memeorandum: Asked and Answered: Sending Direct Mail to Cuba for the First Time in 50 Years (Tanya Somanader/The White House)

7:00 PM ET, March 17, 2016

Top Items:

Obama Privately Tells Donors That Time Is Coming to Unite Behind Hillary Clinton — In unusually candid remarks, President Obama privately told a group of Democratic donors last Friday that Senator Bernie Sanders is nearing the point where his campaign against Hillary Clinton will come to an end …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, Common Dreams, Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air, Business Insider, Mediaite, National Review, addictinginfo.org, NBC News, The Daily Caller, The Week, The Stranger … and Raw Story

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post: Obama is increasingly involved in the 2016 presidential campaign

Sean Illing / Salon:
I'm with Hillary in November: Listen up, fellow Bernie supporters — you must get behind Clinton to stop Donald Trump

Discussion: naked capitalism, AOL, Booman Tribune and Slantpoint

Dana Bash / CNN:

First on CNN: Lindsey Graham to fundraise for Ted Cruz's presidential bid — (CNN)In a sign of just how much the Republican presidential primary has turned the party on its head, Sen. Lindsey Graham will host a fundraiser on Monday in support of Sen. Ted Cruz.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Politico, Washington Post, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, whorunsGov, USA Today, RedState, The Last Refuge, Jewish Insider, The Week and Allen B. West

David Montgomery / Twin Cities:

Candid Marco Rubio blasts Trump and media, calls Cruz ‘only conservative left in the race’ — Former presidential candidate Marco Rubio told a group of Minnesota supporters Wednesday he is hoping one of the remaining candidates for president will stop Donald Trump from winning the Republican nomination.

Discussion: Washington Post, Weasel Zippers, Phoenix Business Journal, New York Times, Infowars, Trail Blazers Blog, Hot Air, RedState, Western Journalism, Post and Courier, New York Magazine, The Week, LifeNews.com, Politico and Naked Politics

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:
Marco Rubio Says He Won't Run for Re-Election — or Governor in 2018

Discussion: Independent Journal Review

Tarini Parti / BuzzFeed:
Even Lindsey Graham Knows It's Weird That He's Backing Ted Cruz

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, The Atlantic and The Week

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Lindsey Graham throws support to Ted Cruz

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Shakesville, neo-neocon, Guardian and Independent Journal Review

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Rubio: I won't be anyone's VP

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit and The Week

Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
Lindsey Graham Offers to Help Ted Cruz After Disparaging Him for Months

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, abc13.com and Western Journalism

Erick Erickson / The Resurgent:

Statement From Conservatives Against Trump — This morning I participated in a meeting of grassroots conservative activists from around the country who are committed to opposing Donald Trump. We have agreed to release the statement below: — We are a group of grassroots conservative activists …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post and Political Insider blog

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

GOP operatives, conservative leaders meet to thwart Trump … A secretive group of Republican operatives and conservative leaders convened Thursday morning for more than three hours to discuss ways to unite the right against Donald Trump, with a presentation about the feasibility of mounting …

Discussion: Hot Air

Pam Key / Breitbart:

Gingrich: I'm ‘Not Sympathetic’ to Erick Erickson's Third-Party Overtures, Would Be ‘Functionally Supporting Hillary Clinton’ — Thursday on Fox News Channel's “America's Newsroom,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said conservative blogger Erick Erickson, who has recently said the Republicans …

Discussion: Allen B. West

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico: Conservatives call for ‘unity ticket’ to stop Trump

Ben Domenech / The Federalist:
If #NeverTrump Wants To Matter, Look To The Libertarians

Discussion: Hot Air and New York Times

CNN:

Grassley: If I can meet with a ‘dictator,’ I can meet with Garland — Hatch: SCOTUS vacancy last November would've made difference — Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley said he is willing to meet with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland — “If I can meet with a dictator in Uganda …

Discussion: WBAY-TV, Washington Post, Fox News Insider and The White House

Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg Business:
Supreme Court Fight Enters New Phase as Garland Meets Senators

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post and Daily Kos

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
How Obama Threw A Curveball With The Safest SCOTUS Pick Imaginable

Discussion: ThinkProgressPage Array, Supreme Court …, Washington Monthly, TIME, electionlawblog.org, New Republic, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice and Raw Story

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Cornyn: Supreme Court nominee in lame duck is ‘a terrible idea’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Bob and Chez Show

John Harwood / CNBC:

Another Dem like Obama? Our best days are behind us: Ryan — Ryan on Trump: 'We'll make it work if it happens' — In an exclusive “Speakeasy” interview with CNBC's John Harwood, Speaker Paul Ryan explains how the House is responding to voter sentiment and gives his opinion …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Infowars, The Bob and Chez Show, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller and Western Journalism

Jake Sherman / Politico:
Ryan admonishes Trump for ‘riot’ remark

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo and The Gateway Pundit

Peggy Lee / WNEP-TV:

Religious Sister Charged with Shoplifting Coffee, Soap … BRIAR CREEK — State police in Columbia County say they nabbed a very unlikely thief: a religious sister. — Troopers tracked the woman to her convent in Danville after she allegedly shoplifted from a store.

