memeorandum: U.S. high school seniors slip in math and show no improvement in reading (Emma Brown/Washington Post)

12:00 PM ET, April 27, 2016

Top Items:

It's Trump's Nomination To Lose* — Tuesday night went about as well as possible for Donald Trump. — Two weeks ago, after a rough stretch of states for Trump, we issued a series of delegate projections that included something called a “path-to-1,237” projection, a set of targets …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, WPRI-TV, Power Line, ABC News and Business Insider

John Podhoretz / New York Post:

Ted Cruz is crumbling before our very eyes — MORE FROM: — For the past few weeks, Republican campaign professionals and conservatives who are seeing the GOP nomination heading into Donald Trump's hands have been counseling anti-Trump voters not to panic and consoling themselves …

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

IT'S OFFICIAL=> Ted Cruz Is Mathematically ELIMINATED from GOP Race - With Chart — As we predicted on April 2nd.... As of today, April 26, 2016, Ted Cruz is mathematically eliminated from winning the Republican nomination outright. — On April 2nd we predicted that Donald Trump …

Discussion: Politico, Joe Hoft, Walid Shoebat, DailySurge, The Last Tradition and JustOneMinute

Ashley Feinberg / Gawker:

Ted Cruz Desecrates Classic Movie Scene By Calling Hoop a “Basketball Ring” — While stumping in Indiana tonight, Ted Cruz attempted to recreate a classic scene from Hoosiers in the very same gym in which part of the movie (thought not this particular scene) was filmed.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, Raw Story, Mother Jones and Prntly

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Why Donald Trump Is Probably Two States From Victory — Donald J. Trump is essentially two key states from the nomination. — By sweeping five states on Tuesday, he pulled only a few hundred Republican delegates short of the 1,237 he needs to win without a contested convention.

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, Outside the Beltway, Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Real Clear Politics

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Trump wins every county in ‘Acela primaries’ — won every county on Tuesday night in the five Northeastern states that held primaries, sweeping up more delegates in his quest to lock up the GOP nomination. — Trump won each county in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut and Rhode Island …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, The Week, Guardian and Althouse

Shane Goldmacher / Politico: Trump starts spending to end Cruz in Indiana

Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg: Trump Lays Claim to Nomination Backed by Smashing Victories

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Indiana looms large for Cruz's slender hopes after Trump sweeps Northeast

Discussion: Politico, Balloon Juice and Outside the Beltway

Bernie Sanders:

Sanders Statement on Primary Elections — HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday issued the following statement: — “I congratulate Secretary Clinton on her victories tonight, and I look forward to issue-oriented campaigns in the 14 contests to come.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, liberalamerica.org, Raw Story, New York Times, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, The Week and Talking Points Memo

Chris Kahn / Reuters:

Exclusive: Half of Americans think presidential nominating system ‘rigged’ - poll — More than half of American voters believe that the system U.S. political parties use to pick their candidates for the White House is “rigged” and more than two-thirds want to see the process changed, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Week

Annie Karni / Politico:
Clinton's refusal to quit in 2008 haunts her in 2016

Discussion: Political Wire

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: The Democratic Establishment strikes back in the Acela Primary

Discussion: PennLive.com, National Review and Politico

Aaron Rupar / ThinkProgress:
Here Are All The Sexist Things Donald Trump Said About Hillary Clinton Wednesday Morning

Discussion: The Slot and alan.com

Yamiche Alcindor / New York Times:
Bernie Sanders to Reassess Candidacy After Tuesday's Vote, but He'll Stay in Race

Discussion: liberalamerica.org, New York Magazine, VTDigger, CNBC, Vox, AOL, Independent Journal …, Political Wire, Business Insider, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, MSNBC, Politicus USA, Politico, Mediaite and The Week

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Winners and losers from the I-95 primaries

Discussion: Indianapolis Star, Los Angeles Times, National Review, The Moderate Voice and Politico

John Santucci / ABC News:
After 5 State Sweep, Trump Turns His Attention to Clinton

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and TPNN

Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg View:
Trump Can't Beat Clinton. Who Says?

Discussion: Washington Post

Jose A. DelReal / Washington Post:
Trump: If Clinton 'were a man, I don't think she'd get 5 percent of the vote'

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Daily Kos, Slate, Politicus USA, CNN, The Last Tradition and New York Magazine

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Bernie Sanders is no fool. He'll back Clinton when he drops out.

Discussion: The New York Observer, Daily Kos, MSNBC, Guardian and Rewire

Libby Nelson / Vox:
Donald Trump says women don't like Hillary Clinton. They dislike him even more.

Discussion: American Prospect, ThinkProgress and Raw Story

Abby Phillip / Washington Post:
Clinton decisively wins Democratic primaries in 4 states

Discussion: Politico, Scared Monkeys, New York Times, Shakesville and ABC News

Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
Primary Takeaways: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Edge Closer to Nominations

Discussion: RedState, The Week and Raw Story

The White House / Medium:

Asked and Answered: President Obama Responds to an Eight Year-Old Girl from Flint — At eight years old, Mari Copeny—known around town as “Little Miss Flint”—wrote to President Obama last month from her home in Flint, Michigan to share how she is working to bring attention to the public health crisis in her community.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Politicus USA and WOOD-TV

Detroit News:

Obama to visit Flint to spotlight water crisis — Washington — President Obama is planning to visit Flint on May 4 to spotlight the city's handling of lead-contaminated water that has deprived thousands of residents of reliable access to drinking and bathing water.

Daniel Bethencourt / Detroit Free Press:

Saying ‘vagina’ got me fired, Battle Creek middle school teacher says — Vagina. It's a noun describing female anatomy that caused such outrage in the Michigan Legislature in 2012 that a legislator was blocked from speaking after using it. — Now, a substitute teacher says using it got …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Raw Story

Nicky Zizaza / WWMT-TV:
W. Mich. substitute teacher fired for using anatomical word during lesson

Discussion: The Daily Caller and EAGnews.org

Allum Bokhari / Breitbart:

Sci-Fi's Hugo Awards Swept by Anti-SJW Authors — Again! — For the second year in a row, nominations for the prestigious Hugo Awards for science fiction & fantasy have been swept by the Sad Puppies & Rabid Puppies, two groups of authors and fans who oppose left-wing domination of the community.

Discussion: Vox Popoli

David Barnett / Guardian:
Hugo awards shortlist dominated by rightwing campaign

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Vox Popoli and The Week

Julia Ioffe / GQ:

Melania Trump on Her Rise, Her Family Secrets, and Her True Political Views: “Nobody Will Ever Know” — How does a shy ex-model make her way from Slovenia to, just maybe, the White House? To Melania Trump—and to the people who know her back home—her journey to marrying The Donald is like a fairy tale …

Discussion: AOL, The Slot, The Daily Caller, The Week and Mediaite

Joe Scarborough / Washington Post:

Trump's sweep is another humiliating defeat for media and political elites — Donald Trump's sweeping victories Tuesday night move the Manhattan billionaire a step closer to winning the Republican nomination for president and to pulling off the most improbable political feat in modern American history.

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

The Cult of Sore Losers — Bernie Sanders isn't losing. Just ask many of his backers or listen to some of his own complaints. He's being robbed, a victim of antiquated rules, voter suppression, shady arithmetic and a corrupt Democratic establishment. The swindle includes …