• Christian Weller, economist with the Center for American Progress, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to update us on jobs, the economy, and holiday retail sales.

• Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) calls in at 8:05am Pacific to defend The Bronx, and to talk about health care reform and Afghanistan.

• Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform, Afghanistan, and the cops that were killed in his district.

• Unflinching on a critical first test, Senate Dems closed ranks yesterday behind $460 billion in politically risky Medicare cuts at the heart of health care reform legislation, thwarting a GOP attempt to doom President Obama’s sweeping overhaul. The Senate also backed a guarantee for all insured women age 40 and older to receive mammograms with no out-of-pocket costs.

• President Obama promised at a White House jobs forum yesterday to take “every responsible step to accelerate job creation,” including some ideas he said could be put into action quickly. He cited an expanded program to make more U.S. homes energy efficient as an example.

• The White House as authorized an expansion of the CIA’s drone program in Pakistan’s tribal areas, paralleling President Obama’s decision to send more troops to Afghanistan.

• Charlie Pierce, author of “Idiot America,” calls in at 7:30am Pacific to riff on the news of the day.

• Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) calls in at 8:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• MSNBC’s David Shuster calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about the big news of the day, including health care reform and Balloon Boy.

• White House advisers have stepped up their attacks on Fox News, claiming the cable television network is a GOP mouthpiece whose programming “is geared toward making money.” Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s chief of staff, said on Sunday, “It is not a news organization so much as it has a perspective.”

• The White House is waiting for Congress to settle on a final health care bill, even though President Obama has a clear preference in favor of at least once specific – the much-debated public option. Obama, however, will not demand that legislation include a government option.

• The stock market stepped to new highs for the year yesterday after a handful of earnings reports bolstered hopes that the economy is coming back sooner than analysts had thought.

• Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Comedian John Fugelsang calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about health care protesters, cash for clunkers, and other news of the day.

• The Senate voted last night to extend the “Cash for Clunkers” program with an infusion of $2 billion. White House aides said earlier that President Obama will quickly sign the bill into law to prevent any interruption to the popular incentive.

• Judge Sonia Sotomayor made history yesterday when the Senate confirmed her to become the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. Sotomayor was easily confirmed in a 68-31 vote. 9 GOP-ers joined a unanimous Dem caucus in supporting her nomination. She will be sworn in at the Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts tomorrow.

• Pakistani intelligence officials say that Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a CIA drone strike that targeted a house Wednesday. Mehsud is enemy number one in Pakistan and is believed to be behind some of the biggest attacks in that country.

• John Hughes, director of “The Breakfast Club,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and “Sixteen Candles,” died of a heart attack in New York yesterday. He was 59.

• Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Missouri) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about President Obama’s Middle East trip, the economy, and Sotomayor’s nomination.

• Funny guy Brian Whitman joins us in studio at 8am Pacific to hang out and discuss the news of the day.

• President Obama this morning in a speech in Cairo, Egypt spoke of the tensions between the United States and Muslims saying “the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam. Obama hopes to start “a new chapter of engagement” between the U.S. and the Muslim world.

• Judge Sonia Sotomayor continued making the rounds on Capitol Hill yesterday, meeting several additional U.S. senators who will help decide whether she becomes the country’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

• New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signed same-sex marriage into law last night. The bill, which passed the House 198-176 yesterday, also was approved by the state Senate, 14-10.

• President Obama, providing the first real details on how he wants to reshape the nation’s health care system, urged Congress yesterday toward a sweeping overhaul that would allow Americans to buy into a government insurance plan.

• Jo Sullivan, Senior Vice President for Development and Communications for the ASPCA, calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about how to become an ASPCA Guardian.

• Angela V. Shelton and Frances Callier (Frangela) join us in studio for another edition of “Fridays with Frangela!”

• Democrats on Capitol Hill are divided on how to deal with the torture issue. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told reporters yesterday that he is against the idea of starting a “truth commission” to look into the issue. He believes the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation is adequate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said yesterday she favors a truth commission.

• The Pentagon will release “a substantial number” of photographs showing abuse of prisoners at prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the ACLU, which says the photos provide visual proof that prisoner abuse by U.S. personnel was widespread.

• Surrounded by some of the country’s top credit card company executives, President Obama yesterday called for an end to “unfair rate increases,” “abusive fees,” and “confusing terms and conditions” facing American consumers.

• Tonight Show host Jay Leno fell ill and checked himself into a Los Angeles hospital yesterday. The nature of his illness is unknown.

• Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about Afghanistan, Pakistan, the economy, Obama’s Europe trip, and other news of the day.

• Veteran TV host Rita Cosby calls in at 8:06am Pacific to talk about Obama in Europe, the G-20 Summit, the auto bailout, and Obama’s new church in D.C.

• Actress and author Marilu Henner joins us in studio at 8:30am Pacific to talk about her appearance on tonight’s series finale of “E.R.,” her new TV series “Party Down,” her book that comes out in paperback next week, and her new one-woman show on tour.

• The G-20 Summit began in London yesterday, with leaders looking to repair a rift after France and Germany threatened to withdraw their support unless tough new rules were agreed to regulate the world’s financial markets.

• Days after President Obama announced his strategy for security in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday that more effort is needed to fight the growing insurgency in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

• The House of Representatives voted yesterday to give the Treasury Department the power to ban future “unreasonable and excessive” compensation at companies receiving federal bailout money. The Pay for Performance Act of 2009 passed by a vote of 247-171.

• CNN’s Jack Cafferty calls in at 6:30am Pacific to discuss his new book, “Now or Never: Getting Down to the Business of Saving Our American Dream.”

• Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) calls in at 7:06am Pacific to talk about the economy, AIG, Obama’s budget, and the banking industry’s accountability to the American people.

• CNN’s Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi calls in at 7:30am Pacific to discuss the bonuses for AIG and CNN’s special programming devoted to the economic crisis.

• President Obama said yesterday he will attempt to block bonuses to executives of ailing insurance giant AIG, payments he described as an “outrage.” Sen. Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has suggested that a tax targeted at those receiving bonuses may be a way for the government to recoup those bonuses.

• President Obama vowed yesterday to ease the financial plight of the nation’s small businesses, promising immediate action to revive frozen credit markets and increase liquidity throughout the entire financial system.

• Vice President Joe Biden’s 91-year-old mother Catherine Biden has been hospitalized after a fall at her Delaware home. She is said to be “receiving treatment and is in good spirits.”