We go this morning to Sean Corcoran, senior reporter with WCAI, Cape and Island Radio. He joins us live from the Kennedy Library in Boston, where the body of Senator Ted Kennedy lies in repose, to talk about the public's response to the death of their long-serving senator. We also talk to two people who lined up to pay their respects: 41-year-old Darren Ring, from Weymus, Massachusetts, who was the first person in line; and Ann Zeller, from Fremont, New Hampshire, who drove to Boston with her husband.

Here are a few pictures from Boston as people readied for today's wake:

Will Ted Kennedy's Senate seat be filled by another Kennedy? Both Joe, Robert Kennedy's son, and Vicki, Ted's wife, have been mentioned as possible successors, but how well would they fare in a special election? We ask longtime Boston journalist Christopher Lydon. He's a former public radio host who ran for mayor of Boston in the early 1990's.

This week the White House reported that the federal deficit is rising faster than expected. The projected 10-year deficit is now $9 trillion — that's $2 trillion more than previous estimates. Does increased spending mean a healthier economy, or does burgeoning debt spell trouble for the future? To decode this number and other indicators we speak to Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

President Obama and his family were supposed to be on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard all this week, but after several disruptions for official business, they're cutting their time-off short as the president and first lady head to Boston to pay respects to Senator Ted Kennedy. For an update on the Obamas' vacation, we talk to Boston Herald Columnist, Laura Raposa, who is in Martha's Vineyard.

44 American servicemembers have died in Afghanistan so far in August, tying with July as the deadliest month yet for U.S. troops in that conflict. The increase in violence has reignited debate about the U.S. role in the country. We speak to some familly members of the troops stationed there about their take on sending their loved ones off to this war. 

Mary Galeti is from Cleveland, Ohio. Her husband, Russell, is a first lieutenant with the Ohio National Guard. He is currently training with NATO forces in Hungary, but will be deployed to Afghanistan in January. Kim Clark is from Erie, Pennsylvania. Her son Daniel is a Marine in an artillery unit near Helmand Province in Afghanistan. And Larry Syverson is from Richmond, Virginia. His son Branden is a sergeant in the Army's 5th brigade, 2nd infantry, near Kandahar, Afghanistan.

President Hamid Karzai and U.S. Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke had an "explosive" meeting the day after last week's presidential election at which Holbrooke raised concerns about ballot-box-stuffing and other fraud allegations. We speak with Rob Watson, defence and security correspondent for the BBC, for the latest news on Kabul.

Today on The Takeaway, we speak to the outgoing restaurant critic for The New York Times, Frank Bruni. Just as his stint on the food beat ends, he’s coming out with a book about his lifelong struggle with bulimia called “Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater.” Click through for the full interview transcript.

We finish our week-long series of health care roundtables with a look beyond our borders. We speak to three Americans living abroad about the health care systems in other countries. Christina Geyer  joins us from Bavaria, Germany, where she has lived since 2002. Lynne Udalov joins us from Moscow, where she has been for over 10 years. And Amanda Graham joins us from Derry, in Northern Ireland, where she moved in May.

Click through for an overview on the health care system of each country, or read the other round tables in this series.

The FDIC, the body that insures the money we put into our bank accounts, is currently supporting 416 failed and "problem" banks. Is all that strain on our nation's banking backbone a cause for alarm? We speak to Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for The New York Times, to ask her if we should start stuffing money under our mattresses.

California's budget is still in terrible shape, so the cash-strapped state is having a garage sale. Starting today at a warehouse in Sacramento, the state will be selling more than a thousand computers, jewelry, and 600 government vehicles, some signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. Eric Lamoureux, spokesman for the California Department of General Services, tells us what's for sale.

The Massachusetts Governor’s office is feeling pressure from Capitol Hill to sign into law a bill the late Senator Edward Kennedy proposed. If ratified, the bill would give Governor Deval Patrick the legal authority to name a temporary replacement for the senator. The existing law was established during John Kerry's 2004 presidential run and specifically enacted to prevent then-Governer Mitt Romney from appointing a Republican replacement had the Democratic senator won the presidency; the law mandates Patrick wait at least 145 days to hold a special election. Timothy Murray is the Lieutenant Governor for the State of Massachusetts and tells us about the bill's progress.

Those who loved Senator Ted Kennedy are standing in line to pay their respects, even at this early hour.  Kennedy lies in repose at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. We talk with Sean Corcoran, a senior reporter from WCAI who is in Boston collecting stories from people gathering there. We also talk with Robert from Oakville, Connecticut who drove up with his 14-year-old grandson Ryan.

It's Friday, which is when we review the biggest movies coming out over the weekend. We speak to Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday about two highly anticipated films: Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock", about a man who inadvertently sets off events that lead to the fabled music event; and a documentary by R.J. Cutler called "The September Issue," about Vogue Magazine and its notorious editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour.

Watch Anna Wintour's much talked-about appearance on David Letterman from earlier this week:

The U.S. Open tennis championship starts on Monday and we're seeing doubles. Tennis champions Bob and Mike Bryan tell us about defending their doubles title at the U.S. Open. We ask them about how being twins helps them as doubles partners on the court, and also about the rock band they just formed.

Web Bonus! Watch Bob and Mike test their tennis ESP against John and Femi:

Click through for the two classic video snippets John referenced in the opening moments of the segment.

Police in California have been searching a house where a woman was apparently held prisoner for 18 years after being abducted as an 11-year-old. The police say the abducted woman, Jaycee Dugard, and her two children – allegedly fathered by her captor, convicted sex-offender Philip Garrido – had been living in concealed outbuildings and tents. Police also say the children have never been to school or seen a doctor.

In 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard was forced into a car on her way to school and not heard of again... until she walked into a San Francisco police station earlier this week with her alleged abductor and their children. Following this extraordinary case is Clint Van Zandt, a former FBI profiler who served as a special agent with the FBI for 25 years. He’s now President of Van Zandt Associates, a risk and threat assessment group.

We talk with 76-year-old Arnold Howe, who is waiting in line in Boston to pay his respects to Senator Kennedy. Arnold was one year behind Kennedy at Harvard and graduated with the Class of 1955. Kennedy helped him get his first job when businesses weren't hiring blacks.