Adaora Udoji

Co-host

Adaora Udoji comes to The Takeaway from Court TV, where she serves as an anchor and trial correspondent. Previously, as a correspondent with ABC News and CNN, Udoji covered some of the most critical domestic and international stories of the past 15 years, including the last three presidential elections, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Udoji was part of the CNN team that earned a Peabody Award for its heralded coverage of Hurricane Katrina and was among those who contributed to the Tsunami Disaster coverage in South Asia that won the network a duPont-Columbia University Award.
Additionally, The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences cited her for her coverage of the War in Afghanistan and she is a Woodrow Wilson National Fellow.

At ABC, Udoji served as a foreign correspondent based in London, filing reports from Europe, the Persian Gulf, the Middle East, and Central Asia. She also contributed to an ABC prime-time documentary about death row in 1997, which was recognized with a Cine Eagle award.

Udoji’s writing has appeared on CNN.com and Essence.com. She earned her bachelor's degree in political science and sociology from the University of Michigan and her law degree from UCLA School of Law. She lives in New York City with her husband, Ron Allen, who is a correspondent for NBC News.

Latest Stories

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Breaking news of a possible cease-fire in Gaza

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji
Guests: Steven Erlanger, Robert Watson
Wednesday, January 7 2009

Rumors of a potential ceasefire in Gaza are swirling through the international press. A government spokesman says Israel "welcomes" a proposed cease-fire cobbled cobbled together by France and Egypt so long as that cease-fire will stop Hamas rocket fire. Hamas says it will only support a deal that includes opening of Gaza's borders. Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy claims that both parties have agreed to the cease-fire. To parse out the welcome news are Rob Watson, the BBC Defense Correspondent, in London and Steven Erlanger of the New York Times joins us from Jerusalem.

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A pause in the fighting in Gaza

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji
Guest: Gwen Ackerman
Wednesday, January 7 2009

Israel has ordered a three-hour break in their offensive in Gaza in order to allows food and humanitarian aid to reach the civilians caught in the fighting with Hamas. Israel's military is considering similar lulls in the coming days as they have come under criticism for civilian casualties. Israel is also deciding whether to accept and international cease-fire plan put together by French and Egyptian leaders. Joining us live from Jerusalem is Gwen Ackerman a reporter for Bloomberg News.

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Roland Burris finds little love on Capitol Hill

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji
Guest: Todd Zwillich
Wednesday, January 7 2009

When Illinois Senate-Designate Roland Burris arrived on Capitol Hill yesterday, he was turned away at the door. The Secretary of the Senate claimed that his credentials lacked a required signature and his state's seal. While that may be true, the Senate leadership had made it clear that they did not want to seat Burris under the cloud of suspicion surrounding his appointment by Gov. Blagojevich. Todd Zwillich of Capitol News Connection, joins us now to mull it all over.

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Utah's environmental outlaw: hero or criminal?

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji, Noel King
Guest: Tim DeChristopher
Wednesday, January 7 2009

When the U.S. Bureau of Land Management auctioned off oil and gas drilling leases in Salt Lake City, Utah last month, some activists stood outside and protested. But Tim DeChristopher, a student at the University of Utah, went one step further. He bid on, and won, $1.7 million dollars worth of land rights. The problem is that he never had any means or intent of paying for it. Some are calling him an environmental hero, others, a criminal. The Takeaway talks to DeChristopher himself about his peculiar act of civil disobedience.

For more, watch this interview with Tim DeChristopher courtesy of YouTube.

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Conflict negotiation on the frontlines

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji
Guest: Alistair Crooke
Wednesday, January 7 2009

Israel has paused its military operations in Gaza for three hours to allow food, fuel, and humanitarian aid to reach Palestinian civilians cornered by the fighting. Meanwhile leaders of the European Union and Egypt are trying to cobble together an international cease-fire plan. But how do you broker peace between Israel and Hamas? Alistair Crooke has special insight. He's a former E.U. Mediator and Director of Conflict Forum, and he has negotiated with Hamas before. He joins us from Beirut.

