memeorandum: GOP senators split with leadership on SCOTUS (Jordain Carney/The Hill)

5:15 PM ET, March 16, 2016

Top Items:

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Boehner backs Paul Ryan for president — BOCA RATON, Fla. — Former Speaker John Boehner said Paul Ryan should be the Republican nominee for president if the party fails to choose a candidate on the first ballot. — “If we don't have a nominee who can win on the first ballot …

Discussion: The Atlantic, CNBC, RedState, Washington Times, The Stranger …, Slate, NBC News, TheStreet.com, JSOnline, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Daily Kos and Western Journalism

David Wells / fox13now.com:

Trump: 'I won't be there' for Fox News debate in Salt Lake City — Donald Trump said Wednesday morning he will not be at the GOP presidential primary debate next week in Salt Lake City. — “I will say this. I will say this. I think we've had enough debates. We've had 11 or 12 debates.

Discussion: CNNMoney, Mediaite, WNEP-TV, New York Times, Infowars, Q13 FOX News, Business Insider and RedState

Ben Winslow / fox13now.com:

GOP presidential debate in SLC canceled — SALT LAKE CITY — Monday's GOP presidential debate scheduled here in Utah has been canceled, FOX 13 News has confirmed. — The decision to cancel the debate followed Donald Trump's announcement on “FOX & Friends” that he would not be appearing.

Discussion: CBS News, Mediaite, Washington Post, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Hot Air, Western Journalism and TVNewser

Bloomberg Business:

Trump Says He'll Skip Debate, Warns of Possible Convention Riots — Fresh off three more primary victories, Donald Trump said Wednesday he'll blow off the next Republican presidential debate and warned of “riots” if power-brokers deny him the nomination at the convention even if he's leading in the delegate count.

Discussion: Hot Air, Little Green Footballs, alan.com and Balkinization

David French / National Review:

Keep Fighting — There Is No Other Choice — Trump greets supporters after Tuesday's primary results. (Win McNamee/Getty) — There is no sugar-coating tonight's results. Even the one, small bright spot — John Kasich denying Donald Trump Ohio's delegates — may end up presenting …

Discussion: New York Times, Weekly Standard, Sabato's Crystal Ball, US News, USA Today, CNN and Washington Post

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Trump, Cruz vow to barricade Kasich from convention — The two leading GOP campaigns intend to muscle the Ohio governor out of the race. — Advisers to Donald Trump and Ted Cruz say there's no way they'll allow John Kasich to even compete at a contested national convention — let alone prevail.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, ABC News and New York Magazine

Tré Goins-Phillips / TheBlaze.com:
‘You Son of a B***h’: Glenn Beck Slams ‘Delusional’ Kasich for Staying in the Race

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Western Journalism, The Daily Caller, Right Wing Watch and Real Clear Politics

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
GOP debate canceled after Trump pulls out

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Weasel Zippers and The Week

Annie Karni / Politico:
Hillary slams the door on Bernie

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Trump risks falling short of delegate count for nomination

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller, Fusion, Joe.My.God. and ThinkProgressPage Array

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Donald Trump just threatened more violence. Only this time, it's directed at the GOP.

Discussion: NBC News, Religion News Service, Washington Examiner, CNN and Mediaite

Jake Sherman / Politico:
Ryan to POLITICO: ‘I am not going to be the nominee’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite and Western Journalism

Heather Haddon / Wall Street Journal:
Fox News Debate Is Canceled as Trump, Then Kasich, Withdraw

Discussion: Allen B. West

New York Times:
Rubio's Exit Leaves Trump With an Open Path to 1,237 Delegates

Discussion: Political Wire

Katherine Krueger / Talking Points Memo:
Fox News GOP Debate In Salt Lake City Cancelled

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Trail Blazers Blog, Infowars, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite and Washington Post

Sara Jerde / Talking Points Memo:
Kasich Camp Says He Won't Attend Fox News Debate Without Trump

Discussion: Politicus USA, ABC News and The Week

Alexander Burns / New York Times:
Election Takeaways: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Roll On, at Different Speeds

Discussion: The Nation and FAIR

Yahoo Politics:
Trump still not doing well enough to guarantee nomination

Discussion: Politico and The Right Scoop

Harper Neidig / The Hill: Kasich skipping debate after Trump bails

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgressPage Array:

Who Is Merrick Garland? — Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the longest serving Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, offered his own thoughts on who President Obama should nominate to fill the seat left open by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last week.

