Weekend Edition

March 13, 2010 | NPR· Six days have passed since Iraq's nationwide elections, and there are still no real results. Last Sunday, about 62 percent of eligible voters defied threats of violence to cast a ballot. Guest host Jacki Lyden gets the latest from NPR's Quil Lawrence in Baghdad.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· The results of Iraq's election could have broader repercussions in the Middle East. Jacki Lyden speaks with Rami Khouri, editor-at-large of the Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper, about reaction in the Arab world to the Iraq elections.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· This week, the District of Columbia started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, many of them African-American. Many of Washington's black ministers don't turn away unmarried women with children. Yet they have condemned black people who want to marry same-sex partners and raise children.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· This week, Attorney General Eric Holder has been dealing with attacks from Republicans about his handling of terrorism detainees. In addition, the conservative National Review magazine unearthed a Supreme Court brief that Holder did not tell Congress about during his confirmation process. The Senate Judiciary Committee's top Republican said Holder must address the issue immediately. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks with NPR's Ari Shapiro.

March 13, 2010 | SCPR· In Los Angeles, a 16-year-old boy is facing murder charges for what started as a simple act of vandalism. He was spray painting a wall when he was confronted by Ronald Barron. Barron had committed plenty of crimes in his lifetime as a member of a violent gang. From member station KPCC, Alex Cohen has a profile of an ex-gang member who turned his life around only to become a victim of the violence he was trying to prevent.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· In just a few weeks, fans of the Coffee Party on Facebook mushroomed from a few hundred to more than 100,000 — making documentary filmmaker Annabel Park the accidental leader of a political movement. Coffee Parties are meeting all across the country Saturday. What exactly are they going to do?

March 13, 2010 | APR· For many small towns, the long, haunting sound of a train whistle is a sign of old world charm. But for people living near those train whistles, the charm wears off quickly. Flagstaff, Ariz., is the latest town to silence its train whistles, after federal rules have allowed this safety feature to be replaced by wayside whistles and cameras. Nationally, there are fewer towns willing to tolerate the noise.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· The first numbers that come to mind when thinking about Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland might be how much money the movie is raking in at the box office. But mathematicians say the books are full of algebraic lessons — such as why a raven is like a writing desk.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· Many kids dream of being rock stars, but very few make it. Still, that isn't discouraging new songwriters. Two of the nation's largest performing rights organizations, ASCAP and BMI, say their membership has skyrocketed in the last decade.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· If you've been driving down the interstate late at night, you may know the voice of Delilah. Every night, hundreds of thousands of people call in to tell her their story. Delilah, a true Queen of Hearts, listens, then plays a song to fit that person's situation. Jacki Lyden asks Delilah what song she would request.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· This week, President Obama postponed his Asia trip to push for a health care vote. Vice President Biden visited Israel and arrived to find Israel had just approved a new batch of settlements — something the Obama administration has been pushing them to halt in the interests of the peace process. Guest Host Jacki Lyden reviews the week's top news stories with NPR Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· The Obama administration has been hammering health insurance companies all week over proposed rate hikes. But the insurers have fired back, saying their hands are tied because the cost of health care keeps going up. NPR health policy correspondent Julie Rovner wades through the talking points with guest host Jacki Lyden and tells us what the proposed health bills would actually do to address costs.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· A growing scandal in Europe over child sexual abuse by priests now extends to the Vatican and Pope Benedict. Friday, the Pope's former archdiocese in Germany acknowledged that while he was archbishop, a priest who was suspected of abusing children was transferred to another job — where he committed more abuses. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks to Peter Wensierski of Der Spiegel about the sex abuse scandal.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· In New York City, the workers who cleaned up Ground Zero and got sick from the toxic air at the site now face a difficult choice. Ten thousand police, firefighters and construction workers filed lawsuits against the city after 9/11. They've now been offered a multi-million dollar settlement — but almost all of them must agree before they can accept it.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· The gap between the personal wealth of white and black Americans has grown wider. That's the takeaway from a report, released this week by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. Guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with Dr. Julianne Malveaux, an economist and president of Bennett College, about the so-called "racial wealth gap."

March 13, 2010 | NPR· We heard from many of you regarding the long-term unemployed and Scott Simon's essay about the lack of rest stops along Arizona's highways. Guest host Jacki Lyden reads from listener comments and emails.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· Baseball's spring training is upon us, time for exhibition match-ups, autograph signings and bullpen sessions, all leading up to Opening Day. It's also time for March Madness to begin, with Selection Sunday this weekend. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks with sports writer Howard Bryant of ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine about baseball's spring training season, controversial comments made by Los Angeles Angels' outfielder Torii Hunter, and the beginning of March Madness.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· A dozen ancient shipwrecks have been discovered in the Baltic Sea, just east of Sweden. The well-preserved ships are hundreds of years old. The oldest wreck may date back 800 years.

March 13, 2010 | NPR· The pianist and singer has sold more jazz records in the U.K. than any other British artist. His latest album, The Pursuit, features original songs, jazz standards and pop covers.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· After months of working with Republicans to fashion a joint overhaul of financial regulation, Sen. Christopher Dodd will go it alone Monday. As Banking Committee chairman, Dodd will unveil his proposal to rewrite regulations with the aim of avoiding another financial meltdown. Guest host Audie Cornish talks with NPR's John Ydstie about what to expect.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· Annoying overdraft fees on insignificant purchases may be on their way out. Starting this summer, banks will have to get their customers to "opt in" if they want overdraft protection on debit card transactions. But the new rules won't necessarily ease a person's cash flow; banks are finding other ways to make the money back.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· If you don't make your car payments, someone can be hired to repossess it. They might tow it from your driveway or a parking lot. But sometimes repo men go further, breaking into people's garages or homes. Fights can break out. People get hurt, and some have even been killed, prompting some groups to call for greater regulation.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· President Obama wants to bring the federal government into the world of 21st-century information technology. Last year, he named Vivek Kundra the nation's first federal chief information officer. Guest host Audie Cornish speaks with Kundra about his efforts to make the federal government more "open source."

March 14, 2010 | NPR· In Austin, Texas, hundreds of innovators in film, music and technology are gathering at the annual South by Southwest Festival. Guest host Audie Cornish checks in with Weekend Edition Sunday host Liane Hansen, who reports from the festival on some of the new technologies on display there.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· On radio stations in Boston, on CatholicTV and on the Web, the Archdiocese of Boston is trying to bring Catholics back to confession. The Light Is On for You is the name of the campaign, and one of its spokespeople is Father Robert Reed, director of CatholicTV. Guest host Audie Cornish speaks with Reed about the new campaign.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· This week, Will Shortz's game involves anagrams, and every word contains the letters A, B and C. For example: To get a type of metal, use A-B-C along with the letters L, O and T. The answer is "cobalt."

March 14, 2010 | NPR· When Tammy Wynette died in 1998, she was known as the First Lady of Country Music. Her music expressed drama and, judging by Jimmy McDonough's new biography, there was no shortage of it in her own life. Read an excerpt from his book, Tammy Wynette: Tragic Country Queen, here.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· NATO forces, who took the southern Afghan region of Marjah last month, are now trying to establish their hold on it by winning the confidence of local people. That includes paying for damage to businesses and farms from battle and paying condolences to families of civilians who were killed. A U.S. Marine commander faces one of his hardest tasks: apologizing and paying compensation to the family of a father whom Marines killed by mistake.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· Afghanistan produces about 90 percent of the world's supply of opium poppies, the plant used to make heroin. About half of that supply comes from the Helmand province. Earlier efforts by NATO forces to destroy the poppy crops were unsuccessful; when the Taliban came back, so did the farmer's poppies. In the most recent offensive, NATO took a mostly hands-off approach, leaving the farmers and their crops alone. Guest host Audie Cornish speaks with author and journalist Gretchen Peters about the effects of the NATO offensive around Marjah on the poppy trade in Afghanistan.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· Tens of thousands of protesters are rallying in Thailand's capital. They are demanding that the government dissolve the parliament and hold new elections. The demonstrations are peaceful so far, with protesters singing, waving signs and dancing, but police are braced for possible violence as demonstrations are expected to last several days. Guest host Audie Cornish updates the latest developments in Bangkok.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· After three years, the FBI is winding down its investigation into more than 100 cold case murders from the civil rights era. Guest host Audie Cornish talks with FBI special agent in charge Cynthia Deitle about what the investigations have yielded.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· The United Auto Workers brokered a deal between casino employees at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. This was the first union contract to be negotiated under tribal law without reference to federal labor laws.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· For generations, American life has revolved around a Monday-through-Friday, 9-to-5 work week. But the labor laws that defined this schedule date to an era when men went off to a factory and women stayed home. Today, the makeup of the workforce is changing, and mobile technology means work can get done well outside the confines of a 6-by-6 cubicle. Monday on Morning Edition, NPR's Jennifer Ludden begins a three-part series on efforts to make the workday more flexible. Ludden joins guest host Audie Cornish for a preview.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· Not much good has come out of the recession from which we seem to be slowly emerging. But at least it's left us with some new lingo, like "staycation." The Christian Science Monitor has compiled a list of its favorites, and guest host Audie Cornish explains a few of them.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· Doris Haddock, better known as Granny D, passed away this past week. She was 100. At age 89, the political activist made national headlines as she began a 14-month trek across the United States to raise support for campaign finance reform. New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein reports.

March 14, 2010 | WVTF· The Internet has taken a toll on print media, from newspapers and magazines to the telephone book. Now university yearbooks are also taking a hit. A growing number of universities are no longer publishing the annual picture books.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· Between Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, there's no doubt that 3-D movies have brought people back to the theaters. Both films have made an astounding amount of money at the box office, and TV-makers are taking note. But will people want to wear those glasses on the couch? Guest host Audie Cornish talks to David Wertheimer, head of the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California, about the future of 3-D television.

March 14, 2010 | NPR· He's kicking off a concert tour with a full orchestra. The band he founded, Genesis, will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And, at age 60, Gabriel has just released Scratch My Back, on which he reworks great pop songs across the ages.