Transcript

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?

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney has long held a commanding lead in the polls ahead of Tuesday's primary in New Hampshire. Taking nothing for granted, Romney campaigned in the state on Sunday with two of his top surrogates: former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

A 20-year ban on new mining near the Grand Canyon is expected to be finalized by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Monday. Conservation groups are hailing the decision but the mining industry and some Republicans say a permanent ban would hurt the nation's energy independence and Arizona's economy.

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 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.

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 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

New Hampshire voters could make Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's nomination a near-certainty on Tuesday, when the state holds the first primary of the 2012 election.

Every presidential candidate in modern history who has won both Iowa and New Hampshire has gone on to win the party's nomination. (Romney narrowly won the Iowa caucuses last week). Since 1920, New Hampshire has been the first state to hold a presidential primary, and Granite State voters guard that status fiercely.