memeorandum: The Election Carnival Has Just Begun (The Huffington Post)

8:25 AM ET, January 19, 2016

Top Items:

Molly Ball / The Atlantic:

The Religious Right's Donald Trump Dilemma — There were many unbelievable moments over the course of Donald Trump's speech on Monday at Liberty University, the evangelical college founded by the late Jerry Falwell. — There was his citation of the Bible: “Two Corinthians 3-17, that's the whole ball game. ...

Discussion: New York Times, Mother Jones, CANNONFIRE and Mediaite

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Trump: Christianity ‘under siege’ — GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump touted his faith at Liberty University on Monday, telling the conservative college that Christians have to ban together because their religion “is under siege.” — “We're going to protect Christianity,” he said.

Discussion: TIME

Blake Hounshell / Politico:

Trump bungles Bible reference at Liberty University — Donald Trump, speaking to a religious crowd at Virginia's Liberty University on Monday, turned to Scripture. — “We're going to protect Christianity. I can say that. I don't have to be politically correct,” he said.

Discussion: TIME, addictinginfo.org, Bloomberg Business and Washington Monthly

Jon Ward / Yahoo Politics:
At Liberty University, Donald Trump again stumbles when discussing religion

Discussion: Hot Air and Steve Deace

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Donald Trump takes Liberty, courts Christian crowd

Discussion: NPR and Washington Post

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

How Donald Trump defeats Hillary Clinton — If Donald Trump becomes the next president of the United States, there will be plenty of surprises along the way. One of the biggest will be the help he gets from black voters. — According to Republican pollsters and Trump's allies …

Kyle Smith / New York Post:
‘13 Hours’ captures how Americans really feel about our global standing

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Weasel Zippers

Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: Democratic Debate Speed Read

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air, RedState, The Daily Caller and Associated Press

Jonathan Swan / The Hill:
Top Google debate question: Will Hillary be prosecuted?

Discussion: New York Times, Liberal Values, Mediaite, RedState, BizPac Review, Des Moines Register, The Week, Washington Post and New York Post

The Huffington Post:
The Election Carnival Has Just Begun

Discussion: American Prospect and Slantpoint

TMZ.com:

Glenn Frey — Eagles Guitarist Dead At 67 — EAGLES GUITARIST DEAD AT 67 — EXCLUSIVE — Glenn Frey, co-founder and guitarist for the Eagles, has died ... TMZ has learned. — We're told the cause of death was a combination of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia.

Discussion: EW.com, Instapundit, AMERICAN DIGEST, Mashable, WREG-TV and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Eagles:

It Is With The Heaviest of Hearts That We Announce... ...the passing of our comrade, Eagles founder, Glenn Frey, in New York City on Monday, January 18th, 2016. — Glenn fought a courageous battle for the past several weeks but, sadly, succumbed to complications from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Acute Ulcerative Colitis and Pneumonia.

Discussion: BBC, Taylor Marsh, Boing Boing, USA Today, TalkLeft, Outside the Beltway, CBS San FranciscoCBS … and Mashable

Caleb Howe / RedState:

Documents Show Donald Trump's New York Values Do NOT Include Giving To 9/11 Charities — Donald Trump has been talking (and tweeting) about 9/11 an awful lot lately, mostly in response to a relentlessly scrutinized comment that Ted Cruz made about “New York values.”

Discussion: Fox News, Raw Story and Mediaite

Zeke J Miller / TIME:
Exclusive: Chris Christie Calls Ted Cruz ‘Asinine’ For New York Values Smear

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Patterico's Pontifications, The Daily Caller, National Review and BuzzFeed

Eli Stokols / Politico:

In Iowa, it's down to Trump and Cruz — With 14 days to go, the race for Iowa has become a contest between two men the GOP hoped would have been marginalized by now. — Ted Cruz and Donald Trump stand alone at the top of the pack, separated by two to three points at most.

Discussion: The Hill

Molly Ball / The Atlantic:
Portrait of a Party on the Verge of Coming Apart

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Online Library …, DownWithTyranny!, Princeton Election Consortium and FOX News Radio

Hadas Gold / Politico:

RNC replaces NBC with CNN for February debate — The Republican National Committee officially severed ties on Monday with NBC for what was supposed to be a Feb. 26 Republican primary debate in Houston. Instead, CNN will host the debate in Houston on Thursday, Feb. 25, five days before Super Tuesday.

Discussion: Hot Air, RedState, The Resurgent and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Matthew Boyle / Breitbart:
Exclusive — RNC Officially Severs Ties With NBC News For Upcoming GOP Debate

Discussion: BizPac Review, New York Times and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Mara H. Gottfried / TwinCities.com:

St. Paul cop allegedly urged drivers to hit Black Lives Matter protesters — St. Paul police have placed a sergeant on leave as they investigate a report that he posted on Facebook, “Run them over,” in response to an article about a Black Lives Matter protest, which blocked traffic Monday.

Discussion: Raw Story and Slantpoint

Benjamin Ginsberg / Politico:

Why the GOP Primary Could Be Even Crazier Than You Think — Welcome to a 2016 Republican presidential primary unlike any other. A crowded field, angry electorate and uncharacteristically divided establishment, not to mention the wild-card role of super PACs, have already made this nominating contest …

Laura Hughes / Telegraph:

Donald Trump branded a ‘buffoon, demagogue and wazzock’ by MPs - but Republican ignores UK ban debate — The Home Office has said Donald Trump must live up to his promise of investing in Britain, after British MPs branded the Republican candidate a ‘buffoon, demagogue and wazzock’.

Discussion: addictinginfo.org and Hullabaloo

Mary Papenfuss / International Business Times:
US: Legendary musician Carlos Santana calls Donald Trump “an angry ape”

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Raw Story and addictinginfo.org

Emily Shapiro / ABC News:

Gas Price Hits 47 Cents a Gallon in Michigan After Price War

Discussion: addictinginfo.org and The Week

On Our Minds:

New statement about the picture book “A Birthday Cake for George Washington” — Scholastic is announcing today that we are stopping the distribution of the book entitled A Birthday Cake for George Washington, by Ramin Ganeshram and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, and will accept all returns.

Discussion: Truth Revolt, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress and New York Times