The Hill’s 12:30 Report

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The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Huge ObamaCare vote today | Latest on California shooting | Ryan’s mic-drop moment | Reese Witherspoon hosts Christmas tree lighting at the White House

 

OBAMACARE NAIL-BITER: Senate Republicans are voting to repeal parts of ObamaCare at 1:30 p.m. today, but it’s still unclear if they have the 51 votes they need. It will be very close.  What this means: While significant, this bill will be vetoed by the president if it reaches his desk.  Why it’s significant: The House has voted 56 times to repeal all or part of ObamaCare, but those efforts have then died in the Senate. The Hill’s Alexander Bolton has more details: http://bit.ly/1OIlJp0

{mosads}JUST RELEASED — CHRISTIE ON THE RISE: Public Policy Polling’s latest New Hampshire survey has Donald Trump leading, with 27 percent support. That’s unchanged compared to six weeks ago. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is second, at 13 percent, with 11 percent for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), 10 percent for Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.), 9 percent for former surgeon Ben Carson, 8 percent for Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio), 6 percent for businesswoman Carly Fiorina, 5 percent for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and 4 percent for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). 

Biggest takeaway: Momentum is growing in Christie’s favor. Just in mid-October, he was in ninth place, at 3 percent. Now he’s moved up to fourth place, polling in the double-digits. Also to note: the poll was conducted Nov. 30–Dec . 2. Christie received the New Hampshire Union Leader’s big endorsement on Nov. 28.  Full results: http://bit.ly/1TnnWqV

 

It’s Thursday! 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 story ideas, comments, complaints and happy hour suggestions to cmartel@digital-staging.thehill.com and @CateMartel. 

 

BREAKING – NEW OPENINGS FOR WOMEN IN COMBAT: Defense Secretary Ash Carter is announcing the opening of all combat jobs to women, according to The Associated Press. Context: In 2013, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the ban on women serving in combat jobs but gave the military branches until 2016 to request exceptions. http://bit.ly/1HIplYE

WHAT TO WATCH FOR TONIGHT: Via The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Scott Wong, Democrats are expected to deliver their counteroffer to Republicans tonight to fund the government. http://bit.ly/1HHYbkC

WHAT WE KNOW IN THE SAN BERNARDINO SHOOTING: Here’s a quick rundown of what happened yesterday in a mass shooting in the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif. 

– The shooting happened at an office party; at least 14 people died and 17 were wounded

– Authorities say Syed Farook left the party in anger and returned with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, toting weapons and tactical gear.

– Three explosives were found at the shooting site and weren’t disposed of until late in the evening.

– Farook and Malik were later killed in a shooting with police. They have a 6-month-old daughter whom was left with Farook’s mother. 

– A third person is in custody, but that person’s role in the shooting, if any, isn’t known.

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW: 

– The motive: Police haven’t ruled out terrorism.

– Identities of the victims. 

NPR’s Camila Domonoske has a good roundup of the shooting: http://n.pr/1LQXVKW

President Obama said the shooting is possibly related to terrorism, but authorities still are not sure of the reason behind the attack. “It is possible this was terrorist-related, but we don’t know,” Obama said Thursday in a rare statement from the Oval Office. “It’s also possible this was workplace-related.” http://bit.ly/1PAhaA5

CONGRESSIONAL REACTION VIA TWITTER:

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)
How many more innocent people must be shot and killed by madmen before we do something about gun violence? http://bit.ly/21ymyrn 

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
The senseless loss of innocent life in #SanBernardino defies explanation. Our thoughts are w/ the victims & their families http://bit.ly/1MYyvPF 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
I agree w/you Cari & voted for & will vote for background check bill. I also lead domestic violence&stalker gun bill http://bit.ly/1TAgNEs

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.)
Heartbreaking news out of California. Praying for all those touched by this horrific tragedy. http://bit.ly/1IrrJmr 

Think Progress’s Igor Volsky has been on a Twitter rampage, tweeting at politicians who have accepted money from gun rights groups. http://bit.ly/1HIfkur

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.)
Our nation mourns for the #SanBernardino community. Praying for peace for the state of California and for safety for the first responders.

