By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

• TORTURE REPORT REVEALS CIA'S 'BRUTAL' TACTICS: The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's exhaustive and explosive report on the CIA's interrogation practices asserted that the agency repeatedly misled Americans and deeply mismanaged the program that was secretly put into place after the 9/11 terror attacks. ABC's JEFF ZELENY and ARLETTE SAENZ report the controversial, five-year study by the committee, which was conducted after reviewing more than 6 million pages of internal CIA records, found that the interrogation techniques used on more than 100 detainees "were not effective" and the management of the program "was inadequate and deeply flawed." The report also indicates the techniques used in the CIA program were "far more brutal" than was relayed to lawmakers and the public. http://abcn.ws/1D3LbSV

• THE MOST STUNNING FINDINGS: The blistering report claimed the "brutal" techniques the agency used on detainees in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks "were not effective." A separate study released today by committee Republicans disputes some of the conclusions of that report, released by committee Democrats - but does not defend the use of controversial "enhanced interrogation" techniques. ABC News takes a look at the most stunning findings from the report released by Committee Democrats. http://abcn.ws/1B1JUHk

• FORMER CIA DIRECTORS SAY INTERROGATION PROGRAM 'SAVED THOUSANDS OF LIVES': Six former Directors and Deputy Directors of the CIA fired back yesterday with a vehemence almost never seen in the intelligence world. ABC's JONATHAN KARL and LUIS MARTINEZ report the former CIA leaders - including George Tenet, Porter Goss and Michael Hayden - blasted the Senate report as "one-sided and marred with errors" and called it "a poorly done and partisan attack on the agency that has done the most to protect America after the 9/11 attacks." The former directors argue that the CIA interrogation program "saved thousands of lives" by helping lead to the capture of top al Qaeda operatives and disrupting their plotting. http://abcn.ws/12nCtOC MORE: ONE TORTURE REPORT, TWO VERY DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS http://abcn.ws/1ztRuLI

• DID TORTURE HELP IN THE HUNT FOR OSAMA BIN LADEN? The report concluded that the most valuable information on Osama bin Laden was obtained outside of enhanced interrogation techniques or prior to detainees even being held by the CIA, ABC's ALI WEINBERG reports. Several detainees provided information about Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, bin Laden's courier, which led to the raid that killed him. According to the report, the information was obtained outside the enhanced interrogation techniques program. "While CIA detainees eventually did provide some information on Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti beginning in the spring of 2003, the majority of the accurate intelligence acquired on Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti was collected outside of the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program," according to the report. http://abcn.ws/1BwWl0O

THE ROUNDTABLE

ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE: Is Bridgegate sticking to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie? Quinnipiac University is out with a new Garden State poll today giving Christie a mixed approval rating with 48 percent approving and 47 percent disapproving of his job performance. This compares to a 46 to 45 percent approval rating October 1 and according to Quinnipiac continues an 11-month slump which began when the Bridgegate scandal broke. This survey took place December 3rd - 8th so part of the polling would have covered the new results from an interim state committee Bridgegate report, which in some ways cleared the potential 2016 presidential candidate of any wrongdoing, although the report is not final. But, with some key issues Christie is under water. On handling economy and jobs, he gets 41 to 51 percent. As for handling the state budget, he gets 42 to 48 percent and for education he gets 39 to 50 percent. http://bit.ly/1wcLMwK

ABC'S JEFF ZELENY: Washington loves a partisan fight, where party lines are drawn and charges and countercharges take over the substance of the debate. The Senate Intelligence Committee interrogation report is the latest such example. Yet the fierce partisan response seemed a bit odd, even for today's climate, considering that many Republicans at the time also questioned CIA techniques. Look back to these two key votes: In 2009, the Intelligence Committee launched its study of the CIA's secret program on a vote of 14-1. This spring, the committee voted 11-3 to declassify the report and release its findings. That's about as bipartisan as you get these days. So what changed? The GOP cites the rise of ISIS and a growing sense of unease with the timing of the release, not to mention too many details were declassified. But that's not all: One top Republican frustrated by the response tells us a coordinated effort was made to "circle the wagons" to discredit the findings. It may have worked in the short term, but the report studying 6 million CIA documents will be pored over for years to come. When we asked Sen. Dianne Feinstein about the partisan response, she seemed unfazed, saying: "It's going to stand the test of time."

