Tomorrow is the New York primary, when either Bernie Sanders will concede defeat by noting the challenges of facing a home state opponent, or Hillary Clinton will concede defeat by noting the challenges of facing a home state opponent. The Pulitzers were announced today, providing a handful of overworked and underpaid journalists a moment of relief from the nagging doubt that they should’ve taken that corporate PR job. And Mike Lee dropped his leadership bid, presumably opting to position himself as President Ted Cruz’s secretary of mansplaining and show tunes. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Monday, April 18th, 2016:
SCOTUS SKEPTICAL OF IMMIGRATION EXECUTIVE ORDER - Elise Foley and Cristian Farias: " An eight-member Supreme Court appeared skeptical on Monday that President Barack Obama’s decision to defer deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants could be subject to a multi-state legal challenge in a court of law. At issue in the 90-minute hearing in United States v. Texas — perhaps the most deeply political and consequential case the justices will decide this year — are the president’s executive actions on immigration, which have been on hold for more than a year as a result of a conservative challenge from Texas and 25 other states. If Texas and the other states are allowed to sue, “then every case of political disagreement where states disagree [with the federal government] would come before the court,” said Justice Stephen Breyer. At the heart of the case are two constitutional questions: Whether the states have legal “standing” to sue over how the federal government administers immigration policy, and whether the policy itself complies with the mandate that the president “take care” that the laws be faithfully executed. On this latter point, centrist Justice Anthony Kennedy, who in 2012 largely sided with the federal government in another immigration case, seemed to share the concern of the conservatives states that sued to invalidate the president’s programs." [HuffPost]
Donald Trump wants more showbiz at the GOP convention.
HILLARY CLINTON LOVES HOT SAUCE - Abby Phillip: "As if the New York primary could not get more New York, Hillary Clinton joined the Breakfast Club, a mainstay of the city's hip-hop radio scene, and the conversation was about as freewheeling as you can imagine. Clinton joined DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God at a campaign stop at Harlem's Corsi Senior Center last week for the 30-minute interview.… Before they called it a day, Angela Yee had one more question for Clinton. Angela: 'What’s something that you always carry with you?' Clinton: 'Hot sauce …' DJ Envy: 'Really?' For those unfamiliar, Clinton's answer might have been an innocent — and perfectly timed — admission. Or a well-planned reference to what has become a viral line from Beyonce's newest song 'Formation': 'I got hot sauce in my bag, swag.' Clinton is a well-known lover of hot things. She has been known to munch on hot jalapeno peppers like 'potato chips' and as first lady, she had a collection of more than 100 hot sauces…. 'Now, I just want you to know people are going to see this and say "okay, she’s pandering to black people."' Clinton: 'Okay, is it working?' They all laughed." [WaPo]
Sam Stein hit the trail with Carole King, who is campaigning for Hillary in New York City.
DELANEY DOWNER - Diane Bartz: "The United States is likely to see outbreaks of the Zika virus, with perhaps dozens or scores of people affected, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Sunday. The United States has seen more than 350 cases of people who were infected abroad and then returned to the country but has yet to confirm a case where someone was infected within its borders. That is likely to change, said Fauci. 'It is likely we will have what is called a local outbreak,' he said on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace." [Reuters]
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CRUZ STILL WINNING DELEGATE GAME -- IF NOT VOTES - Ted Cruz: Establishment mastermind. Ed O'Keefe: "Nine more states put the final touches on their delegations to the July convention and once again, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) schooled Trump, installing his supporters in positions to ensure that he could win the nomination if the contest stretches into later rounds. In most cases, the delegates will be required to vote for Trump on a first ballot at the convention but could switch to Cruz if subsequent ballots are necessary...Perhaps nowhere is that more accurate than in Florida. State party rules allow 81 of the state's 99 GOP delegates to be chosen by county party officials. If a congressional district overlaps multiple counties, the top three party leaders in each of those counties get together to pick a slate." [WaPo]
