From NPR News

Popcorn and movies (or the Oscars) go together like Batman and Robin. And nowadays, options stretch far beyond plain or buttered.

Food critics call one brand the Rolls Royce and another the Prada. They are designer labels for the simplest, most American snack food.

Presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are neck-and-neck in the polls in the run-up to the Michigan Republican primary on Tuesday.

One group that Romney appears to have an advantage with is Roman Catholic voters despite the fact that he is Mormon and Santorum Catholic.

The disconnect between faith and politics highlights differences among Catholics and shows that some religious voters are focusing more on other issues.

Declaring Faith

In the traditional world of French politics, spouses don't usually jump into the fray. But French first lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy is anything but a traditional political spouse.

Her husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy, has just announced he is running for re-election this spring. It's a challenge: Polls show him trailing the Socialist candidate, Francois Hollande.

Sarkozy's wife has promised to do everything she can to help her husband win — and that includes hitting the campaign trail.

The head of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan has recalled all Western military advisers from government ministries after two high-ranking U.S. military officers were shot dead.

Officials say the gunman has not been identified, but a manhunt is under way.

Reporting from Kabul, NPR's Quil Lawrence says the officers died inside a high-security area of the Afghan Interior Ministry building after an individual turned his weapon on them.

Earlier today, a court ended a corruption trial against Silvio Berlusconi. But that's not the end of the road for the former prime minister, he still faces charges that he paid an underage teenager for sex. Friends of Berlusconi say that he is lonely and increasingly isolated. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz talks to writer Philip Delves Broughton who got unprecedented access to Silvio Berlusconi in Rome and wrote about the interview for The Atlantic.

Gas prices are on the rise and there's a slew of possible reasons as to why. Tensions with Iran, the Obama administration's policies, and Wall Street speculators have all been cited as factors. But it still doesn't answer why prices are increasing while U.S. demand for gasoline is going down. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz talks with NPR's John Ydstie about some hidden factors behind the jacked up gas prices.

Two American military officers were shot and killed today in the heavily guarded Interior Ministry building in Kabul. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz speaks to Kabul bureau chief Quil Lawrence about the shootings, which follow five days of riots and protests over the burning of Koran's at a NATO base earlier this week.

President Obama and his GOP rivals are sparing over gas prices. In an election year, that pocketbook issue could hurt the president, but Republican voters still have no clear cut nominee to face off in November anyway. Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney square off in Michigan on Tuesday, with poll numbers flipping between the two. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz speaks with Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page about these and other news stories from the week.

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As the assault against Homs continues, Secretary of State Clinton is urging Syrian security forces to disobey orders from their own commanders and stop the violence against protesters. Aram Nerguizian researches Middle East military strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. We asked him about the possibility of further defections among the ranks.

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

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There's a limited humanitarian effort already underway in Syria. The Red Cross is in the process of evacuating injured people from the embattled Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr. At least 27 people are reportedly receiving medical treatment after being driven out in ambulances yesterday. The evacuation comes after a week in which Baba Amr was pounded by some of the heaviest artillery attacks by the Syrian government.

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Video gaming has become a spectator sport. There are now pro video gamers who play for money. Viewers watch online - sometimes at an arena, even on a Jumbotron. Well, this weekend in New York City, 32 of the world's top gamers are gathered to compete. A man named Mike Lamond, also known as "Husky" - maybe the Joe Buck of video gaming. He's what they call a shoutcaster who does the play-by-play for the audience of the games StarCraft: Wings of Liberty. He joins us from the studios of NPR West. Thanks so much for being with us.

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This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Time for sports.

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SIMON: One of baseball's best young stars has his drug ban overturned. So why isn't Major League Baseball celebrating? Also, Lin takes some Heat in Miami and another big Tiger Woods putt just rolls away. When will they start to drop? NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman joins us.

Morning, Tom.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: Hiya, Scott.

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NPR's Don Gonyea joins us in the studio this morning. He spent all week in his home state of Michigan reporting on the campaign there. Don, thanks for being back with us.

DON GONYEA, BYLINE: It's a pleasure.

SIMON: As I already noted, Mitt Romney looks to improve his lot this week. How did he do it?

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This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Gunfire broke out today inside the Interior Ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan. Two high-ranking U.S. military officers have been killed. The incident came on the fifth day of protests across the nation, sparked by the burning of Qurans at a U.S. base. NPR's Quil Lawrence joins us from Kabul. Quil, thanks for being with us.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE: My pleasure.

SIMON: What do we know now about the shooting?

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