The Hill’s 12:30 Report

by Cate Martel - 10/19/16 12:30 PM ET

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GREAT, WE CAN ALL ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WAS PAINFULLY AWKWARD: Via The New York Times’s Jeremy W. Peters and Maggie Haberman, Hillary Clinton‘s campaign has asked to change the setup of the pre-debate greetings so the candidates’ spouses don’t have to shake hands. Why: This is after Donald Trump invited three women who’ve accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault to sit with the Trump family at the second debate so they could greet Bill. The Commission on Presidential Debates, though, didn’t allow Trump to go through with the plan. http://bit.ly/2egRdJb

Happy Hump Day! Doing my warm-ups before tonight’s brawl, 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 comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@digital-stage.thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook.

DEBATE DEETZ:

When: 9 to 10:30 p.m. EDT with no commercials

Where: Las Vegas

How to watch: It will air on all major television and cable networks and C-SPAN. Major networks will also stream the debate on their websites.

{mosads}Moderator: Fox News’s Chris Wallace, the host of “Fox News Sunday.” Wallace is the first Fox anchor to moderate a general election debate. http://bit.ly/2ekCi2g

Topics: Six 15-minute segments: debt and entitlements; immigration; the economy; the Supreme Court; foreign hot spots; and fitness to be president.

Podium: Yes, thank God. Last debate was so awkward without them.

MAKE YOUR DRINKING GAME RULES NOW: Via The Hill’s Jonathan Easley, tonight is The. Last. Debate. Of. 2016. Here are things The Hill is watching for tonight: http://bit.ly/2dNYLQ4

1. Will they shake hands?
2. Does Trump have any wild cards left?
3. Does Clinton play it safe or go for the kill?
4. Will the moderator make a difference?
5. What will their closing arguments be?
6. How does Trump use WikiLeaks against Clinton?: http://bit.ly/2egORKA

THIS SHOULD BE CRINGEWORTHY: President Obama’s half-brother says he will attend Wednesday night’s presidential debate in Las Vegas as a guest of Donald Trump. The 58-year-old is a U.S. citizen and splits his time between his home country of Kenya and Washington, D.C., where he has lived since 1985. Also invited: Trump has also invited the mother of a Benghazi victim to be his guest at the debate. http://bit.ly/2e1tRWa

AND IN OTHER NEWS…:

NEW TODAY — ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER ACCUSATION. SIGH.: This time against Bill Clinton. Leslie Millwee, a former television reporter from Arkansas is accusing Clinton of groping her in 1980. Millwee alleges that he groped her on three separate occasions while she worked as a reporter for a television station when Clinton served as the state’s governor. Full story: http://bit.ly/2ekHjU7

MAKING THE .500 CLUB: Via The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Jordan Fabian, Hillary Clinton is aiming to win more than 50 percent of the popular vote, which one Clinton surrogate said is “very possible.” Why that’s hard: Remember all those third party candidates? Why it’s possible: “Trump has a ceiling, and he’s reached it,” the surrogate said. “It’s all about turnout to get her above 50 [and] pouring on the money and spreading out the high-power surrogates.” Some advice: Don’t depress us tonight, Donald and Hillary! http://bit.ly/2dzRA0b

THIS IS A CRAZY SCENARIO: Republican strategist Steve Schmidt said this morning that Hillary Clinton could win more than 400 Electoral College votes on Nov. 8. He added that “the panic is beginning” among Republicans. Context: There are 538 Electoral College votes; 270 needed to win. http://bit.ly/2dnzMY0

BRINGING UP SOME OF THE MINORS: Via The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Scott Wong, Democrats’ campaign arm has launched a new coordinated effort with Hillary Clinton‘s presidential campaign that will shift millions of dollars to traditionally red states, where party leaders are hoping to upset House GOP incumbents. http://bit.ly/2ekZObX

*PUTS FINGERS IN HIS EARS* NOT LISTENING!: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he will not discuss any leaked documents published by WikiLeaks and is calling on the rest of his party to ignore them as well. “As our intelligence agencies have said, these leaks are an effort by a foreign government to interfere with our electoral process, and I will not indulge it,” Rubio told ABC News. http://bit.ly/2eibY67

LEAVE SOME EXTRA TIME BEFORE YOUR FLIGHT: After the Transportation Department banned Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 on planes, Samsung is setting up pop-up exchange booths at airports for customers to trade them in. http://wapo.st/2dqwRIX

NOTABLE TWEETS:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) (This is part of a Twitter rant this morning.)
Give me a break, Donald Trump. You’re not losing because it’s rigged. You’re losing because we see through your creepy bullying. http://bit.ly/2e1g4iF

Politico’s Hadas Gold (Idk which is worse, to be honest.)
My Vegas cab driver says her taxi company told drivers are not allowed to talk politics. “but I can talk sex!” http://bit.ly/2eeJbQY

The Atlantic’s David A. Graham
What does this mean http://bit.ly/2ekuVYJ

ON TAP:

Noon: Tim Kaine campaigns in Springfield, Ohio.

12:30 p.m. EDT: White House press secretary Josh Earnest delivers the daily press briefing.

1:45 p.m. EDT: Bernie Sanders campaigns for Clinton and Democratic Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto in Reno, Nev.

2 p.m. EDT: Mike Pence campaigns in Durango, Colo.

5 p.m. EDT: Tim Kaine campaigns in Asheville, N.C.

7 p.m. EDT Thursday: The Center for American Progress’s Neera Tanden joins BuzzFeed Brews at the Newseum in D.C.

WHAT TO WATCH:

9 p.m. EDT: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off in their third (and last!) debate. It will air on all the major networks and will stream online. Full list by state: http://bit.ly/2egToMY

11:35 p.m. EDT: Jimmy Kimmel hosts a post-debate show on ABC. Guests will include Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson and Ken Bone.

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF…:

Today is National Seafood Bisque Day!

TWIX? REALLY? WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT: Influenster polled each state about their favorite Halloween candy. D.C. ranked Twix as No. 1.

LOBSTER LOVERS, REJOICE!: A 14-pound lobster was caught in Bermuda after Hurricane Nicole swept through. Stretched out, it’s two-feet long. Yipes. Photo: http://wapo.st/2etUkez

And because we need happy thoughts for a long day, here’s a baby elephant saving his favorite human from fast-moving water. http://bit.ly/2egWxMO

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