memeorandum: Prince Charles flew 16,000 miles in just 11 days using three private jets and one helicopter … (Kate Mansey/Daily Mail)

4:05 PM ET, January 26, 2020

Top Items:

Kobe Bryant Dead, Daughter Also Dies in Helicopter Crash — 12:49 PM PT — President Trump just tweeted about Kobe's death ... saying, “Reports are that basketball great Kobe Bryant and three others have been killed in a helicopter crash in California. That is terrible news!”

Discussion: Raw Story, KTLA, The Gateway Pundit, Variety, WCIA-TV, Orange County Register, WTVR-TV, New York Post, Vanity Fair, ESPN, The Spun, IndieWire, NESN.com, The Week, WFLA-TV, The Daily Caller, PJ Media Home, The Post Millennial, Mediaite and Breitbart

Los Angeles Times:

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, KTLA, New York Times, Slate, Vox and New York Post

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

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: New York Times, The Hill and Political Wire

CNN:

CNN poll: Sanders adds to momentum with lead in New Hampshire — (CNN)Bernie Sanders leads the race for the Democratic nomination in New Hampshire, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire. — Overall, 25% of likely Democratic primary voters back the Vermont senator …

Discussion: Common Dreams, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog and Washington Times

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

Washington Post:
Biden and Sanders are breaking away from the pack of candidates among Democrats nationwide …

Discussion: Associated Press, NPR, Axios, The Hill and The Week

Zach Montellaro / Politico:
Yang qualifies for New Hampshire primary debate

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

Mark Murray / NBC News:
Poll: Sanders, Buttigieg top Democratic field in New Hampshire

Discussion: National Review and Politico

Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:
Biden holds steady, Warren slips in national poll as Iowa caucuses approach

Discussion: NBC News

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: Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Little Green Footballs, New York Times, NBC News and The Hill

Allan Smith / NBC News:

Trump suggests Schiff will pay a ‘price’ for pushing impeachment — Trump also called impeachment “a massive election interference the likes of which has never been seen before.” — President Donald Trump on Sunday suggested House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif. …

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Hill, Politico and Washington Post

Allan Smith / NBC News:

GOP senator: Impeachment should encourage Trump to be more ‘careful’ next time — “I think he'll put two and two together,” Braun told NBC's “Meet the Press.” “In this case, he was taken to the carpet.” — Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., said Sunday that he hopes President Donald Trump's impeachment …

Discussion: Axios, Politico, Breitbart, The Hill and The Daily Caller

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

Discussion: UPI and Denver Post

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

Discussion: Axios

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Record economy ratings, as half say Senate should remove Trump — Voters give the economy its best ratings in nearly two decades in the latest Fox News Poll — and credit President Trump. — And yet as his impeachment trial begins, Trump's job approval holds steady …

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

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 …

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: 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

Geoffrey Skelley / FiveThirtyEight:

How Much Will The Des Moines Register's Endorsement Help Warren In Iowa? — On Saturday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren picked up her second newspaper endorsement of the week: The Des Moines Register announced it's endorsing Warren in the Iowa caucuses. Sen. Amy Klobuchar also picked …

Discussion: National Review, Des Moines Register, NBC News and Axios

UnionLeader.com:
Amy Klobuchar can win

Discussion: Axios, Des Moines Register and New York Times

Des Moines Register:
Endorsement: Elizabeth Warren will push an unequal America in the right direction

Michael Gors / Sioux City Journal:
OUR OPINION: Biden represents best choice in Iowa caucuses

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times and The Hill

Farnaz Fassihi / New York Times:

Anatomy of a Lie: How Iran Covered Up the Downing of an Airliner — For three days, Iranian military officials knew they had shot down a Ukrainian jetliner while the government issued false statements, denying any responsibility. — When the Revolutionary Guards officer spotted what he thought …

Discussion: Task & Purpose

Edward Wong / New York Times:

Pompeo Denounces News Media, Undermining U.S. Message on Press Freedom — In an extraordinary statement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized a veteran NPR reporter, Mary Louise Kelly, and said the news media was “unhinged.” — WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo escalated …

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Week, The Wrap, The Daily Caller, NPR, FOX 61 and Common Dreams, more at Mediagazer »

NPR:
NPR CEO Defends Journalist After Pompeo Lashes Out Over Ukraine Interview

Discussion: New York Magazine and Raw Story

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

Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:

The facts in the impeachment trial are clear: Rep. Val Demings — The president's legal team began its arguments Saturday. — House impeachment manager Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., said the president's lawyers can “distort and try to deflect,” but that the facts in the impeachment trial are clear.

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

Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar details how she plans to outperform polls in early states

Discussion: Breitbart

Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 1-26-20: Rep. Val Demings, Sen. James Lankford, Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Discussion: Axios

Heidi Przybyla / NBC News:

Alan Dershowitz labeled Trump ‘destabilizing and unpredictable’ in 2016 book — The high-profile member of Trump's impeachment defense team says he would “not repeat that characterization today.” — WASHINGTON — As part of President Donald Trump's impeachment defense team …

Discussion: Politico and Breitbart

Mark Penn / Fox News:

Trump impeachment is an unproductive exercise in political rage - It's time to end trial — “The Titanic” was the longest feature film ever produced. It has been surpassed with the debut of the 36-hour-opening argument for impeachment produced by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.