Centerpiece of Gun Bill Remains in Doubt

The Senate could vote as early as Tuesday on expanded background checks for gun buyers â€" a centerpiece of broad gun legislation â€" but leading lawmakers said Sunday that approval of the measure remained uncertain.

“I think it’s an open question as to whether or not we have the votes,” Senator Patrick Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, said on the CNN program “State of the Union.” Mr. Toomey is a co-author of the background-check measure. “I think it’s going to be close,” he said.

The other author of that measure, Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, said he felt that the 60 votes needed to pass the bill would turn up once his colleagues read it.

“We’re asking people to read it,” Mr. Manchin said on CNN. He said that if gun-rights groups like the National Rifle Association will not support the bill, “we just agree to disagree. But there’s things in this piece of legislation that they’ve been working for many, many years to get, and it’s here.”

The two lawmakers, both gun owners, did get a boost from Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who indicated support for their measure, which would close loopholes for gun buyers who have been able to avoid them in many cases at gun shows and through Internet sales.

“I’m very favorably disposed,” Mr. McCain said, adding: “Eighty percent of the American people want to see a better background check procedure.”

The amendment offered by Senators Toomey and Manchin is set to replace the background check provision in legislation about to hit the Senate floor, after the chamber voted 68-31 last Thursday to open debate on the legislation. It would be the first amendment to the bill, which also has provisions to create harsher penalties for the so-called straw purchasing of guns, in which people buy guns for others who are not eligible.

Subsequent amendments, dealing with mental health, a ban on assault weapons and other issues, are expected in the days ahead before a vote on the overall legislation, which could take weeks.

At least one Democrat remained hopeful on Sunday. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who was involved in crafting the components of the bill that would address gun trafficking and straw purchasing, said on the NBC program “Meet the Press” that the overall legislation represented a good compromise between pro gun-rights and pro gun control lawmakers.

“This bill will work,” she said, “and this compromise will work. Because it is making sure that you protect second amendment rights while not undermining second amendment rights by saying, criminals have to go through a background check before they can buy that weapon.”

App Smart Extra: Numbers Games

This week in App Smart, I wrote about the many apps that can teach your children to count beyond the basic “one, two, many, lots!” and that may even help them, and you, brush up on basic arithmetic.

Mathmateer is one of the more entertaining entries. It is aimed at children who already have a basic grasp of numbers, simple math, telling the time and knowing the difference between odd and even numbers. It’s 99 cents for iOS devices.

The game begins with the player building a rocket out of parts paid for from a limited pile of cash. It’s a visual drag-and-drop affair that’s easy to do, but children will probably benefit from having an adult talk them through the process. This part of the app teaches basic monetary awareness.

When the rocket is complete, you launch it on a mission. When it reaches space, the game begins. Players have to click on answers matching the specific topic of each mission, against the clock. For example, as time ticks down your child will have to click on numbers less than a hundred, or count numbers in order, or find analog clock faces showing a time that’s half past the hour.

It’s fun, if a little frenetic, and you’ll probably find that yourself exercising your own mental muscles as you supervise a youngster playing it. For that reason, the game is also fairly useful for beefing up numeracy skills even if you’re an adult.

In places, the menus aren’t particularly logical â€" for example, the app requires you to click on an “X” to progress to the next menu when an arrow would be more obvious. Sometimes the font used for text is tricky to read â€" which is also why it’s an app that probably works best under supervised use.

Baby Count 123, free on Android, is a much simpler app aimed at children just learning to count objects and identify written numbers. It has cute graphics and music that should amuse youngsters. The tasks are simple, like learning to tap and drag numbers into ascending order or count banjos or deer. The app’s menus are just complicated enough, however, that you’ll have to supervise youngsters while they use it, especially when pop-up ads appear. Sharing the app like this will definitely help with their learning experience, though the cheery sound effects may eventually grate on your nerves (you can turn them off).

For adults interested in brushing up on mental arithmetic, or to give older children some really tricky math challenges, the Math Workout app could be fun. The app has a straightforward design, with simple graphics and clear large text. It contains several types of puzzles, all against the clock. For example, the Brain Cruncher puzzle asks you to compute a sequence of instructions like “Start with 5. Add 10. Divide by 2. Add 29….” until you finally get to type in the answer.

Keeping track of which player gets the most answers right in the shortest time might help keep your children interested in learning. And you may, as I did, find it helps you improve your own mental math abilities. It’s free on Android, and there’s a $1.99 “Pro” version with more puzzles and no in-app advertisements.

These apps, with gamelike challenges, moving graphics and sound effects, bring so much to the educational experience that you may even have fun helping your child learn to count and add.

Quick call: The classic action game Duke Nukem 2 has just been released as an iOS version for $1.99 in honor of the game’s 20th anniversary. The pixelated graphics will remind you how far computer games have come since 1993.

Rubio Offers Full-Throated Support for Immigration Bill

The impending introduction of legislation to overhaul the country’s badly strained immigration system received an extraordinary send-off on Sunday from Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who, after holding back for weeks, appeared on no fewer than seven television talk shows to explain and defend a plan that he said would be “a net positive for the country, now and in the future.”

It was a striking show of confidence from Mr. Rubio, a Republican and one of eight members of a bipartisan Senate group that has been crafting a plan to provide a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants; only weeks ago he had been a voice for caution, a counterweight to the optimism being expressed by others in the group.

But on Sunday, by discussing the plan on the five major network talk shows, plus the Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Univision, he clearly was signaling that the plan was ready for public consumption and Congressional scrutiny, and that he was prepared to throw his full weight behind it - perhaps, at the same time, risking his own prospects for a widely expected presidential run in 2016.

His tone seemed to reflect those high stakes.

In each appearance he spoke with a sense of urgency, arguing that the plan did not constitute amnesty for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country; that those immigrants, while awaiting full legal citizenship only after more than a decade, would receive no federal benefits; and that the plan depended on tougher border security and better systems for verifying the employment and legal standing of people already in the country.

Mr. Rubio’s status as a Tea Party member, a prominent young Latino and a rising star in the Republican Party means his imprimatur on the legislation will carry weight. One leading Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, last week praised Mr. Rubio as “indispensable” and “a game changer.”

The timing of the plan’s formal introduction remains unclear. Mr. Rubio would say only that it would come “as early as this week.” But a Democrat on the bipartisan group, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, said that all remaining hurdles had been removed.

“I see nothing in the way,” Mr. Schumer said on the ABC program “This Week,” “and I think you’ll see a major agreement that’s balanced, that’s fair, that will have the widespread support of the American people, on Tuesday.”

The odds on ultimate passage are unsure, though with Republicans deeply concerned about attracting Latino voters â€" Mr. Obama last year won 70 percent of their votes â€" it is seen as the major element of the president’s second-term agenda that has the best prospects.

The Senate group’s push for an immigration overhaul was also being greeted on Sunday as an example of the sort of productive bipartisan cooperation that has become exceedingly rare in Washington.

“The eight of us have met in the middle, and I think that’s where the American people are,” Mr. Schumer said. He had only praise for Mr. Rubio, whom he called “a tremendous asset here.”

Even Karl Rove, the former political adviser to President George W. Bush who is known as a hard-nosed partisan strategist, welcomed the cooperation on immigration.

“The Democrats and Republicans here have tried to cobble together a bill that is thoughtful, sensitive, tough, and with an eye toward getting something done,” Mr. Rove said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Whatever the outcome, he said, it showed leadership on Mr. Rubio’s part, adding that in 2016, “I think it helps him.”

Rubio Offers Full-Throated Support for Immigration Bill

The impending introduction of legislation to overhaul the country’s badly strained immigration system received an extraordinary send-off on Sunday from Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who, after holding back for weeks, appeared on no fewer than seven television talk shows to explain and defend a plan that he said would be “a net positive for the country, now and in the future.”

It was a striking show of confidence from Mr. Rubio, a Republican and one of eight members of a bipartisan Senate group that has been crafting a plan to provide a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants; only weeks ago he had been a voice for caution, a counterweight to the optimism being expressed by others in the group.

But on Sunday, by discussing the plan on the five major network talk shows, plus the Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Univision, he clearly was signaling that the plan was ready for public consumption and Congressional scrutiny, and that he was prepared to throw his full weight behind it - perhaps, at the same time, risking his own prospects for a widely expected presidential run in 2016.

His tone seemed to reflect those high stakes.

In each appearance he spoke with a sense of urgency, arguing that the plan did not constitute amnesty for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country; that those immigrants, while awaiting full legal citizenship only after more than a decade, would receive no federal benefits; and that the plan depended on tougher border security and better systems for verifying the employment and legal standing of people already in the country.

Mr. Rubio’s status as a Tea Party member, a prominent young Latino and a rising star in the Republican Party means his imprimatur on the legislation will carry weight. One leading Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, last week praised Mr. Rubio as “indispensable” and “a game changer.”

The timing of the plan’s formal introduction remains unclear. Mr. Rubio would say only that it would come “as early as this week.” But a Democrat on the bipartisan group, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, said that all remaining hurdles had been removed.

“I see nothing in the way,” Mr. Schumer said on the ABC program “This Week,” “and I think you’ll see a major agreement that’s balanced, that’s fair, that will have the widespread support of the American people, on Tuesday.”

The odds on ultimate passage are unsure, though with Republicans deeply concerned about attracting Latino voters â€" Mr. Obama last year won 70 percent of their votes â€" it is seen as the major element of the president’s second-term agenda that has the best prospects.

The Senate group’s push for an immigration overhaul was also being greeted on Sunday as an example of the sort of productive bipartisan cooperation that has become exceedingly rare in Washington.

“The eight of us have met in the middle, and I think that’s where the American people are,” Mr. Schumer said. He had only praise for Mr. Rubio, whom he called “a tremendous asset here.”

Even Karl Rove, the former political adviser to President George W. Bush who is known as a hard-nosed partisan strategist, welcomed the cooperation on immigration.

“The Democrats and Republicans here have tried to cobble together a bill that is thoughtful, sensitive, tough, and with an eye toward getting something done,” Mr. Rove said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Whatever the outcome, he said, it showed leadership on Mr. Rubio’s part, adding that in 2016, “I think it helps him.”

Rubio Offers Full-Throated Support for Immigration Bill

The impending introduction of legislation to overhaul the country’s badly strained immigration system received an extraordinary send-off on Sunday from Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who, after holding back for weeks, appeared on no fewer than seven television talk shows to explain and defend a plan that he said would be “a net positive for the country, now and in the future.”

It was a striking show of confidence from Mr. Rubio, a Republican and one of eight members of a bipartisan Senate group that has been crafting a plan to provide a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants; only weeks ago he had been a voice for caution, a counterweight to the optimism being expressed by others in the group.

But on Sunday, by discussing the plan on the five major network talk shows, plus the Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Univision, he clearly was signaling that the plan was ready for public consumption and Congressional scrutiny, and that he was prepared to throw his full weight behind it - perhaps, at the same time, risking his own prospects for a widely expected presidential run in 2016.

His tone seemed to reflect those high stakes.

