Spiegel Stuff: The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Senate braces for daylong brawl on elections bill | White House monitoring fuel shortages after cyberattack | Pfizer vaccine authorized for 12-15 | 1 million enrolled in Biden’s special ObamaCare sign-up | Biden-McConnell’s cold war | Cheney ouster vote scheduled for tomorrow | Cheney’s Senate counterpart Ernst compares ouster to ‘cancel culture’ | ‘Lion King,’ ‘Hamilton,’ ‘Wicked’ return to Broadway in Sept.

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HAPPENING TODAY

Today may feel like a marathon for senators:

The Senate Rules Committee is debating and voting on Democrats’ sweeping elections bill that could have major repercussions in the 2022 midterms. https://bit.ly/3uDkK3D

What the bill would do: “Requires states to offer mail-in ballots and a minimum of 15 days of early voting, while calling for online and same-day voter registration. The measure also calls for the creation of independent commissions to draw congressional districts in an effort to put an end to partisan gerrymandering.”

Why Democrats are acting now: “The bill comes as GOP-led states around the country are proposing and enacting laws to rein in ballot box access, fueling pressure for Democrats to use their razor-thin congressional majorities to step in.”

Tidbit on how Dems named this bill: “Underscoring how important it is to the party, Democrats reserved their first legislative slot — S. 1 in the Senate and H.R. 1 in the House — for the legislation, known as the For the People Act.”

How Republicans are trying to muddy or stop the bill: Republicans have filed around 150 amendments to the bill to weaken it.

Why Republicans do not support this bill: “Republicans, one committee aide said, will focus their efforts on parts of the bill they believe would make elections ‘less fair’ and ‘less secure,’ including offering amendments to strike provisions that weaken voter ID laws.”

What to expect: https://bit.ly/3uDkK3D

It’s Tuesday. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.

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NEWS THIS MORNING

1 million enrolled — check!:

Via The Hill’s Peter Sullivan, “President Biden announced on Tuesday that 1 million people have enrolled so far in Affordable Care Act coverage during a special sign-up period his administration created.” https://bit.ly/33zdYA5

Back story: “Biden reopened ObamaCare enrollment upon taking office in January, a step that the Trump administration had declined to take after the COVID-19 pandemic began. Sign-ups are still ongoing until Aug. 15, and Biden urged more people to go to healthcare.gov to enroll.”

LATEST WITH THE CYBERATTACK

So, this is a pretty big deal:

Via The New York Times’s David E. Sanger, Clifford Krauss and Nicole Perlroth, “One of the nation’s largest pipelines, which carries refined gasoline and jet fuel from Texas up the East Coast to New York, was forced to shut down after being hit by ransomware in a vivid demonstration of the vulnerability of energy infrastructure to cyberattacks.” https://nyti.ms/3w2dCOP

The magnitude of the shutdown: “The operator of the system, Colonial Pipeline, said in a vaguely worded statement late Friday that it had shut down its 5,500 miles of pipeline, which it says carries 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel supplies, in an effort to contain the breach.”

Who is responsible?: “Administration officials said they believed the attack was the act of a criminal group, rather than a nation seeking to disrupt critical infrastructure in the United States.”

Everything we know about the attack: https://nyti.ms/3w2dCOP

THE WHITE HOUSE IS MONITORING FUEL SUPPLY SHORTAGES:

From White House press secretary Jen Psaki: “The President continues to be regularly briefed on the Colonial Pipeline incident. The Administration is continually assessing the impact of this ongoing incident on fuel supply for the East Coast … We are monitoring supply shortages in parts of the Southeast and are evaluating every action the Administration can take to mitigate the impact as much as possible. The President has directed agencies across the Federal Government to bring their resources to bear to help alleviate shortages where they may occur.” https://bit.ly/2Q6Un7e

FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE COLONIAL PIPELINE ATTACK:

Hack sparks fears of gas price increase
White House irritated by lack of control
Ransomware is a major growing threat
US energy vulnerabilities exposed
Biden under pressure amid cybersecurity threats

Context and details for each from The Hill’s Zack Budryk, Maggie Miller and Rachel Frazin: https://bit.ly/3hmULK3

IN CONGRESS

I’m not saying he overstated his friendship, but he may have overstated his friendship:

Via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, “The relationship between President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has failed to live up to expectations, and lawmakers are pessimistic their first face-to-face meeting since the inauguration will thaw what has become a cold war between the two leaders.” https://bit.ly/3tEpN2s

Happening tomorrow: “Biden and McConnell will meet at the White House Wednesday with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). The stated topic for the first meeting of the so-called Big Four congressional leaders with the president is infrastructure.”

For context: “Biden and McConnell have only spoken twice since the Jan. 20 inauguration, aides note. Biden called McConnell in late March to talk about infrastructure, and the two leaders spoke in February about the situation in Myanmar.”

Cheney’s trial by colleague combat:

House Republicans will vote tomorrow on whether to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from House leadership. https://bit.ly/2RMh8xD

How the vote will happen: Behind closed doors and by secret ballot

Back story: “[House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)] and his pro-Trump allies have been plotting Cheney’s ouster over the past two weeks as she has continued to condemn former President Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and stolen.”

CHENEY’S SENATE COUNTERPART COMPARED HER OUSTER TO ‘CANCEL CULTURE’:

“Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), the only woman in Senate Republicans' elected leadership team, compared efforts to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from leadership to ‘cancel culture,’ and argued that the party should be focused on unifying heading into 2022.” https://bit.ly/2Q7WbNh

Ernst told reporters yesterday: "I feel it's OK to go ahead and express what you feel is right to express and, you know, cancel culture is cancel culture no matter how you look at it. Unfortunately, I think there are those that are trying to silence others in the party.”

LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS

Next up, teens!:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children 12 to 15 years old. https://bit.ly/2SJgim0

‘THE RACE IS ON TO VACCINATE AMERICA’S NEARLY 17 MILLION YOUNGER TEENS’:

Via The New York Times’s Abby Goodnough and Jan Hoffman: https://nyti.ms/2RHEnsP

CASE NUMBERS:

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 32,745,835

U.S. death toll: 582,183

Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y

VACCINATION NUMBERS:

Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 262 million shots have been given.

Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 2.12 million doses

For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million.

Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH

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NOTABLE TWEETS:

I lol-ed at this:

We don’t deserve The Onion:

ON TAP:

The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C.

9:30 a.m. EDT: President Biden received the President’s Daily Brief.

11:30 a.m. EDT: Two roll call votes in the Senate. Senators will then meet for weekly caucus luncheons. The Senate’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3o6tn4k

2:30 p.m. EDT: The Senate holds a confirmation vote on Cynthia Minette Marten to be deputy education secretary.

4 p.m. EDT: Vice President Harris meets with members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. EDT: First and last votes in the House. The House’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3eCuANF

WHAT TO WATCH:

Noon: White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3eAxmTy

1 p.m. EDT: President Biden meets virtually with a bipartisan group of governors. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3txfa1y

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...:

Today is National “Eat What You Want” Day. Sure?

How cute?!:

Via Popville, “There’s a new free little art gallery on Capitol Hill and it is as awesome as it sounds.” My favorite feature is the tiny bench. Photos: https://bit.ly/3tC3aMh

Back on Broadway:

“The Lion King,” “Hamilton” and “Wicked” are resuming their Broadway shoes on Sept. 14. https://gma.abc/33wEKZN

And because you made it this far, here are besties having a ball together: