Last night, The President and First Lady Obama made the White House’s East Room center stage for a star-studded performance, in tribute to Paul McCartney.

Congressman Ed Markey, chairman of the House energy commitee, came out strongly yesterday against BP, accusing the oil company of under-estimating the leak in order to pay smaller fines. "I think that without question if the word criminal should be used in terms of an environmental crime against our country, what's going on in the Gulf of Mexico is going to qualify," Markey said on "Face the Nation."

Julie Mason, White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner says some Democrats now expect President Obama to follow Markey's footsteps.

• Washington Takeout: President Obama isn't getting much of a vacation, reports Julie Mason, White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner, since a Nigerian-born man allegedly tried to detonate a home-made bomb aboard a Detroit-bound flight.
• Gift Takeout: Amazon's e-book reader, the Kindle, was the most-gifted item on Amazon.com this year.  Jane Sasseen, writer for Business Week, joins us to talk about what this portends for paper books.
• Sports Takeout: After a long, undefeated run this season, the Indianapolis Colts finally lost last night, to the New York Jets. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin looks at the Colts' gametime strategy and what's ahead for the playoffs.

• WASHINGTON TAKEOUT:  Julie Mason, White House correspondent for The Washington Examiner, discusses the security aspects of some high profile party crashers who snuck past the Secret Service and into the big tent of the White House's state dinner Tuesday night.
• FINANCIAL TAKEOUT: The New York Times' Louise Story discusses the tremors in world financial markets as Dubai announces it needs to postpone some of its debt payments.
• CONSUMER TAKEOUT: Our own Femi Oke is out at a local Wal-Mart store, reporting on Black Friday's lines.

• Washington Takeout: Washington Examiner White House correspondent Julie Mason says that the first family's decision to stay home for the holidays has the Washington press corps on high alert.
• Business Takeout: New York Times finance reporter Louise Story reports that the president's plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions is worrying some in the private sector.
• Turkey Takeout: Food contributor and New York Times food writer Kim Severson answers listener questions on cooking Thanksgiving turkey

• Washington Takeout: Once again, Democrats on Capitol Hill are re-calibrating their campaign for health care reform. The Washington Examiner's Julie Mason drops by The Takeaway to tell us who the Dems are now hoping to court...and how.
  
• Sports Takeout: What does "homecoming" mean to you? To the Takeaway's sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, homecoming means great college football. He gives us a preview of the USC vs. Notre Dame matchup as well as the latest from the baseball playoffs.
• Listeners Respond: All week we've been talking about how the oldest and youngest workers have been the hardest hit in this economy. We check in with our listeners for their thoughts on the economy, the workplace and job security.

• Washington Takeout: Washington Examiner White House correspondent Julie Mason says President Obama will face a tough crowd when he visits New Orleans tomorrow. Many city residents are upset that it's his first visit to the city and are unimpressed with his short, four-hour visit.
• Sports Takeout: The Takeaway's sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, previews Game 1 of baseball's National League Championship Series taking place in Los Angeles tonight. Will the LA Dodgers or the Philadelphia Phillies take the lead as the teams vie for a slot in the World Series?
• Business Takeout: New York Times finance reporter Louise Story takes a look at why Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has surrounded himself with policy advisors from Wall Street firms. 

• Washington Takeout: Congresssional Democrats are attacking an antitrust exemption that lets insurance companies avoid federal oversight. Washington Examiner White House correspondent Julie Mason explains why.
• Sports Takeout: The Takeaway's sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, has the latest on sports, including his thoughts on why conservative and controversial talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been dropped from the group trying to buy the St. Louis Rams football team. Was it something we said?
  
• Listener Takeout: We hear our listeners' reactions to our health care coverage and our conversation on women in the military.

• Washington Takeout: Julie Mason, White House correspondent for The Washington Examiner, looks at two groups that weren't happy with the Baucus health care bill that just passed the Senate Finance Committee: unions and Blue Dog Democrats.
• Business Takeout: The big banks release their earnings reports this week. What do the latest third-quarter earnings say about the state of the economy? New York Times finance reporter Louise Story gives us her take.
• Sports Takeout: The Takeaway's sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin takes a look ahead to the baseball playoff series.

• Business Takeout: The disgraced head of Enron, Jeff Skilling, is heading to the Supreme Court. New York Times finance reporter Louise Story tells us what to watch in the case. She also gives us the details on another corporate fraud case that may be in the works against Bank of America, who is coming under closer scrutiny over some recently uncovered emails that reveal questionable behavior by the board of directors.
• Washington Takeout: Julie Mason, White House correspondent for The Washington Examiner, says now that Sen. Max Baucus' (D-Mont.) health care reform bill has passed out of the Senate Finance Committee, the White House is going on the offensive for health care reform.
• Listener Takeout: We hear your reactions to our story on age in the workplace.

• Washington Takeout: Julie Mason of The Washington Examiner talks about bickering in the Republican party. 
• Business Takeout: New York Times reporter Louise Story on where the money from the second stimulus package will go. (Yes, we're likely to see a second one soon).
• Listener Takeout: Listeners react to our coverage of President Obama's being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

• Washington Takeout: Julie Mason, of The Washington Examiner, talks about a report by the American Health Industry Plans that says insurance premiums will rise if senate legislation passes.
• Sports Takeout: Ibrahim Abdul-Matin recaps Monday Night Football and Monday Night Baseball.
• Business Takeout: New York Times reporter Louise Story looks at the first criminal trial tied to the economic collapse.

President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize win caused an outcry among some Republicans, who say he does not deserve the honor. Will loud objections hurt the president — or the GOP? Julie Mason, White House correspondent for The Washington Examiner, looks for an answer.

It will be a busy week in health care on Capitol Hill. After the Columbus Day holiday, Max Baucus’ health care bill heads to a committee vote on Tuesday. We talk with Julie Mason, White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner, for the details.

This week the Senate Finance Committee meets (again) on the bill for health care reform. Washington Examiner White House correspondent Julie Mason updates us on what remains on their agenda.

Iran test-fired missiles over the weekend and revealed a previously undisclosed nuclear facility. We check in with Julie Mason, White House correspondent with The Washington Examiner, to gauge the reaction on Capitol Hill to these developments.

President Obama's "green-energy czar," Van Jones, has resigned unexpectedly. To understand the strange road that led to his resignation late Saturday night, we need to look back a couple of weeks, to when Glenn Beck appeared on Fox and Friends and said that President Obama "has a deep-seated hatred of white people." (Click through for Van Jones' previous appearances on The Takeaway.) For a closer look at the resignation and how this effects President Obama's favorability, we talk to Julie Mason. She covers the White House for the Washington Examiner.

President Obama is preparing his Wednesday address on health care reform to a joint session of Congress. Aides say the president is about to adopt a more vigorous role in the debate as lawmakers return from recess. We talk to Takeaway regular Julie Mason of the Washington Examiner and Theda Skocpol, professor of government and sociology at Harvard University and author of "Boomerang: Health Care Reform and the Turn against Government."

We check in with Julie Mason, White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner. President Obama seems to be hunkering down and working hard on his health care plans before Congress comes back into session next week.

In his 47 years in the U.S. Senate, Senator Edward Kennedy had become a powerful force in Washington politics.  Of the many issues he worked on, Kennedy repeatedly called reforming the health care system "the cause of his life."  What will his passing do to the debate. and who will fill his void? For more, The Takeaway talks to Julie Mason, White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner.