NPR's Weekend Edition on KUER 1

Mike Lee is one of the most conservative members of the Senate. The freshman Utah Republican was elected with strong Tea Party backing and, like Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, he's a man of the West.

Mention the possibility that Thune, 51, might team up with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and Lee's eyes light up: "I love John," he says. "He's articulate, passionate, collegial. I mean ... I think he'd be great."

It's summer. It's hot. And that means it's time for a particular kind of music: the kind that streams from church basements and empty lots, raising your spirit as high as the mercury. It's revival season.

Spirit Family Reunion isn't from Appalachia or the plains; the band is from Brooklyn. Its music, though clearly Americana-based, casts a wide enough net to elude classification.

On-air challenge: Every answer is the name of a former Olympic sport. Given an anagram, you name the sport. For example, "flog" becomes "golf."

Last week's challenge: Name a sport in two words — nine letters in the first word, six letters in the last — in which all six vowels (A, E, I, O, U and Y) are used once each. What is it?

Answer: Greyhound racing

Winner: Jim Citron of Hanover, N.H.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

The statue of Joe Paterno no longer stands outside Penn State Football Stadium.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOTOR RUNNING)

WERTHEIMER: The university announced early this morning that it would take the monument down in the wake of an investigative report that found the late coach had concealed sex abuse claims against one of his assistants, Jerry Sandusky.

In its final season, the TV sitcom Seinfeld did a send-up of the cartoons in The New Yorker. The magazine's comics are distinctive – short, quippy, topical, understated. Simply put, they're smart.

Maybe too smart, sometimes, and that's what the character Elaine found when she got her own cartoon published in the magazine.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

As the Colorado community of Aurora confronts what happened early on Friday morning and tries to come to terms with their friends and neighbors dying in a movie theater, one obvious place to turn it to religious leaders. Hundreds of people have attended vigils held by Aurora's religious leaders, and today many of those congregations are on their way to church. Mitch Hamilton is a pastor at Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church in Aurora, Colorado. Brother Hamilton, thank you for doing this.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer. President Obama will go to Aurora, Colorado later today to visit the victims of Friday's movie theater shooting. Local and federal authorities spent Saturday using explosives and robots to disarm a series of booby traps they found in 24-year-old suspect James Holmes' apartment. Aurora police chief Dan Oates talked about how Holmes may have acquired those devices.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

After Friday's deadly shootings there were quick responses from both President Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney. And an old debate over gun restrictions was reignited.

For more on that, and all the politics of the week, we turn to NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Hi, Mara.

MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hi, Linda.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Few people have a greater understanding of the history of HIV-AIDS and the evolution of treatment and patient care than Dr. Paul Volberding. He co-founded one of the first AIDS-designated clinics in the early 1980s at San Francisco General Hospital. And he is also the co-editor of the most widely used textbook of HIV medicine. Dr. Volberding is now a professor and co-director of the Center for AIDS Research at University of California, San Francisco. And he is here in Washington for the International AIDS Conference.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

From one man's extraordinary journey to another's extraordinary year. This summer, we've been asked friends of the show - authors, musicians, people passing through - what they're reading.

MARK HADDON: "1599" by James Shapiro.

WERTHEIMER: And novelist Mark Haddon is reading a book about the most famous poet in the English language.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

Abbott and Costello's famous "Who's on First?" routine still stands as one of the greatest comedy sketches of all time. It was a feat of rapid-fire dialogue, flawless comedic timing and devastating wit.

But could you do it without saying a word?

The answer appears to be yes. After Jerry Seinfeld broke down the classic skit on the MLB Network recently, NPR's Mike Pesca wound up with a peculiar email in his inbox.

It was a link to an American Sign Language (ASL) version of the skit, sent by a friend. It was amazing, Pesca says.

Among the many contenders who could wind up becoming presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney's running mate, there are some potential surprises — like former presidential candidate-turned TV and radio host Mike Huckabee.

