memeorandum: Alan Dershowitz labeled Trump ‘destabilizing and unpredictable’ in 2016 book (Heidi Przybyla/NBC News)

1:45 PM ET, January 26, 2020

Top Items:

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, Bloomberg, The Hill and Political Wire

Des Moines Register:

Endorsement: Elizabeth Warren will push an unequal America in the right direction — Tough and compassionate, pushing unequal America in the right direction — No wonder Iowa Democrats are unsettled. — Each of the remaining candidates campaigning across Iowa ahead of the caucuses could make a fine president.

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, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Hill and Washington Times

Washington Post:

Biden and Sanders are breaking away from the pack of candidates among Democrats nationwide, Washington Post-ABC News poll finds — Former vice president Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whose candidacies embody competing wings of the Democratic Party, have emerged as the leaders …

Discussion: Axios, NPR, The Week, The Hill and One America News Network

UnionLeader.com:

Amy Klobuchar can win — If you are a New Hampshire voter who thinks Donald Trump is doing a good job, you can probably sleep in on primary day, Feb. 11. Try as they might, his Republican challengers have not made a dent in the President's popularity within the party here.

Discussion: Axios

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: Des Moines Register, NBC News and Axios

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

Discussion: The Hill

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

Discussion: Politico

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

Discussion: NBC News

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

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill and New York Times

Des Moines Register:
Endorsement: What intrigued us and what gave us pause about the other Democrats

Discussion: Politico, Axios and 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: Talking Points Memo, NBC News, The Guardian 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: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Bloomberg and Financial Times

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

Discussion: Politico, The Hill and Denver Post

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Sen. Hawley readies subpoena votes for Bidens, Schiff

Discussion: The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Twitchy and NBC News

Mark Penn / Fox News: Trump impeachment is an unproductive exercise in political rage - It's time to end trial

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, NPR, The Daily Caller, FOX 61, CNN, The Independent and Slate, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Mike Pompeo Dares Veteran Foreign Correspondent to Find Ukraine on Map (She Does)

Discussion: NPR

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

David Welna / NPR:
After Contentious Interview, Pompeo Publicly Accuses NPR Journalist Of Lying To Him

Discussion: Washington Post, HuffPost, Daily Kos, New York Post, Common Dreams, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNBC and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »

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

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: The Hill, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

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

Discussion: Mediaite and New York Times

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

Daniel Arkin / NBC News:
Obama called Trump a ‘fascist’ during phone call, Sen. Kaine says in new Clinton film

Discussion: The Root, PJ Media Home, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, The Atlantic and New York Post

Adrienne LaFrance / The Atlantic:
Hillary Clinton: Mark Zuckerberg Has ‘Authoritarian’ Views on Misinformation

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Caller and Tennessee Star

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 …

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 and PJ Media Home

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

Discussion: Axios

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

Discussion: Breitbart

Alicia Victoria Lozano / NBC News:

‘Nothing to catch us:’ How California's homelessness crisis surged — “This is decades and decades of failures,” experts say of the persistent homelessness crisis that continues to plague California. — LOS ANGELES — The only thing that kept LaRae Cantley going was her three children.

CNN:

Bernie Sanders said country needed more jails and ‘tougher’ penalties in certain cases in 1994 remarks backing crime bill — (CNN)Bernie Sanders said in 1994 that he agreed the country needed “some more jails” and that it must be “tougher in certain instances” on crime.

Jonathan A. Greenblatt / USA Today:

Facebook should ban Holocaust denial to mark 75th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation — A ‘Holocaust Revisionism’ group promotes a ‘Holocaust Deprogramming Course’ to counter ‘Holo-brainwashing.’ This is anti-Semitism, not misinformation. — Since the world first learned of the genocide …

Rachel Maddow / MSNBC:

Full audio: Lev Parnas audio of alleged 2018 Trump conversation — A lengthy audio recording released by Joseph Bondy, attorney for Lev Parnas, appears to show a 2018 dinner at which Donald Trump interacts with donors and supporters, including Parnas.