Good morning. Pantone announced its 2024 color of the year: Peach Fuzz. The company said the color “brings belonging, inspires recalibration, and an opportunity for nurturing. Drawing comfort from PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz, we can find peace from within, impacting our wellbeing.” It seems we’ve all been undervaluing the power of light orangey-pink.

Here’s a preview of today’s email:

• “Obnoxious blowhard” 2024

• “Hopefully no one dies”

• McDonald’s wants to take on Starbucks

• And much more!

 2024 

Republican debate: an insults roundup

Four Republican presidential candidates debated Wednesday. The winner was the news network (News Nation) hosting the debate. The losers included everyone who wasted time watching it. As we predicted, Nikki Haley was the main target of attacks. Former President Trump again refused to attend.

• Nikki Haley: Haley said TikTok makes people 17% more anti-Semitic (weirdly specific number). She accused Trump of being weak on China and said we should “end normal trade relations” until the flow of fentanyl into America stops. Last debate she called Ramaswamy “scum.” Unfortunately, Haley held back this time and declined to respond to his attacks.

• Ron DeSantis: The moderators asked him if Trump was mentally fit to be president again. He avoided a direct answer, said “Father Time is undefeated,” and pivoted to talking about how Trump could only serve one term. DeSantis also pushed for limits on both legal and illegal immigration. At one point, he bizarrely called Arabic clothes “man dresses.”

• Chris Christie: Despite her being his biggest competitor in New Hampshire (his strongest state), he defended Haley. He called Vivek Ramaswamy an “obnoxious blowhard” and predicted Trump wouldn’t be able to vote for himself due to a felony conviction. In a bid for cool points, he compared his rivals to Voldemort but goofed by saying the Dark Lord’s name.

• Vivek Ramaswamy: He held up a notepad saying “NIKKI=CORRUPT." Political debates would be far better if everyone used props - the bigger the better. He also accused his rivals of licking Trump’s boots, called Haley a fascist, and compared her to Hillary Clinton. Ramaswamy also said he believes the Jan. 6 Capitol riots were “an inside job.”

Enjoy the drama? CNN will host two more shouting matches debates next month on January 10 and January 21. Those dates are, respectively, five days and two days before the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.

 NEWS 

💰 Student Loans: The White House announced the forgiveness of another $4.8 billion in federal student loans. The newest round of debt cancellation applies to over 80,000 borrowers. The decision affects certain people on two types of payment plans: Income-Driven Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The Supreme Court blocked President Biden's larger debt relief plan last summer. They said it lacked required congressional approval. Biden's getting around that now by working within programs and plans already written into law by Congress. He vowed to continue chipping away at debt relief wherever possible.

🇺🇦 Ukraine: U.S. aid to Ukraine is set to run dry at the end of the month. The Senate voted down a bill Wednesday that would have renewed aid to both Ukraine and Israel. Republicans voted against the measure as a tactic to push for tougher U.S.-Mexico border policies (NYC Mayor Eric Adams was in D.C. Thursday pleading for federal assistance in dealing with the migrant crisis). Senate leadership says they will take up the bill again soon. Ukraine took credit this week for assassinating two Putin allies in Russia, one of whom was a former Ukrainian politician. Per their (metal) statement, "Such a fate will befall other traitors of Ukraine." Allegedly, Ukrainian agents in Siberia also blew up two Russian trains that likely carried military supplies.

⚖️ Jan. 6: A New York man was convicted this week of felony "obstruction of an official proceeding" for his participation in the Jan. 6 riots. His (failed) legal defense strategy was hilarious. He claimed he didn't know he was obstructing anything because he had no clue Congress met in the Capitol. For added comedy, he's also running for Congress next year — for George Santos' old seat, no less. Because of course he is.

 POLITICS 

🔵 The House voted to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) on mostly party lines. In September, Bowman (an adult) illegally pulled the fire alarm in a House office building in an apparent attempt to stop a vote on a bill he opposed. In October, he pleaded guilty to violating D.C. law, paid a $1,000 fine, and was sentenced to six months of probation. Censure is a slap on the wrist with no formal punishment. But, as a form of public humiliation, the vote forced Bowman to stand at the front of the House chamber while the speaker read the resolution condemning him.