New York Times:

Obama Chooses Merrick Garland for Supreme Court — WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday said he would nominate Merrick B. Garland as the nation's 113th Supreme Court justice, choosing a centrist appeals court judge for the lifetime appointment and daring Republican senators …

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

GOP senators split with leadership on SCOTUS — A small group of Senate Republicans is breaking with its party's Supreme Court strategy, with lawmakers saying they're willing to meet with President Obama's pick to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia. — Seven Republicans so far have said they are open …

Discussion: Hot Air and The Right Scoop

Chuck Grassley:

Grassley Statement on the President's Nomination of Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court — Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement after President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, the Chief Judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals …

Discussion: The People's View, Slate, TIME, US News, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, BuzzFeed, addictinginfo.org, The New Civil Rights Movement and LawNewz

Josh Israel / ThinkProgressPage Array:
6 Quotes From Senate Republicans About Merrick Garland That Are Really Awkward Now

Discussion: Vox, Bloomberg Business, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Right Wing Watch, The Daily Signal, Mediaite, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, Guardian, New York Magazine, Infowars, Common Dreams and MSNBC

Burgess Everett / Politico:
GOP Supreme Court blockade showing early cracks

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Bloomberg Business, New York Times and ABC News

Lincoln Caplan / New Yorker:
Merrick Garland, President Obama's Sensible Supreme Court Choice

Discussion: Business Insider, Washington Post, SCOTUSblog, RH Reality Check and Fusion

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Liberals flirt with lowering bar on Supreme Court confirmation

Discussion: CNBC, Hot Air, ABC News and Washington Post

Associated Press:
CONGRESSIONAL SOURCES: OBAMA TO NOMINATE MERRICK GARLAND

Discussion: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN, BloombergView.com, NPR, Vox, FiveThirtyEight, American Spectator and Raw Story

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business: Garland Could Claim U.S. Supreme Court's Ideological Center

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Obama to nominate Merrick Garland to Supreme Court

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, USA Today, CNN, Yahoo Politics, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, The White House, Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, Breitbart, Washington Times, Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Slate, TPNN, Raw Story and Western Journalism

Sarah Almukhtar / New York Times:
Why Obama Nominated Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Monthly, The White House, Talking Points Memo, electionlawblog.org, Grist, Above the Law, The Week and Mashable

TMZ.com:

Jared Fogle — Beaten and Bloodied in Prison Yard Ambush — BEATEN AND BLOODIED — in Prison Yard Ambush … Jared Fogle got a surprise beatdown in federal prison from an inmate who has major issues with child molesters ... TMZ has learned. — According to docs, Fogle got jumped …

Discussion: Fox 59, New York Post, KFOR-TV and Independent Journal Review

Nicole Hensley / New York Daily News:

Ex-Subway pitchman Jared Fogle attacked in bloody Colorado prison brawl — Convicted pedophile and ex-Subway pitchman Jared Fogle was pummeled in a vicious prison yard attack, according to a new report. — The disgraced Indiana sex offender suffered a swollen face, scratched neck …

Discussion: New York Magazine

Matthew J. Belvedere / CNBC:

We choose the nominee, not the voters: Senior GOP official — Headed towards a contested convention: Unbound delegate — Curly Haugland, RNC Rules Committee, and Gary Emineth, former chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party, talk about Republican convention rules and why it could lead to a contested convention.

Discussion: Say Anything, BizPac Review, Western Journalism, The Gateway Pundit and The Last Refuge

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

For release at 2:00 p.m. EDT — Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January suggests that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace despite the global economic and financial developments of recent months. Household spending has been increasing …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Atlantic, CNBC, New York Times, Bloomberg Business, UPI, The Daily Caller, NPR, The Week, Business Insider and Macro and Other Market Musings

Rick Scott / Facebook:

GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT CALLS ON REPUBLICANS TO COME TOGETHER — I'm asking all Republicans today to come together and begin preparing to win the general election in November. — With his victories yesterday, I believe it is now time for Republicans to accept and respect the will of the voters and coalesce behind Donald Trump.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Western Journalism, AOL, New York Times, Raw Story, Mediaite, Fox News Insider and The Week

WGN Web Desk / WGN-TV:

Waukegan man calls 911 claiming to have killed 19 children — Share Update: … WAUKEGAN, Ill. — Authorities arrested a man after he called them claiming to have killed 19 children in Lake County, Illinois. — According to a statement by the Lake County Sheriff's Office …

Darcie Loreno / fox8.com:

Polar bear ‘contained’ after escaping area at Cincinnati Zoo … CINCINNATI, Ohio — A polar bear has been contained after breaching its enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. — No animals or people were harmed. … The incident happened Wednesday at around 11:30 a.m.

Discussion: WGN-TV