The past week at the University of California, Irvine has been a tense one on campus. It all started when the Associated Students of University of California, Irvine (ASUCI) passed a resolution banning national flags from an "inclusive" space on campus. The flags, according to the legislation, "serve as symbols of patriotism or weapons for nationalism, but also construct cultural mythologies and narratives that in turn charge nationalistic sentiments," and should therefore be removed. 

After a strong media backlash and threats of violence, the Executive Board of the ASUCI voted to veto the flag-banning legislation. The administration then issued a statement "swiftly, strongly, and publicly" denouncing the six students who introduced the initial legislation. "These six students were acting in an official capacity, as members of a small sub-set of our student government known as Legislative Council, and it was outrageous and indefensible that they would question the appropriateness of displaying the American flag on this great campus," UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman said.

Meanwhile, some are upset with the university's response, and over 1,200 students and professors have signed an online petition supporting the six students who proposed the ban. Teresa Mull

Marco Rubio stepped out on the campaign trail in slightly heeled black leather booties earlier this week in New Hampshire, and he hasn't stopped hearing about it since. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was the latest person to pile on the criticism Wednesday during his appearance on The View. "We've seen Rubio has those cute new boots and I don't want to be outdone," Paul says in a video he posted to Twitter, showing him in Whoopi Goldberg's dressing room clutching a pair of gold and black shoes.

Paul's dig follows a tweet from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's communications director Tuesday, which contained a link to an article about Rubio's boots and this comment: "A Vote for Marco Rubio Is a Vote for Men's High-Heeled Booties." When Jeb Bush mentioned he was ditching his cowboy boots in New Hampshire for more snow-friendly shoes, he was sure to clarify that his shoes had one key difference from Rubio's. "They're not high-heeled," he said. Becca Stanek

After rumors surfaced earlier this week that Girls was ending, HBO confirmed Wednesday that the sixth season of the comedy, helmed by Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow, would indeed be its last.

"I conceived of Girls when I was 23 and now I'm nearly 30," Dunham said in a statement. "[T]he show has quite perfectly spanned my 20s, the period of time that it's about — and so it feels like the right time to wrap our story up."

Fans can look forward what will surely be a dramatic final season, because as Dunham says, "in the Girls universe, nothing ever ends too neatly."

Season 5 of Girls premieres Feb. 21 on HBO. Stephanie Talmadge

Despite dismal reviews, accusations of racism, and a scene in which a donkey projectile-blasts diarrhea all over Chris Parnell, The Ridiculous Six has reportedly become Netflix's most-watched movie ever. Period.

The comedy-western, which stars Adam Sandler and his usual cohorts, arrived on the streaming service less than a month ago. "The Ridiculous Six, by way of example, in the first 30 days on Netflix it's been the most-watched movie in the history of Netflix," said CEO Ted Sarandos during a keynote speech at 2016's Consumer Electronics Showcase. "It's also enjoyed a spot at number one in every territory we operate in, and in many of them it's still number one."

Of course, this bit of trivia comes with all the usual caveats. Netflix refuses to release any concrete numbers about its viewership data, so we have no choice but to take Sarandos at his word. And he didn't specify whether that best-ever number comprised every viewer who had watched The Ridiculous Six to completion; or watched some of it before turning it off; or accidentally started it for a few seconds when it was queued up in Netflix's relentless auto-play mechanism, while desperately fumbling for the remote to turn it off as quickly as possible. (Full disclosure: The author may have had some personal experience with that last one.) Scott Meslow

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an administrative order Wednesday barring state judges from issuing same-sex marriage licenses. While the June 2015 Supreme Court decision legalized same-sex marriage, Moore argues that the ruling only specifically struck down same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee.

This, Moore says, has caused "confusion and uncertainty" that "affects the administration of justice" as some judges interpret the ruling as requiring them to issue same-sex marriage licenses and others do not. While this gets sorted out, Moore orders that judges "have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary" to the state's same-sex marriage ban. Becca Stanek

Internet Explorer is finally being put out to pasture by Microsoft, which announced Wednesday that come January 12, it will no longer support IE versions 8, 9, or 10. While Microsoft has made it clear things have been on the rocks with IE for awhile, the announcement also confirmed that IE 11 is "the last version of Internet Explorer," marking the true end of a mediocre browsing era. According to NetMarketShare, Microsoft's plans could impact as many as 20 percent of internet browsers.

Moving forward, Microsoft has launched a new default browser, Edge, which looks suspiciously similar to IE — but is mostly agreed to be much, much better. Jeva Lange

Ben Carson's campaign manager, Barry Bennett, quit Carson's campaign on the last day of 2015, citing problems with another adviser. No longer officially tied to Carson, Bennett confessed on Wednesday that he could hardly imagine a situation in which Donald Trump did not end up with the Republican nomination.

"By the middle of March, this thing could be well over. At this point, it's getting harder and harder to see how Donald Trump isn't our nominee," Bennett said on CNN. "I'm a realist and I believe in data, I believe in polls, and I have not seen a plan out there that is going to take down Donald Trump quite yet."

When CNN's Kate Bolduan asked who impressed Bennett the most of all the candidates, Bennett said you had to look at the rallies: "Donald Trump is shoving ten, twelve thousand people at rallies and a lot of these guys are having five or six people show up at their events in Iowa. There's just not a comparison. The establishment can fret about it all they want, but this is the new reality," Bennett said.

But when it comes to who's the best man for the job, Bennett would only say his former employer "has the best head and the best heart." Jeva Lange

As the Bundy brothers continue their standoff against the federal government in an armed occupation of a national wildlife preserve in Oregon, more evidence keeps trickling out that the militiamen weren't always so against the workings of the government. A report by E&E Publishing published Wednesday reveals that the Bundy family has donated to both politicians and conservative political causes alike.

Ammon Bundy, the man heading up the protest efforts against the prosecution of two local ranchers and the federal government's land use at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, reportedly gave $1,000 to Ron Paul in 2008 and $500 in 2012. Bundy's wife Lisa also gave to Ron Paul, donating $2,500 in 2012. She also gave $5,000 to an Arizona ballot initiative against gay marriage.

News of the Bundy's financial input in the political system comes just a day after it was revealed that the federal government — which the Bundy brothers now decry as tyrannical — has helped them out, too. Back in 2010, Ammon Bundy reportedly received a federal small-business loan for $530,000 for his company, Valet Fleet Services LLC. Becca Stanek