• 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.

• Comedian Tom Kenny calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about Spongebob Squarepants’ new Christmas song.

• Hilary Rosen, Editor at Large of the Huffington Post, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to talk about Afghanistan, health care reform, and today’s Jobs Summit.

• Obama administration officials are hoping that today’s Jobs Summit, where he will talk job creation with business and labor leaders at the White House, will let President Obama defend his administration’s handling of the economy. No major policy announcements are expected.

• Amid soaring budget deficits, President Obama is running into congressional qualms over how to pay for his troop buildup in Afghanistan. The $30 billion cost is causing concern on both sides of the aisle. Still, leaders in Congress predicted yesterday that Obama would prevail in winning funding for the surge.

• The politically potent AARP announced yesterday that they are supporting the Democrats’ $460 billion in Medicare cuts to help pay for landmark health insurance legislation.

• White House party crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi last night declined an invitation to testify before Congress about their caper last week at the president’s first state dinner.

• Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

• Hal Sparks joins us in studio at 8am Pacific for another edition of “Humpdays With Hal.”

• Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform and Obama’s Afghanistan speech.

• Declaring “our security is at stake,” President Obama ordered an additional 30,000 U.S. troops into the long war in Afghanistan last night, nearly tripling the force he inherited but promising an impatient public to begin withdrawal in 18 months. The buildup will begin almost immediately and will cost $30 billion for the first year alone

• Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) asserted yesterday during a rancorous floor debate that President Obama’s health care reform will shorten the lives of seniors by cutting Medicare. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) decried such comments as scare tactics designed to kill legislation that he said would improve some benefits for seniors. At times, the debate recalled the raw charges and countercharges of the summer’s town hall meetings.

• Copies of e-mails between the White House party crashers and a Pentagon official undermine their claims that they were invited to President Obama’s first state dinner.

• Charlie Pierce, Boston Globe sports columnist and author of “Idiot America,” calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about the news of the day, including the Tiger Woods situation.

• Craig Crawford, co-author of “Listen Up, Mr. President,” calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about his new book, which he co-wrote with Helen Thomas.

• President Obama tonight will spell out a costly Afghanistan war expansion to a skeptical public, coupling an infusion of as many as 35,000 more troops with a vow that there will be no endless U.S. commitment. His first orders have already been made: at least one group of Marines who will be in place by Christmas.

• Riven by partisanship, the Senate plunged into a debate yesterday over sweeping health care reform legislation that President Obama and congressional Dems have vowed to approve and GOP-ers have sworn to block. Debate is expected to last for weeks.

• Retail web sites kept amping up the deals yesterday the first day after Thanksgiving weekend’s strong online sales, to try to maintain the momentum. Sales for the day that the industry knows as “Cyber Monday” were up 19.6 percent over a year ago.

• The Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the news over the Thanksgiving weekend.

• Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

• The Senate is set to begin debate today on health care reform. Some Dem senators say they’ll jump ship from the bill without tighter restrictions on abortion coverage. Others say they’ll go unless a government plan to compete with private insurance companies gets tossed overboard. Such concessions would enrage Liberals, the heart and soul of the party.

• Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich), the leading Senate Dem on military matters, said yesterday that President Obama’s anticipated plan for expanding troop levels in Afghanistan must show how those reinforcements will help increase the size of the Afghan security forces.

• White House officials fended off new questions about how a fame-seeking couple finessed their way into the president’s State Dinner last week while the aspiring reality-TV stars themselves began trying to sell their story for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

• Ellis Henican, columnist for “Newsday,” calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about the news of the day, and preview his show on Friday when he fills in for Steph and the Mooks.

• Hal Sparks joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific for another edition of “Humpdays With Hal.”

• Alysa Binder, Executive Vice President and co-founder of Pet Airways, calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about the service her company provides.

