Former senior counsel for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Robert Emmet Hernan brings his expertise to the spill; this morning's headlines.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster isn't the first time massive amounts of oil have gushed into the Gulf of Mexico. In 1979, an exploratory well, Ixtoc I, blew out in the same waters, amounting to the second largest oil spill in world history. And other spills in 1979, 1990 and 1993 have dumped thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. How do these past events inform what may come next, for both human residents of the Gulf coast and the environment as a whole?

• Washington Takeout:  Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich explains how the oil spill that threatens the business and environment of the Gulf Coast region is also threatening Congressional Democrats who hoped to pass a sweeping energy and climate reform bill. 
• Listener Responses: We hear what you had to say about the Times Square bomb attempt and what you think about surveillance cameras in public places in the wake of the incident.

Fascinating details are emerging on Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistan-born, U.S. citizen who authorities say confessed on Tuesday to an attempted terror attack in New York City's Times Square. Michael Schmidt, reporter for our partner The New York Times, joins us with some insight into Shahzad's life.

The attempted bombing of Times Square by a naturalized U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin got the attention of the world, but has uncomfortable echoes for Britain in particular. The London underground bombings in July 2005 were committed by UK citizens of Pakistani descent and the UK has been dealing with many attempted acts of “home-grown terrorism” since then.

A record has been set for the most expensive art work sold at auction. Pablo Picasso's 1932 painting "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust," was sold to an anonymous phone bidder for $106.5 million in New York on Tuesday. BBC reporter, Nkem Ifejika tells us what is known about the bidder and whether this sale signals the end of the global recession.

It’s Cinco de Mayo, and The Takeaway wants to go beyond beer and tortilla chips to talk about what should really be on your plate if you’re celebrating tonight. Helping us with the task are Jesse Vendley and Peter Oleyer. Along with Jesse's brothers Brian and Dave, they are the co-owners of Calexico, one of the east coast's most famous food carts and winner of the 2008 New York Vendy Award.

See Jesse and Peter's tasty and simple Cinco de Mayo menu. Try out the recipes and send us a photo of the result on our Facebook page!

Mark Mazzetti, national security correspondent for The New York Times talks about Pakistan's reaction to the Times Sq. case; this morning's headlines.

In a dramatic scene that could have been pulled from TV’s "24," federal agents arrested 30-year-old Pakistani-born Faisal Shahzad on the tarmac of New York’s Kennedy Airport for an alleged connection with Saturday’s attempted Times Square car bombing.

• Financial Takeouts: Later today the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission will call five former top Bear executives to testify about the investment bank’s role in the shadow banking system. The New York Times Wall Street and finance reporter, Louise Story joins the Takeaway to explain the common, and legal ways that banks use this system to shrink their questionable balance sheets.

• UK Elections: Last minute campaigning in Britain heats up before tomorrow's elections. To explain the British electoral system, we're joined by Rob Watson.

It's week eight of The Takeaway's Do It Yourself Bailout with our friend Beth Kobliner, author of "Get a Financial Life", and we're taking a good long look in the mirror at our spending habits: where we're saving, if we're saving enough and whether we can do more to bail ourselves out of the financial mess that many of us are in.  This week's question to ask yourself: are you spending too much on insurance? Or not enough?

The Cumberland River in Tennessee began to recede on Tuesday, after heavy rainfall over the weekend caused massive flooding in parts of Nashville. At least 29 people have died, and historic landmarks, like the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans, remain under water. The city is now urging residents to conserve water as one of two of the city's water treatment plants is flooded and currently shut down.

Nominations for theater's Tony awards have been announced, and three productions have taken the majority of the nominations. The revival of August Wilson’s “Fences” received 10 nominations, the musical version of the classic drag comedy “La Cage aux Folles” snapped up 11: the same number as “Fela!” It's a depiction of the life of Nigerian composer and political activist Fela Kuti.

We look back at the long career of William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell (January 25, 1918 — May 4, 2010). Harwell was a sportscaster best known for his long run with the Detroit Tigers, announcing the baseball games on radio and television. He broadcast for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Giants and the Baltimore Orioles, but he found a permanent home with the Tigers and won love from Tigers's fans. He died Tuesday at age 92.