memeorandum: @MichelleObama — The First Lady needed a turnip. (Kwame Opam/The Verge)

9:30 AM ET, March 15, 2016

Top Items:

What We're Watching as 5 States Hold Crucial Primaries — Voters in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio cast crucial ballots in the race for the presidency on Tuesday. Here are some of the things we will be watching. — The end or the beginning?

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, The Week and Mashable

Reid J. Epstein / Wall Street Journal:

Donald Trump Wins in Northern Mariana Islands GOP Caucus — Trump is expected to collect all nine of the territory's delegates for the Republican National Convention — Donald Trump has won an overwhelming victory in the Republican presidential caucuses on the Northern Mariana Islands …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Kathy Frankovic / YouGov US Opinion Center News:
Trump breaks 50% in national support for the first time

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air and Political Wire

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:
Sanders gains on Clinton ahead of huge Tuesday contests

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Politico, Public Policy Polling, Liberal Values, Common Dreams, Hot Air, CBS St. Louis and Vox

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Cruz campaign doubles down in Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina

Discussion: Washington Post and YouGov US Opinion Center News

Harry Enten / FiveThirtyEight:
What's At Stake For Republicans In The March 15 Primaries

Discussion: Washington Post and Scared Monkeys

Mark Niquette / Bloomberg Business:
Romney Touches Down for Kasich in Ohio to Help Block Trump

Discussion: The Atlantic, Politico, TheStreet.com, New York Times, RT, CNN, WPRI-TV and The Daily Caller

MilitaryTimes:

Military Times survey: Troops back Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders for president — In an exclusive survey of American military personnel, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders emerged as active-duty service members' top choices to become the next commander in chief.

Discussion: WHNT-TV

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Trump Is No Accident — Establishment Republicans who are horrified by the rise of Donald Trump might want to take a minute to remember the glitch heard round the world — the talking point Marco Rubio couldn't stop repeating in a crucial debate, exposing him to devastating ridicule and sending his campaign into a death spiral.

Discussion: Slantpoint and Mashable

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
Pastor kicks off Trump rally by calling for Bernie Sanders to convert: 'Bernie's got to meet Jesus'

Discussion: Friendly Atheist

USA Today:
Poll shows that millennials would flock to Clinton against Trump

Discussion: Daily Kos and RedState

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Clinton and Sanders accuse Trump of inciting violence

Discussion: Slantpoint, Fox News Insider and Washington Post

Bill Hoffmann / Newsmax:

Ben Carson to Newsmax: I'm Promised a Spot in Trump Administration — Dr. Ben Carson revealed on Newsmax TV Monday that he will work in Donald Trump's administration — at least in an “advisory capacity” — if the Republican presidential front-runner is elected to the White House.

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, RedState, Raw Story, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers, Politico and Slantpoint

Mark Hensch / The Hill:

Carson: 'We're only looking at four years' if Trump's a bust — Ben Carson on late Monday argued that the worst possible outcome of Donald Trump — lacking the right skills for a quality presidency is a single, four-year term under the billionaire. — “The way I look at it …

Discussion: The Week and US News

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Final preparations for court war — President Obama and his Republican opponents are making the final preparations for a public relations war over the vacancy on the Supreme Court. — It is likely to be one of the most heated confirmation fights in recent memory, with both sides expected …

Discussion: Hot Air and Associated Press

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

A Supreme Court Seat Sits Empty, and Calls to Fill It Dog Republicans — WASHINGTON — As Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah addressed the conservative Federalist Society luncheon on Friday at a Chinatown restaurant, young protesters from the liberal group Generation Progress suddenly broke into loud chants of …

Stephanie Mencimer / Mother Jones: Washington's Worst Job: President Obama's Next Supreme Court Nominee

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Hill Democrats getting antsy waiting for Supreme Court pick

Discussion: The Stranger …, addictinginfo.org, The Hill and Politicus USA

Los Angeles Times:
Southern California's Paul J. Watford is among Obama's top choices for Supreme Court

Discussion: The Atlantic, Maryland Appellate Blog, SCOTUSblog, Associated Press, BloombergView.com and Washington Times

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Trump campaign manager's behavior prompted staff concerns — Donald Trump's staff and advisers have expressed concerns about campaign manager Corey Lewandowski's quick temper and heavy-handed leadership, and some even planned a coup against him last month, sources involved in the discussions told POLITICO.

Discussion: The Week, BuzzFeed, The Right Scoop, Hit & Run, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and National Review

Hadas Gold / Politico:
Two more staffers resign from Breitbart

Discussion: Mediaite, The Atlantic, TVNewser, The Resurgent, The Right Scoop, CANNONFIRE, Christopher Cantwell, Western Journalism, RT, The Moderate Voice, NPR and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

David French / National Review:

Working-Class Whites Have Moral Responsibilities — In Defense of Kevin Williamson — This weekend, my colleague Kevin Williamson kicked up quite the hornet's nest with his magazine piece (subscription required) that strikes directly at the idea that the white working-class (the heart of Trump's support) is a victim class.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Monthly

Joe Tacopino / New York Post:

Tech mogul accused of keeping ex-stripper as sex slave for 13 years — A Silicon Valley venture capitalist has been sued for $40 million by a woman who claims he used her as a virtual sex slave for 13 years. — Michael Goguen, who had worked for a firm that funded Google and Paypal …

Jason Horowitz / New York Times:

A King in His Castle: How Donald Trump Lives, From His Longtime Butler — PALM BEACH, Fla. — Everything seemed to sparkle at the Mar-a-Lago estate here on a recent afternoon. The sun glinted off the pool and the black Secret Service S.U.V.s in the circular driveway.

Discussion: Althouse and The Week

McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:

Trump Campaign Conducting Background Checks On Volunteers — Donald Trump's campaign informed aspiring volunteers Sunday night that they would have to pass background checks and sign non-disclosure agreements if they wanted serve in the Trump Tower Call Center in Manhattan.

Discussion: Political Wire

Blake Neff / The Daily Caller:

NYT Visits Trump Campaign Office, Amazed By Presence Of Non-Whites — The New York Times published a profile of a Donald Trump campaign office in Florida, expressing astonishment at the number of non-white people and immigrants working in it. — Recently, the media have honed in on the support …

Discussion: New York Times

Eliza Collins / Politico:

Huckabee: Trump is Clinton's ‘worst nightmare’ — Hillary Clinton and her allies are underestimating Donald Trump at their own peril, according to Mike Huckabee. — The former Arkansas governor was asked about a POLITICO interview with Hillary Clinton's top strategist and pollster Joel Benenson …

Discussion: Political Wire, Washington Post and Balloon Juice

Toronto Sun:

Man in attack on Canadian Forces members in Toronto said ‘Allah’: Sources — TORONTO - — A brazen knife attack that sent two Canadian soldiers to hospital was disturbing enough, but police sources say it was the attacker uttering the word “Allah” that prompted Toronto Police to call in terror experts.

Discussion: Jihad Watch and Pamela Geller

Dominic Patten / Deadline:

CBS Sued Over 'Judge Judy's $47M Salary & Profits From Syndicated Series — EXCLUSIVE: This certainly won't end up in Judge Judy's court but a scathing multi-million dollar lawsuit filed today against CBS has the no-nonsense host, the syndicated small claims series and spin-off Hot Bench in the legal spotlight itself.

Discussion: LawNewz

David A. Fahrenthold / Washington Post:

N.C. sheriff's office won't file ‘inciting a riot’ charge against Trump — What's at stake in the Ohio GOP primary? … Catch up on the 2016 race — Republican front-runner Donald Trump will not face charges of inciting a riot after a raucous rally in North Carolina last week …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Hill, addictinginfo.org, BuzzFeed, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Western Journalism, FOX News Radio, The Daily Beast, WRAL-TV and Hot Air

Associated Press:

Republicans controlling the House are pressing ahead with an annual fiscal measure despite lingering opposition from tea party conservatives over its endorsement of higher spending permitted by last year's bipartisan budget and debt deal. — Several GOP lawmakers exiting a Monday evening strategy session …

Discussion: Slantpoint

Kwame Opam / The Verge:

@MichelleObama — The First Lady needed a turnip. — By the fall of 2014, “Turn Down for What,” Lil Jon and DJ Snake's triple-platinum trap-meets-EDM single had swallowed pop culture whole. Jimmy Fallon and Robin Wright were dancing to it on The Tonight Show; Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum posed …

Discussion: The Week