• War-weary Americans will support more fighting in Afghanistan once they understand the perils of losing, President Obama declared yesterday, announcing he was ready to spell out war plans virtually sure to include tens of thousands more U.S. troops. Obama will make his case to the nation in a speech Tuesday night.

• Traditional evening gowns and vibrantly colored saris mixed with banded-collar dinner jackets and tuxedos at President Obama’s first State Dinner last night. There were also turbans and bindies and diamonds, as several hundred guests put on the glitz and joined a White House celebration in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

• With economic pressures still hitting household budgets hard, many Americans are foregoing air travel for Thanksgiving and opting for cheaper alternatives like staying home or driving.

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

• The White House is bracing for a tough sell of President Obama’s long-awaited decision on whether to commit tens of thousands of new U.S. forces to the stalemated war in Afghanistan, even as the president met Monday with top advisers for possibly the last major deliberations before an announcement.

• In a Cabinet meeting yesterday afternoon, President Obama acknowledged fledgling economic growth had not yet improved things on the jobs front and previewed a summit next week aimed at helping find ways to spur job creation.

• Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said yesterday that the Dems are determined to push through a health care overhaul bill, President Obama’s top domestic issue, with or without support from opposition GOP-ers.

• A bitter dispute over abortion that prompted Rhode Island’s Roman Catholic bishop to ask Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) not to receive Holy Communion has revealed the depth of the divide among Catholics over how politicians should reconcile their faith with their public duties.

• Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

• Dr. Eric Chivian, founder and director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard, calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about the Climate Change Bill.

• Health care reform backers won a key victory Saturday night as the Senate voted to move ahead with a floor debate on a sweeping $848 billion bill. The 60-39 vote to prevent a GOP filibuster against the start of debate on Sen. Reid’s legislation broke down along party lines.

• Four U.S. service members were killed in the past 24 hours in Afghanistan, NATO forces said today. Three of the Americans died in southern Afghanistan yesterday. Two of them were killed by a bomb attack and the third in a separate firefight.

• Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people at Ft. Hood, is paralyzed from the chest down and doctors believe it will be permanent, his lawyer said yesterday.

• In this business week, which will be abbreviated due to Thanksgiving, investors will look to reports on home sales, unemployment and consumer confidence, and the start of the holiday shopping season on Friday for more insight into the direction of the economy.

• Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

• Joe Decker, founder of GodHatesShrimp.com, calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about how ridiculous religious arguments against homosexuality are.

• Politely but firmly pressing for greater freedoms on China’s own turf, President Obama spoke in Shanghai this morning against censorship, saying tough criticisms of political leaders should be allowed and the free flow of information on the internet “should be encouraged.”

• While President Obama’s decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan is primarily a military one, it also has substantial budget implications that are adding pressure to limit the commitment. Governmental estimates place the cost of adding 40,000 troops at $40 billion to $54 billion a year.

• Today’s Commerce Department report on October retail sales is likely to set the tone for the rest of the week on Wall Street. Economists polled by Reuters predict retail sales rose 0.8 percent in October after at 1.5 percent drop in September. Stronger consumer spending is needed for any rebound, and disappointment is likely to send stocks falling today.

• Mikey Weinstein, President of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to discuss the Ft. Hood shootings.

• Feminist and SuperLawyer Gloria Allred calls in at 7:30am Pacific to tell us why she thinks that Carrie Prejean has done something illegal.

• Paul Fitzgerald joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific to talk about his new movie, “Forgiven.”

• Kelly Carlin-McCall calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about her father, George Carlin’s, posthumous book, “Last Words: A Memoir.”

• Senate Majority leader Harry Reid is considering a plan for higher payroll taxes on upper-income earners to help finance health care reform legislation he intends to introduce in the Senate in the next several days, Dem officials said yesterday.

• President Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government.

• Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, said last night that he is leaving the cable news channel effective immediately.

• Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:30am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

• Morgan Hurley, reporter for SDGLN.com (San Diego Gay and Lesbian News), calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about her story regarding a proposed ban on divorces in California.

