Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza this weekend and started house-by-house fighting. Meanwhile diplomatic efforts by the global community have stepped up and French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders today. Ethan Bronner is the Jerusalem bureau chief for our partner, the New York Times, and he joins us from from the road to Gaza where he is fixing a flat tire.

Today marks the first session of the 111th Congress and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid knows he's got a full plate of serious issues to handle, and handle quickly. On top of all the pressing matters there are still vacancies in the U.S. Senate and a whole lot of hullabaloo over who is going to be filling them. To mull over these issues with us is Todd Zwillich from Capitol News Connection and our man on the ground in Washington D.C.

After the dissolution of Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and numerous other investment banks, the Bernie Madoff scandal, and the global economic fallout of the sub-prime mortgages, business schools are finding themselves in a pickle. What do you teach about business when the future of business is up for debate? In response, business schools are adopting a new curriculum to deal with a new kind of student in the post sub-prime world. Chris McKenna, the MBA program director at the Said Business School at Oxford University, joins The Takeaway.

With the presidential inauguration just a few weeks away, the Obama family has moved to Washington, D.C., and the city is gearing up for the largest inauguration ever. Can the city handle the expected hundreds of thousands of inauguration goers? Nia Henderson, the White House correspondent for Politico.com, joins us to let us know what we can expect from the inauguration.

We're checking back in with Ryan Bowen, the writer and cycling activist who is cycling cross country from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. for President-elect Obama's inauguration. We check in with Ryan who is camping out in Madison, Florida.

Listen to the last time Ryan was on The Takeaway.

Follow Ryan Bowen's journey on his video blog

This weekend, President Bush weighed in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Vice-President Dick Cheney also made the rounds of talk shows to express support for Israel. As Israel continues its ground offensive in Gaza, there is increasing speculation that they timed their actions against Hamas to benefit from the last few days of the Bush administration. To explain why, Scott Shane, a reporter in the Washington Bureau of the New York Times joins us.

Read Scott Shane's article in the New York Times.

Despite the fact that he hasn't taken office yet, President-elect Barack Obama is hard at work to get the economy jump started. On Sunday his advisers announced that he plans to include about $300 billion in tax cuts for workers and businesses in his economic recovery program. Joining us to discuss is Peter Baker, the New York Times reporter who covered this issue in today's paper.

Read Peter Baker's article in today's New York Times.

Governor Tim Kaine will become chair of the Democratic National Committee when Howard Dean steps down later this month. Kaine's an energetic, gregarious leader who threw his support behind President-elect Obama. Anita Kumar, a staff writer for the Washington Post who covers Virginia state government joins The Takeaway to provide some insight into a local leader stepping up to the national stage.

Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico is no longer under consideration for the job of Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration. A grand jury is looking into charges of pay-to-play in the awarding of a state contract to a company that contributed to Richardson. The Governor says that he has acted properly, but that the investigation could drag out the confirmation process at a moment when quick action is needed to address the country’s dire economic situation. Santa Fe Public Radio's News Director Bill Dupuy joins The Takeaway with the story.

Find out more about President-elect Obama's Inner Circle, including the Cabinet appointees.

It ain't over till it's over. A day before the 111th Congress convenes, Republican senators are claiming that they will block any attempts to seat Democrat Al Franken, who currently holds a slim lead over Republican incumbent Norm Coleman. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck returns to The Takeaway to explain what this week will bring for Minnesota politics.

President-elect Obama has named Leon Panetta, a former congressman and Chief of Staff to President Clinton, to run the CIA. It’s a controversial choice because Panetta is not an intelligence professional, but supporters say he will bring an outsider’s perspective and an understanding of how to run a massive federal agency to the job. New York Times reporter Mark Mazzetti joins The Takeaway with a look at Panetta's history and confirmation prospects.

For more about Leon Panetta, read Mark Mazzetti's article, Panetta Chosen as C.I.A. Chief in Surprise Step, in today's New York Times.

If you know anything about Macintosh computers, you know that the annual Macworld trade show that kicks off today in San Francisco is one of the biggest events for the Apple community. But in December, Apple stunned its followers when it announced that Apple CEO Steve Jobs would not giving his traditional keynote speech. Not only that, Apple announced that after 2009, they will no longer be part of the expo. Questions abound: Why is Apple going AWOL? And is Jobs sick, again? WIRED magazine journalist Steven Levy joins The Takeaway from Macworld to discuss.

Steve Jobs' 2008 keynote address in 60 seconds

A health official in Gaza says civilian casualties have spiked since the Israeli ground campaign began. The official says at least 70 civilians have been killed in Gaza since Saturday. The latest reports say Israeli troops are dug in outside Gaza City. Only a few reporters are operating inside of Gaza and two of them join The Takeaway to give us the on-the-ground view of the troubles in Gaza. Rushdi AbuAlouf works for the BBC in Gaza and Taghreed el-Khodary is reporting for the New York Times.

To find out more about the increase in civilian injuries, read Taghreed el-Khodary's article in today's New York Times.