A federal judge in Washington, D.C., will hear the case of 17 Chinese Uighurs who have been held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for seven years. Though the government cleared them for release in 2004, they can't be returned to China for fear that they will be tortured. No other country will take them.
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This Sunday, pastors across the country will stand before God and break the law. The crime? Delivering a sermon that either endorses or opposes a political candidate by name. Churches and other non-profit groups have tax exemptions that come with a price: They are not allowed to have any involvement in political campaigns. The Takeaway hears from two pastors with opposing views on politicizing the pulpit: Pastor Gus Booth, who will make an endorsement this Sunday, and Pastor Eric Williams, who will honor the separation of church and state.
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On September 10th Charles Dean Hood will die by lethal injection — or not. He’s already received five stays of execution, which is not unusual for death row. What is unusual is why: there are credible allegations that the judge who presided over Hood’s trial was, during the trial, having an affair with the prosecutor who handled the case against Hood. For the latest developments we spoke with Michael Hall, Senior Editor of Texas Monthly. He’s been corresponding with Hood since 2002.
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This week in Riverside, California a civilian jury is being asked to decide whether a former US Marine committed a criminal act during the course of his military service. The verdict aside, this case is a first for US courts. The case establishes a precedent by allowing military contractors and ex-military to be prosecuted for crimes committed overseas. The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, was passed in 2002, but this is the first time it’s been tried in US courts. The Takeaway talks to Steven Cuevas, a reporter from KPCC who has been following the trial from California
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While the defense says that the trial didn’t follow the American rule of law, prosecutors seem generally pleased with the verdict in the case of Osama bin Laden’s driver, Salim Hamdan. Army Col. Lawrence Morris, the chief prosecutor, discusses the case and its implications.
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Guest: Abdullah Faruuq, Imam of the Mosque for the Praising of Allah. Aafia Siddiqui attended his mosque.
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The Department of Justice said yesterday that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was the sole person responsible for anthrax deaths in 2001. New documents in the investigation have been made public. View and discuss the documents in the case of Bruce Ivins, suspect in the 2001 anthrax mailings.
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The Department of Justice released 66 documents Wednesday related to the case against federal laboratory scientist Bruce Ivins. Ivins was suspected of mailing anthrax-lined letters, causing a second terrorism scare in 2001, before committing suicide last week. The FBI says Ivins acted alone; Ivins' lawyers say the case has "heaps of innuendo." As questions remain over why it took investigators 6 years to create a case against Ivins, The Takeaway is offering the documents for you to analyze and discuss with other readers.

• Document #1 motion to unseal read | comment
• Document #2 order to unseal read | comment
• Document #3 07-524-M-01 attachment read | comment
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When America's largest kosher meatpacking plant was raided, investigators found something far more egregious than undocumented workers: laborers as young as 14 working through the night and in hazardous conditions.
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Guest: Evan Kohlmann, a self-made international terrorism consultant. Evan wrote, produced and narrated "The al-Qaeda Plan," which was used as evidence in the Hamdan Trial.
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Guest: Army Col. Lawrence Morris, Guantanamo trial prosecutor
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Guest: Sarah Rainsford, BBC Correspondent
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Congress is about to call it quits for the summer and it has yet to ease the ever-rising price of gas. Democrats and Republicans are bickering over offshore oil drilling.
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A report released Monday reveals the bold and illegal influence of politics in hiring practices at the Department of Justice. Justice's internal watchdog group charges that senior aides to then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales used a variety of techniques to identify pro-Republican candidates and weed out the liberal ones. Former deputy attorney general Jamie Gorelick says it wasn't this way during the Clinton Administration.
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The Hamdan trial continues in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Yesterday, prosecutors in the trial of Osama bin Laden's driver, Salim Hamdan, unveiled a graphic video of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and other al-Qaida operations, created for the Office of Military Commissions, entitled "The al-Qaida Plan."
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The number of people of seeking pardons and commutations for federal crimes continues to climb — and the backlog of petitions is in the thousands. With President Bush's term coming to a close, who will he pardon?

Who would you pardon?

The Hamdan trial continues in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Yesterday, U.S. Military prosecutors played an interrogation video of former Osama bin Laden driver Salim Hamdan in which he denied any connections to al-Qaida. Hamdan asked to leave the courtroom as video playback began.
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In "The Dark Side," author Jane Mayer weaves a seven-year narrative detailing what we know and don't know about the decisions made while pursuing terrorists after the coordinated terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Mayer focuses on roles of Vice President Dick Cheney and his chief-of-staff since 2005, David Addington, and infers details from a secret 2007 Red Cross report that says the prisoner abuses at U.S. facilities constitute war crimes.
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In a major court case, Turkey's ruling AK Party has been accused of subverting the country's secular government. The Turkish constitutional court is expected to rule in a few weeks' time on whether the party should be shut down and its leaders banned from national politics. Also, prosecutors in Turkey have indicted 86 people from Ergenekon, a mysterious nationalist group, over an alleged coup. Many are still at large.
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Guest: Joe McCannon, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement
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Guests: Daniel and Ben Barnz
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The Supreme Court ruled that suspected terrorists detained at a prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have the right to contest their detention via U.S. civilian courts. Glenn Greenwald (Salon.com blogger and Bush administration critic) and Jed Babbin (Human Events editor and former deputy undersecretary of defense under President George H. W. Bush) take two views on the decision.
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In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that suspected terrorists detained at a prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have the constitutional right to contest their detentions in U.S. civilian courts. Human rights lawyer Barbara Olshanski, who argued before the Supreme Court in a 2004 Guantánamo case, dissects Thursday's decision.
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that Indiana can require government-issued photo identification when voting. It's a win for Republicans in an election year.

Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that states such as Indiana have an obligation to prevent fraud in close races, and that heading to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to get the free photo IDs is no burden for voters.

Which leads us to our Takeaway question: Tell us one thing that would improve the election process for you, the voter.