memeorandum: Iowa Will Gauge Ardor to Upend Politics as Usual (Patrick Healy/New York Times)

4:15 AM ET, January 31, 2016

Top Items:

Donald Trump reclaims lead in latest Iowa Poll — Donald Trump has muscled ahead in Iowa, regaining his lead on the brink of the first votes being cast in the 2016 presidential race. — Trump stands at 28 percent, while rival Ted Cruz has slid to 23 percent.

Discussion: TIME, The Huffington Post, NBC News, AOL, New York Times, Hot Air, Yahoo Politics, Washington Post, Liberal Values, Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, Florida Politics and Truth Revolt

Caleb Howe / RedState:

RESULTS ARE IN: Winner of Des Moines Register's Final Iowa Poll Before The Caucus — The big political news of the weekend is here, and the Des Moines Register's poll results are out. Here we go: — Trump wins. Cruz is close. Rubio third, and Carson fourth. Here's the rest of the field.

Des Moines Register:

Clinton keeps slim edge over Sanders in latest Iowa Poll — Hillary Clinton has kept a tight grip on her slim lead over Bernie Sanders in the waning hours leading into the Iowa caucuses, a new Iowa Poll shows. — Clinton is the top pick for 45 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers …

Discussion: American Prospect, NBC News and Daily Kos

John McCormick / Bloomberg Business:

Trump Overtakes Cruz in Final Iowa Poll Before Caucuses — Donald Trump has overtaken Ted Cruz in the final days before Iowa's caucuses, with the fate of the race closely tied to the size of Monday evening's turnout, especially among evangelical voters and those attending for the first time …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Trail Blazers Blog, Slantpoint, The Last Refuge and Yahoo Politics, more at Mediagazer »

Patrick Healy / New York Times:

Iowa Will Gauge Ardor to Upend Politics as Usual — DES MOINES — The presidential race hurtled over the weekend toward a watershed moment: voting that will start to reveal the true depth of Americans' desire to cast aside traditional politicians and Washington-style compromise …

Des Moines Register:

A closer look at the GOP's Iowa Poll results — Horse race rank: No. 1 — Support: 28 percent, up from 22 percent — Mainstream Republicans are helping carry the New York businessman into the lead. — Thirty-eight percent of likely GOP caucusgoers identify themselves as primarily mainstream …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Washington Post

Margaret Talev / Bloomberg Business:

Clinton Has Slim Lead Over Sanders in Iowa Poll — Hillary Clinton is holding onto a slim lead over Bernie Sanders in Iowa as Democrats prepare for Monday's caucuses, though an outpouring of young voters and those who say the system is rigged could enable Sanders to pull off an upset, according to a new poll.

Discussion: Global Gathering, Business Insider and New York Times

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

Uncomfortable Question for Ted Cruz on Obamacare Silences the Room — HUBBARD, Iowa — Senator Ted Cruz is often asked about doing away with President Obama's health care law. He is rarely pressed by voters on what will replace it. — But at a middle school cafeteria here, a man, Mike Valde, presented him with a tragic tale.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, @politifact, Slantpoint and Hullabaloo

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:

Top Iowa elections official slams Cruz mailer — AMES, Iowa — Iowa's top elections official condemned Ted Cruz's campaign on Saturday for sending mailers to Iowa voters designed to look like official documents that accuse them of a “VOTING VIOLATION” for failure to turn out in past elections.

Discussion: TIME, Raw Story, Taylor Marsh and American Power

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

Iowa Official Criticizes Cruz Campaign Over Mailer — HAMLIN, Iowa — Iowa's secretary of state chastised the presidential campaign of Senator Ted Cruz on Saturday for sending a mailer that he said violated “the spirit of the Iowa caucuses” and misrepresented state election law.

