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The host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, Scott Simon. He's written a new memoir, Home & Away: Memoir of a Fan (Hyperion).

We remember dancer Gwen Verdon. She died today at the age of 75. She became an overnight Broadway sensation in 1953 as a dancer in Can Can, for which she won her first Tony Award. Later she created her most memorable roles in Bob Fosses Damn Yankees as the seductress Lola, Sweet Charity as the taxi dancer Charity, and Chicago as the chorus girl Roxie. Verdon was also Fosses third wife. (ORIGINAL BROADCAST from 5

NPR's Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg reports on the opening of Madame Tussaud's in New York. The famed British wax museum will feature replicas of some real New York types, including Woody Allen, Joe DiMaggio, Donald Trump, and Rudy Giuliani. But it will also have figures that have long attracted attention in its London home, such as Napoleon and Princess Diana. (

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports on changes in U.S. trade policy toward Cuba. Last night, the Senate gave final approval to a bill that modestly eases the trade embargo on Cuba. It will allow sales of food to Cuba for the first time in four decades, but bars the federal government or U.S. banks from financing shipments.

NPR's Don Gonyea reports on efforts by Republican presidential candidate Governor George W. Bush to appeal to women, by sending his wife Laura and mother Barbara out on a bus tour of swing states (3:30).

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said today that surging oil prices bear close attention because they have the potential to disrupt the nation's longest ever economic expansion. As NPR's John Ydstie reports, Greenspan said higher oil prices have not sparked a new round of inflation, but that possibility still exists, especially given low inventories and tensions in the Middle East. He noted that federal budget surpluses have aided the expansion, but added that government's propensity to spend may mean smaller surpluses in years to come.

NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports on the AARP's new identity. The American Association of Retired Persons is trying to realign its image with that of the aging baby boomers. Suddenly, post 50 is looking more active and more engaged with the world. But some members worry that the AARP is ignoring older retirees whose lifestyles and attitudes don't necessarily fit with those of the boomers. (

Commentator Kevin Phillips talks about the connection between oil, technology, and wealth in the United States.

South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung has won of the Nobel Peace Prize this morning. The Nobel committee recognized Kim for his promotion of democracy and human rights after years of authoritarian rule in South Korea, as well as his work towards peaceful relations with North Korea. NPR's Eric Weiner reports from Tokyo on the award.

NPR's John Hamilton reports that after 9 years of unprecedented economic growth, and record low unemployment, the number of uninsured Americans has actually grown. But the lack of insurance has yet to become a major political issue. And for many Americans, the prospect of finding health insurance remains dim.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Jerusalem where the violence escalated yesterday with the killings of at least two Israeli soldiers by a Palestinian mob in the West Bank town of Ramallah, followed by reprisal attacks from Israeli combat helicopters.

Film Critic Henry Sheehan reviews the new film Dr T. and the Women.