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ByStevePeoples The Associated Press MARSHALLTOWN,IOWA Re- publican Donald Trump on Tuesday bowed out of the final Republican presiden- tial debate before the lead- off Iowa caucuses, saying Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly is "a lightweight." With 48 hours to go be- fore the faceoff, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski confirmed Trump's decision Tuesday evening after a press con- ference in which Trump lashed out at Kelly and said she'd been "toying" with him. "He will not be partici- pating in the Fox News de- bate Thursday," Lewan- dowski said immediately after the press conference. Trump, who called his decision "pretty close to ir- revocable" in the press con- ference, said he'd hold an Iowa event at the same time as the debate to raise money for wounded veterans. Iowa hosts the nation's opening presidential primary con- test on Monday. "With me, they're dealing with somebody that's a little bit different. They can't toy with me like they toy with everybody else," he said. "Let them have their de- bate and let's see how they do with the ratings." He added, "Why do I have to make Fox rich?" Trump had suggested he might skip the Fox debate earlier in the day, drawing a sarcastic statement from the television network that "the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Don- ald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president." "A nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twit- ter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings," the Fox state- ment said. A Fox spokesman did not immediately respond to Trump's decision. The New York real es- tate mogul's presence has helped produce massive ratings in the previous six Republican presiden- tial debates. His decision leaves seven candidates to share the primetime stage on Thursday: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, retired neu- rosurgeon Ben Carson, for- mer Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. "Let them have their debate. I'm going to raise money during that period of time for the wounded warriors and for the vets. Let Fox play its games," Trump said. He added, "I don't' think Iowa's gonna care." GOP 2016 Tr um p re fu se s to d eb at e; calls Fox's Kelly 'a lightweight' By Julie Pace The Associated Press CLINTON, IOWA For Iowa Democrat Leslie McCre- ery, the memories of Hill- ary Clinton's stunning loss in her state eight years ago are still fresh. McCreery was there the night of the 2008 caucuses, trying to recruit voters to Clinton's side, only to watch her neighbors back Barack Obama and help carry him to an upset victory. Now, as she prepares to again head Clinton's efforts at her cau- cus site Monday night, MCreery can't fathom why her candidate's lead again feels in peril. "It doesn't make sense to me," said McCreery, a 70-year-old retiree from the aptly-named town of Clin- ton. McCreery is part of a le- gionofwomen—manymid- dle-aged or older — who makeupClinton'smostloyal andenthusiasticbandoffol- lowers. While they're un- wavering in their support for the former secretary of state, some are grappling with a combination of con- fusion and anxiety that an- other race in Iowa could be slipping away. "It's just a weird year," said Beverly Williams, a 55-year-old who works at a corn processing plant. Thistimearound,theun- expected challenge to Clin- ton comes from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the self-described democratic socialist who has energized young voters and liberals with his calls for a "politi- cal revolution" that would include free college tuition and breaking up big Wall Street banks. In the closing days before Monday's cau- cuses, Sanders' crowds are routinely doubling or tri- pling Clinton's, particularly in college towns. Her campaign has tried to infuse her events with youthful enthusiasm, too, typically tapping a young volunteer to speak to the crowd about why he or she is supporting Clinton's can- didacy. But the real energy comes from women who are closer to the candidate in age. They join in chants while waiting in the cold and snow to go through secu- rity checks: "It's time, it's time, it's time for a woman in the White House!" "I be- lieve that she will win! I be- lieve that she will win!" They burst into applause when a biographical video shows Clinton's 1995 speech in Beijing when she de- clared, "Women's rights are human rights." And they nod approvingly through- out her remarks as she ticks through economic and for- eign policy proposals. "It's been Hillary all the way," said Mary Charipar, a 63-year-old retired math teacher from Cedar Rapids. "I feel like my future and the future of my children and other people's children, only her hands are going to be able to take care of it." To be sure, they do hear the complaints about Clin- ton: that she appears aloof and inaccessible, that she and her husband don't feel bound by some rules — wit- ness the private email con- troversy — that she's reluc- tant to tell the full story about some events. Supporters suggest such criticismismainlythecarp- ing of political foes. How- ever, it is also sometimes heard from Democrats, though they say they still intend to vote for her. "She's been with us for years and years and years and she's taken her lumps," said Patricia Hanick, 68. "She's been brilliant and she's been accused of a lot of untrustworthy behavior." Hanick caucused for Obamain2008andsaysshe understands why it's Sand- ers who appears to have momentum as the caucuses draw near. "When the race gets tight, it's a little more exciting to go with the un- derdog," she said. Still, Hanick said she learned from her experi- ence backing Obama that inspirational candidates can have their limits. "In- spiration makes you get out and vote, but it doesn't get thejobdoneinthesameway that the experience that she bringsgetsitdone,"shesaid. Women made up 57 per- cent of caucus goers in the 2008 Democratic contest in Iowa, according to polls of those who participated. Obama won 35 percent of their votes, to Clinton's 30 percent, setting him on the path to the Democratic nomination. DEMOCRATIC FRONT-RUNNER Clinton's loyal women backers wary of a 2008 Iowa repeat PATRICKSEMANSKY—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a CNN town hall at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday. By Ken Thomas The Associated Press DULUTH, MINN. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Tuesday his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination would succeed even if he fails to prevail in the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, saying in an interview with The Associated Press he was prepared to go the distance against front run- ner Hillary Clinton. "If I lose Iowa by two votes and end up with vir- tually the same number of delegates, is that a must- lose situation? Is that a tragedy? No," Sanders said aboard a charter flight en route to Duluth, Minne- sota, where he spoke at a rally with 6,000 support- ers. "We are running a cam- paign that will take us to the convention and I'm very proud of the kinds of enor- mous gains we have made." Sanders told reporters earlier in the day in Des Moines that if he could gen- erate large turnout among non-traditional voters, young people and workers, he could claim victory. "We will win here in Iowa if the voter turnout is high and frankly if the voter turnout is not high we're going to be struggling," he said. In the AP interview, he noted with a populist flair that if former New York City Mayor Michael Bloom- berg entered a race against him and Republican Don- ald Trump, "two of the three candidates would be multi-billionaires. And by the way I'm the one who is not the multi-billionaire." Turning to his wife, Jane, he quipped, "Is that cor- rect? I haven't checked the bank account lately." Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Demo- crats on Capitol Hill, said Bloomberg's interest in a presidential bid brought forth "one of the issues that I think galls the American people — that we're moving toward an oligarchic form of society." He also dismissed spec- ulation that President Barack Obama might be tipping the scales in favor of Clinton after the pres- ident praised his former secretary of state in a Polit- ico interview. Sanders said Obama was "very generous to me." INTERVIEW Sanders says he can still win the presidency even if he loses Iowa MARY ALTAFFER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Republican presidential candidate Donald speaks to reporters during a new conference at the Roundhouse Gymnasium, Tuesday in Marshalltown, Iowa. PATRICK SEMANSKY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., le , listens to an attendee's question alongside host Chris Cuomo during a CNN town hall at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday. By Jonathan Drew The Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. A federal ap- peals court will consider whether county commis- sioners in North Carolina violated the Constitution by delivering Christian prayers at their meetings and invit- ing audience members to join. The case marks the first time a federal appeals court has considered how local councils conduct prayers since a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld a New York town's use of predomi- nantly Christian invocations at its meetings. A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled on Wednesday to hear Rowan County's ef- fort to overturn a federal judge's ruling that local of- ficials ran afoul of constitu- tional requirements separat- ing church and state. There is a key difference between the two cases: Rowan County commis- sioners delivered the prayers themselves, while the Town Board in Greece, New York, invited local clergy or lay- people to do so, according to a previous ruling by a fed- eraljudgeinNorthCarolina. The plaintiffs in the law- suit filed in North Carolina claim the elected officials' delivery of the prayers was coercive, while the defen- dants argue that it's not un- constitutional for lawmak- ers to lead prayers. The original lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Lib- erties Union on behalf of three residents, said nearly all prayers that opened Rowan County Commission meetings between 2007 and 2013 were Christian. Prayers typicallyendedwithphrases such as "in the name of Je- sus" or "in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," their lawsuit said. The plaintiffs, who are not Christians, said the prayers made them feel ex- cluded and sent the message that the board favored a par- ticular religion. They said they felt pressured to stand and participate because the commission and most of the audience would do so. The board had no writ- ten policy on prayer, but county commissioners said in court documents that they were following a long-standing tradition and took turns delivering the prayer. They said citi- zens could leave the room or arrive after the prayer without affecting their ability to participate in the meetings. The ACLU wrote the com- mission in February 2012 saying the prayers violated the Constitution. A federal court issued a preliminary injunction in 2013 halting the practice, and the judge made his decision perma- nent in May, nearly a year after the Supreme Court rul- ing. Calling Rowan County's practice "unconstitutionally coercive," U.S. District Judge James Beaty Jr. noted "that Commissioners themselves are the sole prayer-writers and prayer-givers," distin- guishing the case from the one decided by the Supreme Court. LAWSUIT Pu bl ic p ra ye r re vi ew ed ; 1s t ca se since Supreme Court ruling WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B