memeorandum: The Note: Bernie Sanders In Striking Distance (Michael Falcone/ABC News)

12:20 PM ET, January 11, 2016

Top Items:

FBI's Clinton probe expands to public corruption track — Jan. 10, 2015: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses an audience during an event in Hooksett, N.H. (AP) — EXCLUSIVE: The FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of private email as secretary of state …

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Post, National Review, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, The Right Scoop, Hot Air, The Resurgent and Jammie Wearing Fools

Michael Falcone / ABC News:

The Note: Bernie Sanders In Striking Distance

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Los Angeles Times, Front Page Magazine, 6abc.com and CNN

Ben Jacobs / Guardian:

Harvard scholar: Ted Cruz's citizenship, eligibility for president ‘unsettled’ — Liberal law professor Laurence Tribe cited by Donald Trump in his ‘natural-born’ citizenship attacks has questioned Cruz's own constitutional positions — The legal and constitutional issues around qualification …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Observer, The Last Tradition, Political Wire, Arizona Republic, Washington Post, ABC News and Vox

John DiStaso / WMUR:

NH staff at pro-Carson super PAC quits to volunteer for Cruz — Five paid staffers' last day was Sunday, call Cruz a ‘conservative who can win’ — All five paid New Hampshire staffers at the pro-Ben Carson 2016 Committee super PAC quit their posts on Sunday to become volunteers for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, WMUR.com has learned.

Discussion: Politico, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg.com and The Week

Mark Murray / NBC News:
Poll: Neck-And-Neck 2016 Races in Iowa, New Hampshire

Discussion: Hit & Run, Guardian, Washington Post, Bloomberg Business, ABC News, Marist Poll, Mashable, The Moderate Voice, RedState, Raw Story, Florida Politics, Hot Air, American Power, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and Wall Street Journal

Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:

New Republic Owner Chris Hughes Puts Magazine Up For Sale — Facebook co-founder, who purchased the title in 2012, says magazine needs a new business model — The New Republic, the century-old magazine that was rocked a year ago by the mass exodus of its staff following an effort by its owner …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, National Review and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Chris Hughes / Medium:

The New Republic's Next Chapter — I sent the letter below to the The New Republic staff this morning on the next chapter for our institution. I've reposted it in full here. — To the staff of The New Republic, — I have some difficult news today: I have decided to put The New Republic up for sale.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon, New York Times and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »

Jon Pareles / New York Times:

David Bowie, the Legendary Musician, Has Died at 69 — David Bowie, the infinitely changeable, fiercely forward-looking songwriter who taught generations of musicians about the power of drama, images and personae, died Sunday, two days after his 69th birthday, according to his publicist.

Hollywood Reporter:
The singer-songwriter and producer excelled at glam rock, art rock, soul, hard rock, dance pop …

Discussion: Guardian, NPR, Florida Politics and The Week

Joshua Miller / The White House:

We're on Snapchat: Add WhiteHouse — Summary: The White House launches an “Official Story” on Snapchat to provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Administration. — At the White House, our digital strategy centers around meeting people where they are.

Discussion: Politico and FishbowlDC

Jake Sherman / Politico:
Obama, GOP Congress near end of long, ugly relationship

Discussion: Bloomberg Business

Evan McMorris-Santoro / BuzzFeed:
The White House Just Joined Snapchat

Discussion: Re/code and Business Insider

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama's Last State of the Union Address Aims to Set Tone for '16 Campaign

Discussion: UPI, CNN, The Week, Refinery29 and NBC News

Alyssa Bereznak / Yahoo Politics:
The State of the Union will be snapchatted, live-streamed, tweeted and, oh yeah, broadcast

Discussion: Medium, Wired and Bloomberg.com

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Democratic, Republican Identification Near Historical Lows — PRINCETON, N.J. — In 2015, for the fifth consecutive year, at least four in 10 U.S. adults identified as political independents. The 42% identifying as independents in 2015 was down slightly from the record 43% in 2014.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Washington Post and The Daily Caller

Nick Gass / Politico:
Gallup: Share of Democrats reaches record low

Discussion: Hot Air

Bloomberg Business:

The State of Chris Christie's New Jersey, in Six Charts — Republican governor to give annual address to lawmakers — On the presidential campaign trail, he confronts his record — After a year in which Governor Chris Christie spent more than half his days outside New Jersey …

Discussion: Politico

Matt Arco / New Jersey Online:
Did Christie just lie about past Planned Parenthood donation? (VIDEO)

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, National Review and BuzzFeed

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

My Right to Die: Assisted Suicide, My Family, and Me — Every story has a beginning. This one starts in late 2001, when my father-in-law fractured three of his ribs. Harry was a retired physician, and after a thorough workup that he insisted on, it turned out that his bone density …

David Bowie / Facebook:

January 10 2016 - David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, ThinkProgress, Gay Star News, Mashable, CBS New York, New York's PIX11, FOX31 Denver, RT, The Verge, Wall Street Journal and The Last Tradition

Michael D'Antonio / Politico:

Trump's Campaign Is Damaging His Brand — If Donald Trump is nothing else, he's an American brand. The Trump name adorns luxury condominiums, hotels and golf courses around the world; it has sold a TV show, millions of books, a line of cologne and even, briefly, an airline.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Week

Baltimore Sun:

Trial of Baltimore Officer Goodson postponed by Maryland appeals court — Baltimore Sun crime reporter Justin Fenton gives an update on the trial of Caesar R. Goodson Jr., from courthouse west. The Court of Special Appeals wrote that Officer Porter's appeal should be resolved before Goodson trial got underway.

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Daily Caller