memeorandum: Kobe Bryant & Daughter Die in Helicopter Crash, Photos from Her Last Game (TMZ.com)

9:50 PM ET, January 26, 2020

Top Items:

Trump Tied Ukraine Aid to Inquiries He Sought, Bolton Book Says — Drafts of the book outline the potential testimony of the former national security adviser if he were called as a witness in the president's impeachment trial. — WASHINGTON — President Trump told his national security adviser …

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Bolton alleges in book that Trump tied Ukraine aid to investigations — President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton alleges in his forthcoming book that the president explicitly told him “he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials …

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story, The Hill and Daily Kos

John Bowden / The Hill:

Bolton book alleges Trump tied Ukraine aid freeze to Biden investigations: NYT — Former national security adviser John Bolton reportedly claims in his as-yet unpublished memoir that President Trump sought to tie hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine to his requests …

Discussion: New York Times, Fox News, Balloon Juice and Raw Story

TMZ.com:

Kobe Bryant & Daughter Die in Helicopter Crash, Photos from Her Last Game — KOBE BRYANT, DAUGHTER GIGI DIE IN HELICOPTER CRASH ... Pics From Her Last Game — KOBE AND GIANNA — 5:55 PM PT — TMZ Sports has obtained some of the last photos taken of Kobe Bryant with his daughter, Gianna …

Los Angeles Times:

Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna among 9 dead in helicopter crash in Calabasas — Kobe Bryant, 41, the legendary basketball star who spent 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, was killed when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed and burst into flames Sunday morning amid foggy conditions …

Discussion: NBC News, Jill Filipovic, Townhall, New York Post, Fox News, globalnews.ca, UPI, Slate, Vox, New York Times, The Root, Consequence of Sound, The Spun, VICE, Redstate, Page Six, Vanity Fair, The Week and Mediaite

Rishika Dugyala / Politico:

Politicians hit pause after Kobe Bryant's death — The news of Kobe Bryant's death on Sunday cut into a day of impeachment spin and early-states campaigning, with D.C. politicians and 2020 presidential candidates offering condolences and sending tweets about the retired NBA star.

Discussion: Breitbart, FOX 61, The Hill and One America News Network

Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:

Kobe Bryant, daughter among 9 dead in helicopter crash in Southern California — The crash resulted in a fire on the scene in the upscale suburb of Calabasas. — LIVE NOW — Basketball legend Kobe Bryant is among nine people who died in a helicopter crash in the wealthy Southern …

Discussion: Breitbart, UPI and ESPN

Associated Press:
Kobe Bryant and daughter among those killed in chopper crash

Discussion: KTLA, HuffPost, Slate, Breitbart and WFLA-TV

Alicia Victoria Lozano / NBC News: ‘Nothing to catch us:’ How California's homelessness crisis surged

William B. Taylor / New York Times:

Yes, Secretary Pompeo, Americans Should Care About Ukraine — A former ambassador tells the secretary of state just why. — Mr. Taylor is a former United States ambassador to Ukraine. — As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepares to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv later this week …

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Emails support NPR host after Pompeo calls her a liar in setting up contentious interview — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says an NPR host lied in setting up an interview with him on Friday, but email records support the journalist's account of how the contentious exchange came to be.

Discussion: The Hill, Mother Jones, HuffPost, ABC News, Daily Kos, NPR, New York Times and The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »

CBS News:

CBS News Battleground Tracker: In Iowa, it's Sanders, Biden and a wild finish ahead — It's a tight and fluid race heading into the final week in Iowa for a lot of reasons. Bernie Sanders is attracting 26% support, with Joe Biden at 25%, as the top preferences of likely caucus goers.

Discussion: The Hill and New York Times

Susan Page / USA Today:

Poll: A week before the caucuses, Joe Biden leads an Iowa race that remains unsettled — One week before the opening Iowa caucuses, former Vice President Joe Biden leads a fluid Democratic field, a new Suffolk University/USA TODAY Network Poll of the state finds.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Bloomberg, Politico and The Hill

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed News:

“Things Are Gonna Get Crazy”: Bernie Sanders' Camp Is Warning Supporters About A Backlash — ANKENY, Iowa — Across the room, sheets of paper taped to the wall reminded volunteers to organize with respect: “When you are tempted to make a statement,” one read, “ask a question.”

