David J Fazekas

China's President Hu Jintao is heading to the United States this week and will meet with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday. Marcus Mabry, associate national editor for The New York Times, and Charlie Herman, economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, discuss what they expect to come out of this meeting between the leaders of two of the most powerful countries in the world.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) is reportedly writing a bill that would allow congressmembers to carry concealed weapons in Washington D.C. Carrying a concealed weapon is currently illegal in D.C., but is not illegal for members of Congress on Capitol grounds. The news of this bill comes after twenty people were shot in Arizona over this past weekend, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is still in the hospital recovering. Will more guns mean less senseless acts of violence? 

Almost all of the four million voters in Southern Sudan casting their votes on whether or not to secede from the North have been affected by decades of bloodshed and civil war in that country. Takeaway producer Noel King has been reporting from the ground in Southern Sudan during the preparation for the vote as well as the referendum itself. Noel shares with us the stories she's heard from people of all different generations, and how all the violence has affected their lives.

Back in March Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords made a statement responding to Sarah Palin's anti-healthcare reform campaign, saying, "we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list. But the thing is the way that she has it depicted has the cross hairs of a gun site over our district." Could metaphors in that statement have had an effect on who Jared Loughner targeted in Arizona over the weekend?

Presidents throughout history have had to deliver speeches in the wake of tragedy to comfort the nation. Ronald Reagan did so after the Challenger explosion; Bill Clinton after the Oklahoma City bombing and Columbine shootings; and George W. Bush after 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Virginia Tech shootings. President Obama is set to deliver his own speech tonight in Arizona to try and comfort a nation following the shooting of twenty people, that left six dead. How will President Obama approach the events, and their political impliations, from the scene of the tragedy?

The title of national champions lay on the line at the BCS Championship last night. The Auburn Tigers completed their undefeated season with a 22-19 victory over the Oregon Ducks with a dramatic field goal by Wes Byrum. The Takeaway's sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, recaps the exciting game. 

On the insistence of House Republicans, the U.S. Constitution will be read from beginning to end today on the floor of the House of Representatives. This may prove a fitting overture to what could be a Congressional session filled with Constitutional battles. Is this reading a stunt or a significant symbol of how Congress will work?

Rep. Nancy Pelosi has passed the House Speaker's gavel to Ohio's Rep. John Boehner, who was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives yesterday. Boehner emphasized more openness and more room for debate with Democrats in his speech. Pelosi, on the other hand, embraced her new role as minority leader and took some swings at Republicans, which she couldn't do as Speaker.

Last November, we reported on a commission appointed by the president to investigate the causes of last summer's BP oil disaster. At the time, the commission said there was really no one to blame for the accident. However, the commission's final findings contradict that early sentiment, saying the accident could have been avoided.

Captain Owen Honors was relieved as commander of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise yesterday, because of raunchy videos he produced back in 2006 and 2007 while serving as the ship's Executive Officer, or "XO." The videos, which were shown to sailors on the ship during what was called "XO Movie Night," included scenes of women taking showers together, and men as well. In other skits, sailors dressed in drag and used anti-gay slurs, simulated masturbation, and a rectal exam. 

Lawmakers get back to work as the 112th Congress begins today. Republicans take the majority in the House of Representatives and Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), gets sworn in as its new Speaker of the House. At the same time, there is a move in the Senate to change the filibuster rule. The first day of Congress is the only day that lawmakers can change the rules with only 51 votes and some Democrats hope to use this to their advantage. The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, looks at the new Congress and the top five things to watch out for in 2011.

After months of controversy surrounding the election results in Ivory Coast, mediators from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have been sent in to try and resolve the political crisis before it turns violent. Four leaders from the 15-nation ECOWAS talked with incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo yesterday, in hopes of convincing him to cede his presidency to Alassane Ouattara, who won the election last November. 

With the 112th Congress starting this week, Ohio's Rep. John Boehner is set to take his seat as the new Speaker of the House. What kind of Speaker he'll be remains to be seen. Will he follow in the steps of Newt Gingrich, who became Speaker when Republicans took control of the House back in 1994?

Scientists are working on what would be a profoundly useful new tool in early cancer detection, if successful. Johnson & Johnson announced a partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital to develop a blood test that could pinpoint a single cancer cell amongst billions of healthy ones: a life-changing needle in a massive haystack. 

The 112th Congress begins this week, and with the House under Republican control while Democrats still hold a slim majority in the Senate, many are expecting gridlock for the next two years. Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, and Charlie Herman, economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, look at what's in store for Congress in the upcoming days, weeks, and even years. They also discuss the obstacles President Obama's health care plan may face this year: Will the plan as implemented look the same in 2012 as it does today?

The NFL regular season ended yesterday, which means the playoff picture is set, and the road to the Super Bowl begins next weekend. Nando Di Fino, sports writer for The Wall Street Journal, has the final playoff picture, and talks about the future of hall-of-fame bound players like Brett Favre and Randy Moss — have they seen their last game? And what's in store for coaches like John Fox, Eric Mangini, Tom Coughlin and Jeff Fischer?

The world has seen a recent increase in shipments, by land and sea, of nuclear materials to more secure harbors. This increase comes on the heels of President Obama's pledge to secure all the world's nuclear material within four years and the ratification of the New Start Treaty. Is the securing of these nuclear materials on schedule with the President's four-year plan?

There's hope that the U.S. can pull out of this economic slump it's in, but there's a potential disaster looming for states that could derail any economic recovery. Meredith Whitney, a financial analyst famed for predicting Citigroup's major debt fallout, made a new dire prediction.  She believes up to 100 U.S. cities could default on their municipal bonds. 

Yesterday we discussed which nuclear weapons will be affected by the New START agreement, which was ratified by the Senate. Today we examine another worrisome type of nuclear material — the unaccounted-for kind, which terrorists have the best chance of acquiring.

The Broadway production of "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark," saw another crisis on Monday night, as one of its actors fell over 20 feet, severely injuring himself. This is the fourth performer to be hurt since September. David Cote, theater editor for Time Out: New York, says he has never seen anything like this. "This show is cursed."