memeorandum: Drinking more coffee may reverse liver damage from booze (Reuters)

2:25 AM ET, February 19, 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

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

Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:

Pope suggests contraception can be condoned in Zika crisis — ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis has suggested that women threatened with the Zika virus could use artificial contraception, saying there's a clear moral difference between aborting a fetus and preventing a pregnancy.

Discussion: The Scoop Blog, Infowars, RH Reality Check, Associated Press, ABC News and Mother Jones

Nick Gass / Politico:
Trump goes to war with the pope

Discussion: New York Times, Real Clear Politics, Talking Points Memo, Reuters, Mediaite, ABC News, Yahoo Politics, CBS New York, Shakesville, Business Insider, Salon, RedState, Associated Press, abc11.com, No More Mister Nice Blog and Booman Tribune

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

Discussion: Infowars and TalkLeft

Melanie Eversley / USA Today:
Reports: Chicago court to hear case to knock Cruz off White House ballot

Discussion: Political Wire and ballot-access.org

Patrick Healy / New York Times:
Donald Trump Fires Back at Sharp Rebuke by Pope Francis

Discussion: Political Wire, The Week, Friendly Atheist, The Atlantic and The Daily Caller

Hadas Gold / Politico:
MSNBC's Trump town hall falls to CNN and Fox News in the ratings

Discussion: RedState and Hullabaloo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: Power Line, CNN, Business Insider, Taylor Marsh, Politico, Washington Post, New York Magazine, RedState, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politicus USA, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

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

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: Yahoo Politics, Politico, CNN, ABC News, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Liberal Values, Associated Press, Vanity Fair, Instapundit, Bloomberg Business, Common Dreams, naked capitalism, NBC News, 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: New York Times, Talking Points Memo and Politico

Bobby Blanchard / Trail Blazers Blog:

Consolidating Hispanic support, Clinton's campaign throws punches at Sanders — Housing Secretary and former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro visits a Hillary Clinton campaign office in Ottumwa, Iowa, on Jan. 24, 2016. (staff/Todd J. Gillman) — AUSTIN — Hillary Clinton nabbed …

Jamie Self / The State:
U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn to endorse Hillary Clinton in Democratic presidential primary

Discussion: CNN, Washington Times and The Week

Daniel Nasaw / Wall Street Journal:
Bloomberg Would Lose Big to Sanders and Trump — WSJ/NBC Poll

Discussion: Washington Post

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and RedState

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

Discussion: Here & Now and Washington Post

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

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

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

In 2002, Donald Trump Said He Supported Invading Iraq — “Are you for invading Iraq?” Howard Stern asked him, and Trump answered, “Yeah, I guess so.” — w.soundcloud.com — For months, Donald Trump has claimed that he opposed the Iraq War before the invasion began — as an example of his great judgment on foreign policy issues.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Politico, Mother Jones, Yahoo Politics, Raw Story, NBC News, Business Insider, New York Times, Hit & Run, Mediaite, CBS New York, Weasel Zippers, Political Wire, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Slantpoint, The Last Refuge, The Right Scoop and Independent Journal Review

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

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:

In S.C., the GOP contest looks more and more like a three-man race — EASLEY, S.C. — After more than a week of fevered campaigning, Republicans in South Carolina are on the verge of answering two of the main questions hovering over the GOP presidential race: Will Donald Trump cement his place …

Discussion: Politico, Post and Courier, Independent Journal Review and NBC News

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

Discussion: Politico, FiveThirtyEight and Hot Air

Patrick Howley / Breitbart: Exclusive — SC Blogger: Marco Rubio's Campaign Manager Pushed Story That Nikki Haley Had An Affair With Me

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: Scripting News

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

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

Hugh Hewitt / CNN:

Antonin Scalia vacancy: Letter to GOP senator who waffled — Hugh Hewitt takes Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nevada, to task for not backing the Senate majority leader's stance on a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia.

Discussion: Washington Post

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Politico

Reuters:

Drinking more coffee may reverse liver damage from booze — Drinking more coffee might help reduce the kind of liver damage that's associated with overindulging in food and alcohol, a review of existing studies suggests. — Researchers analyzed data from nine previously published studies …