Congress is on its Fourth of July recess this week, leaving more than a million Americans waiting for them to return to vote on a bill to extend unemployment benefits. Michelle Ives depends on unemployment, but received her last check last month. That, and this morning's headlines.

While lawmakers are adjourned this week for the July 4th recess, many of the country's millions of unemployed workers await their return for an expected vote on an extension of unemployment insurance benefits. 

Harry Reid and his staff are desperately trying to figure out how to get the 60 votes needed to pass a climate bill in the Senate, which President Obama promised on his campaign trail. According to The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich, it's looking highly unlikley right now that the Democrats will get those 60 votes. 

The Knicks and Amare Stoudemire agreed to a five-year, $100 million contract. But the big question is whether this means that the team is still in the running to get LeBron James.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be in Washington today for a meeting with President Obama, to discuss the Middle East peace process and Israel's national security. The visit is also to show a public display of unity. Diplomatic meetings continue in other quarters as well: Just yesterday, the Israeli defense minister and the Palestinian prime minister met in Jerusalem, in the first face-to-face meeting between such high level officials in several months. 

This all comes on the heels of Turkey's announcement that it may sever diplomatic ties with Israel unless Israel apologizes for the deadly raid on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza in late May.

Western countries celebrated the liberation of women in Afghanistan from the Taliban-controlled government when the U.S. invaded in 2001. However, as the war in the country continues in the post-Taliban era, women's rights are not secure. Badam Bagh, Kabul's only prison for women is filled with stories about the violation of women's rights.

In one instance, a 16-year-old girl was sentenced to 18 months in prison after a boy came to her home to propose without sending his parents first; another was arrested when her husband accused her of adultery. The women's prison is an improvement of sorts, before it existed, female prisoners were incarcerated alongside men, and there were reports of rape. But even at Badam Bagh, "The Almond Garden," it becomes clear that Afghan women are still struggling without rights.

If a picture paints a thousand words, what story is told by photographs of dilapidated buildings and abandoned factories? Photos of city ruins have been around for centuries, but they have not always been referred to as "ruin porn."  That's a phrase some criticsuse to describe recent photo journalism in Detroit. But does the term apply to art, as well as journalism?

Paul Collier, director for the study of African economies at Oxford University, discusses the state of aid in Africa; headlines.

Five years ago today, in Gleneagles, Scotland, the leaders of the G8 nations made a dramatic promise to the people of Africa. Amidst a background of 200,000 marchers vowing to "make poverty history", the G8 promised to double current aid to Africa, reaching a total of $25 billion in five years.  Now that the timeline is up, and only $18 billion has been paid out, it has become clear that those earlier promises have been broken. 

In Detroit, Mich., a local problem is gaining city-wide attention thanks to the help of some creative reporting and social networking tools. In the city's southwestern neighborhood, known as "Mexicantown," large tractor-trailer trucks take shortcuts down residential blocks, causing property damage and possibly health concerns. 

Our DIY Checkup series continues with an examination of chemicals in our food. We asked listeners: Are you concerned about chemicals in your food?  Listeners weighed in on Facebook to get this conversation started.

Rusty writes, "As a cancer patient, I am highly aware and concerned about the chemicals in our food. And Diane adds, "It's not just our food. It's what is is entering the food chain lower down. This is wrong. ONly food should be in food."

Ecuador's police have seized a 100 foot narco-submarine. Built secretly, the boat is capable of carrying six people and ten tons of cocaine on underwater voyages lasting up to ten days — long enough to reach the Pacific coast of Mexico. This isn't the first time that drug traffickers have used submarines, but this may signal that Ecuador is becoming an increasingly important hub. BBC World Service reporter, William Marquez reports.

Some 80,000 chemicals are on the market and immediately available to Americans; many of these chemicals are manufactured for use in our daily lives, including as food additives. According to a recent report released by President Obama's Cancer Panel, we should at least be "concerned" about the issue of carcinogens in the environment we live in. But what exactly should we worry about, and how can we reduce our exposure?

No one ever expected best selling author Scott Turow to publish a sequel to his very first novel, the 1987 legal thriller “Presumed Innocent,” mostly because he said he’d never publish one.

Some economists say that unemployment benefits create a disincentive for working. But if you give a banker a multi-million dollar bonus, some of those same economists call it an incentive to be a financial entrepreneur. Meanwhile, workers are struggling to make ends meet in the face of months and sometimes years of unemployment. What do Takeaway listeners think? Are unemployment benefits creating a disincentive to look for work?

One Takeaway caller says:

"I'm all for people getting their unemployment benefits, but people have to make sure they're applying to jobs once they lose theirs. Just because you lost your job where you were making 100 thousand dollars a year, doesn't mean you can't go back and bus tables to make ends meet."