NPR News

In late 2006, Barack Obama held a meeting with his wife Michelle and his advisors to weigh whether he should run for President.

"And Michelle Obama, in front of everybody, asks her husband a very dramatic question," says New York Times Washington correspondent Jodi Kantor. "She says, 'What do you think you can bring to this that the other candidates can't?'"

Her husband paused for a second, and then responded, "I really think if I became President, it would inspire people all over the world to think of new possibilities."

The emotionally charged task of putting price tags on the lives of coal miners killed in the nation's deadliest mine disaster in 40 years continues for a fifth day in West Virginia.

Sources familiar with the mediation talks say the families of 13 Upper Big Branch mine explosion victims are still considering settlement of wrongful death claims with mine owner Alpha Natural Resources.

Six families settled yesterday in mediated negotiations that began Friday at a resort in Glade Springs, W. Va.

At least 30 people were killed at a busy market in northwest Pakistan after a bomb was placed inside the car of a local militia group tasked with fighting against the Taliban.

CNN reports the explosion occurred in the Jamrud Market in the Khyber near the Afghan border. The AP adds:

This may well be the worst story you've come across yet on politics.

Really, I beg you: You should have very, very low expectations for this story.

And this expectations thing is important stuff.

Pundits, reporters and the campaigns themselves have devoted a lot of energy to setting expectations for the candidates' performances.

Myanmar's upcoming special parliamentary elections just became more legitimate. Aung San Suu Kyi, a leading opposition figure in the country as well as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said she will mount a campaign for a seat in parliament.

After a 21-0 victory over LSU in the bowl championship game last night, a final AP poll crowned the Crimson Tide No. 1. Alabama received 55 first-place votes, while LSU got one.

As the AP reports, yesterday's victory easily erased Alabama's Nov. 5 loss against LSU.

If the New Hampshire primary goes as widely expected, Mitt Romney should emerge the winner among the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination. For weeks, polls in the state have shown him with a commanding lead.

But the 2012 campaign season has already delivered some surprises. Maybe New Hampshire will provide the latest in the series of unexpected twists?

Speaking in public for the first time since June, embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad said he would not leave power. According to Reuters, Assad blamed "foreign planning" for the uprising that has engulfed his country. Calling the protesters terrorists, he vowed to respond to threats with an "iron hand."

The AP adds:

Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed to stay in power during a speech Tuesday, defying international pressure for him to step aside. He vowed to respond to threats against him with an "iron hand."

Some in New Hampshire have already cast their votes this morning. As they do traditionally, voters in Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, both small northern New Hampshire towns, cast their ballots shortly after midnight.

The Washington Post reports on the results: