The Hill’s 12:30 Report

by Cate Martel - 11/30/15 12:30 PM ET

The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Buh-bye, ‘Rodham’ | This actually happened in N.H. | Post-holiday endorsement rush | Tom Brady terrorizes his kids

LAWMAKERS’ VERY BIG HOLIDAY LIST: Both the House and the Senate are back in session for at least a couple weeks and have an end-of-the-year dash to tackle some of the most heated policy fights. Here’s what they have on tap:

– Highway funding: The short-term highway funding bill will expire this Friday. That means Congress has to pass a long-term funding bill this week to avoid a shutdown of federal highway funding.

{mosads}– Reconciliation: Republicans want to repeal parts of ObamaCare and fast track it to the Senate. But not all Senate Republicans agree on the bill. Do they have 51 votes to pass it?

– Syrian refugees: Republicans in the House passed a bill to halt Syrian refugees entering the U.S., but it will face a tougher path through the upper chamber.

– Government funding: The debate over Syrian refugees is getting muddled in the funding fight. If Congress doesn’t agree on a way to fund the government by Dec. 11, the government will shut down. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) sent a letter warning his GOP colleagues to back the Republican conference for the funding fight.

More details on Congress’s big month from The Hill’s Jordain Carney: http://bit.ly/1NDHqcE

Welcome back from the holiday! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of what you missed this morning — and what’s on tap for the rest of the day. Send tips, gripes, comments and quotes from your favorite holiday movies (i.e. Elf and only Elf) to cmartel@digital-staging.thehill.com and @CateMartel.

BUH-BYE, RODHAM: The Associated Press has changed its style from Hillary Rodham Clinton to Hillary Clinton. It’s new. It’s chic. It’s relatable. (It’s what the campaign coined when she announced her candidacy.) http://bit.ly/1RgGP0f

– National Journal’s @ron_fournier: As one who helped @AP put the Rodham in Clinton years ago, I find this consistent. @AP heeds personal preference http://bit.ly/1lUtDSI

OBAMA’S TAKING IN THE GREEN TODAY: Via The Hill’s Devin Henry, President Obama has joined world leaders in Paris for the first two days of the United Nations climate conference, where he urged diplomats to reach a landmark climate change deal. http://bit.ly/1jtCYPC

JEB’S TEAM — I TAKE IT BACK. I DON’T LIKE RUBIO! Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) were once friends, in a Jeb-mentoring-Marco kinda way. But now duking it out for the GOP nomination, their relationship has soured. The same day Mitt Romney bowed out of the 2016 race, a bundler being courted by Jeb said, “They’re going after Rubio next. It’s like whack-a-mole.” Read more from the excerpt of BuzzFeed’s McKay Coppins’s forthcoming book: http://bzfd.it/1Nl7UNY

YANKING THE NSA’S REINS — BEGAN YESTERDAY: Via The Hill’s Katie Bo Williams, as of yesterday, the National Security Agency can no longer collect phone data in bulk. Why? Obama shut down the controversial surveillance program in June. What this means: Authorities can now only obtain records “specifically identified” in connection with a threat. http://bit.ly/1IiUfGX

BEHIND THE SCENES OF CHRISTIE’S COURTSHIP: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s enormous effort in New Hampshire has paid a big political dividend when the New Hampshire Union Leader endorsed him. The New York Times’s Michael Barbaro has a fun behind-the-scenes piece of courting New Hampshire leadership.

– “Mr. Christie, a dedicated but playful texter who seems to prefer the medium’s blunt brevity to endless phone conversations, has showered Ms. Sytek with messages.” http://nyti.ms/1OzBxu8

POST-HOLIDAY ENDORSEMENT RUSH: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has endorsed Rubio for president. It has also been a big day for N.H. endorsements: Well-known business leaders Dan and Renee Plummer have endorsed Chris Christie for president and former vice chairman of the N.H. Republican Party Ken Merrifield has endorsed Rubio’s presidential bid.

NOTE TO DC JOURNALISTS TRAVELING TO N.H. — BRING YOUR PASSPORT (AND A MAP): At a New Hampshire restaurant this weekend (that shall remain unnamed), I handed the college-age waitress my D.C. license. After briefly examining it, she handed it back explaining she couldn’t accept licenses from other countries including … Wait for it … Colombia (which is spelled differently than the District of Columbia, natch). Are you kidding? Looking noticeably baffled by her answer, the only response I could muster was a desperate plea: “But it’s our nation’s capital?!” I insisted the District of Columbia is in the U.S. but she shot back at me, confident and unmoved: “If that were true, it would say Washington, D.C.” Sigh.

