memeorandum: Teen girl pepper-sprayed in fight outside Trump rally (Aamer Madhani/USA Today)

11:50 AM ET, March 30, 2016

Top Items:

Kirsten Powers / USA Today:

The Republican blame game — The GOP will never win back Trump voters unless it faces up to its own failures. — Who is to blame for the unraveling of the Republican Party? — If you listen to establishment gurus, you'd be led to believe that the Republican primary voter revolt was birthed …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and RedState

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Trump takes back pledge to support GOP nominee — Donald Trump has rescinded his pledge to support the Republican nominee for president. — Asked during a CNN town hall whether he stood by the earlier pledge — which he signed in September after meeting with party chairman Reince Priebus — Trump said: “No, I don't.”

Discussion: Vox, CANNONFIRE and Independent Journal …

Gregory Krieg / CNN:
All three GOP candidates backed away from their pledge to support GOP nominee

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Salon, Hit & Run and USA Today

Wall Street Journal: GOP Establishment in Wisconsin Unites Against Trump

Jose A. DelReal / Washington Post:
All three Republican presidential candidates back away from pledge to support eventual nominee

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Outside the Beltway and Trail Blazers Blog

People.com:
Who Is the Real Donald Trump? 'I'm a Much Nicer Person than People Would Think'

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire and The Week

Maggie Haberman / New York Times: Donald Trump, Revoking a Vow, Says He Won't Support Another G.O.P. Nominee

Aamer Madhani / USA Today:

Teen girl pepper-sprayed in fight outside Trump rally — Police say they're looking for two suspects: one for the sexual assault and one who pepper-sprayed the teenager.Video provided by Newsy Newslook — JANESVILLE, Wis. — As GOP frontrunner Donald Trump prepared to speak to supporters …

Discussion: Althouse, CBS Chicago, AOL, FOX6Now.com, WGN-TV, FOX31 Denver and KTLA

New York Daily News:

Teen girl groped, pepper sprayed in face during protest outside Donald Trump event in Wisconsin — A vibrant orange spray of oleoresin capsicum blasted the girl in the face after she shoved a man who was packed among dozens of pro-Trump supporters shouting “All Lives Matters” outside the Janesville event Tuesday.

Discussion: American Prospect, Infowars and Raw Story

Nixle:
Donald Trump Rally/Free Speech Event Press Release

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Fusion, Associated Press and Mashable

Hunter Walker / Yahoo Politics:

Campaign manager's battery charge shows why Donald Trump doesn't need a normal PR strategy — Donald Trump's latest explanation for the criminal charges filed against his campaign manager on Tuesday is, literally, explosive. — In a CNN town hall with the Republican presidential candidates …

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico and Vox, more at Mediagazer »

Ryan Struyk / ABC News:
Donald Trump Threatens Legal Action Over Charge Against Campaign Manager

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, Bloomberg Business, No More Mister Nice Blog, Yahoo Politics and The Moderate Voice

Annie Karni / Politico:
Clinton takes aim at Trump in N.Y. ad

Discussion: BuzzFeed, NBC News, CNN, Washington Post and The Week

Daily Mail: Toughen up! The video of Donald Trump's campaign manager ‘assaulting’ a female reporter is ridiculous.

FOX 61:

Listen: Woman calls 911 to report incorrect pizza order from Hartford shop … HARTFORD — A Hartford woman called 9-1-1 to report a problem with her pizza order, and police have released the recording. It happened a few weeks ago regarding an order from Empire Pizza on New Britain Ave in Hartford.

Discussion: WGN-TV

KTUU-TV:

Anchorage school suspends 1st-graders for plotting to poison classmate — Three first-grade students at Winterberry Charter School in Anchorage have been suspended after plotting to poison and kill a classmate, the school principal says. — In a bizarre case, Anchorage police …

Discussion: NBC News, fox8.com, WKRN-TV and FOX31 Denver

Brian Marschhauser / Yorktown Articles:

'I'd Like to Solve the Puzzle': Yorktown's Santoli Wins Big on ‘Wheel’ … YORKTOWN, N.Y. - Yorktown resident Robert Santoli didn't just win his recent appearance on “Wheel of Fortune”; he dominated, finishing with a near-perfect sweep of the puzzles, including solving the opening round toss-up with only one letter on the board.

