Good Monday morning. I'm Anna Palmer and welcome to your Politico Playbook Audio Briefing,

sponsored by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates. And I'm Jake Sherman. New in the Middle East,

the AP is reporting that Saudi Arabia has announced that movie theaters will open in the kingdom

next year for the first time in more than 30 years. Back here in the States, the action will

primarily be behind the scenes. The House and Senate

need to make serious progress on a bunch of fronts. They need to continue working out the

differences in their tax bill. They need to figure out a deal to boost spending caps. They need

to figure out how they'll fund the government past December 22nd. And remember, tomorrow is

Election Day in Alabama. Doug Jones faces off against Roy Moore.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that some high-income business owners could face marginal tax rates more than 100% under the Senate tax plan.

Lawmakers are already looking at changes to stop this from happening.

And the Washington Post reports that the speed of the tax bill

is leaving Republicans vulnerable to all kinds of problems, including questionable special interest

provisions and drafting errors by exhausted staff. Vice President Mike Pence is headed to the Middle

East this weekend, but Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, says he will not meet with the VP.

Alyssa Farah Pence's press secretary said the decision is, quote, unfortunate.

Meanwhile, violence continues to flare up in the region.

Reuters is reporting that a Palestinian stabbed a security guard at Jerusalem's main bus station

Sunday, and violence flared up near the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

Here's something to keep an eye on.

Republicans are growing increasingly worried about the special election in Pennsylvania's 18th

district.

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