A meningitis outbreak has sickened nearly 300 people and killed 23, but it turns out that this isn't the first time that this kind of outbreak has happened. Dr. John Perfect treated patients sickened in the 2002 outbreak.

As the candidates prepare to face off again tonight in the second presidential debate, there is actually something the two men finally agree on: the format. Tonight's debate at Hofstra University is town-hall style, meaning all questions come from the audience. The campaigns have also agreed that the moderator, Candy Crowley, will not be allowed ask follow-up questions.

With the debate over Elizabeth Warren's Native American heritage still looming, WGBH's Phillip Martin got to thinking about some deeper questions about ethnicity and racial identity and how they factor into our political leanings.

David Pogue, technology columnist for The New York Times, talks about his new Nova Science Now series which explores a number of big scientific questions including: What makes us human?

A new two-hour biography about the lives of the former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama examines their childhoods and their early struggles to launch their political careers. The new FRONTLINE documentary is an extensive effort to better understand the men competing for the presidency in 2012.

How did this hot issue become a non-issue? Has the country forgotten about the Patriot Act? Or do the candidates just hope that we have? Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University's School of Law takes a closer look as part of The Takeaway's Don't Mention It Series.

Daniel Kish has been blind since he was 13 months old, but he has been able to lead a very active life and enjoys hobbies such as hiking and mountain-biking. To navigate, Kish uses tongue-clicks and listens to their echoes to create an image in his mind of the physical world around him.

The Takeaway speaks with the former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, at the eighth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City.

As the host of CNN's State of the Union and the network's chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley has made a career of holding politicians accountable. A new challenge awaits her this political season: On Tuesday, October 16, Crowley will moderate the second presidential debate.

Phillip Martin, senior investigative reporter at WGBH, Boston Public Radio, tells the story of how Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, may have gained financially from the American auto bailout he has long opposed.

For the past four years, Rodney Brooks has been working on a new robot, named Baxter, that could revolutionize manufacturing in the United States. This week his Boston start-up company, Rethink Robotics, unveiled the robot.

The Takeaway's Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich discusses the fight for control of the Senate and the key races to watch in the November election.

According to a report released earlier this year, Latino and Arab communities who live along the border between Canada and the United States are experiencing an increase in instances of racial profiling by border patrol and other federal agents. In response, the Council on American-Islamic Relations is suing the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for what it claims has been religious profiling and mistreatment of Muslims at the border.

Ron Christie, former special assistant to President George W. Bush, argues in a new book that President Obama and other black leaders have taken us a step backwards on race relations, with what he describes as "self-segregating" ideas.

Today we mark the 11th anniversary of the attacks of September 11th. Something you may remember, following the devastating events of that day, is the spirit of unity that we shared as a nation. In the months and years that followed, wars were waged in Afghanistan and Iraq. But eleven years on, public opinion about those wars has changed dramatically.

On Wednesday, scientists published the most comprehensive analysis of the human genome, and their findings offered a very different view of human DNA than was previously understood or even imagined. Dr. Bradley Bernstein, an Encode researcher and associate professor at Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute, believes the findings will result in a better understanding of diseases such as diabetes, and also lead to more effective treatments.

Oscar Pistorius, the South African sprinter, was widely expected to win the men’s 200 meter finals at the Paralympics, but he was beaten by another double amputee, Alan Oliveira. Did the rival sprinter's prosthetics offer him an unfair advantage?

Closing a controversial three-year investigation, Attorney General Eric Holder announced yesterday that no one will be prosecuted for harsh interrogation techniques carried out by the CIA that resulted in the deaths of two prisoners.

After a tough struggle for the GOP with women voters over the past few weeks, following controversial comments from Republican Congressman Todd Akin, has Ann Romney emerged as a new national figure for women?

Shares of Samsung Electronics fell by almost 7.5 percent in trading in Asia today, investors no doubt responding to the decision against the electronics company by a federal jury in California. On Friday, the jury ordered that Samsung pay its rival Apple more than a billion dollars in damages for patent infringement.