memeorandum: Clinton losing support among N.H. Dems, Sanders ahead by 16 (Joe Battenfeld/Boston Herald)

8:55 AM ET, January 26, 2016

Top Items:

Cruz-Hating Republicans Need a Reality Check — Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. This sound aphorism may have a less pithy political corollary: Never attribute to strategy what can be explained by emotion. — Only this truth can help us understand …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Mickey Kaus, Washington Post and Business Insider

Ryan Struyk / ABC News:

Donald Trump Says Ted Cruz Is Telling ‘Lie After Lie’ — Less than one week before the pivotal Iowa caucuses, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said that his rival Sen. Ted Cruz is “just saying lie after lie” about his record. — “He's so nervous,” Trump told ABC's George Stephanopoulos …

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire, Associated Press and abc13.com

Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:

Donald Trump suggests he may skip Fox debate if Megyn Kelly isn't fair — Donald Trump said he would consider skipping this Thursday's Republican primary debate if he doesn't get fair treatment from Fox anchor Megyn Kelly — an apparent attempt to influence moderators at the final GOP debate before Iowa.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, The Right Scoop and The Week

CNN:

CNN/ORC Poll: Donald Trump dominates GOP field at 41% — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump has hit a new high in the race for the Republican nomination, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll, with more than 4-in-10 Republican voters nationwide now saying they back the billionaire.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Business Insider, Political Wire, Althouse and Washington Times

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

As Donald Trump and Ted Cruz Soar, G.O.P. Leaders' Exasperation Grows — DES MOINES — Republican leaders are growing alarmed by the ferocious ways the party's mainstream candidates for president are attacking one another, and they fear that time is running out for any of them to emerge …

Discussion: Political Wire and Power Line

David Brody / blogs.cbn.com:

Brody File Video Exclusive: Ted Cruz's Plea To Iowa Pastors At Private Meeting: Stop Trump! — In video obtained exclusively by The Brody File, Ted Cruz says it's up to Iowa pastors to stop Donald Trump from winning the Iowa Caucus or the billionaire from New York will be, unstoppable.

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire and The Daily Caller

David Brooks / New York Times:
Stay Sane America, Please!

Discussion: Washington Post and Althouse

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Heidi Cruz Is Asked On The Radio If She Is “Sleeping With An Immigrant”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Trump: Establishment rallying behind me to stop ‘nasty’ Cruz

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire, Washington Post, CNN, The Liberty Zone, Hot Air and Washington Examiner

Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Why a Trump Victory in Iowa Would Matter So Much

Discussion: Hot Air

Brian Rogers / Houston Chronicle:

Harris grand jury indicts pair behind Planned Parenthood videos — A Harris County grand jury probe into Planned Parenthood of the Gulf Coast ended Monday with the indictments of two anti-abortion activists. — David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt were both indicted for tampering with a governmental record.

Discussion: Political Insider blog, The Week, Raw Story, Washington Post and Daily Kos

Manny Fernandez / New York Times:
2 Abortion Foes Behind Planned Parenthood Videos Are Indicted

Discussion: USA Today, Prairie Weather, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, The Hill, The Daily Signal, JustOneMinute and Mother Jones

Fox News:
Grand jury in Texas indicts activists behind Planned Parenthood videos

Discussion: Truth Revolt and The Last Refuge

Valerie Lawhorn / Houston Public Media:
Grand Jury Takes No Action Against Planned Parenthood In Houston, Two Videographers Indicted

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Daily Caller and NPR

Brittney Martin / Trail Blazers Blog:
Harris County grand jury indicts those behind Planned Parenthood undercover video operation

Discussion: Austin Chronicle, ThinkProgress, Off the Kuff, Star Tribune, Hullabaloo, CNN and The Stranger …

Brian Beutler / New Republic:

Is Nominating Bernie Sanders a Worthwhile Gamble? — Hillary Clinton's supporters have yet to make a persuasive case that Sanders is too great a risk. — For the better part of a year, Bernie Sanders enjoyed a polite if slightly bemused welcome from the non-radical quarters of the Democratic firmament.

Discussion: MSNBC, Common Dreams, No More Mister Nice Blog and Slantpoint

Joe Battenfeld / Boston Herald:

Clinton losing support among N.H. Dems, Sanders ahead by 16 — New Hampshire Democrats are turning against Hillary Clinton just two weeks before the pivotal primary contest, leaving her facing a 16-point deficit to rival Bernie Sanders, a new Franklin Pierce University/Boston Herald poll shows.

Discussion: WBUR and Political Wire

Dylan Matthews / Vox:

We checked if 2,000 voters recognized the 2016 candidates' faces. Here's what we found. — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are by far the most recognizable faces in the 2016 race, a poll conducted by Morning Consult and Vox has found. — Ninety-six percent of respondents to the online poll …

Discussion: Politico

Barack Obama / Washington Post:

Why we must rethink solitary confinement — Barack Obama is president of the United States. — In 2010, a 16-year-old named Kalief Browder from the Bronx was accused of stealing a backpack. He was sent to Rikers Island to await trial, where he reportedly endured unspeakable violence …

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, Business Insider, NPR, The Week, Raw Story, Mother Jones, TalkLeft, Balkinization and NBC News

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
Obama bans solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight and Balloon Juice

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

A remarkably moving thing happened at a Bernie Sanders rally today in Iowa — Bernie Sanders did a town hall event Monday morning in Iowa Falls, Iowa. He asked the crowd for testimonials about the difficulties of sustaining a life off of $12,000 a year. — What happened next is both hard to watch/listen to and important.

Discussion: Vox, Politico, Business Insider and Taylor Marsh

Eric Bradner / CNN:
5 things to watch in the Democratic town hall

Discussion: Daily Kos

Yamiche Alcindor / New York Times:
Lawyer for Walter Scott Family Switches Sides to Endorse Bernie Sanders

Discussion: Greenville News, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, US News, CNN, Common Dreams, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, BostonGlobe.com and Slantpoint

Ed Henry / Fox News:

Video suggests Clinton shared info that ‘would never be on an unclassified system’ normally — A 2013 video, obtained exclusively by Fox News, raises fresh questions about how Hillary Clinton handled sensitive information at the State Department. — In the video, veteran diplomat Wendy Sherman reveals …

Discussion: Hot Air, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller, The Last Tradition and Washington Free Beacon

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:

Alex Castellanos Blasts Conservative Leaders: ‘We Appeal Only To Cranky Old White Guys Like Me’ — QOTD: … The dam has broken and the Conservative pundits are drowning in the mess they've made of the GOP. The top two candidates that are leading the polls are Donald Trump and Ted Cruz …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Oren Liebermann / CNN:

Au revoir and shalom: Jews leave France in record numbers — Ashdod, Israel (CNN)Yoav Krief remembers the day he knew it was time to move to Israel: January 9, 2015. — It was a Friday. Four Jews had just been killed in the Hyper Cacher, a kosher supermarket in Paris, two days after the Charlie Hebdo attack.

Local News:

MU Interim Chancellor to hold conference regarding charges filed against MU assistant professor — Melissa Click was captured on video attempting to force reporters out of protest space — Jessica Quick, Meteorologist & Digital Content Director, jessicaq@kmiz.com — COLUMBIA, Mo. -