In each appearance he spoke with a sense of urgency, arguing that the plan did not constitute amnesty for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country; that those immigrants, while awaiting full legal citizenship only after more than a decade, would receive no federal benefits; and that the plan depended on tougher border security and better systems for verifying the employment and legal standing of people already in the country.

Mr. Rubio’s status as a Tea Party member, a prominent young Latino and a rising star in the Republican Party means his imprimatur on the legislation will carry weight. One leading Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, last week praised Mr. Rubio as “indispensable” and “a game changer.”

The timing of the plan’s formal introduction remains unclear. Mr. Rubio would say only that it would come “as early as this week.” But a Democrat on the bipartisan group, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, said that all remaining hurdles had been removed.

“I see nothing in the way,” Mr. Schumer said on the ABC program “This Week,” “and I think you’ll see a major agreement that’s balanced, that’s fair, that will have the widespread support of the American people, on Tuesday.”

The odds on ultimate passage are unsure, though with Republicans deeply concerned about attracting Latino voters â€" Mr. Obama last year won 70 percent of their votes â€" it is seen as the major element of the president’s second-term agenda that has the best prospects.

The Senate group’s push for an immigration overhaul was also being greeted on Sunday as an example of the sort of productive bipartisan cooperation that has become exceedingly rare in Washington.

“The eight of us have met in the middle, and I think that’s where the American people are,” Mr. Schumer said. He had only praise for Mr. Rubio, whom he called “a tremendous asset here.”

Even Karl Rove, the former political adviser to President George W. Bush who is known as a hard-nosed partisan strategist, welcomed the cooperation on immigration.

“The Democrats and Republicans here have tried to cobble together a bill that is thoughtful, sensitive, tough, and with an eye toward getting something done,” Mr. Rove said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Whatever the outcome, he said, it showed leadership on Mr. Rubio’s part, adding that in 2016, “I think it helps him.”

Carson, a Hope of Conservatives, Declines Speech After Furor

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Dr. Benjamin Carson at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland last month.

Dr. Benjamin Carson, a Johns Hopkins University neurosurgeon who has emerged as a rising star in conservative political circles, has canceled plans to appear as the graduation speaker at the university's medical school after a furor over his provocative remarks about same-sex marriage.

Dr. Carson drew a rebuke from the medical school's dean, Paul B. Rothman, after the doctor appeared on Fox News's “The Sean Hannity Show” and likened homosexuals to members of the North American Man/Boy Love Association, or Nambla, a group that advocates for pedophiles.

“Marriage is between a man and a woman,” Dr. Carson said on the program. “No group, be they gays, be they Nambla, be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn't matter what they are - they don't get to change the definition.”

In an e-mail Wednesday to the medical school's dean, Dr. Carson said he did not want his presence to detract from the graduation.

“Given all the national media surrounding my statements as to my belief in traditional marriage, I believe it would be in the best interests of the students for me to voluntarily withdraw as your commencement speaker this year,” Dr. Carson said in his e-mail. “My presence is likely to distract from the true celebratory nature of the day. Commencement is about the students and their successes, and it is not about me.”

In the e-mail, Dr. Carson took a not-so-subtle potshot at his critics.

“Someday in the future, it is my hope and prayer that the emphasis on political correctness will decrease and we will start emphasizing rational discussion of differences so we can actually resolve problems and chart a course that is inclusive of everyone,” he wrote.

After his controversial remarks on Fox News, Dr. Carson apologized, but students at the medical school still petitioned for his removal as speaker.

Dr. Carson became something of a darling among many conservatives after a February speech in which he assailed President Obama's health care overhaul and higher taxes on the wealthy, warning that “the P.C. police are out in force at all times.” His address, and the reception accorded it, stirred speculation that Dr. Carson, who is black, could be a palatable alternative for conservatives in the 2016 presidential election.

 

Latest Updates on the Gun Debate

Two senators announce a bipartisan compromise on background checks. Michelle Obama wades into the gun debate. Newtown families urge Republican senators to vote instead of filibuster.

10:43 P.M. Proposed Gun Bill Violates Constitution, N.R.A. Says

A proposed bill to greatly expand background checks on gun buyers that appears set to come up for debate in the Senate contains provisions that “would unfairly infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners,” the National Rifle Association said in a letter sent to senators on Wednesday.

The letter, signed by Chris W. Cox, the head of the N.R.A.'s Institute for Legislative Action, singled out as “misguided” a compromise measure on background checks put forward by Senators Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, and Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania.

That measure, which is meant to broaden the appeal of the overall gun-control bill currently under discussion, would include fewer gun buyers in the newly expanded background checks, but provide for record keeping that would allow law enforcement agencies to track guns used in crimes. It would not cover sales between family members and neighbors as Democrats had wanted.

“As we have noted previously, expanding background checks, at gun shows or elsewhere, will not reduce violent crime or keep our kids safe in their schools,” the statement said. “Given the importance of these issues, votes on all anti-gun amendments or proposals will be considered in N.R.A.'s future candidate evaluations.”

The statement called on senators to replace the current provisions with ones “focused on addressing mental health inadequacies; prosecuting violent criminals; and keeping our kids safe in their schools.”

- Michael Schwirtz

7:05 P.M. Michelle Obama: ‘Hadiya Pendleton Was Me'

Michelle Obama stepped into the national debate over guncontrol on Wednesday, speaking before hundreds of business leaders in Chicago and issuing a deeply personal, at times emotional, message about violence.

“Right now my husband is fighting as hard as he can and engaging as many people as he can to pass common-sense reforms to protect our children from gun violence,” Mrs. Obama said. “And these reforms deserve a vote in Congress.”

