More women serve in America's armed services than in most other nations. Yet 30 percent of female veterans report being sexually assaulted or raped while serving, according to a 2003 survey funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. This month, Congress is hearing testimony from service members who say they were sexually attacked.

• FINANCE TAKEOUT: A new report by the Pew Center gives a failing grade on eight states' pension funds. New York Times finance reporter Louise Story explains.
• OLYMPICS: Daily News sportswriter Nate Vinton joins us with a look at women's Olympic skiing. American women took the top two spots in downhill skiing — including a triumphant gold for an injured Lindsey Vonn.
• LISTENERS RESPOND: By email, phone and posts on our website, listeners weigh in on news of President Obama's nuclear power ambitions.

Yesterday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the winners of a government stimulus grant called TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery). Communities around the country competed for federal money to revamp their public transit systems. A flood of entries — nearly 1,400 — were whittled down to 51 winners.

A BBC Investigation has uncovered evidence that criminal gangs have been cashing in on the Haiti earthquake by asking people to donate to bogus charities. The charity asks for donations to pay for relief supplies using untraceable bank transfers. 

In honor of all the silver foxes out there (and the people who love them), we dedicate this week's tech segment to assistive technologies for older people.

Later this afternoon, the Department of Health and Human Services is expected to release a report criticizing insurance companies for their dramatically increasing insurance premiums.

• DEBT TAKEOUT: President Obama is expected to sign an executive order today, setting up a bipartisan commission to examine ways to reduce our soaring deficit. Walter Alarcon, a staff writer for The Hill, joins us with a look at a bitterly divided Congress.
• FINANCE TAKEOUT: New York Times finance reporter Louise Story tells us why federal and state authorities are going after companies that try to pass off regular employees as private contractors.
• OLYMPICS TAKEOUT: Freelance sports writer Dan Friedell joins us with some thoughts on how the Vancouver Olympics differ from the games in Beijing. He says the 2008 Games was a well-oiled machine, while the 2010 Games has seen glitch after glitch. You may be surprised which one Dan thinks is more fun. 

Eight states are implementing a radical new program in high schools for next year that will allow students to graduate early and enter into two-year community colleges, if they pass the right tests. We speak to a top education official and a high school teacher involved in the program to find out how the program will work.

With the recent announcement that the administration may repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," there has been much talk about issues of equality when it comes to the military. But another another group is also struggling for equal military opportunities: women. The current policy held by the Department of Defense does not allow women in ground units where they might engage in direct combat.

Eighty years ago an astronomer named Clyde Tombaugh, who worked at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, made a discovery that would capture the imagination of space enthusiasts for generations. He found Pluto.

Eight of the 10 missionaries from Boise, Idaho who were charged with trying to take Haitian children out of the country illegally have been freed and are now back in the U.S. They were released by a Haitian judge on Wednesday, nearly three weeks after they were jailed for trying to take a group of children out of the earthquake-stricken country.