memeorandum: What's the best way up for minorities? (Joel Kotkin/Orange County Register)

1:30 PM ET, January 11, 2016

Top Items:

New Republic Owner Chris Hughes Puts Magazine Up For Sale — Facebook co-founder, who purchased the title in 2012, says magazine needs a new business model — The New Republic, the century-old magazine that was rocked a year ago by the mass exodus of its staff following an effort by its owner …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Vox, Politico, Power Line, Scripting News, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, National Review, Washington Post and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Chris Hughes / Medium:

The New Republic's Next Chapter — I sent the letter below to the The New Republic staff this morning on the next chapter for our institution. I've reposted it in full here. — To the staff of The New Republic, — I have some difficult news today: I have decided to put The New Republic up for sale.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Sun, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, New York Times and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Falcone / ABC News:

The Note: Bernie Sanders In Striking Distance

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Los Angeles Times, Front Page Magazine, 6abc.com and CNN

Ben Jacobs / Guardian:

Harvard scholar: Ted Cruz's citizenship, eligibility for president ‘unsettled’ — Liberal law professor Laurence Tribe cited by Donald Trump in his ‘natural-born’ citizenship attacks has questioned Cruz's own constitutional positions — The legal and constitutional issues around qualification …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Observer, The Last Tradition, Political Wire, Arizona Republic, Washington Post, ABC News and Vox

John DiStaso / WMUR:

NH staff at pro-Carson super PAC quits to volunteer for Cruz — Five paid staffers' last day was Sunday, call Cruz a ‘conservative who can win’ — All five paid New Hampshire staffers at the pro-Ben Carson 2016 Committee super PAC quit their posts on Sunday to become volunteers for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, WMUR.com has learned.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Bloomberg.com, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Ryan Struyk / ABC News:

New Iowa Poll Shows Ted Cruz and Donald Trump In Tight Battle — Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are locked in a tight battle for the lead in Iowa, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released today. — Real estate mogul Donald Trump earns 31 percent support in the poll.

Discussion: Politico

Nick Gass / Politico: Trump soars, Bush sinks in latest N.H. poll

Katie Glueck / Politico: Former head of pro-Carson super PAC now supporting Cruz

Fox News:

FBI's Clinton probe expands to public corruption track — Jan. 10, 2015: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses an audience during an event in Hooksett, N.H. (AP) — EXCLUSIVE: The FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of private email as secretary of state …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Power Line, Business Insider, Hit & Run, Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, National Review, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, The Right Scoop, Hot Air, The Resurgent and Jammie Wearing Fools

Jon Pareles / New York Times:

David Bowie, the Legendary Musician, Has Died at 69 — David Bowie, the infinitely changeable, fiercely forward-looking songwriter who taught generations of musicians about the power of drama, images and personae, died Sunday, two days after his 69th birthday, according to his publicist.

Hollywood Reporter:
The singer-songwriter and producer excelled at glam rock, art rock, soul, hard rock, dance pop …

Discussion: Guardian, The Verge, NPR, Florida Politics and The Week

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Democratic, Republican Identification Near Historical Lows — PRINCETON, N.J. — In 2015, for the fifth consecutive year, at least four in 10 U.S. adults identified as political independents. The 42% identifying as independents in 2015 was down slightly from the record 43% in 2014.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller and Althouse

Nick Gass / Politico:
Gallup: Share of Democrats reaches record low

Discussion: RedState, Hit & Run, Hot Air and Wall Street Journal

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:

Mandatory Union Fees Cast in Doubt at U.S. Supreme Court — The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative wing cast doubt on the constitutionality of requirements in more than 20 states that public-sector workers pay fees to the union that represents them. — Hearing arguments Monday in Washington …

Discussion: Politico

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Texas Governor Unveils Plan To Repeal The 20th Century

Discussion: Fox News and Off the Kuff

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Supreme Court Seems Poised to Deal Unions a Major Setback

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Los Angeles Times, Guardian, Hit & Run, SCOTUSblog and Chalkbeat New York

Joshua Miller / The White House:

We're on Snapchat: Add WhiteHouse — Summary: The White House launches an “Official Story” on Snapchat to provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Administration. — At the White House, our digital strategy centers around meeting people where they are.

Discussion: Politico, Medium, FishbowlDC and Bloomberg.com

Jake Sherman / Politico:
Obama, GOP Congress near end of long, ugly relationship

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Wired and Yahoo Politics

Evan McMorris-Santoro / BuzzFeed:
The White House Just Joined Snapchat

Discussion: Re/code and Business Insider

Bloomberg Business:

The State of Chris Christie's New Jersey, in Six Charts — Republican governor to give annual address to lawmakers — On the presidential campaign trail, he confronts his record — After a year in which Governor Chris Christie spent more than half his days outside New Jersey …

Discussion: Politico

Matt Arco / New Jersey Online:
Did Christie just lie about past Planned Parenthood donation? (VIDEO)

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, National Review and BuzzFeed

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

My Right to Die: Assisted Suicide, My Family, and Me — Every story has a beginning. This one starts in late 2001, when my father-in-law fractured three of his ribs. Harry was a retired physician, and after a thorough workup that he insisted on, it turned out that his bone density …

David Bowie / Facebook:

January 10 2016 - David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, ThinkProgress, KFOR-TV, Gay Star News, CBS New York, Mashable, New York's PIX11, FOX31 Denver, RT, The Verge, Wall Street Journal and The Last Tradition

Baltimore Sun:

Trial of Baltimore Officer Goodson postponed by Maryland appeals court — Baltimore Sun crime reporter Justin Fenton gives an update on the trial of Caesar R. Goodson Jr., from courthouse west. The Court of Special Appeals wrote that Officer Porter's appeal should be resolved before Goodson trial got underway.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Kos and The Daily Caller

Politico:

HILLARY'S HOLLYWOOD HEADACHE: Benghazi movie in theaters Thursday gives spotlight to critics' claims — B'DAY: Ben Finkenbinder, Mark Halperin, Steven Law, Walter Mears, Gerald Rafshoon — By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; mallen@politico.com) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; dlippman@politico.com)

Discussion: Florida Politics, Code Words and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:
How Rolling Stone Handled Ramifications of El Chapo Exclusive

Discussion: Vox, Mediaite, USA Today, The Daily Caller, Guardian, KFOR-TV, Refinery29, Associated Press and FishbowlDC, more at Mediagazer »

Michael D'Antonio / Politico:

Trump's Campaign Is Damaging His Brand — If Donald Trump is nothing else, he's an American brand. The Trump name adorns luxury condominiums, hotels and golf courses around the world; it has sold a TV show, millions of books, a line of cologne and even, briefly, an airline.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Week