Somali-American Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed came to the U.S. in 1985 to work at the Somali Embassy in Washington, D.C.

When civil war broke out in Somalia, Mohamed decided to stay in the U.S., moving to Buffalo, N.Y., where he earned a bachelor's degree in history and a master's in political science at SUNY.

Mohamed held various local government jobs before becoming a regional compliance specialist at the New York State Department of Transportation, but just a few months ago, he was the interim prime minister of Somalia.

Members of Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party may disagree on many issues, but there's one thing that unites both groups: distrust in concentrated power.

"One can't help but feel that there's a huge system out there between politicians, between corporate interests, that really prevents the average Joe from being able to air out his concerns," says Charles Zhu, an Occupy Wall Street supporter who was in Washington, D.C., this week to join protests in McPherson Square.

As images of Moammar Gadhafi's body spread across the Arab world, protesters in Syria and Yemen are issuing renewed calls for their own leaders to step down. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz talks with Georgetown professor Samer Shehata about Gadhafi's death and the ongoing Arab Spring protests are reshaping the Middle East and North Africa.

The first steps toward a post-Gadhafi government are underway in Libya today. NPR's Grant Clark reports from Misrata.

Moammar Gadhafi is dead, NATO will end its military operation in Libya at the end of the month, and all but a handful of U.S. troops will leave Iraq by the end of the year. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz speaks with James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic, about those stories and others from the past week.

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SCOTT SIMON, host: Time now for your letters.

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SIMON: Lots of mail about my interview last week with Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain, especially what Mr. Cain said about the taxes paid by a family of four making $50,000 under the current tax system.

HERMAN CAIN: Based upon standard deductions and standard exemptions, they're going to pay $10,200 in taxes.

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SCOTT SIMON, host: This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon.

Why is Siri female?

Siri is the name of a new talking virtual assistant feature on the latest iPhone that can tell you when you have an appointment, where to find a Thai restaurant and what the pollen count will be.

I have friends who have the phone and love to ask Siri, "What's the meaning of life?" She has an answer, which is impressive. Maybe it takes a circuit board to recognize the special quality of life. But frankly, her answer sounds a little robotic.

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SCOTT SIMON, host: This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Iowa's 2012 presidential caucuses are now just about 11 weeks away and candidates are chasing after voters with increasing urgency. Tonight, a half-dozen Republican hopefuls will speak to a gathering of social conservatives, but before that there's football tailgating, pheasant hunting and more on their schedules. NPR's Don Gonyea joins us from Des Moines. Don, thanks for being with us.

DON GONYEA: It's a pleasure.