memeorandum: Obama to travel to Cuba in March (Olivier Knox/Yahoo Politics)

11:55 PM ET, February 17, 2016

Top Items:

Mark Murray / NBC News:

Surprise: Trump Falls Behind Cruz in National NBC/WSJ Poll — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has fallen behind Ted Cruz in the national GOP horserace, according to a brand-new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. — In the poll, Cruz is the first choice of 28 percent …

Andrew Shain / The State:

Exclusive: Gov. Haley endorsing Rubio for president — Florida senator wins coveted support from SC governor — Haley is state's most popular GOP politician after handling of Charleston shooting — Jeb Bush was considered the other likely endorsement choice

Eli Stokols / Politico:

Bush struggles to mask mounting frustration — SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — Jeb Bush is having a rough day. — Fighting for his political life in the final days of this primary battle, Bush took the stage intent on showing toughness and drawing a sharp contrast between himself and Marco Rubio.

Discussion: Guardian, Washington Post, Hot Air, National Review, RedState and ABC News

James Pindell / BostonGlobe.com:

John Kasich will not be in South Carolina on primary night — South Carolina Republicans will vote Saturday in a critical, first-in-the-South presidential primary. — But Ohio Governor John Kasich, fresh off his strong second-place finish in New Hampshire, doesn't plan to be there when the results roll in.

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Caller and The Week

Mike Zapler / Politico:

Rubio holds ‘town halls’ — with no audience questions — AIKEN, South Carolina — Marco Rubio's campaign events here have been billed as “town halls.” But if you're a South Carolina voter, don't expect to ask him a question. — On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Florida senator's campaign held four events …

Discussion: Political Wire, Talking Points Memo and American Bridge PAC

Tom LoBianco / CNN:
Ted Cruz promises military no ‘gluten-free’ MREs

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Slot, Eater and Washington Monthly

Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal:
Ted Cruz Overtakes Donald Trump in Latest Republican Presidential Poll

Discussion: Mother Jones, RedState and The Resurgent

Associated Press:
The Latest: Bush Told: 'Your Message Isn't Resonating'

Discussion: Politico, abc11.com and ABC News

USA Today:
Poll: Sanders has slight edge over Clinton in matchups with GOP opponents

Discussion: The Hill, Breitbart, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politico, CNN, Washington Post, Instapundit and The Moderate Voice

Rudolph Bell / Greenville News:
Cruz denies Gowdy claim of Facebook deception

Discussion: Hot Air, The Resurgent and The Daily Caller

NBC News:
Is Trump on the Verge of His Biggest Victory Yet?

Discussion: Politico, CNN, New York Times, Hollywood Life, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine and TPNN

John McCormick / Bloomberg Business:
Trump Dominates in Bloomberg Poll Before South Carolina Primary

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico and Hot Air

Mike Zapler / Politico:
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley endorses Marco Rubio

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, The Last Refuge, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Yahoo Politics and ABC News

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Cruz on Trump lawsuit threat: Bring it on

Discussion: CNN, The Week, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, Truth Revolt, USA Today and Outside the Beltway

Eliza Collins / Politico:

Obama to skip Scalia's funeral — President Barack Obama is preparing for a fierce battle with the Senate over the Supreme Court vacancy, but he's not planning to attend Justice Antonin Scalia's funeral — a decision that puzzled even some of his allies and incensed conservative media.

Washington Post:

Why Justice Scalia was staying for free at a Texas resort … Justice Antonin Scalia's sudden death over the weekend at a West Texas ranch raised questions about the nature of his travel, who paid for the trip and whether justices are subject to the same disclosure guidelines as other judges or federal officials.

Discussion: Infowars, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Prairie Weather, The Atlantic, Above the Law, Mother Jones, The Week, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Daily Kos

Kate Hudson / CBS News:

Ranch owner clarifies how he found Scalia amid conspiracy theories — For the second time this week, Donald Trump expressed skepticism about how Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died, alluding to conspiracy theories suggesting he was the victim of foul play.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, Friendly Atheist, Mashable, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, The Atlantic, The Week, Right Wing Watch, NBC News and Mother Jones

New York Times:

Blacks See Bias in Delay on a Scalia Successor — CHARLESTON, S.C. — As he left Martha Lou's Kitchen, a soul food institution here on Wednesday, Edward Gadsden expressed irritation about the Republican determination to block President Obama from selecting Justice Antonin Scalia's replacement on the Supreme Court.

Brent Budowsky / The Hill: The GOP's SCOTUS mega-mistake

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
White House: Obama ‘regrets’ his filibuster of Supreme Court nominee

Discussion: Power Line, CNBC, The Week and CNN

Josh Gerstein / Politico: Scalia's absence could shape election rules

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Sen. Heller hints at Sandoval SCOTUS nomination

Discussion: Bloomberg Politics, Talking Points Memo, Slantpoint, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, WLS-AM 890 and The Huffington Post

Halimah Abdullah / NBC News:
White House: Obama Will Not Attend Justice Scalia's Funeral

Discussion: Hot Air

Sara Jerde / Talking Points Memo:
White House: Obama To Pay Respects To Scalia Friday, Won't Attend Funeral

Discussion: The Week

Dan Guido / Trail of Bits Blog:

Apple can comply with the FBI court order — Earlier today, a federal judge ordered Apple to comply with the FBI's request for technical assistance in the recovery of the San Bernadino gunmen's iPhone 5C. Since then, many have argued whether these requests from the FBI are technically feasible given …

Shane Harris / The Daily Beast:

Apple Unlocked iPhones for the Feds 70 Times Before — A 2015 court case shows that the tech giant has been willing to play ball with the government before—and is only stopping now because it might “tarnish the Apple brand.” — Apple CEO Tim Cook declared on Wednesday that his company …

Discussion: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, protein wisdom, Fox News, Associated Press, Guardian, Mashable, CNN, MacRumors, Investor's Business Daily, VentureBeat, New York Times, NPR, Paste and Mediaite

Spencer Ackerman / Guardian:
Apple encryption case risks influencing Russia and China, privacy experts say

Discussion: Electronic Frontier Foundation, Business Insider and New York Times

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

White House rips Schumer's ‘credibility’ on national security — The White House on Wednesday lambasted Sen. Chuck Schumer, calling into question his national security credentials after he criticized the Obama administration over homeland security funding. — New York officials …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, ABC News and Moe Lane

Olivier Knox / Yahoo Politics:
Obama to travel to Cuba in March

Discussion: Washington Post and Politico

Jim Avila / ABC News:
President Obama Will Visit Cuba in Historic Trip Next Month, Sources Say

Discussion: CNN, Weasel Zippers and The Week

Emily Smith / Page Six:

'Don't f-k with me': Hear Kanye's uncensored ‘SNL’ meltdown — Kanye West blasted Taylor Swift as a “fake ass” and called NBC staffers “white m— s” during his epic meltdown backstage at “Saturday Night Live. In an audio clip exclusively obtained by Page Six, Kanye can be heard repeatedly yelling at …

Discussion: TMZ.com, Mashable, Gothamist, Consequence of Sound, The Daily Caller, Just Jared and Refinery29

Peter Sterne / Politico:

The ax falls at Yahoo — Yahoo is shutting down a number of its content verticals, Yahoo global editor in chief Martha Nelson confirmed on Wednesday. — “On our recent earnings call, Yahoo outlined out a plan to simplify our business and focus our effort on our four most successful content areas …

Discussion: Re/code, Skift, The Next Web, New York Times, New York Magazine and Ars Technica UK, more at Mediagazer »

Yahoo:
Focusing Our Digital Content Efforts

Discussion: Eater and Investor's Business Daily

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Graham: GOP will get ‘slaughtered’ if Trump nominee — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) argued Wednesday that if Donald Trump is the GOP nominee, Republicans will get “slaughtered” in the November election. — Lambasting the outspoken Republican front-runner as an “opportunist,” …

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:
Trump says ‘torture works,’ backs waterboarding and ‘much worse’

Discussion: Political Wire

Christopher Brito / New York's PIX11:

Stranger mails hilarious letter to man who lost wallet, keeps cash and Metrocard — FLATBUSH, Brooklyn - The person who found a young man's wallet at King's Theater during a Wilco concert likely shares the same taste in music, fondness for the wallet and cold-hard cash.

Discussion: KTLA, fox8.com and KFOR-TV

Allison Yang / New York's PIX11:

NYPD wants you to stop leaving your cellphone under your pillow — NEW YORK — The NYPD is urging people not to leave their cellphones near their beds because the phones could catch fire. — On Monday, the Deputy Inspector Wilson Aramboles of the NYPD's 33rd Precinct tweeted a collection …

Discussion: fox8.com, The Daily Caller and Gothamist