David J Fazekas

Saudi Arabia security officials said that they have arrested more than 100 militants suspected of working with al-Qaida to target oil facilities and security forces. 

Found your dream home out in the suburbs at a fantastic price?  Well, it may not be as cheap as you think.  According to a new study released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, when you factor in the costs of transportation, only 1/3 of America's neighborhoods are actually considered affordable. (You can look up your own neighborhood in the just-released Housing + Transportation Affordability Index.)

The passage of the health care reform bill is controversial for many reasons, but a main argument among critics is that it will cost more money than it will save. If signed into law as expected, the legislation would cost about $938 billion dollars. But, the Congressional Budget Office has said the bill will reduce federal deficits by an estimated $138 billion dollars in the next decade. We hear from one critic, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office and former economic advisor for Sen. John McCain when he was the Republican presidential candidate.

After the House's historical vote to reform health care on Sunday, many Americans are asking, what's the next big reform issue? If you ask the thousands of protesters who descended on Washington over the weekend, immigration tops the bill. The last attempt to overhaul the immigration system was defeated in Congress three years ago. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Obama later today, but the two leaders come to the table amidst growing tension. Can this meeting smooth the friction between them, given the long history between the U.S. and Israel? And how far can Obama push Israel to jumpstart peace talks with Palestine ... again?

Northern Iowa upset number one-seeded Kansas on Saturday in the men's NCAA basketball tournament. This year's season has proven to be poisonous for the number ones. Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin tries to make sense of the madness of this year's tournament.

Every Monday, we look ahead at the week's news, with our partners at The New York Times and the BBC. This week, Marcus Mabry of The Times, and Vladimir Hernandez of the BBC look at where health care reform is headed next; the effects of a visit to Haiti by Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush; and the future of America's war on drugs as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Mexico.

With the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament set to start Thursday, many brackets are due by noon today.  If you haven't gotten yours in yet, we've got some last minute tips from freelance sports writer and contributor to SportingNews.com and the Wall Street Journal, Dan Shanoff.

We remember photographer Charles Moore, who made his name taking iconic Civil Rights photographs down south during the 1960's. He died at the age of 79, Thursday. Hank Klibanoff, who is the author of the book, "The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation," helps us remember the life and work of this great photojournalist.

• SPORTS TAKEOUT: Sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, talks about Coolidge High School's new head coach for their boy's varsity football team, Natalie Randolph. She is believed to be the only female in the U.S. coaching high school football.
• RESPONSES TAKEOUT: We hear your responses to recent stories from Haiti to breast-feeding.

Michael Furlong, a Defense Department official, set up a network of private contractors in Afghanistan and Pakistan to help track and kill suspected militants. Mark Mazetti, who broke The New York Times, said Furlong used around 20 million dollars to hire private contractors to do intelligence gathering around Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This is a spy novelist's dream. So we turned to one. Frederick Forsyth  is the author of such acclaimed books as, "The Day of the Jackal," "The Odessa File," "and "The Dogs of War."

It's Monday, which means that we're joined by Marcus Mabry, international business editor for The New York Times, to look at what's ahead this week. 

• TV TAKEOUT: A proposal could keep films and television shows depicting gay characters from recieving a tax credit for filming in Florida. Damien Cave, Miami bureau chief for The New York Times, tells us more about this state jobs bill, and who it may help and hurt.
• SPORTS TAKEOUT: Football season may be over, but important moves are still being made. Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin has all the latest NFL transactions and rumors, and tells us which players are going where.
• YOUR RESPONSES: We're asking you all week about what makes genius, and today we listen to more of your responses.

A study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute released Wednesday shows that more Americans are waiting longer to retire because they are not financially secure.

• FINANCIAL TAKEOUT: Bank of America offered an unexpected olive branch to its millions of debit card users when they announced a plan to do away with all debit card overdraft fees. But is this public relations gambit enough to improve the bank's public image? We talk with Louise Story, finance reporter for our partner The New York Times, who brings us details from an article in today's paper.
• SPORTS TAKEOUT: The Big East tournament holds many of the major players in college basketball, and yesterday St. John's beat UCONN handily. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin joins us to take a closer look at the Big East.

Python hunting season is currently open in South Florida until April 17th.  The region has been ravaged by a huge invasion of the Southeast Asian reptile. The snakes were meant to be exotic pets, but have found their way into the wild.

The FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List turns 60 years-old this month. Thomas Holden, a noted bank and train robber who killed his wife and her two brothers was the very first man to be put on the top-ten list back on March 14th, 1950. A little over a year later, Holden was arrested after a citizen reported his whereabouts after seeing his picture on a most wanted poster. FBI historian, Dr. John Fox, talks about the history and impact the list has had over our society for the past 60 years, and how the FBI plans to adapt it for the 21st century.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited the Afghan capital on Monday. Gen. McChrystal said the U.S. has all but routed the Taliban from their former stronghold of Marjah and that the military will now turn its attention to Kandahar — a key city that dwarfs Marjah in size.

The film industry celebrated its largest gala at the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday night. The big news was that "The Hurt Locker" cleaned up, carrying home six Oscars, but there were plenty of other moments to talk about. Melena Ryzik, of the New York Times' Carpetbagger blog, and TV blogger Delaina Dixon, cover who won, who lost, and what's going to be the big topic of conversation around the water cooler today.

In this week's agenda, Marcus Mabry, international business editor for the New York Times, and Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent, look at what to expect this week. They'll look at the aftermath of Iraq's national elections, Vice President Biden's visit to the Middle East, and the latest news on financial reform.