• Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, the patriarch of the first family of Democratic politics, died late last night at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He was 77. “We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live in our hearts forever,” a family statement said.

• Former Vice President Dick Cheney is again taking aim at President Obama, issuing a statement yesterday suggesting the administration’s decision to name a prosecutor to investigate CIA interrogations under President Bush fuels “doubts about this administration’s ability to be responsible for our nation’s security.”

• The White House now expects the 10-year budget deficit to reach $9.05 trillion, roughly $2 trillion more than it estimated earlier in the year. Budget office director Peter Orszag pointed to a number of measures put in place to stem the pain of the economic downturn.

• President Obama announced yesterday he wants to keep Ben Bernanke on as Fed chairman, saying he shepherded American through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

• Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about the importance of passing meaningful health care reform.

• President Obama is expected to nominate Ben Bernanke to a second term as head of the Federal Reserve today. Bernanke, a Republican who has played a central role in the government’s extraordinary response to the recession and 2008 banking panic, will have to be confirmed by the Senate.

• The Obama administration launched a criminal investigation yesterday into harsh questioning of detainees during President Bush’s war on terrorism, revealing CIA interrogators’ threats to kill one suspect’s children and to force another to watch his mother sexually assaulted.

• The Los Angeles County coroner’s finding that the death of Michael Jackson was a homicide could mean criminal charges for his doctor, who told investigators that he administered a mix of powerful drugs to treat the pop star’s insomnia hours before his death.

• President Obama played tennis with his wife and golf with his buddies yesterday, starting his first vacation in office on Martha’s Vineyard of the coast of Massachusetts.

• 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.

• America’s recession will “probably” end this year if the government succeeds in bolstering the banking system, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday in a rare television interview. He admitted, however, that recovery hinges on getting banks to lend more freely again and getting the financial markets to work more normally.

• President Obama will today announce a broad package of measures from the stimulus plan that will be used to immediately provide billions of dollars in federal lending aid aimed at struggling small business owners.

• Former Vice President Dick Cheney said that President Obama is making critical national security choices that make the American people less safe. In a television interview yesterday, Cheney said Obama is making some choices that “will in fact raise the risk to the American people of another attack.”

• Ron Silver, who won a Tony for his role in “Speed-the-Plow” and an Emmy nomination for his work in “The West Wing” died yesterday. He was 62 and had been fighting esophageal cancer for two years.