But Mrs. Obama focused mainly on efforts outside the political sphere to stem violence that has troubled cities like Chicago. She urged the business leaders, who hope to raise $50 million in private funds aimed mainly at helping at-risk youth, to take a serious role in efforts to mentor youths, to create after-school programs and to encourage neighborhood coalitions.

Mrs. Obama spoke of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old high school student who was fatally shot not far from the Obamas' Chicago home and whose funeral she had attended in February.

“As I visited with the Pendleton family at Hadiya's funeral, I couldn't get over how familiar they felt to me,” said Mrs. Obama, who grew up in Chicago. “Because what I realized was Hadiya's family was just like my family. Hadiya Pendleton was me. And I was her. But I got to grow up. And go to Princeton and Harvard Law School and have a career and a family and the most blessed life I could ever imagine.”

Welcoming home @FLOTUS http://t.co/yR1czaUEsT who spoke from #Chicago's heart today. (full video) http://t.co/cUZ2QyNPeF

- ChicagoMayorsOffice (@ChicagosMayor) 10 Apr 13

Mrs. Obama spoke of Chicago's neighborhoods â€" and the deep divide between the city's gleaming downtown and some of its troubled neighborhoods on the South and West Sides. She reminded the 800 business leaders gathered in a downtown hotel that some city youths may only imagine downtown from the distant skyline because they are instead “consumed with watching their backs” in their neighborhoods.

She also visited students at Harper High, a South Side school in a neighborhood where violence has been prevalent.

Last year, more than 500 homicides occurred in Chicago, many of them shootings and involving young black men. Killings dropped significantly in the first quarter of 2013, compared to a year ago.

Still, many in Chicago remain focused on questions of violence and young people, and $33 million has been raised in recent months by the private sector to help.

“This is my passion,” Mrs. Obama told the group that included Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Garry McCarthy, the city's police superintendent; and other political leaders. “It is my mission and for me, this is personal.”

Again and again, Mrs. Obama spoke of Ms. Pendleton, who had performed during events at President Obama's inauguration just days before her death.

“Hadiya's family did everything right,” Mrs. Obama said. “But she still didn't have a chance. And that story â€" the story of Hadiya's life and death â€" we read that story day after day, month after month, year after year, in this city and around this country.

“So I'm not talking about something that's happening in a war zone halfway around the world. I am talking about what's happening in the city that we call home, the city where we're raising our kids, the city where your businesses operate.”

- Monica Davey

2:36 P.M. Live Video: Names of Gun Victims Read Aloud

The names of victims of gun violence area are read aloud in Washington, D.C.

On the day before the Senate is expected to take up stricter gun measures, gun control advocates read aloud the the names of the 3,000 people killed by guns since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

1:05 P.M. Bloomberg Praises Agreement on Guns

Michael R. Bloomberg of New York and Thomas M. Menino of Boston, the co-chairmen of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, issued statements after the announcement of a bipartisan Senate agreement on background checks, thanking Senators Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, and Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, for their determination to find common ground that both Democrats and Republicans can support.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City:

Over the last few months, Americans across the country and in both parties have demanded that those in Washington take commonsense steps to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the seriously mentally ill. Today, Senators Manchin and Toomey have forged a bipartisan compromise agreement to extend background checks to cover commercial gun sales, including online and at gun shows. In addition, the bill preserves the same record-keeping practices of the past 40 years that have helped law enforcement solve crimes. I want to thank Senators Manchin and Toomey for their determination to find common ground on a bill that Democrats and Republicans can fully support. This bill will not only help keep guns out of the wrong hands â€" it will help save lives and keep our communities safe. Our bipartisan coalition of more than 900 mayors strongly supports this bill and looks forward to working with other leaders, including Senators Schumer and Kirk who have worked tirelessly on thi s issue, to do all we can to ensure its passage.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston:

Today's announcement of a bipartisan Senate agreement to require background checks for virtually all commercial gun sales shows that, even in an age of Washington gridlock, both parties can work together to reform our gun laws in a way that makes sense and keeps Americans safe. I applaud Senators Toomey and Manchin for putting forth a commonsense bill that will help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. We've seen far too many American lives lost over the years â€" now is the time for the rest of Congress to stand with the American people and pass sensible gun reform for the sake of our neighborhoods, our families, and our children.

12:18 P.M. Cuomo Criticizes Senate Deal on Background Checks

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who pushed New York to become the first state to enact strict new gun laws after the Newtown, Conn., massacre, on Wednesday called the bipartisan deal in the Senate to expand background checks for gun buyers “better than nothing, but it's only better than nothing.”

“We're not talking about a significant package of gun control anymore,” Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, said. “We lost that in the discussion along the way, and it's a shame, because I don't believe there's going to be a moment where people will be more cognizant of the danger and more unified.”

Mr. Cuomo said in an interview on a public radio program, “The Capitol Pressroom,” that the absence of a broader agreement on gun control was “a damning commentary on this Congress, and the extremists in the Congress.”

“It's just unbelievable that this Congress is going to fundamentally fail to act on a societal scourge that the majority of the people in this country support,” Mr. Cuomo said. “The majority of Americans want reasonable gun control - gun owners also. And this is a Congress that is captive of the extremists, and there's no clearer proof than this.”

The negative appraisal by Mr. Cuomo, a possible presidential candidate in 2016, was notable in part because he has persistently refrained from commenting on national politics as governor. His comments on Wednesday were among his most critical in recent memory.

Mr. Cuomo said he did not blame President Obama for the lack of broader legislation on gun control. “I think what happened is the White House has had to recalibrate, given the recalcitrance of the Congress,” Mr. Cuomo said.

