memeorandum: Dem race tightens as Bernie surges in Midwest (Jonathan Easley/The Hill)

8:35 AM ET, March 16, 2016

Top Items:

Tal Kopan / CNN:

Primary results: Live updates — Primary election results and updates as they happen as voters in Florida, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and North Carolina go to the ballot box.

Discussion: The Week, USA Today, The Nation, Independent Journal Review, ThinkProgressPage Array and RT

Yahoo Politics:

A big night for Clinton, as she wins in four states — WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Tuesday was always supposed to be one of the most important nights in the Democratic presidential primary race, but for Hillary Clinton, it was even bigger than she and her team expected.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Politico, ABC News and Allen B. West

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Kasich won Ohio. Now what? — John Kasich tasted victory for the first time in 2016 with a primary win in Ohio, and it came at precisely the moment he lost his chance to become the Republican presidential nominee without unprecedented chaos. — Despite the victory celebration …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post and The Last Tradition

John McCormick / Bloomberg Business:

Trump Wins Florida as Rubio Suspends Campaign for President — Florida senator staked campaign on winning his home state — Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina also up for grabs in primaries — Billionaire Donald Trump is poised to win Florida's Republican presidential primary …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Vox, Allen B. West, Washington Free Beacon, YouGov US Opinion Center News and Western Journalism

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Dem race tightens as Bernie surges in Midwest

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Weasel Zippers, Common Dreams, Guardian, Real Clear Politics and FiveThirtyEight

New York Times:
Hillary Clinton Wins 4 Races, Rebounding From Michigan Loss

Discussion: Sabato's Crystal Ball, USA Today, CNN, The Moderate Voice and The Daily Beast

Rick Klein / ABC News:
ANALYSIS: Trump Rolls Through Rubio, as Cruz and Kasich Offer Narrowing Alternate Paths

Discussion: Associated Press, The Federalist, Politico and The Week

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Hillary Clinton had an amazing night — and not just because of her victories

Discussion: Washington Post

Manu Raju / CNN:
Ted Cruz urged to apologize for attacks against Mitch McConnell

Discussion: Politico, Allen B. West, The Right Scoop and The Resurgent

Henry Olsen / National Review:
Decision Desk, Ides of March: Et Tu, GOP?

Discussion: New York Times

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Rubio's Exit and the G.O.P.'s Spoiled Buffet

Discussion: USA Today and New York Magazine

Sabrina Siddiqui / Guardian:
Rubio: Trump is ‘an embarrassment’ and Republicans will pay big in November

Discussion: NBC News, Mediaite, Common Dreams and MSNBC

Andrew Prokop / Vox:
Tonight's results will determine whether Trump takes a near-insurmountable lead

Discussion: Business Insider and AOL

CBS Miami:
Marco Rubio Suspends Campaign After Losing Florida Primary

Discussion: Politico

Jeff Stein / Vox:
Where Bernie Sanders needs to win today to truly scare Hillary Clinton

Discussion: BuzzFeed, AOL, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Hillary Daily and New York Magazine

Julia Edwards / Reuters:

Srinivasan or Garland likely Obama choice for U.S. Supreme Court: source — President Barack Obama is likely to announce either Judge Sri Srinivasan or Judge Merrick Garland as his pick for U.S. Supreme Court nominee and the announcement could come as early as Wednesday, a source familiar with the selection process said on Tuesday.

Discussion: NBC News, USA Today, CNN, Slantpoint, The Week and Balloon Juice

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

Obama to Announce Supreme Court Nominee — WASHINGTON — President Obama will announce on Wednesday his choice to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, even in the face of Republican vows not to consider his nominee, Mr. Obama said in an email to supporters sent from the White House.

Discussion: Althouse

Tanya Somanader / The White House:

Email from President Obama: “I've Made My Decision” — Summary: The President sent a message to the White House email list to announce that he has chosen a nominee who is eminently qualified to sit on the Supreme Court. … Today, I will announce the person whom I believe is eminently qualified to sit on the Supreme Court.

