Debatable: The Republican candidates hacked and slashed each other last night in debate in Charleston, SC, where finally someone landed a punch on Donald Trump.

Taking on Trump’s challenge of his legal eligibility to be president, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said, “You know, back in September my friend Donald said he had had his lawyers look at this every which way. There was nothing to this, this birther issue.” Letting that sink in for a moment, Cruz then said, “Now, since September the Constitution hasn’t changed, but the poll numbers have.” The crowd applauded

Michael Barbaro writes in the NY Times, “For the first time in the wild, caustic and bruising Republican campaign, Mr. Trump was in the position that so many who have tried to challenge him had found themselves in: flustered, frustrated and unable to regain his footing.”

In a debate light on substance, the candidates mostly targeted Cruz and Trump, with some time on the side for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Speaking often in what seemed to be rehearsed lines, Marco Rubio said, “She wouldn’t just be a disaster. Hillary Clinton is disqualified from being commander in chief of the United States.” As the crowd applauded he went on, “Someone who cannot handle intelligence information appropriately cannot be commander in chief, and someone who lies to the families of those four victims in Benghazi can never be president of the United States.”

The candidates peppered their arguments with “facts” that were often questionable, prompting the Report’s chief aviation correspondent to remark that, “far, far too many ‘facts’ cited in tonight’s Republican debate just won’t fly.”

In his attacks on Trump, Ted Cruz attacked all of New York City for its morals and values. “The values in New York City are socially liberal or pro abortion or pro gay marriage focused around money and the media,” Cruz said, prompting the Daily News headline this morning, “Drop Dead, Ted.”

And the Nominees Are: The latest edition of “Star Wars,” which is already the biggest grossing movie ever at the US box office, was stiffed when Oscar nominations for “Best Picture” were announced yesterday. There’s no award for biggest moneymaker.

The “Best Picture” nominations are: “The Revenant,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Big Short,” “Bridge of Spies,” “Brooklyn,” “The Martian,” “Room” and “Spotlight.”

“The Revenant,” about an 1800s mountain man who seeks revenge, collected 12 nominations — the most for any movie this year — including a “Best Actor” nomination for Leonardo DiCaprio.

No one non-white was nominated for a major award. And for those who are struggling, the name of Best Actress nominee Saoirse Ronan from the movie “Brooklyn” is pronounced “sher-sha.” It’s an Irish thing.

The Obit Page: British actor Alan Rickman, who played Professor Snape in the Harry Potter movies and had a talent for playing mean and evil men, died of cancer in London. He was 69.

Rickman got the job playing a terrorist in the 1988 “Die Hard” two days after arriving in Hollywood at age 41. He could be sneering and dismissive as The Sheriff of Nottingham and Rasputin. But he could also be charming. He was a serious stage actor, beloved in England. His blonde co-star Lindsay Duncan said of his performance in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” that audiences would leave the theater wanting to have sex, “and preferably with Alan Rickman.”

Certificate of Occupancy: The Treasury Department is trying to crack down on the practice of laundering illicit money through cash purchases of multi million-dollar real estate. Drug dealers and other criminals are buying 10 million and $20 million apartments in New York and Miami for cash, then selling them a year later netting legitimate money.

Many of the purchases are done by shell companies owned by other shell companies and no one knows who the real buyers are. The Treasury Department is experimenting in New York and Miami with a requirement that on transactions over $3 million, the shell companies must reveal who their real owners are.

Political Footnote: Speaking in Baton Rouge yesterday President Obama laughingly took on a question about whether his wife would ever run for president saying, “Let me tell ya, there are three things that are certain in life: death, taxes and Michelle is not running for president.”

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