• Afghanistan’s Election Commission announced this morning that Saturday’s runoff election between Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah has been cancelled. Abdullah dropped out of the race yesterday, and the Obama administration said it was prepared to work with Karzai to combat corruption and confront the Taliban insurgency.

• GOP nominee in New York’s 23rd Congressional special election tomorrow, Dede Scozzafava, announced this weekend that she’s suspending her campaign. Her exit leaves Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman as the favorite to win the formerly hotly contested 3-way race. Scozzafava threw her support behind Dem Bill Owens.

• The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that just 2 percent of Americans younger than 65 would sign up for the public option plan under the health care bill that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is steering toward House approval

• The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 last night to take a 3-1 lead in the World Series.

• Dr. Maya Angelou calls in at 6:50am Pacific to talk about her new book, “Letter to My Daughter.”

• Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about The Affordable Health Care for America Act.

• Comedian John Fugelsang joins us in studio at 8am Pacific for “Fridays with Fugelsang.”

• Cheered by President Obama, House Dems rolled out landmark legislation yesterday to extend health care to tens of millions who lack coverage, impose sweeping new restrictions on the insurance industry, and create a government-run option to compete with private insurers.

• President Obama will host the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the White House today as he reassesses his administration’s military strategy in Afghanistan. The meeting will give each branch of the armed services a direct opportunity to tell Obama the effect on the military if a large number of additional forces are sent to Afghanistan.

• Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui hit solo homers off Pedro Martinez to give the New York Yankees a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies and tie the World Series at 1-1 last night.

• Rep. Earl Perlmutter (D-CO) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to update us on health care reform.

• Christine Romans, host of “Your $$$$$” on CNN, calls in at 7:50am Pacific to update us on the economic recovery.

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is preparing to unveil a retooled health care overhaul plan today intended to bridge differences among Dems. She wants to have the legislation on the floor next week with a final vote before Veterans Day, that would give President Obama a bill to sign by year’s end.

• President Obama is considering a scaled-down version of the war plan advanced by his top Afghanistan commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, U.S. officials say. The plan would focus on protecting Afghan cities and key infrastructure. One official described the plan as “McChrystal Light.”

• Fox News Channel and the Obama administration are talking. The network confirmed a Politico report that a Fox News executive met at the White House yesterday with Robert Gibbs, President Obama’s press secretary. There were no details given about the meeting.

• The Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Yankees 6-1 last night in Game 1 of the World Series.

• Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

• Comedian Hal Sparks joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific for another edition of “Humpdays with Hal.”

• Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) said yesterday that while he’s “strongly inclined” to vote to move Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-NV) health care plan with an opt-out public option to the Senate floor for debate, he would ultimately oppose the measure and join a GOP filibuster because it includes that option.

• The White House said yesterday that President Obama has nearly finished gathering information and advice on how to proceed in Afghanistan. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that a planned meeting on Friday with the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be among the last events in the decision-making process.

• The FAA has revoked the licenses of the two Northwest Airlines pilots who flew a passenger jet past their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles last week. They had violated numerous regulations, including failing to comply with air traffic control instructions and clearances and operating carelessly and recklessly.

• Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

• Comedian Sara Benincasa calls in at 8:30am Pacific to tell us about her columns for The Huffington Post and her upcoming tour dates.

• Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are expected to make decisions this week in hopes the long-delayed health care reform bills can come to a vote early next month. Officials familiar with the Senate talks say businesses would not be required to provide health insurance, but large companies would owe significant penalties if any worker needs government subsidies to buy coverage on their own.

• Top lawmakers sparred yesterday over the timing of President Obama’s decision on how to move ahead in Afghanistan, with Republicans urging a quick move to boost troop levels and Dems counseling patience.

• President Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect non-infected patients.

• Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) calls in at 7:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform and the economy.

• Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) calls in at 8:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform and the economy.

