On Monday, federal agents including four SWAT teams converged on a house outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. They arrested Daniel Boyd, his two grown sons and four other young men allegedly being instructed in military techniques. The grand jury indicted Mr. Boyd on charges evolving from an apparent desire to go overseas and kill terrorists. Mr. Boyd, who had traveled to both Pakistan and Afghanistan for military-style training, had fought against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. The federal indictment suggests the motive for the training was religious extremism and that Mr. Boyd was prepared to die as a martyr for his beliefs. For more, The Takeaway talks to Dave Dewitt, the Raleigh bureau chief for North Carolina Public Radio and to Peter Bergen, a fellow at the New America Foundation and author of Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden.

The swimming world witnessed a very rare occurrence yesterday in Rome, Italy. Not only did Olympic great Michael Phelps lose in a major individual event for the first time in four years, but Paul Biederman of Germany smashed Phelps’ record by almost an entire second. This huge upset brings along with it some controversy. The Takeaway's sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin has all the details as well as other sports news.

For more from Ibrahim, read his blog post, Sports: Michael, Michael, Plax, and Brett.

Here's the video of Michael Phelps' rare loss:

Three days of violence across northern Nigeria have left more than 100 people dead. But who exactly is behind the bloodshed? The government is fighting a group of Islamic fighters who some call "The Taliban," who want strict Islamic law put into place. But are they the Taliban? Richard Hamilton, a BBC Africa reporter, joins The Takeaway with more of the story.

Here's Al Jazeera's report on the violence in Nigeria [Warning: some graphic content]:

The recession could have a silver lining for meat eaters: cheaper steak. USDA prime beef is no longer reserved for high-end steak houses. The economic downturn and surplus of choice beef means such delights as porterhouse and NY strip are turning up in some cost-friendly stores. For a look at where to find bargains and how to prepare this top-notch fare, we are joined by Bob Huskey, a meat buyer for Costco, and our friend Melissa Clark, food writer for The New York Times.

Health care, health care, health care. President Obama has been pushing his plan, selling it to the nation in a prime time press conference last week and to seniors in a town hall with the AARP yesterday. But is the nation buying it? The Takeaway's Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich has been watching; he's not sure everyone in the president's own party are keen on the plan. The Blue Dog Democrats, the fiscally conservative wing of the party, may be starting to work with House Republicans to slow the bill's progress. One of the Blue Dog Democrats, Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper, joins us to explain his position. Rep. Cooper has taught health care policy at Vanderbilt University for 12 years.

Click through for a transcript of our conversation with Rep. Jim Cooper.

Yesterday afternoon President Obama held a town hall meeting with members of the AARP. His mission was to sell seniors on his plan to reform the nation's health care. He answered tough questions on insurance, prescriptions, and Medicare. To examine how health care reform could affect older Americans, The Takeaway talks to Reba Moon, a 61-year old small business owner in Alberton, Georgia; Gene Barratt, a 79-year old retiree in New York, and Dr. Leo Cooney, a Professor of Geriatrics at Yale University School of Medicine.

A makeshift sailboat carrying close to 200 people capsized off the coast of the Turks and Caicos Islands. At least fifteen are dead. The boat was carrying Haitians aiming to make the U.S. coastline in Miami and had been at sea for three day before hitting a reef. Lieutenant Commander Matt Morlag, spokesman for the U.S. Coastguard in Miami, joins us with an update on the continuing search.

In 1936, Atlanta, Georgia, built the nation's first housing project. Soon, more of the city's population lived in the projects than in any other city in the nation. Now, Atlanta is set to knock all the big projects down and become the first big city without projects. The U.S. House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity is holding hearings today on the future of housing. In light of Atlanta's move (and the plans of other big cities like Chicago, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles), we are looking at whether public housing projects have a future. To discuss this issue is Renee L. Glover, the president and CEO of Atlanta's Housing Authority, and Representative Maxine Waters, the Democrat from California, who is the Chairwoman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.

For more, the AP has put together a video essay on Atlanta's move away from public housing:

New reports show that housing prices across the nation may finally be stabilizing. For the first time in three years, the 20 biggest cities, on average, have actually been seeing increased home prices. Donna Kardos Yesalavich from Dow Jones Newswire joins The Takeaway with a look at the numbers.

In the protests over Iran's disputed presidential election results, hundreds of demonstrators were arrested and sent to Iranian prisons. Now there are accounts alleging that guards abused some imprisoned protestors. Outrage is growing as detainees detail abuse to their relatives, or when bruised and battered bodies are returned to families. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a letter urging the head of the judiciary to show “Islamic mercy” to the detainees, and on Monday Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, personally intervened and closed an especially notorious detention center. For more, we turn to Robert Worth, Beirut bureau chief for our partners The New York Times.

Look out Google, Microsoft is teaming up with Yahoo to create a search engine that could rival Google's substantial search market share. The two companies announced a deal for a 10-year Internet-search partnership, uniting the rivals against Google Inc. There has been speculation for months that the companies would join forces for a potential search deal, after Microsoft's offer last year to acquire all of Yahoo. For more on the story, The Takeaway talks to Nick Wingfield from the Wall St. Journal.

A Sudanese reporter has been charged with wearing indecent clothing. What was she wearing to land her in court? Trousers. If convicted of the crime, she could be punished with 40 lashes. She has invited the world's media to witness her case and likely punishment. BBC Correspondent James Copnall was in the courtroom.

New York Times reporter Campbell Robertson joins The Takeaway from North Carolina, where he is watching the story of alleged homegrown terrorists who were arrested by federal agents. Daniel Boyd, a 39-year old Muslim drywaller, two of his grown children and four others were indicted on charges of conspiring to advance terror abroad. The men are charged with stockpiling automatic weapons and traveling overseas to participate in jihadist movements.

For more, read Campbell Robertson's article, Arrests in Terror Case Bewilder Associates, in the New York Times.

Health care has been on the top of Washington's agenda for weeks now. The U.S. Senate is still battling it out and with the August recess looming, it is unlikely that the national health care debate will end any time soon. For a closer look at the way the Senate wages war, The Takeaway talks to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. As the Republican leader from Tennessee, Frist had a front row seat to health care debates. And as a heart surgeon, Frist had first-hand knowledge about the practice of medicine and the intersection of health care, insurance, and medical practice. He also has just written a book called A Heart to Serve: The Passion to Bring Health, Hope, and Healing.

Click through for a transcript of the conversation with Dr. Bill Frist.