Discussion: Associated Press, WHNT-TV and KTLA

Eli Lake / BloombergView.com:

Cruz Assembles an Unlikely Team of Foreign-Policy Rivals — In a year when the Republican Party is breaking apart because of Donald Trump, the only man left with a chance to beat him is trying to build a big tent — by GOP standards — when it comes to foreign affairs.

Discussion: ThinkProgressPage Array, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, New York Times, The National Interest, Raw Story, Right Wing Watch, Daily Kos, Politico, The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Scott Adams Blog:

Scott Adams' Blog

Ben Oldach / WHOTV:

Waitress Stiffed: ‘Tips are only for normal-looking people’ … DES MOINES, Iowa — A popular waitress at a popular restaurant closed out one of her table's Tuesday night when she found a note from her patron. — “At first, I felt really upset, I felt attacked, I almost felt …

Discussion: abc13.com

Joel Manby / Los Angeles Times:

Op-Ed SeaWorld CEO: We're ending our orca breeding program. Here's why. — A killer whale raises its head out of the water during the first show since an orca killed a trainer at the SeaWorld theme park in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 27, 2010. — Americans' attitudes about orcas have changed dramatically.

Discussion: CNN, The Huffington Post, USA Today, The San Diego Union …, Mediaite, Boing Boing, New York Times, Common Dreams, Orange County Register, The Week, Fusion, NBC News, Q13 FOX News, Mashable, Mother Jones and WCMH-TV

USA Today:

Laura Bush on Afghan women, U.S. interests and 2016 — Former first lady Laura Bush has written the introduction for a new book, We Are Afghan Women: Voices of Hope, published this month by Scribner. She sat down this week with USA TODAY's Capital Download to discuss why she hopes …

Discussion: ABC News, Raw Story, Western Journalism, Allen B. West and The Stranger …

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Laura Bush: 'Don't ask' if I'm voting for Trump

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Bloomberg Business:

Google Puts Boston Dynamics Up for Sale in Robotics Retreat — Alphabet executives questioned path to marketable products — Toyota, Amazon are among possible acquirers of division — The video, published to YouTube on Feb. 23, was awe-inspiring and scary.

Discussion: RT, Fusion, The Next Web, Forbes, Boing Boing, The Verge, Engadget, VentureBeat and Investor's Business Daily

Charles Murray / American Enterprise Institute:

An open letter to the Virginia Tech community — Last week, the president of Virginia Tech, Tim Sands, published an “open letter to the Virginia Tech community” defending lectures delivered by deplorable people like me (I'm speaking on the themes of Coming Apart on March 25).

Ryan Parker / Hollywood Reporter:

‘Simpsons’ Writer Who Predicted Trump Presidency in 2000: “It Was a Warning to America” — It “just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom,” Dan Greaney recalls. — It was somewhat of a throwaway line at the time, but make no mistake, it was included very much on purpose.

Discussion: Red Alert Politics and Raw Story

Richard Pollock / The Daily Caller:

Hillary Faces National Security Establishment ‘Uprising’ Over Emails — Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is facing an “uprising” in the national security establishment prompted by long-standing anger about her cavalier handling of classified materials and government secrets.

Discussion: LawNewz, Mashable, Judicial Watch and TPNN

Tanya Somanader / The White House:

Asked and Answered: Sending Direct Mail to Cuba for the First Time in 50 Years — Summary: A letter from the President is making its way to a 76-year-old letter writer in Cuba via direct mail for the first time in 50 years. — An American president has not traveled to Cuba in almost 90 years.

Discussion: ABC News and The Atlantic

WRAL-TV:

Trump rally assault victim applauds discipline of Cumberland County deputies — CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.C. — The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said that five deputies have been disciplined in connection with the assault of Rakeem Jones at a Donald Trump rally in Fayetteville on March 9.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, WDTN-TV and Daily Kos

FOX5 San Diego:

Navy finds dog thought to be lost at sea for 5 weeks — CORONADO, Calif. - A German Shepard puppy thought to be lost at sea after she fell overboard was found on San Clemente Island by the US Navy. — Luna, an 18-month-old dog, had been on a fishing boat when she went overboard, U.S. Navy officials said.

Discussion: Althouse, KTLA, AOL and WGN-TV

FOX5 San Diego:

Bumble Bee tuna recalled because of possible deadly bacteria in cans — SAN DIEGO — San Diego-based Bumble Bee Foods announced Wednesday a recall of more than 31,500 cases of canned chunk light tuna because the tuna may have been contaminated during processing.

Discussion: KHON2, WNCT-TV, New York's PIX11, CBS Los Angeles, Consumerist, WCTX-TV, CBS Pittsburgh, WNEP-TV, CBS New York, KWQC-TV, Refinery29, CBS Boston and WREG-TV

Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo:

New Video Shows LaVoy Finicum's Last Moments: ‘Go Ahead And Shoot Me’ — Cell phone footage taken from the backseat of Oregon standoff leader LaVoy Finicum's truck shows the final moments before he was fatally shot by state police and the immediate aftermath of the confrontation.

Discussion: Raw Story