In Today's Times:
- Speaker John A. Boehner's latest attempts to avert a year-end fiscal crisis came to an abrupt halt Thursday after House Republicans refused to back his fallback plan to allow taxes to rise on the most affluent households, representing an embarrassing setback for Mr. Boehner, Jonathan Weisman reports.
- Because of gaps in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's database of criminal and mental health records, thousands of people who should be barred from being able to purchase firearms are slipping through the cracks, Michael S. Schmidt and Charlie Savage report.
- In the wake of the school shooting in Connecticut, David Keene, the head of the National Rifle Association, is expected to fight back against efforts to restrict gun rights in the group's first press conference since the massacre, Eric Lichtblau reports.
- Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the leading candidate to become the next secretary of state, said Thursday that the United States should take another look at how the military might play a greater role in protecting diplomats abroad after the September attacks in Benghazi, Libya, Eric Schmitt and Michael R. Gordon report.
Washington Happenings:
- President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will speak at the funeral of Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii in Washington on F riday.
- The N.R.A. is scheduled to hold a press conference at 10:45 a.m. Friday on last week's shootings.
