Daily Digest: Budget and primaries
Good morning. It's Tuesday and there's a lot going on, including presidential primaries in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island and Connecticut. So let's get right to the Digest.
1. The legislature has started debating supplemental budget bills. The House passed an education funding bill last night that doesn't spend any surplus money. It shuffles some money to come up with about $55 million in spending. Republicans say it contains a lot of important provisions, including measures to attract and retain teachers of color. Democrats contend there was money available to do more, and Republicans missed their chance. It's unclear how the House bill will be reconciled with more expensive plans in the Senate. (Star Tribune)
2. As lawmakers begin to look at the details of making Minnesota drivers' licenses comply with federal Real ID standards, they're facing a number of questions, including when to impose the new standards and whether people should be able to choose not to go with the higher standard if they don't expect to travel by air. And as with so many things, the House and Senate seem to be on different tracks. (MPR News)
3. Did an addiction to painkillers kill Prince? Investigators are looking into the possibility after his plane apparently made that unscheduled stop the week before he died. A lawyer told the Star Tribune that Prince's relatives told him that Prince had a serious drug problem. But others who were close to the music legend say they never saw signs of drug use. (Star Tribune)
4. Yesterday I noted that Ted Cruz and John Kasich had reached a deal to try to keep Donald Trump from winning the GOP presidential nomination. Well, the deal doesn't look quite so done anymore. Kasich says he wouldn't tell his supporters to vote for Cruz. Meanwhile Trump says the deal proves the system is rigged against him. (Politico)
5. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are expected to widen their leads in the primaries today. Clinton is already looking ahead to the general election. Trump is trying to convince Republicans to stop fighting him. (Washington Post)
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