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

4:05 PM ET, February 17, 2016

Top Items:

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

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Raw Story, Political Wire, Roll Call, Independent Journal Review, National Review and Florida Politics

CNN:

Poll: Clinton, Sanders in a dead heat for Nevada — Washington (CNN)Likely Democratic caucusgoers in Nevada are split almost evenly between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders ahead of Saturday's caucuses, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll. — Though Clinton holds an edge over Sanders …

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Clinton leads in 10 of 12 Early March Primaries; Benefits From Overwhelming Black Support — New Public Policy Polling surveys of the 12 states that will hold Democratic primaries for President between March 1st and 8th, conducted on behalf of American Family Voices, find Hillary Clinton leading …

Discussion: Washington Post, Campaign for America's Future, New York Magazine, Politico and Guardian

Michael Falcone / ABC News:

The Note: Breaking Down The Numbers In South Carolina

Discussion: Politico, The Week, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Betsy's Page

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Cruz on Trump lawsuit threat: Bring it on — SENECA, S.C. — Ted Cruz on Wednesday said Donald Trump's campaign had threatened legal action over a campaign ad. His response: Bring it on. — Cruz, the former solicitor general of Texas and an ex-Supreme Court clerk, was in full lawyer mode …

Discussion: CNN, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Outside the Beltway and Washington Post

Post and Courier:

Gov. Haley endorsing Marco Rubio for president today — Gov. Nikki Haley today is endorsing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for president, ending months of speculation and giving Rubio a much needed bounce heading into Saturday's South Carolina Republican primary.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Greenville News, Mediaite, Business Insider, NBC News, The Week and The Daily Caller

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

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller and The Resurgent

Daniel Strauss / Politico:
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to endorse Marco Rubio

Discussion: Washington Post, Yahoo Politics, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and ABC News

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
National Poll Shows Donald Trump With Big Lead and Democrats in Virtual Tie

Discussion: USA Today, No More Mister Nice Blog and Prairie Weather

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

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, New York Times, CNN and Washington Times

Eliana Johnson / National Review: S.C. Is Key Early Test of Cruz's Southern Strategy

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Ted Cruz pinched in race for South Carolina's evangelicals

Discussion: Daily Kos and Washington Post

Eliza Collins / Politico:

Obama to skip Scalia funeral — President Barack Obama will not attend Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's funeral on Saturday, the White House said Wednesday. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden will attend. — Obama and first lady Michelle Obama instead …

Discussion: Infowars and Weasel Zippers

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: The Atlantic, Mother Jones, New York Magazine, Prairie Weather, The Week, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Daily Kos, LewRockwell and The National Interest

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

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

Discussion: The Week

New York Times:
Obama's Options for a Supreme Court Nominee, and the Potential Fallout

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Business Insider, Political Wire, New York Magazine, SCOTUSblog, The Great Debate, Althouse and Mother Jones

Caitlin Cruz / Talking Points Memo:
Cruz Says It 'Doesn't Make Sense' To Hold Confirmation Hearings (VIDEO)

Discussion: Daily Kos

Alice Ollstein / ThinkProgress:
Scalia's Death Throws North Carolina's Upcoming Election Into Confusion

Discussion: Fayetteville Observer, CityLab, WRAL-TV and Raleigh News & Observer

Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg Business:
Republicans Show Signs of Division on Supreme Court Tactics

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, The Hill, The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Hot Air, Soapbox DC, Daily Kos, Real Clear Politics and Yahoo Politics

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

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

I find this election bizarre for many reasons but none more than this: If I were given a blank sheet of paper and told to write down America's three greatest sources of strength, they would be “a culture of entrepreneurship,” “an ethic of pluralism” and the “quality of our governing institutions.”

Discussion: Instapundit, twitchy.com and Lawyers, Guns & Money

lettertosanders:

An Open Letter from Past CEA Chairs to Senator Sanders and Professor Gerald Friedman — Dear Senator Sanders and Professor Gerald Friedman, — We are former Chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers for Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. For many years, we have worked …

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Times, Politico, NPR, bradford-delong.com, The Week, The Grumpy Economist and emptywheel

Jacob Heilbrunn / Politico:

Trump Is Trampling Over the GOP's Corpse — The most basic problem for the Republican Party isn't that Donald Trump is so strong, but that his competitors are so weak. One can find no better illustration of this, perhaps, than the sorry spectacle of Jeb Bush—who only a year ago was seen …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Times and Washington Post

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

WOW! Trump Invites Supporters On Stage for Handling Protester- CROWD ERUPTS WHEN ONE SAYS HE'S A VETERAN! (VIDEO) — You can't plan something like this... At a Trump campaign rally in North Augusta, South Carolina on Tuesday, Donald Trump was interrupted by a protester who was screaming profanities …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and The Daily Caller

Alice Ollstein / ThinkProgress:
Donald Trump Honors Men Who ‘Took Action’ Against A Young Latina Protester

Discussion: addictinginfo.org

Kate Jacobson / Sun-Sentinel:

Teen accused of running fake medical practice posed as gynecologist a year ago, officials say — Deputies arrested an 18-year-old after he allegedly posed as a doctor and gave exams in West Palm Beach. Malachi Love-Robinson is accused of practicing medicine without a license and was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on Tuesday.

Discussion: KTLA, Mashable, Slantpoint, theGrio, FOX2now.com, fox8.com and The Week

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:

Iowa mom buys semiautomatic rifle for teen son — and his friend is accidentally killed by it the next day — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — An Iowa mother was charged nearly a year after she bought her teenage son a rifle that accidentally killed his friend the very next day.

Oliver Jj Lane / Breitbart:

‘Islamic Rape Of Europe’: Polish Magazine Splashes ‘White Europa’ Girl Groped By Migrant Hands — One of Poland's most popular weekly magazines has splashed a graphic depiction of the rape of Europe's women by migrants on its front cover. The image may be one of the most politically incorrect illustrations …

Associated Press:

Apple to fight order to help FBI unlock shooter's iPhone — WASHINGTON (AP) — Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook says his company will fight a federal magistrate's order to help the FBI hack into an encrypted iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino, California shooters.

Discussion: Associated Press, Mother Jones, abc11.com, The Atlantic, ABC News, The Last Refuge and Slantpoint

New York Times:
Apple Fights Order to Unlock San Bernardino Gunman's iPhone

Fox News:

Clinton email chain discussed Afghan national's CIA ties, official says — EXCLUSIVE: One of the classified email chains discovered on Hillary Clinton's personal unsecured server discussed an Afghan national's ties to the CIA and a report that he was on the agency's payroll …

Discussion: Fox News Insider and The Right Scoop

Jon Burkett / WTVR-TV:

‘Hangry’ woman arrested for biting Wendy's worker over wrong order — RICHMOND, Va. — Have you heard the expression “hangry?” It's a combination of hungry and angry. A fast food worker said that word perfectly described the customer who attacked and bit her over a wrong order.

Discussion: Eater and KFOR-TV

Tim Mak / The Daily Beast:

Draft-Dodger Trump Said Sleeping Around Was My ‘Personal Vietnam’ — In a 1997 Howard Stern interview, the future presidential candidate likened sleeping with multiple women to service in the war he repeatedly avoided. — Draft-dodger Donald Trump once said that the danger he faced …

Discussion: RedState, BuzzFeed and John Hawkins' Right Wing News