memeorandum: Joe Paterno's first interview since the Penn State-Sandusky scandal (Sally Jenkins/Washington Post)

3:35 PM ET, January 15, 2012

Top Items:

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

Gingrich faces tough questions at SC campaign event with black church — GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich faced a round of tough questions in a campaign event before an African-American church in South Carolina on Saturday. — Gingrich spoke with members of the Jones Memorial …

Discussion: CNN, The Politico and The Hinterland Gazette

Brendan Sasso / Ballot Box:

Perry vows to fight on, regardless of result in South Carolina primary — Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Sunday vowed to continue his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination in Florida, regardless of his finish in the South Carolina primary. — “That's our intention,” he told Candy Crowley on CNN's State of the Union.

Discussion: CNN, ABCNEWS, The Politico, Wake up America and Outside the Beltway

Amy Bingham / ABCNEWS:

SuperPAC Satire: Colbert Tells ABC About Faux Run — Running for president is hard work. But for comedian Stephen Colbert, who announced his plans to “explore” a presidential bid in South Carolina earlier this week, it's not the long hours of campaigning or the intense public scrutiny …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and The Politico

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich appeal for slots on Virginia ballot — Texas Gov. Rick Perry's lawyers filed a motion with a federal appeals court Sunday, seeking to win him a place on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Virginia even though his campaign failed to gather the 10,000 signatures required by state law.

ABCNEWS:
Romney Gives Unemployed Woman Cash on Ropeline

Discussion: Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, The Strata-Sphere, Mediaite, Washington Post, The Lonely Conservative, The Hinterland Gazette and CNN

New York Times:
Conservative Religious Leaders, Seeking Unity, Vote to Back Santorum

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Caucus, Towleroad News #gay and US Politics

Jeff Mason / Reuters:
Romney opens 21-point lead in South Carolina: Reuters/Ipsos poll

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, JustOneMinute, Outside the Beltway, Taylor Marsh, New York Times, The Lonely Conservative, The Moderate Voice, The Other McCain, Don Surber, Riehl World View and Beltway Buzz

ABCNEWS:
SC Republicans Boo Newt Gingrich Over Romney Attacks

Discussion: Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, Hullabaloo, The Lonely Conservative, The Politico, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and The Daily Dish

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Optimistic Poll Data

Discussion: Rasmussen Reports

New York Times:

The 1 Percent Paint a More Nuanced Portrait of the Rich — KINGS POINT, N.Y. — Adam Katz is happy to talk to reporters when he is promoting his business, a charter flight company based on Long Island called Talon Air. — But when the subject was his position as one of America's top earners, he balked.

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community and Eschaton

Climate Guest Blogger / ThinkProgress:

MIT Climate Scientist's Wife Threatened in a “Frenzy of Hate” and Cyberbullying Fomented by Deniers — JR: Cyberbullying of climate scientists is on the rise, thanks to the hard-core deniers (see “UK Guardian slams Morano for cyber-bullying and for urging violence against climate scientists").

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Little Green Footballs

The State:

Huntsman could bring us back together — AFTER MONTHS of flirting with candidates who considered inexperience an asset, obstinance and vitriol a virtue and extremism — even flakiness — a job requirement, Republican voters seem to be settling down. Increasingly, they are rallying around …

Discussion: msnbc.com, Little Green Footballs, The Hinterland Gazette, The Hill and Washington Post

Candice M. Giove / New York Post:

‘Occupy’ art a stinker — It's political dis-scent: An olfactory artist has transported the stench of Occupy Wall Street from Zuccotti Park to a Staten Island art gallery. — “The Smell of a Critical Moment,” which opened yesterday at Doorways on Van Duzer Street, features 99 T-shirts …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

Associated Press:

Pakistan Taliban Leader Reportedly Killed in U.S. Drone Strike — ISLAMABAD - Intercepted militant radio communications indicate the leader of the Pakistani Taliban may have been killed in a recent U.S. drone strike, Pakistani intelligence officials said Sunday. A Taliban official denied that.

Discussion: The Long War Journal, The Gateway Pundit and Scared Monkeys

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

With ‘angry black woman’ remark, Michelle Obama addresses race head-on — Michelle Obama finally went there. — The first lady jumped head first into a discussion about racial issues. — She and her husband, the first African-American president, have mostly avoided addressing race except …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

Sen. Reid blasts Republican lawmakers for ‘obstructionism on steroids’ — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) blasted Republicans for what he called “obstructionism on steroids” on Sunday and said he hoped that GOP lawmakers would return to Washington willing to “compromise” with Democrats.

Discussion: The Politico

The White House:

COMBATING ONLINE PIRACY WHILE PROTECTING AN OPEN AND INNOVATIVE INTERNET — Thanks for taking the time to sign this petition. Both your words and actions illustrate the importance of maintaining an open and democratic Internet. — Right now, Congress is debating a few pieces …