• Former Vice President Dick Cheney last night accused the White House of “dithering” over the strategy for the war in Afghanistan and urged President Obama to “do what it takes to win.” Cheney said that signals of indecision out of DC “hurt our allies and embolden our adversaries.”

• President Obama unveiled plans yesterday to refocus spending of the government’s $700 billion financial bailout away from Wall Street’s big financial institutions and toward small businesses. He announced initiatives that would make it easier for smaller community banks to provide credit to small businesses.

• Dems launched a drive at both ends of the Capitol yesterday to strip the insurance industry of its decades-old exemption from federal antitrust laws. The change would put an end to “price-fixing, bid-rigging, and market allocation in the health and medical malpractice” insurance areas.

• Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

• Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Hal Sparks joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific for another edition of “Humpdays With Hal.”

• Comedian Margaret Cho calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about her upcoming shows and the release of her new concert DVD, “Beautiful.”

• President Obama has sought to spend no more than $900 billion over a 10-year period on health care reform. Yesterday, however, House Dem leaders received a new cost estimate of $871 billion from congressional budget umpires who measured a bill with a a robust public option.

• President Obama spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai yesterday and congratulated him for accepting the report of the UN-backed Election Complaint Commission which ruled that he garnered under 50% of the vote in the August election after vote fraud had been factored in, mandating a recount.

• Oprah Winfrey announced yesterday that Sarah Palin will appear on her show on Monday, November 16th.

• Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to make a major announcement about his campaign to be senator from Pennsylvania.

• Three days after the world watched a giant balloon fly through the air as a tearful family expressed fears that their 6-year-old boy could be inside, authorities announced what millions already suspected: The whole thing was staged. Colorado authorities believe the event was a “publicity stunt” by the family to market themselves for a reality show.

• The White House will not commit to health care legislation that would cap insurance premiums or tax benefits, taking a wait-and-see approach as congressional negotiators seek a deal. President Obama will not demand that a final bill include a public option, though that’s his preference, advisers said yesterday.

• Defense Secretary Robert Gates is undertaking the tricky task of trying to persuade allies to remain committed to the war in Afghanistan even as the Obama administration debates whether to send more troops to fight. Allies like Japan and Great Britain, however, are showing signs of pulling back.

• Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host “Right Wing World.”

• Hal Sparks joins the Mooks in studio in L.A. at 8am Pacific for “Humpdays with Hal.”

• Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to tell us what’s next in the health care reform process.

• Historic legislation to expand U.S. health care and control costs won its first GOP supporter yesterday and cleared a key Senate hurdle. “When history calls, history calls,” said Maine GOP-er Olympia Snowe, whose declaration of support ended weeks of suspense and provided the only drama of a 14-9 vote in the Senate Finance Committee.

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said yesterday she expects that the House will vote on a health care bill by Thanksgiving and that the House version will have a public plan option.

• Rampant government corruption might derail the fight against the Taliban and Al Qaida in Afghanistan, even if as many as 80,000 additional U.S. troops are sent to the war, Gen. Stanley McChrystal has concluded.

• NY Times columnist Frank Rich calls in at 8:05am Pacific to talk about his column, “Two Wrongs Make Another Fiasco”

• Health insurance premiums for the typical American family would increase by another $4000 by 2019 under a key Senate overhaul plan, according to a health insurance industry trade group. The White House blasted the report Monday, calling it inaccurate and self-serving. The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote on the bill today.

• An audacious weekend assault by Islamic militants on Pakistan’s army headquarters is again raising fears of an insurgent attack on the country’s nuclear weapons installation. Analysts are divided on how secure these weapons are.

• In an unannounced move, President Obama is dispatching an additional 13,000 troops to Afghanistan beyond the 21,000 he announced publicly in March. The additional forces are primarily support forces, such as engineers, medical personnel, intelligence experts, and military police.

• Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the chair of the Senate’s environmental committee, said yesterday it’s possible Congress will pass a bill aimed at slowing climate change by December.

