On Wednesday, a federal judge in New Orleans awarded approximately $750,000 to three plaintiffs who sued the Army Corps of Engineers for damages they suffered as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The ruling addresses only flooding that occurred as a result of poor maintenance of a shipping channel called the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. And while $750,000 doesn’t sound like much money in the context of Hurricane Katrina, the legal consequences of this decision could be enormous: It paves the way for many thousands of residents to sue the government over Katrina, a move that may cost the U.S. government billions. We hear from Joseph Bruno, whose firm is also heading a series of suits involving many thousands of plaintiffs suing over levee breaches and insurance payments in the wake of Katrina. We also talk to Ann Parfaite, a resident of the lower 9th Ward, who lost her house in the hurricane, and is one of thousands of plaintiffs who’ve signed up with Mr. Bruno.

• Media Takeout: Oprah Winfrey's production company announced an end date for her talk show: September 9, 2011, Winfrey will reportedly start her own cable channel. Brian Stelter, who writes the Media Decoder blog for The New York Times, tells us whether this apparent end is really just a new begininng.
• Sports Takeout: Our own Ibrahim Abdul-Matin talks about a fundraising event that marks the traditional, unofficial start of college basketball season.
• Arts Takeout: Takeaway correspondent Femi Oke reports on Michelle Obama's new action figure. Read Femi's blog, where you can find a video about the dolls.

It seemed like an essential move after the September 11 attacks: having dozens of fighter jets on alert at all times in case it happened again. But eight years later, military commanders are now questioning such an expensive policy. New York Times reporter Eric Schmitt tells us about the biggest reassessment of the terrorist air threat since the attacks.

Read Eric Schmitt's exclusive story in today's New York Times

This week a government physicians' group, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, issued a recommendation that women with no underlying risk factors for breast cancer wait until they are 50 before getting regular mammograms. Until that point, the recommended age for the screening was 40. And today the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology issued a recommendation of its own. That group says women shouldn't get the pap smear test that screens for cervical cancer until they are 21. They also said women should get the tests less frequently than many do now: once every two years for women under 30 and once every three years for women over 30. The new recommendations have many women up in arms. Dr. Andrea Price, an OBGYN, says some of her patients are confused and dismayed by these recommendations. We hear what she recommends.

The first public hearings on the Fort Hood shootings got underway on Capitol Hill yesterday. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich tells us why the Senate was so focused on the question of terrorism.

Todd also previews an important test vote on health care reform in the Senate happening this weekend. He says there are three holdouts in the party who have not yet said if they'll vote to approve the current bill. Here's who they are:

• Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska: Opposes the public option, thinks the bill costs too much, and doesn’t think that the abortion prohibitions are strict enough. However he has left the door open that he may well vote yes.
• Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana: Has similar problems with the bill. She has strongly suggested that she’s for health care reform, but she has not said how she’ll vote yet.
• Sen. Blanch Lincoln of Arkansas: The third and most unpredictable holdout. She’s a moderate Democrat facing a tough reelection who opposes the public option and has given no indication of whether she’ll take the politically difficult step of falling in line with Democrats and President Obama.

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" hits movie theaters today, and fanatic teenage girls all over the country are making the film a phenomenon before it even opens. Takeaway contributor and New York Times movie critic A.O. Scott, our middle-aged reviewer who liked the movie, explains what all the fuss is about.

Click through to watch a trailer.

There are more than 6.7 million U.S. households with mortgages that are behind on their payments or are in the foreclosure process. It may look like we're a long way from the house-flipping that helped create the housing bubble, but there's a new breed of flipping that's started in places like Florida. We talk to Michael Braga, investigative reporter for The Sarasota Herald Tribune, along with Larry Furman, who is a home owner facing a reset on his adustable rate mortgage.

• Business Takeout: New York Times reporter Louise Story assesses the financial implications of Oprah's departure from ABC.
  
• Listener Takeout: Listeners tell us whether they'll fall prey to the tactics of luxury retailers this holiday season.
• Movie Takeout: New York Times film critic A.O. Scott tells us about the new movies out this weekend.
  

This year’s football season … full of exciting games and undefeated teams ... is also unfolding amidst concerns over head injuries to players. But what would happen if the helmets meant to protect players' heads were removed from the game? "SuperFreakonomics" co-author Stephen Dubner reports on the surprising outcomes, with safeguards and incentives included, of course.

Click through to watch a video of Cal's electric tailback Jahvid Best, who was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a serious fall earlier this month.

The town of Forks, Washington is nestled on the edge of Olympic National Park. It's a quiet place, with about 3,000 residents, working in the timber industry or the local prison. But the trickle of tourists has turned into a flood of fans of the "Twilight" series, which is set in Forks. The eerie plotlines draw fans to local spots, and benefit businesses like Forks Outfitters, where Dave Gedlund is store director.  "New Moon," the second movie based on a "Twilight" book, opens tonight.

A third of men who take paternity tests end up finding out that they're not really the father. And just as stricter federal rules are holding baby daddies more accountable, the science of proving paternity is getting cheaper, easier and more reliable. It all combines for some awkward family talks, tough moral decisions and nasty legal battles. We hear from Tanner Pruitt, a father who took an unexpected route to gaining custody of a daughter that isn't his -- not genetically anyway. We also speak to Ruth Padawer, who writes about this in Sunday's New York Times magazine.

Read Ruth Padawer's story in this weekend's New York Times magazine