LATEST FROM NPR

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

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

With a presidential elections just a week away, thousands of Russians formed a human chain around Moscow today to demonstrate for a, quote, Russia without Putin.

Much has been made of all the big opposition rallies held recently in Moscow and St. Petersburg. But Russia is vast, and its provinces are very different places than the major urban areas.

Syrians vote on a new draft constitution Sunday, though the opposition has called for a boycott. Violence has been reported across the country. Host Rachel Martin talks with NPR's Peter Kenyon about the latest on the bombardment of Homs and other developments in Syria.

Host Rachel Martin talks to veteran Russian journalist Vladimir Pozner from Moscow about how Russia has changed since the days of glasnost and perestroika and under the hand of Vladimir Putin.

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

For a closer look at the chaos in Syria, we turn now to Jon Lee Anderson. He's a reporter for The New Yorker magazine, and last month he spent time in Syria, reporting on the rapidly devolving situation there.

We reached him at his home in England, and he told us about one moment that has stayed with him - his visit to a place called Clocktower Square, in Homs, the site of intense clashes over the past year.

The de facto replacement for The News of the World, The Sunday Sun, will premiere its first issue Sunday. Host Rachel Martin talks with Ray Snoddy, a British journalist, about what this means for Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

The trial of more than 40 foreigners involved in democracy-building and civil society projects in Egypt begins Sunday in Cairo. The foreigners face a long list of charges, all of which they have denied. Host Rachel Martin talks with NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson.

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin. In West Africa, the people of Senegal are voting for their new president today after days of violent street protests. The sitting president, 85-year-old Abdoulaye Wade, has been in power for 12 years, and he is seeking a third term in office. His opposition rivals say that's illegal, and they insist the president must go now.

The first phase of a wide-ranging trial for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is scheduled to begin Monday. Host Rachel Martin talks with NPR's Debbie Elliott and Jeff Brady, who will cover the trial.

Michigan holds its Republican primary on Tuesday. The former Massachusetts governor, and Michigan native, Mitt Romney has been touring the state in search of votes. A week ago, Rick Santorum held a double-digit lead in the polls. Now, NPR's Ari Shapiro reports, Romney seems to have closed the gap.

Host Rachel Martin speaks with Nate Silver, who writes the FiveThirtyEight blog for The New York Times, about the mechanics of the GOP primary, the number of delegates apportioned so far and how future contests will determine the delegate count.

Hollywood's elite are gathering in Los Angeles tonight for the Academy Awards. If you're hosting your own viewing party, here are some tips on how to keep your guests flush with Oscar-themed food, drinks and challenging trivia, courtesy of Dan Shapiro. He's a big-time movie buff and co-owner of Modern Bite Bakery in Los Angeles, and he knows how to host festive Oscar parties.

Ron Cushman's journey to teaching started when he was wounded in the Vietnam War. He joined the Marines in 1968, at the age of 19. He was severely injured the following year.

"I was a scout in the Marine Corps, and I must have stepped on a land mine or a booby trap. That's all I remember," he says.

Cushman's right hand was mangled and eventually amputated.

Popcorn and movies (or the Oscars) go together like Batman and Robin. And nowadays, options stretch far beyond plain or buttered.

Food critics call one brand the Rolls Royce and another the Prada. They are designer labels for the simplest, most American snack food.

Presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are neck-and-neck in the polls in the run-up to the Michigan Republican primary on Tuesday.

One group that Romney appears to have an advantage with is Roman Catholic voters despite the fact that he is Mormon and Santorum Catholic.

The disconnect between faith and politics highlights differences among Catholics and shows that some religious voters are focusing more on other issues.

Declaring Faith

In the traditional world of French politics, spouses don't usually jump into the fray. But French first lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy is anything but a traditional political spouse.

Her husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy, has just announced he is running for re-election this spring. It's a challenge: Polls show him trailing the Socialist candidate, Francois Hollande.

Sarkozy's wife has promised to do everything she can to help her husband win — and that includes hitting the campaign trail.

Theologian Lauren Winner was 21 when she became a Christian.

Although she was raised in a Jewish household and had converted to Orthodox Judaism, she says she felt drawn to Christianity. Her surprising conversion is the subject of her first memoir, the bestseller Girl Meets God.

In Winner's new book, Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis, she writes about a spiritual crisis.

Winner, an ordained Episcopal priest who teaches Christian spirituality at Duke University, says it happened around the time her mother died and her marriage collapsed.

This week, weekends on All Things Considered begins a new series called "Why Music Matters": stories from fans, in their own words, about how music has changed their lives. In this first installment, Seattle resident Nathan Hotchkiss reflects on a sheltered childhood.

"My parents were very religious," he says. "I was limited to listening only to Christian music and classical. My father would stay away a lot, and my mother would be wrapped up in her own turmoil, and it would spill over onto me."

Part one of a two-part series on the Keystone XL pipeline

Gas prices are spiking once again; the cost of a gallon of regular unleaded is about 12 percent higher than it was a year ago. But winter typically isn't the time for a rise in gas prices. Demand for gasoline is at a 14-year low and domestic oil production is at an eight-year high.

The head of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan has recalled all Western military advisers from government ministries after two high-ranking U.S. military officers were shot dead.

Officials say the gunman has not been identified, but a manhunt is under way.

Reporting from Kabul, NPR's Quil Lawrence says the officers died inside a high-security area of the Afghan Interior Ministry building after an individual turned his weapon on them.

Gas prices are on the rise and there's a slew of possible reasons as to why. Tensions with Iran, the Obama administration's policies, and Wall Street speculators have all been cited as factors. But it still doesn't answer why prices are increasing while U.S. demand for gasoline is going down. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz talks with NPR's John Ydstie about some hidden factors behind the jacked up gas prices.