In the latest episode of ‘The Race to the White House,’ the Republican candidates came out swinging.

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In the latest episode of ‘The Race to the White House,’ the Republican candidates came out swinging.

Over what?

Second place. Last night, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former SC Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former NJ Gov. Chris Christie took the stage. The GOP debate in Alabama aired on NewsNation, a two-year-old news outlet that pitches itself as an alternative, centrist network providing “unbiased US news.” 

What were some of the takeaways?

Gender: One of the biggest topics of the night. Some candidates used questions on gender as an opportunity to criticize parents of transgender Americans, with DeSantis calling gender reassignment surgery “child abuse.” Ramaswamy said being transgender is a “mental health disorder.” Christie, on the other hand, said the government should stay out of parents’ decisions — and that it should be up to parents to decide if their child gets treatments like gender-affirming surgery. 

Foreign policy: Christie said he’d send US troops to save American hostages in Gaza. On Iran, Haley said she’d “punch them hard” to get them to stop attacking US troops. Ramaswamy, who doesn’t support extra funding for Ukraine, challenged Haley to name three Ukrainian provinces. All the candidates seemed to agree that China needs to stay away from Taiwan. On immigration, DeSantis put the spotlight on fentanyl that’s coming across the southern border. 

The viral moments: Ramaswamy called Haley a “fascist” for saying everyone on social media should be verified by name. Haley thanked DeSantis and Ramaswamy for all the attention. Christie stepped in to defend Haley and called Ramaswamy the “most obnoxious blowhard in America.” Ramaswamy told him to leave the stage and go “enjoy a nice meal.” Later on, DeSantis and Christie discussed if former President Trump is “fit” or isn’t — and they weren’t talking about 45’s looks, while Christie wished he was still 45. Ramaswamy whipped out a sign saying “Nikki = corrupt.” He also whipped out a long list of conspiracy theories.

Anything else?

When it comes to presidents, Haley loves George Washington and Abe Lincoln. Ramaswamy loves Thomas Jefferson. Christie loves Ronald Reagan, or at least the book he wrote about him. DeSantis looked at all the presidents and chose Calvin Coolidge.

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With the Iowa caucuses less than six weeks away, the four candidates trailing behind former President Trump took off the gloves. It made for tense live television for a network that may just have seen the biggest audience in its history.

Who some people want to see go…

The presidents of UPenn, Harvard, and MIT. Yesterday, calls appeared to mount for their resignations after they testified at a congressional hearing on antisemitism. During testimony, two of the presidents seemed unable to confirm that “calling for the genocide of Jews” would violate school policies on bullying or harassment. When Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) asked whether calls for the genocide of Jews would violate Penn’s code of conduct, UPenn President Liz Magill repeatedly maintained that it would “if” such speech “turns into conduct.” Stefanik seemed baffled, asking rhetorically if by “conduct” she meant “committing the act of genocide.” Harvard President Claudine Gay answered a similar question with, “it can be depending on the context.” The news comes as campuses have become a flashpoint amid the latest Israel-Hamas war, with reports of antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks.

What might’ve felt inspired by the horoscope girlies…

Google. Yesterday, the tech giant launched a new AI model in response to GPT-4: Gemini. Google says it not only mimics human reasoning, but it reportedly outperforms experts and ChatGPT in subjects like math, physics, and law. At the demo, Google used Gemini to spot check math homework and reportedly analyzed hundreds of pages of research to update a chart. Google said Gemini is its “largest and most capable AI model,” potentially making it OpenAI’s largest competitor. But before you go running to your twin, the company said Gemini (like us humans) makes mistakes and can hallucinate. For now, Google’s chatbot Bard will be using Gemini Pro. It’ll later be added to Google’s search engine and Chrome browser, with the ability to analyze images and sounds.

Who’s facing allegations again…

Diddy — aka Sean Combs. Yesterday, a woman filed a lawsuit against the music mogul, making it the fourth complaint within a month that accuses him of sexual misconduct. The woman, who remains unnamed in court documents, alleges the sexual assault took place in 2003 when she was 17 years old. She said she met two men connected to Combs in the Detroit area — one of whom told her Combs “would love to meet” her. They allegedly flew her out to a recording studio in New York. There, Diddy and the two men allegedly gave her alcohol, drugged her, and took turns raping her while she went in and out of consciousness. Combs has denied the allegations and said “enough is enough,” adding he will “fight” for the truth.

Who many are remembering…

Norman Lear. Yesterday, Lear — best known for sitcoms like "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" — died at 101 years old from natural causes. Beginning his career as a radio and television writer, Lear wrote a number of popular series in the 1970s that broke taboos by addressing racism, homosexuality, religion, and abortion. He’s also credited for boosting Latino representation in television. In a statement, Lear’s family said he “spent a lifetime helping to preserve” America’s “ideals of justice and equality for all.”

While Troye Sivan is more than just one of your girls...

Tamarind is one of your spices.

Who’s got the Windy City top of mind…

Ariana Madix.

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