Already one of the poorest countries by many measures, Yemen — a nation of roughly 22 million people — has been struck by severe droughts and depleted water supplies in recent years. Some Yemenis are calling the situation a potential time bomb.

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A new political party in Germany has made saving the working class and the country's welfare system rallying points for attracting votes. Die Linke, or the Left Party, is drawing support from mainstream parties with a radical message.

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A small church north of Los Angeles became a sanctuary nearly a year ago for a female, illegal immigrant facing deportation. The United Church of Christ in Simi Valley is attracting anti-illegal immigration demonstrators angry that the church is sheltering the woman.

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In Haiti, relief efforts continue almost a week after Tropical Storm Hanna caused extensive flooding on the island. The town of Gonaives was the hardest hit; scores of people were killed and much of the city remains under water. Aid workers are desperately trying to provide food, shelter and medicine to people there while fearing more flooding from Hurricane Ike.

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U.S. mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be put into conservatorship and their top executives will be removed, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said. The intervention comes after the companies lost billions in the housing market turmoil, with no sign things are getting better.

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The Treasury Department is poised to announce it will takeover Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which together back roughly half of all outstanding U.S. mortgages. The government intervention comes after the companies lost billions in the housing market turmoil, with no sign things are getting better.

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Host Liane Hansen speaks with Nariman Behravesh, Chief Economist at Global Insight. Behravesh says that without major action, chances of the housing crunch and credit crisis dragging on for another year are very high. But early action will probably save taxpayers in the long run, because the damage to the economy will be less.

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Some 600 illegal immigrants were arrested in a major federal raid at a Mississippi manufacturing plant recently. The Bush Administration charged only eight of the immigrants criminally and sent the rest for civil deportation proceedings. Host Liane Hansen speaks to NPR's Jennifer Ludden to find out if this signals a shift in administration policy.

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Host Liane Hansen speaks with Kevin Voisin, Vice President of Marketing at Motivatit Seafoods in Houma Louisiana. The company was hit hard by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and now the Houma area is reeling in the aftermath of Gustav.

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Haitians are heading to higher ground to escape massive flooding caused by Tropical Storm Hanna, and they're bracing themselves for Hurricane Ike. More than 150 people have been killed.

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Rene Enriquez was once a leader in the Mexican mafia. He killed for the gang and ordered the deaths of many men and women. But after reaching the pinnacle of prison-gang life, he decided to leave and share information with the police.

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Just over nine months after his wife, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated in a suicide attack, Asif Ali Zardari has been chosen as the new president of Pakistan. His election Saturday has been received warily by the Pakistani public. It came on a day marred by death and mayhem after a suicide bomb attack in Peshawar killed at least 30 people.

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The U.S. government is poised to take control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a number of reports published on Saturday. The reports, quoting unidentified officials, say the government will take the companies into conservatorship in an effort to shore up the battered housing and mortgage markets.

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Red Army soldiers trekked through China on their epic journey nearly 75 years ago. The daughter of an officer, Diane Zhang, follows the route on a quest to learn about the defining moment in her family's and China's history.

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Tropical Storm Hanna is an uninvited player in this year's U.S. Open. Scott Simon talks with Weekend Edition's Howard Bryant about the men's semifinals, the women's finals and a look ahead to the week in baseball.

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The Democratic and Republican national conventions got reporter Rachel Myrow thinking about political t-shirts. She wonders which party is selling more t-shirts this season as well as what clever — and inappropriate — things end up on them.

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Stephen Williams of the Antique Wine Company describes the new high-tech way to determine a wine's vintage.

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In the modern age of mega-stage spelling bees, there are still factions of what amount to advocates for spelling reform — those who want to simplify spellings or scrap the current alphabet all together.

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Todd Domke, Republican analyst, and Dan Payne, Democratic analyst, discuss the political landscape — and how it looks after the close of both parties' national conventions.

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Tropical Storm Hanna hit the East Coast along the North and South Carolina border on Saturday. It is expected to race north along the Eastern Seaboard, bringing heavy rain and flooding.

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