Morning Edition

Two Democrats and 16 Republicans are running for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District seat in a special election Tuesday. The seat is open because former Rep. Tim Scott was tapped to replace Sen. Jim DeMint, who retired midterm.

The biggest name in the race is former Gov. Mark Sanford, whose infamous affair led to his political downfall. Sanford is trying to stage the political comeback of a lifetime.

And he's doing it one diner at a time — greeting customers over eggs and grits at Page's Okra Grill, just outside Charleston in Mount Pleasant.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

Sixty years ago, Private Bob Rodgers arrived at Fort Campbell, Kentucky for training. He wrote his wife a letter. He said all he did was, quote, "shine boots, shine boots and shine more boots and brass and more brass." Sixty years later, the Postal Service finally delivered that letter to Jean Rodgers. A postmaster says she has no idea why it took so long. But the postmaster adds the important part of it is it did get delivered.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

If some of your co-workers seem distracted today - well, it's not any old Monday - huh, Steve?

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

I'm sorry, Renee. We're you saying something? I was busy filling out an NCAA Tournament bracket here. Our last word in business, as a matter of fact, is about that. It's lost productivity.

Citizens of Cyprus did not react well to the news that their government wants to allow the European Union to take nearly 10 percent of their savings deposits in exchange for a $13 billion bailout. Banks are closed through Tuesday after worries over bank runs. Depositors stood in long lines to withdraw money over the weekend.