What Rubio vs. Cruz Means

Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are trading barbs over immigration, with the latter accusing the former of blocking efforts to secure the border in 2013 as the Senate debate the Rubio-backed “Gang of Eight” bill. Rubio is firing back noting Cruz backed a path to legal status for those in the U.S. illegally. The war of words is a preview for what may come if the pair emerge as the last two standing in the GOP race.

Donald Trump took his most personal swing yet at Ben Carson Thursday, comparing his self-professed anger issues as a child to child molestation. Meanwhile he went off on the voters in Iowa, where he is slipping in the polls.. “How stupid are the people of Iowa?” Trump said in Iowa Thursday night. “How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?” Carson’s rise appears to have rattled Trump, who may find his latest bombast backfire. Carly Fiorina was the first GOP candidate to condemn Trump’s remarks in a posting on Facebook.

President Obama waded into the 2016 GOP primary, denouncing Trump’s immigration plan as unfeasible and inconsistent with American values—reinforcing arguments many of Trump’s rivals have made. Meanwhile, Martin O’Malley is hitting Hillary Clinton on immigration.

Republicans mock Clinton’s Marines story. How the Democratic bench has weakened under Obama. And the strange case of that Bernie Sanders photo.

Here are your must-reads:

Must Reads

How the GOP Resurrected the Flat Tax
Republicans shun progressive tax systems, TIME’s Haley Sweetland Edwards writes

College Alumni Raise Doubts About Bernie Sanders Campaign Photo
TIME’s Sam Frizell goes deep on a an image of candidate’s civil rights activism

U.S. and Allies Take First Step Toward Dismembering ISIS
Goal is to cut Islamic State supply line sending troops and weapons to Iraq, TIME’s Mark Thompson reports

Big Obama Donors Stay on Sidelines in 2016 Race
Almost four out of five of his 2012 donors haven’t given any money to Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders [Wall Street Journal]

Donald Trump Delivers 95-Minute Rant on Everything That’s Wrong in this Race
He’d bomb the s–t out of ISIS, he says, as he bashes his GOP rivals and Clinton [Washington Post]

In Obama Era, G.O.P. Bolsters Grip in the States
The Democratic bench disappears [New York Times]

Sound Off

“It’s in the book that he’s got a pathological temper. That’s a big problem because you don’t cure that … as an example: child molesting. You don’t cure these people. You don’t cure a child molester. There’s no cure for it. Pathological, there’s no cure for that.” — Donald Trump to CNN’s Erin Burnett Thursday on Ben Carson

“The notion that we’re gonna deport 11, 12 million people from this country — first of all, I have no idea where Mr. Trump thinks the money’s gonna come from. It would cost us hundreds of billions of dollars to execute that … Imagine the images on the screen flashed around the world as we were dragging parents away from their children, and putting them in what, detention centers, and then systematically sending them out … Nobody thinks that that is realistic. But more importantly, that’s not who we are as Americans.” — President Obama to ABC News

Bits and Bites

Aurora Victim’s Family Responds to Clinton’s Reference in Speech [TIME]

How Hillary Clinton Is Targeting Republican Candidates [TIME]

Ted Cruz Blasts Marco Rubio on Immigration [TIME]

Martin O’Malley Hits Hillary Clinton For Saying ‘Illegal Immigrants’ [TIME]

Obama: Trump’s Immigration Plan Would Cost Hundreds of Billions [ABC]

Dick Cheney on Hillary Clinton: ‘I Think She’s in Big Trouble’ [Washington Post]

Republicans Mock Hillary Clinton’s Claim of Trying to Join the Marines [New York Times]

Meet the Women Who Aren’t Voting for Hillary Clinton [TIME]