In a move to show that Washington is normalizing its relationship with Iraq, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is coming to the White House today. The two leaders have plenty to talk about: Iraq's security, continuing ethnic tensions and, of course, oil. Al-Maliki's trip comes just three weeks after the U. S. military withdrew from Iraqi cities after years of occupation. Violence has been increasing across Iraq. The Takeaway talks to Jim Muir, the BBC's Baghdad correspondent, and Alyssa Rubin, the former New York Times Baghdad bureau chief who has just left Iraq.

Who knew that breakfast could be one sure way to beat the heat? We’re not talking about chugging a frappaccino, we’re talking about breakfast the Sicilian way: ice cream. Gina DePalma joins The Takeaway with some Italian breakfast fare that could change the way you think about how you start your steamy, summer mornings. Gina DePalma is the pastry chef of the world famous restaurant Babbo, in New York. She is also the author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen. And you can keep abreast of her culinary thoughts on the blog Serious Eats, where she is a weekly contributor.

Want to make your own coffee granita? Here's Gina's recipe:

Coffee Granita

• 1/4 cup of granulated sugar for every two cups of brewed espresso or strong regular coffee (You can adjust the sweetness to your taste).
• Sweetened heavy whipped cream
• Shaved chocolate or ground cinnamon

1. Whisk the sugar into the hot coffee, and let the mixture cool completely to room temperature before putting it into the freezer in a shallow metal or glass dish.
2. Monitor the freezing process; as the sides begin to freeze, using a whisk or fork to break it up and move it to the center. Do this every 15 minutes or so, sooner as it freezes more, using a small whisk for aeration and to strategically target the frozen spots. When there is no more loose liquid in the mix, give it a really good whisking and let it freeze for about 15 to 20 minutes more.
3. To serve, you’ll need some sweetened heavy cream whipped until it mounds softly. In a glass dessert dish or cup, put a generous layer of frozen granita. Add a small shot of ice-cold, brewed espresso for some extra coffee flavor.
4. Layer on some cream, then repeat the layers, ending with a mound of cream, which you can whip a bit stiffer for holding power.
5. Top with some shaved chocolate and/or ground cinnamon and serve with brioche on the side.
6. Dip pieces of the brioche into the mix, or fold pieces of it around spoonfuls of granita and cream.

Tonight President Barack Obama holds a prime time press conference. The main topic is likely to be health care reform, but topics such as unemployment, the economy, and Afghanistan are all likely to make an appearance. Julie Mason, White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner joins The Takeaway to preview the presser. The Takeaway is also joined by Dr. Peter Ubel, physician and behaviorial scientist in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Kristen Rouse, 1st Lieutenant in the Army National Guard and a Veteran of the War in Afghanistan; and Akin Mckenzie, visual display artist

Millions of people across Asia were plunged into darkness during the longest eclipse of the century. The total solar eclipse, where the moon blocks the sun, turned day into night for several minutes across southeast Asia. For an eyewitness account The Takeaway turns to Jyotsna Singh, a BBC reporter in Delhi, India.

President Obama is hitting the airways tonight to sell his health care reform plan. The Takaway's man in Washington, Todd Zwillich, gives us the behind the scenes report. We then turn to Paul Starr, professor of sociology and public policy at Princeton, to explain the history of presidential attempts to change the American health care system. Mr. Starr was a senior health policy adviser in the Clinton White House and is author of the Pulitzer-Prize winning book The Social Transformation of American Medicine: The rise of a sovereign profession and the making of a vast industry.

The Takeaway is hosting a roundtable discussion of what health care reform should look like. Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway’s Washington correspondent, sets the scene for the president's press conference with his analysis of the political issues. Then The Takeaway's panel discusses their own wishes for health care reform. Joining today's conversation are Dr. Peter Ubel, physician and behavorial scientist at the University of Michigan, Kristen Rouse, 1st Lieutenant in the Army National Guard and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, and Akin Mckenzie, a visual display artist.

In 1990, Congress enacted the Children's Television Act to promote educational children's television programming and to limit marketing to children. The act addresses only broadcast television, not cable, internet, or games. Gary Knell, the President and CEO of Sesame Workshop (the force behind Sesame Street) has been pushing for an update to the bill. He joins The Takeaway before he heads to the Hill to testify on re-booting the Children's Television Act for the 21st century and beyond. Also joining the conversation is Dade Hayes, a father and author of Anytime Playdate: Inside the Preschool Entertainment Boom, or, How Television Became My Baby's Best Friend.

When the original Children's Television Act was being debated, there was one special witness: Mr. Rogers. Here's his testimony:

Yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke began two days of testimony before Congress on the state of the economy. He said, “The U.S. economy contracted sharply in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year. More recently, the pace of decline appears to have slowed significantly." Bernanke said there were "tentative signs" of recovery. So is the recession over? And if so, when will there be more jobs? The Takeaway is joined by Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, a company that forecasts recessions and recoveries.

Airlines are starting to release their quarterly earnings reports. The results? Turbulence. While Southwest and United eked out a small profit, Continental announced a slight loss. Charisse Jones, reporter for USA Today, joins The Takeaway to talk about the state of airline industry.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is getting tough on Iran. Speaking from Thailand today she announced that the U.S. is prepared to defend its allies in the Persian Gulf against any threats from Iran, which appears to be moving ahead with its nuclear program. To help us parse what the tough talk means is Jon Leyne, the BBC's Iran correspondent, who has been kicked out of the country and joins The Takeaway from London.

On Monday, Henry Louis Gates Jr, one of the nation's pre-eminent African American scholars, was arrested for breaking into his own home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The charges have been dropped against the Harvard professor but the racial questions are still swirling. With the election of the first black man to the White House, many people thought American society was becoming "post racial." Joining The Takeaway to discuss race in America is Paul Butler, a former federal prosecutor, law professor at George Washington University and author of Let's Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice and our friend David Wall Rice, a psychology professor at Morehouse College.

Read David Wall Rice's blog post, Professor Gates Arrested? No Surprise