- Thomas Kaplan

12:12 P.M. Michelle Obama Travels to Chicago

The first lady, Michelle Obama, is scheduled to speak at a conference on youth violence in Chicago, a city that finds itself laboring to stem a flood of gun crime.

12:12 P.M. N.R.A. Responds to Agreement on Gun Measure

#NRA rejects deal on background checks â€" http://t.co/u3UeDKOKhr (via @TheHill)

- NRA News (@NRANews) 10 Apr 13

The National Rifle Association said in a statement Wednesday that “expanding background checks to gun shows will not prevent the next shooting.” The statement was issued shortly after Senators Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, and Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, announced an agreement on a bill that would expand background checks to gun purchases made at gun shows and over the Internet:

Expanding background checks at gun shows will not prevent the next shooting, will not solve violent crime and will not keep our kids safe in schools. While the overwhelming rejection of President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg's “universal” background check agenda is a positive development, we have a broken mental health system that is not going to be fixed with more background checks at gun shows. The sad truth is that no background check would have prevented the tragedy in Newtown, Aurora or Tucson. We need a serious and meaningful solution that addresses crime in cities like Chicago, addresses mental health deficiencies, while at the same time protecting the rights of those of us who are not a danger to anyone. President Obama should be as committed to dealing with the gang problem that is tormenting honest people in his hometown as he is to blaming law-abiding gun owners for the acts of psychopathic murderers.

10:58 A.M. Video: Senators Announce Bipartisan Gun Agreement

Senators Manchin and Toomey describe bipartisan agreement.

Senators Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, and Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, announced Wednesday an agreement on a bill that would expand background checks to gun purchases made at gun shows and over the Internet.

Emphasizing that the agreement would not infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners, the senators said they were hopeful their agreement would replace the bill that is expected to be considered on the Senate floor Thursday, as my colleague Jennifer Steinhauer reports.

“Pennsylvania has a long bipartisan tradition of supporting gun rights,” Mr. Toomey said. “I am a gun owner, and the rights that are enshrined in the Second Amendment are important to me personally.”

He said that extending criminal and mental health background checks now required for gun purchases at gun stores to gun shows and online sales made sense. “I don't consider criminal background checks as gun control,” he said. “I think it is common sense.”

When asked by a reporter whether he now worried his support for background checks would cost him his A-rating with the National Rifle Association, Senator Toomey replied: “What matters to me is doing the right thing. I think that this is the right thing.”

Mr. Manchin said that he spoke with friends who are gun rights advocates in his state and that he did not run into major objections to the plan.

Both senators also called for the creation of a commission to examine the culture of violence and school security efforts in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 children and 6 educators dead.

What's next?

10:07 A.M. Bipartisan Agreement on Background Checks

As our colleagues Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weisman report, an announcement is expected late Wednesday morning on a bipartisan compromise to expand background checks for gun buyers.

Senators Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, and Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, said that they had agreed on a measure that would most likely replace the current bill.

The Washington Post has published this graphic showing where members of Congress stand on gun issues.

Republican Effort to Unpack the Court

Liberals are tearing into a Republican plan to reduce the number of judges on the country's most important appeals court, calling it a political ploy to keep President Obama from making the court less conservative.

The plan, drafted by Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and supported by at least a half-dozen other Republicans, would prevent Mr. Obama from filling three of the four vacant seats on the court, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Currently, four of the court's full-time judges are Republican appointees and three are Democratic appointees. There are supposed to be 11 full-time judges.

If the president's current nominee for one of those vacancies, Sri Srinivasan, a top official in the solicitor general's office, is confirmed, the Republican-Democrat balance on the court would be even.

And that is where the Republican plan would have the court remain.

“There is more than one way to pack a court to suit one's ideological preferences,” said Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice, a liberal nonprofit group. “Now that they are facing increasing pressure to stop blocking President Obama's nominees, Republicans have come up with a new plan: just get rid of the vacancies.”

Mr. Grassley has blamed Mr. Obama for waiting so long to fill the court's vacant seats - since he took office in 2009, he has nominated only two people, one of whom went down in a Republican-led filibuster. Mr. Grassley argued that the court could do without those seats because it had a lighter workload than other circuit courts.

“It is an efficient allocation of resources,” Mr. Grassley said of his bill during Mr. Srinivasan's confirmation hearing on Wednesday. “It saves taxpayer dollars. And it will be a significant step towards addressing the severe imbalance in the workloads between some of these circuits.”

There would still be three vacancies even if Mr. Srinivasan is confirmed. Mr. Grassley's bill would redistribute two of those seats to other circuit courts, the Second and 11th Circuits, and eliminate the third seat.

The Early Word: Budget

In Today's Times:

What does it mean to be “a progressive Democrat in the age of austerity”? Jackie Calmes writes that it's the debate President Obama set off Wednesday with his budget proposal for 2014, in which he puts cost-saving changes to Medicare and Social Security - signature Democratic entitlement programs - on the table with demands for concessions from Republicans on taxes and spending. The president had dinner with a group of Senate Republicans on Wednesday night to press his case on the budget, gun control and immigration.

A Democratic senator has reached a deal with a Republican colleague that will allow the full Senate to begin considering legislation requiring background checks for gun purchases, Jennifer Steinhauer writes in explaining the deal, how it came together and the outlook in the Senate.

As advocates for an overhaul of immigration laws rallied on Capitol Hill and around the country, an evenly split bipartisan group of eight senators announced a legislative deal on Wednesday. Julia Preston and Ashley Parker explain a central tenet of the proposed bill  that would link a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants to enforcement goals for border control.

The nomination process for Sri Srinivasan to serve on the powerful federal appeals court in Washington is going much smoother than it did for Caitlin Halligan, who withdrew from consideration in March. Jeremy W. Peters reports that Mr. Srinivasan appears headed toward easy confirmation after he breezed through a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday, despite differences between Democrats and Republicans over using the filibuster on judicial nominees.

