Hsi-Chang Lin

On Friday the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a civil suit against Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs, after uncovering what the SEC calls significant evidence of fraud during the run-up to the current financial crisis.

Earlier this week social media darling, Twitter, announced a plan to make money through internally generated ad revenue, by displaying "promoted tweets" when people search Twitter.com. (Google returns sponsored links in much the same way.) People have wondered for years how Twitter planned to make money, so the announcement made some waves. However, more historic news came yesterday, when the Library of Congress announced it would begin the process of archiving all the public tweets ever tweeted, going back to Twitter's inception in 2006.  

• IMMIGRATION REFORM: In Arizona, state lawmakers approved some of the harshest anti-illegal-immigration measures ever. Mark Brodie, reporter and host at member station KJZZ joins us from Phoenix to discuss if these laws are tough measures for a tough problem or little more than legalized racial profiling. 
• WASHINGTON TAKEOUT:  Following the tragic mine explosion, which killed 29 miners and injured others in Montcoal, West Virginia, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are not taking the institutional inertia that lead to this tragedy lightly. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich explains.

• FINANCIAL TAKEOUT: What’s the difference between a Washington Lobbyist and a former congressional aide? It sounds like the setup to a bad joke, but in fact, Louise Story, The New York Times Wall Street and finance reporter, says that the question is actually very valid and becoming very hard to answer.
• WASHINGTON TAKEOUT: With the nuclear summit winding down, The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, looks at the future of the START treaty, which President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed last week. The treaty aims to significantly decrease the amount of nuclear weapons between the two countries, but it looks like it's going to be a long and slow journey for START treaty in Congress.

Micro-lending was supposed to save the world's poor from big, overseas lenders; but, an article in this morning's New York Times reveals that although the theories behind micro-finance seem to work, the actual loans don't.

• Financial Takeout: A front page story in today’s New York Times reports that Lehman Brothers used a small company it owned in order to funnel billions of dollars through its coffers to ship debt off its books. Takeaway financial contributor Louise Story, who reported that story, explains.
• Sports Takeout: The Pittsburgh Steelers made some news yesterday as their star quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger had sexual assault charges against him dropped, but more trouble lurks ahead. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin has the latest.

This Thursday is Tax Day in America, the last day to either file your annual income taxes or file for an extension. But in this political climate we're asking, who pays more when it comes time to ask for tax money, you or your politicians?

Poland is reeling after Saturday's plane crash that killed 96 people, including the Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, and many of the country's top military, parliamentary, artistic and symbolic leaders. The group was traveling to Katyn for a 70 year remembrance of the worst massacre in WWII history.  

• FINANCIAL TAKEOUT:  It's a case of "who watches the watchmen" when The New York Times' Louise Story joins the show with a damning new report that shows how regulators missed major problems at Washington Mutual.  
• SPORTS TAKEOUT: All eyes were on golf this weekend, but the spotlight wasn't necessarily on Tiger Woods. The Takeaway's Sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin discusses the performance that landed Phil Mickelson his third Masters victory.

• FINANCIAL TAKEOUT:  The National Bureau of Economic Research is going to release a statement later today that says that they don't know when, or even if, our nation's current recession came to an end. New York Times Wall Street and finance reporter Story Louise Story joins us with more from this Times' Exclusive.
• LISTENERS TAKEOUT: You called in with ideas on how to fix your city or town's budgetary woes.

We look behind Monday's coal mine explosion that killed 25 and left 4 miners trapped in Montcoal, W. Va. into the Massey corporation, which owns the mine.

• SPORTS TAKEOUT: Tiger Woods returned to the green, but will his performance on the field be enough to fix his soiled reputation? Takeaway sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin weighs in.
• LISTENERS RESPOND: We asked you to tell us, what service could you barter in these difficult economic times? From financial advice to hair cuts, you responded.

• NUCLEAR TAKEOUT:  In Prague today, President Obama signs a treaty signaling a "New START" for the nuclear non-proliferation era. Is this a groundbreaking event or a mere photo op?  Larry Korb, who served as the assistant secretary of defense under the Reagan Administration, offers us his informed analysis.
• KYRGYZSTAN: A popular uprising in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan has boiled over into a coup. Alexander Cooley, political scientist at Columbia University's Harriman Institute, explains.

• MONEY TAKEOUT: From airlines to cell phone companies, more and more businesses are beginning to ramp up costs for services that used to be included. Wall Street and fnance reporter for The New York Times Louise Story, explains why there are fewer free lunches in the country these days.
• SPORTS TAKEOUT: Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, recaps the finals of the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament and the heated game between Stanford and UConn.

• SPORTS: Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin analyzes the results of the NCAA championship and what the tournament success means for both Butler and Duke.
• WASHINGTON TAKEOUT: More than 200,000 people will lose their unemployment benefits today because of partisan bickering in the Senate. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich explains how “politics as usual” is hitting so many regular Americans where it hurts.

In a statement released yesterday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he intends to levy a $16.4 million fine, the largest allowed by law, against embattled, multinational Toyota Motor Company.  

Three suicide car bombings killed dozens in Iraq this weekend. Though no one has taken credit for the attacks, which targeted foreign embassies, Rod Nordland, foreign correspondent for The New York Times says it's widely believed that al Qaida of Mesopotamia is to blame.

• BUSINESS:  A little-known company in St. Louis has come to dominate a thriving industry by helping employers process, fight and beat unemployment claims. New York Times reporter Louise Story explains how the TALX Corp. is turning a busted economy into a booming business model.
• SPORTS: Which of the two finalists, Butler or Duke, will bring home the national championship? Takeaway sports correspondent Ibrahim Abdul Matin previews tonight's big college basketball game.

The March 13th assasination of a pregnant U.S. consulate worker and her husband brought significant attention to the violence plagued border town of Ciudad Juarez. Two weeks later, following the arrest of a gang member associated with the shootings a less conspiratorial picture of what happened on that tragic day seems to be emerging.

The city of Memphis was recently dubbed "the hunger capital" of the U.S. That's because a poll co-sponsored by Gallup and the Food Reasearch Action Center that was released earlier this year showed that more than a quarter of people in the Memphis Metropolitan Area had trouble putting food on the table in 2009.