Five U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan over the weekend. As President Obama weighs the next steps for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, top members of his party are making their positions clear. The Senate’s top Democrat on military issues, Carl Levin, said on Friday that he does not support sending more troops until more Afghan forces are trained. We'll look at new pressure from lawmakers and how the president might act as we talk to Marvin Weinbaum, a scholar at the Middle East Institute and former State Department analyst on Afghanistan and Pakistan; and Howard Hart, a retired CIA agent who worked in Afghanistan for several years.
"We lost the initiative in the last two or three years. We have to remember that the Taliban’s strategy has been from the very beginning just to outlast us. And they’re on course on that."
—Marvin Weinbaum, scholar at the Middle East Institute and former State Department analyst on Afghanistan and Pakistan, commenting on the war in Afghanistan.
Our Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, looks at the chances that Congress will reach an agreement on a health care bill this week. Then Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for The New York Times, looks at what's next on Congress' agenda: reforming regulations on the financial sector.
This year's U.S. Open took some strange turns. Unseeded Kim Clijsters won the women's final last night, and Rafael Nadal got knocked out the same day. On Saturday, Serena Williams lost during the semi-finals match and was slapped with a $10,000 fine for lashing out at a line judge. As we wait for the men's final between Roger Federer and Juan Martín del Potro, we get the lowdown from Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin.
We look ahead to events that are making the news for this week including health care, trade relations between the U.S. and China, Congressman Joe Wilson and the war in Afghanistan. To go over the details, we talk to Marcus Mabry, international business editor for The New York Times and Jill McGivering, Asia editor for the BBC.
This week's look at family issues tackles the impact of technology in the household. Blackberries, laptops and mobile phones may increase access to knowledge, but do they isolate children from their parents? We talk about this with Sherry Turkle, director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, and author of the book "Simulation and its Discontents." We're also joined by Lisa Belkin, who writes the blog Motherlode for The New York Times.
"I got a text from my son at Halloween a year or so ago saying, 'Can you come get me and tell everyone it was your idea?' and he needed out. He needed help and he never could have picked up the phone in that situation. He couldn't have spoken but he could text."
—Sherry Turkle, Director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, on how texting help her and her son.
Last week, President Obama addressed the nation before a joint session of Congress in an attempt to answer some questions and alleviate any doubts about his plan to overhaul the national health care system. Terms such as "co-ops," "public option," and "trigger option" are being thrown around, but not everyone understands what each of these terms mean.
To break it down for us is our Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, and Time Magazine Staff Writer Kate Pickert, who recently wrote a report including a glossary of health care debate terms.
Included in the report are the following definitions:
President Obama will give a speech on Wall Street today: the one-year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers. We talk to New York Times finance reporter Louise Story to look at what the president might say and how he will be received by Wall Street employees.
Week one of this year's NFL season is over and we want to know which teams and players to watch for. Our own sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul Matin, gives us the rundown, along with some thoughts on Serena Williams' confrontation with a line judge at the U.S. Open over the weekend.
Today, Beijing calls for talks with Washington over tire tariffs, after President Obama announced on Friday that he will tack on a 35 percent tariff to imports of Chinese tires for cars and light trucks. The U.S. tire industry has lost thousands of jobs due to a surge in tire exports from China. China hit back by saying that the U.S. was violating international trade laws and announced that it would restrict U.S. imports of chicken and auto parts. For the implications of all this, we talk to BBC Correspondent Chris Hogg, who is in Shanghai, with the latest.
"The Jay Leno Show" premiers on NBC tonight at 10:00 pm EST, and planning for the prime time premiere has gone on for months. We look at the lead up to the launch of a new late-night show with someone who has done it several times: Mitch Semel, network executive and president of Semel Media. We also speak to TV blogger Delaina Dixon of delainadixon.com to find out if the buzz around "The Jay Leno Show" is justified.
View an interview with Jay Leno about his new show:
Authorities found what they believe to be the body of 24-year-old Yale student Annie Le, in an ongoing investigation of her disappearance. Ms. Le, a pharmacology student, went missing on Tuesday and was last seen in the research lab where she worked.
Here to tell us more about the details, and how Yale students are reacting as they head to class this morning, we talk to Thomas Kaplan, editor of the Yale Daily News.
Today's Takeaway: Over 50 and Unemployed, Texting in Class, The Future of Yemen, and Why It's So Hard to End Poverty in America
Today's Takeaway: Dharun Ravi, NATO Summit, David McCullough, Chen Guangcheng and Unemployment for Older Americans
Why Texting in Class Might Actually Be a Good Thing
Why Increased Immigration is the Solution for America's Ailing Economy
The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with The BBC World Service, New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
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