Discussion: Trail Blazers Blog and Mother Jones

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

GOP braces for Trump Iowa result — Republican senators, the pillars of the party establishment, are anxiously awaiting the Iowa caucuses on Monday to find out if Donald Trump is the real deal or simply a media-hyped mirage. — GOP strategists expect between 150,000 and 185,000 voters will turn out …

Discussion: Politico

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:
Cruz Endorser Questions Authenticity Of Mailers That Campaign Confirmed Were Real

Discussion: Washington Post and The Last Refuge

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
Flag thrown on Ted Cruz's Iowa ground game

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and Washington Post

Sundance / The Last Refuge:
Unbelievable - Ted Cruz Campaign Sends Out Personal “Shaming Letters” To Iowa Voters...

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Sarah Rumpf / Independent Journal Review:
He Said He Was An Undecided Iowan Until He He Received This Controversial Mailer From Ted Cruz.

Discussion: Washington Post, BuzzFeed, Washington Monthly, BizPac Review, RedState, Althouse, American Power, The Hill, Politico and The Last Refuge

Paul Steinhauser / NH1:
Donald Trump tells NH1 News ‘Ted Cruz is going down’ in exclusive interview

Discussion: Mediaite, Weekly Standard, Fox News and RedState

New York Times:

Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Nomination — Voters have the chance to choose one of the most broadly and deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history. — For the past painful year, the Republican presidential contenders have been bombarding Americans with empty propaganda slogans …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Moderate Voice, JustOneMinute, Advocate, Mediaite, Politico, The Slot, The Week and Business Insider

New York Times:
A Chance to Reset the Republican Race

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, RedState, Politico and Talking Points Memo

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Clinton: I didn't generate any ‘top secret’ emails — Hillary Clinton told NBC she did not generate any of the 22 newly upgraded “top secret” emails recently withheld by the State Department and is not concerned about the contents of the messages. — “No, I did not,” she told NBC News' Monica Alba …

Discussion: RedState

Bradley Klapper / Associated Press:
APNewsBreak: US declares 22 Clinton emails ‘top secret’

Discussion: Power Line, Mother Jones, Hullabaloo, RedState, America Rising, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic, Fox News, Vox and BuzzFeed

New York Post: Hillary's lame excuses for her e-mail misconduct are crumbling

Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:
22 Clinton Emails Deemed Too Classified to Be Made Public

Discussion: New York Times and The Gateway Pundit

Denver Post:

At least 9 people taken to area hospitals — Multiple shootings and a stabbing were reported at the Denver Coliseum Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post) — Multiple shootings and at least one stabbing have been reported at the Denver Coliseum Saturday afternoon.

Discussion: The Right Scoop and KFOR-TV

Hadas Gold / Politico:

DNC moving to assert control as more Democratic debates agreed — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — If the Democratic National Committee were to sanction a Democratic debate on Feb. 4 in New Hampshire, it would likely do so without being co-sponsored by the state's largest newspaper, three sources familiar with the plans have confirmed.

Discussion: Hot Air and Mediaite

Evan McMorris-Santoro / BuzzFeed:
Sanders, Clinton Campaigns Agree To More Debates, Disagree On The Details

Discussion: UnionLeader.com, RedState, Slantpoint, The Slot, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams and Talking Points Memo

Daily Mail:

EU leaders insist there is ‘NO LINK’ between the migrant crisis and New Year sex attacks in Cologne - and vow to bring about an end to ‘false accusations’ — There is ‘no link’ between the migrant crisis and the wave of sex attacks in Cologne during New Year celebrations, EU officials believe.

Discussion: Jihad Watch and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Matthew Holehouse / Telegraph:
EU leaders: ‘No link’ between Cologne sex attacks and migrant crisis

Discussion: National Review

Baltimore Sun:

Obama to visit Baltimore County mosque, marking first visit to a U.S. mosque as president … President Barack Obama will visit a mosque in Baltimore County next week amid growing concern about hostility directed toward Muslim Americans — marking the first time Obama has visited a U.S. mosque as president.

Discussion: The Right Scoop, Liberty Unyielding, Slantpoint and The Week