Discussion: New York Times

Washington Post:

Schiff ‘has not paid the price’ for impeachment, Trump says in what appears to be veiled threat — President Trump escalated his attacks on Rep. Adam B. Schiff on Sunday, issuing what appears to be a veiled threat against the California Democrat one day before Trump's team is expected …

Discussion: New York Times, Vox, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian and The Hill

Allan Smith / NBC News:
GOP senator: Impeachment should encourage Trump to be more ‘careful’ next time

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, The Daily Caller and Axios

Connor O'Brien / Politico:
‘We did’ give in to Trump stonewalling, House impeachment manager says

Discussion: Axios

Allan Smith / NBC News:
Trump suggests Schiff will pay a ‘price’ for pushing impeachment

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post, The Hill and Politico

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:
Schiff: ‘No exoneration’ for Trump without witnesses at Senate trial

Discussion: UPI and Denver Post

Joe DePaolo / Mediaite:

Fox & Friends Covers Fox News Poll, Completely Ignores Part Showing Trump Down Big to 2020 Rivals — A just-released Fox News poll offered some dire numbers for President Donald Trump. But if the commander-in-chief was watching Fox & Friends on Sunday morning (and he was …

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Record economy ratings, as half say Senate should remove Trump

Discussion: Raw Story, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA and New York Post

Justin Wise / The Hill: Fox News poll: Half of Americans say Trump should be convicted and removed

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Sanders gains among Democrats, Biden still best against Trump

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press and New York Times

Marlene Lenthang / Daily Mail:

Jeff Bezos throws lavish party at his new $23million, 11-bedroom Washington DC mansion attended by Ivanka Trump, Bill Gates and Ben Stiller — Jeff Bezos threw a lavish party at his finally finished Washington DC mansion attended by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and actor Ben Stiller on Saturday night

Nihar Kabinittal / Associated Press:

Germany urged to fight anti-Semitism to avoid Jewish exodus — Germany's foreign minister is calling for strengthened efforts against anti-Semitism to ward off the possibility of many Jews deciding to leave the country — BERLIN — Germany's foreign minister is calling for strengthened efforts …

Discussion: One America News Network and Axios

NBC News: Bloomberg addresses anti-Semitic violence, throws shade at Sanders and Trump

Ken Meyer / Mediaite:

Chris Wallace Grills Dershowitz About Flipping on Impeachment Stance: 'You Said It Doesn't Have to Be a Crime' — Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz faced a bruising interview on Sunday when confronted with his abandoned position that a federal crime isn't necessary to form the legitimate basis to impeach the president.

Zach Montellaro / Politico:

Yang qualifies for New Hampshire primary debate — Andrew Yang will be back on the debate stage. — After failing to qualify for a debate in Iowa earlier this month, Yang has earned a spot at the next Democratic primary debate, in New Hampshire on Feb. 7.

Discussion: CNN, ABC News, Washington Post, The Week and The Hill

Wall Street Journal: On Day Off From Impeachment Trial, Senators Campaign Frantically in Iowa

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Trump lawyers' weak start opens the door to devastating questions — President Trump's lawyers' repeated assertions Saturday that they would not take much time on their case confirmed that they know the result is in the bag and that they have embarrassingly little to say in Trump's defense.

Ian Schwartz / RealClearPolitics:
Philbin to Schiff: What Changed That We Don't Need To Hear From The Whistleblower?

Discussion: Power Line and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Anuj Chopra / Yahoo News:

Chinese Uighurs in Saudi face impossible choice — An unidentified Chinese Uighur man in the city of Medina holds his expired Chinese passport (red) and a one-way travel document (blue) issued in its place by the Chinese mission in Saudi Arabia — Medina (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) …