There's no question that our American health care system needs fixing. Dr. Donald Berwick, the man who was in charge of Medicare and Medicaid until last Thursday, was committed to ending waste. "Much is done that does not help patients at all," Dr. Berwick recently told The New York Times, "and many physicians know it." Dr. Berwick's quest to reform Medicare and Medicaid, the result of a temporary appointment made by President Obama last year, came to an end after just 17 months.

Each year, millions of dollars of Mexican drug money pass through the hands of American Drug Enforcement Administration officials. Undercover American narcotics agents launched the money laundering operation in order to trace the drug cartels. This is not the first instance of a U.S. governmental agency using illegal means to fight the war against drugs in Mexico. While the effectiveness of either program stopping the flow of drugs into the U.S. remains unclear, their impact on Mexican citizens is less ambiguous.

Over the weekend a new poll conducted by The Des Moines Register found Newt Gingrich in the lead, with the support of 25 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers. The poll was conducted before Herman Cain suspended his candidacy on Saturday, and it gave stark evidence of the former Godfather CEO's fall from favor: Cain was tied with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann for last place. With Cain’s campaign on hold, and the Iowa Caucus just a month away, Republican presidential candidates are competing for the backing of his former supporters.  

In response to the coverage of Egypt's elections, the Takeaway has heard a lot from listeners about our use of the term "Islamist" to describe the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood and other parties in Egypt. One Takeaway listener wrote on our Web site, "Is there Christianists and Jewists? It is about time that sensitivity was built in the media discourse."

Since President Obama introduced the American Jobs Act in September of this year, he has spoken publicly about it more than 50 times. The jobs report for November comes out this morning and the consensus call is that 125,000 new jobs were created this month. Charlie Herman, economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, speaks about the latest jobs numbers as well as specific economic and educational reforms that are trying — with mixed success — to remedy the situation.

Governors Christine Gregoire of Washington and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island have petitioned the federal government to reclassify marijuana as a drug with accepted medical uses. Rhode Island and Washington state have already decriminalized medical marijuana in their states. But marijuana is currently classified by the federal government as a Schedule I controlled substance — the same category as heroin and LSD. It's a confusing distinction for many medical marijuana patients in those states. Governors Gregoire and Chafee say the federal government should reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II controlled substance in order to cut down confusion for medial marijuana patients.

Herman Cain is the latest in a long line of political figures dogged by allegations of extramarital affairs. Cain is said to be reconsidering his campaign after an Atlanta woman came forward on Monday alleging a 13-year-affair with the one-time Republican front runner. But, should the allegations be true, Cain is hardly alone when it comes to adultery. Fellow GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich had two marriages unravel after affairs. Mark Sanford, Eliot Spitzer, Jim McGreevey, and Bill Clinton are just a few names on a long list of American politicians with wandering eyes. But does adultery disqualify a candidate from political office? Does being unfaithful to one's spouse give any indication of what kind of leader he or she might be?

Though it sounds like bad news, some analysts are saying the bankruptcy filing by American Airlines and its parent company could be a good thing. On Tuesday, Fitch Ratings said American Airlines' bankruptcy opens "yet another window for structure change" in the flailing U.S. airline industry. Can an industry facing skyrocketing fuel prices, increasingly complex security procedures, and growing concerns about air traffic control safety find its wings?

Andres Breivik, the 32-year-old Norwegian man who killed 77 people and injured 151 others in July, was declared insane by state psychiatrists in Oslo on Tuesday. After planting a car bomb near government buildings in Oslo that killed eight people on July 22, Breivik drove to a political youth camp on Utoeya island and gunned down 69 people, many of whom were teens. In an online manifesto that was found later, Breivik claimed to be defending Europe from an Islamic invasion enabled by Norway's Labour Party and the European Union. Alexander Levi, a lawyer in Oslo, discusses the likelihood of Breivik facing a prison sentence after being declared insane.

"From the creator of 'I'm Running For Office for Pete's Sake' comes the story of two men trapped in the same body — Mitt versus Mitt." It sounds like a movie trailer, but it's really the latest political ad from the Democratic National Committee. The DNC is reportedly spending $22,000 to run the ad this week. Among the GOP presidential candidates, Rick Perry has already spent $2.8 million on advertising, Ron Paul has spent $2.1 million, Mitt Romney has spent $134,000, and Herman Cain has spent $78,900. But what kind of poll numbers does one TV spot really buy?

President Obama is hosting European Union leaders at the White House for this year's US-EU summit. Dominating discussions will be the issue of the European debt crisis. Eighteen months into its sovereign debt crisis, Europe is running out of time to find a real solution, and fears of contagion are growing.

Over the weekend, U.S. retail sales climbed 16 percent, hitting a record total of $52.4 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. The average shopper spent $398.62 during the holiday weekend. Despite these promising retail numbers, other economic indicators aren't as positive this week. 

Former journalist and human rights activist Sherry Rehman has been named as Pakistan's new ambassador to the United States. Rehman will replace Husain Haqqani, who resigned amid accusations he was involved in an effort to engage the U.S. to curb the Army's powers in Pakistan. Haqqani allegedly sent an anonymous memo sent to Admiral Mike Mullen after the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistani in May. The memo requested Washington’s help in diminishing the power of the Pakistani army. In recent days, a Pakistani-American businessman has said he was instructed to write the memo by Haqqani. 

The Congressional "super committee" failed to reach a consensus about deficit reduction. But given a chance to tinker with the budget, ordinary Americans playing an online computer game called Budget Hero have made some big decisions. Users make decisions about spending in areas like defense, health care, Social Security, education and infrastructure and can see the effects. 

Three years ago this week 10 gunmen lay siege to the city of Mumbai. They arrived by boat from Karachi, Pakistan and for for three days, they launched a series of attacks on two 5-star hotels, a train station and a small Jewish hostel. A total of 166 people were killed, and more than 300 were injured. The mastermind behind the attacks, called India's 9/11, was an American citizen named David Headley, who spent more than two years mapping out targets and creating a plan for the attacks.

On Friday, the FDA ruled that cancer drug Avastin should not be used to treat breast cancer because Avastin’s risky side-effects outweigh its benefits for breast cancer patients. "Women who take Avastin for metastatic breast cancer risk potentially life threatening or serious side-effects, such as heart attacks or heart failure, severe high blood pressure, bleeding or hemorrhaging," FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg said. 

Perhaps the most common trade-off for working parents is the inability to give their kids home-cooked meals—even if they work in food service. John Besh, a working dad and James Beard award-winning chef who runs eight acclaimed restaurants, has written a book about his experiences trying to fix the gap between the food he prepares in his home and at work.

The Egyptian army used teargas, rubber bullets and birdshot in clashes with protesters in Cairo over the weekend. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to begin in stages a week from today — but this violence raises questions about whether free, democratic elections are possible at this time in Egypt. 

Video of UC Davis students being pepper sprayed in a protest related to Occupy Wall Street over the weekend has gone viral. Without any apparent provocation, campus police released a stream of pepper spray onto a row of seated protesters. Two of the officers involved in the spraying have been placed on leave. The incident has left many wondering why the police reacted this way and what can be done.

Tumblr CEO David Karp and Maria Pallante, United States Copyright Office director, join The Takeaway for two very distinct views on the Stop Online Piracy Act. The bill's stated purpose is to shut down websites that host or post pirated material and counterfeit goods. Hearings on bill began earlier this week in the House. Another version of the bill, called the PROTECT IP Act, already passed in the Senate.