Weekend Edition Saturday

It's been a hugely successful year for Michael Kiwanuka. The British singer-songwriter, who just turned 25, has been voted the BBC Sound of 2012, and was picked to tour with Adele.

On a sweltering day in July, Cairo temperatures top 100 degrees and the humidity is an oppressive 83 percent. There hasn't been a single day this month with a high of less than 90 — in a country where access to air conditioning is much more limited than in the United States.

Add to that the fact that much of the country is fasting for Ramadan and it gives a new dimension to what the Egyptian Meteorological Association calls a "humid heat wave."

The Family Place provides a variety of services to help young families through a myriad of challenges. Jennifer Smith learned about the Family Place when her daughter was a newborn and in neo-natal intensive care.

Zebra Crossings provides opportunities for kids with chronic health conditions to expand their experiences and grow their independence. Heather Hesse-Stromberg’s eight-year-old daughter, Haiden, has asthma.

Haiden: It’s a chance for kids to do activities they don’t usually get to do and it’s a chance for kids to make new friends.

Host Scott Simon talks with Tom Olbrich of the Jefferson Center for Mental Health in Denver about some of the lessons learned about treating patients post-Columbine shooting.

Businesses in Aurora, Colo., sprang into action Friday to assist victims and their families. Kevin Hougen, president of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, worked with businesses to help provide necessities to victims of the shooting. Host Scott Simon spoke with Hougen Friday from his office, which overlooks the movie theater.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

American flags are flying at half-staff today over the White House, and elsewhere in the country. The shootings in Aurora have silenced politics as usual - at least, for the moment. The Romney and Obama campaigns have both pulled their TV ads from the air in Colorado, a state that had three top political advertising markets in the country this week. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports on a somber day on the campaign trail.

Host Scott Simon talks with 72-year-old Irv Gordon. His 1966 Volvo P1800S needs about 30,000 more miles to reach the 3 million-mile mark. His license plate reads, "MILNMILER."

The phrase "theater number 9" may soon be one of those added to our collective memory. That is where the shootings in Aurora, Colo., took place. It has some movie goers wondering about their safety in cities across the country.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Tom Goldman for a preview of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

In the unfolding LIBOR scandal, attention has shifted to why U.S. financial regulators, who knew about the rate rigging, didn't move to stop it more swiftly. Host Scott Simon talks with Robert Smith, a correspondent for NPR's Planet Money.