Homeland Security Takes Center Stage at Republican Debate

Last night, the Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas focused on homeland security, with 18 million people tuning in to watch the event. The debate saw heated exchanges between Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Ted Cruz over the government's bulk collection and storage of phone records. Rubio opposed ending the program, while Cruz supported its termination. The spat highlighted rising tensions between the two senators as they vie for the top spot to challenge Donald Trump.

Key Takeaways:

Senator Ted Cruz supported the government's decision to end the bulk collection and storage of phone records, citing the new program's ability to cover nearly 100% of phone numbers in search of terrorists.
Senator Marco Rubio opposed the decision, stating that the metadata program was a valuable tool that has been lost.
Rubio emphasized the importance of handling national security and the bully pulpit of the White House without compromising national security.
Donald Trump expressed his preference for prioritizing national security over individual privacy, stating that he has always come down on the side of security.
Jeb Bush criticized Trump's foreign policy proposals, calling him a "chaos candidate" who would not be an effective commander-in-chief.

Statistics:

18 million people watched the Republican debate on TV.
100% of phone numbers are now covered by the new phone records program, up from 20-30% under the old program.
15 million people witnessed the debate between Rubio and Cruz.

Sources:

CBS News White House Correspondent Major Garrett
CNN
CQ-Roll Call, Inc.