State media estimates nearly twenty thousand people have died in the 7.9 earthquake, and tens of thousands are still buried under rubble. Fifty thousand troops are conducting searches for survivors and delivering aid, but bad weather is making a hard job harder with rain storms triggering landslides, blocking roads. The country's prime minister is personally overseeing the operation.

Tragedies like Hurricane Katrina, the Asian tsunami and the Sept. 11 attacks prompted billions of dollars in donations. But following an earthquake in Pakistan that killed 80,000... not so much. How much do Americans give to charitable causes? And why? Stephen Dubner, author of "Freakonomics," has numbers and answers. More: Dubner's Freakonomics blog

President Bush is going to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt for meetings with Middle Eastern leaders this week. Few are optimistic for major diplomatic results despite a schedule filled with world leaders.

The earthquake that struck China’s central region yesterday is the deadliest the country has seen since 1976. We talk with Roger Bilham, professor of geological sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder, about how both natural and man-made factors created such devastation.

More than 12,000 are dead in the Sichuan province alone in the 7.9 earthquake that struck southwestern China yesterday. In Mianzhu, not far from the center of the quake officials believe over 18,000 people are buried in one city.

When public services crumble in Iraq, so does accessibility for the disabled. The Takeaway is joined by Tiana Tozer, who works for Mercy Corps, an organization that helps disabled Iraqis learn how to change cultural preconceptions and advocate for help.

State media is reporting a death toll of up to 5,000 following an 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck central China. BBC reporter Quentin Somerville provides an update.