A last minute compromise led to approval of a four-billion dollar aid package for 9/11 survivors and the first responders who became ill working in the ruins. Plus, morning headlines.

Yesterday we discussed which nuclear weapons will be affected by the New START agreement, which was ratified by the Senate. Today we examine another worrisome type of nuclear material — the unaccounted-for kind, which terrorists have the best chance of acquiring.

We've been poring over the 2010 census results, but dry, statistical information only goes so far. So we've been asking you how your lives have changed over the past 10 years. We've gotten tremendous responses all around, but one from Takeaway listener Heather Hudson really caught our attention. Heather shares her story.

According to a new study by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, the teen birthrate fell to an all-time low in 2009. Last year, there were 39.1 births per thousand girls between the ages of 15 and 19.  Early data from the first six months of 2010 show that the downward trend continues. 

 It’s the most wonderful time of the year…for Christians, anyway. But what are you supposed to do at Christmas if you’re an atheist? We talk with singer Robbie Fulks, who penned what might be country music’s first atheist-ballad: "God Isn't Real." Robbie is also a contributor to the new anthology, "The Atheist's Guide to Christmas."

North Korea's Minister of Armed Forces, Kim Yong-chun, says the North is prepared to wage a "holy war" against South Korea after what he called the South's attempt to initiate conflict. The threat is a response to the South's largest military exercises of the year — conducted earlier this morning — just 12 miles from the border with the North.

In her new book, "The Man Who Invented the Computer," Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jane Smiley introduces us to John Vincent Atanasoff, a physicist and mathematician who, in 1937, invented much of what we know as the modern-day computer. His creation became known as the Atanasoff-Berry Computer, also known as ABC: an invention largely overshadowed by other technological and engineering advancements. 

Planning for climate change: it's a scenario that many developing countries are adapting on a daily basis as they see their landscape alter and change. However, the planning in countries like the U.S. looks very different. John and Majora discuss how various individuals and communities prepare for climate change.

The price of oil now tops $90 a barrel for the first time since the early days of the financial crisis; the Election Board in Chicago is expected to allow former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to run for mayor. 

When families get together for the holidays, there's bound to be tons of food, drink and cheer. But a slice of political debate often comes along with the green beans. Talking politics may be a no-go for a cocktail party, but for lots of families it's a holiday staple. Tax cuts, health care, the Tea Party: Which topics will be the hot potatoes of this year's festivities?

We reported yesterday on a lawsuit brought against test-prep giant Kaplan by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who accused the company of discriminating against African-American job applicants by using credit histories in their hiring processes. As it turns out, Kaplan is hardly the only company to do so. According to Takeaway listener Christina Tobin, her bankruptcy filing report has overshadowed her new accounting degree in her job hunt.

There's hope that the U.S. can pull out of this economic slump it's in, but there's a potential disaster looming for states that could derail any economic recovery. Meredith Whitney, a financial analyst famed for predicting Citigroup's major debt fallout, made a new dire prediction.  She believes up to 100 U.S. cities could default on their municipal bonds. 

Serbia has sent 2.5 tons of its remaining nuclear waste, including highly-enriched uranium from a nuclear research facility near Belgrade, to a disposal site in Russia. The month-long secret operation was the largest single shipment made to return such nuclear material to the country where it originally came from. However, details of the route are classified to prevent terrorists from hijacking the cargo.

It’s the week before Christmas, and as usual, we’re celebrating with our annual “Remixing the Holidays” series. All week long, we’re talking with musicians, music lovers, writers, and you, our listeners, about the best songs of the season.

We’re joined by Carlos Lando, DJ and program director for Takeaway affiliate station Jazz89 KUVO in Denver. Carlos shares some of his favorite jazzy Christmas tunes.

Thanks to a broken finger bone and wisdom tooth found in a Siberian cave, scientists have discovered a new branch in the hominid family tree. Known as the Denisovans, they are cousins to Neanderthals; lived in Asia from roughly 400,000 to 50,000 years ago; and interbred with the ancestors of today’s inhabitants of New Guinea.