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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep in Manchester, New Hampshire.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene in Washington.

It's not easy for a presidential candidate to win both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Barack Obama didn't do it four years ago, nor did John McCain. But this year, Mitt Romney is getting closer to pulling it off.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Behind Mitt Romney in the New Hampshire polls comes Ron Paul, and then several men battling for third. Including Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor and ambassador to China.

Robert Siegel of NPR's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED has been following him around here in New Hampshire. Hi, Robert.

ROBERT SIEGEL, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.

INSKEEP: What have you seen?

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now, whoever wins the Republican nomination has to face President Obama, who got some meaningful news on Friday, when unemployment figures improved again. For that part of the story, let's turn to NPR's Cokie Roberts, as we do most Monday mornings. Cokie, good morning.

COKIE ROBERTS, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.

INSKEEP: How important are those job figures?

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Presidential candidates are making their appeals in events all over New Hampshire. But if you want to know what voters are thinking, it's better to drop by somebody's house, for a cup of coffee. Or, something stronger.

Hey, how are you?

SAMANTHA BOUDREAU: Hi, I'm Samantha Boudreau.

INSKEEP: Hi Samantha. I'm Steve.

BOUDREAU: Nice to meet you.

INSKEEP: Hi.

JEAN BELL: Jean Bell.

INSKEEP: Hi, Jean. Thanks for joining us. I really appreciate it.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This morning, a lot of NFL football fans are still talking about the first weekend of the playoffs. And what a weekend it was. It looks like Tebow time is back in business. After several weeks of downright awful performances, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow delivered what his fans are calling the latest miracle in his young NFL career. Tebow's 80-yard pass play with wide receiver Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime clinched a stunning playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 29 to 23, last night.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with a ban on mining.

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GREENE: A 20-year ban on new mining near the Grand Canyon is expected to be finalized today by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The ban would protect a million acres close to that American icon. Conservation groups are hailing the decision, but the mining industry and some Republicans say a permanent ban will hurt the nation's energy independence and also Arizona's economy. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

In Tucson, Ariz., it was a weekend for remembering. On Sunday, it had been one year since the shooting attack that killed six people and wounded 13 more. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head, was at a few of the memorial events.

The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Monday in a tangle of Texas redistricting cases, with repercussions beyond the Lone Star State. Consolidated into one test, the cases pit the Voting Rights Act and its protections for minority voters against state legislative powers — with an overlaying sheen of sheer political calculus.

The case has been called a puzzle of three courts, a reference to the interplay between two lower courts and the Supreme Court.

A Chance To Redraw

You may remember the controversial studies linking food coloring and additives to hyperactivity in kids. Or you may know parents who have pinned their hopes on an elimination diet to improve their kids' rowdy behavior.

The Arab uprisings have ousted or weakened or weakened some American allies. Elections in Tunisia and Egypt have shown the strength of Islamist political parties. And after the long, hard war in Iraq, the U.S. appears to have a diminished appetite for new, complicated undertakings in the region. In the last of our six-part series on the upheavals changing the Middle East, NPR's Deborah Amos looks at what it all means for America.

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

So tomorrow night for the first time in the history of the Bowl Championship Series, two teams from the same conference, the Southeastern Conference, the two best teams in college football, Louisiana State University and the University of Alabama, will face off in the BCS National Championship in New Orleans. Who's going to win? Well, to help us answer that question, Mike Pesca joins me now.

The city plans to revitalize its once-glitzy downtown shopping district. New Jersey News Service reporter Nancy Solomon tours Broad Street with Newark's head of economic development, and reports on plans to lure back high-end shoppers.

The six remaining Republican presidential candidates held two debates over the past 24 hours — one Saturday night, another Sunday morning. Guy Raz talks to NPR National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson about what transpired in those debate.

Tucson, Ariz., marked Sunday the first anniversary of the shooting that left six dead and 13 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Guy Raz talks to NPR's Ted Robbins about the mood in the city.

Best-selling e-author Amanda Hocking grew up in the small town of Austin, Minn., which, she says, is known for Spam. Spam as in the food, not the e-mail spam.

"We invented Spam," the 27-year-old novelist tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz.

Hocking's dad was a truck driver. Her mom was a waitress. Even as a very young child, she had always been a kind of natural storyteller — especially when it came to fantasy stories. Stories about dragons, unicorns, pirates and more.

During this final sprint toward Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, candidate stops will be full of local diners and doughnut shops where the presidential hopefuls can chat up "real" voters — locals who stop in for a meal or a coffee.

But customers in one New Hampshire restaurant are over it. In response, a Portsmouth breakfast spot has banned candidates completely, reports Seacoast Online:

At last, the rivals who were supposed to savage front-runner Mitt Romney in the final weekend before Tuesday's primary in New Hampshire got down to business.

In the opening minutes of their debate Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press, several of those chasing Romney in the polls let fly the roundhouse punches they'd been pulling through weeks and months of TV debates.