.9 million and ranked as the 41st most expensive in the Dallas area by the local D Magazine. It is about a mile from Mr. Bush’s home.

In his talk, Mr. Obama expressed sorrow about the terrorist attack in Boston and the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Tex., but said both had shown the character of the country.

He expressed pride in his record but said he had more that he wanted to accomplish. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “Unfortunately, right now Washington is not - how do I put this charitably? It’s not as functional as it should be. It could do better.”

In Israel, O’Malley Talks Jobs, Foreign Policy and, of Course, 2016

JERUSALEM - Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland said Wednesday that he would spend the second half of this year mulling whether to run for president in 2016. He seems already to have a campaign theme: jobs and innovation.

At least that’s what he insisted was the sole focus of his eight-day trip to Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, and pretty much all he wanted to talk about with a handful of reporters he had summoned to the King David Hotel for coffee. “I’m sure all of you will ask me foreign policy questions,” he said as he opened the floor. “I respect your right to ask them, and I hope you’ll respect my right to shy away from answering them.”

And so, on the news of the day â€" apparent differences between the Obama administration and the Israeli military on whether chemical weapons had been deployed by the Syrian military â€" Mr. O’Malley, a Democrat, deferred to the president’s judgment. “It’s certainly one of the great challenges,” he allowed.

Asked whether the American people, weary from a decade of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, would be ready to engage in another military operation to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Mr. O’Malley avoided specifics. “I believe that the president will make that call,” he said, “and the president will have the primary responsibility of making that case to the American people and also to Congress.”

How about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? “All of us hope for peace in the Middle East.”

Governor O’Malley, 50, said it was his third visit to Israel, and that he had brought with him about 50 high-tech executives, Jewish leaders, and Maryland officials for what is essentially a trade mission. After a side trip to Jordan in which he met with Prince Faisal - “What we spoke about was the huge challenge that the ongoing conflict in Syria has for the entire region” - much of his itinerary here is filled with companies that have offices in his home state, including one that makes radar for the vaunted Iron Dome missile defense system.

Mr. O’Malley was also set to meet with President Shimon Peres of Israel; two rising stars in Israeli politics, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, both of whom head economic ministries; and Salaam Fayyad, who resigned earlier this month as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. (Scheduling with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was still being worked out.)

“I’m hoping in discussions with him to learn,” Mr. O’Malley said of Mr. Fayyad. “That’s part of the obligation that goes along with travel.”

The visit comes two months after Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a Republican similarly put forth as a potential 2016 candidate, made headlines during his own trip here by referring to Jerusalem as its capital, a point of contention with the Palestinians. Might he face off against Governor O’Malley?

“I plan for the latter half of this year to dedicate some more thought time, reflection time, to the question of whether or not I would run,” he said Tuesday. “The key question in running for any office is having a clear and refined understanding of the shared reality we face and the better set of choices we need to make as a people to meet those challenges and to create a better future for our kids.”

For the latter half of this week, Mr. O’Malley plans to tour the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, the Western Wall and the Old City, and attend Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem with his 15-year-old son, one of four O’Malley children who attend Catholic schools, as their father did.

A reporter pointed out that on his way into Bethlehem, he would see the controversial separation barrier Israel has erected in the West Bank. Mr. O’Malley said he had seen something similar in Northern Ireland. “They call it the peace wall,” he noted.

Martian Watch Brings Wristphone Technology to Earthlings

The Martian Passport puts smartphone voice controls and a speakerphone on a wrist.

An outfit called Martian Watches has created one of the most advanced options yet to put smartphone technology on your wrist.

The three lines of Martian Watches control your Apple or Android phone through a Bluetooth connection, but with a difference â€" the device has a microphone so you can speak voice commands to your watch that your phone will carry out.

It also has a speaker, so your phone can read your texts and e-mails aloud to you through your watch.

The combination of speaker and microphone means you can also make phone calls and hear the responses through the watch, like a speakerphone.

