Congress and the big three automakers are waiting to see if and when the White House will step in with a helping hand for the industry. Congress failed last week to approve an emergency loan package and now the White House says it may use its power to bail out the industry at least temporarily. The Takeaway talks to Todd Zwillich, reporter for Capitol News Connection, in Washington, DC.

The collapse of oil prices has stalled Russia's burgeoning economy, slowed economic reform and it has reversed the Russian government's mission to re-assert its influence in Europe. But the single most explosive element of the Russian economic predicament is the quality of life of the average Russian. James Rogers covers Russia for our partner, the BBC World Service.

Caroline Kennedy says she’s interested in the New York's U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by current senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Some in the Democratic Party are already questioning her credentials. Does Kennedy have what it takes? And who else is in the running? Takeaway Political Director Andrea Bernstein discusses.

Today the president-elect is expected to name Arne Duncan, superintendent of the Chicago public school system, as secretary of education. Veronica Anderson, editor-in-chief of Catalyst Chicago, a magazine that reports on school reform, gives The Takeaway a full briefing on the new educator-in-chief.

People around the world are still talking about the Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at President Bush. The BBC are reporting that the clip of this encounter had over one milllion hits in over 24 hours. Marc Sirois, the managing editor of Beirut's The Daily Star, joins The Takeaway to discuss the global reaction to the incident.

Where was the Securities and Exchange Commission—the federal agency responsible for regulating Wall Street—when Bernard Madoff was allegedly pulling off a massive fraud that could leave investors with billions of dollars in losses? Experts say there were plenty of red flags that should have tipped off regulators that something was seriously amiss. Stephen Labaton, who covers regulatory issues for the New York Times, joins The Takeaway with the story.

Want more from Stephen Labaton? Read his article, "S.E.C. Image Suffers in a String of Setbacks," at the New York Times.

Zip. Zilch. Nada. Goose-Egg. The result of a series of meetings the Fed is holding this week may result in Chairman Ben Bernanke lowering the interest rate to 0%. But what is a Fed Chairman to do when there are longer rates to cut? How do you keep the economy rolling and have we ever seen this before? Joining The Takeaway to discuss this brave new world is Vincent Reinhart, the former director of monetary affairs for the Federal Reserve and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

Foreign carmakers have constructed massive plants in the South that now produce one-third of all cars manufactured on our shores.

Last week investor Bernie Madoff became a household name when he was arrested for securities fraud. His victims, including Mort Zuckerman, Steven Spielberg and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), are among the richest and most powerful people in the world. But the Madoff fallout did not only hit society's top tier, but is also crippling nonprofits and everyday investors. For a look at how far the Madoff dominoes have fallen, The Takeaway checks in with Robert Chew. Last Thursday Chew and his wife learned that they had lost everything in a Madoff investment.

While the Guinness Book of World Records may not actually have an entry for longest election, many Minnesotans are certain that their Senate race would win. Tom Scheck of Minnesota Public Radio joins The Takeaway to discuss the seemingly never-ending Minnesota Senate race.

It has long been rumored that colonoscopy screening tests are 90 percent effective at locating cancer in your colon. Yet a new study published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine indicates that the screening method is not as effective as doctors thought, often missing cancers located on a person's right side. New York Times science reporter Gina Kolata explains the study and how it might affect your next doctor's visit. To find out more, read Gina Kolata's article, "Colonoscopies Miss Many Cancers, Study Finds," at the New York Times.