memeorandum: Glenn Beck: God took Scalia to give America Ted Cruz as president (Dylan Byers/CNN)

10:00 PM ET, February 18, 2016

Top Items:

Pope Francis Suggests Donald Trump Is ‘Not Christian’ — ABOARD THE PAPAL AIRLINER — Inserting himself into the Republican presidential race, Pope Francis on Wednesday suggested that Donald J. Trump “is not Christian” because of the harshness of his campaign promises to deport more immigrants …

Donald J Trump for President:

DONALD J. TRUMP RESPONSE TO THE POPE — If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened.

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

Why aren't we talking about how big a frontrunner Donald Trump is for the Republican nomination? — Barring some sort of cataclysm, Donald Trump is going to win the South Carolina Republican presidential primary easily on Saturday. That will be his second straight large victory …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Nick Gass / Politico:

Trump goes to war with the pope — Pope Francis may have picked a fight with the wrong bully. — After months of taking subtle swipes at Republican politicians, the pontiff went for a direct punch at Donald Trump on Thursday, suggesting the GOP poll leader is “not Christian” …

Discussion: Reuters, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, ABC News, Associated Press, CBS New York, Yahoo Politics, RedState, CRUX, No More Mister Nice Blog and Booman Tribune

Scott Johnson / Power Line:

A canticle for Donald Trump — Donald Trump's progress toward the Republican nomination is beginning to look fated. When it comes to good luck, or divine intervention, can anything beat Pope Francis's condemnation of Donald Trump today for supporting a wall protecting the southern border of the United States?

Discussion: Catholic Philly, Talking Points Memo and Right Wing Watch

Elianayjohnson / National Review:
Down on Jeb's Prospects, Bob Dole Says Marco Rubio is His Second Choice

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air and FiveThirtyEight

CBS News:
CBS News poll: Trump maintains commanding lead over GOP field

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times, Washington Post, NBC News, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Political Insider blog, Reuters, Shakesville and USA Today

Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:
Pope on Trump: Anyone who wants border walls isn't Christian

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, Daily Wire, National Review and Breitbart

Emily Flitter / Reuters:
Pope says Trump ‘not Christian’ in a sign of global concern

Discussion: TalkLeft and Infowars

Daniel Burke / CNN:
Pope suggests Trump ‘is not Christian’

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Atlantic, Politico, VDARE, New York Times, Washington Post, U.S. News, JSOnline, US News, National Review, The San Diego Union …, The Resurgent and CRUX

Ben Jacobs / Guardian:
Donald Trump calls Pope Francis ‘disgraceful’ for questioning his faith

Discussion: addictinginfo.org, The Frisky, Informed Comment and The Muslim Times

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Scalia's death has landed Republicans in a nasty trap

Discussion: Breitbart, CNN, Mediaite, Politicus USA, Hullabaloo and Washington Monthly

Inés San Martín / CRUX:
Pope Francis signals openness to birth control for Zika virus

Discussion: Rolling Stone, CNN, STAT and ThinkProgress

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Clinton ‘feels the Bern,’ trails Sanders by three points nationally — Bernie Sanders now tops Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination. — The latest Fox News national poll finds 47 percent of Democratic primary voters now back the Vermont senator, up from 37 percent in January.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, RedState, Political Wire, Business Insider, Politicus USA and The Daily Caller

Fox News:

Fox News Poll: National presidential race February 18, 2016 — Home - Video - Politics - U.S. - Opinion - Entertainment - Tech - Science - Health - Travel - Lifestyle - World - Sports - On Air — ©2016 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

Discussion: The Argo Journal, Politicus USA, Fox News Insider, TPNN and Talking Points Memo

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

Tightening race rattles Clinton World's nerves — Allies of Hillary Clinton are growing nervous as the Democratic presidential race with Bernie Sanders tightens ahead of contests in Nevada and South Carolina. — A new CNN/ORC poll released Wednesday found Clinton with a 1-point lead in Nevada, which hosts its caucuses on Saturday.

Discussion: Politico, Vanity Fair, CNN, Liberal Values, Bloomberg Business, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Instapundit, Common Dreams, naked capitalism, FiveThirtyEight, Vox and The Huffington Post

Margaret Talev / Bloomberg Business:

Clinton Strong in South Carolina But Warning Signs Ahead, Bloomberg Poll Shows — Hillary Clinton holds a commanding lead over Bernie Sanders in South Carolina thanks to a 3-to-1 advantage among African-American voters, according to a Bloomberg Politics poll that shows the Democrats' fourth …

Discussion: Politico and Talking Points Memo

Jamie Self / The State:

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn to endorse Hillary Clinton in Democratic presidential primary — Clyburn will endorse Clinton at Allen University on Friday — Coveted endorsement from the state's top Democrat could boost campaign — Clyburn did not endorse in 2008, when Barack Obama beat Clinton in S.C. primary

Discussion: CNN, Political Wire, Washington Times and The Week

Bobby Blanchard / Trail Blazers Blog: Consolidating Hispanic support, Clinton's campaign throws punches at Sanders

