Democrats casually duke it out. Jameis Winston costs Florida State almost a million. And solitary confinement gets put in the corner. It’s Tuesday, and here are the 5 things you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door:
DEMOCRATIC TOWN HALL
Casual night on the campaign trail: No podiums. Small crowd. Passionate politics. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders mixed it up just a week ahead of the Iowa caucuses. Hillary’s message: ‘Experience, baby, I’ve got it in spades.’ Bernie: ‘We need a revolution.’ This is crunch time. Clinton leads Sanders by six points in Iowa. And then there’s that other guy. Donald Trump just keeps getting stronger. A new CNN/ORC poll shows more than 4 in 10 Republican votes say they’ll back the billionaire. His highest mark so far.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD
When you point a finger at someone: Anti-abortion activists thought they could snare a local Planned Parenthood office peddling fetal tissue. David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt secretly got them on video talking about selling tissues and how much it costs. The only problem is, a grand jury says the filmmakers did it illegally. Oops. Now they’re the ones facing criminal charges. The videos released last year did prompt some changes at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. The group no longer accepts money for fetal tissue.
JAMEIS WINSTON SETTLEMENT
Case closed: $950,000 is the price tag for Florida State to settle with a former student who said she was raped by Jameis Winston. No criminal charges were ever filed against the QB who led the Seminoles to the 2013 national championship. He said the sex was consensual. The settlement means Erica Kinsman is dropping her lawsuit against the school. Florida State says it would have won the case, but wanted to save time and millions in legal fees. Got to protect season ticket sales, er … the taxpayers after all.
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
Solo no more: If the President gets his way, solitary confinement in federal prisons will be a thing of the past for juveniles and low-level offenders. That adds up to about 10,000 inmates. A Justice Department review convinced Barack Obama the practice is wrong and makes rehab harder. His goal? To improve the chances of integrating incarcerated Americans back into society. The President hopes the states will follow suit. We know how fond they are of Washington.
AL-NUSRA
ISIS’ more dangerous cousin: ISIS, ISIS, ISIS. Not a day goes by that we’re not talking about the terror group. But don’t forget about al-Nusra, says a recent report. It criticizes the Obama administration for being too ISIS-centric. The al Qaeda-affiliated group is ready to attack the West too, but isn’t as flashy as ISIS. While ISIS is busy trying to set up a caliphate — its own Islamic State — al-Nusra is weaving its way into Syrian society. The report’s bottom line: Don’t forget about al-Nusra because they’ll be waiting for you when ISIS is gone.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
Number of the day:
4
The percentage of firearm homicides attributable to serious mental illness. The vast majority of people with severe mental illnesses are never violent toward others. They’re a much greater threat to themselves, says the CDC.
Are you dogging me?
Ludivine the bloodhound has a nose for running. She managed to slip into a half marathon this month and finished seventh. That’s pretty doggone good.
Nothing says love like Waffle House
For the ninth year, the short-order chain is taking Valentine’s Day reservations for candlelight dinners at restaurants in 18 states. Who wants their romance scattered, covered and smothered?
Trumping the hip-hop vote
Rapper Chingy said he was down with the Donald. Now he’s not. Why not? He says was misquoted. But how many ways can you interpret “I vote for @realDonaldTrump”?
AND FINALLY …
Quit horsing around little fella
A sneeze is a little too much to handle for a newborn colt. Q: How did you know the pony was sick? A: Because he was a little horse.