DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Absent Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidates strained to take advantage of a rare opportunity to step out of the front-runner's shadow in Thursday night's debate — a staid, policy-heavy contest that offered a glimpse of what the GOP contest might have been without the unpredictable businessman.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Latest on developments from the 2016 Republican race for president, less than a week out from the Iowa caucuses (all times local):

NEW YORK (AP) — Last-minute attempts by Fox News Channel to end its feud with Donald Trump failed and Thursday's presidential debate went on without him, creating the odd spectacle of competing television networks covering a Trump rally at the same time as the other Republican candidates talked.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — "Scandal" actress Kerry Washington took home a shiny little pudding pot Thursday after being feted with a raucous parade through Harvard Square and a roast by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country star Carrie Underwood is working with Carnival Cruise Line and Operation Homefront to honor military families throughout her upcoming "Storyteller" tour.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A former Cub Scout leader who often invited children to his suburban home to swim denied Wednesday that he is the former host of a children's television show who went by the name "Mr. Wonder" and is wanted in Louisiana on charges that he sexually abused children during a camping retreat nearly four decades ago.

NEW YORK (AP) — Is Fox News Channel overplaying its hand or skillfully playing to its brand in dealing with Donald Trump?

LONDON (AP) — Joseph Fiennes will star as Michael Jackson in a one-off TV comedy set to broadcast later this year — a casting decision that has added fuel to a raging debate about opportunities for non-white actors in movies and TV.

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball is debuting a new website and apps — for ice hockey.