In Today’s Times:
- Unexpectedly lending a hand to advance President Obama’s plan to insure more Americans, some Republican governors are yielding to prodding from the health care industry and consumer advocates and moving to expand Medicaid in their states, Abby Goodnough and Robert Pear report.
- Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, is hoping her new book will do more than sell; she wants it to prompt a national discussion about women in the workplace and talk about how to help them achieve career success, Jodi Kantor reports.
- Airports and airlines are bracing for the federal budget cuts due to hit next week, though without certaintyabout precisely when and how the sequester’s spending reductions will affect them, Matthew L. Wald reports.
- With across-the-board spending cuts looming, the White House is confidently approaching its first major challenge of the president’s second term, working to demonstrate the consequences without becoming consumed by the battle, Jeff Zeleny and Jonathan Weisman write.
Washington Happenings:
- Mr. Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will attend the Democratic Governors Association Meeting on Friday. Later they will welcome Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to the White House.
- Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to meet with Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fumio Kishida, at the State Department.
