memeorandum: Phoenix City Council votes to end prayers at meetings (Dustin Gardiner/Arizona Republic)

8:20 AM ET, February 5, 2016

Top Items:

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Clinton and Sanders just had the election's most explosive exchange to date — The niceties are finished. — After a string of debates where Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders discussed (and occasionally disagreed about) the fine points of progressive policy, the two finally had a full-fledged throwdown Thursday night.

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, American Power and The Hill

Ryan Struyk / ABC News:

Democratic Presidential Debate: 7 Moments That Mattered — Just five days before New Hampshire voters will have their say in their state's first-in-the-nation primary, there was another first in the Granite State: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders went toe-to-toe on a debate stage, just the two of them.

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press and Politico

MSNBC:

Watch LIVE: MSNBC Democratic Candidates Debate — Five days before Granite State voters head to the polls, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont will debate one-on-one for the first time in the MSNBC Democratic Candidates Debate.

Discussion: Trail Blazers Blog, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:

A Debate Between a Hedgehog and a Fox — Clinton and Sanders debate on January 18, 2016. David Goldman / AP — With the New Hampshire primaries just days away, Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders met on a debate stage in Durham on Thursday. In their first one-on-one matchup …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Guardian and New York Times

New York Times:

In Democratic Debate, Candidates Clash on Money's Role — DURHAM, N.H. — In a caustic debate on Thursday night, Hillary Clinton accused Senator Bernie Sanders of leveling “attacks by insinuation and innuendo” against her integrity and her credentials as a progressive by portraying her as beholden to wealthy interests and corporations.

Discussion: Gothamist and American Power

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Hillary Clinton's Problem Isn't That She's Not Progressive, It's That She's Cautious

Discussion: CNN, Vox, Slantpoint and Washington Post

Mark Murray / NBC News:
Poll: Sanders Leads Clinton by 20 Points in New Hampshire

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Yahoo Politics and Talking Points Memo

Anna Brand / NBC News:
Revolution or Evolution: Sanders, Clinton Tout Differences

Discussion: Advocate and AOL

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Questions on Speeches to Goldman Sachs Vex Hillary Clinton

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Amy Chozick / New York Times:
Hillary Clinton Is Again Put on the Defensive Over Perceived Ties to Wall Street

Discussion: Prairie Weather and American Power

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:
Democratic candidates exhibit a new ferocity in last debate before N.H. vote

Discussion: Political Wire, New York Times, The Daily Beast and The Moderate Voice

Hillary Clinton / Yahoo Politics:
Meet the lobbyists, donors and bundlers behind Hillary's $157 million juggernaut

Discussion: Politico, Boston Globe, Business Insider and Raw Story

Alex Swoyer / Breitbart:

EXCLUSIVE-Voicemails: ‘Ben Carson Suspending Campaigning’; Cruz: ‘Accurate Report’ — New audio obtained exclusively by Breitbart News indicates that as the Iowa caucuses began on Monday night, the Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) campaign called precinct captains informing them that Dr. Ben Carson …

Discussion: Townhall.com, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, addictinginfo.org, The Last Tradition, Raw Story, The Last Refuge, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Right Scoop, Power Line, The Hill and KFOR-TV

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Ben Carson slashes staff as funds dry up

Discussion: The Week, The Right Scoop, Politico, Patterico's Pontifications, Daily Kos, The Resurgent, The Atlantic, Hot Air, Mother Jones, The PolitiStick, Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, RedState, Mediaite and Steve Deace Show

O. Kay Henderson / Radio Iowa:
Branstad says Cruz employed ‘unethical and unfair’ tactics Monday night (AUDIO)

Discussion: USA Today, The Last Tradition, Business Insider, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Trail Blazers Blog, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, New York Times and Des Moines Register

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
Cruz Camp Left Iowa Voters Voice Mails Repeating Carson ‘Suspending’ Rumors

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and No More Mister Nice Blog

Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters:
Ted Cruz Schools ABC on ‘Dirty Trick’ Claim

Discussion: Da Tech Guy Blog, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Young Conservatives

CNN:

New Hampshire poll: Trump on top, battle for second emerges — (CNN)Donald Trump continues to hold a wide lead among likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire, according to a new CNN/WMUR tracking poll, with the pack vying for second place is beginning to break up.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Politico, Florida Politics, Hot Air, Power Line, New York Times, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, The Last Refuge, RedState, The Moderate Voice, Boston Globe, Public Policy Polling and Business Insider

ABC News:

New Hampshire Polls Show Marco Rubio Climbing After Iowa Caucuses

Discussion: Politico, Betsy's Page, Florida Politics and Associated Press

CNN:

Sanders tops Clinton by 2-to-1 margin in New Hampshire — (CNN)Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders continues to hold a wide lead over Hillary Clinton among likely New Hampshire primary voters, according to a new CNN/WMUR tracking poll conducted entirely after the Iowa caucuses.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, The Hill and WHDH-TV

ABC News:

Lineup for Last GOP Debate Before NH Primary Announced

Discussion: Politico, BizPac Review, The Last Refuge, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, WATE-TV and Associated Press

ABC News:

ABC News Hosts “New Hampshire: The Republicans Debate” in Partnership with WMUR, Independent Journal Review, RNC and Saint Anselm College — ABC News is partnering with ABC affiliate WMUR, Independent Journal Review, the Republican National Committee and Saint Anselm College to host …

Discussion: The Right Scoop, AOL, The Atlantic, New York Times, Business Insider and Young Conservatives

A.B. Stoddard / The Hill:

Obama risks being stained by Clinton scandal — As new revelations make clear the intentional and likely criminal nature of Hillary Clinton's email scheme, President Obama is risking his legacy on a potentially devastating corruption scandal. — There is nothing to suggest Obama has intervened …

Rachael Bade / Politico:
Ryan offers new warning for Chaffetz on email probe

Discussion: The Last Tradition, The Hill and Daily Kos

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:

Condoleezza Rice Aides, Colin Powell Also Got Classified Info on Personal Emails — The State Department's Inspector General has found classified information sent to the personal email accounts of former Secretary of State Colin Powell and the senior staff of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, NBC News has learned.

Discussion: Hot Air, Hullabaloo, Politicus USA, Mother Jones and Rush Limbaugh

Justin Fishel / ABC News:
Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice Staffers Also Handled Emails Later Deemed Classified …

Discussion: Politico

Michael Grunwald / Politico:

Obama to propose $10-a-barrel oil tax — President Barack Obama is about to unveil an ambitious plan for a “21st century clean transportation system.” And he hopes to fund it with a tax on oil. — Obama aides told POLITICO that when he releases his final budget request next week …

Discussion: Slate, Hot Air, RT, addictinginfo.org and The Resurgent

The White House:
FACT SHEET: President Obama's 21st Century Clean Transportation System

Discussion: Vox, Forbes, Reuters, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Watts Up With That?, The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, The Hill and Engadget

Reuters:
Obama to seek new tax on oil in budget proposal

Discussion: Truth Revolt

David Corn / Mother Jones:

Ted Cruz Attacks Sean Penn—and Here's Penn's Response — At an addiction policy forum in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on Thursday, Sen. Ted Cruz, the winner of the Republican Iowa caucuses, turned his talk about the awful consequences of addiction into a rant against...illegal immigration.

Discussion: Trail Blazers Blog and addictinginfo.org

Robby Soave / Reason:

Male Teen Takes Nude Photo of Himself, Charged with Making Child Porn — The kid, 15, could be placed on the sex offender registry. — A Three Rivers, Michigan, teenager is both the victim and perpetrator of a sex crime. He might land on the sex offender registry, and face criminal charges …

Research at Facebook:

In honor of Friends Day, we've recalculated the classic ‘Six degrees of separation’ statistic for everyone who uses Facebook and determined that the number is actually 3.57. Each person in the world (at least among the 1.55 billion people active on Facebook) is connected to every other person by an average of three and a half steps.