It’s hump day, which means you just have to get to lunch and you’re on the back half of the week. Kill a few minutes with a cup of coffee and these news headlines.
1. Not done yet
One person has been killed and eight arrested in the Oregon wildlife refuge standoff after a traffic stop on a nearby highway. Among the arrested is Ammon Bundy, the leader of the occupiers. A supporter of the Bundy family said that the dead man is LaVoy Finicum, who had been a spokesman for the group. The arrested face a federal felony charge. Other protesters remain at the refuge, where the mood is reportedly “prepared but calm.” — The New York Times
2. Taking his ball and going home
Donald Trump is skipping tomorrow night’s Republican debate on Fox News, with which he’s had a long-running squabble over “fairness” — and money, natch. Trump said he’d pass on the debate if it were moderated by Megyn Kelly, whom he claims is too biased to be fair. Trump has taken credit for Fox‘s high ratings for the debates and has demanded the network donate a portion of its advertising revenue to veterans’ groups; he says he’ll use his now-free time on Thursday night to raise money himself for veterans. Seven other Republican candidates will attend the debate, and probably are thrilled at the chance to actually say something. — The Wall Street Journal
3. Chicken
Ted Cruz has challenged Donald Trump to a “mano-a-mano” debate after Trump announced he won’t be attending tomorrow’s Fox News debate. He made several salient points — after all, Cruz was a champion debater at Princeton — that the debate can be moderator-free; that if Cruz is so stupid, as Trump claims, it should be an easy battle; and that the people of Iowa deserve this last “job interview” before the caucuses. Actually, Cruz pretty much said everything except “bok, bok, bok.” Did he learn that at Princeton? — The Washington Post
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4. The day is saved
The FBI has thwarted a potential massacre at a Masonic temple in Milwaukee. Agents captured Samy Mohamed Hamzeh on Monday after he allegedly bought machine guns and a silencer from undercover agents. Hamzeh allegedly toured the temple earlier this month and detailed his plans to murder at least 30 people in a rampage. Fortunately, he detailed them to FBI informants and not real co-conspirators. Er, yikes. — CNN
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5. Tea for two
President Obama is meeting with Bernie Sanders today at the White House. The president has had many meetings with Hillary Clinton, his former secretary of state, but this appears to be the first one-on-one sit-down with Sanders in the Oval Office. Obama recently made remarks encouraging the media to dig into Sanders’ proposals and evaluate their feasibility. — NBC News
6. The ladies have it
We’re a few days out from the blizzard that shut down the nation’s capital. So who struggled into work on Tuesday at the Senate? Everyone who lives really close by? Everyone with four-wheel drive? Nope: all the women, that’s who. Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski looked around the Senate floor and noticed that, for once, the gender imbalance was in her favor — everyone there, from the presiding officer to the parliamentarians to the floor managers to the pages, were women. Uh, what’s that about women being the weaker sex? — CNN
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