Arwa Gunja

Questions about the covert U.S. mission in Abbottabad, Pakistan are leading to new found frustrations in the already rocky relationship between the two countries. Some American lawmakers are skeptical that the Pakistani intelligence was unaware that Osama bin Laden was hiding just an hour’s drive from the capital city of Islamabad. Meanwhile, Pakistani officials say they will not tolerate a future incident where the U.S. military engages in a covert operation in Pakistan without the government’s knowledge. What's next in the diplomatic game?

Commodity prices tanked on Thursday, as oil fell 8.6 percent and silver dropped 8 percent. This comes after disappointing economic reports showing that consumers are spending less due to rising food and energy prices, and business are hiring at a slower pace. We talk with The New York Times Wall Street and finance reporter Louise Story about the volatility of the commodities market.

After poring over documents and hard drives taken out of the compound in Abbottabad where bin Laden was killed, intelligence analysts have surmised that the al-Qaida leader was consistently in touch with the terrorist network he helped create, and still intimately involved in plotting more attacks. A story in The New York Times details the data found and C.I.A. surveillance conducted before the mission to take out bin Laden was completed. We're joined by Scott Shane, a New York Times reporter who worked on the story. 

The president travels to Ground Zero in lower Manhattan today; but back in Washington the debate over the budget and debt ceilign continues. A bipartisan group of lawmakers will meet for the first time with Vice President Joe Biden to try to find an agreement on raising the debt limit. And as can be expected, there's a lot of jockeying and lowering of expectations. Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich shares the latest.

"Geronimo" — that was the codename given to America’s most hated man, the world’s most hunted terrorist, and the object of one of our most high profile military missions ever. But now, many are taking issue with the United States government associating Osama bin Laden with an iconic Native American leader. And the Fort Still Apache Tribe in Oklahoma is asking President Obama for an apology. We talk with Jeff Houser, Tribal Chairman of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe.

In his new memoir, former Navy SEAL sniper Howard Wasdin writes, “When the U.S. Navy sends their elite, they send the SEALs. When the SEALs send their elite, they send SEAL Team Six.” And that was certainly the case on Sunday, when a team of highly trained men overtook a a secure compound in Pakistan to eliminate the world’s most wanted terrorist figure. They accomplished this mission, in the midst of crossfire, in under 40 minutes. We talk with Howard Wasdin, a former member of this clandestine unit, about what Team Six must have gone through to get face-to-face with Osama bin Laden.

Since the start of the political uprisings in the Middle East, regimes have fallen in Egypt and Tunisia. Meanwhile, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain and Libya continue their struggles to unseat dictators and bring about democratic change. And throughout it all, the voice of al-Qaida — and more importantly, its leader, Osama bin Laden — has been relatively silent. The question now remains, will the death of bin Laden at the hands of American forces continue to spur democratic movements or could it fuel terrorist organizations to stand in the way of change in the Middle East?

Osama bin Laden has long been the most hunted man in the world. As the leader of Al Qaeda and the mastermind of the worst terrorist attack on American soil, he's served as the main target for the US war on terror. With his death, how will the terrorist organization change? We talk with Gideon Rose, author of How Wars End and editor of Foreign Affairs. 

The day after Sept. 11, 2001, journalists from around the world flocked to the Middle East to cover what would be become the defining story of the decade. Osama bin Laden instantly became a household name and Al Qaeda was America's new enemy. Now, nearly ten years later, the U.S. has achieved its original mission in Afghanistan — to find and kill bin Laden. To mark this historic moment, we talk with two veteran reporters who've been covering the story from day one: David Sanger and Rod Nordland, reporters with our partner The New York Times.

Veterans and families of victims of the 9/11 attacks are gathering at Ground Zero and elsewhere this morning, to celebrate and reflect on the news that Osama Bin Laden is dead. We speak with Dennis McKeon, a parishioner of St. Clare's Roman Catholic Church in Staten Island, which lost 29 members of its congregation in the 9/11 attacks. McKeon started the organization Where to Turn, which helps those affected by the attack. We also talk with Russell Galeti, first lieutenant in the Ohio National Guard.