• The Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) joins Steph in studio in NYC at 8:05am Pacific for “Rude Mondays”

• Tim Robbins calls in at 8:35am Pacific to promote “The WTF Festival” at The Actors Gang in Culver City, CA.

• President Obama pledged to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military in a speech to the Human Rights Campaign Saturday, but acknowledged to a cheering crowd that the policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected.

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels to Russia today hoping to win Moscow’s backing for a strong stance on Iran’s nuclear program and looking for progress on a new arms control pact.

• Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said yesterday that any added military deployment in Afghanistan smaller than the 40,000 troops reportedly requested by the top U.S. commander there “would be an error of historic proportions.” McCain also said that the war there could not be won with fewer than the 40,000 troops requested.

• Delegate Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands) calls in at 6:33am Pacific to talk about health care reform, its progress, and reconciliation of the bills.

• Karl Frisch, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

• Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Hal Sparks joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific for another edition of “Humpdays with Hal.”

• A new Associated Press poll says 56% of those surveyed in the past week approve of President Obama’s job performance, up from 50% in September. It’s the first time since he took office in January that his ratings have gone up.

• President Obama yesterday ruled out shrinking the Afghanistan war to a counterterrorism campaign. Yet he did not signal whether he is prepared to send any more troops to the war zone – either the 40,000 his top commander wants or a smaller buildup.

• The Obama administration is considering a series of measures to help the unemployed. Those ideas include extending unemployment and health benefits and offering states temporary “loan packages.”

• Charlie Pierce, author of “Idiot America” calls in at 7:33am Pacific to riff on the news of the day.

• Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) calls in at 8:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) calls in at 8:33am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• President Obama yesterday filled the White House Rose Garden with doctors supportive of his health care overhaul, saying “nobody has more credibility with the American people on this issue than you do.” The Senate Finance Committee is expected to approve its long-debated bill this week.

• President Obama will not walk away from the flagging war in Afghanistan, the White House declared yesterday amid intense administration debate over choices that could help define his presidency in the first year as commander in chief.

• David Letterman, days after revealing on air that he’d been sexually involved with women from his show, apologized to his wife on last night’s “Late Show,” saying she had been “horribly hurt by my behavior” and flat-out stating those affairs “are in the past.”

• President Obama launched a TV broadcast blitz yesterday to push his top domestic priority, a remake of the U.S. health care system that now rests in the hands of a pivotal but deeply divided Senate committee. Obama laid out what he called the “core principles” he required for health care reform that he says is targeted at middle-class families.

• Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war obtained by The Washington Post that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the 8-year conflict “will likely result in failure.”

• Conservatives descended upon Washington, D.C. over the weekend for the 2009 “Values Voter Summit,” the fourth annual gathering of like-minded political activists. Mike Huckabee won the 2012 Presidential Straw Poll taken at the event.

• “Mad Men” and “30 Rock” led a pack of Emmy winners who successfully defended their titles at last night’s show, while Australian Toni Collette of Showtime’s “United States of Tara” was honored as the best lead actress in a comedy series. Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”), Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), and Glenn Close (“Damages”) all took home acting honors.

• Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) calls in at 7:05am Pacific to talk about the Student Aid & Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009.

• The House of Representatives approved an amendment yesterday that calls for halting government funding to the community organizing group ACORN. This is in direct reaction to the recent release of videos that appeared to show the agency’s employees condoning illegal actions.

• It’s too early to say whether more troops are needed for Afghanistan, Vice President Joe Biden said yesterday, days after the top U.S. military officer said more forces are probably needed in order to effectively fight the insurgency.

• The U.S. is overhauling Bush-era plans for a missile defense shield in Europe, based partly on the latest analysis of Iran’s offensive capabilities, President Obama said yesterday. The first phase of the system is due to be in place in 2011.

