memeorandum: Special Report $68-billion California bullet train project likely to overshoot budget and deadline targets (Ralph VartabedianContact/Los Angeles …)

12:15 PM ET, October 25, 2015

Top Items:

Ali Dukakis / ABC News:

Donald Trump Won't Apologize to Ben Carson Over Religion Comments — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won't apologize to Ben Carson for comments he made about his religion. — Trump, who trails Carson in two polls released in Iowa last week, said he “just didn't know” …

Discussion: New York Times and The Week

Associated Press:

Republicans Prefer an Outsider Candidate, AP-GfK Poll Finds — A huge majority of Republican voters prefer an outsider candidate to one with experience in Washington, and most see political rookies Donald Trump and Ben Carson as possible general election winners, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll.

Discussion: Bloomberg.com news, Guardian, ABC News and NBC News

Shaquille Brewster / NBC News:

Ben Carson: I Would ‘Love’ to See Abortion Law Overturned — Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson said he would “love” to see Roe vs. Wade overturned, making abortion illegal nationwide, with almost no exemptions. — “I'm a reasonable person and if people can come …

Discussion: Political Wire, addictinginfo.org, Bloomberg Business, Business Insider, Daily Kos and Bloomberg.com news

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:

Donald Trump seeks a sharp contrast with Ben Carson's Seventh-day Adventist faith — JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Donald Trump on Saturday contrasted his Presbyterian faith with that of Seventh-day Adventists, apparently attempting to draw attention to and raise doubts about Republican presidential rival Ben Carson's religious beliefs.

Discussion: Des Moines Register and Althouse

Adam Sneed / Politico:

Carson: I'm not super low energy, just soft-spoken — Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson says rival Donald Trump has him all wrong."I have plenty of energy. But, you know, I am soft-spoken. I do have a tendency to be relaxed," Carson said in an interview aired Sunday on NBC's “Meet The Press.”

Kristina Wong / The Hill:
Trump mocks Jeb, Rubio on their home turf in Florida

Discussion: ABC News, Business Insider and Associated Press

MaryAlice Parks / ABC News:

Bernie Sanders Blasts Clinton Record on Gay Rights, Keystone, Free Trade — Senator Bernie Sanders delivered his sharpest criticism to date of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton tonight at the Iowa Democratic Party's historic Jefferson-Jackson dinner. — The Vermont senator …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Mediaite and Taylor Marsh

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Bernie Sanders goes on the attack at Iowa Democratic dinner — DES MOINES — Bernie Sanders is giving Hillary Clinton a pass on her “damn emails,” but he's giving her hell on just about everything else.On Saturday night, at the high-stakes Democratic Jefferson-Jackson dinner …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNN, Political Wire and The Week

Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly:

Team Bush in a Fog — As Ed Kilgore noted on Friday, Jeb Bush's campaign is facing tough times right now. It has been widely reported that the Bush family and Jeb's major donors are getting together in Houston this weekend and its not entirely clear whether their time will be spent rallying …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, bradford-delong.com and New York Times

New York Times:
Bush at 91: Irritated and Invigorated by '16 Race

Discussion: PoliticusUSA

David Jackson / USA Today:
Jeb Bush says he is making campaign ‘adjustment’

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Banter, Balloon Juice, Daily Mail, Hot Air, MSNBC and Slantpoint

Ashley Killough / CNN:
In shadow of campaign shakeup, Bush tears into Trump

Discussion: New York Times and Washington Post

Investor's Business Daily:

IRS' Lois Lerner Skates; An Ugly Precedent Is Set — The Law: The Justice Department declined to file charges against IRS enforcer Lois Lerner, who singled out Tea Party groups for scrutiny on political grounds. With no accountability, it's now open season on dissidents.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys

Ralph VartabedianContact / Los Angeles Times:

Special Report $68-billion California bullet train project likely to overshoot budget and deadline targets — The monumental task of building California's bullet train will require punching 36 miles of tunnels through the geologically complex mountains north of Los Angeles.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and Moe Lane

Anita Gates / New York Times:

Maureen O'Hara, Irish-Born Actress Known as Queen of Technicolor, Dies at 95 — Maureen O'Hara, the spirited Irish-born actress who played strong-willed, tempestuous beauties opposite all manner of adventurers in escapist movies of the 1940s and '50s, died on Saturday at her home in Boise, Idaho.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Mashable and The PJ Tatler

Michael Goodwin / New York Post:

Obama fuels the flames of the anti-cop movement — At a White House discussion about improving the relationship between police departments and black Americans, President Obama declared that “the moment is here.” — He meant a chance for big change, and that's the problem.

Discussion: BizPac Review

Nicholas Watt Chief / Guardian:

Tony Blair makes qualified apology for Iraq war ahead of Chilcot report — Former British PM admits ‘mistakes’ and conflict's role in rise of Islamic State but defends armed intervention in 2003 — Tony Blair has moved to prepare the ground for the publication of the Chilcot enquiry …

Discussion: CNN and The Week