memeorandum: Pyros the Bear, Brought to Replenish the Pyrenees' Ursine Population, May Have Been Too Successful (Matt Moffett/Wall Street Journal)

12:15 PM ET, April 2, 2016

Top Items:

RNC Lays Groundwork for Nominee Who May Not Be Trump — The Republican National Committee has begun to prepare the public for what could prove to be a nasty convention. — After months of tense dealings with Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, the Republican National …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:
Trump campaign shrinks Lewandowski's role

Discussion: The Week and RedState

Shane Goldmacher / Politico: How the North Dakota GOP is freezing out Trump

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

Obama: Iran not following ‘spirit’ of deal — President Obama on Friday criticized Iranian leaders for undermining the “spirit” of last year's historic nuclear agreement, even as they stick to the “letter” of the pact. — In comments following the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington …

Discussion: Pirate's Cove, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, thenewamerican.com and Wall Street Journal

Ben Riley-Smith / Telegraph:

Obama: Isil seeking nuclear material to kill as many people as possible — Play! — Isil terrorists are planning to use drones to spray nuclear material over Western cities in a horrific “dirty bomb” attack, David Cameron has warned. — World leaders are concerned that jihadists …

Daily Mail:

Thumbs up: Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko certainly looked please to have taken his place behind President Barack Obama — ... Meanwhile, in the shadows: Cameron was isolated from the power players and looked dejected as he shook hands with UAE foreign affairs minister Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Discussion: theGrio, Pamela Geller, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and Instapundit

Associated Press:

Clinton's frustration grows, as primary race drags on — SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Hillary Clinton snapped at a Greenpeace protester. She linked Bernie Sanders and tea party Republicans. And she bristled with anger when nearly two dozen Sanders supporters marched out of an event near …

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup: Democrats Increasing Their Edge in U.S. Party Affiliation

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Why Hillary Clinton is justifiably annoyed by criticism of her Big Oil fundraising

Discussion: Blue Nation Review, CBS New York, American Spectator, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice, NPR and NBC News

MaryAlice Parks / ABC News:
Bernie Sanders Demands Apology From Hillary Clinton for Accusing Him of Lying

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, NBC News, Mother Jones, Common Dreams, Greenpeace USA, Mediaite, Salon, Fusion, Slate, abc7chicago.com, CNN and Politico

Los Angeles Times:

Father accused of fatally shooting son because he was gay — Los Angeles prosecutors on Friday charged a 69-year-old man with fatally shooting his son outside the family's North Hills home because the son was gay. — The shooting occurred Tuesday when police responded to a call …

Dana Bartholomew / L.A. Daily News:
North Hills man suspected of killing son because he was gay

Discussion: Associated Press, CBS Los Angeles and Towleroad

Los Angeles Times:
Knife linked to former O.J. Simpson property is not connected to homicide case, LAPD concludes

Discussion: Independent Journal …, NPR, CBS Miami, FOX5 San Diego and KTLA

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

Muslims March in Germany Chanting “With Allah's Help, We Shall Conquer You” (VIDEO) — They seem to be assimilating quite well, no? — Muslims march down a German street chanting, “With Allah's help, we shall conquer you!” — What lovely citizens.

Discussion: Breitbart and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Elliot Smilowitz / The Hill:

Trump: If I win, everything bad in US will be reversed — is setting the bar high for campaign promises. — The Republican presidential front-runner said Saturday morning that if he wins the presidency, all problems in the country will be fixed. — “Wisconsin has suffered a great loss …

Discussion: Political Wire

Matt Moffett / Wall Street Journal:

Pyros the Bear, Brought to Replenish the Pyrenees' Ursine Population, May Have Been Too Successful — The Pyrenees now have little genetic diversity, prompting talk of a new rival — A bear named Pyros, left, has fathered about three-quarters of the nearly 40 brown bears in the Pyrenees Mountains …

Discussion: Never Yet Melted

Simon Maloy / Salon:

Cracks in the GOP wall: The Republicans' hardline Supreme Court obstruction is crumbling — Republicans hoped to enforce blanket obstruction of Obama's Supreme Court nominee, but defections are multiplying — The trick to making blanket obstructionism work as a political tool is to make it a team effort.

Discussion: NBC News, National Review, Talking Points Memo, New York Times and Daily Kos

New York Times:

Why Should ‘Never Trump’ Mean Ted Cruz? — With more than half of the 2016 presidential primary races in the history books, Republicans desperate to deny Donald Trump their party's nomination now say Wisconsin, where Ted Cruz is leading, will show that their effort has turned the tide.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Simon Maloy / Salon:
Ted Cruz is no savior: Sorry, Republicans, you're (probably) still screwed and stuck with Trump

Discussion: Washington Post

New York Times:

North Carolina Law May Risk Federal Aid — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is considering whether North Carolina's new law on gay and transgender rights makes the state ineligible for billions of dollars in federal aid for schools, highways and housing, officials said Friday.

Discussion: Fusion, Althouse, Hot Air, Associated Press and Towleroad

Daily Mail:

White House under fire for ‘censoring’ video of French president's speech by eliminating interpreter's translation of the words ‘Islamist terrorism’ (but don't worry - it's just a ‘technical issue’!) — Francois Hollande said Thursday in Washington that nations must understand the roots …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The White House, mrctv.org/videos and The Daily Caller

Craig Bannister / mrctv.org/videos:
VIDEO: WH Censors French President Saying ‘ISLAMIST Terrorism’

Ari Berman / The Nation:

Wisconsin's Voter-ID Law Could Block 300,000 Registered Voters From the Polls — One of the country's toughest voting restrictions takes effect for the April 5 primary. — By , — Johnny Randle, a 74-year-old African-American resident of Milwaukee, moved to Wisconsin from Mississippi in 2011 …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Vox and Associated Press

Andreas Preuss / CNN:

No bull! Comedian Jon Stewart rescues runaway animal — Comedian Jon Stewart watches over Frank Lee an escaped bull who's been adopted — (CNN)The fate of Frank Lee the bull has gone from dinner plate to sanctuary — thanks to comedian Jon Stewart and his wife.

Discussion: Death and Taxes, Mashable and Slantpoint

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:

Trump Ally Roger Stone Says He's Planning “Days Of Rage” At The Convention — Roger Stone, the longtime Republican political operative and current ally of Donald Trump, says he's trying to organize protests at the Republican convention in Cleveland this summer to disrupt any effort by the party to …

Discussion: Raw Story

Associated Press:

Megyn Kelly: Bill O'Reilly, CNN Should Have Done More for Me — NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly is taking notes on who she feels has been supportive when she was attacked by Donald Trump, and colleague Bill O'Reilly and CNN are both on her list.

Discussion: Fire Andrea Mitchell!