Volsky retweeted adding, “Got $7,450 from NRA during the 2014 election cycle to address gun violence by ‘praying for peace’” http://bit.ly/1XC84ap

KOCH WORLD HAS #SPIES4HILLARY: Via The Hill’s Jonathan Swan, Hillary Clinton’s well-financed ally David Brock has a team that claims to be coordinating with moles inside the political empire of the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. http://bit.ly/1PzDY3d

RYAN’S ‘MIC DROP’ MOMENT:  During an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) dropped the microphone and said, “Oh, crap, can you hear me?” Co-host Mika Brzezinski responded, “We can totally hear you” and Joe Scarborough added, “We can hear everything.” Later, Ryan joked, “that’s about as harsh as my rhetoric gets, just so you know.” We’re all human — and Ryan handled it well. http://on.msnbc.com/1TA3Lqw 

THE AWKWARD FEUD FOLLOW-UP: Politico’s Mike Allen offers his side of the story of the flare-up with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel yesterday at an event. Allen revealed Emanuel’s planned private family vacation publicly. The gist: “Emanuel made no suggestion that he wanted this private or off the record,” said Allen. http://politi.co/1NrvX9K

A PICTURE’S WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS: So, here you go: “1,000 words” that sum up Donald Trump’s presidential campaign so far, via The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker: http://bit.ly/1Q2Qp7j

SPONTANEITY AT ITS FINEST: Via CNN’s Tal Kopan, a day before speaking to the Republican Jewish Conference, Donald Trump announced his spontaneous, unrelated, new idea to travel to … Israel. What timing! http://cnn.it/1PzLkU5

PLEASE, NO CELERY IN MY BLOODY MARY: … at least for a bit. The Food and Drug Administration expanded its recall on products containing celery because of a potential E .coli contamination. What it includes: The ban includes more than 155,000 items in grocery stores and 45,000 Starbucks holiday turkey sandwiches. Bad timing, but the Starbucks sandwich sounds good! Here are the stores and items affected: http://bit.ly/1Q1HB1x 

 

SOCIAL CATCH-UP

The Washington Post’s Paul Kane (the unveiling happened this morning)
Without a kind word to say, Dems mostly decide to skip ceremony unveiling Dick Cheney’s bust. By @jameshohmann http://bit.ly/1OIjNwA

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) (this tweet got a lot of attention for being controversial)
Your “thoughts” should be about steps to take to stop this carnage. Your “prayers” should be for forgiveness if you do nothing – again. http://bit.ly/1lypEuF

Bloomberg’s Anthony Adragna
.@tedcruz will host a hearing on climate change next week. Not exactly a balanced witness panel so far. http://bit.ly/1NIAuuV

 

ON TAP

10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. EST: The House votes, including roll calls on the transportation bill and the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act.

12:30 p.m. EST: Ryan will deliver his first major address to the Library of Congress. Live stream: http://1.usa.gov/1NHkM35 

12:30 p.m. EST: Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) are holding a briefing in the Senate Radio and TV Gallery to urge Republicans not to focus time on defunding Planned Parenthood and repealing ObamaCare. 

1:30 p.m. EST: The Senate will vote to repeal ObamaCare.

2 p.m. EST: The Republican Jewish Coalition’s presidential candidates forum in Washington continues. Still to speak: Mike Huckabee, Chris Christie, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum, Carly Fiorina and Jim Gilmore. Live stream: http://cs.pn/1QhdTnV 

Who spoke this morning: Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, George Pataki, John Kasich, Ben Carson and Donald Trump.

5 p.m. EST: Reese Witherspoon hosts the annual lighting of the National Christmas Tree on the White House Ellipse. During the ceremony, President Obama will illuminate the tree. Details: http://bit.ly/1TxcU30 

6:30 p.m. EST: Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) holds a town hall on the presidential campaign trail in Salem, N.H. 

7:30 p.m. EST: Marco Rubio is holding a fundraising reception in New York. 

Tonight: C. Boyden Gray is hosting a major fundraiser for Jeb Bush at his home in Washington, D.C. The fundraiser, which Gray said would be one of Bush’s largest D.C. fundraisers since he formally launched his presidential bid, is hoping to help fill the campaign’s “deplete coffers.” http://politi.co/1PzzJV2

 

WHAT TO WATCH:

1 p.m. EST: San Bernardino pastor Sherman Dumas, Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Moms Demand Action’s Shannon Watts join MSNBC.

2 p.m. EST: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Richard Martinez, father of UCSB shooting victim Chris Martinez are scheduled to appear on MSNBC.

7 p.m. EST: Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie join Greta Van Susteren on Fox News.

 

Now for the fun stuff …

DUNKIN’ IS DELIVERING!: Dunkin’ Donuts has started delivering in Washington from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. http://bit.ly/1YKII7p

Today is National Peppermint Latte Day! Can’t! Contain! My! Excitement!

BEST BOOKS OF 2015: The New York Times has selected its list of the 10 best books in 2015. No. 1: “The Door”,  No. 2: “A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories,” No. 3: “Outline,” No. 4: “The Sellout” … Full list here: http://nyti.ms/1PzCeab

And with that, here are a bride and groom who left their wedding reception to go to a hockey game … in her wedding dress … eating a burger. It’s great. http://bit.ly/1Tm8MSD

 

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