ABC's RICK KLEIN: With that, we're back in our partisan grooves. With the notable exception of Sen. John McCain, the reaction of prominent politicians to the Senate Intelligence Committee's torture report was utterly predictable based on political leanings - and probably would have been identical a decade or so ago. That's surprising, given what we've learned in recent years about those who are trying to harm us, and what we know now about our own government is doing in the cause of keeping us safe. It's hard to see, though, how this lasts. The kinds of tactics employed by the CIA - and the mindset that brought them on - are too rich and too important to not be grist for the coming presidential season. Sprinkle in the strengthened cause of libertarians inside the Republican Party, and the Obama White House's internal conflicts over what's detailed in the report, and one can imagine finally having the discussion about American policy in this realm that never quite developed in the scary aftermath of 9/11.

FROM FUSION

OBAMA TALKS TORTURE, IMMIGRATION, AND MORE WITH JORGE RAMOS. Fusion's Jorge Ramos held a wide-ranging interview with President Obama in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, during which the two discussed everything from the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the CIA's controversial detention and interrogation techniques to Obama's recent executive action on immigration that could shield as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. Ramos started off the interview by asking Obama about what has been dubbed the "torture report," which provided some horrific revelations into the enhanced-interrogation programs the CIA employed during the administration of President George W. Bush. Obama said there was no question some "terrible mistakes were made" and that the CIA had engaged in some "brutal activity" after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "Unfortunately, the Senate report shows we engaged in some brutal activity after 9/11," Obama told Ramos. "This is an accounting of some of the problems that the CIA program engaged in. I recognize that there's controversy in terms of the details, but what's not controversial is the fact that we did some things that violated who we are as a people." http://fus.in/1sbjRxz OBAMA: U.S. Has Been 'In Conversations' to Get Alan Gross Out of Cuba http://fus.in/1B4STHI ?TRANSCRIPT: President Obama One-on-One with Jorge Ramos http://bit.ly/1qsr6QL ?

THE BUZZ

with ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON

OBAMA UNVEILS $1B BOOST FOR PRESCHOOLS, INCLUDING $55 MILLION FROM DISNEY. It's a year-end present for tens of thousands of kids and early childhood education programs. President Obama today is set to unveil a $1 billion package of new public and private funding for U.S. preschool programs during a White House summit to promote one of his favored domestic initiatives, notes ABC's DEVIN DWYER. The Walt Disney Co., the parent company of ABC News, has contributed $55 million in "Disney Imagicademy" apps and books to help bolster pre-kindergarten reading programs, the company said. The administration is also launching a new campaign, "Invest in US," to enhance private investment in the programs, officials said. A number of celebrities, including Shakira, Jennifer Garner and John Legend, will lend their voices to a promotional campaign. http://abcn.ws/1wcF89S

CONGRESS INCHES CLOSER TO AVOIDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. Congress inched closer to avoiding a government shutdown last night with the announcement of a $1.1 trillion spending measure that must be passed before funding runs out Thursday, ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ reports. The funding agreement, reached by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., is informally referred to as the "CRomnibus" - part continuing resolution and part omnibus. It will include 11 spending measures to fund the majority of the government through September 2015. The spending measure will include funding to fight ISIS and Ebola, but will separate funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for carrying out many activities related to immigration. The DHS will be funded with a short-term continuing resolution at current spending levels through Feb. 27, allowing for lawmakers to prolong a debate on how to deal with President Obama's executive immigration action. http://abcn.ws/12LovWV

FIRST BRUTAL ATTEMPTS AT ENHANCED INTERROGATION: 'WE SHOULD NOT GO MUCH FURTHER.' The first time the CIA tried enhanced interrogation with a high-value target, the sessions were so intense that they nearly brought some CIA personnel to tears, ABC's MARTHA RADDATZ, LEE FERRAN and STEPHANIE SMITH report. The Senate Intelligence Committee's report says that al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah had already provided the FBI with "vital" information regarding the 9/11 attacks after his capture in Pakistan in 2002 and was cooperating, but at some point the CIA, convinced Zubaydah was holding back, took over. Zubaydah was held in complete isolation for more than a month and then subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques "on a near 24-hour-per-day basis" for 20 days straight, the report says. http://abcn.ws/1sah8EL

WHY CIA INTERROGATORS UNLIKELY TO BE PROSECUTED FOR TORTURE. It remains highly unlikely that American interrogators who allegedly went beyond legal limits of the permitted methods will be prosecuted, ABC's DEVIN DWYER and MARY BRUCE report. The White House deflected any questions about who, if anyone, should be held accountable, saying those decisions are up to the Department of Justice. "Questions about the legality or about the decision to prosecute are made entirely at the DOJ, as it should be," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. The DOJ has already conducted a three-year review of the interrogation program and decided not to bring any criminal charges. In 2012, Attorney General Eric Holder explained "the department has declined prosecution because the admissible evidence would not be sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt." President Obama, who banned torture shortly after taking office, has pledged not to prosecute those who carried out the enhanced interrogation techniques, saying "nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past." http://abcn.ws/1uj7AlX

