Weekend America

Hurricane Ike

The city of Austin has been taking in evacuees fleeing Hurricane Ike from Galveston for days now. We hear an update from Mayor Will Wynn as the storm passes through Texas.

Election 2008

How Does that $10,000 Dinner Taste?

As the presidential candidates embark on the campaign trail, you'll be seeing billboards and hearing ads about what they can offer the American public. The cash it takes to buy far-reaching publicity like this is often collected using the old-fashioned fundraising dinner. Weekend America reporter John Moe finds out exactly what you get for a $10,000-a-plate dinner.

Immigration: One Thing

From Somalia to Portland

This year, the United States resettled nearly 7,000 refugees from Somalia, the most of any African nation. Like many minority Somali Bantu, Omar Abdirahaman and his family fled to Kenya after being targeted by militia groups in Somalia. Omar, his wife and children spent 15 years in the refugee camp, and finally made it abroad in 2004. Like most Somali Bantus in Portland, Ore., Omar works at a fish factory in town. But on weekends, especially in the morning, he sings and plays traditional guitar and drums. That's the one thing Omar brought with him, his music.

Weekend Soundtrack

"The Heart of Saturday Night"

When Nathan Tift of Edina, Minn., hears "The Heart of Saturday Night," by Tom Waits, he thinks of a time he was in one of the most remote and coldest places on earth: the South Pole.

Observing the Nature Watchers

British filmmaker David Attenborough hosts a series of nature documentaries. It's a cult phenomenon on the BBC. This weekend, the Animal Planet channel will be airing his documentary "Blue Planet. "Weekend America" reporter Sean Cole wondered what it might sound like if he did a nature documentary about humans. This piece is part of a series, Stories from the Heart of the Land, currently airing on public radio stations around the country. Go to HeartOfTheLand.org for more information.

America's Weekend: Astroland's Final Days

On our website, there's a little feature called "America's Weekend via Flickr." It's a photomontage of snapshots tagged "weekend" and "america" on the photo-sharing service Flickr. One photo that caught our eye is of friends on the beach. And it caught our eye because that beach is Coney Island - you can see the defunct parachute jump in the background. Another big part of Coney Island became defunct last weekend after Astroland closed for good last Sunday. We talked to the photographer, Diana Taft Shumate.

Music for a Marathon Man

When independent producer Gideon D'Arcangelo learned about ultra-marathoner Dean Karnazes' plan to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, he had just one question, and it wasn't, "Are you crazy?!" Actually Gideon wanted to know what would be coming out of Dean's headphones. For the next installment of our Listening In series, Gideon ran with Dean to find out what music motivates him to go the extra mile, or the extra 1,299 as the case may be.

Hurricane Crisis

We hear from Mark Reeves, chaplain for the Disaster Medical Assistance Medical 4 team from San Diego. The team is on the ground today in Texas helping recovery from Hurricane Ike. Reeves talks with host John Moe about the immediate mental and spiritual needs of evacuees.

Military Tattoos

American soldiers have been getting tattoos since the nineteenth century, but as the war in Iraq continues, the types of tattoos evolve. Reporter Michael May visited some tattoo parlors in Killeen, Texas, home of Fort Hood Army Base, to find out more about the permanent mementos that soldiers carry.

How to Cook a Wolf

As the economy slows, food prices rise, and more families are turning to food stamps and food banks to get by. It's enough to make the whole eating thing an anxiety-ridden affair. But solace might be found in an old book.

Weekend Soundtrack

"Shotgun"

It's time to listen to your weekend soundtrack. The songs that bridge the gap from Friday to Monday. Our latest story comes from our engineer and Ironman Triathlete Tim Bomba. Tim lives in Los Angeles, and he told us that his weekend soundtrack is "Shotgun" by Junior Walker. He spoke with Bill Radke.

Joe Sacco's "Palestine"

Joe Sacco travels around the world collecting stories and conducting interviews like other reporters, but instead of writing articles, he draws comics. Sacco's most successful book is called "Palestine." This week, a special edition of the book goes into wide release.

The Environment on the Border

This week, the immigration debate has spread to matters of the environment. The Sierra Club says a fence along the border will disrupt the animals and plants that live there. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended construction of a fence, saying it's actually better for the environment than all the trash that illegal border crossers leave behind. We hear from nature writer Craig Childs, about this harsh and beautiful landscape.

Percussion on the Road

As a percussionist, Ches Smith is on the road a lot. By his count, six to eight months a year. All that time on the road can be a little boring after a while. There's only so many times you can play "The Out of State License Plate Game." On his most recent tour with the band Xiu Xiu, Ches came up with the idea to write and record a piece of music for each town on the tour. Assisting him with the project are audience members from each town. He calls it the Y/OUR Town Project.