Weekend Edition Saturday

In 1999, Kathryn Bolkovac had run into hard times. A police officer in Lincoln, Neb., who had recently lost custody of her daughters in a divorce settlement, she was looking for a new job that would give her the means to live near them.

When Bolkovac heard she could earn good money in a short period of time by becoming part of the U.N. International Police Force in Bosnia — run by a private British agency called DynCorp — she decided to sign on.

The recent Smurfs movie has the distinction of casting one of America's most admired of comedians. He's Jonathan Winters and he gives voice to Papa Smurf in the new film, but he also voiced Grandpa Smurf in the 1980s TV cartoon series.

Winters has practiced comedy for over 60 years in just about every medium you can make people laugh in — on the radio, on television, in nightclubs, on recordings, in movies and even on telephone answering machines (ask your parents).

It's been 15 years since the Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta. NPR's Kathy Lohr covered the games and remembers how the Olympic spirit rose above the tragic bombing.

For me, two events still stand out from that summer.

First, the opening ceremony, which I covered from Centennial Olympic Park, where the festivities were broadcast for free on huge TV screens. It was a big party, and I stayed in the park for hours recording the event.

Part 3 of a 6-part series

More than two years after the recession officially ended, mayors across the country are still struggling to balance their budgets.

Philadelphia avoided the big public employee layoffs seen in other cities by bucking national trends and doing what many consider unthinkable: raising taxes.

New studies and new mower technology says to leave clippings more often than collecting clippings.