memeorandum: Largest fireball since Chelyabinsk falls into the ocean: Nasa reports huge explosion … (Ellie Zolfagharifard For/Daily Mail)

9:30 AM ET, February 23, 2016

Top Items:

Four Problems With the ‘Winnowing’ Theory of Trump's Downfall — For months, establishment Republicans have envisioned the billionaire losing support as the presidential field narrows. — Jeb Bush's decision to drop out of the presidential race after a dismal fourth-place finish …

Discussion: Washington Post and The Daily Caller

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

GOP wakes up to Trump nightmare — Establishment Republicans are reckoning with something they thought would never happen: That it might soon be too late to stop Donald Trump. — With the controversial businessman the clear front-runner heading into Nevada and next week's Super Tuesday contests …

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: New York Magazine, New York Times, New York Post and Washington Post

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Why Jeb Bush's Campaign Died While Hillary Clinton's Lived

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Ashley Parker / New York Times: Reporter's Notebook: Voters Might Not Miss Jeb Bush, but Campaign Reporters Will

Alexander Burns / New York Times:
At Nevada Caucuses, Donald Trump's Rivals Hope to Break His Streak

Discussion: Politico, Guardian and Raw Story

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
Cruz fires top staffer for promoting false story about Rubio and the Bible

Discussion: WSB-TV, The Week, Betsy's Page, American Spectator, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, U.S. News, Washington Post, Guardian, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Yahoo Politics, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Right Wing Watch and Hot Air

Fredreka Schouten / USA Today:
Meet the woman funding the effort to stop Trump

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

CNN:
John Kasich: Women ‘left their kitchens’ to back him

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New York Magazine, WCMH-TV, Jezebel, Talking Points Memo, WCTX-TV, Daily Kos and The Week

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

Discussion: New York Times, Hot Air and Mediaite

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:
Rubio inherits establishment support but is on a narrow path to stop Trump

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire, Downtrend, The Week, Liberal Values, CNN, ABC News, Business Insider, US News, NPR, Independent Journal Review, Independent Journal …, Rick Tyler and New York Magazine

Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:

Majority of Public Wants Senate to Act on Obama's Court Nominee — Most opponents reject hearings no matter whom Obama nominates — In the high-stakes battle over replacing Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, a majority of Americans (56%) say the Senate should hold hearings …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Collins backs hearing for Obama SCOTUS nominee

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Hot Air and Outside the Beltway

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:
Joe Biden Argued for Delaying Supreme Court Picks in 1992

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com

Associated Press:
Q & A About the Fight Over Replacing Scalia

Discussion: Politico and ABC News

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Attorney Claims Scalia's Votes In Pending Cases Should Still Count

Discussion: Daily Kos and AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …

Todd J. Gillman / Trail Blazers Blog:

Ted Cruz tells O'Reilly he would round up and deport all 12 million — updated at 10:30 pm with comment from Cruz spokeswoman. — WASHINGTON -Ted Cruz said tonight that he would use federal immigration officers to round up and deport all 12 million people in the country illegally …

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post, Political Wire, The Week, The Daily Caller, Washington Times and Guardian

Hanna Trudo / Politico:
Cruz lurches right on immigration

Discussion: Washington Post and Little Green Footballs

Julia Hahn / Breitbart:
Law Enforcement Sides with Chris Crane After Rubio's Anti-ICE Tirade

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Politicus USA

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Ben Carson: Obama was ‘raised white’ — GREENVILLE, S.C. - Ben Carson is the only person in the 2016 presidential field who is vying to become the country's second African-American president. — If truth be told, however, he's not entirely sure he wouldn't actually be the first.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, The Hinterland Gazette, Associated Press and The Week

David McCabe / The Hill:

Clinton-Sanders battle stirs passionate Facebook debate — The Democratic primary fight between Hillary Clinton — is spilling over to Facebook, where supporters of both candidates are engaged in a passionate debate over who should be the party's standard-bearer this fall.

Discussion: ABC News, Guardian, The Mahablog and Vox

Nick Gass / Politico:
Spike Lee backs Sanders in radio ad

Discussion: The Week

Maajid Nawaz / The Daily Beast:

How Obama Lost the Mideast to Putin — Vision, strategy, and courage might have prevented the disaster we see today in Syria. But those elements were nowhere to be found. — LONDON — The Middle East is in flames. Just as Iraq was President George W. Bush's catastrophic legacy, Syria will be Obama's.

Justin Gillis / New York Times:

Seas Are Rising at Fastest Rate in Last 28 Centuries — The oceans are rising faster than at any point in the last 28 centuries, and human emissions of greenhouse gases are primarily responsible, scientists reported Monday. — They added that the flooding that is starting to make life miserable …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Power Line, Associated Press, Raw Story, Climate Denial Crock …, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Climate Central, Washington Post, The Week, FT Alphaville and New York Magazine

Todd Starnes / Reuters:

Chick-fil-A flap rocks another American university — The war on poultry rages on yet another public university campus - this time at the University of Nebraska - Kearney. — The hullabaloo started last January when students were asked to select a new dining option for the student union.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Last Tradition and Independent Journal Review

Sarah El Sirgany / CNN:

READ: Egypt toddler sentenced — Officials offered different explanations. — An aide to the Interior Minister phoned Ebrashy's show to say it was a case of mistaken identity. — The aide, General Abu Bakr Abdel-Karim, promised that Ahmed and his father would not be jailed.

Discussion: myfox8.com

Benny Johnson / Independent Journal Review:

Actor Adam Baldwin Quits Twitter ‘For Good’ in Protest of the Platform Censoring Conservatives — Actor Adam Baldwin has quit Twitter and he isn't coming back. — Baldwin, who currently stars in the TNT hit show “The Last Ship,” tells Independent Journal Review that Twitter's new policy …

Discussion: The Right Scoop, American Power and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Leah Barkoukis / Townhall.com: Actor Adam Baldwin Quits Twitter Over Platform's Alleged Silencing of Conservatives

Ellie Zolfagharifard For / Daily Mail:

Largest fireball since Chelyabinsk falls into the ocean: Nasa reports huge explosion of seven meter space rock over the Atlantic — A huge fireball crashed into the Atlantic earlier this month - and went almost unseen. — The event took place on February 6 at 14:00 UTC when a meteor exploded …

David Limbaugh / Townhall.com:

Suggested Cruz Campaign Reboot: Show, Don't Tell — I don't believe I've ever presumed to offer unsolicited advice on campaign strategy to a presidential candidate, especially in a public forum, but I've decided to make an exception today. — I am an unabashed Ted Cruz supporter and believe …

Detroit Free Press:

Ex-Snyder aide: Financial focus led to crisis in Flint … Schornack predicts successful recall vote — LANSING — The drinking water catastrophe in Flint is the result of a failed model of trying to run state government like a business, says a former adviser to Gov. Rick Snyder …

Discussion: Motor City Muckraker and Washingtonian

Matthew Jaffe / CNN:

Jon Huntsman: I could get behind Donald Trump — The Axe Files, featuring David Axelrod, is a podcast distributed by CNN and produced at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. The author works at the institute. — Chicago (CNN)Former Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman …

Discussion: The Daily Beast and The Daily Caller

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: The Week, Hot Air, Washington Post, Mediaite and Mother Jones