Yesterday former President Bill Clinton embarked on a surprise mission to North Korea to negotiate the release of two American journalists imprisoned there. Less than 24 hours later he is returning victorious, with the two women safely aboard his plane. How did he do it? Was the deal pre-cooked? Why did Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, specifically state that Clinton did not carry a private message to Kim il Jong from President Obama? To help us unravel the mystery, The Takeaway talks to New York Times reporter David Sanger.

Gun owners across America are carrying guns in record numbers. This June, parts of Missouri, North Carolina, Texas and Utah all saw record numbers of applications for concealed weapons, according to a USA Today article. In Clay County, Missouri, the sheriff’s office had to hire two additional staffers to deal with the rush. Clay County is where Don Pind, a firearms instructor at Show Me Shooters Indoor Range, is based; he joins The Takeaway today. We also talk with Kristi Manning, another firearms instructor who teaches at Carter Shooting Supply in Harrison, Tennessee. Manning’s had her class size triple since last November.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was officially inaugurated to his second term as President of Iran today under a dark cloud of voter irregularity and popular dissent. And that dissent is going all the way up the ranks of power. In silent protest, several senior figures, members of Parliament and high ranking clerics were notably absent at a ceremony where the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei formally approved the 2nd term presidency on Monday. Joining The Takeaway to describe what a second Ahmadinejad term may have in store for Iran and the world is Shaul Bakhash, Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Middle East History at George Mason University in Virginia.

During the 2008 presidential election, Indiana turned purple. The formerly solid red Republican state voted for President Obama. Now the President is working to keep the battleground state on his team. He visits Elkhart, Indiana, today, where the unemployment rate is one of the highest in the country as the biggest industry in the area, RV manufacturing, is experiencing a downturn. President Obama will speak at the site of the largest RV plant in the region about a new government program that could help the beleaguered area. The Takeaway talks to Tony Krabill, reporter for WVPE public radio, about local anticipation of the president's appearance and to two people who were laid off last year, Ed Neufeldt and Denise Sexton.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Baskin Robbins pushed the flavor profile of ice cream with its 33 varieties; Ben and Jerry upped the ante with cool names and unexpected mash-ups. (Peanut-butter-and-pretzel ice cream, anyone?) Now foodies are engineering new kinds of ice cream. Joining us to talk about ice cream’s ongoing makeover is writer Susan Burton. Also joining us is Alex Stupak. He is the pastry chef for the New York restaurant wd-50, a restaurant that is always on the cutting edge of food technology, and Alex Talbot a chef and co-owner of Ideas in Food.

Today Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in for his second term as Iran's president. Have the weeks of post-election protests undermined Ahmadinejad's power and status in his own country? And what would a weakened Tehran mean for global diplomacy? The Takeaway talks to Roger Hardy, Middle East analyst for the BBC.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Africa for the Obama administration’s first serious tour of the continent. Jendayi Frazer, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under President George W. Bush talks with The Takeaway about the significance of Clinton's visit and the issues she'll confront. Also joining the conversation is Martin Plaut, the BBC's Africa editor.

Bill Clinton’s brief trip to Pyongyang secured the freedom of two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were imprisoned in North Korea. But what does the visit between Clinton and the elusive Kim Jong Il say about the future of U.S.- North Korean relations? The Takeaway's guest, Professor Charles Armstrong, is Director of the Center for Korean Research at Columbia University. He explains how the former president's visit could help break through the diplomatic log jam.

Last Fourth of July, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint published Saving Freedom: We Can Stop America's Slide into Socialism. Senator DeMint (ranked by National Journal as the Senate’s most conservative member), has been making headlines as one of President Obama's most vocal critics on everything from the economy, health care reform to Cash for Clunkers. He joins The Takeaway with his take on how to correct the country's path.

For more from Senator DeMint, watch his speech on the Senate floor against President Obama's health care plan:

Earlier this summer, protests spilled onto the streets of Tehran in the days following Iran's June 12 presidential elections. At the time, some voices inside Iran's halls of power alleged that outside influence was to blame for the seemingly spontaneous uprisings. The Iranian intelligence chief claimed Western and "Zionist" forces were somehow behind it all. Crazy talk? The Takeaway talks with Stephen Kinzer, author of All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror who explains that Iran's history with the outside world has left them justifiably paranoid of foreign influence.

As the debate over health care reform has followed Congresspeople to their home districts, some of the conversations have gotten ugly. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democratic congressman from Texas, held a town hall where constituents became unruly. He joins The Takeaway with his thoughts on why this issue is becoming ever-more-contentious. One factor: Max Pappas. Mr. Pappas is the vice president for public policy at FreedomWorks, a conservative organization that is encouraging its members to challenge Democrats on health care reform. Some members of FreedomWorks were part of the crowd that shouted down Senator Arlen Specter at a health care meeting in Philadelphia last weekend. Mr. Pappas helps us understand his motivation.

To see how ugly a town meeting can get, especially in Texas, watch the video of Rep. Doggett's health care town hall:

As the president prepares to speak at an RV manufacturing plant in Elkhart, Indiana, we wanted to talk to some real-life RV enthusiasts about life on the road. The Takeaway is joined by Ginni Thomas. She and her husband, Clarence Thomas, the U.S. Supreme Court Justice, head out on the open highways of the nation every summer. They join us from somewhere in the Adirondacks.

Michael Crowley, a senior editor of The New Republic, joins The Takeaway with a look at the recent adventures of Bill and Hillary Clinton. The couple are dominating the headlines this week with Bill Clinton's coup in North Korea and Hillary Clinton's lengthy trip to Africa. Has the president decided to bring the Clintons' back into the fold for their expertise? Or is he following the cautionary phrase, "keep your friends close and your enemies closer"?

Former President Bill Clinton's plane landed in Los Angeles this morning with American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. The two had been held captive in North Korea after being accused of illegally crossing the border into the communist nation. Clinton's surprise trip to North Korea led to the women's release and their reunion with their families today. Rose Razeghi of ABC News was on the tarmac when the journalists and the former president touched down.

To see the reunion for yourself, watch the video below: