With the stroke of a pen, Andrew Cuomo got a beat on Jerry Brown. And with the flash of the cameras shortly after, Hillary Clinton sought to steal a bit of Bernie Sanders' spotlight.

Cuomo, New York's governor, signed into law the first statewide $15-an-hour minimum wage in the nation Monday, beating Brown doing the same in California by an hour or so. And Clinton, New York’s former senator, who is banking on a big victory in its primary in two weeks, was a conspicuous presence in celebrating the state enacting what has long been a policy goal for progressives.

"It's a result of what is best about New York and what is best about America. And I know that it's going to sweep our country," Clinton said.

Forget the mudslinging. On the eve of the Wisconsin primary, it was damage-control time for rival Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

The GOP front-runners seemed more engaged in message clean-up during town hall chats on Fox News on Monday after one of the roughest weeks of the campaign.

Trump brought his wife, Melania, by his side. Cruz, notably soft-spoken, brought in popular Gov. Scott Walker.

After a prolonged negotiation, the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns have agreed to a new Democratic debate before the New York's April 19 primary. 

The Sanders campaign said it rescheduled an April 14 rally to make time for the debate, and took a shot at Clinton when announcing the agreement. 

"We hope the debate will be worth the inconvenience for thousands of New Yorkers who were planning to attend our rally on Thursday but will have to change their schedules to accommodate Secretary Clinton’s jam-packed, high-dollar, coast-to-coast schedule of fundraisers all over the country," said spokesman Michael Briggs.

Hundreds of voters are waiting for the Vermont senator to speak on the night before Wisconsin's primary, including this volunteer who brought a homemade sign that plays off Hillary Clinton's slogan, "I'm with her."

Hillary Clinton's campaign sees some myths that need busting in the Democratic primary race.

In a state-of-the-race memo released on the eve of Tuesday's Wisconsin primary, campaign manager Robby Mook paints a picture of a nomination battle that is all but wrapped up rather than still in doubt. Among his data-driven arguments:

The memo appears to be a prebuttal to Wisconsin, where Sanders has a narrow lead in surveys of primary voters, according to the Real Clear Politics average of public polling.

Betty Robison got so riled up debating with her son over Donald Trump and immigration that her voice drowned out the barks of her two Chihuahuas.

"I don't like Mexicans. I don't like them," the 58-year-old said in the frontyard of her apartment, which is littered with empty soda bottles and hamburger buns still in their plastic bags. "To me, if you can't speak English, why be here? Go back to where you come from."

"That's the point of coming to America," said Sean Kearns, 31. "Just because of the color of your skin doesn't mean you're not welcome here."

President Obama offered a calm rebuke of Republican Donald Trump’s foreign policy views on Monday, referring to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a “cornerstone” of U.S. security as he marked the 67th anniversary of the alliance.

Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Obama also praised the organization for “staying focused” on Islamic State as part of its commitment to the security of Europe and the world.

The remarks followed a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that was announced only after the bombings in Brussels two weeks ago. And they come as Trump has criticized the organization, even saying it would be OK for the U.S. if it broke up. In an interview with the New York Times last week, Trump said the alliance was designed “for the Soviet Union, which doesn’t exist anymore,” and that it “wasn’t designed for terrorism.”

Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump will go head to head in downtown Milwaukee on Monday night.

The Vermont senator and the businessman from New York have scheduled rallies almost across the street from each other on the eve of Wisconsin’s crucial presidential primary.

Trump’s event is at the Milwaukee Theatre, while Sanders supporters will gather at the Wisconsin Center. Sanders originally had planned a different downtown venue, but moved it for "boring logistical reasons," said spokesman Michael Briggs.

Bill Clinton is the star surrogate of his wife’s presidential campaign. His speeches on her behalf carry echoes of his winning arguments from a generation ago; his pledge then that Americans would “rise and fall together” has morphed into his promise that his wife’s policies will make the nation "rise together."

But for all of his wow factor and the crowds’ enthusiasm, Bill Clinton’s presence is a reminder of something less positive for his wife’s campaign: Much of the Democratic base has moved further to the left than the former First Couple.

That came through during a campaign event Sunday in Los Angeles, where Bill Clinton praised the California Legislature’s passage of a measure that eventually will raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour.