memeorandum: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies in prison (Yuliya Talmazan/NBC News)

1:30 PM ET, February 16, 2024

Top Items:

Russian activist and Putin critic Alexei Navalny dies in prison — Opposition leader, 47, was being held in jail about 40 miles north of Arctic Circle — The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in jail, the country's prison service has said, in what is likely to be seen …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, DNyuz, Semafor, Joe.My.God., Reuters, New York Times, The Daily Caller, The Hill, TASS, CBS News and мир …

Yuliya Talmazan / NBC News:

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies in prison — Navalny, 47, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, spent his final years behind bars as the Russian leader reshaped the country to rally behind his war in Ukraine. — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison …

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:

Fani Willis Endures Disrespect, Racist Tropes, And Public Humiliation — A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM's Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. — The District Attorney And Race — The smoldering confrontation in an Atlanta courtroom …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, UPI, IJR and DNyuz

Reuters:

Jailed Russian opposition leader Navalny is dead -prison service — Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's most formidable domestic opponent, fell unconscious and died on Friday after a walk at the “Polar Wolf” Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence, authorities said.

Discussion: HotAir, The Atlantic, The Hill, CBS News, NBC News, Breitbart, New York Times, Reason, UnHerd, Semafor, Raw Story, Agence France-Presse, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Twitchy, Human Events, Al Jazeera, KTLA and TASS

Tucker Reals / CBS News:

Alexey Navanly's message to the world “if they decide to kill me,” and what his wife wants people to do now — “You're not allowed to give up.” That was the central message Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny wanted to stress to his supporters in the event of his death.

Discussion: Al Jazeera, The Hill, National Review, nationalinterest.org, WHDH-TV, DNyuz and NewsNation

Jim Heintz / Associated Press:
Alexei Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russia's Putin, has died, Russian authorities say

Anton Troianovski / Associated Press:
A day ago, in his last public appearance, Navalny seemed in good spirits.

Discussion: USA Today, Reuters, The Hill, The Guardian, New York Times, Business Insider, Politico, Forbes, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, RedState, Digby's Hullabaloo, New York Post, Rolling Stone, Mediaite, TASS, DNyuz, Sputnik News and Mother Jones

Washington Post:
Alexei Navalny, Russian opposition leader, dies in prison, officials say

Discussion: Mediaite, DNyuz, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg and TASS

Politico:
Navalny's death sparks calls for accountability, more Ukraine aid on Capitol Hill

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, Politico, Business Insider, New Republic, The News Beyond Detroit, DNyuz, Resolute Square, Associated Press and Reuters

New York Times:

Trump Privately Expresses Support for a 16-Week Abortion Ban — In supporting a 16-week ban with exceptions, Donald Trump appears to be trying to satisfy social conservatives who want to further restrict abortion access and voters who want more modest limits.

Discussion: Bloomberg, USA Today, Forbes, Mother Jones, The Guardian, Raw Story and EPIC

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:

Why Attacks on Trump's Mental Acuity Don't Land — Ten years ago, I stood in the back of a large room at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, watching Donald Trump ramble. The celebrity billionaire had been loitering on the fringes of American politics for a few years, but this was my first time seeing him give a proper speech.

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:

Trump opts against Supreme Court appeal on civil immunity claim over Jan. 6 lawsuits — The decision not to seek high court review means cases brought against Trump over Jan. 6 can move forward in district court, although he can still mount an immunity defense.

Discussion: The Hill and Law & Crime

Washington Post:

Inside Trump's ouster of Ronna McDaniel as RNC chair — “Loyalty is a one-way street” for the former president, one party committeeman said — For much of the fall, Donald Trump was annoyed at Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel. She was refusing to cancel the party's primary debates …

Discussion: New Republic, Washington Examiner and Raw Story

Neil Baron / The Hill: The law is clear: The Supreme Court must not allow Trump on the 2024 ballot

Dan Ladden-Hall / The Daily Beast:
Trump Loses It Over Fani Willis Testimony: ‘MAJOR LEAGUE SCANDAL!’

