memeorandum: Ted Cruz just fired a top aide for spreading a bogus story about Marco Rubio (Jeff Stein/Vox)

7:40 PM ET, February 22, 2016

Top Items:

Rick Tyler / Facebook:

I want to apologize to Senator Marco Rubio for posting an inaccurate story about him here earlier today. The story showed a video of the Senator walking past a Ted Cruz staffer seated in the lobby of a hotel reading his Bible. The story misquoted a remark the Senator made to the staffer.

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, Breitbart, Associated Press, Washington Post, Guardian, Business Insider, Trail Blazers Blog, Political Wire, Raw Story, RedState, BizPac Review, The Right Scoop, The Resurgent and The Daily Caller

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Cruz fires top staffer for promoting false story about Rubio and the Bible — Ted Cruz on Monday asked for the resignation of top aide Rick Tyler, who he accused of a “grave error of judgment” for promoting a false story that questioned Marco Rubio's faith.

Discussion: Associated Press, Guardian, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Business Insider, Hot Air and The Resurgent

David Wright / CNN:

Cruz spokesman apologizes for ‘inaccurate’ Rubio video — Ted Cruz's national spokesman apologized to Marco Rubio for a false report he posted to his social media account — (CNN)Ted Cruz's national spokesman apologized late Sunday for a video distributed by the campaign that falsely depicted Marco Rubio dismissing the Bible.

Discussion: The Atlantic, New York Times, RedState, Washington Post, Jezebel, The Right Scoop, Mediaite, Trail Blazers Blog, ThinkProgress, NBC News, The Daily Caller and The Week

Ellie Schroeder / thedp.com:

Marco Rubio has awkward confrontation with Rafael Cruz, Cruz staffer in hotel lobby — Note from the Editor: We have been receiving lots of questions about the contents of this video, and some have disagreed with our transcript. We stand by our original transcript, but the video …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Post, The Right Scoop, Fox News, ABC News, Real Clear Politics, Breitbart, Independent Journal …, Betsy's Page, Washington Times, Right Wing Watch, Talking Points Memo, Politico and Mediaite

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:

What state will Marco Rubio win? — LAS VEGAS — Mainstream Republican donors and elected officials are swiftly flocking to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) amid a growing sense that is he is the last best chance to prevent Donald Trump from running away with the Republican nomination.

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, US News, NPR and New York Magazine

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

GOP to Kasich: Get out — FAIRFAX, VA — The Republican establishment has a message for John Kasich: get out, and get out of Marco Rubio's way. — A string of elected officials, GOP insiders and prominent donors officially threw their support behind Rubio on Monday, calling him their last chance to take down Donald Trump.

Discussion: Washington Post

Fredreka Schouten / USA Today:

Meet the woman funding the effort to stop Trump — 16k Shares — Keen observers of the political landscape may have discerned this bit of information: The Republican establishment sort of hates its presidential front-runner Donald Trump. But very few of the party's moneyed elite …

Discussion: Downtrend, New York Magazine, The Resurgent, Business Insider, The Week, Washington Free Beacon, twitchy.com and Breitbart

Jeff Stein / Vox:
Ted Cruz just fired a top aide for spreading a bogus story about Marco Rubio

Discussion: Mother Jones, RedState, WTVR-TV and The Right Scoop

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:
House GOP leader thinks he could work with Donald Trump

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Hot Air, Sabato's Crystal Ball and The Resurgent

CNN:
Rubio gets new wave of establishment endorsements

Discussion: CBS New York

Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal:
Ted Cruz Dumps Spokesman Who Circulated Video Falsely Showing Rubio Denigrating Bible

Discussion: Mediaite and Althouse

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:
Graham floats Rubio-Kasich ticket

Discussion: New York Times and Mediaite

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:
Exclusive: Bob Dole Endorses Marco Rubio in 2016 Race

Discussion: Associated Press, Business Insider, Politico, Independent Journal Review and The Hill

D.C. McAllister / The Federalist:
Rubio Needs To Move Aside For Cruz, Not Vice Versa

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post and Hot Air

Politico:
Cruz fires top staffer for promoting false story about Rubio

Discussion: Washington Post and The Gateway Pundit

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Conservatives: Court nominee must be stopped at all costs — Conservative leaders are sending a blunt message to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — : The Supreme Court is more important than your majority. — McConnell's (R-Ky.) top priority since becoming majority leader last year …

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Washington Monthly, Public Policy Polling, Townhall.com, Politicus USA, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Hullabaloo, Little Green Footballs and Daily Kos

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Game over: Joe Biden says in 1992 that the president shouldn't name a SCOTUS nominee …

Discussion: American Spectator

Chicago:
Sen. Mark Kirk: Scalia replacement must ‘bridge differences’

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, National Review, STRICT OBSTRUCTIONISTS and The Journal Gazette

Lydia Wheeler / The Hill:
Biden in 1992: Delay SCOTUS nominee until after election

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Vox, The Federalist, The Right Scoop, Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and National Review

Caleb Howe / RedState:
BUSTED! Watch Biden in 92 Say Senate Should REFUSE To Hold Hearings On Bush SCOTUS Nominees!