Discussion: WCTX-TV, FOX31 Denver, FOX 61, Fox News Insider and Mashable

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

White House maps out next phase of Court fight — With small cracks emerging in the Republican Supreme Court blockade — and private indications from some GOP senators that they'd likely back Merrick Garland if he ever did come up for a vote — the White House is preparing to press …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Monthly, New York Times and No More Mister Nice Blog

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Republicans seethe at talk of giving up White House

Discussion: Hot Air and Washington Post

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Glenn Beck's Lie Could Blow Up Ted Cruz — Glenn Beck has been one of Ted Cruz's most high profile surrogates—but Beck's support could become a little less desirable when he heads to court this summer for allegedly defaming a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing.

Ari Melber / NBC News:

Rubio Makes Unprecedented Bid to Keep Delegates for Contested Convention — Trump Won't Promise to Support GOP Nominee 0:34 — Despite suspending his campaign, Sen. Marco Rubio is attempting to keep every delegate he won while running for President. — The unusual move reflects preparations …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, New York Magazine, The Week, CNN, Associated Press and Hot Air

Jonathan Allen / Reuters:

Second judge says Clinton email setup may have been in ‘bad faith’ — A second federal judge has taken the rare step of allowing a group suing for records from Hillary Clinton's time as U.S. secretary of state to seek sworn testimony from officials, saying there was “evidence of government wrong-doing and bad faith.”

Discussion: Political Wire, Politico and Washington Free Beacon

KRON4.com:

Dad dies after rescuing kids from pool electrocution — BURLINGAME (KRON) — A Burlingame man is dead and his daughter is fighting for her life after an electrical shock in the family swimming pool. — It happened in Palm Springs on Easter Sunday. — The man's 9-year-old daughter is still in intensive care.

Discussion: WRBL-TV, KWQC-TV and Herald Sun

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

GOP panelists eager to scrap rule that helps Trump — All four early appointees of the rules committee for this year's Republican convention told POLITICO they're prepared to weaken or scrap a rule that could limit the convention's alternatives to Donald Trump.

Greg Margason / Fox 59:

Muncie man arrested for stabbing brother with fork over pot roast — MUNCIE, Ind. (March 29, 2016)- Police arrested a Muncie man after he allegedly stabbed his brother with a fork over a pot roast. — On Monday, police say Rodney Gilliam and his brother Randy Gilliam were drinking alcohol and got into an argument.

Discussion: TheStarPress.com, Scared Monkeys, WCMH-TV and WGN-TV

David S. Bernstein / Politico:

Why Hillary Clinton Should Be Worried About Ross Perot — As the Clinton camp looks ahead to the November election, it's not clear whether this is a time to celebrate or panic. Its leading opponent isn't the kind of conventional Republican it has been gearing up to run against …

Emily Kirschenheuter / KRON4.com:

Viral video prompts investigation at SFSU — SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Campus police at San Francisco State University have launched an investigation into a viral video that shows a female student confronting a male student on campus about his dreadlocks. — Campus officials confirmed …

Discussion: Althouse, WKRN-TV, KXAN-TV and The American Conservative

Sarah Knapton / Telegraph:

Long term vegetarian diet changes human DNA raising risk of cancer and heart disease — Populations who have had a primarily vegetarian diet for generations carried a genetic mutation which raised risk of cancer and heart disease — Long term vegetarianism can lead to genetic mutations …

Discussion: National Review and The Daily Caller

Daily Mail:

‘It has to be the best selfie ever’: British hostage hails the photo he posed for with EgyptAir hijacker... but reveals he couldn't bring himself to tell his mother about it — A British man who posed for a photo with the EgyptAir hijacker has hailed it as ‘the best selfie ever’ …

Discussion: New York Post, FOX 61, Red Alert Politics, Fox News Insider, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Telegraph, rubber hose, Death and Taxes, Fusion, New York Times and BBC

Dave Philipps / New York Times:

Report Finds Sharp Increase in Veterans Denied V.A. Benefits — Joshua Bunn was a rifleman in one of the bloodiest valleys in Afghanistan, where his infantry unit killed hundreds of enemy fighters and lost more comrades than any other battalion in the Marine Corps in 2009.

Discussion: Swords to Plowshares

CNN:

Full Rush Transcript: Donald Trump, CNN Milwaukee Republican Presidential Town Hall — RUSH TRANSCRIPT, Mandatory credit: CNN … COOPER: And welcome back. We're coming to you tonight from the Riverside Theater in downtown Milwaukee with the “360” townhall.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Informed Comment, Shakesville, RedState and Washington Post

Chris Kahn / Reuters:

Exclusive: Most Americans support torture against terror suspects - poll — Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe torture can be justified to extract information from suspected terrorists, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, a level of support similar to that seen in countries like Nigeria where militant attacks are common.

Discussion: Political Wire