THE BIG STORY

What to watch for in the last Democratic presidential debate before people start voting

Tonight’s debate will be the smallest stage we've seen so far, featuring only Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Tom Steyer. Andrew Yang just missed qualifying. Cory Booker just dropped out.

Here’s why the debate is a big deal: it’s the last big, scheduled moment before people actually start voting in the Democratic presidential primaries – Iowa votes in just a few weeks.

Some of the big themes to look for:

👉Sanders vs. Warren. The two senators have had something of a truce, but that seems to be ending dramatically. First, volunteers for Sanders reportedly had a script to tell voters Warren is “bringing no new bases” into the party. Then a bigger story: Warren said Sanders told her in a private meeting in 2018 that he did not believe a woman could win the presidency in 2020. He denied making the comment.

👉Buttigieg vs. Biden. Buttigieg's candidacy, like that of many others, has always appeared to hinge on Biden slipping. Both candidates are pushing a more centrist politics and they appeal to similar sets of voters. Can Buttigieg upstage Biden?

👉The unity candidate. All candidates will be making the pitch that they’ll be able to bring all the Democratic voters home, in ways the other candidates can’t.

Here’s everything else to look for in tonight’s debate.

Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images

IMPEACHMENT TODAY

Mitt's great power comes with great responsibility. In today's episode: Mitt Romney is cast as the great hope to show Trump doesn’t completely own the Republicans. Does that check out? Listen and subscribe.

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

The deadly Pensacola military base shooting was an act of terrorism, the attorney general says

Attorney General William Barr said the shooting at the Naval Air Base in Pensacola, Florida that left three sailors dead was an act of terrorism.

The man who opened fire, Mohammed Alshamrani, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force, had expressed anti-American and anti-Israeli views on social media, hours before the Dec. 6 attack, Barr said.

Alshamrani was one of several Saudi Arabian citizens training at the base, a practice that has operated between the two allies for years.

Barr said investigating the shooting revealed more than a dozen other Saudi Arabian students at the base held anti-US or jihadist views.

The attorney general asked Apple to unlock two phones belonging to the gunman, who died in a shootout with security officers. The company said it is helping in the investigation, but it will not unlock the shooter’s phones.

SNAPSHOTS

Immigration “tent courts” aren’t allowing full public access, attorneys say. Lawyers and advocates said the government is keeping the public out of what some consider to be the most important part of immigration court proceedings.

The 2020 Oscar nominations were released yesterday. Joker leads with 11 nominations, including Best Picture (though somehow, its creators will continue to pretend they’re underdogs). No women were nominated for Best Director, which is wild. The nominees barely include any people of color. Here is the full list of nominees.

The Supreme Court won’t hear the case of Michelle Carter, who encouraged her boyfriend to kill himself over text messages. Her lawyers argued her conviction violated her First Amendment right to free speech. The court refused to hear her case. She is currently serving her 15-month jail sentence and is scheduled to be released in March.

Gigi Hadid is a possible juror in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial. After telling the judge that she had previously met Weinstein, Hadid added, “I think I'm still able to keep an open mind on the facts.”

BY ROYAL DECREE

The Queen announced she will let Prince Harry and Meghan Markle live in Canada

After a dramatic week, the Queen said she and the royal family are “entirely supportive” of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step back from public life. In a statement, she said she gave her permission for the couple to split their time between Canada and the UK.

Harry and Meghan’s announcement last week was reportedly made without consulting the rest of the royal family, and since the announcement, reports have flowed in of tensions inside the family.

Several UK newspaper outlets have published articles based on a story in the Times of London hinting at claims of bullying between Prince William and Prince Harry. The two brothers released a joint statement calling the story “offensive and harmful.”

If you’re looking to understand why Harry and Meghan might want to step back from public life, we put together these headlines that compare the UK media’s coverage of Kate Middleton and Meghan.

DREAM ACHIEVED

This man has become the first person with HIV to fly a commercial plane

Two years ago, James Bushe told us he had been blocked from accepting his place on a pilot training course because of Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority’s interpretation of the rules concerning HIV-positive applicants — as laid down by its European regulator — forbade it.

After year of fighting with the CAA successfully overturning a policy widely regarded as discriminatory — and nearly two years of intense training, Bushe, 31, became the first person with HIV to gain a commercial pilot’s license and fly a commercial flight.

In steps big and small, I'm rooting for you,

Elamin