• President Obama took his health care reform message back on the road yesterday, promising a raucous crowd of college students in Maryland that Congress will pass legislation this year. The president slammed GOP critics for attacking his reform plan to “score short-term political points.”

• Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will all be calling in TOMORROW to talk about health care reform.

• Comedian John Fugelsang joins us in studio at 11:05am TOMORROW to hang and talk about all things politics and pop culture.

• Under the menacing threat of violence from the Taliban, Afghans headed to the polls today in the war-ravaged nation’s second-ever national election. Thousands of NATO and Afghan soldiers provided security at the polls and more than 30 observer groups were on hand to monitor the voting.

• President Obama appealed yesterday to faith-based groups to help garner support for his plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system. Obama urged the listeners to reject information about his plans, noting, “There are some folks out there who are, frankly, bearing false witness.”

• A cancer-stricken Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has written a poignant letter to Massachusetts leaders asking that they change state law to allow a speedy replacement of him in Congress, instead of the special election now required. Kennedy wrote, “It is vital for this commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate.”

• Rep. John Adler (D-NJ) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about the economy.

• Comedian Hal Sparks joins us in studio at 8am Pacific to hang out and talk about the news of the day.

• President Obama said yesterday that the leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the U.S. are meeting “as three sovereign nations joined by a common goal: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat” al Qaida and the Taliban.

• The White House indicated yesterday that a report and a photo from the controversial low-altitude New York flyover by Air Force One could be released soon. Earlier, White House officials had said that there were no plans to release the photos to the public.

• Lawmakers voted in favor of same-sex marriage in New Hampshire and Maine yesterday, leaving Rhode Island as the only other New England state without legislation in favor of the issue. Maine’s governor signed the bill into law almost immediately, but warned that Maine’s citizens could still overturn the law with a referendum.

• Fierce winds blew a wildfire into homes in Santa Barbara, CA last night and this morning, forcing residents to flee as columns of smoke rose from a scenic coastal enclave.

• Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the economy.

• Lt. Gen. Russell Honoré calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about his new book, “Survival: How A Culture of Preparedness Can Save You and Your Family From Disaster.”

• Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave his most optimistic prediction yet yesterday about the end of the recession, saying he expects the economy to start growing again this year – although the comeback could be weak and more jobs will disappear even after a recovery takes hold.

• President Obama wants Pakistan to step up its commitment to fighting Taliban militants who are growing in strength and compromising vital U.S. interests. In meetings at the White House today, Obama will press the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan to better coordinate their efforts to fight the Taliban.

• The White House yesterday put to rest speculation that President Obama may choose his first Supreme Court nominee as early as this week. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Sen. Orrin Hatch was (R-UT) was incorrect when he told reporters that he expected a nomination by the end of this week.

• Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) said yesterday that he hoped GOPer Norm Coleman would be declared the winner in Minnesota’s dragged-out senate race. He said that he would like a Jewish Republican in the Senate.

• Winnie Stachelberg, Senior V.P. for External Affairs at The Center for American Progress and former V.P. of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, calls in at 6:30am Pacific to discuss Iowa’s ruling on gay marriage.

• Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) calls in at 7:06am Pacific to talk about her op-ed in the “St. Louis Post Dispatch” on cyber-bullying.

• Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly call in at 7:30am Pacific for a “Cagney & Lacey” reunion.

• Tommy Smothers calls in at 8:30am Pacific to discuss life as ½ of The Smothers Brothers and their current tour.

• American officials condemned the North Korean launch of a long-range rocket yesterday, with President Obama calling it a “provocative act.” American military sources called the launch a failure because it failed to enter orbit.

• President Obama hailed the NATO summit in Europe on Saturday, calling the meeting “very productive” and praising the alliance’s commitment to the fight in Afghanistan.

• President Obama is in Turkey today, reaching out to the only Muslim member of NATO to help him wind down the Iraq war and bring stability to the Middle East. He’s also counting on the country to remain a steadfast ally in the Afghanistan conflict.