The Hill’s 12:30 Report

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The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Feinstein announces reelection bid |  Trump praises Pence for leaving NFL game | Pence’s NFL game travel costs  |  Sen. Corker’s feud with Trump  |  New Apple emojis

LATE THIS MORNING — FEINSTEIN ANNOUNCES HER RUN FOR REELECTION: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced that she is running for reelection. Her Twitter announcement: “I am running for reelection to the Senate. Lots more to do: ending gun violence, combating climate change, access to healthcare. I’m all in!” Why this is newsy: Feinstein, who is 84, has been tightlipped for months over whether she would seek a fifth term. http://bit.ly/2wJkZwh 

Tidbit about the announcement: Feinstein posted the announcement on her Twitter account, which she hasn’t used since 2013. Via NBC’s Frank Thorp V, “And even though this is the 1st tweet since 2013 from an unverified account, a Feinstein [spokesperson] confirms this is legit.” http://bit.ly/2yaCUPq 

It’s Monday — and it’s Columbus Day. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@digital-staging.thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook.

NEW REPORT — WE’RE IN THE FINAL MONTHS OF THE YEAR AND THE HEADLINES STILL INVOLVE DIRT ON CLINTON. THIS IS 2017…: Via CNN’s Pamela Brown and Jeremy Herb, “An attorney for the Russian billionaire who allegedly pushed for the June 2016 meeting between senior members of Trump’s team and a Russian lawyer says he has documents showing the meeting wasn’t really about dirt on Hillary Clinton.” The big takeaway here: It shows how the participants plan to explain why the meeting with Donald Trump Jr. did not amount to collusion. http://cnn.it/2yUfUBT 

THIS A.M. — NORTH KOREAN TWITTER-PLOMACY: In a tweet this morning, President Trump criticized the United States’ handling of North Korea in the past 25 years. In his words: “Our country has been unsuccessfully dealing with North Korea for 25 years, giving billions of dollars & getting nothing. Policy didn’t work!” What sparked his tweet: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday dubbed his country’s nuclear weapons program a “powerful deterrent” that guarantees its sovereignty.  http://bit.ly/2wIZ60d 

IT FEELS LIKE WE’RE PUBLICLY WATCHING AN UGLY DIVORCE SETTLEMENT: Retiring Sen. Bob Corker’s (R-Tenn.) feud with President Trump escalated yesterday with personal insults hurled at each other yesterday. Fun lil’ tidbit: Trump and Corker once considered running on the same presidential ticket. http://bit.ly/2kzxc5b The gist:

The straw that broke the camel’s back: Trump posted a series of tweets including, “Senator Bob Corker ‘begged’ me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said ‘NO’ and he dropped out (said he could not win without…..my endorsement).” 

Corker quickly fired back — this line is getting traction: “It’s a shame the White House has become an adult day care center,” he said. “Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.” Ouch. 

So Trump fired back: He blamed the Iran nuclear deal on Corker. 

Then last night, in an interview with The New York Times: Corker said that “President Trump was treating his office like ‘a reality show,’ with reckless threats toward other countries that could set the nation ‘on the path to World War III.’” Full NYT interview:  http://nyti.ms/2xtywri 

PROTESTING THE PROTEST AS A PROTEST TO THE PROTESTERS: …try saying that five times fast 😉 Anyway, over the weekend, Vice President Pence left an Indianapolis Colts game after several San Francisco 49ers kneeled during the national anthem. He then posted his reasoning on Twitter. “I left today’s Colts game because President Trump and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.” Full statement: http://bit.ly/2y3dLqP 

The gist of how that played —> http://bit.ly/2xswNqX

Spontaneous or planned: From The New York Times: “Some criticized Mr. Pence’s walkout as transparently premeditated. The vice president did not take a pool reporter traveling with him into the stadium; a member of Mr. Pence’s staff told the reporter, Vaughn Hillyard, that the vice president might be leaving the game early.” http://nyti.ms/2z98aNn 

The price tag: The total cost of the vice president’s trip is about $242,500. http://cnn.it/2goQWDZ 

THIS AM — Trump praised him: The president tweeted, “The trip by @VP Pence was long planned. He is receiving great praise for leaving game after the players showed such disrespect for country!” http://bit.ly/2y6nme0 

THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS — PUERTO RICO AID: Via The Hill’s Cristina Marcos, the House will consider a disaster aid package in the coming days after weeks of calls to boost federal help for Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. What else is happening in the House this week: http://bit.ly/2hZdWgk 

OP-ED ON THE COLUMBUS DEBATE: In an op-ed for The Hill, former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, co-author for their book, “Killing England,” argue why “Christopher Columbus was not a villain and does not deserve the vilification the PC police are heaping upon him.  Every person on the planet has done bad things but it is the totality of a human being that should be the litmus test.” Full op-ed in The Hill: http://bit.ly/2fYbORZ 

IN LOCAL NEWS — LET THE ‘MARYLAND VS. VIRGINIA’ ARGUMENTS BEGIN!: Via Washingtonian’s Elaina Plott, former President Obama has joined a second golf club in the Washington, D.C. area. Which one: Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The club he already joined: Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. http://bit.ly/2yaxqVh 

TALKED ABOUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA — HOW TODAY’S HOLIDAY IS SHIFTING: Via CNN’s Holly Yan, “At least 16 states, including Alaska, Hawaii and Oregon, don’t recognize Columbus Day as a public holiday. Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis and Austin, Texas, have chosen to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day on the second Monday in October.” http://cnn.it/2ya71XK 

NOTABLE TWEETS:

Business Insider’s Emily Cohn

Stephen Miller once jumped into a girls’ track meet to prove men are stronger than women… [the White House] didn’t deny it. Full story: http://bit.ly/2xsRPpm 

Comfortably Smug (oooof.) 

My God this really is the worst timeline http://bit.ly/2yTnvAz 

ON TAP:

The House is out today and the Senate is out this week. President Trump has no public events on his schedule.

4:25 p.m. EDT: Vice President Pence and second lady Karen Pence participate in a political reception in Santa Ana, Calif. They then travel to Sacramento, Calif.

8:45 p.m. EDT: Vice President Pence and the second lady participate in a tax reform event in Sacramento, followed by a political reception. 

Tuesday: The Pittsburgh Penguins visit the White House to celebrate their Stanley Cup championship.

Noon Tuesday: The House returns. 

Next Monday: “The next Senate vote is confirmation of Callista Gingrich to be Ambassador to the Holy See.” http://bit.ly/2ySof9m 

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF…:

Today is National Pizza and Beer Day.

APPLE, GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT! WE (WELL, AT LEAST SEN. ANGUS KING AND I) WANT A LOBSTER: Via New York Magazine, here are the 56 new emojis coming in the next iPhone update. http://slct.al/2wIuTOs 

REMEMBER HOW I TOLD YOU MCDONALDS WAS BRINGING BACK A SPECIAL SAUCE FOR ONE DAY?: Well, via Business Insider, that promotion backfired McDonalds didn’t anticipate the high demand. At a restaurant in Florida: “Police had to be called to at least one location to deal with angry crowds.” http://read.bi/2ybcLjH 

And because you read this far, here’s surveillance footage of what this golden retriever does all day when he’s home alone. Amazing. http://bit.ly/2y355Qh 

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