Yesterday, the President unveiled an ambitious plan to spur jobs, cut the national deficit and re-shape the foundations of the American economy. 

Managaging Director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute Lakshman Achuthan joins us to analyze some of the plans Obama outlined in his speech. We also bring in two small business owners who hope to benefit from the initiatives.  Dawn P. Jackson (owner of NuDawn Marketing Group in Maryland) and Walt Rowen (owner of Susquehanna Glass Company in Columbia, PA) discuss how their businesses would be affected by the proposed stimulus package. 

• Business Takeout: New York Times finance reporter Louise Story says the companies that Tiger Woods endorses have pulled television advertisements featuring the scandal-plagued golfer.
  
• Ireland Takeout: BBC Correspondent Mark Simpson on the massive cuts unveiled today in Ireland's annual budget, which make for a particularly sad coda to the "Celtic Tiger's" rapid economic growth in the 1990s.
• Listener Takeout: We hear from you, our listeners, on finding and keeping jobs both full-time and freelance.

Tuesday was one the deadliest days in Iraq since October, with more than 127 people dead after a series of coordinated car bomb attacks in Baghdad. The bombers struck after Iraqi lawmakers voted to hold parliamentary elections early next year. But are elections the best course of action for the volatile country? We get two views: from Rachel Schneller, an international affairs fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations; and Rusty Barber, director of Iraq Programs at the United States Institute of Peace.

Read Rachel Schneller's article, "Avoiding Elections at Any Cost in Iraq."

Late last night, Senate Democrats reportedly furthered the effort to get their fractious members to move ahead on reforming the nation's health care.  The deal, as reported by The New York Times, sets aside the contentious 'public option' and will instead expand Medicare coverage and provide incentives for insurers to set up national not-for-profit plans.  For more on the delicate negotiating, we turn to our own Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich.

Hanukkah begins Friday. For this week's food segment, New York Times food writer Joan Nathan guides us on how to make Jewish food if you're new to the family and come from a different religious background.

Check out Nathan's recipes for Sweet Potato Latkes, Apple Cider Doughnuts and other Hanukkah dishes.

The Federal government will spend $3.4 billion to settle a 13-year-old lawsuit over mismanagement of American Indian land and resource trusts. According to the settlement [PDF, 648k], The U.S. Interior Department will distribute $1.4 billion to more than 300,000 Native American tribe members, and will spend $2 billion more to buy back tribal land lost by previous generations. We speak with Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs. We also speak with Ivan Posey, chairman of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe. 

• Health Care Reform Takeout: Our own Todd Zwillich describes the balancing act Senate Democrats are performing as they try to move health care reform forward.
• Property Takeout: Denver Post reporter Michael Booth walks us through government-seized assets now on sale from the FDIC.
• Listener Takeout: We hear from you about holiday parties, jobs and why you think Disney princesses aren't the best role models for little girls, no matter their race.
  

Tuesday marked a day of opening arguments on the war in Afghanistan. General Stanley McChrystal fielded tough questions from the House Armed Services Committee. McChrystal said the plan to start withdrawing troops in the summer of 2011 wasn't his idea, but that he supports the strategy. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Afghan President Hamid Karzai appeared together in a news conference in Kabul. Karzai said he will need the U.S. to help support his army financially for the next 15 years. Charlie Sennott, executive editor of GlobalPost, joins us with his take on how the three men played their cards.

The Brazilian government is trying a new scheme to cut its carbon emissions and slow down the rate of deforestation in the Amazon. It's planning to do that by PAYING local communities to protect forests and stop cutting down trees. BBC Brazil reporter Paulo Cabral has been to visit the first trial project in the Juma reserve, which contains 1 million acres and is home to over 300 families.

During a visit there, he found the approach is changing the attitudes of local people. "The key drivers of deforestation are poverty and lack of education," Amazonas State Governor Eduardo Braga told him. "Don’t ask for one mother and one father to keep one standing tree if their kid is crying because they’re going to say ‘I’m going to save my kid and I don’t care about this tree.'"

While nations around the world are readying themselves for climate talks in Copenhagen, the state of California is already negotiating their own international climate agreements. We talk with Tony Brunello, California’s deputy Secretary for Energy and Climate Change and Ingrid Lobet, West Coast Bureau Chief of PRI's Living on Earth about what the state is facing and how they’re staying ahead of the curve.

Daniel Stone, senior writer for Newsweek, reports on how a leaked proposal from some of the world's biggest industrial nations is threatening discussions at this week's international climate summit in Copenhagen.  (Read Stone's entry on the leaked texts here.)