The Note: Coming Up Next In Indiana
— -- NOTABLES
HAPPENING TODAY -- INDIANA LEGISLATORS MEETING TO CLARIFY "RELIGIOUS FREEDOM" LAW: A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Indiana will meet this morning to debate a bill clarifying the state's new "religious freedom" law, which critics have said gives business owners the right to discriminate against members of the LGBT community. Deliberations begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern with four members of each party making up the conference. Once the conference agrees on the bill's language, it will go to the legislature for a vote, according to ABC's ANDREW FIES and BEN CANDEA. http://abcn.ws/1Cz39da
HAPPENED YESTERDAY -- ARKANSAS GOVERNOR ASKS LEGISLATURE TO CHANGE "RELIGIOUS FREEDOM" BILL: Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson asked his state's legislature to alter a religious-freedom bill sent to his desk before he will sign it. "I ask that changes be made in the legislature, and I've asked that the leaders of the General Assembly to recall the bill so that it can be amended to reflect the terms of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act," Hutchinson said yesterday. The governor noted that the bill applies to corporations and litigation between private citizens or entities, neither of which are included in the federal law signed by Bill Clinton, ABC's CHRIS GOOD writes. http://abcn.ws/1OZlJSb
EXPLAINER -- THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INDIANA'S LAW AND ALL THE OTHERS. Gov. Mike Pence and other supporters of Indiana's "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" have made a simple point in defense of their law -- that a slew of other states, plus the federal government, have the same law on the books and that Barack Obama as a state senator voted for it in Illinois. So what's the difference between all the rest of the laws -- on the federal books and in 19 other states -- and the two more recent, similar bills in Indiana and Arkansas? ABC's CHRIS GOOD breaks it down: http://abcn.ws/1MABCji
2016: THE NEWEST NUMBERS
--HILLARY CLINTON'S POPULARITY DECLINES--BUT STILL BEATS HER GOP RIVALS'. Hillary Clinton's personal popularity has dropped to virtually an even split in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, marking her potential vulnerability as a presidential candidate. Yet she still surpasses her possible Republican rivals in favorability and vote preference alike, ABC's GARY LANGER notes. The number of Americans who express a favorable opinion of Clinton is down from a record 67 percent just over than two years ago to 49 percent now -- its lowest since her unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. Nearly as many, 46 percent, see her unfavorably, up 20 percentage points from its low during her term as secretary of state. Yet Clinton still is better off than six potential GOP candidates tested in this survey, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates: All of them have higher unfavorable than favorable scores, trouble for any public figure. And two for the first time are seen unfavorably by more than half of Americans. http://abcn.ws/1GhorhI
--JEB BUSH'S FAVORABLE-UNFAVORABLE RATING IS 33-53 PERCENT: Chris Christie's, 26-51 percent. Compared with Clinton, more Americans have yet to form an opinion of Bush, Christie, or, especially, the others tested in this poll: Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Scott Walker. Still, Cruz's favorability rating, like Bush's, is underwater by 20 points, Rubio's by 14, Paul's by 13 and Walker's -- the least-known -- by 7. Christie's worst off, 25 points in the hole.
--ANALYSIS -- ABC's RICK KLEIN: Ex-presidents aren't created equal. Or, at least, they're not equal by the time history gets to judge. George W. Bush fans are likely to be Jeb Bush fans, just as Bill Clinton fans overwhelmingly favor Hillary Clinton in 2016, according to the new ABC News/Washington Post poll. But Hillary has a deeper pool to draw from than W.: Bill Clinton has a 73 percent approval rate, while George W. Bush's is at 47 percent. Enough said? Unless you also say: Barack Obama has an identical 47 percent approval rating in the poll. Hillary Clinton's is down to 49 percent -- 18 points below her high point, which came as she was leaving office as Secretary of State. In a race with echoes of history, it looks like which history major candidates are able to tap into could be determinative. As for now, Clinton leads her major possible rivals in head-to-head matchups. She would beat Jeb Bush by 12 points; Scott Walker by 14, Marco Rubio by 15, and Ted Cruz by 17.
