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With Iran threatening to block U.S. ships from entering the Persian Gulf and the United States vowing not to back down, the stage seems to be set for war. And yet, what's happening with Iran right now may be more of an economic confrontation than a military standoff.

With election season in full swing now, the sheer amount of media coverage can be daunting to anyone trying to follow the races. While political reporters are down in the trenches, they can lose sight of those who are not full-time residents of the land of political obsession.

There were lots of attacks and counter-attacks at the Republican candidates debate in New Hampshire Saturday night. Mostly the candidates fought among themselves, while front-runner Mitt Romney stuck to his talking points on President Obama. Host Rachel Martin talks with NPR's Mara Liasson about the takeaways from the event.

With so much campaigning compressed into one small state, New Hampshire is nirvana this week for fans of primary politics. NPR's Greg Allen ran into three self-professed "political junkies" from Baltimore who make a pilgrimage to the Granite State every four years to see the candidates up close and immerse themselves in the nominating process.

In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai is demanding that the United States hand over control of a prison facility that houses about 3,000 inmates. An Afghan commission has alleged abuse of prisoners there, and says that conditions violate the Afghan constitution. The demands may have more to do with a growing animosity between President Karzai and Washington, however, as NPR's Kabul bureau chief Quil Lawrence tells host Rachel Martin.

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 their debate Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press, they let fly the roundhouse punches they'd been pulling for months.

No one wanted to publish Amanda Hocking's novels, so she put them online. For a long while, she'd sell one or two books a day. Then, in June, it exploded. She's now part of an elite literary club: authors who have sold 1 million books on the Amazon Kindle.

Every four years in January, Washington plays host to the country's biggest "prom." Inaugural balls bring out happy winners, administration bigwigs and a gown — on the first lady — that will become part of history. A Smithsonian exhibition displays some of those gowns.

After several weeks of awful performances, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow delivered what his fans are calling the latest miracle of 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, 29-23.

Don't press play if you're don't like heights and scary thrills. But rest assured, 22-year-old Australian Erin Langworthy lived to tell the tale.