memeorandum: President Putin ‘probably’ approved Litvinenko murder (BBC)

2:15 PM ET, January 21, 2016

Top Items:

Trump Fear Stalks Davos as Elite Pray for Spring Reality Check — Concerns over protectionism and U.S. reputation bubble up — Ex-White House advisor still thinks Trump will be nominee — If Donald Trump as president of the United States is the ghost that's stalking Davos …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Eli Stokols / Politico:

The Bush blame game begins — They think he wasted money on everything from an iPad-sized video mailer to direct mail for donors in states that don't yet matter. They think his attacks on Marco Rubio are doing more harm than good. And they worry that, at the end, all he will have accomplished …

Discussion: Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Daily Kos, The Resurgent, CNN and The Last Refuge

John Hawkins / John Hawkins' Right Wing News:

The Chart That Proves Donald Trump Has No Chance In A General Election — ShareTweet — Whether Donald Trump wins the Republican primary or not, he'll never be the President of the United States. Well, I shouldn't say never. Hillary could go to jail, a meteor could strike …

Discussion: The Right Scoop, American Spectator and RedState

NBC News:

First Read: The GOP Establishment's Risky Bet on Trump — First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter. — The GOP establishment's risky bet on Trump — Former Sen. and GOP presidential …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Politico, Naked Politics and NBC News

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Donald Trump or Ted Cruz? Republicans Argue Over Who Is Greater Threat — WASHINGTON — With Donald J. Trump and Senator Ted Cruz battling for the Republican nomination, two powerful factions of their party are now clashing over the question: Which man is more dangerous?

Rich Lowry / Politico:

The Battle for the Soul of the Right — At the moment, the Republican establishment is relevant to the presidential nomination battle only as an epithet. — Two weeks from the Iowa caucuses, the fight for the Republican nomination isn't so much a vicious brawl between the grass roots …

Discussion: Daily Wire, Washington Post and The Hill

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

What Palin does for Trump, and to Cruz — AMES, Iowa — In September, when Donald Trump appeared before a giant rally in Dallas, a person in the Trump circle described the coming months of the campaign. Sure, a big event like Dallas got headlines, but Trump knew he couldn't do the same rally …

Discussion: The Week

Harper Neidig / The Hill:
Trump: Cruz is ‘nervous’

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools

Loras College:
TRUMP AND CRUZ DEADLOCKED, WITH RUBIO A DISTANT THIRD, LORAS COLLEGE POLL FINDS

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo and Hot Air

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Clinton Library set to release Donald Trump records

Discussion: The Hill, The Moderate Voice, Bloomberg Business, BizPac Review, Mediaite, Associated Press and New York Times

Burgess Everett / Politico: GOP party elders aren't rallying for Rubio

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Bob Dole Warns of ‘Cataclysmic’ Losses With Ted Cruz, and Says Donald Trump Would Do Better

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Cruz: ‘Washington establishment’ backs Trump, has abandoned Rubio

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Trail Blazers Blog, New York Times, NBC News, The Week and Washington Post

Ryan Grim / The Huffington Post:
The GOP Establishment Has Found The One Thing That Can Make Donald Trump Palatable: Ted Cruz

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, US News, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Washington Post, New York Times, Slantpoint, The Right Scoop and The Week

Anthony Brooks / WBUR:
WBUR Poll: Large Share Of N.H.'s Undeclared Voters Yet To Settle On A Candidate Or A Party

Discussion: Cincinnati.com, Hot Air and Florida Politics

Lauren Fox / Talking Points Memo:
Glenn Beck To Hit Campaign Trail In Iowa With Ted Cruz

Discussion: Politico, Des Moines Register, Daily Kos and Washington Monthly

Adam Gabbatt / Guardian:

Carly Fiorina accused of ‘ambushing’ children for anti-abortion rally — Party of schoolchildren visiting Iowa botanical garden become part of backdrop for Republican presidential candidate's speech on abortion — Carly Fiorina has been accused of “ambushing” a group of children …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Des Moines Register, Quad City Times, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Fusion, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, Shakesville, The Slot, Mashable, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, The Bob and Chez Show and The Week

Corky Siemaszko / NBC News:

Vets: Don't Blame Obama for Track Palin's Behavior — Don't blame President Obama for the PTSD that Sarah Palin claims her oldest son is battling. — That was the message Wednesday from the head of a New York City-based veteran's organization that has fought for years to get Iraq …

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Times, addictinginfo.org and The Week

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic:
Sarah Palin's Circle of Victimhood

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Althouse, BuzzFeed and AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …

New York Daily News:
Where have you gone, Sarah Palin? …

Discussion: New York Times, Conservative Review, Hot Air and Mediaite

Annie Karni / Politico:

Bill Clinton questions Hillary's Super Tuesday plan — Bill Clinton is getting nervous. — With polls showing Bernie Sanders ahead in New Hampshire and barely behind, if at all, in Iowa, the former president is urging his wife to start looking toward the delegate-rich March primaries …

Discussion: Trail Blazers Blog and Mediaite

Bloomberg Business:
Campaigner-in-Chief Bill Clinton Is Worried

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Reuters, National Review and MSNBC

Alan Cowell / New York Times:

Putin ‘Probably Approved’ Litvinenko Poisoning, British Inquiry Says — LONDON — A high-profile British inquiry into the poisoning of Alexander V. Litvinenko, a former K.G.B. officer and foe of the Kremlin, concluded on Thursday that his murder “was probably approved” by the head …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Telegraph, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones and The Week

BBC:
President Putin ‘probably’ approved Litvinenko murder

Discussion: Guardian, NPR, Business Insider and Mediaite

Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:

Bernie Sanders, and Simon and Garfunkel, Put Focus on Voters — With the help of the Simon and Garfunkel song “America,” Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has released a powerful 60-second commercial in Iowa that seeks to remind his supporters how far he, and they, have come — and to inspire them anew to caucus for him on Feb. 1.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air and The Week

Dan Merica / CNN:
Sanders uses Simon & Garfunkel in non-traditional closing ad

Discussion: Yahoo Politics and American Spectator

New York Post:

Hillary Clinton blames the vast right-wing conspiracy for her e-mail woes — Now the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy has its anti-Clinton tentacles all the way into the Obama administration. At least, that's the new excuse from Team Hillary on why the e-mail mess keeps getting worse.

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Officials: New Top Secret Clinton Emails ‘Innocuous’

Discussion: Townhall.com, Power Line, BloombergView.com, twitchy.com, Taylor Marsh, McClatchy Washington Bureau and National Review

New York Times:

As Water Problems Grew, Officials Belittled Complaints From Flint — LANSING, Mich. — A top aide to Michigan's governor referred to people raising questions about the quality of Flint's water as an “anti-everything group.” Other critics were accused of turning complaints about water into a “political football.”

Discussion: Detroit Free Press, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Guardian, The Mahablog, Washington Post, Slantpoint, Diane Ravitch's blog, Daily Wire and The Huffington Post

Oregonian:

Oregon standoff: One of protesters has murder conviction — Neil Sigurd Wampler (center, green coat), 68, is among the protesters taking part in the armed occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge outside Burns. Here is pictured here behind Ammon Bundy, who is speaking at a morning news conference.

Discussion: addictinginfo.org, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Defend Your Base

Dr. Susan Berry / Breitbart:

Exclusive: Former Pearson Exec Reveals Anti-American Agenda in Common Core — A former marketing executive for textbook publishing giant Pearson Education reveals the anti-American agenda behind Common Core and the Advanced Placement U.S. History framework in the third video of a series produced …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Last Refuge and Maggie's Farm