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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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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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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National Security
5:41 am
Sat April 20, 2013

U.S.-Russia Relations Highlighted In Bombing Aftermath

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

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Tracing the Tsarnaev family roots back to Russia is going to require cooperation between Washington, D.C., and Moscow and of course, as we just heard, this comes at a frosty time in relations between the two countries. NPR's diplomatic correspondent Michele Kelemen joins us. Thanks for being with us.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: Thanks, Scott.

SIMON: And first, any signs of cooperation so far?

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Sports
5:41 am
Sat April 20, 2013

Week In Sports: Red Sox's Good Week A Bright Spot For Boston

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

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Isn't it nice to be able to say time for sports?

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SIMON: The country was focused on tragedy and mayhem this week, but sports abides, including some remarkable tributes to Boston. And the NBA playoffs begin today and run until, I don't know, I think December. Can anyone beat the Heat? For now we're joined by Howard Bryant of ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine. Howard, thanks so much for being with us.

HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning, Scott.

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Around the Nation
5:41 am
Sat April 20, 2013

In Boston, The Search For Answers Begins

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

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

People who knew Dzhokhar Tsarnaev just have a hard time squaring the man they knew, with the violence in Boston. Sierra Schwartz went to Cambridge Rindge and Latin high school with the suspect, who's now in custody.

SIERRA SCHWARTZ: The Dzhokhar that I knew at the time was friendly, quiet but not in a - alarming way. He was just - you know, soft-spoken but very - you know, funny, very sweet, wouldn't harm a fly; someone that you would want to talk to.

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Middle East
5:39 am
Sat April 20, 2013

Syrian Opposition Distances Itself From Islamists

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

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Secretary of State Kerry is back in Turkey today, this time for a meeting on the worsening crisis in Syria. A group called Friends of Syria will consider increasing aid to opposition factions who are trying to oust the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but the pressure for increased assistance, including calls to arm the rebels, comes amid growing concern about the presence of armed Islamist fighters in Syria.

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Deceptive Cadence
3:22 am
Sat April 20, 2013

A Moment With Pulitzer-Winning Composer Caroline Shaw

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

How do you write something like Partita for 8 Voices, the a cappella vocal piece that is this year's winner of the Pulitzer Prize for music?

"Very late at night," says the composer, Caroline Shaw, speaking with NPR's Scott Simon. "Sometimes it comes from having a sound in your head that you really want to hear, that you've never heard before, and struggling to make that sound happen in any way you can."

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Around the Nation
3:21 am
Sat April 20, 2013

Officials Seek Answers In Aftermath Of Deadly Explosion

Credit Charlie Riedel / AP
An explosion leveled a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, on Wednesday. The blast killed 14 people, injured more than 200 others and damaged or completely destroyed at least 80 homes.

Originally published on Sat April 20, 2013 2:46 pm

With the house-to-house search over and the living and dead largely accounted for, the town of West, Texas, began the transition from shock and disbelief to communal grieving.

On Friday night, mourners gathered at St. Mary Church of the Assumption to remember the dead. Many of the dead were first responders who were fighting a roaring fire for 30 minutes before the explosion, which was felt 80 miles away in Fort Worth.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn caused a stir when he suggested that there might be many more people missing than thought.

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