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Almost 5 million Americans have been searching for work for at least six months. This week, their plight is getting a bit tougher as the government cuts their unemployment benefits — part of the automatic reductions in federal spending that took effect recently.

Job growth plummeted in March after several months of solid growth, with employers adding just 88,000 new workers to their payrolls. No one knows exactly why the job market stalled, but among the theories is the payroll tax increase, the sequester, more trouble in Europe and a seasonal pattern where hiring picks up in winter and tails off during the spring.

After a rocky start on Friday, talks on Iran's nuclear program have resumed in earnest in Kazakhstan. Western officials say Iran failed to respond to the latest plan to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for a modest easing of sanctions, but both sides seem to be working to salvage the diplomatic effort. Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon Scott Simon talks with NPR's Peter Kenyon, who is following the talks in Almaty.

The city of Los Angeles recently finished a massive project to synchronize all of its 4,500 traffic lights in the hopes of reducing congestion. Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon checks in with Kajon Cermak, traffic reporter for member station KCRW in Santa Monica to see how the plan is panning out.

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon talks with Errol Louis, host of NY1's Inside City Hall, about the latest in the New York City mayoral race bribe scheme. A Democratic New York state senator is charged with trying to buy a spot on the Republican ticket.

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon talks with Wall Street Journal reporter Greg Bensinger about Amazon's acquisition of the reader reviews site, Goodreads, and the implications for readers, authors and publishers.

Jackie Robinson, the first African-American baseball player in the major leagues, is the subject of an upcoming biopic. Chadwick Boseman plays the groundbreaking athlete in 42; he joins NPR's Scott Simon to talk about what it felt like to take on a cultural hero.

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon talks with University of California-Santa Cruz graduate student Peter Cook, who trained a sea lion to bob her head in time with music. This challenges a leading theory on rhythmic entrainment that only animals with the capabilities of vocal mimicry could keep a beat.

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon speaks with NPR's Tom Goldman about the scandal at Rutgers University, and the NCAA basketball finals for both men and women this weekend.

Former SNL cast member Julia Sweeney has written a new memoir of her life as a Midwestern mother. She speaks to NPR's Scott Simon about her decision to adopt from China, how her daughter got to be named Mulan (yes, after the Disney character), and gaining a new appreciation for her own mother.