NPR's Weekend Edition on KUER 1

In the NCAA men's basketball tournament Saturday, Marquette escaped with a 2-point win over Butler. What does it take to win a close game? Grit and determination? Luck? Host Rachel Martin speaks with NPR's Mike Pesca, who was at the game.

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

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

This week, the Supreme Court begins hearing arguments in two cases that could determine the future of gay marriage in this country. In a few moments, NPR's Nina Totenberg brings us the story of a prominent Republican from the George W. Bush administration who's now working against many in his own party to legalize gay marriage.

But first, another point of view from one of the country's leading evangelical Christian leaders.

There's a team in the NCAA men's basketball tournament making some noise in the West. The Oregon Ducks, seeded 12th in their region, now have two double-digit wins over much higher-seeded teams. NPR's Tom Goldman reports from San Jose, Calif.

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Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has returned home after four years of self-imposed exile in Dubai and London. Security was unusually tight as he arrived at Karachi Airport today. The Pakistani Taliban has issued threats to kill the former president. And a Pakistani court has named Musharraf for possible involvement in the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Joining us now from Islamabad is NPR's Julie McCarthy. Hi, Julie.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE: Hi.

Tom Mauser's son, Daniel, was killed at Columbine High School in 1999. Mauser, who has been an outspoken advocate for gun control since then, speaks with host Rachel Martin.

An auction house in Britain announced this week it has authenticated a violin they believe belonged to Wallace Hartley, the band leader aboard the Titanic, who famously continued playing, even as the ship went down. Host Rachel Martin talks about the find and the seven-year process it took to authenticate it.

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

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

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MARTIN: It was early 2003: Doctors reported the first known case of the SARS virus; the musical "Chicago" won the Oscar for Best Picture; and Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and President George W. Bush made their case for war.

DICK CHENEY: There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE: We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.

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Palestinian scholar Rashid Khalidi has closely watched the role of the United States as mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In his new book "Brokers of Deceit," he argues that U.S. involvement has made the goal of a lasting peace less attainable than ever. Rashid Khalidi is with us now from our studios in New York.

Welcome to the program.

RASHID KHALIDI: Thank you, Rachel.

Spencer Geissinger headed the Presidential Advance Team for former President George W. Bush. Geissinger served Bush during both terms, doing advance work in 98 countries. He shares anecdotes with host Rachel Martin of arranging the scheduling, security and publicity for Bush's foreign trips, with a view toward President Obama's upcoming visit to Israel.

Is there such a thing as a lock than cannot be picked? Host Rachel Martin talks with Tom Vanderbilt of Slate about the quest.

On-air challenge: Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word starts with the letters P-I and the second word starts with C. For example, given "One of 27 compositions by Mozart" you would say "(Pi)ano (C)oncerto."

Last week's challenge: Think of two familiar three-word sayings in which all three words are the same length. The middle word in both sayings is the same. In each saying, the first and last words rhyme with each other. What two sayings are these?

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We're going to take a moment now to talk about a word - yep, one word. Maybe you use it all the time or maybe you feel people use the word and it drives you up the wall. I'm talking about the word literally.

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So that is one specific way that some in Congress are trying to address the issue of gun violence. Dr. Ted Corbin of Philadelphia says there's a need for broader gun control laws. But he also says people in his field can make a difference. Corbin is an emergency room doctor and the director of a program called Healing Hurt People. Corbin says when someone comes into an emergency room with a gunshot wound, there's an opportunity to make sure it doesn't happen again by directly introducing the victims to social services.

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This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin. It takes a special kind of person to blaze a trail. A bit later this hour, we'll hear from actress Rita Moreno about her amazing life from her childhood in Puerto Rico to the harrowing boat trip that brought her to New York City to becoming an acclaimed actress, singer and dancer and a mainstay of American stage and screen. But now...

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Despite the controversy we just heard about, John Brennan was confirmed by the Senate, making him the next director of the CIA. Scott Shane covers national security and intelligence issues for the New York Times. We asked him what kind of CIA John Brennan will inherit.

Host Rachel Martin talks with Sen. Mark Begich, an Alaska Democrat, about his newly proposed gun violence legislation. He introduced it at a press conference with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham this past week.

On-air challenge: Every answer is a word containing an A and a Z. Given anagrams of the remaining letters, name the word. For example, given "leg," the answer would be "glaze".

Last week's challenge: Eight people are seated at a circular table. Each person gets up and sits down again — either in the same chair or in the chair immediately to the left or right of the one they were in. How many different ways can the eight people be re-seated?

Answer: 49

Host Rachel Martin speaks with congressional scholar Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution about the economic and political impact of sequestration. He is the co-author of a book about political gridlock, called It's Even Worse Than It Looks.

Last week was a big week if you love online gambling and you live in the Garden State. New Jersey legalized online gambling. Host Rachel Martin talks with NPR's Mike Pesca.

Rachel Martin talks with Sister Pat Farrell, immediate past president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, about the role and status of women in the Catholic Church. The two also talk about the church's handling of revelations of child sexual abuse by priests.

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The wide world of sports moves fast and if you don't keep up, sometimes you get left behind. That is what happened this past week in Buffalo, New York. Lindy Ruff, the coach of the Sabres - that is Buffalo's hockey team - he was fired during his 17th season leading the team.

And that got NPR's Mike Pesca thinking. He joins us now.

Hey, Mike.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Hello, Rachel.

MARTIN: So you're thinking about coaches?

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In Florida and Arizona, it is a rite of spring for Major League Baseball teams and their fans. Spring training kicked off this weekend. Now, each club has its loyal followers, but arguably among the most diehard root for the team from the North Side of Chicago. The Chicago Cubs continually sell out games, even though the team hasn't won a World Series since 1908. Nick Blumberg from member station KJZZ in Phoenix talked to some fans at the team's first spring training game of the year.

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It's been 40 years since Joel Grey won an Academy Award for his role as master of ceremonies in Bob Fosse's movie musical "Cabaret." Grey visited us at NPR this past week. He was in town to deliver his famous top hat, the one he wore in the movie, to the Smithsonian museum. The award-winning actor is surprisingly down to earth. Well, Mr. Grey, thank you so much.

JOEL GREY: Joel.

MARTIN: Joel. Thank you very much. Even so, he brought along a small entourage to our studio, which included a long-haired Chihuahua.

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

Yet another federal budget crisis is on the horizon. This Friday, March 1st, is the day that massive, across-the-board federal spending cuts will take effect unless Congress agrees on a new budget deal. Some analysts say the cuts, also known as the sequester, could drag the economy back into recession.

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This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin. Coming up, a story of survival at sea. Steven Callahan was sailing across the Atlantic alone when nature intervened.

STEVEN CALLAHAN: Suddenly, there was a big crash on the side of the boat and a lot of water came flooding in. So, part of me was frightened and saying you're going to die, you're going to die, you're going right down with the boat, and part of me was saying shut up, do your job.