A suicide bomber attacked a busy army recruitment center in Baghdad leaving more than 50 dead and over 100 injured. Stephen Farrell, reporter for The New York Times, has details from Baghdad; headlines.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner convenes a meeting of mortgage analysts and economists today to discuss the future of mortgage financing. There will be a lot of nitty-gritty details, including the amount of debt the federal government should back and the proper role of securitization. However, there’s a bigger question that gets at the heart of American culture:  Is home ownership still a social good in and of itself? And how much should the government put on the line to encourage it?

We discuss the implications of the government's next moves, and we want your input: Should the government encourage people to buy their homes? Is property ownership a social good in America today? 

For the first time in nearly a decade of war in Afghanistan, the Taliban has executed a young couple by stoning for having a relationship out of wedlock.

Carried out on Sunday by townspeople and even family members of the couple who tricked them into returning after trying to elope, the execution was the latest in a string of harsh punishments by the former regime, which include lashing and amputation. Already some in the country are calling the execution appropriate. Just a week ago a group of 350 religious scholars meeting with government officials called for more punishment under Sharia law.

Are we seeing a resurgence of the Taliban’s extreme punishment, in a long and painful war that was meant to eradicate it? What does the recent violence say about our efforts, and about the Taliban in Afghanistan?

According to a new report, spending on state Supreme Court elections has doubled in the last decade. According to polls, three in four Americans believe money spent on campaigns for judgeships can affect later courtroom decisions; some states are calling for methods to protect the court system from special-interest money donated during election season.

The U.N. estimates that as many as 20 million people have been affected by the massive flooding in Pakistan. People have lost their homes and their land, and there'a a high risk of water-born illnessess. Children are especially affected by illnesses like eye infections, scabies and diarrhea. Aid workers are faced with a huge job as they try to help the victims.

Lucia Ennis regional director for Asia at the aid organization Concern Worldwide describes the challenges of getting food and supplies to 250,000 victims of the floods in Pakistan, as waters spread to the south. She says the most important thing is to get clean water and food to the victims.

The recent debate over whether an Islamic cultural center should be allowed to be built near Ground Zero has only gotten hotter since President Obama weighed in last Friday. "As a citizen, and as president," Obama said, "I believe that Muslims have the right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable." Stoked by arguments over this one building, the national discussion about Islam's role in American society has dramatically heated up. That got us thinking about Graham Fuller's new book, "A World Without Islam."

Stephen Farrell, reporter for The New York Times reports on this morning's suicide attack in Baghdad; headlines.

A suicide bomber attacked a busy army recruitment center today in Baghdad where a large crowd was waiting in line to apply for work. The attack comes ahead of the U.S. military's planned drawdown of forces. The BBC reports that as many as 50 people are dead after the blast. Stephen Farrell, reporter for The New York Times updateds us on the bombing from Baghdad.

Pakistan’s floods are producing some mind-boggling numbers: 3.5 million children are at risk of disease, and roughly one-fifth of the country is under water. 20 million people have been displaced from their homes by the ongoing deluge.   

And some more disturbing numbers: the UN has asked for $460 million in emergency aid. To date, donor nations have only pledged 35 percent of that amount. A little less than half the donations - roughly $76 million - has come from the United States.

A story in today's New York Times takes a closer look at musician Wyclef Jean's bid to be Haiti's next president. Jean's relief organization set up for the country in 2005, Yele Haiti Foundation, was called into question this past winter, when reports found that money given to the foundation for the country's poor was poorly accounted for. But now he has stepped down from the organization to run for president of the country.

Earlier this year, the Pew Center released a study estimating that there is a one trillion dollar gap between what states had promised workers in retiree pensions and benefits, and the money they currently had to pay for it all.

In an attempt to remedy the gap, lawmakers in Colorado, Minnesota and South Dakota have voted to reduce annual cost-of-living increases on pensions. Not surprisingly, retirees in each state have filed lawsuits.

Just months before the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, archeologists in Georgia have discovered the location of a stockade used for Camp Lawton, a Confederate prison camp which housed Union prisoners of war.

After a huge amount of publicity and hype, “The Big C” premiered on Showtime last night. The show is a comedy about something a lot of people don't like to talk about, let alone laugh over: cancer.

Laura Linney plays a middle aged woman who’s just been diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma, and given about 18 months to live. In the first episode, Linney's character, Cathy, confides her diagnosis to just one entity: the neighbor’s dog.

"I'm living the dream!" she shouts. "I'm here all year! Performing at Stage 4! Oh come on, come on, you gotta give it up for me a little bit. It's kind of funny? Death comedy." She laughs. And then starts to cry. 

A suicide bomber struck a crowd of 300 people this morning in Baghdad.  Jane Arraf, a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor was at the scene. She says that a young man with explosives strapped to his legs blew himself up in the crowd of people who had gathered to apply for coveted jobs with the army. Araf says that it seemed like security was lacking.

Saad al Mutalibi, an Iraqi government spokesperson also responds to the attack. He maintains that his country will be more secure without U.S. forces, and that the attaack is not linked to the withdrawal of troops.