OFF TO THE RACES: Empire State of Mind
About last night, from Benjy Sarlin: "Trump earned his moment to gloat, but the race is far from over. While he's right that Cruz no longer has a path to victory by winning pledged delegates alone, the real estate mogul is still in the fight of his life to win the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. If he falls short, Cruz's more sophisticated campaign looks well-positioned to defeat him at July's Republican convention. As of 1 a.m. ET, NBC News put Trump at 844 delegates, Cruz at 559 and John Kasich at 146. Now Trump is grappling with whether the reality-show campaign that powered him this far can take him across the finish line without maturing into something more ordinary. And if it does change into something more conventional, would it lose the spark that made him a phenomenon in the first place?"
And from Alex Seitz-Wald: " Hillary Clinton took a major step toward securing the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday night with a critical win in New York, leaving underdog Bernie Sanders to complain about the refs. The Clinton victory — by a decisive double-digit margin — interrupted Sanders' eight-contest winning streak and blocked a key opportunity for Sanders to eat into Clinton's large pledged delegate lead."
Don't miss this clip of Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver walking through potential delegate strategy on MSNBC last night.
The AP's NY lead: "Hillary Clinton emerged from New York's presidential primary closer to clinching the Democratic nomination and becoming the first woman to reach that milestone. Republican Donald Trump strengthened his own path to the general election with a commanding victory, but has little room for error in the states ahead."
The headline from Reuters: "After big New York wins, Trump and Clinton cast themselves as inevitable"
Today's New York Post cover: "KING DON!"
The New York Times looks at some of the key takeaways from the race.
Noted in the exit polls: Even New Yorkers aren't big fans of Wall Street.
The LA Times takes on the state's voting system in an op-ed: "The parties set the rules. It's up to the candidates to follow them, voters to understand them and elections officials to implement them as efficiently as possible."
CLINTON: Writes Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "Hillary Clinton got what she needed in New York, a solid victory that stopped Bernie Sanders’s weeks-long winning streak. But any cause for celebration among her supporters probably will be tempered by the reality that her unexpectedly difficult nomination battle has taken a significant toll on her candidacy."
CRUZ: He won't seek a recount in his narrow Missouri loss to Trump.
SANDERS: POLITICO writes that he got caught up in distractions in the run-up to New York.
TRUMP: The New York Times: "With his thoroughly dominating performance on Tuesday in New York, Donald J. Trump proved that he remains the preferred candidate of most Republican primary voters. The question now is whether winning the most votes will be enough to make him the Republican nominee."
POLITICO writes that the magic number might not be so magic. "The magic number of delegates for Trump to clinch the nomination on the first ballot, likely to be his best and perhaps only chance to do so, remains 1,237. But there are now whispers that the real number of delegates Trump must win by June 7, when the final contests take place, may be lower."
New York Magazine writes of how Paul Manafort was able to take control in Trumpworld. "The shift of power from Lewandowski to Manafort began from the moment the latter arrived on the scene, in late March. Manafort exudes authority, even down to the way he calls the candidate “Donald” (Lewandowski says “Mr. Trump,” even in private). Manafort also developed a bond with the Trump family. “Paul has a robust relationship with Jared, Ivanka, and the boys,” a staffer says."
By the way, Ali Vitali and Katy Tur have all the latest on the reorganization underway on Team Trump.
OBAMA AGENDA: Chilly in Saudi Arabia?
Obama could face a chilly reception in Saudi Arabia. NBCNews.com: "The American president's visit comes during one of the most public rifts between the two countries in their 83-year-old alliance. Amid ongoing strategic disagreements with Riyadh over the Obama administration's policies in the Middle East — namely the U.S.'s rapprochement with Iran and its refusal to become more involved in Syria's civil war — senior American officials have recently directed harsh public rhetoric at Saudi Arabia."
From the AP: "Obama's first stop in Saudi Arabia was a one-on-one meeting with King Salman at Riyadh's Erga Palace on Wednesday before the six-nation GCC summit opens Thursday. He was slated to spend little more than 24 hours in the Saudi capital before heading on to visits to London and Hannover, Germany. In addition to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain are participating in the regional summit, which the White House said would focus on regional stability, counterterrorism including the fight against the Islamic State and al-Qaida, and Iran. Talks are also expected to address the Saudi-led military campaign against Shiite rebels and their allies in neighboring Yemen."