10 things you need to know today: December 13, 2019

1. Democrats push Judiciary Committee impeachment vote to Friday

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) unexpectedly announced that the panel would delay a vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump until Friday. The move came after a 14-hour hearing on the allegations that Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, and obstructed Congress' investigation of the matter. Republicans reacted with anger to the delay, accusing Democrats of changing the schedule to a time when the vote would get more media attention. Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) accused Nadler of turning the committee into a "kangaroo court." Nadler said he wanted "both sides of the aisle to think about what has happened over these last two days and to search their consciences before we cast our final votes."

NBC News The Associated Press

2. Boris Johnson, Conservatives win big promising to 'Get Brexit Done'

Early results and exit polls on Thursday suggested that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party was headed for a landslide victory in elections called to break an impasse over Brexit. Johnson campaigned on the slogan "Get Brexit Done," while Jeremy Corbyn's opposition Labour Party had promised a new referendum on leaving the European Union, increased spending on health care, and the nationalization of key industries. Corbyn said he would step aside after early results showed the Conservatives winning 364 seats in Parliament's House of Commons, a gain of 47 seats that would give them their largest majority since 1987. The Labour Party was predicted to lose 59 seats, leaving them with 203.

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CNBC The New York Times

3. Trump agrees to limited trade deal with China

President Trump on Thursday agreed in principle to a limited trade deal with China just days before the U.S. was due to impose another round of new tariffs on Chinese goods. Under the agreement, the U.S. will cancel the new tariff hikes and roll back existing tariffs on some Chinese goods. In exchange, Beijing agreed to increase purchases of U.S. farm goods, along with other concessions, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Trump agreed to the terms after discussing it with economic and trade advisers on Thursday. If the deal is finalized, U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai are expected to formalize the agreement, or at least its outlines, on Friday.

The Wall Street Journal

4. Congress reaches $1.3 trillion spending deal to avert shutdown

Congressional negotiators announced Thursday they had reached a preliminary $1.3 trillion spending deal for 2020, potentially averting a partial federal government shutdown next week. "There's a meeting of the minds," House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.) said in a joint announcement with Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). The news followed a visit by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to Capitol Hill, where he went over the last points of contention with the negotiators. The House could vote on the bill by Tuesday, with the Senate following before the end of next week. President Trump has signaled support for the deal.

The Washington Post

5. House passes bill aiming to lower prescription drug prices

The House on Thursday passed a bill intended to bring down prescription drug prices. Just two Republicans supported the bill in the 230-192, party-line vote. The measure seeks to let the government negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs, a top priority for House Democrats. The party hopes the vote will help vulnerable Democrats in an election season overshadowed by the impeachment process against President Trump. "What I hear most often is not impeachment … it's 'What are you going to do about the cost of our prescription drugs?'" said Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), a freshman facing a competitive re-election race. "And this bill is an answer to my constituents." The plan has little chance of passing the Republican-led Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has called the measure "socialist."

The Hill

6. FBI investigates kosher market gun rampage as domestic terrorism

The FBI is treating this week's fatal shooting at a New Jersey kosher grocery store as an act of domestic terrorism, federal and state law enforcement officials said Thursday. Three bystanders were killed at the market, and a police officer was fatally shot in an encounter with the two suspects shortly before they drove to the store armed with an AR-15-style weapon and a shotgun. The suspects, a man and a woman, also died in a four-hour gun battle with police. "The evidence points toward acts of hate," New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said at a news conference. "We are investigating this matter as potential acts of domestic terror, fueled both by anti-Semitism and anti-law enforcement beliefs."

Reuters

7. Chile finds debris from crashed Antarctica-bound military plane

The Chilean Air Force said Thursday that it had found wreckage from a plane that crashed earlier this week on a flight to Antarctica with 38 people on board. Some human remains were recovered. There were no survivors, Chilean Air Force chief Arturo Merino said. "The condition of the remains we discovered make it practically impossible that anyone could have survived the airplane accident," Merino said. The Chilean Air Force plane was headed to a base in Antarctica but it disappeared shortly after taking off from the city of Punta Arenas in Chilean Patagonia. The search for the plane began shortly after it went missing, but extreme weather conditions complicated the effort. The plane crashed into the Drake Passage off the southernmost edge of South America.

Reuters

8. Senate approves resolution recognizing Armenian genocide

The Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide in a harsh rebuke of Turkey and President Trump, whose administration opposed the resolution as he tried to bolster his relationship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Senate vote is expected to increase U.S.-Turkey tensions. The resolution acknowledges the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923. Turkey has spent years paying lobbyists to oppose the measure in Washington. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced the measure, then wept after it passed with no objections. "The killing was done with axes, cleavers, shovels, and pitchforks. It was like a slaughterhouse," Menendez said, quoting a priest who witnessed the atrocities.

USA Today

9. Trump mocks Greta Thunberg after Time person of the year pick

President Trump on Thursday mocked 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg after Time named her 2019's person of the year. In a tweet, Trump criticized Time's decision as "so ridiculous" while writing, "Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!" Trump had previously mocked Thunberg, who is on the autism spectrum, after her passionate United Nations speech by sarcastically tweeting that she "seems like a very happy young girl." Thunberg quickly turned Trump's mockery into her new Twitter bio, which now reads, "A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend."

Donald J. Trump CNN

10. Former Kentucky governor's pardoning spree shocks prosecutors

Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) spent his final days in office pardoning hundreds of people, including some who committed violent crimes, The Washington Post reported Thursday. After being narrowly defeated by Democrat Andy Beshear in November, Bevin pardoned 428 people, including a convicted child rapist and a man who murdered his parents when he was 16. Several prosecutors harshly criticized Bevin. "What this governor did is an absolute atrocity of justice," said Commonwealth Attorney Jackie Steele of Knox and Laurel counties. "He's put victims, he's put others in our community in danger." Bevin said he is "a big believer in second chances. I think this is a nation that was founded on the concept of redemption and second chances and new pages in life."

The Washington Post