Weekend Edition from NPR

Revisiting U.S. Commitment To The Middle East

Michele Kelemen — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:11:00 +0000

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Just two years ago today, the effort to change regimes in many parts of the Islamic world was just beginning. And President Obama was at the U.S. State Department talking about a new chapter in American diplomacy.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: It will be the policy of the United States to promote reform across the region and to support the transitions to democracy. That effort begins in Egypt and Tunisia where the stakes are high.

MARTIN: Some experts now say that the Obama administration has not lived up to its lofty rhetoric.

Sports: Rallying For Wrestling

Mike Pesca — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:11:00 +0000

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

You're listening to WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. And it's time for sports.

(SOUNDBITE OF THEME MUSIC)

MARTIN: NPR's Mike Pesca is on the line from New York. Good morning, Mike.

MIKE PESCA: Hey.

MARTIN: There's a little wrestling news to talk about this morning. There was this big landmark wrestling match last week between Iran and the U.S. that took place in Grand Central Station, right?

PESCA: Grand Central, yeah. I was there.

Iranian Candidate Hopes To Take International Viewpoint Home

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:11:00 +0000

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin.

We begin this hour in the Middle East, first Iran. This week, the religiously based Guardian Council is expected to announce the final roster of candidates in that country's presidential election. Even though Iranians will go to the polls in less than a month, some of the candidates for the presidency are still waiting for approval to run for office.

Among the hopefuls is Iranian-American Rutgers University Professor Hooshang Amirahmadi.

How Possessive: The Apostrophe's Place In Space

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:41:00 +0000

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm sure if I asked him, Will Shortz would probably acknowledge that the same people who really love words and word play also have a special affinity for punctuation. I would put myself in this camp. I have a lot of respect for a well-placed semicolon. But it's really the ellipsis that captures my punctuation imagination. To be honest, I've never much cared for the apostrophe. Maybe it's just too utilitarian.

Well, turns out I'm not the only one.

Detective On Closing Case After Committing Decades To It

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:41:00 +0000

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin.

Earlier this month, three women held captive for nearly a decade came home. Amanda Barry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were rescued from a Cleveland basement where they had been held captive since early 2002. The case has generated worldwide attention, some of it fell on the Cleveland Police Department. Officers there had searched in vain over the years for the missing women.

How The Syria Debate Is Playing Out In The Middle East

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:41:00 +0000

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

That concern is reflected in the Arab media. Ramez Maluf, head of the Department of Journalism at Balamand University in Lebanon, has been tracking that reaction. He joined us from our bureau in Beirut. And I asked him how invested people in the region are in the conflict in Syria.

RAMEZ MALUF: It's beginning to affect our lives. I mean, if you will keep in mind that in Lebanon the number of Syrian refugees is something like a million. It's a little bit more in Jordan, in Iraq as well.

Political Takeaways: Headaches For The White House

Mara Liasson — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:41:00 +0000

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin. President Obama will give a speech this week outlining his plans to make his counterterrorism policies more transparent. The address comes after a week that the Obama White House spent on the defensive trying to contain political fallout from multiple controversies. The IRS has been targeting conservative and Tea Party groups that applied for tax-exempt status, and the Associated Press revealed that the Justice Department had secretly obtained the phone records of its journalists.

Put On Your Thinking Hat

Will Shortz — Sun, 19 May 2013 08:28:00 +0000

On-air challenge: Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts with H-A and the second word starts with T.

Last week's challenge: From listener Al Gori of Cozy Lake, N.J. Name a famous American man — first and last names. Change the first letter of his first name from T to H. The result will sound like a term for an attractive person.

First Female Fighter Pilot: 'Attention Wasn't What I Wanted'

editor — Sun, 12 May 2013 09:34:00 +0000

Transcript

COLONEL JEANNIE LEAVITT: I was fascinated with flying. I loved everything about flying from the time I was a child. The more I learned about the more I just loved aviation and flying, and that's what made me want to be a pilot.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

But not just any pilot. This is Colonel Jeannie Leavitt, and pretty much from the time she learned how to fly, she wanted to be a combat fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Problem was women couldn't do that until the early 1990s. That's when the Pentagon changed its policy.

Rhino Horns Fuel Deadly, Intercontinental Trade

Gregory Warner — Sun, 12 May 2013 09:34:00 +0000

NPR's Frank Langfitt and Gregory Warner have teamed up for a series about how myth and money are driving extraordinary slaughter of rhinos. They talk with host Rachel Martin about the issue, which has repercussions from the African continent all the way to Asia.