LEE ABANDONS LEADERSHIP BID - Which, for now, nullifies any hope of ever getting to say, "My colleague from Utah, the Republican Leeder." Alexander Bolton: "Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is dropping his bid to run for leadership after the election. Lee’s office confirmed Monday morning that he will not challenge Republican Policy Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) to become the fourth-ranking member of leadership. Lee stirred up a storm last week when he announced he would run for Barrasso’s post, arguing that the junior Wyoming senator and two other members of the GOP leadership needed to step down because of term limits. The leadership quickly circled its wagons to beat back the challenge, and many in the conference agreed Barrasso, as well Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) and Vice Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), should be allowed to serve until the end of 2018." [The Hill]
DEMS SCRAMBLING TO FUND CONVENTION - Anna Palmer and Brianna Gurciullo: "Several Fortune 500 companies -- including Bank of America, Duke Energy and Time Warner -- are taking a pass on chipping in for the Democratic convention in Philadelphia or, with just 100 days to go until the event, won't say whether they'll participate. Target, which has had a presence at both parties' conventions in the past, is joining other companies in skipping this summer's events in Philadelphia and Cleveland. None of the firms are publicly pointing to Trump as the reason they're staying away. But the GOP's more well-documented struggles appear to be taking a toll on Democrats, since many companies prefer to give to both conventions or neither in order to project an image of balance. Democratic Party officials expect the convention to cost $84 million. The host committee says it has brought in roughly $40 million in pledges and contributions so far." [Politico]
BRONX REPUBLICANS EXIST, ARE SUDDENLY IMPORTANT - Larry Buchanan, Nate Cohn, Josh Katz and Josh Keller: "Sheila Davila… [is]a registered Republican who lives in New York’s 15th congressional district in the southeastern part of the Bronx. No district in the nation has fewer Republicans than Ms. Davila’s, which is home to Yankee Stadium. Ms. Davila’s vote on Tuesday will have as much influence over the Republican presidential nomination as the combined votes of 46 Republicans in parts of Illinois...The disparities reflect Republican Party rules. Every congressional district in New York is awarded three delegates, which means the Republicans who live in the most liberal areas end up with the most influence per person. Ninety-six percent of the voters in Ms. Davila’s district chose to re-elect President Obama in 2012. Mitt Romney won 3 percent of the vote – a mere 5,315 ballots. The turnout in the primary will most likely be even lower: Just 1,632 of the district's registered Republicans voted in the 2013 mayoral race, and 1,697 voted in the 2014 midterm election, according to data from L2, a nonpartisan voter file vendor." [NYT]
DEATH PANELS WILL LIVE FOREVER - Jeffrey Young: "New survey data reveals a depressing 29 percent of respondents still believe the Affordable Care Act includes provisions allowing a committee to cut off medical care for people at the ends of their lives. Public Policy Polling conducted the research on behalf of Ari Rabin-Havt, a SiriusXM host and author of an upcoming book about politicians and lying. Those polled were asked, 'To the best of your knowledge, do you think that President Obama’s health reform law establishes a government panel to make decisions about end-of-life care — sometimes referred to as "death panels," or not?' It doesn’t. Period. But just 40 percent of the more than 1,000 people polled last month gave the correct answer. And three in 10 weren’t even sure. For this, you can thank Republican politicians like former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. You can also thank human nature." Gee, thanks. [HuffPost]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here are the muppets covering Snoop Dogg.
AWFUL WHITE GUY SAVED IN FAVOR OF WORSE WHITE GUY - History is all about the norms of the day, y'know? Kevin Liptak and Antoine Sanfuentes: "Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is expected to announce this week that Alexander Hamilton's face will remain on the front of the $10 bill and a woman will replace Andrew Jackson on the face of the $20 bill, a senior government source told CNN on Saturday. Lew announced last summer that he was considering redesigning the $10 bill to include the portrait of a woman. The decision to make the historic change at the expense of Hamilton drew angry rebukes from fans of the former Treasury Secretary. The pro-Hamilton movement gained steam after the smash success of the hip-hop Broadway musical about his life this year. Those pressures led Lew to determine that Hamilton should remain on the front of the bill. Instead, a mural-style depiction of the women's suffrage movement -- including images of leaders such as Susan B. Anthony -- will be featured on the back of the bill." [CNN Money]
COMFORT FOOD
- A new Caps fan anthem is legitimately funky.
- The post office in Coachella can't handle all the festival attndees filing their taxes
- Naturally occurring Donald Trump wigs.
TWITTERAMA
@SimonMaloy: "Trudeau doesn't understand quantum computing" counts as gutter politics in Canada
@morninggloria: Pulitzer fact: If you win a Pulitzer, you have a 24-hour window wherein you can legally murder somebody who said you'd never make it.
@aterkel: Trump supporter yells at a protester. Protester shouts back and calls him the worst name possible: "Guy Fieri" (He did resemble him)
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