Todayâs Times
- The dispute over the White Houseâs account of the September assault on an American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, flared up on Friday, with a disclosure of e-mails showing the White House was more deeply involved in revising talking points about the attack than officials previously acknowledged, Mark Landler reports. Disclosure of the e-mails had the White House scrambling to provide an explanation and insisting that the talking points were not modified for political reasons.
- President Obama came out swinging in defense of his health care plan on Friday, saying he was committed to delivering its benefits on schedule, Robert Pear and Peter Baker report. The president made a moral case for universal health insurance coverage. âThe United States of America does not sentence its people to suffering just because they donât make enough to buy insurance on the private market, just because their work doesnât provide health insurance, just because they fall sick or suffer an accident,â he said.
- A federal judge gave an unusually harsh critique of the Obama administration this week, saying that its efforts to block easier distribution of the morning-after emergency contraceptive pill was driven by raw politics - not scientific evidence, Michael D. Shear reports.
- The Internal Revenue Service apologized to Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations on Friday for overzealous audits of their applications for tax-exempt status, Jonathan Weisman reports. The agency admitted to singling out nonprofit applicants with the terms âTea Partyâ or âpatriotsâ in their titles.
- A bipartisan group in the House of Representatives has been meeting on and off for four years to create an immigration bill, but with comprehensive legislation already being debated by the Senate, the House group is quickly losing its chance to shape the outcome, Ashley Parker writes.
Weekly Addresses
- President Obama called homeownership a cornerstone of the American Dream in this weekâs address, promoting his housing plan that âhas already helped more than two million people refinance their mortgages.â He also reflected on last weekâs nomination of Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, saying that Mr. Wattâs experience in protecting consumers from dishonest mortgage lenders should make Congress confirm him right away. âAnd they shouldnât stop there,â he said. âOur economy and our housing market are poised for progress - but we could do so much more if we worked together.â
- Representative Martha Roby of Alabama delivered this weekâs Republican address after her Working Families Flexibility Act passed in the House. The bill, she said, âwill remove an outdated and unnecessary restriction on private sector employees accruing comp time, or paid time off, in exchange for overtime.â It is aimed at providing working parents with more âoptionsâ to take care of family responsibilities without changing the 40-hour workweek or how overtime pay is calculated. Ms. Roby said that âthe fact that we canât solve the big, overarching problems overnight shouldnât stop us from doing what we can right now to help make life a little easier for working moms and dads.â
 Happenings in Washington
- President Obama will honor the National Association of Police Organizationsâ 2013 âTop Copâ award winners at the White House on Saturday.