Following a four day trip to Pakistan, U.S. Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, is in Kabul on what has been described as a fact-finding mission. As the Obama administration carries out a major review of the policies in Afghanistan, Holbrooke prepares to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss the worsening security situation. For more, the BBC's Afghanistan correspondent Martin Patience joins us from Kabul.

President Obama has no shortage of challenges before him on the home front. But overseas, no problem looms larger than that of Afghanistan, where Taliban militants continue to gain ground and popular support. U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke is in Kabul on what has been called a fact-finding mission. And the Obama administration is expected to announce a troop surge soon. For in depth look at the situation in Afghanistan, The Takeaway is joined by Parag Khanna, a Senior Research Fellow at the New America Foundation and author of The Second World. The BBC's Martin Patience remains to provide his insight.

According to a sober assessment of the mountain of losses facing some of the nation's largest banks, the banks could be called insolvent. Calling for more direct government involvement in the banking sector, a group of economists and finance experts claim that without a cure for the bad assets, the credit crisis will linger and banks will not be able to resume the lending that is key to the economy. For what this means for the economy and the nation, we turn to Steve Lohr, a reporter for the New York Times.

For more, read Steve Lohr's article, Ailing Banks May Require More Aid to Keep Solvent in today's New York Times.

It’s still not clear if 19-year-old singer Chris Brown will face charges for allegedly assaulting and threatening his girlfriend, pop star Rihanna. But the incident provides an occasion to talk about the distressing fact that physical violence between teenaged romantic partners is at an all time high. New York Times Op-ed columnist Charles Blow joins The Takeaway with a look at the data.

Read Charles Blow's article, Love Shouldn’t Hurt in the New York Times.

Chris Brown in happier, less violent times on Sesame Street.

What looked like hopeful news out of the heartland is heartbreak instead for employees at Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar. The company indicated that if the Obama stimulus passed it might hire back some of the 20,000 workers it has laid off or will soon lay off. The catch—they won’t be hired back any time soon and many of them won’t be hired back in Illinois. We’re talking with Chad Noll, a former engine assembler with Caterpillar who lives in Elmwood, Illinois.

Caterpillar's CEO James Owens contradicted the President's hopeful statement that passage of the stimulus bill would allow Caterpillar to stay its layoffs.

There was more upheaval in the formation of President Obama's cabinet yesterday when New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican, withdrew his nomination to be commerce secretary. The Senator cited "irresolvable conflicts" on the stimulus and the census as reasons for his withdrawal. Josh Rogers, reporter for New Hampshire Public Radio, analyzes this latest glitch in the President's efforts to be bipartisan.

For a look at who is in the President's cabinet, check out our handy guide.

Sex education has gone mobile. Anywhere that you can get a phone signal, you will be able to watch safe-sex soap operas on your cell phone. We’ve been seeing safe-sex campaigns for years, but now that they are smaller and harder to see, will the direct-to-cell phone message finally reach young women of the dangers of HIV / AIDS, STDs and pregnancy? Fred Mogul, reporter for WNYC, joins us this morning to explain.

For more information, head to the website.

India has gotten in on the safe sex campaigns, too, and in typical Bollywood style it is a very long ad.

There are many consequences to the financial crisis, but so far we’ve mostly focused on what will happen to the United States domestically as banks fail and jobs are lost. Now to kick us while we're down, National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair stated that the economic crisis is making us unpopular globally, too, and the sinking economy now ranks among the top security threats to the U.S. For what this means for our reputation and our safety, we are joined by David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for the New York Times and author of The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power.

For more of the New York Times' coverage of this issue, read Mark Mazzetti's article, Global Economy Top Threat to U.S., Spy Chief Says, in today's paper.

The $790 billion economic stimulus plan has money in it to change America’s infrastructure forever. As we consider the future of urban planning in this country, The Takeaway talks to Enrique Peñalosa, the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia and urban strategist who draws on the 5,000-year history of his hometown for inspiration.

How is the stimulus going to develop infrastructure in your city? Follow the dollars online and tell us how the stimulus plan is playing out in your community. We're sharing your stories online and on air, and we'll continue the investigation with your help.

ShovelWatch is a joint project of the non-profit investigative outfit ProPublica, the morning news program The Takeaway and WNYC, New York's flagship public radio station. With investigative reporting, interactive features and help from you, we're tracking the stimulus bill dollars from Congress to your community.

While Washington D.C. is all atwitter over the stimulus package, Washington State has been debating something else entirely. Candy. Yes, the Washington State Legislature is about to make the most important decision of 2009: Should Aplets & Cotlets become the official state candy? While seemingly harmless and kind of cute, the move has opened old wounds, because in 2001 Almond Roca was almost crowned the state treat, but the crunchy chocolate almond treat failed to pass the State House. Now battle lines are drawn. Here to explain the fight and offer up an alternative is Megan Seling, a writer who has been covering the kerfuffle for The Stranger in Seattle.

Want to have your own taste test? Click here for Aplets & Cotlets, here for Almond Roca, and here for Fran's Chocolates.

Pakistan says it has in custody a ringleader and five suspects in November's terrorist attack in Mumbai. But while India says it welcomes Pakistan's latest response, it says Pakistan needs to take more steps to crack down on terror groups existing in that country. For more on the response from India we turn to Sanjoy Majumder, BBC correspondent in Delhi.

India's Junior Foreign Minister Anand Sharma says Pakistan must enforce international law.

The question is no longer if will we have an agreement on the stimulus, but rather if the stimulus plan will be enough. Will this trillion dollar infusion save the economy? This morning we’ve invited writer David Leonhardt to the show. He writes the Economic Scene column for The New York Times and he’s agreed to let us pick his brain a little this morning as we try to answer our questions about the stimulus.

For more from David Leonhardt, read his latest Economic Scene article, To Spend or to Save? Trick Question in the New York Times.

Two judges in Eastern Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to wire fraud and income tax fraud for taking more than $2.6 million in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers run by PA Child Care and a sister company, Western PA Child Care. Ian Urbina is reporting this story for the New York Times and he joins us now for what this means for those convicted by these judges and for the justice system at large.

For additional details on this story, read Ian Urbina's and Sean Hamill's article, Judges Plead Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit, in today's New York Times.

Sen. Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican who was asked to join President Obama's Cabinet as Commerce secretary, has declined the invitation. He announced his decision at a press conference yesterday, claiming it would be "difficult day in and day out to serve in this cabinet." We are joined by Charles Mahtesian, national political editor for Politico.com for more details on Gregg's decision.

For a look at who is in the president's Cabinet, check out our handy guide.

Judd Gregg's press conference on his decision to withdraw: