Weekend America

An Honest Talk About Race

For about a month now, Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice has hosted an online forum on race, where she encourages Web visitors to be honest. Some of those comments have been at times upsetting, controversial and touching. Trice discussed her feelings about the experience so far with Desiree Cooper.

America at War

Military, Married and Serving Together

In May of 2006 the U.S. Army began allowing married couples to live together in Iraq to boost morale, preserve marriages and bolster re-enlistment rates. Bill Radke talks to Bikiesa and Joe Cole, two sergeants stationed at Camp Falcon in Iraq, about their cramped quarters, private time and the terrors of mortar attacks.

Letters

Letters: A Gift of Life

Also two weeks ago, we brought you Marc Sanchez' story about his journey as a bone marrow donor. Many of you were moved by the story, including Joel Carter of Grand Rapids, Mich., who wrote Marc a letter expressing his gratitude for all donors on behalf of an entire family rescued from grief.

"Be Prepared" as a Call to Arms

All summer long we're commemorating, re-creating, or otherwise bringing to you odes to the longest, best weekend of all -- the summer vacation. We start the series with the story of how the Boy Scout motto helped Jonathan Goldstein indulge his daughter's outdoor yearnings.

Putting the Love Back into Hockey

Benjamin Salisbury grew up in Minnesota, where kids learn how to play ice hockey while still in diapers. But his mom forbade him to play, thinking it was too violent a game. Now that he's grown up and 2,000 miles away in Los Angeles, he's finally learning how to play -- and his wife Kelly has joined him in the rink.

Retiring on Immigration's Front Lines

In the 1960s, David Maxon's grandfather fulfilled a dream of building a retirement community in Arizona. That development eventually became the city of Green Valley, about 40 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. But instead of peace and quiet, retirees are increasingly finding themselves in the crossfire over federal immigration policies.

The Power of Breaking Bread

The Democratic Party is hotly divided, and a fundraising dinner tonight will bring the topic to a boil. Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of American Public Media's Splendid Table, talks about the power of breaking bread with your rivals, and how it can lead to deeper understanding and even amicable compromise.

Good News, Bad News, No News

Gay Marriage and Terrorist Donuts

Our latest panel of non-experts weigh the week's biggest headlines: Firoozeh Dumas, author of "Laughing Without an Accent"; Gustavo Arellano, writer of the infamous "Ask a Mexican" advice column for the OC Weekly; and David Rakoff, author of "Don't Get Too Comfortable."

The Tiger Woods of Tennis?

Six-year-old Jan Silva is already being referred to as the Tiger Woods of tennis. A video of Jan playing tennis when he was 3 led to an invitation to move from California to live and train at one of the world's premier tennis schools in France. Already, the attention of the tennis world is riveted by the sport's next big prodigy.

The Weekend Shift

Being the Assistant is the Real Trick

As part of our Weekend Shift series, we meet a worker who spends her Saturday nights being sawed in half. What you and I call a magician's assistant, magicians actually call a box jumper. And as Weekend America reporter Nate Dimeo tells us, the world of the box jumper is changing.

Memories of High School Drama

Remember those days when high school meant everything? There was drama around every locker... What if you don't have the right hairstyle? What if you forget your lines in the school play? What if that C in physics keeps you out of your top-choice college? A new blog asks readers to share their memories.

Brighton Beach's Russian Accent

Russian emigres have been a Brighton Beach fixture ever since the breakup of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. The Brooklyn neighborhood's restaurants and nightclubs boast acts hard to find anywhere else -- like singer and composer Victoria Lisina, who found a new life on American shores.