This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Wednesday, January 17th, 2024.

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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-narrowly-denied-clean-sweep-iowas-99-counties-1-vote

Trump narrowly denied clean sweep of Iowa's 99 counties by 1 vote

Former President Donald Trump won 98 out of 99 Iowa counties during Monday's dominating victory in the Republican caucuses.

The one county that did not go for Trump was Johnson County, where former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley led Trump by one vote with 99% of votes counted. Haley received 1,271 votes, approximately 35.5% of the vote in Johnson County, while Trump received 1,270 votes, according to GOP officials in the state.

Haley finished third statewide behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump pulled in a majority of votes with 51%.

Haley claimed her third-place finish was evidence of momentum when considering polling numbers in upcoming primary states.

"When you look at how well we’re doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina and beyond, I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race," Haley said.

DeSantis visited every county and invested significant time and resources in the Hawkeye State, and weeks ago was predicting he would win the caucuses. Recently he had been saying he embraced the underdog role in the state.

"Because of your support, in spite of all of what they threw at us, we got our ticket punched out of Iowa," DeSantis said in his speech.

DeSantis outperformed some polling expectations on Monday night, finishing at roughly 21% when the Real Clear Politics average of polls showed him at 15.7% before votes were cast.

"They threw everything at Ron DeSantis," a senior DeSantis campaign official told Fox News Digital late Monday night. "They couldn’t kill him. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa. This is going to be a long battle ahead, but that is what this campaign is built for. The stakes are too high for this nation and we will not back down."

Trump currently holds large leads in the polls in both New Hampshire and South Carolina. The former president, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, holds a 14-point lead in New Hampshire and a 30-point lead in South Carolina.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/16/nikki-haley-refuses-more-presidential-debates-unless-trump-participates.html

Nikki Haley refuses more presidential debates unless Trump participates

Nikki Haley said she would not participate in any further primary debates unless front-runner Donald Trump is on stage.

The former president won a landslide victory Monday in the Iowa Caucus, the first contest of the 2024 presidential nomination. Haley placed third in Iowa, with 19.1% of the vote.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused Haley of not wanting to answer “tough questions” on topics such as her alleged dealings with aircraft manufacturer Boeing while she was governor of South Carolina.

“The reality is that she is not running for the nomination, she’s running to be Trump’s VP,” DeSantis posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday. “I won’t snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments. I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week.”

The next GOP primary debate is scheduled for Thursday, days before the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 23. Polls have Haley running just behind Trump in the state, some polls by as little as 7 points.

https://redstate.com/jenvanlaar/2024/01/15/watch-vivek-ramaswamy-addresses-supporters-in-iowa-n2168776

Vivek Ramaswamy Suspends Presidential Campaign, Endorses Donald Trump

Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, fresh off a 4th-place finish in Iowa, addressed his supporters and announced that he is suspending his campaign.

Ramaswamy spoke for just about 10 minutes before taking questions/comments from supporters. He told his supporters that he'd promised them he would tell the truth and be realistic, and that acknowledging hard truths required him to say that there was no path for him to be the nominee. He told his supporters that he is committed to America First principles and that Trump is the candidate who will do things like get rid of the deep state, restore national pride, and eliminate a chunk of federal bureaucracy.

He ended his comments by assuring supporters that this is just the start of their movement.

https://thepostmillennial.com/nypd-stop-man-for-smoking-in-subway-then-arrest-him-on-murder-charges-from-2020?utm_campaign=64487

NYPD stop man for smoking in subway—then arrest him on murder charges from 2020

A man was arrested for an alleged murder that took place in Queens in 2020 after he was stopped by the New York Police Department for smoking in the subway.

Brooklyn transit cops stopped the 36-year-old Luis Hernandez after he was seen smoking on the subway on Friday. Under normal circumstances, Hernandez would have been released with a simple court summons, but he was held up after officers scanned his name and found out he was wanted for murder, Daily News reports.

Police took Hernandez to Queens and showed him video and photos showing him at a murder scene on 31st St. near 36th Ave. in Astoria, according to authorities.

Police say Hernandez and three or four others took part in the murder of Richard Hernandez, 21 on Feb. 9, 2020.

“Mr. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty and fully intends on fighting the charges against him,” his attorney, Mahmoud Rabah, told the Daily News on Monday.

“Mr. Hernandez is a committed father of a young child,” Rabah claimed. “He is a hardworking immigrant who has held a stable job in a meat processing plant for years. He completely maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court.”

Hernandez has no prior arrests and was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Sunday.

The victim, who is not related to Luis, was out with friends when a fight erupted. Witnesses told the Daily News that at least one attacker was armed with a machete, and another a knife. The victim was slain just a few blocks away from where he lived, and ultimately could not be saved after being taken to Mount Sinai Queens. Three other men sustained minor wounds during the brawl, police reported at the time.

Police said on Monday that the attack was linked to gang activity. Authorities remain in pursuit of Hernandez's accomplices.