memeorandum: A statement by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (United States Department of Health …)

11:10 PM ET, January 20, 2012

Top Items:

Chuck Norris / WND:

MY ENDORSEMENT FOR PRESIDENT — Exclusive: Chuck Norris reveals his choice for Republican nomination — Our republic as America's founders created it is under assault from extremists outside our country and anti-constitutionalists inside our country. Combined with the flailing American economy …

Discussion: The Hill, Pat Dollard, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, Riehl World View, Hot Air, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Gawker and The Daily Caller

Wallacegw / CNN:

Fake CNN email used as dirty trick in South Carolina — CNN did not send out the email alert. — Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @politicalticker — It's not clear how many people received the fake email, though at least two members of the South Carolina GOP Executive Committee …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Politico, FITSNews, Hot Air, Telegraph, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Other McCain, American Spectator, 2012 Decoded, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, TVNewser, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Romney's National Lead Down to 10 Points — Romney 30%, Gingrich 20% in the latest Gallup Daily tracking — PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney is a considerably weaker front-runner among Republican registered voters nationally than he was at the beginning of the week.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ABCNEWS, Public Policy Polling, Guardian, 2012 Decoded, Pat Dollard, Washington Post, CNN, Indecision Forever, The Political Carnival, Daily Kos, The Daily Dish, The Caucus and Connecting.the.Dots

Conn Carroll / Campaign 2012:

America hates Newt Gingrich — Unlike Mitt Romney, who occasionally beats President Obama in general election poll match ups, Newt Gingrich trails far behind President Obama in every survey. But just how bad are Gingrich's unfavorable among the general public compared to Obama and Romney?

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wizbang and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Clemson University:

Clemson Palmetto Poll finds Gingrich leading, 20% of S.C. voters still uncommitted — CLEMSON, S.C. — With polls opening in less than 24 hours for the important South Carolina presidential primary election, the final Palmetto Poll shows Newt Gingrich leading over Mitt Romney in a gritty battle fraught …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, The Politico, today.yougov.com News, ABCNEWS, The Hill, American Spectator, The Caucus, Guardian, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Booman Tribune, weaskamerica.com, Campaign 2012, Trail Blazers Blog, National Review, Washington Times and Public Policy Polling

Dr. Keith Ablow / Fox News:

Newt Gingrich's three marriages mean he might make a strong president — really — Former Speaker of the House and Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was attacked Thursday in an interview on ABC News by his second wife Marianne. She accused him of beginning an affair …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, ThinkProgress, Little Green Footballs, Wonkette, The Political Carnival and The Stranger …

A.Killough / CNN:

Colbert: Vote for Cain, he's on the ballot — Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) - Call it the rally for wannabe candidates. — Comedian and faux television host Stephen Colbert took the stage Friday with former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, whose name still remains on the South Carolina primary ballot.

Discussion: The Politico

Trip Gabriel / New York Times:

A Test for Gingrich as Political Strategist — CHARLESTON, S.C. — If Newt Gingrich soars on his strong debate performances this week, overcomes the blowback within his party from attacking Mitt Romney as a corporate buyout king, and goes on to do well when South Carolina voters go to the polls on Saturday …

Discussion: TalkLeft and The Caucus

Matt Stout / Boston Herald:
Sen. Scott Brown urges Romney, Gingrich — come clean

Discussion: The Politico, Hot Air, ThinkProgress and The Hill

Dylan Byers / The Politico:
Mitt Romney leaves NBC Florida Republican debate uncertain

Discussion: Daily Kos, Naked Politics, No More Mister Nice Blog and ABCNEWS

Kristin Ford / Faith in Public Life:
Catholic Leaders Challenge Gingrich and Santorum on Divisive Rhetoric Around Race and Poverty

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The American Independent

Emily Goodin / Ballot Box:
Florida debate uncertain without Romney commitment

Discussion: www2.tbo.com and Pat Dollard

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Romney adviser: We could lose South Carolina

Discussion: The Politico, Hot Air, Telegraph, Guardian and The Daily Caller

Shushannah Walshe / ABCNEWS:
Santorum: Newt Has ‘Issues of Character’

Discussion: Hot Air and Wonkette

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Romney's ‘Prevent Defense’ Yielding Big Gains to Opponents

Discussion: A plain blog about politics, Guardian, Wonkette, Outside the Beltway, American Prospect, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The New Republic, Ricochet Conversations Feed and The Mahablog

Marc Caputo / Naked Politics:
‘Cautiously optimistic’ Mitt Romney hints he could lose South Carolina, talks tax returns

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed and Guardian

Jonathan Martinand Alexander Burns / Reuters:
Why Newt Gingrich is surging in South Carolina

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, Washington Monthly, FITSNews, Washington Post, Hardball Blog, Washington Wire, Wake up America and Taylor Marsh

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:

Health plans ordered to cover birth control without co-pays — Most healthcare plans will be required to cover birth control without charging co-pays or deductibles starting Aug. 1, the Obama administration announced Friday. — The final regulation retains the approach federal health officials proposed …

Discussion: The Politico, Taylor Marsh, Washington Monthly, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Little Green Footballs and The Lonely Conservative

ThinkProgress:

Obama Administration Approves Rule That Guarantees Near-Universal Contraceptive Coverage — Our guest blogger is Jessica Arons, Director of the Women's Health and Rights Program at American Progress. — Today, in a huge victory for women's health, Health and Human Services Secretary …

Discussion: Salon, The Gateway Pundit, Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Religion Dispatches

United States Department of Health and Human Services:

A statement by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius — In August 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services issued an interim final rule that will require most health insurance plans to cover preventive services for women including recommended …

Discussion: Religion Dispatches, Daily Kos and The Raw Story

Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:

How Should the Supreme Court Rule on the Individual Mandate? — Commenter Brandon, a frequent critic of my posts on the individual mandate, offers the following question tonight in a comment thread: … I wasn't planning to blog on this. But because Brandon asks so nicely, I thought I would respond.

Discussion: The Other McCain and Hit & Run

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court Rejects Judge-Drawn Maps in Texas Redistricting Case — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday instructed a lower court in Texas to take a fresh look at election maps it had drawn in place of a competing set of maps from the Texas Legislature.

Discussion: ProPublica, The Atlantic Online, ABCNEWS, msnbc.com, Washington Post, Election Law Blog, SCOTUSblog and Firedoglake

Rick Hasen / Election Law Blog:
Breaking News: Supreme Court Decides Texas Redistricting Case, Reverses Lower Court

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Post, Daily Kos, SCOTUSblog, Los Angeles Times, TEXAS REDISTRICTING, American Prospect, ACS Blog, Off the Kuff and Political Watch

Wall Street Journal: Justices Bar Texas Court's Election Map

Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
SCOTUS kills judge-drawn Texas map

Discussion: CNN, The Moderate Voice and RedState

Nando Di Fino / Mediaite:

NBC's Chuck Todd Blasts Stephen Colbert: ‘He Is Making A Mockery Of The System’ — Appearing at a Winthrop University panel Thursday, MSNBC host and NBC White House correspondent Chuck Todd ripped into Stephen Colbert and his not-yet-official run, suggesting that Colbert might …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog, Indecision Forever, Big Journalism and Rumproast, more at Mediagazer »

Todd Leopold / CNN:

Singing legend Etta James dies at 73 — Etta James, here performing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2009, died Friday, January 20, due to complications from leukeimia, said her longtime friend and manager, Lupe De Leon. The singer was 73. — HIDE CAPTION — Etta James through the years

Discussion: THEROOT.COM, Washington Post, TalkLeft, The Democratic Daily and Gothamist

New York Times:
Etta James, Powerful Voice Behind ‘At Last,’ Dies at 73

Discussion: Guardian and LGBT|POV

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

Four Years Ago, Romney's Wealth Was Not an Issue — In 2008, Mitt Romney willingly — and publicly — tapped into his personal fortune to run for president, pumping nearly $45 million directly into his political campaign. — There could not have been a more visible demonstration …

Discussion: The Mahablog

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:
Romney: I Won't Release My Tax Returns Because 'I Don't Want To Give The Democrats A Nice Little Present'

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Towleroad News #gay and Daily Kos

Ben Fischer / bizjournals:

Supreme Court's Antonin Scalia sounds off at law gathering … Justice Antonin Scalia said Thursday he is prepared to discard a major precedent in abortion law when considering a future challenge to state regulations that require extra staff and expensive equipment at abortion clinics, such as one approved in Virginia last year.

Discussion: LifeNews.com and Shakesville

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Left to Obama: Time for constitutional amendment against Citizens United — With unprecedented amounts of cash set to flood the airwaves this year, campaign finance reform advocates have slowly began to coalesce around a far-fetched idea: How about a constitutional amendment to ban big money in politics?

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Political Mojo and Hit & Run

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

President Obama holds call to gather ‘input’ on State of the Union — President Obama held a conference call late Friday afternoon to “solicit input” from state, local and tribal leaders on the State of the Union address, according to attendees on the call.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

House Judiciary Committee:

Statement from Chairman Smith on Senate Delay of Vote on PROTECT IP Act — Washington, D.C. — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today issued the following statement in response to the Senate decision to postpone consideration of legislation to help combat online piracy.

Discussion: Mashable!, CNET, Firedoglake, Washington Post, Senate Democrats, The American Independent, The Democratic Daily, GigaOM, Swampland, Gizmodo, Policy Blog, RIA Novosti, The Moderate Voice and Threat Level, more at Techmeme »

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
After an Online Firestorm, Congress Shelves Antipiracy Bills

Discussion: Althouse, Bits, Gothamist and The Stranger …, more at Techmeme »

William La Jeunesse / Fox News:

Federal official in Arizona to plead the fifth and not answer questions on ‘furious’ — The chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona is refusing to testify before Congress regarding Operation Fast and Furious, the federal gun-running scandal that sent U.S. weapons to Mexico.