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Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) walks to the Senate chamber in the U.S. Capitol on December 4, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images.

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Point, John McCain: Susan Rice announced today that she has taken her name off the short list to be the next secretary of state. The embattled diplomat went public with her decision in an interview with NBC News this afternoon after informing President Obama of her decision by letter. The move represents a surprising end to Rice's time as the apparent front-runner to replace Secretary Hillary Clinton as head of the State Department when the former first lady steps down from her post. McCain and his fellow Senate Republicans had steadfastly vowed to do all they could to block Rice's confirmation, but there had been little to suggest that Obama would allow the GOP threats to force his hand, and the president had repeatedly voiced his unwavering support for Rice.

The Real Winner: Sen. John Kerry. With Rice out of the picture, it would appear to greatly increase the chances that Kerry lands his dream job. The Massachusetts Democrat has long had his sights on leading the State Department. He's also been rumored to be in the running for Defense secretary, but former GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel has emerged as the new front-runner for that post. If Obama does tap Kerry for a cabinet position, however, that would leave the door open for Republican Scott Brown to find his way back to the Senate by winning his second special election.

Happy Thursday, welcome to The Slatest PM. Follow your afternoon host on Twitter at @JoshVoorhees and the whole team at @slatest.

Susan Rice announced Thursday that she has removed her name from consideration to be the next secretary of state

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

Susan Rice announced today that she has taken her name off the short-list to be the next secretary of state. The embattled diplomat went public with her decision in an interview with NBC News this afternoon after informing President Obama of her decision by letter.

"If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly—to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities," she told the president in her letter, which was obtained by the news network. "That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country ... Therefore, I respectfully request that you no longer consider my candidacy at this time."

The move represents a somewhat surprising end to Rice's time as the apparent front-runner to replace Secretary Hillary Clinton as head of the State Department when the former first lady steps down from her post. McCain and his fellow Senate Republicans had steadfastly vowed to do all they could to block Rice's confirmation, but there had been little to suggest that Obama would allow the GOP threats to force his hand, and the president repeatedly voiced his unwavering support for Rice.

Chuck Hagel, seen here with Bill Clinton during the 2010 Atlantic Council awards dinner in Washington, D.C., has emerged as a front runner for spot in Obama's cabinet.

Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images.

'Tis the season for cabinet speculation. Bloomberg offered its take this afternoon on who is the favorite to replace Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as head of the Pentagon:

Chuck Hagel has emerged as the leading candidate to become Obama’s next Secretary of Defense and may be nominated as soon as this month, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Hagel, who served as an enlisted Army infantryman in Vietnam, has passed the vetting process at the White House Counsel’s office, said one of the people. The former Nebraska senator has told associates that he is awaiting final word from the president, said the other person. Both requested anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

Hagel's name has previously been floated for the DOD job, so the report isn't exactly a surprise. Still, it does provide the best signal yet that the former GOP senator is the clear front-runner for the post. The White House, for its part, isn't confirming or denying the report, saying only that it doesn't expect any official nominations this week.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez gives his victory speech flanked by son Robert, Jr. and daughter Alicia at election night headquarters

Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images.

It looks like Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez could have easily been the subject of an actual October Surprise, or at least one that came closer to living up to that billing than any number of over-hyped events that quickly fizzled prior to this year's elections.

Apparently, Homeland Security officials delayed the arrest of one of his office's unpaid interns—who is an undocumented immigrant and sex offender—until after the election. The Associated Press reports that eighteen-year-old Luis Abrahan Sanchez Zavaleta was arrested on Dec 6 by ICE agents. Sanchez, from Peru, had applied for permission to stay in the country as part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but his application was denied because of the sex offender classification he acquired as a juvenile in 2010. He now faces deportation.

Justin Bieber performs onstage during Power 96.1's Jingle Ball 2012 at the Philips Arena on December 12, 2012 in Atlanta

Photo by Chris McKay/Getty Images for Jingle Ball 2012.

Here's a completely normal, ho-hum news story from last night that you may have missed (via ABC News):

Justin Bieber was the target of a grisly murder plot hatched by a convicted killer imprisoned in New Mexico, police told ABC News today. Dana Martin, 45, an inmate at the Southern New Mexico Corrections Facility, is accused of masterminding the plan, which called for castrating Bieber and his bodyguard in New York, and two unnamed victims in Vermont, before strangling them, according to a New Mexico State Police affidavit.

