Kal Elsebai

As we begin the first week of 2011, new and re-elected governors all across the nation will soon be inaugurated. We’ve been highlighting governors that you’re sure to hear about in the coming year. Today we focus on Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer, as she begins her second term. Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez, reporter and host from our member station KJZZ in Phoenix, Ariz., says immigration, unemployment and Medicaid will be the biggest issues in Brewer's next round in office.

President Obama returns from his family holiday in Hawaii to the first major reorganization of his administration. When restructuring, does he choose a team for governing or a team for winning and campaigning for 2012? Marcus Mabry, associate editor for our partner, The New York Times, joins us to discuss. Also,major snow storms hit multiple parts of the country over the weekend; we'll find out how the weather affected post-Christmas sales, and what retailers made during the shopping craze before the big day from Charlie Herman, economics editor for The Takeaway.

We come back to an ongoing conversation as regards debt and unemployment in America. Last week we spoke with Takeaway and WDET listener Christine Tobin, from southeast Michigan. She told us she believes she was turned down for a job because her credit check came back with a prior bankruptcy.

Looking ahead to the week's agenda: Unemployment benefits for an estimated two million Americans is set to expire by tomorrow; Congress will decide whether or not to extend them. Time is running out to pass the new START agreement with Russia, as well.  Two days of debate have been scheduled for Thursday and Friday that will address the Pentagon's soldier survey on "Don't Ask Don't Tell," and whether or not the repeal, backed by the White House, will go through. Also, the highly debated Bush Tax Cuts are set to expire in January for both middle and upper-income brackets...both sides seem to be adamantly sticking to their guns with no compromise in sight.

UN officials announced this week that cholera is now projected to spread across Haiti more than twice as fast as originally estimated, with more than 425,000 cases expected in the first six months since it appeared. The disease had officially infected 66,593 people and killed 1,523 as of Monday, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

Every year, millions of families across America do two things on the fourth Thursday in November ... gorge themselves and watch football. Yesterday saw six of the biggest teams in the league go at it: New England took on Detroit, New Orleans went head to head with Dallas, and Cincinnati went up against New York.

Alice Herz-Sommer celebrates her 107th birthday today. As if that weren't enough of a an accomplishment, she also happens to be the oldest living survivor of the Nazi Holocaust. Her love of music inspires her to live her life with optimism and faith in the human spirit, even though she lived through one of the most horriying ordeals any human can imagine. Vincent Dowd, arts correspondent for the BBC, visits Alice to hear her story.

A breach in air security and the smuggling of explosives onto two cargo planes bound for the U.S. has raised concerns about the screening process of air-freight cargo. Two packages carrying explosives originating in Yemen made their through four countries on at least four different airplanes before being tracked down in Britain and Dubai. Empty printer cartridges were used to hide the bombs.

Officials are now admitting vulnerabilities in the screening of cargo flights that are being exploited by terror organizations like al-Qaida. 

The discovery of explosive devices hidden on cargo planes bound for the U.S. has become a clear reality of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula’s strong presence in Yemen, as well as the Saudi Arabian government's increasingly necessary role in counter-intelligence in that region. 

A tip from the Saudi counter-terrorism intelligence agency was the key that led to the discovery of the bombs, which were destined for addresses in the U.S.

On October 7th, 2001, less than a month after the attacks of September 11, American and British forces entered Afghanistan seeking to disrupt terrorist activities and capture members of al-Qaida. Nine years later we look back and reflect on one of the longest armed conflicts the U.S. has ever seen. Gideon Rose, editor of Foreign Affairs joins us for the hour.

As we continue trying to define what it means to be middle class in America, we turn our focus to the black community. Are the indicators of middle class life for black America different from those for white America?

Is it income or material possessions? Is it the ability to have a parent raise their children as opposed to a nanny or daycare? Is it being a homeowner or owning your vehicle? Is it a state of mind? These are some of your answers to the question we posed yesterday: What signifies middle class to you?

In a troubled economy, goes conventional wisdom, one thing you can always depend on is the price of gold. That has never been more true, now that the price of gold has hit just over $1,200 an ounce.  Does this mean that we are seeing a modern day gold rush?

The U.S. Census Bureau released a report yesterday showing that in 2009, more than 14 percent of the population was living in poverty: It's a rate that hasn't been seen in the U.S. since the early '90s. Looking ahead into 2010's statistics, economists fear poverty will soon be higher than at any time since the 1960s, before President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the War on Poverty, as part of his Great Society initiative.  We discuss what can be done to fight poverty in America and how the government defines being poor. 

Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich breaks down the politics behind the Bush-era tax cuts, made during a time of budget surplus, and the proposals to allow the cuts to expire on individuals making more than $250,000 a year. Are there political agendas here? Also, chief economist for the Concord Coalition, Diane Lim Rogers, discusses the economics of this debate. Will this benefit middle class America and, in turn, stimulate the economy or will it negatively affect small business owners that are in the $250,000 income bracket that will lose their tax break?

We asked our listeners: What does it mean to be rich these days anyway? The tax code says it's $250,000 a year. How much do YOU think you have to earn to be considered rich?

All morning, we've been covering yesterday's district court ruling that Don't Ask, Don't Tell violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian service members. We've heard from a former assistant Secretary of Defense who testified against the policy, as well as a retired Army colonel who thinks Don't Ask is necessary.

Now we speak with someone who yesterday's ruling directly impacts. An active duty coast guard officer joins the program to tell us about the ramifications of yesterday's decision on his life and career, and explains why he's still keeping his identity a secret.

Yesterday evening, a federal judge ruled that Don't Ask, Don't Tell is unconstitutional because it violates the rights of gay men and lesbians. Earlier, we spoke with legal scholar Jeffrey Rosen and Larry Korb, a former Navy captain and assistant Secretary of Defense during the Regan administration who testified against DADT at the trial. Now we speak with Retired Army Colonel David Bedey, who is opposed to the ruling. He believes DADT is necessary.

According to new data released by the Census Bureau, in 2008, single, childless women between the ages of 22 and 30 made more money than their male peers in major U.S. cities. Women's incomes averaged 8 percent higher, due largely to the fact that more women graduated college than men. 

If you're a single young man who makes less than his single young female counterparts, does that make you a "failed male?" Or is this simply a side effect of increasing gender equality?

Orchestras across the country are trying to find new ways to boost ticket sales in a bad economy. Conductor George Daugherty describes how he's introducing new audiences to live classical music, with the help of an unusual ally: Bugs Bunny. The Bugs Bunny at the Symphony program tours the world with the Sydney Symphony; audiences get to see and hear a live orchestral performance while the Looney Tunes gang plays on a screen above.