Discussion: Washington Post and Wall Street Journal

Andy Cush / Gawker:

Hot Mic Captures Trump Chatting With Morning Joe Hosts: “You Had Me Almost As a Legendary Figure” — The comedian and radio show host Harry Shearer has audio of what sure sounds like a casual off-the-air exchange between Donald Trump and Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite and Mother Jones

Sara Jerde / Talking Points Memo:

Hot Mic Captures Trump Asking ‘Morning Joe’ Hosts For No ‘Too Hard’ Questions (AUDIO) — UPDATE: 4:00 p.m. The co-hosts of MSNBC's “Morning Joe” chatted with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about everything from his golfing excursions to his debate performance during commercial breaks …

Discussion: RedState and Hullabaloo

Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:

More Support for Justice Department Than for Apple in Dispute Over Unlocking iPhone — Slight partisan differences in views of issue — As the standoff between the Department of Justice and Apple Inc. continues over an iPhone used by one of the suspects in the San Bernardino terrorist attacks …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Lawfare, Vox, The Atlantic, NPR, MacRumors, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, The Verge, VentureBeat, The Daily Caller and Politico

Fbi / Federal Bureau of Investigation:
FBI Director Comments on San Bernardino Matter

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Intercept, Bloomberg Business, New York Times, Mediaite, The Stranger …, The Verge, Forbes, Washington Post, Fox News Insider and The Week

Senator Claire McCaskill:

I very recently learned that I have breast cancer. — I very recently learned that I have breast cancer. It was detected through a regular mammogram. It's a little scary, but my prognosis is good and I expect a full recovery. I will be in St Louis for the next 3 weeks receiving treatment.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, Washington Post, Politico, Yahoo Politics, The Stranger …, Mashable, Jezebel, The Week, NBC News, Business Insider and The Daily Caller

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Judge seems skeptical of call to block voter proof-of-citizenship requirement — A federal judge sounded skeptical Monday about a request from voting and civil rights' groups to block a federal official's decision to embrace requirements in three states that new voters submit proof that they're U.S. citizens.

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Feds back court ban on proof of citizenship for voter registration

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Kristina Wong / The Hill:

Pentagon poised to submit plan for closing Guantanamo Bay — The Pentagon is poised to submit a plan to Congress for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, a spokesman said Monday. — Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said the administration will meet the Tuesday deadline for submitting …

Discussion: ABC News

Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Pentagon to Send Congress Plan for Closing Guantánamo

Discussion: New York Magazine

James Rothwell / Telegraph:

Hitler ‘had tiny deformed penis’ as well as just one testicle, historians claim — Hitler suffered from a condition called hypospadias which left him with an abnormally small manhood, according to historians Jonathan Mayo and Emma Craigie — It has long been suspected that Hitler's conquest …

Discussion: Raw Story, Metro.co.uk, Independent Journal Review and The Daily Caller

New York Times:

How Jeb Bush Spent $130 Million Running for President With Nothing to Show for It — When Jeb Bush formally entered the presidential campaign in June, there was already more money behind him than every other Republican candidate combined. When he suspended his campaign on Saturday night in South Carolina …

Discussion: NPR and The Week

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

CIA leaker: Clinton ‘given a pass’ for emails — A former CIA officer serving jail time for leaking documents to the New York Times accused federal officials of setting a double standard by apparently refusing to aggressively prosecute Hillary Clinton — Clinton was “a high ranking official …

Discussion: Washington Post and LawNewz

Mike Opelka / TheBlaze.com:

High School Student's Art Project Goes Viral — When You See It Up Close, You'll Know Why — Indiana High school student Jacob Feazel's art project required 4,466 tiny toy army men, between 20-30 cans of spray paint and over eleven days of work to create a very special American flag.

Discussion: BizPac Review and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

David Sims / The Atlantic:

The High-Def Majesty of Planet Earth Returns — Anyone who's visited an American Best Buy in the last 10 years has almost certainly seen widescreen TVs playing images of sweeping vistas from around the world—from gleaming snowcaps to the subterranean world of caves to vibrant jungle canopies.

Discussion: Guardian and The Verge

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Attorney Claims Scalia's Votes In Pending Cases Should Still Count — With no apparent sarcasm, an Arizona attorney on Sunday proposed that the late Justice Antonin Scalia's votes in cases pending before the Supreme Court should still count even though he died before the court issued its rulings.

Discussion: AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog … and Daily Kos

Dave Aeikens / KSTP-TV:

Dayton ‘Appalled’ that ‘FMUSLMS’ License Plate was Issued in Minnesota — The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is apologizing Monday for issuing what it calls an “offensive and distasteful” personalized license plate. — The department is in the process of retrieving the license plate that reads “FMUSLMS.”

Discussion: Washington Post and LawNewz

Isaac Arnsdorf / Politico:

Sheldon Adelson and the missing $100 million — It's one of the biggest mysteries in Republican circles: why has Sheldon Adelson who spent upwards of $100 million during the last presidential campaign suddenly stopped pouring huge sums of money into politics?

Discussion: Guardian