The Postal Service is blaming Congress for forcing the agency to shelve plans to cut mail delivery to six days a week from five, a move it said was necessary to cut costs, Emmarie Huetteman writes.

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.

President Obama's schedule includes a meeting with members of the Financial Services Forum at 11 a.m. at the White House and a conference call focused on youth summer employment at 12:05 p.m. He will award the Medal of Honor to Capt. Emil J. Kapaun, an Army chaplain, in an East Room ceremony at 2:10 p.m., before meeting with Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations, at 2:55 p.m.

At 9:30 a.m., the House Armed Services Committee will hear testimony on the defense budget for 2014 and beyond from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen.  Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The House intelligence committee will conduct a hearing at 10 a.m. focused on worldwide threats with Mr. Hagel, James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence; John O. Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency;  Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; and Robert Mueller, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will take up Gina McCarthy's nomination to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency at 10:30 a.m.

The roster of administration officials testifying on Capitol Hill about the president's budget proposal include Treasury secretary Jacob J. Lew ( at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.); Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano (10 a.m.); Education secretary Arne Duncan (10 a.m.); Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan (10 a.m.); and Jeffrey Zients, the acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (2 p.m.).

Tracking Hastert Rule Violations in the House

In a largely unnoticed vote on Tuesday, the House passed legislation without the support of a majority of Republicans, the fourth time in 2013 that the so-called “Hastert Rule” was broken by the majority party.

Named for the former House speaker, J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois, the “rule” is more of an informal guideline in which the majority party typically does not bring bills to the House floor unless they have the support of more than half of the majority party's lawmakers. Such votes are fairly rare: the most recent vote was the 36th time it has happened since 1991, according to a tally by The New York Times.

Tuesday's vote was on a bill authorizing the acquisition of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields under a federal program to preserve historical sites. The bill, sponsored by Representative Rush D. Holt, Democrat of New Jersey, was debated under suspension of the rules, which means that a two-thirds majority was required for passage. Behind the support of 182 Democrats and 101 Republicans, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, the bill achieved the necessary majority by 13 votes. One hundred and twenty-two Republicans voted against the bill, which the conservative group Heritage Action urged lawmakers to oppose.

The four bills passed over the objections of a majority of Republicans this year are the most since 2008, when the House approved three bills without the support of a Democratic majority. The practice attracts debate among political scientists and other observers of the House leadership and the role of the minority party in passing legislation.

Here is a list of votes that broke the Hastert Rule back to 1991.

New Interior Secretary Is Sworn In

Sally Jewell officially became the 51st interior secretary on Friday, taking the oath at noon from retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in the Supreme Court's West Conference Room, one of two formal ceremonial conference rooms at the court.

Ms. Jewell was sworn in on a family Bible, which was held by Hilary Tompkins, a member of the Navajo Nation and the first American Indian to hold the position of interior solicitor.

Ms. Jewell, the former chief executive of Recreation Equipment Incorporated in Seattle, succeeds Ken Salazar, a former Democratic senator from Colorado who led the department from the first days of the Obama administration. Mr. Salazar is returning to his home state to practice law and, perhaps, resume his political career.

Ms. Jewell, 57, takes over an agency with more than 70,000 employees and responsibility for 20 percent of the nation's territory.

She was born in England but has lived most of her life in the Pacific Northwest, where she was known as an indefatigable climber, hiker, biker and kayaker. She worked as a petroleum engineer and banker before joining REI in 2000. She became chief executive in 2005.

The Senate approved her nomination on Wednesday on a vote of 87 to 11.

At the Interior Department, she will face a number of short-term challenges, including issuing long-awaited regulations on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for natural gas on public lands. She also will decide on several pending endangered species issues and on the future of offshore drilling in the Alaskan Arctic and elsewhere.

She starts her new job on Monday.

Q&A: Cleaning Up Outdated Gmail Contacts

Q.

How can I get rid of old e-mail contact information? Gmail keeps offering these as suggested addresses every time I text or e-mail my family and friends, long after they've stopped using those accounts.

A.

Each time you reply to or forward a message, Gmail automatically creates a new contact for those addresses that are not already in your Contacts list. While helpful in some situations, this feature can lead to outdated or unneeded entries that pile up quickly as suggested addresses for new messages.

To delete the unwanted addresses from the Contacts list, log into your Gmail account. Click the triangle next to the word “Gmail” on the left side of the page and select Contacts from the menu. (You can also go right to the Contacts page at google.com/contacts.)

When you land on the Contact Manager page, select the entries you want to delete from the list by turning on the checkboxes next to the names. Once you have the outdated addresses selected, click the More button at the top of the list and choose Delete Contacts from the menu. Google has more information about managing contacts (including removing them from Google Plus and from contact groups) on its site.

Tip of the Week: Keeping Web Browsers in Sync

Keeping the open browser tabs on a computer in sync with the browser on a mobile device can save a lot of time and e-mailing when you are on the go and need to keep working. The Google Chrome browser can keep tabs in sync between its desktop and Android mobile versions when all the devices are signed into the same Chrome account. Google's site has detailed instructions. (Mozilla has a similar Firefox Sync feature for computers and other devices that can run its Firefox browser; information on using Firefox Sync can be found here.)

