• Comedian Michael McDonald calls in at 8:05am Pacific to talk about the topics of the day and to promote his comedy gig at the Improv in Irvine, CA.

• Insurance giant AIG will have to return to the Treasury Department the $165 million it just paid out in executive bonuses, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday in a letter to congressional leaders. The money will come from the operations of the company in the amount of the retention awards just paid.

• New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo confirmed in a letter to Congress that this year, after receiving federal bailout money, AIG paid 73 employees bonuses of more than $1 million each. 8 people received $4 million or more. Cuomo also confirmed that 11 of the employees no longer work for the company.

• Edward Liddy, the CEO of AIG, will take the hot seat today in a hearing before a House Financial Services subcommittee. The hearing’s purpose is to find how AIG arrived at its “terrible situation” and why it’s receiving so much taxpayer money.

• President Obama urged both Dem and GOP members of Congress yesterday to provide him with “constructive alternative solutions” if they disagree with any sections of his 2010 budget proposal. Given the magnitude of the nation’s problems, Obama said, “we don’t need more point scoring, we need more problem solving.”