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What do Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, singer-song writer Tracy Chapman, and the president of the Ford Foundation have in common? Answer: They were all "A Better Chance" scholars.

High crime rates are holding back economic development in Latin America. One element of the crime is extortion, which cuts into the bottom line for local businesses and ordinary citizens.

Hollywood Icon Esther Williams died this week. Besides being a movie star and a champion swimmer, she also offered Weekend Edition Saturday Scott Simon some swimming tips when they met back in 1999. He has this remembrance.

Weekend Edition Saturday Scott Simon talks to NPR's sports correspondent Tom Goldman about NBA star Tony Parker's spectacular performances of late, and the latest on the French Open Tennis championships.

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is tasked with making sure that secret government surveillance programs aren't abused. It was created in 2004, but still doesn't even have a website or email.

Revelations this week that the National Security Agency has been running an extensive domestic surveillance program involving companies like Google, Facebook and Apple has caused many Americans to ask what's left of their privacy. Guest host Tess Vigeland speaks with James Fallows, national correspondent with The Atlantic.

Edward Snowden, 29, a contractor for the National Security Agency, says he's behind the leak of information on the NSA's surveillance program. Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian reporter who broke the story of the leak and of Snowden's identity, offers his insight.

Forty-seven-year-old Michael Powers says he expects to be working for a long time. He and fellow members of Generation X, ages 38 to 47, are on track to be the first generation to do worse in retirement than their parents. Assuming they retire at all.

City life can be harsh on people. For example, it pushes people to work longer and sleep less. A new study suggests that city life can have a somewhat similar effect on birds too. It shows urban blackbirds wake up earlier and go to bed later than their forest dwelling cousins.

In Sanford, Fla., Monday, jury selection begins in the murder trial of George Zimmerman, the Neighborhood Watch volunteer charged with shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012. Police at first declined to charge Zimmerman after the shooting because of Florida's Stand Your Ground law, which gives immunity to people who, fearing for their lives, use deadly force in self-defense.