Todd Zwillich

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Afghanistan today. His visit has strategists around the world scratching their heads as they try to discern his agenda.

The vice president kicked off his five-day Mideast trip in Israel where he told leaders that U.S. ties to Israel are "unshakable." Mr. Biden plans to focus on Iran and the indirect peace talks that Israel and Palestine are prepared to undertake. However, expectations are low that these talks will lead to an agreement, says BBC reporter Heather Sharpe.

Ethnic violence between Christians and Muslims in the Nigerian city of Jos has left hundreds dead. Both the U.S. government and Human Rights Watch have called for an inquiry into the violence and Nigerian troops are patrolling the area to try to keep it secure. The BBC's Ahmed Idris joins us with more from Abuja, Nigeria.

Massachusetts is one of forty-six states that offer tax credits to filmmakers who agree to produce their movies in that state. The benefit for the Commonwealth is added jobs and more local business while the film is in production. But some are calling for the governor to put a cap on the tax credit in order to balance the budget.

• FINANCIAL TAKEOUT:  New York Times finance reporter, Louise Story, joins the Takeaway with a look at how government and private employers have shifted their long term investment strategies.  One of them has been playing it safe, and the other may be taking your retirement to Vegas.

• SPORTS TAKEOUT:  The Los Angeles Lakers are on their longest losing streak in three years. Takeaway sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, explains why the team may be distracted. 

Minority communities have been hit hardest by the recession, but they are receiving fewer of the stimulus project contracts doled out by the government.  

Since December 2007, seven million jobs have been lost in our country, and the majority of those who’ve lost their jobs have been men. At the same time, females have been returning to the workforce in higher numbers than their male counterparts, and more and more women have taken on the role of primary breadwinner for their families.

 

Python hunting season is currently open in South Florida until April 17th.  The region has been ravaged by a huge invasion of the Southeast Asian reptile. The snakes were meant to be exotic pets, but have found their way into the wild.

• WASHINGTON TAKEOUT: Everyone loves a political dogfight. Rep. Eric Massa, freshman congressman from western New York resigned on Monday. Is that because the House Ethics Committee is investigating complaints that he made innappropriate sexual remarks to a staffer? Or because, as Massa says, his president and party have pushed him out? Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich joins the show with a play by play in the tete-a-tete between the former representative and… well… everybody else in his Democratic Party.
• YOUR RESPONSES: We asked you to weigh in about what is and isn't genius, and got plenty of feedback. We hear what you had to say.
  

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited the Afghan capital on Monday. Gen. McChrystal said the U.S. has all but routed the Taliban from their former stronghold of Marjah and that the military will now turn its attention to Kandahar — a key city that dwarfs Marjah in size.

• WASHINGTON TAKEOUT: Health care is back on the front burner for President Obama this week, and today he travels to Glenside, Pa. to push health care at Arcadia University. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich tells us more.
• SPORTS TAKEOUT: In like a lion, march madness begins now that college basketball is heating up across the country. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin talks about the UConn women's basketball team tying their own record for consecutive wins, and number one team Syracuse losing.

You may know him best as the voice behind the song, "Don't Worry, Be Happy," but Bobby McFerrin comes from a line of history-making artists. Robert McFerrin, Sr. was the first black man to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, and he sang the role of Porgy for Sidney Poitier in the the film version of "Porgy and Bess." Bobby McFerrin will appear in a special tribute to his father on March 5th, 2009 in New York's Schomberg Center. Bobby stopped by our studios to talk a bit about the legacy of his father, who has a connection to Takeaway host Celeste Headlee.

After weeks of anticipation, the Academy Awards show is finally upon us. At 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, Oscars will be handed out and speeches will drag on forever. Telling us about what to expect from this year’s show, which will be broadcast on ABC, is Rafer Guzman, Takeaway movie contributor and film critic for Newsday. He gives his predictions on the winners.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are expected to go to the polls on Sunday for the nation's first full parliamentary elections since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. But with violence that some see as scare tactics possibly preventing the delivery of democracy, some in Iraq wonder if the U.S. forces should be extending their stay. Yesterday on CNN Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hinted at the possibility of asking the American military to stay in the country, but Gen. David Petraeus seems to be holding fast to the goal of an August transition.  

Friend of the show Lakshan Achuthan joins us to tell a tale of two economic Americas. Contrary to popular belief, the current recession has not been all that bad for many Americans. Unfortunately, the other 40 percent of unemployed fall into what Lakshman calls the "long term unemployed;" and he adds that their plight may not be over any time soon.

Later today we expect to hear new national unemployment data which should offer economists a reasonable idea of where our economy is moving on a macro scale. But what about the smaller economic engines of America? How about the small towns in our country that may be largely sustained by a single industry or plant? Even if the economy, as a whole, were to make an unexpected recovery, that wouldn’t bring back the single manufacturing plant that sustaining some ten percent of its nearby residents, or the auxiliary economy that springs up around it like housing, restaurants, or shopping centers.

Today, the latest film by "Training Day" director Antoine Fuqua hits theatres nationwide. It's called "Brooklyn’s Finest," and it follows three cops who are forced to make impossible decisions during crisis points in their lives – and then live with the outcome of those choices.

When most of us watch the Oscars, our eyes are glued to the movie stars. But if you’re a movie star on Oscars night, it’s more likely that your eyes are glued to two accountants. We refer, of course, to the accountants of Pricewaterhouse Coopers – those guys with the briefcases who hit the red carpet each year, ballots in tow. From the actor's perspective, it's they who hold the key to your acceptance speech, or your stiff upper lip as a loser in front of the cameras.

The national step competition in Atlanta, Ga. two weeks ago was packed with mostly African American competitors. The dance form, rooted in African American history, has largely been associated with black colleges and fraternities. But on Feb. 20, a white team from the University of Arkansas did more than just win the competition. They ignited a dialogue about race relations and whether a particular race should be entitled to a certain part of American culture.

Along with our friends at The Week Magazine, we look at the past week, review give you the score. Who had a good week? Who had a bad week? In this week’s segment we learn that it was a great week to vent your frustrations … if you happen to live in Nepal. A ritual in the country allows young people from neighboring villages Parsaway and Lamipur get to yell insults at each other as part of an annual festival this week. They say it's all in good fun.