– She then took my ID back and brought it to her manager — and returned totally mortified that the District of Columbia was, in fact, Washington, D.C. “The Florida school system has failed me,” she muttered. Head smack.

IT’S THE LONG-SHOT SHOW — err… “SNL”: While watching a “Saturday Night Live” rerun on an NBC N.H.-affiliate this past weekend (exciting Saturday night, I know), the commercials were almost entirely presidential campaign ads for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), GOP Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore (R) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R).

– Why: This wasn’t random. NBC granted equal airtime to candidates (who applied) for the airtime Donald Trump received hosting “SNL.” In the hour-and-a-half show, I counted 15 ads for the four long-shot candidates. I should also mention that the ads that played for each candidate didn’t vary at all.

TWITTER CATCH-UP:

Time’s Zeke Miller
Trump press conference [today] with African-American ministers is now “closed to press and therefore no media credentials will be provided.” http://bit.ly/1Pmn8Vm

The Wall Street Journal’s Byron Tau
Intro music at JJ dinner [in Manchester, N.H.] so far:
O’Malley: “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” – Dropkick Murphies
Sanders: “Rockin’ In The Free World” – Neil Young
Clinton: “Roar” – Katy Perry http://bit.ly/1MQjjnB

CNN’s Dan Merica
@CassieSpodak observed a male voter in NH tell O’Malley he should be VP. His response: “I’d love to be.” http://bit.ly/1YCqo0d

ON TAP

12 p.m. EST: Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) holds a news conference to unveil a Government Waste Report. Live stream: http://bit.ly/1NkffgE

5:30 p.m. EST: The Senate will vote to confirm Gayle Smith, nominee for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

5:30 p.m. EST: Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution Rogerio Studart speaks at George Washington University on Finance, Infrastructure and Development in Brazil. More info: http://bit.ly/21nGYmN

6:30 p.m. EST: The House votes.

6:30 p.m. EST: Women Senators for Hillary hold an endorsement event at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C. Featured senators include Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). More info: http://bit.ly/1MQ0dxS

6:30 p.m. EST: CNN Commentator and host of BET News Dr. Marc Lamont Hill speaks at the University of Pennsylvania about ending mass incarceration. Details: http://bit.ly/1OzPaJA

7:30 p.m. EST: Donald Trump holds a rally in Macon, Ga. Details: http://bit.ly/1NWXZKU

7:30 p.m. EST: Obama attends a working dinner with French President François Hollande.

9 a.m.-4 p.m. EST tomorrow: The Cato Institute holds a conference on policing in America. Featured speakers include U.S. Department of Justice’s Ronald L. Davis, The Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery and ACLU’s Vicki Gaubeca. Full speaker list: http://bit.ly/1OoXVYN; Live stream: http://bit.ly/1l12y04

11 a.m. EST tomorrow: Clinton will speak at the National Bar Association’s 60th Anniversary tribute to Rosa Parks.

WHAT TO WATCH:

5 p.m. EST: Before heading to the Women Senators for Hillary event, Boxer’s scheduled to join Steve Kornacki on MNSBC’s “MTP Daily” to discuss Planned Parenthood.

10 p.m. EST: Vicki Cowart, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, joins MSNBC’s “The Last Word.”

Now for the fun stuff…

BRADY DRESSES UP AS A TURKEY AND TERRIFIES HIS KIDS: Tom Brady is either doing the parenting thing correctly … or horribly. I’m sure my football allegiances are clouding my opinion, but I think it’s hilarious. http://huff.to/1TmcIDL

Today is National Mousse Day! Could we possibly have any room left in our tummies for dessert following the Thanksgiving eat-a-thon? Why yes, yes there is.

GRONK UPDATE: Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots might only miss one game after his injury last night against the Denver Broncos. http://bit.ly/1NiH04W

And with that, here’s the most heart-warming story of a goat that was meant to be tiger food, but instead has become best friends with the ferocious feline. Yes, yes, there’s a video 🙂 http://nbcnews.to/1LHLC3u

Tomorrow. Same time. Same place.

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This newsletter was updated at 1:22 p.m.