Despite deep worries over the continuing stability of the Iraqi government, the U.S. is planning on selling $11 billion of arms and training to Iraq's military. The sale comes as Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has attempted to marginalize Iraq's Sunni minority since the U.S. withdrew its forces earlier in the month, setting off concerns over civil war. The Obama administration hopes the sale, which includes tanks and fighter jets, will help Iraq build its military and secure its border with Iran. But some American officials worry Iraq's government will move to align itself with the Shiite theocracy in Tehran.

New York Times correspondent Michael Schmidt and Sam Dagher, Wall Street Journal reporter in Iraq, discuss the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq this month, the state of the country nine years after the invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein, sectarian violence, and their thoughts about the future of Iraq.

Over 36 hours after Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos was kidnapped by heavily armed gunmen in his native Venezuela, there is still no word from his captors. The Nationals and Major League Baseball say they are working with authorities to ensure Ramos's safe return. Michael Schmidt of The New York Times has the latest on the story.

Suicide bombers detonated two car bombs in the city of Diwaniya today, in central Iraq, killing 27 people and wounding dozens of others. The attacks were targeted at police barriers outside governor Salim Hussein Alwan's compound, but he was not harmed. Though there's news this week that President Obama will soon lay out his plan for possibly withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, it's still murky as to how long U.S. troops will remain in Iraq, especially given this recent turn of events. Mike Schmidt, from our partner The New York Times, joins us live from Baghdad to discuss was happened and what this could mean for U.S. involvement in Iraq. 

Fascinating details are emerging on Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistan-born, U.S. citizen who authorities say confessed on Tuesday to an attempted terror attack in New York City's Times Square. Michael Schmidt, reporter for our partner The New York Times, joins us with some insight into Shahzad's life.

Investigators are analyzing surveillance tapes from Times Square to try to identify one man who was acting strangely near the site of the attempted bomb. Cameras are almost everywhere in Times Square and we speak to The New York Times' Michael Schmidt about security and surveillance in the wake of the incident. 

Alex Rodriguez broke the hearts of fans and delighted his detractors when he admitted this week that he took performance enhancing drugs during his years as a Texas Ranger. While fans may have a lot of questions, one that we had was why would the Major League Baseball players' union keep their best players' failing test results? Why didn't they destroy them before federal agents confiscated them in a 2004 raid? To help us answer those questions we turn to Michael Schmidt, a reporter for the New York Times has been following this story.

Read the Sports Illustrated article that outed A-Rod and Michael Schimdt's continuing coverage of the steroid scandal, The Tumult Continues: Tejada Pleads Guilty from the New York Times.