Putting Huckabee on the GOP ticket could certainly liven up the presidential race. In addition to being a respected former governor of Arkansas, he's well known for his good-natured public persona. At a Huckabee campaign event, you might find him playing an electric bass with the old-time rock 'n' roll band Capitol Offense.

In 1964, John Coltrane moved from Queens, N.Y., to a brick ranch house on a 31/2 acre wooded lot in the quiet suburb of Dix Hills. This bucolic setting — 40 miles east of the city — is perhaps the last place you'd expect to find a musician creating the virtuosic jazz that Coltrane is famous for.

Ernest Hemingway began his second novel, A Farewell to Arms, in 1928. He says, in an introduction to a later edition, that while he was writing the first draft his second son was born, and while he was rewriting the book, his father committed suicide. He goes on to say, with his famous economy, "I was not quite thirty years old when I finished the book and the day it was published was the day the stock market crashed."

With the largest HIV epidemic in the world, no nation has been more affected by HIV and AIDS than South Africa, but the country has also had one of the most conflicted responses to the epidemic.

A decade ago, as the virus was spreading rapidly, then-President Thabo Mbeki was questioning the link between HIV and AIDS. His health minister was advocating the use of beetroot, garlic and lemon juice to treat it.

Now, years later, South Africa is trying to make up for lost time. The nation is attempting to put in place a cutting-edge HIV treatment and prevention program.

On-air challenge: Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts with "P" and the second word starts with "RO." For example: For the clue, "A moving part of an automobile engine," the answer would be a "piston rod."

Russians are slowly beginning to recover from the devastating flooding that soaked the southwestern region of Krasnodar. The floods, which struck in the early morning hours on July 7, reportedly killed more than 150 people.

It wasn't long before outrage flowed. Masha Lipman, a researcher with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Moscow, says the government had advance notice of the disaster, but didn't pass along the message.

The singing Babushkas of Buranova have made a name for themselves, first as an Internet sensation and then at the Eurovision competition this year. They saved money from their performances to help their ramshackle village. Guest host David Greene has an update on these hard-working grandmothers.

A small town in southwest German has designated two parking spaces, "men only." They're two of the town's trickiest places to park. The mayor's response, guest host David Greene reports, is that it will attract tourists.

Guest host David Greene talks with NPR's Mike Pesca about his take on the baseball news of the week.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm David Greene.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads for Israel today. This, after leaving Egypt where she met with that country's new Islamist president and also the head of the powerful military council. Secretary Clinton said Egypt needs to continue its transition to a civilian-led democracy. But that message was delivered gently, a sign that Washington sees a long and uncertain transition ahead.

NPR's Peter Kenyon has more from Cairo.

No country has enjoyed more spectacular growth in recent decades than China. But the economy that will one day replace America's as the world's largest also faces a lot of challenges. Guest host David Greene talks to NPR's Frank Langfitt, who was a reporter in China in the '90s and returned to Shanghai for NPR last year.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear was one of the state leaders attending the Governors Association meeting this weekend. Host David Greene talks with the Democrat about the hot topics at this year's gathering in Williamsburg, Va.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The year was 1965. The place: Newport, Rhode Island. A young Bob Dylan took the stage at the Newport Folk Festival; a harmonica around his neck, and a guitar over his shoulder. But this time, something new - a wailing Stratocaster guitar. In 1965, folk music was acoustic music, period. And the crowd? Not happy that Bobby was plugged in.

(SOUNDBITE OF BOOING)

Guest host David Greene takes a tour of the largest comic book convention, the giant Comic-Con in Los Angeles.

U.N. investigators visited the site of a mass killing in Syria. Their initial report cites a targeted attack on the village of Tremseh, but have been unable to confirm the death toll. The Syrian government says it was an anti-terrorist operation and no civilians were killed. Guest host David Greene talks to NPR's Deborah Amos.