The GOP primary debate is this Wednesday at 9pm

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‘Tis the (Political) Season

The Story

Welcome to the 2024 starting line.

Already?

Yup, starting with the first GOP primary debate. On Wednesday at 9pm ET, everyone except former President Trump will be in Milwaukee, WI, for a chance at the Republican nomination. That includes at least eight candidates — with former VP Mike Pence, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley vying for a chance to dethrone Trump in the polls. But the leading contender for the GOP nomination will be noticeably MIA.

Where will he be?

Releasing a pre-taped interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Trump doesn’t want to be interviewed by competitors lower in the polls than him and instead says, “the public knows who I am” and hinted that he could be skipping other debates in the future. Meanwhile, DeSantis has previously said candidates “owe it to the people to put out your vision,” and people “are not going to look kindly” to those who don’t. It’s not clear when the interview will drop, but could be around the same time as the debate.

theSkimm
The GOP’s elephant in the room will be absent from the first live primary debate. But the former president will still be putting on a show from the sidelines. Whether his choice is smart or short-sighted will be up to American viewers.

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What’s got people taking shelter…

Tropical Storm Hilary. Yesterday, at least 9 million people were under a flash flood warning, including those in downtown Los Angeles. So far, the storm has killed at least one person in the Baja California Peninsula. Over the weekend, the storm was downgraded from a Category 4 hurricane, but Hilary is still expected to unleash a “potentially historic amount of rainfall” today. As the state braced for Hilary, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake shook Southern California. Palm Springs lost 911 service and San Diego reportedly saw three to four inches of rainfall. Ten inches of rainfall have been forecast in some areas with winds strong enough to cut power for many. Parts of the southwestern US could now be showered in a year’s worth or more of rainfall. As the storm carries on today, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the nation, closed its campuses.

What aimed for the moon and didn't land among the stars...

A spacecraft to Russia. Yesterday, the country reported its first moon mission in 47 years crashed into the moon. The Luna-25 spacecraft went into lunar orbit last week and was scheduled to land today. Instead, Russia’s space agency said it lost contact with the spacecraft before it “ceased its existence.“ The country plans to investigate what caused the crash. In the meantime, everyone just watched as Russia’s spacecraft failed to make it a space superpower while the US approved allies to hand over F-16s to Ukraine.

Who people are talking about...

Isaiah Bolden. Over the weekend, Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden was hospitalized after he slammed into his teammate during a preseason game with the Green Bay Packers. The 23-year-old rookie NFL player was released from the hospital the next day. However, the incident is again reigniting the conversation around head trauma and safety in a sport that brings in $12 billion a year. Just six months ago Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a game. Study after study shows the link between football players and CTE. It wasn't until 2016 that the NFL acknowledged a connection between football and CTE.