All Things Considered

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

In France, the voters have spoken: a new president elected today and his name is Francois Hollande.

PRESIDENT-ELECT FRANCOIS HOLLANDE: (Foreign language spoken)

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

SECRETARY HILLARY CLINTON: As President Obama said this week, a China that protects the rights of all its citizens will be a stronger and more prosperous nation and, of course, a stronger partner on behalf of our common goals.

Weekends on All Things Considered's series, Movies I've Seen A Million Times features filmmakers, actors, writers and directors talking about the movies that they never get tired of watching.

For writer-director Lawrence Kasdan, whose credits include The Big Chill, The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark, the movie he can't get enough of is Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past. Kasdan says that the 1947 movie is a great piece of film noir cinema.

Jason Mraz's 2008 single "I'm Yours" was a multiplatinum global hit. In fact, it set a record by staying on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for 76 weeks — more than any other song in the magazine's 51-year history.

Although Mraz's new record, Love Is a Four Letter Word, was written on the heels of a breakup, the songs are mostly sunny and positive. Mraz says he was more interested in making something relatable than in zeroing in on his own experiences.

Although it always seems fashionable to forecast the downfall of classical music, enterprising musicians both young and not so young continue to make deeply satisfying recordings. For this visit to weekends on All Things Considered, I was delighted to uncover the little known (at least in this country) Jorge Luis Prats, a terrifically talented Cuban pianist whose once uncertain career appears to be resurging — at 55, he has signed a handsome record deal. Then there's The Knights, a young chamber orchestra with a postmodern take on Schubert.

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia announced today that he is removing five priests from ministry. Charles Chaput said investigations into other priests accused of abuse will continue.

But as NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports, victims' advocates are not satisfied.

News of a possible way out of the diplomatic impasse over Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has again overshadowed other events in Beijing. The Chinese Foreign ministry says Chen might be allowed to leave China to study abroad. Meanwhile about 200 U.S. officials from the State Department and the U.S. Treasury are in China to discuss other matters vital to the U.S.-China relationship.

Robert Siegel talks to actor Bill Nighy about his role in the new film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The movie follows a group of British retirees who move to the less-expensive and more-exotic India. Expecting a luxury development, they arrive to discover a hotel filled with dusty sheets and birds nesting in the rafters. Their experiences transform the way they see the world and themselves.

Charges filed this week against 13 people in connection with a hazing death at Florida A&M University have thrust the hazing culture into the spotlight.

Florida has one of the toughest anti-hazing laws in the country, but legal experts say prosecuting the crime can be tricky.

State attorney Lawson Lamar, who is leading the prosecution in the death of drum major Robert Champion, acknowledges the case is complicated.

A small-town mayor in Utah is trying to make congressional history.

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And now to the Syria, where in the city of Aleppo today, government troops stormed dormitories at the main university. This after students turned out for mass protests yesterday. At least three students were killed during the raid. Dozens, if not hundreds, more were arrested. U.N. observers are currently in Syria to monitor whether the government and its opponents are complying with a peace plan. And that peace plan is supposed to allow for nonviolent protests. NPR's Kelly McEvers tells us more about what happened in Aleppo.

If you listen to my story above, you'll know that hot sauce production is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States.

And you'll learn that research finds chili-heads — people who love the burn of spicy food — tend to have a penchant for sensation-seeking. Think rollercoasters and action flicks.

So you wanna jump in, but you're new to the hot sauce world?

That crashing sound you'll hear emanating from cineplexes this weekend will be the sound of comic-book superheroes smashing box-office records.

Actually, the smashing started last weekend, when Marvel's The Avengers opened in 39 territories around the world, scooping up a cool $178 million in three days. And with legions of fans having already bought advance tickets in the U.S., it's a pretty sure bet the box-office bonanza will continue as the film opens in more than 4,000 North American theaters.

The U.S. and China have agreed to a deal to allow the blind Chinese dissident who sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to resume a normal life. The issue had threatened to overshadow the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to China, probably her last in that role. Under a deal agreed to on Wednesday, the dissident has now left the embassy for a Beijing hospital to be reunited with his family.