--CLINTON HINTS ABOUT 2016: Just as the roundtable that Hillary Clinton was participating in ended, a reporter in the audience at an event yesterday in Brownsville, Brooklyn called out to ask whether she'll be back in Brooklyn soon. (Brooklyn is of course where her campaign headquarters are expected to be) "All in good time, all in good time" Clinton quipped back with a smile, ABC's LIZ KREUTZ reports. WATCH: http://abcn.ws/1EHUSHa
THE BUZZ
with ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI
SENATOR ROBERT MENENDEZ "OUTRAGED" BY INDICTMENT ON CORRUPTION CHARGES. Sen. Bob Menendez said he's "outraged" by federal corruption charges he's facing stemming from his interactions with a Florida eye doctor. "For nearly three years, I've lived under a Justice Department cloud, and today, I'm outraged that this cloud has not been lifted," Menendez said at a news conference in Newark, New Jersey, Wednesday night. "I am confident at the end of the day I will be vindicated." "This is not how my career is going to end," Menendez said, ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ reports. "I'm angry and ready to fight because today contradicts my public service career and my entire life." Menendez, D-New Jersey, along with Dr. Salomon Melgen, is charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of violating the travel act, eight counts of bribery and three counts of honest services fraud. Menendez was also charged with one count of making false statements. http://abcn.ws/1HjIN8X
--SEN. KLOBUCHAR PLANS TO RETURN DONATIONS. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, will return campaign donations from Dr. Salomon Melgen, the Florida eye doctor at the center of the Menendez indictment, a campaign aide to the Minnesota senator tells ABC News. Klobuchar's campaign will also return contributions from Menendez's PAC, ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ reports. "Our campaign has never received questions from federal authorities about these contributions. The campaign is returning the contributions and will also be returning the contributions received from Senator Menendez's PAC," Justin Buoen, a Klobuchar campaign aide, tells ABC News. Pages 15 and 16 of the indictment reveal Dr. Melgen and his wife donated $8,000 to the campaign of "Senator 1" at the request of Sen. Menendez. An examination of FEC documents indicates "Senator 1" was Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, whose campaign received $8,000 from Melgen and his wife in August of 2012.
ARKANSAS GOVERNOR'S SON FINDS HIMSELF IN MIDDLE OF RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM DEBATE. When Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson declined to sign his state's religious-freedom bill Wednesday, sending it back to the legislature for changes, he prompted some celebration from businesses and gay-rights activists. The Republican governor cited his son as one of the reasons for his decision, ABC's CHRIS GOOD notes. "It has divided families, and there is clearly a generational gap on this issue," Hutchinson said. "My son Seth signed the petition asking me, dad, the governor, to veto the bill." "I'm proud to have made a small contribution to the overall effort to stop discrimination against the LGBT community in Arkansas, the state that I love (Go hogs!). I love and respect my father very much, but sometimes we have political disagreements, just as many families do," the younger Hutchinson wrote in a statement posted to Facebook and provided to ABC News. http://abcn.ws/19H5xVc
RAND PAUL IS MAKING NO SECRET OF BIG ANNOUNCEMENT. Sen. Rand Paul isn't being secretive about his big announcement coming next Tuesday in a series of tweets posted to his official account last night. The tweets link to a post signed by Paul on the Rand Paul Victory Committee website, soliciting donations to support Paul's all-but-announced presidential campaign. In the post, Paul announces plans to launch on April 7 what he calls the "Stand with Rand Money Bomb." "They look ahead to November 2016 and predict a showdown between two candidates with yesterday's last names pushing yesterday's failed Big Government policies," Paul writes. "But if my travels to Iowa, New Hampshire and elsewhere over the past several weeks are any indication, I believe our media couldn't be more wrong." Paul is expected to formally announce his bid for the White House at an event in Louisville, Kentucky next Tuesday, kicking off a 5-day "Stand With Rand" tour that will take him through several key battleground states, including Iowa and New Hampshire, ABC's JORDYN PHELPS notes.
WHO'S TWEETING?
@mateagold: Just posted: Menendez indictment marks first big corruption case involving a super PAC http://wpo.st/y8LB0
@nationaljournal: The GOP used to trumpet social issues to their advantage in White House races. Now, they'd prefer a change of subject http://buff.ly/1y09waI
@DavidMDrucker: NEWS: @GOP to launch "Stop Hillary" campaign targeting @HillaryClinton: http://washex.am/1BTeC4G
@thehill: Ted Cruz is making a play for the West in 2016: http://ow.ly/L7qHk
@evanasmith: Quinnipiac poll: among GOPers, @tedcruz 5th in FL, tied for 2nd in OH, tied for 5th in PA http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/jeb-bush-florida-quinnipiac-poll-116607.html