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / New Republic:
Judge Cannon—Yes, Judge Cannon!—Just Shot Down a Trump Delay Tactic

Discussion: UPI, Mediaite and Law & Crime

Politico:
Trump permits Jan. 6-related lawsuits against him to advance — for now

Discussion: The Guardian, CNN, Bloomberg, Raw Story and Law & Crime

Roger Sollenberger / The Daily Beast:

Witness Told Feds She Was Paid for Sex Parties With Matt Gaetz — The Ethics Committee is investigating Gaetz—and has text messages between the congressman and a woman who claims she had sex with Gaetz at parties she was paid to attend. … When ABC News reported on Wednesday …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, New Republic, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Robyn Pennacchia / Wonkette: ‘Sex Parties With Matt Gaetz’ Literally The Last Thing We Wanted To Think About This Morning

NBC News:

Joe Manchin to announce he will not run for president — The centrist West Virginia had been mulling a campaign for the White House that would have shaken up the 2024 campaign. — MORGANTOWN, W.VA. — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will announce Friday that he will not run for president …

Discussion: ABC News, Fox News, New York Times, National Review, Semafor, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Deseret News, Joe.My.God., Rhode Island Current, Plain Dealer and Political Wire

Washington Post:

Joe Manchin announces he won't run for president, ending months of speculation — Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) announced Friday that he will not run for president after months of flirting with a campaign that could have complicated the 2024 race for the White House.

Discussion: The Hill, NPR, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Axios, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, HuffPost, USA Today, RedState, KUSA-TV, New York Times, Associated Press, The Guardian, One America News Network, WHDH-TV, Roll Call and NBC News

Associated Press:

FBI informant charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden's ties to Ukrainian energy company — An FBI informant has been charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company, a claim that is central …

Discussion: Washington Post, emptywheel, IJR, The Bulwark, Outside the Beltway, Lawyers, Guns & Money, BizPac Review, Benzinga, RTÉ, PBS NewsHour, DNyuz, Mediaite and KPNX

Robert B. Hubbell / Today's Edition Newsletter:
A watershed moment for the truth.

Discussion: Mock Paper Scissors and DNyuz

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Remember the ‘Biden bribe’ allegation? DOJ now says it was made up.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, PoliticusUSA, The Federalist, Roll Call, New Republic, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, RedState and National Review

CNN:
Former FBI informant charged with lying about the Bidens' role in Ukraine business, undercutting GOP impeachment inquiry

Nicholas Paphitis / Associated Press:

Greece becomes first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex civil marriage — Lawmakers in Greece have begun a debate on a landmark bill to legalize same-sex marriage. It would make Greece the first Orthodox Christian country to do so. The Valentine's Day session …

Discussion: BBC, The Guardian, PinkNews, Joe.My.God., Watermark Online, Al Jazeera, UPI, The Daily Caller, Balkan Insight, LGBTQ Nation, Bloomberg, The Hill, Reuters, DNyuz, Axios, Politico, Advocate and One America News Network

Associated Press:
Greece just legalized same-sex marriage. Will other Orthodox countries join them any time soon?

Discussion: Reuters, PinkNews, Raw Story, UPI and Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Kevin Freking / Associated Press:

A chaotic US House is losing three Republican committee chairs to retirement in the span of a week — In a single week, the Republican chairs of three House committees announced they would not be seeking reelection, raising questions about whether the chaos that has reigned this Congress is driving out some of the GOP's top talent.

Aaron Rupar / Public Notice:

Simon Rosenberg on Trump the electoral albatross — “You can dye his hair, paint his face, strap a girdle and a diaper on him and pump him full of speed, and he's still not going to look like a presidential candidate.” — ∙ Paid … Tom Suozzi's victory in NY-03 was a big win for Democrats.

Filip Timotija / The Hill:

Senate Democrat: Americans will be next on front lines against Russia if Ukraine aid not approved — American soldiers could be next in line to combat the Russian military if the House does not approve a supplemental package that includes aid to Ukraine, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said Friday.

Karen Gilchrist / CNBC: U.S. troops will be on the front lines against Russia without further Ukraine aid, Senator Coons says

New York Times:

Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden — It requires them to embrace an old-fashioned approach to winning a campaign. — Back to The Ezra Klein Show — More episodes of — The Ezra Klein Show — Building the Palestinian State With Salam Fayyad — • 59:17

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Outside the Beltway

Julia Ainsley / NBC News:

The top doctor for CBP tried to order fentanyl lollipops for a helicopter mission in New York, whistleblowers say — The whistleblowers also allege Dr. Alexander Eastman was already under investigation for trying to procure narcotics for a friend who worked as a chopper pilot for the border agency.

Discussion: Slate and CBS News

Monica Alba / NBC News:

Biden campaign blasts Trump's comments on Putin and NATO in a new ad — First to NBC News: The ad highlights Trump's remarks that Russia should “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that didn't spend enough on defense. — WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden's re-election campaign …

Discussion: The Hill, Florida Politics, WisPolitics and IJR