Midday Roundup: Obama nominees get last-minute love from Senate Dems

Rubber stamps. The Senate is taking a flurry of last-minute votes on judicial and cabinet appointees before it adjourns for the year and the Republicans take control in January. President Barack Obama’s nominee for surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, was confirmed yesterday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., could try to push through as many as a dozen judicial confirmations before the end of the week—many of them lifetime appointments. The Senate is on track to approve 88 of Obama’s nominees to the federal judiciary, easily surpassing the 43 approved last year and 49 confirmed the year before. The president’s judicial appointments could end up being the most long-lasting mark left by his time in the White House.

First steps. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will “actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States,” he announced on social media today. A Bush White House bid has long been a subject of political speculation, but it was unclear whether he had support from the larger Bush family. In his announcement, he indicated he had his family’s support for this phase of his political career, in which he will see whether he can build a base of donors and activists large enough to support a presidential campaign.

Lining up. Amnesty groups are rushing to sign up as many immigrants as possible under the president’s deferred deportation action. But if future administrations reverse the president’s decision, it’s unclear what would happen to those applying for it now. The Cato Institute’s Ilya Shapiro said the more who register and apply for employment authorization, the more could be hurt if the policy is eventually changed. That’s part of the reason activists are trying so hard to get people in the system; so it will be politically harder to reverse the program later on.

Aftermath. As Australians grieve a deadly terror attack at a cafe in downtown Sydney on Monday, some are angrily asking why a known extremist with a violent past was walking the streets. Man Haron Monis, who held 17 people hostage in the Lindt Chocolat Cafe for 16 hours, was on bail for sexual assault and contributing to the murder of his ex-wife. He had articulated his extreme Islamic ideology to numerous people, but he was not on “the appropriate watch list,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott noted in a press conference. He also managed to procure a shotgun he used in the attack despite Australia’s tough gun laws. Monis died when police stormed the cafe; two other hostages were killed and four were injured in the shootout that ended the standoff.

Manhunt. The search is on in two suburban Philadelphia counties for a man who is believed to have killed his ex-wife and five members of her extended family. Police issued but later lifted a “shelter-in-place” order for parts of Bucks County, Pa., while they hunted for Bradley Stone, a 35-year-old Marine veteran. Stone was in a custody dispute with his ex-wife Nicole Stone, who told a neighbor she feared for her life. Neighbors saw Bradley Stone leave his ex-wife’s house with their two daughters early Monday morning. The children were found safe with Bradley Stone’s neighbors. He is believed to be armed and wearing fatigues.

The Associated Press and WORLD Radio’s Jim Henry contributed to this story.