On the Mac side, Apple's OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) system can synchronize tabs with the Safari browser on the computer and mobile devices (the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone) running iOS 6. To keep tabs in sync, you must also have an iCloud account; Apple's site has steps for setting up iCloud Tabs. To see browser tabs open on the mobile devices from the computer, click the iCloud Tabs button in the Safari toolbar. With Safari on an iOS device, tap the Bookmarks icon, then tap iCloud Tabs to see a list of open browser tabs on all the computers and gadgets logged into that iCloud account.

A version of this article appeared in print on 04/04/2013, on page B11 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Tip Of The Week.

Q&A: Moving On From the Windows 8 Preview

Q.

I had the Windows 8 preview software running on an old computer that I don't use all that much, but lately it has been nagging me to upgrade to the full version and rebooting all the time. What can I do to make these messages go away?

A.

Microsoft's free previews of Windows 8 were never meant to last forever, and these work-in-progress editions expired a few months ago - well after the official version of Windows 8 went on sale on Oct. 26, 2012. To provide motivation to upgrade, the expired preview version will not work properly, reboots every hour or two and strongly suggests that you buy the finished version of the system.

If you liked what you saw with Windows 8 and want to keep it, you can buy the official release and install it on the computer. The standard Windows 8 upgrade costs about $120 and the upgrade to the more full-featured Windows 8 Pro is about $200. (Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows has an article on upgrading to Windows 8 from the preview version that may be helpful.)

If you did not particularly care for Windows 8 or do not want to buy it, going back to the computer's previous operating system is another option. Unless you installed the Windows 8 preview software on a separate hard-drive partition (and kept your old system in place on another partition) or have a full backup of the old system on hand, be prepared to dig up the system recovery discs that came with the computer and do a clean installation of the older system. As Microsoft states on the Windows 8 Release Preview page, “To go back to your previous version of Windows, you'll need to reinstall it from the recovery or installation media that came with your PC; typically DVD media.”

If you have your original system installation discs or a copy of Windows from a previous upgrade, you can install the software over the Windows 8 preview; once it is installed, you will also need to download and install all the Windows Update patches for that system as well, since you are basically starting over from scratch. If you do not have any earlier versions of Windows, you can still buy a new copy of Windows 7 from various places around the Web. Once you have the system software you want to use, install the older operating system on the computer to replace the Windows 8 preview software. You should save backup copies of important files before you do, and plan to reinstall the other programs you use with Windows.

If you do not want to spend any money, do not have any Windows discs and still want to get some use out of the computer, you can install a copy of the Linux operating system on the old PC. Although Windows programs will not run on Linux without additional software like Wine, distributions like Ubuntu Linux and Linux Mint are proving to be popular alternative operating systems.

Q&A: Respecting Copyright on YouTube

Q.

What happens if I use a copyrighted song as background music for a home video I want to upload to YouTube?

A.

YouTube has various tools for protecting copyrighted material, but what happens depends on the music and who owns it. If no one lays a claim to the audio, your video is unlikely to be affected, but YouTube uses software called Content ID that scans uploaded videos and compares them to a database of music and video files supplied by copyright holders (often large entertainment companies) who own the rights to those recordings. The “content owner” here can decide in advance what to do if a match comes up between a user's uploaded video and a song on file in the Content ID database.

The actions may vary by country and licensing laws, but a video that gets flagged by the Content ID system could be muted or blocked outright. Some content owners may opt for a “Track” setting that does not interfere with the video's visibility or playback on YouTube, but does send them viewership statistics. Content owners can also choose a “Monetize” option that sticks ads on the video that generate payments.

If a video you upload trips the Content ID system, YouTube notifies you in the Copyright Notices area of your account. In some cases, it might be possible to remove the restricted song from the video (or replace it with another tune), as the site explains here.

In addition to Content ID database matches, YouTube also responds to specific removal requests from copyright holders. If you have used a legally protected piece of music or video in your clip and YouTube removes it after completing the request, the site slaps your account with a “copyright strike.” Getting a copyright strike may cause you to lose some YouTube perks like the ability to upload videos longer than 15 minutes. Deleting the clip does not remove the strike against your account. As in baseball, if you get three strikes, you are out - of YouTube, anyway. The site suspends your account and deletes your uploaded videos.

If you just get one strike, you can restore your good account standing after six months with no further violations and a trip through YouTube's Copyright School tutorial. The site has a frequently-asked-questions page about its approach to copyright issues and a help guide to copyright and rights management that may be useful for more information on the topic.

App Smart Extra: More Point-and-Click Adventure Games to Try

My App Smart column this week was about point-and-click adventure games. These apps build on a long tradition of computer-based adventures. Great graphics and touch screens on today's tablets and smartphones make these games much more fun to play than before. The idea is that you interact with items in the game's various scenes by tapping on the graphics, solving puzzles as the game's story progresses.

For super-simple click-adventure fun, Mystery Lighthouse 2 and Spooky Manor are big favorites of mine. These games have very basic but charming graphics, and while the puzzles are tricky in some places, there aren't too many of them and they're very satisfying to solve. This makes these games, which are light-hearted in tone, great for spare moments for adults, as well as for playing with younger children. Mystery Lighthouse 2 is $1 on iOS and Android, as is Spooky Manor (iOS, Android).

Far stranger than these simple games is the surreal app Year Walk, which costs $4 on iOS. The story is set in mysterious woods and has unique graphics that look like an animated painting. Its puzzles are cryptic and complex, and the app is designed to not give you too many hints or even overly complex controls. It's beautiful if confusing to play, but it's worth sticking with it until you appreciate its look and feel. Occasionally, the app's interface doesn't work how you'd expect it to. For example you may find yourself, like I did, tapping or swiping on a part of the game's images to move in a particular direction, only to find the app requires you tap on the opposite side of the screen to make that move.