🔴 Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is resigning his House seat later this month. McCarthy represents the most Republican-leaning seat in California. A special election will be held next spring to fill his seat for the unexpired months of his term. McCarthy served as speaker of the House from January until he was overthrown (for the first time in U.S. history) in October. Depending on the results of February’s election to replace expelled Rep. George Santos, McCarthy’s absence could leave Republicans with a razor-thin majority of just two seats. As one Congresswoman put it, “Hopefully no one dies.” Morbidly, three Republican representatives did pass away in 2022.

🔵 New York will hold a special election in February to replace expelled Rep. George Santos (Cameo’s newest star). Per state law, there will be no primary election — the local political party committees will choose their nominees. Democrats are going with Tom Suozzi, Santos’ predecessor in Congress who left for a failed 2022 gubernatorial bid. Republicans haven’t yet chosen their candidate.

⚪ A poll in Nebraska shows an independent defeating Republican Sen. Deb Fischer. Fischer, who won by 19% in 2018, is up for reelection next year. The poll shows independent candidate Dan Osborn leading her 40%-38%. Democrats have no candidate yet and might back Osborn. Depending on how it's set up, a poll can find just about whatever numbers the buyer wants. Polls like this — it came from a group supporting Osborn's candidacy — are often released to get press attention and help raise money (a good strategy). But winning as an independent is extremely difficult. Despite loads of polls showing him winning, a similar Democratic-endorsed independent in Republican Kansas got shellacked in 2014.

 TRIVIA 

 WORLD 

🇺🇳 U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres took a rare step and urged the U.N. Security Council to call for a full ceasefire in Gaza. Said Guterres, "The civilian population must be spared from greater harm." He previously served as prime minister of Portugal.

🇺🇸 🇬🇧 The U.S. and U.K. together sanctioned two men associated with the Russian FSB for their involvement in phishing and cyber attack operations. The FSB is the Russian successor to the Soviet Union’s KGB (the bad guys in old Bond movies). Russian President Vladimir Putin once served as director of the FSB.

🇳🇬 A military drone attack killed at least 85 innocent people in northern Nigeria. Waves of violence have wracked the area in recent years. The military incorrectly analyzed drone footage and believed the victims were armed criminals. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu apologized and ordered an investigation into what went wrong. This is only the latest in a string of similar incidents.

🇺🇸 The U.S. Navy might start escorting commercial ships through the Red Sea. Houthi rebels in Yemen (backed by Iran) have repeatedly launched drone attacks on passing ships in recent weeks. The Red Sea separates Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. It is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

 BRIEFS 

☕ McDonald’s is launching a new retro-inspired Starbucks competitor called CosMc’s. The stores will sell coffee, tea, lemonade, pastries, and snacks (including Egg McMuffins). The first location opens today near Chicago.

🪙 The Department of Justice late Thursday charged Hunter Biden with three felony tax offenses. He failed to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019. The president's son faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted.

⚖️ A judge in Wisconsin ruled the state’s 1849 abortion law does not ban consensual abortions, only “feticide.” The case is likely to be appealed to the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court.

🚄 Brightline West, a private high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, will get $3 billion in federal funds. The company launched a similar train in Florida in 2018. They hope to complete the new project by 2027.

🇺🇸 The 42-year-old son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer killed a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy during a police chase. The senator asked for prayers for the officer’s family and said his son "suffers from serious mental disorders."

⚖️ A Texas judge granted a pregnant woman permission to get an abortion. Texas’ abortion ban allows for health-related exceptions. But the state argued she had not proven her life was in danger. The judge disagreed.

 QUOTE 

 ANSWER 

House: 0

Senate: 3

All three independent senators sit with the Democrats and vote with them on most issues.

1. Bernie Sanders (VT) - He’s always been an independent outside his runs for the Democratic presidential nomination.

2. Angus King (ME) - He’s always been an independent.

3. Kyrsten Sinema - She was elected as a Democrat but left the party in 2022.