Weekend Edition Saturday

Saturdays from 6:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Scott Simon

Whether revealing events in small-town America or overseas, or profiling notable personalities, Weekend Edition from NPR News appreciates the extraordinary details that make up every story. This two-hour morning newsmagazine covers hard news, a wide variety of newsmakers, and cultural stories with care, accuracy, and a wink of humor.

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Music Interviews
3:04 am
Sat April 27, 2013

Singing Sisters Reconsider The Everly Brothers

Credit Seth Thomas / Courtesy of the artist
The Chapin Sisters' new tribute album is titled A Date With the Everly Brothers.

Originally published on Sat April 27, 2013 1:57 pm

The Chapin Sisters are a critically acclaimed duo, with tinges of folk, country and pop in their songs. For their latest project, Lily and Abigail Chapin looked to another famous set of singing siblings: Don and Phil, The Everly Brothers.

Lily Chapin says the genesis of their new tribute album, A Date with The Everly Brothers, was a creative workaround of sorts. The duo was once a trio featuring another Chapin sister, Jessica; the three siblings grew up singing three-part harmonies together. Several years ago, Jessica left the group to start a family.

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It's All Politics
3:03 am
Sat April 27, 2013

Bloomberg Aims His Money At Gun Control Opponents

Credit Spencer Platt / Getty Images
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at a news conference at City Hall on April 25. The billionaire mayor has been spending from his personal fortune to provide a "political counterweight to the NRA," his policy adviser says.

Originally published on Sat April 27, 2013 1:57 pm

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg seems determined to become the formidable adversary the National Rifle Association has never had.

The billionaire mayor is spending from his personal fortune to help defeat lawmakers who voted against gun control proposals last week and to prop up those who supported the measures.

Bloomberg's first target is a Democratic senator facing a tough fight for re-election in 2014: Mark Pryor of Arkansas.

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Middle East
3:03 am
Sat April 27, 2013

Egyptian Activists Say Their Religion Isn't Your Business

Credit Amr Nabil / AP
Egyptian Christians gather around four coffins during a funeral service at the Saint Mark Coptic cathedral in Cairo on April 7. Religious violence this month has killed three Muslims and at least six Christians.

Originally published on Sat April 27, 2013 6:17 pm

Since Egypt's revolution began, tensions among Egypt's Muslims and Christians have only increased. Earlier this month, it once again turned deadly. Tit-for-tat killings left three Muslims and at least six Christians dead.

That and other religious violence is prompting a public debate about religious identity in Egypt. One group of young Egyptians wants to remove religious labels from national ID cards.

'Where The Trouble Starts'

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The Two-Way
2:57 am
Sat April 27, 2013

At Israeli Checkpoint, Tear Gas And Ice Cream A Way Of Life

Originally published on Sun April 28, 2013 7:53 am

Ahmed Fahad is a savior on a hot day. Yelling "Ice cream, ice cream!" in Arabic, the Palestinian man carries a Styrofoam cooler through tangled traffic at the Qalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah. I roll down my window to signal to him but taste the sting of dissipating tear gas instead.

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Around the Nation
11:57 am
Sat April 20, 2013

Forget NCAA Titles, This School Dominates Spoken Word

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

While many universities try to win national attention with their sports programs, one school is dominating a lesser-known competitive arena: speech teams. Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., will defend its U.S. title again this weekend at the National Forensic Association tournament in Huntington, W.Va. Jonathan Ahl reports.

JONATHAN AHL, BYLINE: Cecil Blutcher is on stage, practicing his poetry recitation in front of his fellow speech team members.

CECIL BLUTCHER: Now my face is stuck to lamppost, glued to plate-glass windows.

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Around the Nation
11:57 am
Sat April 20, 2013

Witness To A Manhunt In Your Own Backyard

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Back now to our coverage of the tense night and police activity that brought an end to the manhunt for the second Boston Marathon bombing suspect. Franklin Street in Watertown was the epicenter of that massive search. Police and SWAT teams took over the suburban neighborhood looking for 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Keith Glavish lives nearby. He was in his house while the search unfolded. Thanks for being with us.

KEITH GLAVISH: Good morning.

SIMON: Quiet again?

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Around the Nation
11:57 am
Sat April 20, 2013

Week Of Hardship Strains City Of Boston

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. The city of Boston has been through an extraordinary string of challenges this week. The city's famous race was bombed, killing three people, injuring scores of others. The city was locked down for nearly a full day in order to search for the killers.

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Remembrances
11:57 am
Sat April 20, 2013

Remembering The Man Who Gave The Nation A Newspaper

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Al Neuharth, the man who launched "USA Today" against all expert advice, has died at the age of 89. He was the chairman of Gannett newspapers who called himself a dreamer and schemer when he got the idea that satellite communications could make a daily national newspaper popular.

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Simon Says
9:52 am
Sat April 20, 2013

A 'Tough, Smart, Proud Town' Meets Terror With Determination

Credit Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images
Boston residents celebrated Friday night after law enforcement officers captured one of the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Originally published on Sat April 20, 2013 11:57 am

People in Boston can speak for themselves. And do. Loudly, bluntly and often with humor that bites.

It's a city that speaks with both its own broad, homebrew, local accent — although no one really pahks thea cah in Havahd Yahd — and dialects from around the world. It is home to some of America's oldest founding families, and fathers, mothers and children who have just arrived from Jamaica, Ireland, Bangladesh and Ghana.

There are people in Boston who dress in pinstripes and tweeds, and tattoos and spiked hair. Sometimes, they are even the same person.

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Music Interviews
7:51 am
Sat April 20, 2013

A Minnesotan In Mali, Teaching The Country's Sounds

Originally published on Mon April 22, 2013 6:33 am

Numbers are down at the American International School in Bamako, the capital of Mali.

In just over a year, the country has witnessed a rebellion, a military coup and the occupation by Islamist fighters of the desert northern region, recently largely liberated in a counteroffensive by French-led forces. Despite the troubles, the school is open and classes continue.

Teacher Paul Chandler is taking his combined class of 6th- and 7th-graders through their early paces, learning the Malian music they'll be performing at the annual school concert.

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