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

3:30 PM ET, March 31, 2016

Top Items:

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

GOP nears the breaking point — The presidential primary has been a wrenching experience for the GOP so far — and it's about to get even worse. — and John Kasich have all backed away from their pledge to support the party's eventual nominee, foreshadowing a fight at the convention …

Discussion: Politico and Washington Post

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: Washington Monthly, Prairie Weather, Balloon Juice and Politico

Rich Lowry / Politico:
Present at the Destruction — Donald Trump never ceases to amaze …

Discussion: Washington Post and Investor's Business Daily

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

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, JustOneMinute, Hit & Run, Washington Times, Independent Journal …, Mediaite, Washington Post and Bloomberg.com

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
GOP launches contested convention website

Discussion: GOP.com, Politico, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog and Independent Journal …

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Trump huddles with RNC in Washington

Discussion: Mediaite, Political Wire and Guardian

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

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: WCMH-TV and The Daily Caller

Bloomberg Business:

Nascar Driver Derek White Targeted in Tobacco-Smuggling Operation — The bust in Canada is part of cigarette scheme linked to motorcycle gangs and organized crime. — Nascar driver Derek White was among almost 60 people targeted by Quebec and Ontario police in the biggest tobacco-smuggling bust …

Discussion: WTKR-TV, 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

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 and Fox News Insider

Streiff / RedState:

Donald Trump: Sure, I Might Use Nuclear Weapons In Europe. Hell, I Might Use Them In Chicago, Too. — Okay. I made the last half of that up as clickbait. But the first half is right. — Last night on an MSNBC Town Hall, hosted by the strangely lucid Chris Matthews …

Discussion: Washington Post, MSNBC, Raw Story and National Review

David Nakamura / Washington Post:
White House denounces Trump's Asian nuclear idea as ‘catastrophic’

Discussion: ABC News

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Says His ‘Rich’ Muslim Friends Could Enter Country Under A Ban

Discussion: The Week

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

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

Discussion: CNN, Mother Jones, BuzzFeed, Politico, Red Alert Politics, Bloomberg Business, New York Magazine, New York Times, Guardian, Washington Times, Independent Journal …, CBS New York, rubber hose and MSNBC

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:

Trump: Women who have abortions should be punished — (CNN)Donald Trump said Wednesday that women who undergo abortions should face “some form of punishment” if the procedure were outlawed. — Trump, who once supported abortion rights, now favors outlawing the procedure, which he called …

Harper Neidig / The Hill:
Carson: Trump didn't have time to think about abortion question

Discussion: RedState, CNN, Hot Air and National Review

Gregory Krieg / CNN:
Donald Trump's 3 positions on abortion in 3 hours

Discussion: The Nation, Friendly Atheist, Right Wing Watch, WTKR-TV, Common Dreams, WTVR-TV, The Right Scoop, Mediaite and Donald J Trump for President

Andrew Das / New York Times:

Five Top Female Players Accuse U.S. Soccer of Wage Discrimination — Five key members of the United States women's national soccer team, the reigning Women's World Cup and Olympic champion, plan to file a federal complaint Thursday charging U.S. Soccer with wage discrimination.

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

Scott Stump / TODAY.com:
U.S. women's soccer stars on filing equal pay complaint: 'We've proven our worth'

Discussion: ThinkProgress, USA Today, The Daily Caller, PRI, NPR and Unfogged

Sabato's Crystal Ball:

The Electoral College: The Only Thing That Matters — It's a long way to November, but for the moment the GOP is an underdog — We live in a post-factual era. Thanks to the Internet and social media, which mix informed and uninformed views in equal measure, the old rule …

Discussion: The Federalist, RedState, Political Wire, Power Line, Political Insider blog and The American Conservative

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

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: Vox, Washington Post, Hot Air and Politico

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:
3. Views on economy, government services, trade

Discussion: Vox

Calily Bien / KXAN-TV:

14-month-old girl dies following dental visit — AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners is investigating the death of a baby girl who died after receiving dental treatment at Austin Children's Dentistry in Northwest Austin Tuesday. — The Travis County Medical Examiner's Office …

Discussion: KTLA, FOX31 Denver, FOX 61 and WGN-TV

Rachel Robinson / YouCaring: Every Share Can Raise $37

Oliver Darcy / TheBlaze.com:

Michelle Fields Abandons Apartment Over Safety Concerns After Fox, BuzzFeed Publish Personal Info — Ex-Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields said Wednesday she had temporarily moved out of her D.C.-area apartment over safety concerns after Fox News and BuzzFeed accidentally published her address online.

Discussion: Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, RedState, New York Magazine, The Right Scoop, BizPac Review and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Scott Wong / The Hill:

Backstage maneuvering begins in wide-open GOP chairman's race — There's a race in the Republican Party happening far away from the hot media glare, one that doesn't involve a candidate named Trump or Twitter fights or violent protests. — In fact, you've probably never heard of most of the possible leading contenders.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Tom Sherwood / NBC4 Washington:

Bernie Sanders May Be Off DC Ballot After Democratic Party Filing — A hearing is expected as early as next week over the challenge to Sanders' inclusion on the D.C. ballot — Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' name is not on the primary ballot in Washington, D.C. …

Discussion: The Stranger …, CNN, DCist, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Salon, Washington Times, Trail Blazers Blog, AOL, Infowars, Politico, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and Daily Kos

Ashley Paredez / KTBC:

Central Texas mother allows children to get tattoos — A Central Texas mother was taken into custody after allowing her young children to be tattooed. Police say the mom was intoxicated at the time and let her boyfriend's brother do the work. Now the three children each have tattoos on their ankles.

Discussion: Althouse, WNEP-TV, fox8.com and FOX31 Denver

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 Mediaite

DID YOU SEE THIS AMAZING VIDEO?? It was:

DID YOU SEE THIS AMAZING VIDEO?? It was taken by visitor Tina Dorschel on the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary boardwalk early Monday morning. (Please be warned, there is a curse word at the end!) — This gorgeous # Floridapanther seems to have unexpectedly found himself cornered while traveling around …

Discussion: WGN-TV and AOL

Nick Gass / Politico:

Kasich defends eating pizza with fork: It was ‘scalding hot, OK?’ — During a stop at a pizza joint in New York on Wednesday, John Kasich drew the mock ire of locals and reporters on Twitter as he used a fork. — On Thursday, Kasich explained himself. — “Look, look, the pizza came scalding hot, OK?

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNN, Red Alert Politics, CBS New York, AOL, Mashable, Eater and The Daily Banter

Emily Smith / Page Six:

Hillary Clinton's $600 haircut ties up traffic — MORE FROM: — Hillary Clinton's entourage — four big black cars plus her top aide Huma Abedin — was spotted outside Bergdorf Goodman on Wednesday morning waiting as the presidential hopeful got her $600 haircut.

Discussion: Daily Mail, Balloon Juice, New York Post, MichelleMalkin.com, Washington Free Beacon and The Daily Caller

Justin Huggler / Telegraph:

Austria closes its borders to almost all asylum-seekers — Austria has announced tough new plans to reject almost all asylum-seekers at its borders as it continues a crackdown against migrants. — Under the new measures, all asylum claims will be decided within an hour at the country's borders.

Maria Sciullo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Anchor Wendy Bell addresses WTAE firing over Facebook posts — Wendy Bell, an award-winning journalist with WTAE-TV for 18 years, was fired Wednesday for comments she made on her Facebook page. — A statement from Hearst Television, the station's parent company, said, “WTAE has ended its relationship with anchor Wendy Bell.

Discussion: Washington Post, BizPac Review and Mediaite

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Rand Paul teases ‘major endorsement announcement’ Friday — (R-Ky.) is teasing a “major endorsement announcement” that he plans to give on Friday, April 1. … Paul has maintained that he won't endorse during the primary season after dropping out of the bitter GOP race on Feb. 3.