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The Record
6:31 am
Sat August 18, 2012

It's Her Spotlight, The Band Just Lives In It

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Credit Mito Habe-Evans / NPR
Lighting director Jackie Finney runs the light show during concerts for the band fun.
Credit Denise Truscello / WireImage
Singer Nate Ruess of fun. performs in Las Vegas. Behind Ruess are lighting director Jackie Finney's favorite new tools: towers of white lights called kryptons.
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Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 7:17 pm

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Americandy: Sweet Land Of Liberty
6:31 am
Sat August 18, 2012

Valomilks: A Sweet Treat That Runs Down Your Chin

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Credit Melisa Goh / NPR
The family-owned Russel Sifers Candy Company has been making Valomilks — and only Valomilks — for decades.
Credit J. Schafer for NPR
More than one million Valomilk packs pass through the Russell Sifers Candy Company's wrapping machine each year.
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Originally published on Sat August 18, 2012 5:23 pm

The Valomilk was once advertised as "the 5-cent candy bar with the 50-cent taste." And while the price has changed, the product has not.

For more than 80 years, the family-owned Russell Sifers Candy Company has been using the same recipe to churn out a rich concoction of chocolate and creamy marshmallow goo.

The candy-making machines are busy on the factory floor in Merriam, Kan., just southwest of Kansas City. This is the headquarters of the century-old company, where Russell Sifers himself is a fourth-generation candy maker.

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Business
6:31 am
Sat August 18, 2012

Settlement Shines Light On N.Y. Regulator, Agency

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Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of New York state's Department of Financial Services, got British bank Standard Chartered to pay a $340 million settlement over allegations that it schemed with the Iranian government to launder billions of dollars.
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Originally published on Sat August 18, 2012 5:03 pm

Banking industry officials say it's unheard of: A state regulator, flying solo, threatens to take away the state license of a global bank — and then secures a very public settlement.

That's exactly what happened in New York this past week, when the state's Department of Financial Services reached a settlement with Britain's Standard Chartered Bank over allegations that it schemed with the Iranian government to launder billions of dollars.

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Around the Nation
6:31 am
Sat August 18, 2012

Near Wounded Knee, Years Of Alleged Injustice

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Credit Kristi Eaton / AP
A memorial marks the site of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre in Wounded Knee, S.D. The town is located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home to the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
Credit AP
In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement occupied the town of Wounded Knee, S.D., on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. They were protesting the murder of an Oglala Lakota man and the failed impeachment of a tribal president that AIM members accused of corruption. The protests escalated into a deadly standoff that lasted 71 days.
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Originally published on Fri August 31, 2012 2:49 pm

In the late 1960s, Native Americans fed up with what they saw as years of mistreatment by the federal government formed an organization known as the American Indian Movement.

Founded in Minnesota, the group followed in the footsteps of the civil rights movement and took up protests across the country. One of those protests took place in 1973, when some AIM members occupied the South Dakota town of Wounded Knee, located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

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Simon Says
6:31 am
Sat August 18, 2012

If Politicians Went On Vacation, We'd All Get A Break

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Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan holds up a Green Bay Packers jersey during a campaign stop at the Iowa State Fair.
Credit Carolyn Kaster / AP
President Obama gets a face inspection at the Iowa State Fair last week in Des Moines.
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Originally published on Sat August 18, 2012 9:58 am

If you toss a corn dog at a state or county fair this summer, you may bonk a politician.

Congress is in recess, but for politicians, it's not recess of the kind they have in grade school. Many pols, especially in a close election year, spend the summer shaking hands at meet-and-greets. They cock their heads to pay rapt attention during listening tours and community meetings, raise money, make speeches, hurl charges, countercharges and ask for votes.

Does that sound refreshing?

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Election 2012
6:31 am
Sat August 18, 2012

King, Vilsack Take House Battle To Iowa State Fair

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Credit Clay Masters / Iowa Public Radio
Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa (right) flips pork chops at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines while Terry Aupperle of Wiota watches. Aupperle lives in Cass County. He can't vote for King anymore because of redistricting.
Credit Clay Masters / Iowa Public Radio
Former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack speaks at a political soapbox at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.
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Originally published on Sat August 18, 2012 2:14 pm

One of the country's toughest congressional races is in Iowa between Republican Rep. Steve King and the state's former first lady, Christie Vilsack.

Iowa is losing a seat in the House after the election, due to redistricting. Now ultra-conservative King is facing a more moderate electorate as he runs in the newly redrawn 4th Congressional District against a political newcomer.

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Africa
6:31 am
Sat August 18, 2012

Egypt's New Leader Struggles To Fulfill Big Promises

Credit Khaled Desouki / AFP/Getty Images
Egypt's new president, Mohammed Morsi, has promised to improve the lives of ordinary Egyptians during his first 100 days in office. But Morsi, shown here in July, is dealing with multiple challenges, including an economy that has been struggling since last year's revolution.
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Originally published on Sat August 18, 2012 9:58 am

Egypt's new Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, has made sweeping promises to the Egyptian people, saying he'll improve the quality of their lives during his first 100 days in office.

Morsi has been busy on several fronts, but he has only a few weeks left to fulfill those big pledges.

His promises have come in nightly radio broadcasts during the holy month of Ramadan. A decent loaf of bread is a demand for us all, he declared in one of those broadcasts, saying subsidized bread will be more widely available and of better quality.

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Europe
6:31 am
Sat August 18, 2012

France To Hollande: Time To Get To Work

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Originally published on Sat August 18, 2012 3:03 pm

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. The president of France, Francois Hollande, has just passed 100 days in office. Mr. Hollande swept to victory in a wave of discontent aimed at former President Nicolas Sarkozy. But now, there are concerns that the new president's slow, cautious manner may not be suited to solving some of the challenges facing his country. Eleanor Beardsley sends us this report from Paris.

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Middle East
6:31 am
Sat August 18, 2012

Fighting Continues To Scar Syrian Cities

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Originally published on Sat August 18, 2012 3:03 pm

Transcript

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. The last U.N. military observers are pulling out of Syria today. Their mission has been made near impossible by the heavy fighting gripping the country.

A former Algerian foreign minister is taking over as U.N. envoy on Syria, but he's not optimistic about a quick end to the fighting. And neighboring Lebanon remains on edge, after a spate of kidnappings this week related to the Syrian conflict. NPR's Anthony Kuhn joins us from Beirut.

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Sports
6:31 am
Sat August 18, 2012

Week In Sports: The Nationals And Steven Strasbourg

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Originally published on Sat August 18, 2012 9:58 am

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon speaks with Howard Bryant about sports this week and the Nationals' plans for star pitcher Steven Strasbourg.

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