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The Latest: Sanders questions if Clinton is ‘qualified’

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders I-Vt., smiles during a campaign stop Wednesday, April 6, 2016, at Tindley Temple United Methodist Church in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on campaign 2016 following (all times Eastern Daylight Time):

9:30 p.m.

Bernie Sanders is questioning whether Democratic rival Hillary Clinton is “qualified” to be president after she spent much of Wednesday criticizing his record and his preparedness for the job.

Sanders told a crowd of more than 10,000 people in Philadelphia that Clinton “has been saying lately that she thinks that I am quote unquote not qualified to be president.”

He says, “I don’t believe that she is qualified if she is, through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in special interest funds.” He also says Clinton is not qualified because of her vote on the war in Iraq and her support for trade agreements that he says are harmful to American workers.

Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon responded quickly, writing on Twitter: “Hillary Clinton did not say Bernie Sanders was ‘not qualified.’ But he has now — absurdly — said it about her. This is a new low.”

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8:30 p.m.

Police are reporting few incidents after Donald Trump’s supporters and protesters gathered outside a Long Island, N.Y., studio where the Republican front-runner held a rally Wednesday.

Acting Nassau County Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter told reporters two people were arrested inside the rally for fighting each other. No arrests or physical altercations occurred outside the venue, he said.

Six people were transported to hospitals and seven were treated at the site for conditions like fainting and dehydration.

Krumpter said “several hundred” police officers were on scene and the event cost the police department between $300,000 and $400,000.

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8:20 p.m.

Bernie Sanders stopped by a historic black church in south Philadelphia on Wednesday, taking questions from a more intimate audience before heading to a rally of thousands across town at Temple University.

Sanders told the audience that as president, he would listen to people in impoverished communities to learn more about their needs.

He added that jobs rebuilding infrastructure would increase opportunities for minority government contractors and small businesses in black communities.

Sanders was also asked whether he supported reparations for slavery. He said he wants to prioritize federal funding for depressed areas, where many black Americans live.

He was also asked whether he would be the first U.S. president to apologize for slavery. Sanders responded, “Yes,” adding that though slavery can never be undone, it must be acknowledged.

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7:45 p.m.

Donald Trump is invoking the heroism of New York City police and firefighters during the 9/11 terror attacks in a swipe at Republican rival Ted Cruz.

Trump, in a rally on Long Island Wednesday night, invoked Ted Cruz’s line from a debate earlier this year in which he criticized “New York values.” Trump said Cruz said it “with scorn on his face” and “with hatred.”

Trump said he couldn’t believe that anyone would question the heroism of the city’s uniformed officers and construction workers during the aftermath of the 2001 attacks that toppled the World Trade Center.

Cruz was not the only target of Trump’s attacks during the raucous Bethpage rally. He called out “How bad Hillary so bad. It will be fun! It will be fun!”

The New York primary, the first meaningful contest in the state in decades, will be held April 19.

Meanwhile outside the venue, police on horses are standing where the riot cops aren’t. The media has been pushed across the street.

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7:15 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is rallying her supporters in Pittsburgh, warning that Republicans are going to do “everything they can to take back the White House.”

Clinton was addressing about 2,000 people at Carnegie Mellon University as another 1,400 were in an overflow room.

She focused her attention on Republicans, accusing the party of hurting the progress made by the country during the 1990s under her husband, President Bill Clinton.

She says Republican Donald Trump’s rhetoric is intended to “incite prejudice and paranoia” and is “contrary to who we are.”

Clinton and Democratic rival Bernie Sanders were campaigning in Pennsylvania ahead of the state’s April 26 primary.

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6:45 p.m.

Thousands of people are filling a massive Long Island soundstage for Donald Trump’s first rally of his New York campaign swing.

The crowd, which booed the standard disclaimer not to “touch or harm” any protesters.”

The venue — Grumman Studios, where “Peter Pan Live!” and “The Wiz Live!” were broadcast in recent years — was the former home of an aeronautics company that worked on the lunar missions.

Trump has a strong organization in his native state and several county chairs – and former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino – spoke first to warm up the crowd.

It is the first rally since he was defeated in the Wisconsin primary by rival Ted Cruz.

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4:37 p.m.

Exit polls from Wisconsin’s presidential primary Tuesday show GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump did not get his usual advantage from voters who say they are angry about the federal government.

Wisconsin voters were less likely to be angry than GOP voters in several previous big-state primaries, and Trump managed only a tie with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz among the group.

Trump also ceded ground among working-class and less-educated voters and “somewhat conservative” Republicans. All three groups helped form Trump’s coalitions in earlier victories.

Cruz says his victory is a turning point in a Republican nominating fight that could extend to the summer GOP convention.

But there were also signs for weeks that Wisconsin was not friendly territory for Trump, who looks to rebound in upcoming primaries in the northeast.

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3:20 p.m.

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is showing off his Spanish skills in New York — however limited.

Speaking to journalists at an immigration event in the Bronx on Wednesday, Cruz was asked a question in Spanish, which he appeared to understand. He first began by answering the question in English, but was cut off by the reporter who asked him to respond in Spanish.

He said he has “the problem of the second-generation immigrant.” In Spanish, Cruz told the reporter that he understands more Spanish than he speaks, noting that he spoke “Spanglish” at home when he was growing up.

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3:00 p.m.

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz was met by a group of shouting protesters when he showed up for a meet-and-greet at a New York City restaurant.

Protesters shouted at Cruz as he arrived at a restaurant in the Bronx on Wednesday. They told Cruz he should “get out of the Bronx.”

He replied only that he was “happy to be here.”

As he met privately with diners, New York City police officers rushed into the restaurant to eject two protesters who began shouting at Cruz.

Cruz supporters who attended the event said they were excited about the momentum he picked up after his primary win in Wisconsin.

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2:50 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is stopping by a Philadelphia non-profit organization that helps veterans, the homeless and ex-offenders gain skills to enter the work force.

Clinton was joined by Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney at Impact Services Corporation, where she visited a computer lab where about two dozen young adults were taking part of the program.

The Democratic presidential candidate says during a round-table discussion that she wants to do everything she can “to have a comprehensive approach for ending poverty.” She says these “second-chance programs” are at the heart of what she would aim to accomplish if she wins the White House.

She says people should “never be judged by the worst mistake you’ve ever made.”

Clinton was campaigning in Pennsylvania on Wednesday ahead of the state’s April 24 primary.

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2:15 p.m.

While the focus of the Republican presidential campaign shifts eastward to the New York primary, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is pivoting west, where he is quietly trying to chip away at Donald Trump’s lead in the race for convention delegates.

Cruz won six pledged delegates during a pair of obscure, congressional-level Colorado GOP assemblies on Saturday.

He is also poised to make gains in several other western Republican contests, including a possible sweep of Colorado’s remaining assemblies, due to conclude Saturday.

Cruz’s success in the complex delegate game is helping him counter Trump’s headline-grabbing wins in big states and would give the Texas senator a tactical advantage should the party’s presidential nomination come down to a rare contested convention.

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1:58 a.m.

Bernie Sanders has netted 10 delegates over Hillary Clinton after winning Wisconsin.

In all, Sanders won 48 delegates to Clinton’s 38 on Tuesday.

And he has now won 15 states compared to 18 for Clinton.

But Sanders still trails Clinton by a large margin.

Based on primaries and caucuses alone, Clinton now has 1,280 delegates while Sanders has 1,030.

Including superdelegates, or party officials who can back any candidate, Clinton holds a more substantial lead — 1,749 to Sanders’ 1,061.

It takes 2,383 to win.

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1:11 p.m.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham says he expects to see more establishment GOP support shifting to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz following Cruz’s commanding win Tuesday night in Wisconsin.

Graham is supporting Cruz himself though he acknowledges it’s despite disagreement with many of his tactics. But Graham argues that Donald Trump would destroy the Republican Party for generations to come, wiping out any chance of appealing to Hispanics, young people and others.

He says that Cruz is a reliable Republican “and will not alienate two-thirds of the country.” And he says he’s making that argument to fellow GOP lawmakers and anyone else who will listen.

Graham also says Kasich is “probably our most electable Republican” but that he’s not performing well in the primary. Graham notes that he himself chose to drop out of the presidential race, and “Personally I don’t see a pathway for John,” but “I’m not going to tell John what to do.”

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12:55 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is punching her way into the New York primary, hitting Democratic primary rival Bernie Sanders on his truthfulness, readiness for office and ties to the Democratic party.

The new spate of attacks underscores the importance of the New York contest to her campaign and the mounting frustration of Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, with the lingering primary battle.

That irritation spilled out in public arena on Wednesday, when Clinton charged Sanders and his supporters with engaging in “ad hominem attacks and harassment.”

Despite a sizable delegate lead, the stakes are high for Clinton in New York, the state she represented for eight years in the Senate. A loss there would underscore her weaknesses within her own party, particularly with younger voters.

Sanders beat Clinton in Wisconsin Tuesday by 13 percentage points. But the former secretary of state still holds a lead in all-important delegates, with 1,279 delegates to Sanders’ 1,027. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

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11:48 a.m.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who backs Ted Cruz for president, said the GOP nomination fight was “very likely” headed to an open convention but the 36 delegates Cruz won on Tuesday are “locked in.” Trump won six delegates in the state.

Under Wisconsin Republican Party rules, delegates must stick with the candidate they are pledged to until they are either released by that candidate or if the person fails to get a third of the vote at the convention after the first round.

“Ted Cruz will win on the second ballot if not on the way in and he will unite the party,” Walker, who withdrew his presidential candidacy, said in an interview Wednesday on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee.

The actual delegates who will represent Cruz and Trump at the convention are being selected over the next month.

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11:00 a.m.

A Republican aide says top campaign advisers to Ohio Gov. John Kasich plan to meet with leading GOP activists in Washington.

The meeting Wednesday aims to discuss the presidential candidate’s strategy for continuing his campaign and battling for the nomination at the party’s Cleveland convention in July.

The aide, who spoke anonymously because the details have not been made public, says Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman helped organize Wednesday’s session. Portman is a long-time friend of Kasich and was his colleague when Kasich was in Congress.

The meeting comes a day after a GOP Wisconsin presidential primary in which Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was victorious over businessman Donald Trump and Kasich. The only contest the Ohio governor has so far won was in his home state, but he continues to compile a modest number of delegates — delegates that could be crucial in the tight race for the nomination.

Those attending Wednesday’s meeting include Kasich top strategist John Weaver and Charlie Black, a long-time Republican operative now advising Kasich’s campaign, the aide said.

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10:45 a.m.

Wisconsin election officials predicted a big turnout in Tuesday’s primary — and then voters blew their number away.

Turnout was an unofficial 47.4 percent, easily topping the 40 percent projection by the Government Accountability Board. The GAB’s expectation, based on high interest in both parties’ presidential contests and a headline-grabbing Supreme Court race, would have been the biggest since 1980.

Instead, voters came out in the biggest numbers since at least 1972, when George McGovern won a crowded Democratic primary and Richard Nixon was pursuing a second term on the GOP side. Turnout that year was 47.7 percent.

Tuesday’s unofficial number was calculated from numbers compiled by The Associated Press in the two presidential primaries, with 2,106,726 ballots cast from a voting-age population of 4.44 million people. The GAB was searching Tuesday for the exact number of the voting-age population.

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9:30 a.m.

Hillary Clinton says Bernie Sanders deserves credit for a “good night” in the Wisconsin primary, but that he hasn’t “done his homework” when it comes to curbing gun violence or reining in Wall Street.

Clinton told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Sanders’ recent remark that gun dealers shouldn’t necessarily be subject to lawsuits was “unimaginable” because it put the rights of the gun industry above parents whose children have been killed by guns.

She said voters need to ask themselves whether he can deliver on his promises, including his pledge to break up big banks. She said none of what he has said about the banks “seems to be rooted in an understanding of either the law or the practical ways you get something done.”

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8:30 a.m.

Hillary Clinton is maintaining a lead of more than 200 delegates after Bernie Sanders’ win in Wisconsin.

On Tuesday, Sanders netted about a dozen delegates, winning 47 to Clinton’s 36. Three remain to be allocated, pending final vote tallies.

But his win wasn’t big enough to make up much ground in delegates. Democratic contests award delegates in proportion to the vote, so more narrow victories do little to cut into a frontrunner’s big delegate lead.

Based on primaries and caucuses to date, Clinton now has 1,279 delegates to Sanders’ 1,027.

The lead is even bigger when including super delegates, or party officials who can back any candidate.

Clinton now has 1,748 to Sanders’ 1,058. It takes 2,383 to win.

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3:00 a.m.

Republican Donald Trump is emerging from Wisconsin as a damaged front-runner following a crushing loss to rival Ted Cruz. It’s a significant setback that deepens questions about the businessman’s White House qualifications and pushes the GOP contest toward a rare contested convention fight.

Democrat Bernie Sanders also scored a sweeping victory in Wisconsin’s primary that gives him a fresh incentive to keep competing against Hillary Clinton. But Sanders still lags Clinton significantly in the delegate count.

After months of dominating the Republican race, Trump suddenly finds himself on the defensive. He’s struggled through a series of missteps, including his campaign manager’s legal issues after an altercation with a female reporter and his own awkward explanation of his position on abortion.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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