The Room, a $2 iOS app uses more complex 3-D graphics for a very different look and feel from Year Walk, but it's equally surreal. Whereas Year Walk is about roaming a strange landscape, the Room is more about interacting with complicated puzzle objects - all of which are activated with taps or gesture-swipes on the screen. It's more of a brain teaser app, and it will take you a long time to work out some of the puzzles.

The Lost City, a $1 Android app, is another point-and-click adventure game that comes with impressive graphics - its imagery looks just like paintings. The plot has you lost in the jungle, needing to solve puzzles in the Lost City to escape. This app also has great sound effects and music. Its one problem is that you wish there were more of the game to play when you finish it.

Perhaps the most famous point-and-click adventure game is Myst, which was converted from its original Mac edition into a $4.99 iOS version some time ago. It's an amazing game full of tricky puzzles and wonderful graphics. The storyline is compelling too. But stay away from this app if you don't like spending hours deeply absorbed in game playing. Keep away too if you're quickly irritated by seemingly impenetrable logic puzzles because some of the ones in Myst really are strange. It's also a big app, with the download taking up over 500 MB on your device, which may be a problem for some users.

Happy adventuring!

Quick call: Evernote, the popular note-taking and list-making app, has just been updated to version 3 for Windows Phone. It's a major overhaul, bringing several new features to the app, along with a new home page that's designed to be easier to use.

A Headphone That\'s an Oldie but a Goodie

You'd think newer always means better. Especially for headphones, where it seems a new model is minted every hour.

But doing some research a few months ago, I spoke to a Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, Jim Anderson, who recommended an age-old headphone, the Sony MDR-7506.

The 22-year-old Sony MDR-7506 headphones remain a favorite of audio pros.

The MDR-7506 has been sold for two decades as a headphone for studio professionals. These “cans” are a common sight at mixing boards because of their balanced sound, portability and modest price. So I tried a pair.

First thing, they are an over-the-ear closed design. That means padded cups isolate you from outside sound. That can be good for you and for seatmates in planes, trains and automobiles. The drawback is they can get hot during prolonged listening â€" the kind you are apt to do in planes, trains and automobiles.

I found them a good fit over my smallish ears and lightweight enough to wear an hour or so before my lobes cried out for a break.

The sound is nicely balanced, lacking the thudding bass of many popular headphones, although some electric bass sounded a bit muddy. Some say the higher tones are harsh. I didn't think so except on the crunchy guitar licks of Joe Bonamassa's version of “Jockey Full of Bourbon.” Not a dealbreaker.

Even though these are full-size headphones, they fold in on themselves to reduce size by about half. Too large for a pocket, but easy to stow in a backpack or messenger bag.

The price is $80 online. A “consumer” version of the headphone, the MDR-V6 is $68 online. The specifications are somewhat different, and you miss out on niceties like gold plated plugs, but the consensus is that they sound nearly identical.

For at-home listening, I still give a slight edge to the $100 on-ear Grado SR80i headphones, which I find more comfortable and to have better soundstage â€" a sort of audio 3-D effect that makes individual instruments seem to come from different spots in a room. But for travel, I might go with the MDR-7506.

Q&A: Requesting Refunds From Google Play

Q.

Does the Google Play store offer refunds for apps I buy on my Android phone?

A.

The Google Play store does provide full refunds for apps that you have purchased, with a couple of conditions. First, you must make your refund request within 15 minutes of buying and downloading the app; when you buy new software, check it out immediately to make sure it works properly and that you have no issues with it.

If you discover problems with the app after the 15-minute return period has passed, you might try contacting Google or the app's developer, although this sort of direct approach may not always work. Developer information is typically listed on the app's page in the Google Play store.

Google's second condition for getting a refund from the store is that you can only return an app once. If you buy the same program a second time, you cannot return it.

To request a refund for an app you have purchased on your phone within the 15-minute window for returns, open the Google Play store app, choose Menu and select My Apps. Select the app in question and tap the Refund button to start the process. Google's site has more information on requesting app refunds.

A version of this article appeared in print on 04/11/2013, on page B12 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Requesting Refunds From Google Play.

A Scale That Measures Your Heart

The Quantified Self movement, which advocates measuring and tracking physiological data, has a new tool. A Withings scale not only measures your weight when you stand on it, but also your heart rate, and it sends the findings to a personal Web page and your phone.

The scale, the Withings WS-50 Smart Body Analyzer, connects by Bluetooth to Android and Apple phones through an app, as well as connecting to the Web by Wi-Fi to send your results to a Withings Web page called a dashboard. That allows you to track fluctuations over time.

The scale also calculates your body mass index. And it has a CO2 monitor, to give you indoor air quality. Elevated CO2 can raise your heart rate and affect sleep quality.

The data from your scale can be shared with other apps, and other devices can share with the Withings app. If you are using a BodyMedia monitor, your activity and sleep data can be linked to the Withings dashboard.

It connects with other devices as well, like Withings's own blood pressure monitor and some popular apps like the exercise tracker RunKeeper.

If you don't want to get all of those extra tracking devices, some of the data, like blood pressure, can be typed in manually. Withings doesn't track your food intake, but will send its data to sites that do, like Daily Burn.

In a test, using the scale was a little complicated. For instance, when someone else stepped on it, the scale stopped recognizing me. It took quite a few steps to get reconnected. When reconnected, at first it wouldn't record my heart rate (when it finally did, I was so exasperated my ticker rate was abnormally high). When it did read my heart rate again, at first it didn't send it to the phone, and then later it did.

The Smart Body Analyzer is available online for $150.

A version of this article appeared in print on 04/11/2013, on page B12 of the NewYork edition with the headline: A Tool to Measure Your Physiological Well-Being.