Yep, Justin Bieber, as in the global pop star and leader of legions of teenage fans known as Beliebers.

The skin-crawling details of the bizarre plot certainly live up to its grisly billing. For one, Martin allegedly wanted his co-conspirators to attack the global pop star and the other victims with a pair of gardening clippers (a Fiskars Durasharp set, to be exact), and was offering a bounty of $2,500 for each testicle that he got. He also was allegedly very specific about how he wanted Bieber and co. strangled, requesting that the men use a paisley necktie for the job, as Martin had apparently used himself in the 2000 rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl. In case all that wasn't enough to earn this story a place among the year's craziest, there was also the fact that Martin is said to have a tattoo of Bieber's likeness on his leg.

Syrian rebel fighters walk past debris and overturned vehicles used as sniper cover along the front line in the Aleppo neighbourood of Bustan al-Basr on December 8, 2012

Photo by Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images.

Russia's top envoy to the Middle East suggested today that President Assad's regime could indeed lose the widening civil war that has already claimed tens of thousands of Syrian lives. The comments were the first time that Russian officials have suggested publicly that their longtime strategic ally may be ousted.

"Unfortunately, it is impossible to exclude a victory of the Syrian opposition," deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov said. "We must look squarely at the facts, and the trend now suggests that the regime and the government in Syria are losing more and more control and more and more territory."

acob Tyler Roberts poses in this undated photo in an unspecified loaction

Photo by Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office

The Oregonian and its reporters are continuing to piece together the story of 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts, the masked gunman who opened fire at a Portland-area mall on Tuesday, killing two people and injuring a third before turning the gun on himself:

Roberts shared big plans with friends. He told an ex-girlfriend that he was going to buy the Southeast Portland sandwich shop where he worked. He mentioned to a former roommate that he was moving to Hawaii. And he told others that he had just inherited a lot of money. But days after he was supposed to fly away to his new life, the 22-year-old Portland man instead drove to Clackamas Town Center.

The paper's reporting suggests that no one close to Roberts saw any indication that he was capable of the type of violence that was on display Tuesday. He was said to be soft-spoken, polite, and funny by those who knew him in high school. One former classmate told the paper that "all he cared about was making people laugh" and described him as someone who would go out of his way to help elderly neighbors carrying groceries.

 In this handout provided by the Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office, suspect Jacob Tyler Roberts poses in this undated photo in an unspecified loaction

Photo by Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office via Getty Images

***We've revamped our afternoon Slatest newsletter to deliver a text-heavy recap of the day's top stories to our subscribers' inboxes. The most recent edition is below. Sign up here to receive The Slatest PM in your inbox daily before it is published online.***

The Mall Gunman Unmasked: Associated Press: "The gunman who killed two people and himself in a shooting rampage at an Oregon mall was 22 years old and used a stolen rifle from someone he knew, authorities said Wednesday. Jacob Tyler Roberts had armed himself with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and had several fully loaded magazines when he arrived at a Portland mall on Tuesday, said Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts. The sheriff said the rifle jammed during the 22-year-old's attack, but he managed to get it working again. He later shot himself."

Motive Remains a Mystery: Los Angeles Times: "He was wearing a hockey-style mask and a protective vest and began firing with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, stolen from someone the suspect knew, police said. There were also several magazines of ammunition. Police said it was unclear how many shots were fired, but there were estimates of between 10 to 20 shots before Roberts turned the weapon on himself. Police were still searching for a motive but have ruled out the idea that the shooter was specifically targeting anyone."

Searching For Answers: Oregonian: "A middle-aged man standing on the porch of a Southeast Portland house where some of Clackamas mall shooter Jacob Tyler Roberts' possessions were registered said Roberts had lived with him for a few months earlier this year, and that the 22-year-old's life plans had recently been dashed. He was moving to Hawaii and had recently sold all his possessions, said the man, who declined to give his name. 'He couldn't stop talking about it.' But, he said, 'four days ago (Roberts) called to say he had missed his flight.' The man said he hadn't heard from Roberts since. ... Asked whether Roberts may have been depressed and might have just snapped, he replied, 'I think that's exactly what happened.'"

It's Wednesday, welcome to The Slatest PM. Follow your afternoon host on Twitter at @JoshVoorhees and the whole team at @slatest.