The face of the watch has a lot going on. There is an analog clock face that runs on a watch battery, which will last an estimated two years. There is also an LED that blinks to let you know if you have a phone call or message, or if the battery is low. There is also a small OLED screen that shows you texts and e-mails in a ticker-style scroll of up to 40 characters.

The phone functions are powered by a separate rechargeable battery with an estimated two hours of talk time and seven days of standby. It is recharged through a Micro USB cable.

Toggling the two buttons on the left of the watch case lets you see the date or local weather or get to menus to change the watch’s settings.

Clever features include a “leash” that lets you know if your phone and watch are parted, so you won’t mistakenly leave one behind. A “do not disturb” feature lets you set the hours that your watch is active, so you don’t get alerts in the middle of the night or during meetings. And there is a remote shutter control for your phone’s camera.

In use, all of the features worked well, although the voice command feature has the same Achilles’ heel as the one on phones - it is often confounded by background noise. It worked more consistently in quieter places.

There are three models of Martian Watches in a variety of colors. They are priced at $250 to $300 on pre-order from Martian for delivery in about a month.

Tip of the Week: Customize the Microsoft Office Ribbon

The Ribbon â€" Microsoft’s tabbed, consolidated command bar for its Office programs â€" can be overwhelming to new users, but a little customization can make it feel more comfortable. In Office 2010 and Office 2013 for Windows, you can create a personal tab on the Ribbon and add all your favorite most-used commands to it for quicker access.

In Office 2010 and later, right-click on any tab on the Ribbon and choose “Customize the Ribbon” from the contextual menu. In the Options box, you can create your custom tab and choose the commands you want to add. Microsoft’s site has instructions (and a demonstration video) for Office 2010 users here. Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac has its own customization options, including the ability to rearrange and hide tabs.

The Early Word: Consideration

In Today’s Times

• The Securities and Exchange Commission is mulling a new rule to require publicly traded companies to disclose all of their political donations to shareholders, setting up a fight between businesses and a loose coalition advocating for greater transparency, Nicholas Confessore writes.

• The bipartisan immigration proposal under consideration in the Senate would improve national security, Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, told the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, as the bill’s architects considered ways to minimize political fallout, Ashley Parker writes.

• Democrats have one more seat to defend in 2014 if they hope to keep control of the Senate after Senator Max Baucus of Montana announced that he would retire after 36 years in the chamber, Jonathan Weisman reports.

• Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee worry that the handling of clues about one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects indicates that communication barriers between intelligence agencies, which they sought to break down after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, are being rebuilt, Eric Schmitt and Julia Preston write.

Happenings in Washington

• Economic reports expected Wednesday include durable goods for March and weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m., followed at 10 a.m. by weekly mortgage rates.

• Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew and Michael P. Huerta, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, will discuss President Obama’s budget proposal before separate House Appropriations subcommittees.

• At 10 a.m., Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, will testify about the president’s budget proposal at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. At a separate hearing, Ray Mabus, the Navy secretary; Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, the chief of naval operations; and Gen. James F. Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps, will testify on the budget proposal.

• At 10:30 a.m., the Joint Economic Committee will begin hearings to examine long-term unemployment, focusing on consequences and solutions.

• At 2 p.m., Ashley Campbell will testify on behalf of her father, the country music singer Glen Campbell, at a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging on a national plan to address Alzheimer’s disease.

• Mr. Obama will meet with Mr. Lew and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. at 3:30 p.m. before traveling to Dallas for a fund-raiser and the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

The Early Word: Consideration

In Today’s Times

• The Securities and Exchange Commission is mulling a new rule to require publicly traded companies to disclose all of their political donations to shareholders, setting up a fight between businesses and a loose coalition advocating for greater transparency, Nicholas Confessore writes.

• The bipartisan immigration proposal under consideration in the Senate would improve national security, Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, told the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, as the bill’s architects considered ways to minimize political fallout, Ashley Parker writes.

