OBAMA AGENDA: “They’re scared of widows and orphans”
Obama, yesterday, on Republicans calling for the halt of Syrian refugees coming to the U.S.: "Apparently they're scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America."
The latest in France: "Amid gunfire and explosions, police raided a suburban Paris apartment where the suspected mastermind of last week's attacks was believed to be holed up Wednesday. The siege ended with two deaths and seven arrests but no clear information on his fate. The dead were a woman who blew herself up with an explosive vest and a man hit by projectiles and grenades at the end of the raid, which began before dawn and continued for more than seven hours at the apartment building in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis."
The AP has a look at the presumed mastermind of the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
The planner's family hoped that he had died in Syria.
Obama is calling on China to halt its construction on islands in the South China Sea.
Paul Ryan says there will “have to be some riders” in the government spending bill to get it through Congress before December 11.
OFF TO THE RACES: The Koch Intelligence Agency
POLITICO writes that the Koch network conducts "surveillance and intelligence gathering on its liberal opponents."
Black Republicans aren't happy with the party's recruiting efforts, writes the Washington Post.
The New York Times sums up which candidates have requested equal time after Trump's SNL appearance.
BUSH: According to excerpts released by his campaign, Bush will address the ISIS terror threat in a speech at the Citadel, saying "We must address the underlying conflicts in Syria and Iraq, which created this crisis – one that spiraled out of control as President Obama and Hillary Clinton failed to act - and today present a critical threat to international security."
CARSON: Here's that brutal Ben Carson story from last night about complaints from an adviser that he's struggling to grasp foreign policy.
Carson spokesman Doug Watts tells NBC's Hallie Jackson that the quoted advisor was "over-sold to the NYT reporter" as a top aide.
CLINTON: She got the endorsement of the SEIU yesterday, NBC's Monica Alba writes.
KASICH: NBC's Leigh Ann Caldwell writes that he wants a new government agency that would promote Judeo-Christian values around the world.
JINDAL: He's calling it quits. Here's our report on Jindal's decision to suspend his presidential campaign.
From his home state paper: "The governor, who had been trailing in national polls throughout much of the race, had been weighing whether to drop out the race for the GOP presidential nomination for several weeks but made his final decision Monday, the same day Louisiana determined it had a $500 million shortfall in its current budget. Jindal's campaign said Louisiana's financial problems were not a factor in his decision to end his presidential bid, but the issue had followed Jindal onto the presidential campaign trail."
MSNBC's Jane Timm: Jindal drops out: How a motivated, young wonk was drowned out.
PERRY: From the Texas Tribune: "The criminal case against Rick Perry hits a potentially definitive turning point today as a challenge to the remaining felony charge against him is heard this morning by the state's highest criminal appeals court."
SANDERS: He'll give a much-anticipated speech on Democratic socialism on Thursday.
TRUMP: He's expanded his lead in New Hampshire, according to a new WBUR poll.
PROGRAMMING NOTES.
*** Wednesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews French Ambassador to the U.S. Gerard Araud, Adm. James A. Winnefeld – former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota), NBC News terrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann, and our team of reporters covering the latest from Paris on the terror attacks.