• Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), one of the honorary co-chairs of the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to talk about the inauguration.
• Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), one of the honorary co-chairs for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, calls in at 8:05am Pacific to talk about the inauguration.
• The Senate will vote today on whether the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue package is released, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said late last night. Dems are hopeful but acknowledge that they are still not sure they have the votes to give President-elect Barack Obama the money he says is essential to fixing the economy.
• The first taste of rough and tumble partisanship in the new Congress could be on public display today when the Senate Judiciary Committee considers Attorney General designate Eric Holder’s nomination. GOPers are concerned about Holder’s handling of the last-minute pardon of Marc Rich as Clinton left office, among other things.
• President-elect Obama defended his Treasury Secretary-designate Tim Geithner yesterday amid reports that Geithner failed to pay the correct amount on his taxes for a time and employed a housekeeper whose work authorization had expired.
• Ricardo Montalban, star of the hit TV series “Fantasy Island,” died yesterday in Los Angeles. Montalban, 88, was in deteriorating health over the past several days but “died peacefully” at his home according to his family.
