memeorandum: Trump tweet in Farsi ‘the most liked Persian tweet’ in history of Twitter (Carlin Becker/Washington Examiner)

6:35 PM ET, January 12, 2020

Top Items:

Thomas Gibbons-Neff / New York Times:

Esper Says He Didn't See Specific Evidence Iran Planned to Attack 4 Embassies — President Trump had claimed that a planned attack on four American embassies was a justification for the strike on an Iranian general. — WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said on Sunday …

Discussion: HillReporter.com, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, HuffPost and Talking Points Memo

Melissa Quinn / CBS News:

Esper says he “didn't see” specific evidence showing Iranian threat to 4 U.S. embassies — Washington — Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said he “didn't see” specific evidence that top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was planning attacks on four U.S. embassies, but said he believed such attacks would have occurred.

Discussion: Slate, POLITICUSUSA, CNN, UPI and Daily Kos

Adia Robinson / ABC News:
'We're not going to cut and run': National security adviser on embassy threats

Discussion: Axios, Talking Points Memo, Vox, The Daily Beast, The Week, Task & Purpose, The Hill, New York Post and Breitbart

Allan Smith / NBC News:
Esper said he 'didn't see' intelligence backing up Trump claim Iran was preparing to attack 4 embassies

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Breitbart, One America News Network, Axios, Mother Jones and Daily Kos

Hayley Miller / HuffPost:
Mark Esper: I 'Didn't See' Specific Evidence Of Iran Threat To 4 U.S. Embassies

Discussion: The Hill, New York Post and Contemptor

ABC News:

Pelosi does not rule out possibility of subpoenaing testimony if Senate skips witnesses — “Let's just see what the Senate does,” she said on ABC's “This Week.” — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday did not rule out the possibility of a House subpoena for testimony from former national …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, HuffPost, POLITICUSUSA, Daily Kos, Law & Crime, Townhall, Fox News, The Week, The Hill, IJR, Mediaite and Breitbart

William Cummings / USA Today:

Pelosi warns McConnell, Senate Republicans they will ‘pay a price’ if they engage in ‘cover-up’ — As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prepares to consult with fellow Democrats about sending the two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate, she warned Majority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Andrew O'Reilly / Fox News:
McCarthy says Pelosi holding articles of impeachment to hurt Sanders' Iowa chances

Discussion: Axios and Politico

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 1-12-20: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien

Discussion: Vox, POLITICUSUSA, UPI and HuffPost

Elise Viebeck / Washington Post: Pelosi says Trump ‘impeached for life’ despite McConnell's ‘gamesmanship,’ ‘coverup’

Nina Turner / The State:

While Bernie Sanders has always stood up for African Americans, Joe Biden has repeatedly let us down — In choosing between the two Democratic Party candidates atop the polls, African American voters have a consequential decision to make: — Will our community side with former Vice President Joe Biden …

Discussion: Common Dreams, The Crosstab, The Daily Caller, Bern Notice, The Hill and NBC News

Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:
Local New Hampshire Union Backs Bernie Sanders, Bucking National Affiliate

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

NBC News:
Warren ‘disappointed’ that Sanders reportedly ‘sending his volunteers out to trash me’

Discussion: CNN, Politico and MSNBC

Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Bernie campaign slams Warren as candidate of the elite

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Axios, Associated Press, PJ Media Home, HuffPost, The Guardian, One America News Network, The Hill, Mediaite, Bloomberg, Balloon Juice and Slate

Natasha Korecki / Politico:
Obama campaign guru: Trump would love to run against Bernie

Discussion: Townhall, The Hill, PJ Media Home, Time & Money and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Dana Goldstein / New York Times:

Two States. Eight Textbooks. Two American Stories. — TWO STATES. EIGHT TEXTBOOKS. TWO AMERICAN STORIES. — American history textbooks can differ across the country, in ways that are shaded by partisan politics. … We analyzed some of the most popular social studies textbooks used in California and Texas.

Discussion: Reason, No More Mister Nice Blog and Mother Jones

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Hillary Clinton: The most exonerated politician ever — Hillary Clinton has a unique distinction: She has been exonerated twice after extensive federal investigations, the latest entirely unjustified and the result of a politicized Justice Department. President Trump of course was NOT exonerated …

Kendall Karson / ABC News:

Majority of Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of Iran, feel less safe after strike: POLL — The results come from a new ABC News/Ipsos poll. — In a week dominated by increased tension with Iran and speculation over when impeachment articles would be delivered to the U.S. Senate …

Discussion: The Independent, Twitchy, The Hill, JONATHAN TURLEY, Axios and Slate

Chris Jackson / Ipsos:
ABC News/Ipsos Poll

Discussion: CNN, Common Dreams and ABC13

Rob Picheta / CNN:

This playboy tortoise had so much sex he saved his entire species. Now he's going home — (CNN)A womanizing tortoise whose rampant sex life may have single-handedly saved his entire species from extinction has retired from his playboy lifestyle, returning to the wild with his mission accomplished.

Vasco Cotovio / CNN:

Iran's sole female Olympic medalist says she's defected — (CNN)Iran's sole female Olympic medalist, Kimia Alizadeh, has announced that she's permanently left her country for Europe. — “Let me start with a greeting, a farewell or condolences,” the 21-year-old wrote in an Instagram post explaining why she was defecting.

Discussion: UPI

Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

The stakes have never been higher. Here's who I plan to vote for in April's Dem primary — I believe in my political independence, but I also believe in fate. In 2016, declaring the stakes were just too damn high, I ended nearly three decades as a registered independent to become a Democrat …

Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:

If Trump Wins in 2020, Get Ready for President Don Jr. — In an excerpt from his new book, “Running Against the Devil,” Daily Beast columnist Rick Wilson conjures what a Trump dynasty would look like. — Eight years of Trump sucks, right? It's terrible, isn't it? I mean, it can't get worse, right?

Discussion: Raw Story

Seema Mehta / Los Angeles Times:

Can Amy Klobuchar pull off a surprise in Iowa's presidential caucuses? — Amy Klobuchar, campaigning across Iowa in the first days of the New Year, told voters about a text a friend sent her after a surge in polls and fundraising. — “It had autocorrected by mistake …

Barbara Rodriguez / Des Moines Register: U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack endorses Pete Buttigieg for president

Robin Wright / New Yorker:

Donald Trump's Iran Problem — The killing of General Qassem Suleimani has undermined the Trump Administration's top goals in the Islamic Republic. — On September 19, 1983, during Lebanon's long civil war, the Reagan Administration ordered Marine peacekeepers in Beirut to open fire …

Chloe Atkins / NBC News:

For transgender men, pain of menstruation is more than just physical — Safety concerns and a lack of access to menstruation products are among the issues trans and gender-nonconforming people face during “that time of the month.” — When transgender model and activist Kenny Ethan Jones experienced …

Discussion: Althouse

Carlin Becker / Washington Examiner:

Trump tweet in Farsi ‘the most liked Persian tweet’ in history of Twitter — President Trump's tweet in Farsi expressing his support for Iranians protesting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already earned over 200,000 likes, making it the “most liked Persian tweet” …