Kofi Annan has resigned as the UN Special Envoy to Syria as the battle to take over Syria's largest city, Aleppo, continues. The violence supports Annan's statements of calling Syria "impossible" as the battles only seem to get worse.

Throughout the summer, The Takeaway has covered parenting and the notion of “having it all” from a number of approaches — from women, from men, and from those who think having it all is the wrong thing to shoot for. Today, The Takeaway looks at it from the perspective of children.

Every ten years, the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound magazine polls nearly one thousand international film critics to find out what they consider the greatest movie of all time. For the past 50 years, the answer has always been the same: "Citizen Kane.” But this week, that changed.

Congress wraps up its session today before its members go home for a summer recess. Lawmakers have been furiously scrambling through legislation, trying to push through bills before the break, and trying to push themselves into better political standing heading into elections.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announced his resignation as the UN Special Envoy of Syria yesterday confirming the situation in Syria hopeless and the help from the Security Council limited due to "finger pointing and name calling".

Can you define the word “fletching”? Do you know what the branches are called in the ancient Olympians’ crowns? And for that matter, did you even know what dressage was before Anne Romney’s horse began competing in it?

Like many schools since No Child Left Behind was enacted, Rayville Elementary School is required to allow its students to transfer to a better school in the district because it has received a failing grade, but not if those students are white.

Two women from Saudi Arabia are representing their country in Judo and the 800-meter sprint, but the Saudi government will only allow them to compete if they wear the Hijab. The women also have to obtain permission from their male partners to compete.

For the past several weeks The Takeaway has been talking to farmers about the worsening drought conditions in the Midwest. The USDA has designated over 1,500 counties in 32 states as disaster areas. If a flood hit 32 states, we'd be in a panic.

This week's Follow Friday includes a look back at the first week of the 2012 London Olympics, the responses to Romney's recent trip to Israel, the financial firm trading glitch, and the July job numbers. 

A massive trading glitch at the New York Stock Exchange this week may cost Wall Street brokerage and market maker Knight Capital as much as $440 million. Nathaniel Popper from our partner the New York Times joins us to discuss the scary event for investors.