How will the world react to the death of Bin Laden? Or perhaps more significantly, how will the world of terrorism react? We speak with Lydia Khalil, former counterterrorism analyst with the NYPD, as well as Christine Fair, assistant professor at the Center for Peace and Security, to learn more. 

How did U.S. forces coordinate Osama Bin Laden's death? Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich explains the nuts and bolts of how this happened, and reports on the reactions in Washington, D.C.

Former spokesperson for the State Department PJ Crowley has an intimate knowledge of the U.S. government's mission to find Osama Bin Laden and bring him to justice over the last decade. Crowley joins us now, and reacts to the breaking news announced last night that the U.S. military did indeed kill and capture the 9/11 mastermind's body. George McAvoy, a New York resident whose brother died on 9/11 also speaks with us.

The NFL draft began last night in New York amid a busy few days for the league in court. On Wednesday, Judge Susan Nelson in Minnesota denied the league's appeal of an injunction against them, ending the lockout. Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin speaks with us about draft, and the strange current NFL landscape.

It was hard to tell who was more lucky last night: President Barack Obama being at a show with The Roots or The Roots being at a show with the president. But it wasn't luck that made it happen; President Obama's attendance at their concert follows a recent talk before Facebook nation at their headquarters in Palo Alto, and a speech on the economy at George Washington University. These appearances, plus the launch of Gen44, is an attempt by the President to reach out to America's youth — a key demographic that helped him secure his victory in 2008. We talk with Anna Sale, reporter for WNYC's politics website, It's a Free Country.

In 2008, the government offered an $85 billion bailout to American International Group Inc., one of the world's largest insurance companies, in order to prevent its collapse. When AIG accepted the bailout, it waived its right to sue banks over most of the mortgage securities that it had acquired. But, it did not give up its right to pursue legal action regarding $40 billion of mortgage bonds it purchased directly from banks. In an exclusive story for The New York Times, finance reporter Louise Story explains how AIG is now going after hedge funds and banks to try to recover billions in losses related to mortgage securities that caused the financial collapse in 2008. 

President Obama is expected to announce this week new appointments for top posts in his national security team. Leon Panetta, the current director of central intelligence, will be named as defense secretary. General David Petraeus, who is currently the top commander in Afghanistan, is expected to be named as director of the CIA. These announcements come as Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans on stepping down from his post this summer. We talk with Mark Landler, reporter for our partner The New York Times, to help preview Obama's new national security team.

In what could amount to one of the biggest data breaches ever, a hacker stole the names, date of births and possibly credit card numbers of 77 million people who play online video games through Sony’s PlayStation console. Tens of thousands of people around the world pay monthly fees to play online games like “God of War 3” or the much-anticipated “La Noire” coming out next month. We talk with E.J. Hilbert, a former FBI agent and the current senior vice president at Arixmar, a security consulting firm.

Since the start of the Apollo program in the 1960s, NASA has woken up its astronauts on the day of their space launch to the time’s most popular songs. Traditionally, the crew members, their family and friends choose the song. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman shot earlier this year, chose U2’s “Beautiful Day” when her then-boyfriend (now husband) Mark Kelly went into space in 2006. Now Mark Kelly is the commander of the space shuttle Endeavor, making its twenty-fifth and final launch this Friday and NASA have invited the public to vote on what song the crew should wake up to. We review the musical eclecticism of past NASA wake-up songs and ask our listeners for their final launch song suggestions.

Every year, New York City holds a celebration of its street vendors, and this year's Vendy Awards will include a new honor — a hero category. We asked you, our listeners, to tell us some of the professions that don’t get due credit, but where you might find your heroes.

Kiki from Savannah, Georgia had this to say: 

Waste management and janitorial workers are my heroes because we never seem to think about them until they're on strike and those services are no longer available.