memeorandum: Bentley bought multiple disposable ‘burner’ cell phones at Tuscaloosa Best Buy, employees say (Connor Sheets/al.com)

9:25 PM ET, March 31, 2016

Top Items:

Zeke J Miller / TIME:

Trump's Threat on Pledge Could Cost Him South Carolina Delegates — Donald Trump's announcement that he no longer stands by a pledge to support the GOP has thrown his hold on South Carolina's 50 delegates in doubt. — The Palmetto State was one of several that required candidates to pledge …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CBS New York, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Independent Journal …, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, The Right Scoop, Washington Post and CNN

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:
GOP nears the breaking point

Discussion: Politico, The Moderate Voice and Washington Post

Jay Caruso / RedState:
Trump Breaking GOP Pledge Could Cost Him Big In South Carolina

Discussion: American Spectator

Wtvrwebstaff / WTVR-TV:

Richmond Greyhound shooting: Trooper, suspect dead; 2 people wounded — RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia State trooper who was shot when a suspect opened fire at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond Thursday afternoon has died, according to Virginia State Police.

Discussion: NBC News, myfox8.com, WTKR-TV, FOX 61, The Last Refuge, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, fox13now.com, fox8.com, The Week, FOX31 Denver, WNEP-TV, Independent Journal …, CBS Chicago, WREG-TV, Fox News Insider, fox4kc.com and WHNT-TV

Will Armbruster / WRIC-TV:

VSP trooper, suspect dead after shooting at Richmond Greyhound station — RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A gunman and a Virginia State Trooper are dead after the suspect open fired at a Greyhound bus station on North Boulevard in Richmond. — Virginia State Police confirm that 37-year-old Trooper …

Discussion: WTVR-TV, WKBN-TV, WLNS-TV, WIAT-TV, WDTN-TV, CBS New York, WSLS-TV, WAVY-TV and KRON4.com

David Hylton / WWBT-TV:
Sources: 6 people shot at Greyhound station; suspect in custody

Discussion: Associated Press, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo and The Right Scoop

Laura Yanez / KDFX-TV:

Pool owners warned of electrocution risk — James Tramel, 43, died trying to save his children from a pool in Palm Springs Easter Sunday. Tramel was electrocuted when he jumped into the pool after seeing his nine-year-old daughter being electrically shocked. — “Electricity is invisible.

Discussion: WTKR-TV

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Romney/Ryan Wouldn't be GOP Salvation Against Clinton — PPP's newest national poll finds that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan wouldn't exactly be the solution to the GOP's Donald Trump problem, with Romney doing even worse head to head against Hillary Clinton than Trump does.

Discussion: The Bob and Chez Show

Daniel Henninger / Wall Street Journal:

Obama's Greatest Triumph — He is six months away from destroying both the Republican Party and Reagan's legacy. — Barack Obama will retire a happy man. He is now close to destroying his political enemies—the Republican Party, the American conservative movement and the public-policy legacy of Ronald Reagan.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Prairie Weather, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Balloon Juice

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Congressman: If Bernie Or Hillary Is Elected They'll Control Everything, Including When You Wake Up — Members of the Republican establishment, especially members of Congress, are in a bind. — In general, they don't support Trump or Cruz, the two individuals with a realistic shot of the Republican nomination.

Discussion: Daily Kos and New York Magazine

Harper Neidig / The Hill:

Clinton: 'I'm so sick' of Sanders campaign lying about me — 's campaign of lying about her in a heated exchange with an environmental activist. — “I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it,” the visibly angry Democratic presidential hopeful said …

Discussion: Politico

Sara Jerde / Talking Points Memo:
Clinton Unloads: ‘I Am So Sick Of The Sanders Campaign Lying About Me’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: WVEC and Raw Story

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Hillary Blows Up at Greenpeace Activist

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Washington Free Beacon

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump makes nice with the RNC — Donald Trump has broken the Republican Party. On Thursday, he took his most visible steps to fix it. — With a looming loss in Wisconsin vastly increasing the odds of a contested convention, Trump trekked to Capitol Hill to meet with Republican National …

Discussion: Townhall.com, Fox News Insider, RedState, Mediaite, ABC News, Guardian, The Daily Caller, Washington Post and CBS New York

Scott Wong / The Hill:
Backstage maneuvering begins in wide-open GOP chairman's race

Discussion: Daily Kos

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Trump's 24 hours of mayhem

Discussion: The Hill, Yahoo Politics, Hit & Run, JustOneMinute, Washington Times, Independent Journal …, Washington Post and Mediaite

Dustin Long / NASCAR Talk:

NASCAR driver faces seven charges in biggest tobacco-smuggling bust in North America — NASCAR driver/owner Derek White turned himself into authorities Wednesday and faces seven charges in connection to the biggest tobacco-smuggling bust in North American history, NBC Sports has learned.

Discussion: WWBT-TV, WCMH-TV, The Daily Caller and KFOR-TV

Bloomberg Business:
Nascar Driver Derek White Targeted in Tobacco-Smuggling Operation

Discussion: Fox 59 and myfox8.com

David Mitchell / FOX31 Denver:

Strange baby faces popping up around Denver … DENVER — For months little doll faces have been turning heads all over Denver. — Many people have shared photos and locations of the faces online, but there still appear to be more questions about these strange faces than answers.

Discussion: FOX40, The Daily Caller and Althouse

Massimo Calabresi / TIME:

Inside the FBI Investigation of Hillary Clinton's E-Mail — FBI director Jim Comey first investigated the Clintons 20 years ago — Late last summer, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey, met with John Giacalone, the bureau official responsible for everything …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Daily Wire

Fox News:
‘One shot at the queen’: FBI, AG intensify focus on Clinton email probe

Discussion: The Right Scoop, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon and Infowars

Megan Brilley / fox4kc.com:

KCK officers seek teen who made a small gesture that left a big impact — KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department posted a picture of a napkin on its Facebook page and it's gotten hundreds of shares. On the napkin, was a message written to two officers by a KCK teen.

