Muslim Advocates led a group of organizations working to combat Islamophobia in a meeting with senior White House advisers on Monday. The group sought to raise awareness at the highest levels of the rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment being tracked across the country in the wake of the Paris and San Bernardino attacks—and to urge the Obama administration to prosecute violence against Muslims as hate crimes. "We believe the level of hate violence has reached a crisis point, and that’s why it’s crucial that the federal government needs to send a message to the public, in the strongest terms,” Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, said after the meeting.  

The groups also urged President Obama to join with former President Bush in an appearance at a mosque, “to show that we are stronger together during these difficult times,” and called on the Education Department to provide guidance on how to prevent and deal with bullying of Muslim students in schools. (In Arizona, GOP Sen. Jeff Flake paid a visit to a local mosque, saying: “My hope and prayer today is that isolated voices calling for division are overwhelmed by the chorus of voices in this room today calling for acceptance, tolerance and inclusion.”)

A Huffington Post tally of Islamophobic incidents since the Paris attacks reached 71, up roughly a dozen from this time last week. Among the most recent episodes: a mosque defaced with spray-painted graffiti about Jesus, and worshippers who found a fake grenade.

Congress was closing in on the final contours of the omnibus spending bill. While legislators could still tack on last-minute riders and amendments, it appeared Tuesday afternoon as though the House-approved measure to restrict the resettlement of Syrian (and Iraqi) refugees would not be a part of the final product.

Lawmakers did appear likely to include a measure tightening the visa waiver program, requiring people traveling from one of the 38 countries participating in that program who have recently visited Syria, Iraq, Iran or Sudan to go through extra hoops before being allowed admission to the U.S. Exemptions for humanitarian workers and people with dual citizenship were under discussion, as civil libertarians voiced concerns about the language being overly broad.  

House Speaker Paul Ryan signaled he may be willing to support an authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against ISIS. President Obama has been requesting that Congress hold just such a vote, though both the executive and legislative branches maintain the president can carry on his current military campaign without it.

Hillary Clinton laid out her counterterrorism proposals, faulting the Republican candidates as fear-mongerers in "over their heads." She also met with local Muslim leaders in Minnesota. 

Donald Trump’s call for all Muslims to be barred from the U.S. was expected to be a central theme of tonight’s Republican debate, sponsored by CNN and taking place in Las Vegas.  The debate, the GOP’s fifth, comes amid polling data indicating that Republicans are paying much closer attention to the campaign thus far than their Democratic counterparts.  (There was another ugly incident involving a black protester at a Trump rally).

Public confidence in the government’s ability to handle terrorist threats fell to a post-9/11 low, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center. This news arrived before authorities closed the Los Angeles school district—the nation’s second largest—in the face of a bomb threat,  only to be blasted by New York police leadership for “overreacting.” The discussion seemed unlikely to allay the nation’s jitters.  

Hillary Clinton, in an appearance at the National Immigrant Immigration Conference, announced plans to promote citizenship for more immigrants to the U.S. by waiving fees for those eligible for naturalization, saying she wants to “take down the barriers that are holding people back.”

Among grantee activities:

--CAP put out a report on how to get around the federal gridlock on gun control, offering, according to its subtitle, “28 ideas for state executive action to prevent gun violence and prevent gun crime.”  

--Moveon.Org trumpeted indications that there would not be language in Congress’ omnibus spending bill restricting the Syrian refugee resettlement program, arguing “the Statue of Liberty is standing a little taller tonight.”

--America’s Voice publicized the immigration records of Sen. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio ahead of the GOP debate.