memeorandum: Brody File Exclusive: Donald Trump Says He Will Sign Bill To Defund Planned Parenthood If He's President (David Brody/CBN.com)

12:10 PM ET, February 18, 2016

Top Items:

CBS News poll: Trump maintains commanding lead over GOP field — Donald Trump (35 percent) continues to hold a commanding lead over the rest of the field, with a 17 point lead over his closest rival, Texas Senator Ted Cruz (18 percent). John Kasich (11 percent) has now risen to a virtual third-place tie with Marco Rubio (12 percent).

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Booman Tribune, Hot Air, Political Wire and USA Today

CBS News:

CBS News poll: The next Supreme Court justice, Obama, and the economy — The U.S. Supreme Court — With an unexpected vacancy on the Supreme Court as a result of Justice Antonin Scalia's death, it's unclear if he will be replaced before the November election.

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Hot Air, mprnews.org, abc11.com, The Week, Political Wire and Washington Post

Garrett Epps / The Atlantic:

The Republicans' Scalia Hysteria — A half-century ago, the brilliant British comedy troupe Beyond the Fringe produced “The End of the World,” a skit in which a group of cultists gather atop a mountain to greet the Apocalypse, prophesied for that very day. “Now is the end!” they chant.

Discussion: Prairie Weather and New York Times

Mark Murray / NBC News:

Donald Trump Falls Behind Ted 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 …

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Mainstream G.O.P. Field of Three Faces Brutal Delegate Math — If the Republican Party remains divided for much longer, it will start getting more difficult for a mainstream candidate to win the nomination. — Yet Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and John Kasich all have incentives to stay in the race …

Discussion: Shakesville

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Trump leads in South Carolina — Donald Trump still leads in the race for the Republican nomination in South Carolina, according to a new Fox News poll. — Trump captures 32 percent among South Carolina likely Republican primary voters. Ted Cruz gets 19 percent to Marco Rubio's 15 percent.

Discussion: Political Wire, Politico and Hot Air

Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: Palmetto Pummel

Discussion: Associated Press and abc11.com

Chris Kahn / Reuters:
Trump leads Republican field nationally by more than 20 points: poll

Discussion: Power Line

Mark Murray / NBC News:
Poll: Americans Split on if Senate Should Vote on Supreme Court Pick

Discussion: CNN, ABC News, CBS News, Outside the Beltway and Washington Post

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:

Outside Groups Warn GOP: Don't Even Think About Holding A SCOTUS Hearing — If any Republican senator is thinking about defecting from the GOP's tough line on blocking a Supreme Court nomination until next year, then let them be warned. Outside conservative groups are preparing to go to war …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

White House: Obama ‘regrets’ his filibuster of Supreme Court nominee — President Obama “regrets” filibustering the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in 2006, his top spokesman said Wednesday, though he maintains that the Republican opposition to his effort to replace Justice Antonin Scalia is unprecedented.

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Power Line, CNBC, The Daily Signal, The Week and CNN

David Lat / Above the Law:

Controversy Erupts At A T14 Law School Over How (Or Even Whether) To Mourn Justice Scalia — How should one respond to the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a controversial figure within the law? One can imagine a range of possible reactions, from mourning and tributes to criticism …

Discussion: Althouse, Campus Reform, Instapundit, The Daily Caller and The College Fix

JCN / Judicial Crisis Network:

JCN Launches “Let the People Decide” Campaign — The Judicial Crisis Network is launching a seven figure television, radio and digital advertising campaign on the importance of the Supreme Court in the upcoming presidential election. The campaign, “Let the People Decide,” …

Discussion: Politico and Talking Points Memo

Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Summing Up Scalia — Getting right to the point:

Discussion: Balkinization

New York Times:
The Potential for the Most Liberal Supreme Court in Decades

Discussion: Prairie Weather, ACS Blog and BloombergView.com

Eric Bradner / CNN:
Sandra Day O'Connor: Obama should name Scalia's replacement

Discussion: The Huffington Post, addictinginfo.org and The Week

New York Times:
Blacks See Bias in Delay on a Scalia Successor

Discussion: NBC News, Daily Kos and Political Insider blog

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
Literal Holy Crap: Glenn Beck Says Scalia's Death Part of God's Plan to Elect Ted Cruz

Discussion: CNN, addictinginfo.org and Raw Story

Brent Kendall / Wall Street Journal:
Americans Divided on Whether Senate Should Consider Obama Supreme Court Nominee

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Mother Jones and RedState

Scott Greer / The Daily Caller:
Glenn Beck: God Brought About Scalia's Death So America Would Vote For Ted Cruz

Discussion: The Last Refuge, Betsy's Page, Mediaite and Washington Post

Isaac Chotiner / Slate:

MSNBC's Town Hall With Donald Trump Was Disgraceful — The media's coverage of Trump has been soft, insufficient, and without substance. — Is Donald Trump in trouble? After facing hostile questions from Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski Wednesday night—they comprehensively laid out his flip-flops …

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Mother Jones

Mark Hensch / The Hill:

Trump: I'll be ‘neutral’ on Israel and Palestine — GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Wednesday refused to pick sides in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. — “You know, I don't want to get into it,” he told hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski during a MSNBC town hall in Charleston, S.C.

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Hot Air and American Spectator

Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:
Donald Trump Promises: As President, I Will Sign a Bill to De-fund Planned Parenthood

Discussion: CBN.com and Hot Air

David Brody / CBN.com:
Brody File Exclusive: Donald Trump Says He Will Sign Bill To Defund Planned Parenthood If He's President

Discussion: Washington Post and Right Wing Watch

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Mistakenly Thinks Description Of Sanders Is About Himself (VIDEO)

Discussion: MSNBC and The Week

Ben Rhodes:

President Obama is going to Cuba. Here's why: — Cuba is only 90 miles from Florida, but for a long time the distance between our two countries seemed a lot greater. — For more than fifty years, the United States pursued a policy of isolating and pressuring Cuba.

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, KTLA, Business Insider, Independent Journal Review, Fort Smith/Fayetteville News and Politico

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

Discussion: CNN, The Right Scoop, Weasel Zippers, New York Magazine and The Week

Sabrina Siddiqui / Guardian: Barack Obama to make historic trip to Cuba in coming weeks

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 …

Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
Apple's Stance Highlights a More Confrontational Tech Industry

Discussion: Techdirt, NPR, US News, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway and Refinery29

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

How to Break a Party — Beginning with the Tea Party wave and continuing through the not-Romney musical chairs of the 2012 Republican primary and the battles over debt limits and fiscal cliffs, most coverage of the Republican Party's internal divisions during the Obama era fell into an easy groove …

Bradford Richardson / The Hill:

Obama ‘Hope’ designer endorses Sanders — Artist and activist Shepard Fairey, who designed the iconic “Hope” poster during then-Sen. Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, is backing Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. — “I'm supporting Bernie Sanders …

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller and Outside the Beltway

Luke Broadwater / Baltimore Sun:

DeRay Mckesson, civil rights leaders to meet with Obama — DeRay Mckesson … DeRay Mckesson, the prominent activist and late entrant into Baltimore's mayoral race, will meet with President Barack Obama and civil rights leaders at the White House on Thursday for an event honoring Black History Month.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
White House rips Schumer's ‘credibility’ on national security

Discussion: Truth Revolt, Weasel Zippers, ABC News and Moe Lane

Ben Shapiro / Breitbart:

Pope Francis Rips Capitalism, American Immigration Policy at Mexican Border — Pope Francis, apparently desperate to reach out to the Catholic Church's growing base in Latin America, spent the day slapping Americans in the face from across the US-Mexico border.