Discussion: The Atlantic, The New Civil Rights Movement, Guardian and New York Times

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:

Obama to Announce U.S. Supreme Court Nominee at 11 A.M. Today — President says choice is ‘eminently qualified’ for high court — Obama calls on Senate to ‘do their jobs’ and consider nominee — President Barack Obama said he will announce his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court at 11 a.m. Wednesday …

Discussion: Politico and USA Today

Eliza Collins / Politico:

Trump: Senate should block Obama's Supreme Court nominee — President Barack Obama plans to announce his Supreme Court nominee on Wednesday, but Donald Trump thinks the Senate shouldn't give the pick a hearing. — “I don't think so, no I think they should do what they're doing,” …

Discussion: The Week

Ellen Barry / New York Times:
Indian Town Prays for a ‘Son’ on Supreme Court

Discussion: Towleroad and Hit & Run

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Grassley denies knowledge of group backing him in court battle

Discussion: Philly.com and Maryland Appellate Blog

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:

Inside Marco's Hollow Campaign — Three days before Florida's climactic primary, Marco Rubio sank deep into a black leather armchair on his campaign bus. He had just spent 25 minutes smiling wide for supporters at a high-end boutique selling $150 candles.

Discussion: New York Times and Eschaton

New York Times:

A Distant Second at Home, Marco Rubio Ends a Disappointing Campaign — MIAMI — Marco Rubio tried everything to project experience and statesmanship. He held forth on the intricacies of Middle East geopolitics. He rattled off the dangers of a nuclear-armed North Korean dictator.

Discussion: Grist, addictinginfo.org, Boing Boing, Vox Popoli and MichelleMalkin.com

Paola Chavez / ABC News:
Marco Rubio Suspends 2016 Presidential Campaign

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, RedState, Politico and RT

John Harwood / CNBC:

Paul Ryan won't categorically rule out accepting GOP nom — House Speaker Paul Ryan decided not to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, but he declined to rule out accepting it if a deadlocked party convention turns to him this summer. — “You know, I haven't given …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, National Review, Talking Points Memo, addictinginfo.org and The Week

Kevin Freking / Associated Press: OBAMA DISMAYED BY VULGARITY, VIOLENCE OF CAMPAIGN

Ramesh Ponnuru / BloombergView.com:
A Fair Way to Choose a Republican Nominee

Discussion: Hot Air

Robert Draper / New York Times:

Donald Trump and the Fall of the Republican Campaign Guru — As hapless as the news media and the Washington establishment have at times appeared as they flail about in the political tempest wrought by Donald Trump, there is another group in the 2016 election cycle that has come off looking …

Russell Berman / The Atlantic:
The Rubio Campaign Ends Where It Began

Discussion: Washington Post, Slantpoint, Vox and TalkLeft

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:

Top conservatives gather to plot third-party run against Trump — Three influential leaders of the conservative movement have summoned other top conservatives for a closed-door meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C., to talk about how to stop Donald Trump and, should he become the Republican nominee …

Discussion: Political Insider blog, Mother Jones, Washington Post, BizPac Review, The Last Tradition, Talking Points Memo, The Right Scoop, Politicus USA, The Moderate Voice and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Hadas Gold / Politico:

POLITICO reporter denied access to Trump event — POLITICO reporter Ben Schreckinger was denied entry to Donald Trump's press conference on Tuesday night, despite having previously been granted credentials by the campaign. — The move followed a threat last week from Trump officials …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, ThinkProgressPage Array, NBC News, Washington Post, RedState and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Sonny Bunch / Washington Free Beacon:

This One Strange Fact About Donald Trump Disqualifies Him From the Presidency — There's really only one appropriate way to order a good steak in a nice restaurant: medium rare. — OK, I can make an allowance for rare. Not my cup of tea, usually; that being said, at least that doesn't kill the flavor.

Discussion: Chicago Boyz, Althouse, The Week, Diane Ravitch's blog, Yahoo Politics and New York Times