In January, 11 professional assassins wearing fake beards and carrying fake passports killed Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas official in his Dubai hotel.  Both Israel and Palestine have been accused of being involved in the assassination.

World financial markets are poised to react to last week's news that Dubai World, the financial conglomerate largely responsible for Dubai's rapid expansion, will request an extension to pay back some $60 billion in loans. Dubai has the largest population in the United Arab Emirates and up until recently has enjoyed excesses such as building 7 star hotels on artificial islands; the Gulf nation is now trying to figure out how to surf its way through a major debt crisis. 

On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates' central bank announced that they would protect any banks operating in Dubai. We turn to New York Times financial correspondent Landon Thomas, Jr. to discuss the troubles a possible loan default from Dubai could spell for the rest of the world. 

Marcus Mabry, international business editor for The New York Times, and Nick Childs, defense and security correspondent for the BBC, take a look at what's ahead once President Obama announces his decision on troop levels for Afghanistan. They'll also examine what's ahead for health care as the Senate starts debate on their hotly contested reform bill; what Dubai's financial situation means for the rest of the world; and whether a "jobs summit" could cure our rising unemployment.

• 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.