Mark Murray / NBC News:
Bernie Sanders Cuts Into Hillary Clinton's National Lead: Poll

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState and Washington Post

Associated Press:
Superdelegates help Clinton expand her lead despite NH loss

Discussion: ABC News, Associated Press, Weasel Zippers, Politicus USA, NPR, abc11.com and Washington Post

Darren Sands / BuzzFeed:
Sources: South Carolina's Jim Clyburn Plans To Endorse Hillary Clinton

Discussion: Washington Post and Here & Now

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: mprnews.org, ABC News, New York Times, BizPac Review, Politico, NBC News, The Week, Hot Air, abc11.com, Washington Post and Outside the Beltway

Scott Thistle / Sun Journal:
Gov. LePage says Congress should follow Constitution on Supreme Court vacancy

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Politico

Garrett Epps / The Atlantic:
The Republicans' Scalia Hysteria

Discussion: New York Times, ThinkProgress, BloombergView.com, The People's View, SCOTUSblog, Fusion, Prairie Weather and PrawfsBlawg

Fox News:
White House: Obama ‘regrets’ decision to filibuster Supreme Court Justice Alito

Discussion: The American Mirror and National Review

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
Outside Groups Warn GOP: Don't Even Think About Holding A SCOTUS Hearing

Discussion: Washington Monthly, addictinginfo.org, Judicial Crisis Network and Daily Kos

Charles G. Koch / Washington Post:

Charles Koch: This is the one issue where Bernie Sanders is right — Charles G. Koch is chairman and chief executive of Koch Industries. — As he campaigns for the Democratic nomination for president, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) often sounds like he's running as much against me as he is the other candidates.

Discussion: Political Wire and Scripting News

Alex Griswold / Mediaite:

Cruz Campaign Pushes Photoshopped Image of Rubio Shaking Hands with Obama — The Marco Rubio campaign is livid Thursday after the Ted Cruz campaign released a website that includes a photoshopped image of their candidate shaking hands with President Barack Obama.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Fox News, CNN, National Review, The Gateway Pundit, Trail Blazers Blog, RedState and New York Times

Travis Guillory / KATC-TV:

Acadiana law enforcement unites to find Gremlins Gang — Law enforcement from across Acadiana join forces to try and take down a gang. — An investigation into the Gremlins Gang was launched a year and a half ago by Abbeville Police. Ten accused gang members are already under arrest, but 7 are still wanted.

Discussion: Infowars

Stephen Gutowski / Washington Free Beacon:
Cop Calls Out Violent Gang Members in Epic Video

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Hadas Gold / Politico:

MSNBC's Trump town hall falls to CNN and Fox News in the ratings — MSNBC's choice to host Donald Trump in an exclusive town hall on Wednesday did not result in a ratings win against competitors CNN or Fox News. — During the 8 p.m. hour, when MSNBC's Trump town hall was up against CNN's GOP town hall …

Discussion: RedState and Hullabaloo

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:
Hurricane Trump Flattens MSNBC Town Hall

Discussion: RedState, Politicus USA, Slate, Washington Post, Hot Air, Mother Jones, Politico and The Hill

Miranda Blue / Right Wing Watch:

Cruz: ‘Disastrous’ Marriage Equality Ruling Led To ‘Persecution’ That's ‘Unprecedented’ — In an interview yesterday with conservative Christian broadcaster Janet Mefferd, Sen. Ted Cruz once again touted his support from anti-gay leaders including the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins …

Discussion: addictinginfo.org, Mediaite and Towleroad

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:
Donald Trump: ‘Trust Me’ To Overturn The ‘Shocking’ Gay Marriage Decision

Discussion: CBN.com, LifeNews.com, Human Rights Campaign, Towleroad and Hot Air

Kaitlan Collins / The Daily Caller:

Kid Rock Was Asked, ‘Who Are Your Heroes?’ — You're Going To Love His Answer — Kid Rock was recently asked who his heroes are, and the 45-year-old singer gave the most American answer out there. — During a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Robert Ritchie revealed who he looks up to.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, BizPac Review and TPNN

Dylan Byers / CNN:

Glenn Beck: God took Scalia to give America Ted Cruz as president — Conspiracy theories surround Scalia's death — Glenn Beck believes that God brought about the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in order to encourage Americans to vote for Ted Cruz

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, The Week, Independent Journal Review, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, TPNN, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Infowars

The Atlantic:

The Lawsuits of Donald Trump … Cover of Trump Nation by Timothy O'Brien — 1. Too Famous? — In January 2006, Trump filed a $5 billion lawsuit against author Timothy O'Brien and his publisher for understating Trump's wealth. In his book Trump Nation, O'Brien reported that three people close …

Discussion: BuzzFeed

Julia Hahn / Breitbart:

EXCLUSIVE — Mom Whose Son Was Tortured to Death by Illegal Endorses Trump, Says 'Pope Doesn't Care About Me' — In an exclusive telephone interview with Breitbart News, Laura Wilkerson, whose son was tortured to death by an illegal alien, explained why she cast her early ballot today for GOP frontrunner, Donald Trump.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit