UNLV shooting, GOP debate, and adult happy meals.

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Fourth GOP debate takeaways

The fourth Republican presidential primary debate was held in Alabama Wednesday night where the four GOP candidates — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — came out swinging.

• Ganging up: DeSantis and Ramaswamy attacked Haley almost immediately. Both piled on criticisms and keyed in on support she has recently received from some Democratic donors. Haley brushed off the comments, attributing them to jealousy and emphasized her independence from donor influence.

• Christie arrives: Chris Christie breathed some of the debate fire he had during the 2016 presidential primary season. He challenged DeSantis on answering basic questions and accused Ramaswamy of backtracking and being obnoxious. Christie also criticized all three of his opponents for not answering questions directly because they are afraid to offend Trump.

• Trump MIA: Donald Trump continued his strategy of avoiding the debate stage. However, the super PAC supporting him took shots at his rivals after the event, saying they are wasting time, money and energy. The PAC’s spokesperson then called for the party to “unify” around Trump, who is still leading by double digits in the polls.

New Mexico sues Facebook for not protecting children

New Mexico’s attorney general filed a civil suit against Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, accusing Facebook and Instagram of promoting underage accounts to purported child predators.

• Undercover: Investigators in New Mexico created fake accounts of kids under 14. These accounts received sexually explicit images even when the fake child showed no interest. The profiles also received recommendations to join unmoderated Facebook groups that promote commercial sex.

• Facebook didn’t respond directly to the allegations but maintains that it works hard to protect young users. The company says it shares tools and information with other companies and law enforcement agencies to help expose predators.

  • In fact, a recent company report details millions of tips Facebook and Instagram sent to the National Center for Missing and exploited Children.

• Addiction: New Mexico is also accusing Meta of harming children and teenagers through the addictive design of its platform. Similar accusations were made in a lawsuit by 33 states against Meta in October. They claim that Instagram and Facebook have features meant to hook kids, worsening mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.

Suspect found dead in UNLV shooting

Police confirmed that a suspect who opened fire at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus on Wednesday is now dead.

• Details: Las Vegas police first reported the shooting around noon, saying there were reports of an active shooter near a business school building on UNLV’s campus. Authorities from the university issued an alert, warning students and staff of shots fired and telling them to evacuate to a safe place. Police eventually located the shooter, engaged in a shootout and killed the suspect. Three victims were taken to local hospitals, with one in critical condition.

• Campus shutdown: Police evacuated all the buildings and the entire university system remained closed for the rest of the day. Elsewhere, Dayton cancelled its basketball game against UNLV in the wake of the shooting.

• The report came after a series of shootings in Austin, Texas, left six people dead and three others injured. The suspect, Shane James, allegedly shot his way through four communities in Austin before he was arrested.

Little Stories

U.S. News

• Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to resign from the Congress by the end of the year. (More)

• The Biden administration will forgive another $4.8 billion in student debt for 80,300 borrowers. (More)

• A Nevada grand jury indicted six people for pretending to be presidential electors in an alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 election. (More)

World

• Kyiv claimed credit for the assassination of a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician who was guilty of treason and hiding in Russia. (More)

• Guyana's president said that his country is doing everything it can to defend itself from Venezuela. Venezuela has instructed its state-owned companies to search for oil and minerals in the large Essequibo region, which Guyana claims as its own. (More)

• New Zealand will soon use electric aircrafts to deliver packages and letters between regions in the country. (More)

Business & Economy

• U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday (S&P -0.39%, Nasdaq -0.58%, Dow -0.19%). (More)

• McDonalds aims to open nearly 9,000 new restaurants and add 100 million loyalty members by 2027. (More)

• 23andMe changed its terms of service to prevent 6.9 million users from suing the company after their personal data was stolen. (More)

Sports & Entertainment

• Time magazine named Taylor Swift its 2023 Person of the Year. (More)

• Norman Lear, the Emmy-award winning producer of “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” has passed away at 101. (More)

• Iowa’s Caitlin Clark became the 1st player in Division I basketball history, women’s or men’s, to record at least 3,000 points, 750 rebounds, and 750 assists. (More)

Science, Health, & Tech

• Mushroom compound psilocybin may help relieve depression episodes in people with bipolar disorder, according to an early trial. (More)

• NASA celebrated the 25th anniversary of the International Space Station. (More)

• A Stanford study of 22 sets of identical twins found that a vegan diet improved health more than an omnivorous diet. (More)

Extra Credit

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