10 things you need to know today: April 24, 2016

(Image credit: Keith Srakocic/Associated Press)

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1. Ted Cruz picks up delegates in preparation for second ballot
2. Charles Koch might prefer Hillary Clinton over GOP candidate
3. Trump assures voters his tone won't change
4. Dozens write letters of support for Dennis Hastert
5. Angela Merkel visits Turkey refugee camp
6. Michelle Obama slams anti-LGBT law in commencement speech
7. Rosario Dawson compares bullying against Bernie Sanders to Monica Lewinsky
8. Beyoncé unveils visual album Lemonade
9. Penguins rout Rangers 6-3 to advance in NHL playoffs
10. Crime writer Michelle McNamara, wife of Patton Oswalt, dies at 46

published 24 April 2016

1. Ted Cruz picks up delegates in preparation for second ballot

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) snagged at least 65 of the 94 delegates awarded Saturday, boosting his shot at winning the Republican National Convention's hypothetical second ballot, should Donald Trump not secure the Republican Party's nomination outright. The senator picked up 19 of 20 delegates in Maine, 36 of 37 in Utah, nine in Minnesota, and one in South Carolina. Kentucky delegates did not reveal their leanings. Most delegates need to vote in accordance with state results in the first ballot, but can switch allegiances afterward.

Conservative billionaire political donor Charles Koch said "it's possible" Hillary Clinton could make a better president than any of the remaining Republican contenders in a This Week interview airing Sunday. "We would have to believe her actions would be quite different than her rhetoric," Koch said. He also suggested Bill Clinton, by some measures, was a better leader than his successor, George W. Bush.

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Two days after senior adviser Paul Manafort told Republican Party leaders that Donald Trump would "evolve" as he moves closer to the general election, the frontrunner assured supporters that won't be the case. "Everything I say I'm going to do, folks, I'll do," Trump said at a Bridgeport, Connecticut, rally Saturday. He said that includes his plan to build a wall along the southern U.S. border to keep out illegal Mexican immigrants.

Ahead of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's sentencing on hush money charges, his defense team made public 41 letters defending him, including notes from former national and state politicians. "We all have our flaws, but Dennis Hastert has very few," wrote Tom DeLay, who served as majority leader under Hastert. Hastert pleaded guilty in October to felony bank fraud charges in a $3.5 million hush money case where the funds allegedly went to a victim of his sexual abuse.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European Union officials visited a Turkey refugee camp Saturday. The trip comes weeks after the EU made a controversial deal with the nation to take in migrants who come to Greece illegally in exchange for billions in funding to take care of them. Since 2015, Europe has struggled to manage an influx of migrants, many of them refugees fleeing war in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

First Lady Michelle Obama delivered a politically charged commencement speech Saturday at Jackson State University. She criticized the anti-LGBT law recently passed in Mississippi, which purports to protect religious freedom by allowing businesses to refuse service to same-sex couples. "We see it right here in Mississippi — just two weeks ago — how swiftly progress can hurtle backward," Obama said. "How easy it is to single out a small group and marginalize them because of who they are or who they love."

Actress Rosario Dawson drew a comparison between the backlash faced by Bernie Sanders and by Monica Lewsinky following her affair with former President Bill Clinton. "We are literally under attack for not just supporting the other candidate," Dawson said at a Delaware rally on Saturday. "Now I'm with Monica Lewinsky on this. Bullying is bad." The Sanders campaign doesn't often attack Hillary Clinton by making mention of her husband's affair.

Led by rookie right wing Bryan Rust, the Pittsburgh Penguins finished out their conference quarterfinal series against the New York Rangers with a 6-3 win Saturday. The Penguins avenged their 2015 playoff loss against the Rangers by eliminating them 4-1 this time around. "We just got beat," said Rangers defenseman Marc Staal. "We got beat by the better team. They were better than us. All series." The Penguins will next face either the Washington Capitals or the Philadelphia Flyers.

Crime writer Michelle McNamara, who was married to comedian Patton Oswalt, died Thursday in her sleep at age 46, her publicist said. No cause was given, and her death came as a "complete shock," said Kevin McLaughlin. McNamara founded the website True Crime Diary, where she focused mostly on murder cases that didn't garner much public attention. McNamara is survived by Oswalt and their 7-year-old daughter, Alice.

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.