memeorandum: Clarkston's ‘millennial mayor’ drops out of Georgia Senate race (Greg Bluestein/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

6:45 AM ET, January 27, 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 …

John Bolton / Amazon.com:

The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir — Kindle Edition — See the Best Books of the Month — Want to know our Editors' picks for the best books of the month? Browse Best Books of the Month, featuring our favorite new books in more than a dozen categories.

Discussion: The Hill

Washington Post:

Democrats call for Bolton to testify in Trump impeachment trial after new report on aid to Ukraine — Congressional Democrats called for former national security adviser John Bolton to testify in President Trump's impeachment trial following a new report that the president told Bolton …

Discussion: NPR, The Week, Breitbart, The Hill, Fox News, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller, POLITICUSUSA, NBC News, Financial Times, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Law & Crime

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: CNN, NPR, The Hill, Twitchy, Breitbart, ABC News, HuffPost and The Week

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aid freeze to Biden investigations: NYT — Former national security adviser John Bolton reportedly claims in his as-yet unpublished memoir that President Trump sought to tie hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine to his requests …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: Daily Kos, Fox News, Balloon Juice and HuffPost

New York Times:

John Roberts Can Call Witnesses to Trump's Trial. Will He? — Democratic House managers should ask the chief justice to issue subpoenas for John Bolton and others. — Mr. Katyal and Mr. Geltzer are law professors at Georgetown. Mr. Edwards is a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma.

Politico:

Bolton account of Ukraine aid could reignite call for impeachment witnesses — A bombshell report on Sunday about President Donald Trump's handling of military aid to Ukraine could jump-start Democrats' efforts to call witnesses in the Senate's impeachment trial, just days before a likely vote …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart and Mediaite

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:
John Bolton's manuscript confirms Trump's bribery of Ukraine: report

Discussion: CNN, New York Times and Breitbart

Associated Press:
Report: Bolton says Trump tied Ukraine funds to Biden probe

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill, The Week and New York Times

Noah Weiland / New York Times:
5 Takeaways on Trump and Ukraine From John Bolton's Book

Discussion: Raw Story and Financial Times

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, Orange County Register, The Week, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Big League Politics, Fox News, Townhall, globalnews.ca, Slate, UPI, Vox, FOX 61, The Spun, The Root, Consequence of Sound, VICE, Redstate and Page Six

Associated Press:

Kobe Bryant and daughter among those killed in chopper crash — CALABASAS, Calif. (AP) — Kobe Bryant, the 18-time NBA All-Star who won five championships and became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, died in a helicopter crash Sunday.

Discussion: Washington Post, KTLA, Associated Press, HuffPost, New York Times, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, FOX 61, Fox News and WFLA-TV

Ariel Zilber / Daily Mail:

Journalist who linked to story about Kobe Bryant rape case suspended — Felicia Sonmez (right), who covers national politics for The Washington Post, posted a link to a story about the Kobe Bryant rape case from 2003 on Sunday - hours after he died.

Discussion: Althouse

Rishika Dugyala / Politico:
Politicians hit pause after Kobe Bryant's death

Discussion: NBC News, FOX 61, Breitbart and One America News Network

Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:
Kobe Bryant, daughter among 9 dead in helicopter crash in Southern California

Discussion: Breitbart, UPI and ESPN

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 …

Discussion: HuffPost

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 Bulwark, HuffPost, The Hill, Mother Jones and ABC News, more at Mediagazer »

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: Iowa Starting Line, Washington Post and New York Times

Laurenz Gehrke / Politico:

Irish PM: EU will have ‘stronger hand’ in Brexit trade talks — Leo Varadkar also warned of ‘cake and eat it’ optimism among British politicians regarding the negotiations. — The EU will be in a better bargaining position than the U.K. in the post-Brexit trade talks, Irish leader Leo Varadkar said today.

Discussion: BBC and One America News Network

Saim Saeed / Politico:
UK launches new visa scheme to attract researchers post Brexit

Discussion: One America News Network

SFGATE:

After Trump's spiritual adviser calls for ‘all satanic pregnancies to miscarry,’ she says it was a metaphor — A Florida pastor and longtime spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump says she was speaking in metaphor when she recently prayed in a sermon for all “satanic pregnancies” to end in miscarriage.

Discussion: DeadState and Balloon Juice

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

Washington Post:

Trump begins reelection year more competitive against Democrats than he was three months ago, Post-ABC poll finds — President Trump begins his reelection year in a more competitive position than he was last fall against potential Democratic challengers, aided by rising approval for his handling …

Discussion: CNN and The Hill

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, The Hill and Politico

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, Raw Story, The Hill, Vox, PJ Media Home and NBC News