Discussion: WTKR-TV, Independent Journal … and Fox News Insider

Connor Sheets / al.com:

Bentley bought multiple disposable ‘burner’ cell phones at Tuscaloosa Best Buy, employees say — I just remember Governor Bentley coming into Best Buy. And he purchased one — Gov. Robert Bentley personally bought multiple inexpensive, disposable cell phones last year at a Best Buy in Tuscaloosa …

Discussion: Slantpoint, Yellowhammer News, The Bob and Chez Show and The Montgomery Advertiser

Alan Blinder / New York Times:
Governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley, Says He Won't Quit

Discussion: al.com, Occupy Democrats, ThinkProgress, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Yellowhammer News, WIAT-TV, WHNT-TV and Daily Kos

Josh Barro / Business Insider:

Republicans would be screwed without racist voters — The Republican Party can be understood, broadly, as a coalition of people who dislike food stamps because they think the government is too big and discourages people from working, plus people who dislike food stamps because they think black people get them.

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox Business Network Poll: Cruz leads in Wisconsin — Ted Cruz leads Donald Trump in the Republican nomination contest in Wisconsin, according to a Fox Business Network Poll released Thursday. — Cruz garners 42 percent among Wisconsin likely GOP primary voters, while Trump receives 32 percent.

Discussion: Politico, Fox Business, The Last Refuge and The Right Scoop

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Trump would be least-popular major-party nominee in modern times … If Donald Trump secures the Republican presidential nomination, he would start the general election campaign as the least-popular candidate to represent either party in modern times. — Three-quarters of women view him unfavorably.

Discussion: Slantpoint, Daily Wire, Independent Journal …, Campaign for America's Future, Mother Jones and Hot Air

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Nightmare nominee: Nobody likes Donald Trump. Not even white men.

Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:

Campaign Exposes Fissures Over Issues, Values and How Life Has Changed in the U.S. — Just 38% of GOP voters say party would ‘solidly unite’ behind Trump — The 2016 presidential campaign has exposed deep disagreements between - and within - the two parties on a range of major policy issues.

Discussion: U.S. News, Hot Air, Daily Wire, Washington Post, Vox and Politico

Luke O'Neil / Esquire:

Ted Cruz Can't Stop Getting Owned by Internet Teens — The kids love a good Zodiac meme. — Last summer, we pointed out that this would be the year of the Viral Election. Meanwhile, both The New York Times and Politico have noted that 2016 is shaping up to be the Selfie Election, and for good reason.

Discussion: Washington Post

Thomas Tracy / New York Daily News:

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Hotels executive Nathan Crisp busted for Easter beatdown on mother of two — An executive who helps run Donald Trump's hotel chain was arrested for attacking a young mother outside his ritzy downtown Brooklyn condo. — Nathan Crisp was charged with misdemeanor assault …

Discussion: Death and Taxes, Mediaite and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Jacob Gershman / Wall Street Journal:

George Mason University Renames Law School After Justice Antonin Scalia — Change comes after school received two donations totaling $30 million — George Mason University School of Law, named after a founding father known for his refusal to sign the Constitution, is renaming itself …

Discussion: Gawker, Power Line, Above the Law, The Daily Caller and Washington Post

Daily Mail:

At least FIFTY ISIS supporters are working as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff at Brussels airport, claim police — Police at Brussels airport have claimed at least 50 Islamic State supporters are working there as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Israel Matzav, Pamela Geller and BizPac Review

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Cruz predicts Trump won't be able to mount a third-party run — Donald Trump won't be able to mount a third-party bid for president if he loses the Republican nomination, Ted Cruz said Thursday. — “He doesn't have the option of running as a third-party [candidate],” the Texas senator told Wisconsin radio host Charlie Sykes.

Discussion: Washington Post and Political Wire

Andrew Das / New York Times:

Top Female Players Accuse U.S. Soccer of Wage Discrimination — U.S. Soccer, the governing body for the sport in America, pays the members of the men's and women's national team who represent the United States in international competitions. The men's team has historically been mediocre.

Discussion: ESPN, Mother Jones, TODAY.com, FiveThirtyEight, SI.com, NBC News, The Atlantic, Refinery29, The Stranger …, AOL, Vocativ, Fusion, The Week, DCist and ProFootballTalk

CNBC:

Dow posts biggest quarterly comeback since 1933 — CNBC's Bob Pisani and Art Cashin, of UBS, discuss the first quarter turnaround and how the second quarter is likely to begin. — After tumultuous trading in early 2016, two of the three major U.S. averages clawed back to finish the first quarter in the green.

Caroline May / Breitbart:

Library of Congress to Eliminate Terms ‘Illegal Alien’ and ‘Alien’ — The Library of Congress is dropping the terms “illegal alien” and “alien” from its subject headings after a group of college students and the American Library Association protested the words' usage.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Daily Wire

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Mississippi Same-Sex Adoption Ban Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules — WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Mississippi on Thursday afternoon halted enforcement of the state's ban on same-sex couples adopting children. — Citing the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 decision ending bans …

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, Daily Kos, Towleroad and Protect Thy Neighbor

Blaine Stewart / WTKR-TV:

35 years later: John Hinkley, Jr., closer to living permanently in Hampton Roads — John Hinckley, Jr., may soon accomplish something no other man has. Never has anyone shot an American president, and then walked the streets, full-time, as a free man. — “I don't think anyone who owned …

Discussion: FOX31 Denver