Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Tomorrow is the third major Tuesday of primary election season, and five states will vote in the first "winner-take-all" elections of the year. There are 358 Republican delegates and 780 Democratic delegates at stake.

Who is voting?
Both Democrats and Republicans in Missouri, Illinois, Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina vote in tomorrow's primaries. Florida's primary is closed (meaning only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary and vice-versa), North Carolina and Ohio are semi-closed (meaning only registered Republicans and independents can vote in the Republican primary), and Missouri and Illinois have open primaries.

What time do polls close?
Polls close at 7:00 p.m. local time in Missouri, Illinois, and Florida. Polls close at 7:30 local time in North Carolina and Ohio.

How many delegates does each state have?
Florida: 99 Republican delegates, 246 Democratic delegates. Winner takes them all.
Illinois: 69 Republican delegates, 182 Democratic delegates. Winner takes them all.
Missouri: 52 Republican delegates, 71 Democratic delegates. Winner takes them all.
North Carolina: 72 Republican delegates, 122 Democratic delegates. Divided proportionally.
Ohio: 66 Republican delegates, 159 Democratic delegates. Winner takes them all.

What does this mean for each candidate?
To be blunt, Rubio has to win Florida or he's done. Period. Kasich has to win Ohio, where he's currently the governor, if he wants to a) stay relevant and b) defeat the Trump train. Polls in Ohio have been all over the place, and Trump has a lead in Florida. It should be noted, however, that polls aren't infallible. (Just ask Minnesota and Michigan.)

On the Democrat side, the strategy is pretty simple: win the elections. Clinton has been on an absolute crusade through the south, but Sanders' shock victory in Michigan should be causing her to feel a little bit uneasy.
After a series of ballistic missile tests conducted by Iran last week, violating the UN Security Agreement but not the most recent nuclear deal, Congress is looking into imposing new sanctions on the regime.

See video here:
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2016/03/14/congress-looking-into-new-iranian-sanctions-after-missile-tests-n2133439

Today, the UN Security Counsel held a meeting at the request of the United States to go over options regarding how to deal with Iran's most recent launch.
The United Nations Security Council was huddling Monday in a meeting called by the U.S. to discuss Iran’s “provocative and destabilizing” launch last week of long-range missiles marked with threats to Israel.

The closed meeting was in addition to one already scheduled in which the Security Council was to discuss the latest developments in Syria. The U.S., which brokered the deal with Iran that ended most international sanctions in exchange for Tehran’s pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons, called the meeting.
The missiles launched last week by the Iranians had the words, "Israel must be wiped off the map," written in Hebrew before launch, proving once again the Iranians haven't changed their hostile positions despite being brought into the modern, western world through the 2015 nuclear agreement. Israel has called on the international community to punish Iran for the tests.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on world powers to punish Iran after the country test-fired two ballistic missiles emblazoned with the phrase "Israel must be wiped out" in Hebrew.

Netanyahu said he instructed Israel's Foreign Ministry to direct the demand to the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — the countries that signed the deal lifting sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear program.
Meanwhile, the Iranians have threatened to walk away from the nuclear deal all together if new sanctions are imposed for their missile test violations.