In Today’s Times:
- The defeat on Wednesday of the gun measure seeking to expand background checks can be traced to factors including a convoluted Senate rule, a failed alliance between two senators from opposite sides of the aisle, and timing, Jennifer Steinhauer writes.
- Supporters of the new Senate proposal to overhaul the immigration system are distancing themselves from comparisons to this week’s failed gun bill, pointing to broad, bipartisan backing that includes powerful business and labor groups among other examples of its strength, Ashley Parker reports.
- Helping prepare for any future threat from Iran, the Defense Department is on the cusp of finalizing a multibillion-dollar weapons deal with Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Thom Shanker reports.
- The director of national intelligence sought to explain to a Senate panel on Thursday why the nation’s intelligence agencies differ in their views on North Korea’s nuclear capability, a difference exposed when a brief assessment was mistakenly declassified, Eric Schmitt reports.
Washington Happenings:
- Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will meet with Taro Aso, deputy prime minister of Japan, at the White House on Friday.
- Secretary of State John Kerry will talk about the release of the Human Rights Report at 2 p.m., then meet with President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador at the State Department.
- Spring meetings continue at the International Monetary Fund on Friday. The Treasury secretary, Jacob J. Lew, will hold a news conference there at 5:15 p.m.