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A presidential power lunch

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji, Chelsea Merz
Guest: Chef Roland Mesnier
Wednesday, January 7 2009

Today one of the biggest power lunches of the year will take place in the Oval Office. President Bush, President-elect Barack Obama, and former Presidents Clinton, Carter and George H.W. Bush will all gather for a private midday meal. For a look at what it takes to cater to their presidential palates, The Takeaway turns to Chef Roland Mesnier. For 25 years he was the Executive Pastry Chef at the White House.

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Obama's economic recovery plan: Open to debate

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji
Guest: Mark Zandi
Wednesday, January 7 2009

President-elect Obama kicked off the week on Capitol Hill, pitching his economic stimulus plan. It’s a plan that leading Democrats are eager to have signed first thing on January 20th. To jump-start the stimulus debate, House Democrats are holding a number of informal hearings, starting today. Mark Zandi, Chief Economist for Moody’s, will be among the many experts who are testifying today. He joins us now for a preview of what he will say on the Hill.

For more on Mark Zandi's take on the economic crisis, buy his book Financial Shock: A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis.
"There's some evidence that this economic downturn is not discriminating. It is hitting everyone."
— Mark Zandi, Chief Economist from Moody's Economy.com, on the current economic crisis in America

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Obama and the very, very, very big deficit

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji, Jesse Baker
Guest: Jeff Zeleny
Wednesday, January 7 2009

President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to present a stimulus package to the country. Yesterday he warned the nation that between the bailout plans and the stimulus packages, it is likely we could see a multi-trillion dollar deficit. Today the Congressional Budget Office is set to release it’s latest budget estimates. To go over the numbers, The Takeaway is joined from Washington, D.C. by New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny.

If you want more on this topic, read Jeff Zeleny's article Obama Warns Trillion-Dollar Deficit Potential in the New York Times.

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Rumble in the Capitol: Roland Burris fights to be seated

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji, Noel King
Guest: Abner Mikva
Wednesday, January 7 2009

The U.S. Senate’s rejection of Roland Burris is the latest chapter in a saga ripped straight from the complicated playbook of Chicago politics. Burris was turned away from the Capitol on the grounds that he did not have the right credentials following his appointment by embattled Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. For some context into the latest political spectacle out of Chicago, we’re joined by Abner Mikva, former Illinois Congressman, retired Federal Judge, former White House Counsel to President Bill Clinton, and current law professor at the University of Chicago.

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Sri Lankan government launches offensive against Tamil tigers

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji
Guest: Roland Buerk
Wednesday, January 7 2009

For more than 25 years, the Tamil rebels have been fighting for independence from the government of Sri Lanka. Today the Sri Lankan army is continuing a massive military assault to force the rebels to give up much of the territory they have won. The BBC World Service's Roland Buerk joins us from Colombo, Sri Lanka for an update on the situation.

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Nothing to fear, maybe

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji, Stephen Dubner
Wednesday, January 7 2009

What we fear and why we fear it is the new favorite topic of economist Stephen Dubner, co-author of the "Freakonomics" book and New York Times blog. In the context of the New Year's Day bombings in Aspen and the Muslim family who were removed from a commercial flight, he joins John and Adaora to explain why the things we fear the most are simply irrational.

Be sure to read Stephen Dubner's blog post on fear, The Cost of Fearing Strangers.

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Music to invest by

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji, Nadia Zonis, Melissa Locker
Guest: Phil Maymin
Wednesday, January 7 2009

Crank up the tunes--they might help you make money on Wall Street. Phil Maymin, a professor at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU, studied decades of Billboard Hot 100 hits and discovered that songs with more consistent beats tend to be popular just before periods of high volatility in the stock market. He'll explain his theory and tell us what he thinks the current hit, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" by Beyonce, says about our financial future.

For more about how this theory works, watch Phil Maymin's video on Youtube.

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Hope for a cease-fire ends in mortar fire

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji
Guest: Isabel Kershner
Wednesday, January 7 2009

Hours before a cease-fire proposal was ratcheted together by Egypt and France, Israel launched its single deadliest attack in Gaza. The mortar fire hit a school run by the United Nations. At least 30 Palestinians, who were seeking refuge in the school, were killed. Israel claims the targeting was in response to rocket fire from within the school. Needless to say, the U.N. is ticked off. Joining us with details is the New York Times' Isabel Kershner on her way to Gaza.

For more, read Isabel Kershner's article Israel Halts Attack Briefly to Allow Aid Into Gaza in today's New York Times.

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Life and work at the Gaza border--A doctor's tale

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji, Kent DePinto
Guest: Dr. Ron Lobel
Wednesday, January 7 2009

Dr. Ron Lobel is the medical director of a hospital about 17 kilometers from the Gaza border. His hospital treated both Israelis and Palestinians alike, until the borders closed. Now, he joins John and Adaora from Ashkelon, Israel where he puts a human face on the story of two embattled rivals and his patients who can't return home.

"We consider our Palestinians across the border not as enemies. We consider them as neighbors."
— Dr. Ron Lobel of Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, Israel just across the border from Gaza

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Winter gets chillier as Russia cuts gas supplies in Europe

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji, Nadia Zonis
Guest: Carola Hoyos
Tuesday, January 6 2009

In response to a spat with Ukraine, Russia is slowing the flow of its gas to European countries that rely on it to heat their homes. This could be a dark foreshadowing of shortages to come. Carola Hoyos, chief energy correspondent for the Financial Times, joins The Takeaway to explain the current dispute and its long-term implications.

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Israel ticks off the foreign press by denying access to Gaza

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji
Guest: Ethan Bronner
Tuesday, January 6 2009

As the Israeli ground offensive continues in Gaza, the international foreign press is waging a war of their own. Ethan Bronner, the Jerusalem Bureau Chief for the New York Times, and a pool of foreign press reporters have been consistently denied access to Gaza by the Israeli troops guarding the border. The reporters finally went to the Israeli Supreme Court for the rights to report from Gaza and the Supreme Court agreed that Israel must grant access to the foreign press corps. Yet each day the pool of reporters heads to the border to try and gain access and each day they are turned away. Ethan Bronner joins us now.

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Who knew what and when in the Madoff fraud

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji
Guest: Stephen Harbeck
Tuesday, January 6 2009

The House Financial Services committee met yesterday to hear testimony to determine whether regulators could have caught on to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme before he bilked investors out of billions of dollars. Some say that the Securities Exchange Commission may have known what Madoff was up to long before the disgraced investor’s stunning admission of guilt. Stephen Harbeck from Security Investor Protection Corporation, who was among the witnesses who testified yesterday, joins the discussion.

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Israel widens ground assault in Gaza

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji
Guest: Mike Sargent
Tuesday, January 6 2009

Palestinians report that Israeli attacks in Gaza have been intense and news agencies are reporting that at least 18 people have been killed so far today. Of those, only two of the dead have been confirmed as militants. Late Monday, three Israeli soldiers were killed by what Israeli officials say was an errant tank round. Additionally, aid agencies warn that an already dire humanitarian situation is deteriorating. Mike Sargent, from our partner the BBC World Service, joins us to report the latest.

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Happy birthday to the Mars rovers!

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji, Molly Webster
Guest: Raymond Arvidson
Tuesday, January 6 2009

When the Mars rovers were deployed to the red planet in 2003, they were only expected to last three months. But here we are, five years later celebrating Spirit and Opportunity's anniversary. During their adventure, what have the Rovers discovered? How much longer can we expect Spirit and Opportunity to be with us? Ray Arvidson, Deputy Principal Investigator on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission, joins us as we look back at the last five years and forward into the next.



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India and Pakistan (diplomatically) skewer each other over Mumbai attacks

By John Hockenberry, Adaora Udoji
Guest: Nazes Afros
Tuesday, January 6 2009

The sole surviving gunman of the brutal attacks in Mumbai, India last month is now awaiting trial. Yesterday, India's prime minister turned over some of the state's investigation into those attacks to Pakistan in the hopes of making bilateral commitments to get to the bottom of the attacks. Included in the dossier is a description of the attacks as so sophisticated that they must have had help from official Pakistani agencies. Nazes Afros, the BBC's South Asia editor, joins The Takeaway to discuss the ongoing situation.

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