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Author Interviews
4:40 pm
Sat March 31, 2012

Fight For Klimt Portrait A Fight To Reclaim History

Originally published on Sat March 31, 2012 4:43 pm

In Germany, a federal court has ruled that the German Historical Museum in Berlin must return a rare collection of handcrafted posters to the son of the original owner. The posters were seized by the Nazis from a Jewish art collector in the 1930s.

The case is one of dozens in recent years in which art stolen by the Nazis from Jews has been returned to descendants.

The most famous case involved Gustav Klimt's masterpiece, the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. The golden, shimmering painting of the high society hostess became known as Austria's Mona Lisa.

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Judging The Health Care Law
4:16 pm
Sat March 31, 2012

How Did The Health Care Mandate Get Here?

Credit Carolyn Kaster / AP
Protesters chant and hold a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in front of Supreme Court in Washington as the court concluded three days of hearing arguments on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week over key aspects of President Obama's health care law, including the expansion of Medicaid and whether the court even had the right to hear the case. But the core of the challenge mounted against the Affordable Care Act hinges upon its individual mandate, which requires almost every American to have or buy health insurance.

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Politics
2:00 pm
Sat March 31, 2012

In 1993, Republicans Proposed A Mandate First

Originally published on Sat March 31, 2012 4:43 pm

Transcript

GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

Before the break, we mentioned the individual mandate in health care. Now, not so long ago, most Democrats hated the idea, and most of its support came from Republicans. And it started with President Bill Clinton's attempt to reform the health care system back in 1993. He came to Capitol Hill to address Congress.

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: This health care system of ours is badly broken, and it is time to fix it.

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)

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Around the Nation
2:00 pm
Sat March 31, 2012

Tribe Sues To Keep Reservation Free Of Booze

The sale or possession of liquor is strictly forbidden by the tribal government of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. But there is a tiny town just over the border in Nebraska that does sell alcohol, in massive quantities, and mostly to tribal residents.

And now a longstanding battle over beer sales has spilled into federal court.

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Arts & Life
2:00 pm
Sat March 31, 2012

Three-Minute Fiction: Round 8 Submissions Closed

Transcript

(SOUNDBITE OF CLOCK TICKING)

GUY RAZ, HOST:

More than 6,000 stories came in this round of Three-Minute Fiction - 6000. Amazing. The challenge this time, the story had to begin with the sentence: She closed the book, placed it on the table and finally decided to walk through the door. It's going to take us several weeks to read through those stories and find a winner, but for now, here are a few samples of what some of you did with that sentence.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

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Music Interviews
1:22 pm
Sat March 31, 2012

The Passionate, Turbulent Life Of James Brown

James Brown used to tell people that even being stillborn as a child couldn't stop him. He rose to the highest heights in the music industry and stayed there longer than most. But in the end he succumbed to atrocious financial planning, a drug habit and a violent temper.

RJ Smith, author of the new biography The One: The Life and Music of James Brown, tells NPR's Guy Raz that Brown believed he was indestructible.

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Music Interviews
12:48 pm
Sat March 31, 2012

Noel Gallagher: Flying High After Oasis

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Noel Gallagher's first solo album, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, came out in October.

When the song "Wonderwall" hit the airwaves in 1995, Oasis was arguably the biggest rock band in the world. At the heart of the group were two combustible figures: Noel Gallagher, the main songwriter, and his brother Liam, the main singer. With their fiery tempers and frequent public outbursts, the two were on the covers of the tabloids as often as the top of the charts.

Oasis burned out quite suddenly a few years ago, with a now-famous meltdown backstage before a show in Paris.

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Simon Says
8:26 am
Sat March 31, 2012

Beef, Tarantula and Gout: Food Critics Suffer, Too

Credit iStockphoto.com
Food professionals will tell you: Eating asks a lot of your body.

Originally published on Sat March 31, 2012 1:26 pm

Burp!

'Scuse me, but is someone trying to kill off food critics?

What about themselves?

Frank Bruni, the former restaurant critic of The New York Times, now an op-ed columnist, has revealed that he has gout.

Gout is a painful inflammation of the joints that's been called the King's Disease because it's historically associated with the kind of gluttony only kings could afford: profuse servings of beef, lobster, goose liver and strong drink.

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Sports
7:00 am
Sat March 31, 2012

Final Four Teams Known For Strength, Rivalries

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Time for sports.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPORTS THEME MUSIC)

SIMON: Tonight, the party begins on Bourbon Street. Hey, wait. Do parties on Bourbon Street ever end? Anyway, the NCAA men's basketball tournament is down to its Final Four teams. They're four famous basketball programs and the women's Final Four starts tomorrow night in Denver with another quartet of traditional powerhouses.

NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman Tom joins us. Tom, thanks for being with us.

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Law
7:00 am
Sat March 31, 2012

Supreme Court Review: Justices Take On Health Care

This past week at the Supreme Court, judges heard three days of arguments on President Obama's health care law. The justices asked questions to decide whether the Affordable Care Act overreaches the Constitution. NPR's Nina Totenberg and Julie Rovner review the week's events with host Scott Simon.

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