memeorandum: Koch network spent nearly $400M in 2015 (Jonathan Swan/The Hill)

11:15 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.

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

The big Iowa test: Can Trump and Sanders turn enthusiasm into votes? — DES MOINES — With campaign events all across Iowa on Saturday overflowing with voters, the Republican and Democratic contests have been reduced to the same question: Can the muscle of traditional and methodical organizing overcome …

Discussion: Politico

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, Guardian, The Hill, Washington Post, Vox Popoli, Slantpoint, Trail Blazers Blog, Yahoo Politics and The Last Refuge

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 …

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.

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Margaret Talev / Bloomberg Business:
Clinton Has Slim Lead Over Sanders in Iowa Poll

Discussion: Politico, Global Gathering, Business Insider and New York Times

Des Moines Register:
A closer look at the GOP's Iowa Poll results

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

Des Moines Register:
Clinton keeps slim edge over Sanders in latest Iowa Poll

Discussion: NBC News, TIME, American Prospect, New York Times and Daily Kos

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

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: Washington Post, Mother Jones and Althouse

Tessa Berenson / TIME:

Cruz Campaign Under Fire for Sending Iowans Controversial Letter — Ted Cruz's campaign is under fire for a mailer it sent out in Iowa that is designed to look like an official government document. — The mailers tell the recipients they have a “voting violation” for failing to caucus …

Discussion: Trail Blazers Blog, The Reality-Based Community, BuzzFeed, Independent Journal Review, American Power and The Last Refuge

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: Taylor Marsh, Raw Story, American Power, BuzzFeed and The Last Refuge

MaryAlice Parks / ABC News:
Iowa Political Parties Acknowledge Major Gap in Online Caucus Tool

Discussion: Associated Press

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP braces for Trump Iowa result

Discussion: Politico and Political Wire

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

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Monthly, BizPac Review, RedState and Althouse

Paul Sperry / New York Post:

‘This was all planned’: Former IG says Hillary, State Dept. are lying — The State Department is lying when it says it didn't know until it was too late that Hillary Clinton was improperly using personal e-mails and a private server to conduct official business — because it never set …

Discussion: Power Line

Rachael Bade / Politico:
Clinton: I didn't generate any ‘top secret’ emails

Discussion: ABC News and RedState

Mark Townsend / Observer:

10,000 refugee children are missing, says Europol — The EU's criminal intelligence agency warns pan-European gangs are targeting minors for sex work and slavery — At least 10,000 unaccompanied child refugees have disappeared after arriving in Europe, according to the EU's criminal intelligence agency.

Discussion: Daily Mail, France 24 and Veterans Today

Jonathan Swan / The Hill:

Koch network spent nearly $400M in 2015 — INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - The Koch brothers' donor network spent close to $400 million last year, and is on its way to spending an unprecedented $889 million supporting right-wing politics and causes during the 2016 cycle.