North Korea Ups the Ante | What the Developing World Can Teach Us About Economic Growth | Iraq Ten Years Later: Soldiers on the Ground Share Their Stories | Steubenville Rape Trial Begins in Divided Ohio Community | Is Sugar a Scapegoat? | SXSW: Bands To Look Out For

Later today, President Obama is set to announce his new agenda on gun control, a response to last month's deadly school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Some states, like New York, are already pushing for stricter laws on gun ownership, but other communities, like parts of Ohio, are moving in the opposite direction. Jim Irvine is president of the Buckeye Firearms Foundation.  Patricia Frost-Brooks is president of the Ohio Education Association. 

Ohio is on the economic mend — the Lordstown GM plant is humming, along with a brand new billion-dollar steel plant and the discovery of shale natural gas — but can Obama claim credit? Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich talked with workers and undecided voters on this battleground to find out.

Why do we need permission to think seriously about politics?

All this week, we've been hearing from a panel of seven voters in Lake County, Ohio. The Takeaway’s host John Hockenberry spent time there over the weekend to get a better sense of what matters to the people in this swing county, in the crucial swing state of Ohio.

All week, The Takeaway is speaking with voters from a swing county a crucial swing state: Lake County, Ohio. From liberal to conservative, from a 21-year-old student to a 79-year-old great-grandfather, The Takeaway's seven Lake County voters represented a diverse group.

Of this election’s swing states, Ohio might not be the biggest, like Florida, or have high election turnout rates, like Wisconsin, but it still might be the most important. Ohio has been on the winning side of every presidential election since 1964, and with its geographic and religious diversity, is increasingly seen as a microcosm for American voting preference at large.

Lake County, Ohio has become a good determiner of the way that the swing state will vote, and thus, is also a fairly good predictor of presidential elections. Seven voters coming from different backgrounds, and bringing very different concerns to the table, discuss what's swaying them.

For most mayors, having both presidential candidates campaigning in your town or city at the same time is cause for excitement. But for Mayor Michael Bell of Toledo, Ohio, it brought some mixed feelings.

The BBC's Dan Damon is in Ohio this week for an in-depth look at the Midwest perspective on President Obama and Mitt Romney. This year, Ohioans are also in the midst of a contentious Senate race. Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich explains the shifting Ohio race, and looks at close Senate races across the country. 

Swing voters would love to see a decent alternative to Obama, and if Romney were a decent alternative, he'd be the one leading in the polls right now.

Matt Bai, The New York Times Magazine’s chief political correspondent, investigates the state of Ohio, and whether it was Obama’s auto bailout that saved Ohio from falling off the cliff or the policies of the Republican Governor, or if it was something else entirely. He argues that the answer could decide the next presidency. His article “Did Barack Obama Save Ohio?” appears in the September 9 issue of the magazine.

Over the course of the past few years, Ohio has gone from being an economic disaster zone to one of the most employed states in the union. The current state of the Ohio economy is a far cry from 2009 when the state was shedding tens of thousands of jobs a month. But who should be credited with this sudden turnaround?

Ohio has limited its early voting hours since 2008, which primarily benefited left-leaning minorities and low-income citizens. Democrats see this as a direct attack on their party. Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted says otherwise. 

After 236 years of democracy, the 15th Amendment, the 19th Amendment, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, you'd think Americans would have voting down to a science. But small battles are raging on in parts of the country over voters' rights and the cost of letting everybody cast a ballot.

From the three extra voting days to food stamps, the Romney and Obama campaigns have made clear that the little things matter.

Anna Sale, politics reporter for It's A Free Country, continues her swing state road trip with a stop in Ohio. It's the state you have to win if you want to become President. 

This week President Obama is visiting Ohio and Pennsylvania, two states that are already pegged as crucial swing states in the 2012 presidential election. But although these two states are getting the majority of the attention, there are many states that could go to either candidate.