The Obama administration is finding few Republican allies in Washington these days, despite having high hopes of reaching across the aisle to enlist Republican support for some early initiatives. Only three Republicans in the Senate voted for the passage of the economic stimulus bill last Friday and not one Republican in the House supported the bill. To make matters worse, Republican Senator Judd Gregg withdrew his nomination as Commerce Secretary because of disagreements with the new administration. Is this the end of the effort at bipartisanship? Julie Mason, White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner joins the Takeaway for a rundown of the issues.

In her first overseas trip as Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would be looking to Asia to help tackle global problems. She started her trip in Japan, which is facing down an economic crisis, from there she heads out on a tour of Southeast Asia, where she is likely to face stiff questions over the foreign policy of the last eight years. The BBC's State Department Correspondent, Kim Ghattas, is traveling with Ms. Clinton and she joins us now from Tokyo.

As the Obama administration continues to carefully move toward new diplomatic relations with Iran, a book has just been released that gives new insight into life in Iran during the era of President Ahmadinejad. The Takeaway talks with author Azadeh Moaveni about her new book Honeymoon in Iran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran.

Russia's economy is reeling from the effect of a sharp fall in the price of oil. The ruble has lost more than a third of its value since August, inflation is about 13 percent a year and the 2009 budget is expected to slip into deficit for the first time in about a decade. The Kremlin is now reportedly worried about social unrest. Has Vladimir Putin's star fallen? For more, we're talking to Steven Eke, Russia analyst for our partner, the BBC.

Anybody who knows anything about Harry Potter has drooled over the Marauder's Map — a handy little tool that shows Harry, in real time, the location of every person at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (see below for details). Today, that fantastical map seems to be turning into reality: GPS applications on our cell phones, like Amigo Mapper, allow us to track our friends via their cell phones. But are there people, or companies, other than our friends who would be interested in knowing where we are? Yes, says John Markoff, technology reporter for the New York Times and author of an article on geographical cell phone technologies in today's Science Times. He joins The Takeaway to talk about the implications around the rise of GPS technologies in handheld devices.

For more, read John Markoff's article, The Cellphone, Navigating Our Lives in today's New York Times.

President Obama is preparing to sign the $787 billion stimulus package today. It’s a spending plan that will send the nation deeper into debt in an effort to buoy our economy. It’s also a move that sends deep doubt through Juan Enriquez. He’s a bestselling author of The Untied States of America, businessman, academic, and now managing director at Excel Medical Ventures and he has some serious opinions on the stimulus package.

Here is Juan Enriquez's talk at the 2008 TED conference:

Sudan's troubled Darfur region has been in turmoil for years in a dispute that has killed over 300,000 people and displaced more than 2.2 million. Now there is word that the Sudanese government has signed a tentative agreement that could pave the way towards a cessation in violence. For more we are joined by the BBC's Karen Allen in Nairobi.

Despite the eight billion dollars the stimulus will pump into the nation’s transit infrastructure, local transportation agencies around the nation are in for a potentially devastating year. For the details of this looming crisis we turn to Rick Karr, a correspondent for Blueprint America at PBS.

For more, check out Blueprint America's website complete with an interactive map of the economic crises facing urban transit systems. And don't forget to watch NOW on PBS - with Blueprint America - as they travel to North Carolina to see what the future holds for mass transit in these troubling financial times.

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 y

One year ago, skeptics predicted dire consequences as Kosovo emerged as an independent state from the former Yugoslavia. While none of the violence, extreme nationalism, or emigration of the Serb minority that was expected happened, as Kosovo celebrates its one year anniversary, not everything is coming up roses. For more we turn to Helen Fawkes of the BBC who is in Pristina, Kosovo.

Last year more than 2.3 million homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings. Today nearly 5 million people in the United States are unemployed. It’s clear that we are in an economic crisis and that the housing market bust was the first of many dominoes to fall. But when terms like “toxic assets, ” “commercial paper,” and “credit default swaps” become part of the everyday vernacular, the chain of events that got us to this economic slump remains a source of confusion. In a new FRONTLINE documentary, Inside the Meltdown, filmmaker Michael Kirk puts the pieces of the fractured economy’s puzzle back together. He joins us to discuss how he threaded a narrative out of something that seems largely an abstract force all its own.

Here's a sneak peek of "Inside the Meltdown," addressing the fall of Bear Stearns.

Today is a big day for General Motors. They are preparing to announce how they plan to repay the $13.4 billion loan Congress doled out late last year. Workers at GM plants are anxiously awaiting to hear the detail of the plan, too, because their union is in the middle of negotiating a health care plan with the automaker. Nick Bunkley has been covering this developing story for our partner, the New York Times, and he joins us now.

For more, read Nick Bunkley's and Bill Vlasic's article, Union Talks Seen as Key as G.M. Makes Case for Funds in today's New York Times.