Weekend America

Taking the Foreclosure Bus Tour

The U.S. housing market continues its downward slide and more and more homes are going into foreclosure. But realtors are fighting back by arranging weekend bus tours of foreclosed homes to try to reach out to potential buyers. Mhari Saito goes along for the ride in a Cleveland suburb.

Foreclosure Behind Las Vegas Gates

In Las Vegas, booming home construction, unscrupulous lending and lots of housing speculation by first-time investors has resulted in some of the nation's highest foreclosure rates. Even high-end gated communities in the suburbs have felt the sting of the market downturn.

Weekend Pass

Liberty Ashore in Dubai

Thousands of U.S. military personnel take a break from duty in the Middle East in the clubs and shopping malls of Dubai. It's a port-of-call with some of the comforts of home -- including alcohol -- but soldiers, sailors and Marines are encouraged to enjoy "liberty with a purpose."

Weekend Soundtrack

'Respiration' by Black Star

Reporter and writer Chad Swiatecki has lived in Flint, Mich., for eight years and is relocating to Austin, Texas. He thinks the hip-hop duo of Mos Def and Talib Kweli have captured the essence of city life and the compelling stories of each of our lives -- even if you're not living in New York.

Change of Seasons

Hitching a Ride to Spring Break

Mary Anne Wise remembers her 1972 odyssey from Minnesota to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., thumbing her way across the country with her two roommates. She hopes that if her own 17-year-old daughter does something equally foolish, she meets up with the kind of folks who looked out for her so many years ago.

America's Weekend on Flickr.com

Our fun "America's Weekend" tool grabs the latest 98 pictures posted on Flickr.com by Weekend America fans all over the world. Many of those photos are the starting point for some pretty great stories -- we talked to the people who shot some of our favorites, and asked them to share.

Travels with Fuzzy

John Moe recently moved his family from Seattle to St. Paul, Minn. It was a big shift -- two kids, a house that had been a home for 10 years. He's been keeping track of the process in a series of stories called Moving Day. In this episode, he heads east with an unlikely traveling companion.

Gangster Confidential

Until 2002, Rene Enriquez was one of the kingpins of a merciless, ultra-violent crime syndicate -- the Mexican Mafia. He walked away from the life and started talking to law enforcement. Now his story is the subject of a new documentary based on his audio dairies that give a glimpse into a terrifying world behind bars.

Good News, Bad News, No News

Lab Meat, Eating for a Boy or a Girl

This week on the panel: Nancy French, author of "A Red State of Mind: How a Catfish Queen Reject Became a Liberty Belle;" Writer Dana Gould, whose credits include "The Simpsons;" and documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, whose new film is "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?"

Passing the Crown of Mr. Irrelevant

It's NFL draft weekend, and pro football teams will be fighting for the best college players. The first pick of the draft is a coveted position -- but surprisingly, the last has its perks, too. Weekend America sits down with the last pick of the 2007 draft, aka "Mr. Irrelevant."

The Ghazal: A Poem of Longing

Poet and college professor Suzanne Gardinier latest book, "Today: 101 Ghazals," pays homage to a form of poetry from the Middle East and India -- a collection of couplets that usually depicts pain, loss and longing. She shares what the poetry form has added to her own craft.

Dinner, and a Side of Poetry

In celebration of National Poetry Month this April, the folks at Alimentum, a literary magazine about food, published its second-annual menupoems broadside for some favorite restaurants in New York City -- care for a side of verse with dessert? How about a couplet as an appetizer?

Start with a Banjo, Keep Adding Strings

Paul Metzger has spent more than 20 years tinkering with his banjo, adding more and more strings. A banjo normally has five strings -- Paul has gotten his up to 23 now. His highly modified instrument has pushed the sound of the instrument to new limits, and his haunting melodies can be mesmerizing.