Sunday Breakfast Menu, May 12

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

As scrutiny of the September attacks on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, intensifies, Representative Darrell Issa of California, chairman of the House oversight committee, and Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee, will join NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Also on the program will be Thomas R. Pickering, the former ambassador who led an independent review of what happened in Benghazi, discussing whether the Obama administration engaged in a political cover-up.

Mr. Pickering will also appear on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” which will feature an interview with Robert M. Gates, the former defense secretary. Senator Kelly Ayotte, Republican of New Hampshire and a member of the Armed Services Committee, and Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, will also talk about Benghazi, as well as the civil war in Syria and the prevalence of sexual assault in the military.

Two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee â€" John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island â€" will appear on ABC’s “This Week” to share their thoughts on Benghazi and Syria. Gen. James E. Cartwright, former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will also weigh in as part of the program’s foreign policy panel.

Later, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York; Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference; Representative Linda T. Sanchez, Democrat of California; and Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, Republican of Washington, will participate in a discussion on ABC about mothers on Capitol Hill.

CNN’s “State of the Union” has an interview about Benghazi with Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine. Also, two members of Congress who are also female combat veterans â€" Representative Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, and Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Democrat of Hawaii â€" will share their views on sexual assault in the military.

Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan, chairman of the intelligence committee, and Representative Adam Smith of Washington, ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, will talk about the week’s developments on the Benghazi investigation on “Fox News Sunday.”

Fox also has an exclusive interview with Representative-elect Mark Sanford, Republican of South Carolina, about his victory in last week’s special election.

Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, will join Univision’s “Al Punto” at 10 a.m. Eastern to talk about his committee’s review of the so-called Gang of Eight’s immigration proposal.

Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, joined Bloomberg’s “Political Capital” on Friday to talk about the budget, gun control and the race for governor in his home state. Also on the program was Michael E. O’Hanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, weighing in on Benghazi. Repeats of the program air throughout the weekend.

On Bloomberg’s “Capitol Gains” at noon Eastern, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, minority whip, will share his thoughts on the budget and immigration reform.

And Representative Mac Thornberry of Texas, vice chairman of the Armed Services Committee, is on C-Span’s “Newsmakers,” talking about a wide range of defense issues.

Obama Honors ‘Top Cops’ in White House Ceremony

Three weeks after praising Massachusetts law enforcement officials for their handling of the manhunt tied to the Boston Marathon bombings, President Obama honored more than 40 officers from across the country named by their peers as this year’s Top Cops.

Recalling the Watertown, Mass., residents who emerged from their homes to cheer for the officers after the capture of the surviving suspect, Mr. Obama said the attacks had been another reminder of the courage of police officers and other first responders.

“We don’t always get that opportunity to stand and applaud the men and women who keep us safe,” he said, standing in front of the honorees in the East Room of the White House. “But they’re out there, hundreds of thousands of you, patrolling our streets every single day. And we know that when we need you most, you’ll be ready to dash into danger, to protect our lives even if it means putting your lives on the line.”

With some senators trying to resuscitate the failed effort to overhaul the nation’s gun laws, Mr. Obama challenged Washington to learn from the officers, calling for “common-sense steps” to make it harder for criminals to get deadly weapons.

“You set an example, because if Top Cops can risk their lives to do their jobs, the rest of us should just be able to summon some tiny fraction of courage and the same sense of responsibility,” he said.

Since 1994, the National Association of Police Organizations has awarded its Top Cops designation each year to law enforcement officers nominated by their colleagues for their noteworthy service.

This year’s recipients included Lt. Brian Murphy, who was shot multiple times after being the first officer to respond to the shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin last August, and seven other officers from the Oak Creek, Wis., police department. Other winners came from departments including Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Houston.

In an animated moment, Mr. Obama recounted how Ivan Marcano, a detective with the New York Police Department, intervened in an attack on a cabdriver when he was out with his girlfriend. With his left hand on his chest and his right hand miming a gun, Mr. Obama demonstrated how Mr. Marcano pursued the gunmen even after Mr. Marcano had been shot.

Laughing, Mr. Obama asked Mr. Marcano’s girlfriend â€" a slightly embarrassed-looking woman in a pink dress, sitting in the back of the audience â€" to stand for a round of applause.

“She deserves a really nice dinner after putting her through that,” Mr. Obama said to Mr. Marcano.

The Weekend Word: Revelations

Today’s Times

• The dispute over the White House’s 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. “The United States of America does not sentence its people to suffering just because they don’t make enough to buy insurance on the private market, just because their work doesn’t provide health insurance, just because they fall sick or suffer an accident,” 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 “Tea Party” or “patriots” 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 week’s address, promoting his housing plan that “has already helped more than two million people refinance their mortgages.” He also reflected on last week’s nomination of Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, saying that Mr. Watt’s experience in protecting consumers from dishonest mortgage lenders should make Congress confirm him right away. “And they shouldn’t stop there,” he said. “Our economy and our housing market are poised for progress - but we could do so much more if we worked together.”

• Representative Martha Roby of Alabama delivered this week’s Republican address after her Working Families Flexibility Act passed in the House. The bill, she said, “will remove an outdated and unnecessary restriction on private sector employees accruing comp time, or paid time off, in exchange for overtime.” It is aimed at providing working parents with more “options” to take care of family responsibilities without changing the 40-hour workweek or how overtime pay is calculated. Ms. Roby said that “the fact that we can’t solve the big, overarching problems overnight shouldn’t stop us from doing what we can right now to help make life a little easier for working moms and dads.”

 Happenings in Washington

• President Obama will honor the National Association of Police Organizations‘ 2013 “Top Cop” award winners at the White House on Saturday.