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Thursday's Mini-Report, 11.19.15

Today’s edition of quick hits.
Today’s edition of quick hits:
 
* Paris: "The Belgian jihadi suspected of being the ringleader of the Paris terrorist attacks was killed during a raid on a suburban apartment, officials said Thursday. Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, died during Wednesday’s operation in Saint-Denis, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. He was identified by his fingerprints. His body was riddled with bullets, according to officials."
 
* The final vote was 289 to 137: "The Republican-led House of Representatives passed legislation on Thursday that essentially halts Syrian refugees from coming into the United States, despite President Barack Obama’s promise to veto the bill." Here's the roll call.
 
* An alternative approach: "Senate Democrats, seeking to head off legislation to halt and overhaul a program to take in Syrian and Iraqi refugees, are focusing instead on tightening a program that makes it easier for foreigners to travel to the U.S. without obtaining a visa."
 
* Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) told Fox News that the State Department is trying to have Florida take in 425 Syrian refugees. The State Department has said Scott appears to have simply made this up and no such request was made.
 
* Republicans en masse will refuse to consider this evidence: "Barring the unforeseeable, the latest monthly climate report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a clincher.  There can no longer be any meaningful doubt that 2015 will be the Earth’s warmest year on record, at an entirely different level from the previous warmest years."
 
* West Africa now appears to be free of Ebola: "A baby girl in Guinea, who was the last known Ebola patient in a two-year West African epidemic, has recovered, health officials say."
 
* In reality, this year's "crime wave" didn't happen: "An analysis of 2015 crime trends in the nation's 30 largest cities shows that reports of rising crime across the country are not supported by the available data."
 
* Immigration: "More immigrants from Mexico are leaving the United States than coming into the country, according to a report published Thursday by the Pew Research Center, a finding that marks the end of the largest wave of immigration from a single country in American history."
 
* Pushing a deadline: "The Senate on Thursday approved a measure to extend federal transportation funding for two weeks in an effort to prevent a highway funding shutdown, sending it to President Obama with just one day to spare before the scheduled expiration of the nation's road and transit spending. The measure extends federal transportation spending -- currently set to expire Friday -- until Dec. 4. The patch was approved on a voice vote Thursday."
 
* The resolution of a lingering controversy: "The sexual harassment case against Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, halted Wednesday because an agreement was reached by the two parties. The details of the resolution that led to the parties’ suggestion the case be dismissed, which was first reported by the National Law Journal, are unclear."
 
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.