SENATE TORTURE REPORT IS PROPAGANDA BONANZA FOR ISLAMIC MILITANTS, FEDS SAY. The Senate's newly-released report is "unlikely" to inspire near-term attacks inside the U.S. homeland, but it is "very likely" to be used by terrorist groups for their future propaganda. ABC's MIKE LEVINE reports the FBI and Department of Homeland Security warned local law enforcement in a joint intelligence bulletin distributed within hours of the report's release. "The most likely impact of the report will be attempts by foreign terrorist organizations… and their online supporters to exploit the report's findings by claiming they confirm the U.S. government's perceived hypocrisy and oppression of Muslims," the bulletin said. http://abcn.ws/1yNcwVv

SENATORS TAKE AIM AT ROLLING STONE RAPE STORY. Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who are pushing a bill to reform how campus sexual assaults are handled, said that they hope reform efforts can overcome the recent Rolling Stone story and apology that have sparked criticism and discussion about campus rape and survivors. ABC's CHRIS GOOD reports the two Senators, who introduced the Campus Safety and Accountability Act, testified as witnesses Tuesday at a sparsely attended Senate subcommittee hearing. "I am saddened and angry about the bad journalism in the Rolling Stone [sic] concerning an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia," McCaskill said, calling the story a setback for survivors. Gillibrand said she hopes "this story will not ultimately outshine the story of thousands of brave women and men telling their stories. I refuse to let this one story become an excuse for Congress not to fix a broken system." In November, Rolling Stone published an explosive story about an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia, relying on the account of the victim. It later apologized to readers, revealing it believed her story contained inaccuracies. http://abcn.ws/1yzb59n

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

ELIZABETH WARREN SAYS NO TO LATEST 2016 DRAFT MOVES. Progressive groups are hoping to change Sen. Elizabeth Warren's mind and convince her to run for the presidency in 2016, but the Massachusetts senator is still saying no. ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE reports the liberal group MoveOn launched an online member poll Tuesday to gauge their interest in drafting the liberal favorite for 2016. The result of that vote will be released at 11 a.m. Wednesday. MoveOn is also hosting a petition in support of the draft campaign. Another group, Democracy for America, said they would join forces for the "Draft Warren" movement if a majority of MoveOn's 8 million members vote yes, and that it would hold a similar vote of its members this week. Warren's press secretary Lacey Rose said Tuesday, "As Senator Warren has said many times, she is not running for president." Warren has said the same repeatedly herself, but she's always been careful to phrase it in the present tense. http://abcn.ws/1waRHCq

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

UNLOCKING HISTORY: OLDEST BUILDING ON NATIONAL MALL TO GET MAKEOVER. Turns out a taxman's house is the oldest building still standing on the National Mall. The 178-year-old stone structure - known as the Lockkepper's House - sits at one of the busiest intersections in Washington, D.C. It's been dilapidated for decades, but is about to get a multi-million dollar makeover. "Constitution Avenue was actually the Washington City Canal…food was dropped off here, goods were dropped off here, and the lockkeeper collected the taxes and took notes and took records about what came in and out of this city at this wharf," Caroline Cunningham, the president of the Trust for the National Mall, said in an interview outside the house, which was once the gateway to commerce in the nation's capital. WATCH: http://yhoo.it/136Tfmk

WHO'S TWEETING?

@peterbakernyt: Obama walks a line between his CIA chief and his Senate Democratic allies on whether interrogations worked. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/us/politics/obama-effectiveness-cia-torture.html?emc=edit_tnt_20141210&nlid=1811197&tntemail0=y&_r=0 …

@HotlineJosh: GOP donors pining after Romney, Jeb akin to Jerry Jones signing every aging free agent sted of bulding thru draft http://www.nationaljournal.com/against-the-grain/republicans-should-listen-to-their-voters-not-donors-20141209 … …

@kenvogel: Congressional leaders quietly slipped into the budget a rider that could allow donors to give $778k/yr to the parties http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/budget-rider-would-expand-party-cash-113459.html?hp=c2_3 …

@USATWashington: Air Force secretary @SecAF23 supports lifting transgender ban http://usat.ly/1AfcUua via @SusanPage (Photo: Getty)

@jmartNYT: Dean has said umpteen times he's for Hillary. What's interesting is his effort to draw attn to it at moment left pines openly for Warren.