After Gingrich failed to qualify for the Virginia primary ballot, Mitt Romney compared Gingrich's disorganized campaign to a well-known I Love Lucy episode. Gingrich stopped at an Iowa chocolate store Wednesday but things didn't get out of hand like they did in the TV show. Instead, Gingrich challenged Romney again to a series of one-on-one debates.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had down played his prospects in Iowa for most of this year. But with the caucuses just days away, Romney is crisscrossing the state. He seems determined to prove he'll be tough enough to take on President Obama.

New Hampshire's economy looks pretty good compared with much of the nation. But even there, confidence has been shaken, and many families' economic outlook has declined. Republican voters are trying to figure out which presidential candidate offers the best plan to soothe economic anxiety.

It's increasingly clear who among the six GOP candidates competing in Iowa will likely leave without a coveted win, place or show "ticket" out on Jan. 3. NPR traveled to Indianola, Iowa, to check out events for two once high-flying candidates: Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.

The former Massachusetts governor took a swipe at GOP rival Ron Paul and his isolationist foreign policy positions while campaigning in Iowa Wednesday, but he later told reporters he would support the outspoken Texas congressman if he were the Republican Party nominee for president.