• Democrats have one more seat to defend in 2014 if they hope to keep control of the Senate after Senator Max Baucus of Montana announced that he would retire after 36 years in the chamber, Jonathan Weisman reports.

• Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee worry that the handling of clues about one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects indicates that communication barriers between intelligence agencies, which they sought to break down after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, are being rebuilt, Eric Schmitt and Julia Preston write.

Happenings in Washington

• Economic reports expected Wednesday include durable goods for March and weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m., followed at 10 a.m. by weekly mortgage rates.

• Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew and Michael P. Huerta, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, will discuss President Obama’s budget proposal before separate House Appropriations subcommittees.

• At 10 a.m., Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, will testify about the president’s budget proposal at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. At a separate hearing, Ray Mabus, the Navy secretary; Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, the chief of naval operations; and Gen. James F. Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps, will testify on the budget proposal.

• At 10:30 a.m., the Joint Economic Committee will begin hearings to examine long-term unemployment, focusing on consequences and solutions.

• At 2 p.m., Ashley Campbell will testify on behalf of her father, the country music singer Glen Campbell, at a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging on a national plan to address Alzheimer’s disease.

• Mr. Obama will meet with Mr. Lew and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. at 3:30 p.m. before traveling to Dallas for a fund-raiser and the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

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Women of the Senate Are Obama’s Latest Dinner Guests

The informal caucus of women in the Senate â€" now a record 20 strong â€" will take its monthly bipartisan dinner tradition on Tuesday night to the White House, where they will meet with President Obama to discuss budget issues and other legislative matters.

The monthly dinners, a ritual organized by the longest-serving female senator, Barbara Mikulski, Democrat of Maryland, are intended to create personal and policy bonds across party lines among the women, a minority in the history of the Senate since its inception. The meals are strictly off the record â€" and except for the occasional detail about a lobster roll, they largely stay that way â€" and are generally held at a senator’s home or on Capitol Hill. (Once Few, Women Hold More Power in Senate, March 21, 2013)

While traveling this year aboard Air Force One with Mr. Obama, Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, told the president about the dinners, she said, and the two cooked up the idea to do one at the White House. While a final R.S.V.P. list will be distributed by the White House later Tuesday, 18 senators were expected to attend. The conversation likely will be wide ranging, several senators said, but with a focus on the budget.

“I have always thought that the women of the Senate who have come together on issues before,” said Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, “could come together on budget and fiscal issues. If the leaders of the committees of jurisdiction were unable to come up with a solution,” she added, perhaps the group of women, who occasionally form a collation on bills, might.

The dinner is one of a series that Mr. Obama has hosted, some exclusively with Republicans, to try and build some relations across party lines and on Capitol Hill generally, where he has often been criticized as failing to try and lure lawmakers with his agenda.

It is likely that the subject of failed gun safety legislation last week will come up; most of the women who are attending voted for the compromise, although some Republicans and one Democrat, Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, did not. “It was a tough vote, but it was a rational vote,” said Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, one of two vulnerable Democrats who voted for a measure to expand background checks for gun buyers. “I’d be happy to see any president any time he wants to talk about the issues important to the people of Louisiana,” Ms. Landrieu said, smiling.

Senator Deb Fischer, Republican of Nebraska, said she expected the format to be similar to one she attended recently for Republicans at the White House, in which lawmakers volley out their issues for Mr. Obama to respond to. “He’s a really good listener,” Ms. Fischer said. “He’s responsive.”

Hacked A.P. Twitter Feed Sends Erroneous Message About Explosions at White House

The Twitter account for the Associated Press was hacked on Tuesday and erroneously sent out a tweet saying there had been explosions at the White House, injuring President Obama.

Within a few minutes, Twitter suspended the account and Julie Pace, the chief White House correspondent for the A.P. announced at the White House briefing that the account had been hacked.

Jay Carney, Mr. Obama’s press secretary, confirmed that the president was unharmed.

Editors at the A.P. soon followed with a statement saying that “The (at)AP twitter account has been hacked. The tweet about an attack at the White House is false. We will advise more as soon as possible.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 130 points when the news broke on Twitter â€" an indicator of traders’ presence on the social media platform â€" before immediately recouping the losses after it became clear that there had been no incident at the White House.

The A.P. typically uses Social Flow, a social media tool, to distribute tweets. But in this case, the attackers tweeted directly from the Web, according to the meta data associated with the Tweet.

In the past few days, the A.P. discovered that malware had infected some of its company computers, according to an AP spokeswoman. Hackers can use malware to gain a foothold inside a company’s computer network and from there, can gain access to a company’s usernames and passwords to e-mail, administrative and social media accounts.

This is the third high-profile account to be hacked in recent months. In February, Burger King’s Twitter account was hacked, the company’s logo was replaced by a McDonald’s logo and rogue announcements began to appear. A day later the Twitter account for Jeep was also attacked.

But the attackers used the A.P.’s Twitter account for more nefarious means. Within seconds, the erroneous A.P. headline about explosions at the White House had spread all over Twitter and been retweeted hundreds of times.

The incident, and hacking episodes before it, continue to raise questions about the security of social media passwords and the ease of access to brand-name accounts. Logging on to Twitter is the same process for a company as it is for a consumer, requiring just a user name and one password.

Twitter has tried to take an active role in ridding malicious content from its platform. It has manual and automatic controls in place to identify malicious content and fake accounts, and last year the company sued those responsible for five of the most-used spamming tools on the site.

But preventing hacking and identifying fake accounts continues to be more art than science. Security researchers estimate that as many as 20 million Twitter accounts on the platform are fakes, and real accounts continue to be catnip for hackers.

Republicans Object to Reid’s Call for Budget Negotiating Committee

WASHINGTON â€" For nearly two years, Congressional Republicans made the Senate’s failure to pass a budget plan “Exhibit A” in their indictment of what they called the Democrats’ manifest failure to grapple with the government’s fiscal misfortunes.

On Tuesday morning, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, tried to turn that argument on its head.

Mr. Reid took to the Senate floor to formally call for a “conference” â€" a joint House-Senate negotiating committee â€" to resolve the differences between the budgets passed in March by the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate. Only with a negotiated agreement between the two chambers can Washington’s running budget wars be resolved in a bipartisan fashion through “regular order” â€" that is, following the usual rules of Congress.

Speaking for his party, Senator Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, stood sheepishly to object to Mr. Reid’s request.

“Without a single Republican vote in the affirmative, after giving the Republicans what they said they wanted, regular order, countless votes and passage of a budget resolution, a strange thing happened: House Republicans did a complete 180,” Mr. Reid fumed. “They flipped. They’re no longer interested in regular order.”

On Thursday, Speaker John A. Boehner said the House has every intention to try to negotiate a comprehensive budget deal, but Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Budget Committee, first wants to see how close he can get through direct talks with Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, his counterpart in the Senate. This is standard procedure, since once a conference is formally called, negotiators have a limited time to cut a deal before the talks break down and the minority party can force votes on an alternative budget plan. In 2009, the Democratic House passed a budget March 13 but did not appoint conferees until May 14.

“It is ‘regular order’ for the budget chairs to agree to a framework before conferees are named, and Chairman Ryan and Senator Murray are having those conversations,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner. “It is difficult to see what Senator Reid’s stunt today will do to help if Senate Democrats don’t even agree we need to balance the budget in the first place.”

In truth, the prospects of a negotiated settlement between Ms. Murray and Mr. Ryan are slim. The House and Senate budgets are far apart in policies and numbers. President Obama has set his sights on Senate Republicans, hoping to forge a bipartisan majority around a budget deal that includes changes to entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security and new revenues. If such a deal could be reached, the White House believes an isolated House Republican leadership could be forced to the negotiating table. Without it, Republicans will have little incentive to drop their opposition to any more tax increases.

Follow Jonathan Weisman on Twitter at @jonathanweisman.