Obama’s first major trip overseas next week is drawing major media attention, though the itinerary is still a mystery. Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, have been mentioned as possible stops, and three TV networks — CBS, ABC and NBC — have requested that their nightly news anchors tag along.

Federal Reserve Board chair Ben Bernanke is bursting through longstanding boundaries between the Fed and the federal government, some which could fundamentally change the Fed’s place in the American economy. Is this a good thing for the independent Fed?

As South Africa gears up to toast its favorite citizen, Nelson Mandela, The Takeaway celebrates the former president and anti-apartheid icon on his 90th birthday.

Which U.S. state has the lowest life expectancy? Which congressional district has the highest high school dropout rate? The surprising answers to these questions can be found in “The Measure of America,” a new report that measures the American standard of living. Sarah Burd-Sharps explains how we’ve missed the fundamentals in the search of the American dream.

With food and gas prices soaring, eating out has become a luxury. But a growing movement, with its pay-what-you-can policy, is making a trip to the restaurant affordable—and for some, free. The Takeaway talks to Denise Cerrata, a pioneering foodie with civic-minded flair. Five years ago she opened a restaurant that lets people work for a meal or donate whatever they can afford.

Today the New York Times is reporting that shoddy electrical work at U.S. bases in Iraq is more prevalent than the Pentagon has acknowledged. Contractor KBR has reported similar problems in the housing it maintains. Thirteen Americans have been electrocuted in Iraq and hundreds more have been injured.