The Takeaway talks to Marcus Mabry, International Business Editor for The New York Times, and BBC Arab Affairs Analyst Magdi Abdel Hadi about what's in the headlines for the week ahead. Topics include President Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner hitting the road, GM contining the long, slow walk to bankruptcy, and predictions that unemployment numbers may hit nine percent for the first time in a quarter of a century.

Al Franken and Norm Coleman face off today in Minnesota Supreme Court as oral arguments start for the selection of junior senator in the land of ten thousand lakes. Norm Coleman's team declared that not all the votes have been counted and that Al Franken did not legally obtain the most votes. But, even if the court rules that no more ballots should be counted, Franken may still not gain the victory. Is he good enough, smart enough and dog-gone-it, do enough people like him to elect him Senator?

To figure out what's at stake for Al Franken and Norm Coleman, The Takeaway talks to Tom Scheck from Minnesota Public Radio.

Last weekend, researchers announced details of a new cancer “vaccine” that keeps some cancers at bay for more than a year. The announcement came at an oncology conference in Florida that’s considered the world’s largest of its kind. But oncologist Len Lichtenfield, deputy chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society, says that other research that's just as ground-breaking never sees the light of day because of legal and financial barriers.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is in Beijing for a two-day visit to meet with top Chinese government officials including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. He is there to reassure his Chinese hosts they they need not worry about the $770 billion they've invested in U.S. treasuries. China being the biggest single purchaser of U.S. treasuries. The Takeaway is joined by BBC's Quentin Somerville who is in Beijing and following this closely.

For more on Geithner's visit to China, watch the video below.

Author and Scholar Ronald Takaki died last week at age 70. To many students of ethnic studies, he was known as the pioneer. His Facebook page has turned into a memorial page; one message reads, “You’ve exemplified multicultural education in your writing, your work with students and your way of being in the world.” To remember his life, work and legacy, The Takeaway talks to Gary Okihiro, a former graduate student of Takaki's, and founder of the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University.

In the video below Ronald Takaki discusses redefining race in America.

Dr. George Tiller, a doctor who performed abortions for decades, was murdered on Sunday in Wichita, Kansas, while he attended mass at his local church. Tiller was accused by anti-abortion critics of infanticide and had been shot in both arms in 1993 by an anti-abortion zealot. The Takeaway is joined by New York Times Reporter Monica Davey who has been reporting on the murder, and Eleanor Bader, co-author of the book “Targets of Hatred: Anti-Abortion Terrorism,” for a look at the history of violence at abortion clinics.

For more information on Tiller's death and to see local reactions, watch the video below.

Air France flight 447 carrying 228 people departed yesterday evening from Rio de Janeiro from Brazil to Paris. The flight was scheduled to arrive in Paris, but disappeared about 186 miles northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal. The Takeaway has the latest from Rogerio Simoines, head of the BBC's Brazilian Service.

General Motors is expected to file for bankruptcy this morning, leaving thousands of workers in Detroit worried about what will happen next. To talk about this American business milestone is Jerome Vaughn, the news and program director at WDET Detroit Public Radio.

It was a big weekend in sports: an unknown sprinter at track-and-field's Reebok Grand Prix; the NBA playoffs, where Dwight Howard stopped LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Did we mention that Rafael Nadal is out of the French Open? The Takeaway Contributor and Sports Blogger Ibrahim Abdul-Matin wraps up the biggest sports headlines over the weekend and predicts the NBA winner.

Watch a clip from the Reebok Grand Prix below.

President Obama plans to visit Cairo this week, creating an enormous challenge for his own and Egypt's security services. They will have to navigate one of the world’s most notoriously traffic-choked cities. The government recently started a campaign to promote "discipline in the streets." The BBC’s Christian Fraser knows precisely how bad things can get and how much needs to be done to create order in the streets of the Egyptian capital.

Interest rates are spiking, and oil prices rose to about $68 a barrel today, hitting a new high for the year. What effect might this have on consumption? The Takeaway poses this question to Javier Blas from the Financial Times.

Last night, The Guggenheim Museum's Works and Process series featured an opera called "Green Aria," created by Stewart Matthew. It was a feast for the nose. Perfumes were composed by Christophe Laudamiel and music was composed by Nico Muhly and Valgeir Sigurdsson. To talk about this multi-sensual experiment is Chandler Burr, the perfume critic for The New York Times.