• 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.

• 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.

• Lorie Van Auken, 9/11 Widow and one of the “Jersey Girls,” calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about the ongoing debate about closing Gitmo and moving the trials to New York.

• John Fugelsang joins us from the NYC Bureau at 8:05am Eastern for another edition of “Fridays With Fugelsang.”

• Digging in for a long struggle, GOP senators and governors assailed the Dems’ newly minted health care legislation yesterday as a collection of tax increases, Medicare cuts, and heavy new burdens for deficit-ridden states. Sen. Reid has scheduled an initial test vote for Saturday evening and full debate is expected to begin after Thanksgiving.

• Defense Secretary Robert Gates is putting former U.S. Army Secretary Togo West and former Navy chief Vernon Clark in charge of a broad Pentagon review of the circumstances surrounding the Fort Hood shootings. The 45 day review will look into gaps in how the military identifies service members who might be a threat to others.

• “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” an iconic broadcast that grew over two decades into a daytime television powerhouse and the foundation of a media empire, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air. Winfrey plans to announce the final date for her show during a live broadcast today.

• Ted Massinello, President of the USA Coffee Company, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to talk about the pro-union and made-in-the-USA aspects of his company.

• Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform, the economy, and jobs.

• Lamar Waldron, JFK conspiracy expert and author of “Legacy of Secrecy: The Long Shadow of the JFK Assassination,” calls in at 8:05am Pacific to talk about his book.

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled long-awaited legislation last night to extend health care coverage to all but 6% of eligible Americans and bar private industry from denying insurance because of pre-existing medical conditions. The bill would reduce deficits by $127 billion over a decade.

• A federal judge ruled yesterday that the Army Corps of Engineers’ failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a decision that could make the federal government vulnerable to billions of dollars in claims.

• Disappointing forecasts from technology companies and an unexpected drop in home construction added to worries about the economy and sent stocks modestly lower yesterday. The Dow fell 11 points at close yesterday.

• Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about jobs, the economy, and health care reform.

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

• David Plouffe, former campaign manager for President Obama, calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about his new book, “The Audacity To Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama’s Historic Victory.”

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

• President Obama huddled with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao this morning, the final day of his visit to China. The White House praised the meetings as strengthening possibilities for future cooperation. President Obama then toured the Great Wall of China before flying to South Korea.

• Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) declined yesterday to say when he would introduce a hotly anticipated health care reform bill. He said he was waiting for a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, and that estimate won’t be completed until at least this afternoon.

• Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama yesterday for the second time but guards on board repelled the takeover attempt.

• 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.

• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about Veterans’ Day, health care reform, the economy, and his run for Senate.

• 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 8:05am Pacific for another edition of “Humpdays With Hal.”

• Former President Bill Clinton told anxious Senate Dems yesterday to pass a health care bill soon because the U.S. economy can’t resist the toxic combination of exorbitant medical costs and nearly 50 million uninsured for much longer.

• Caution returned to the stock market yesterday as investors decided to slow an advance that has lifted the Dow Jones industrial average 475 points in five days. Stocks fell in light trading, though the Dow tacked on 20 points to close at a new high for the year.

• A senior government official tells ABC News that investigators have found that alleged Ft. Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan had “more unexplained connections to people being tracked by the FBI” than just radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki. Names and countries of origin are likely to emerge soon, according to officials.

• Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich) calls in at 6:45am Pacific to talk about GOP obstructionism with the health care reform bill.

• Susie Essman (Curb Your Enthusiasm) calls in at 6:50am Pacific to talk about her new book, “What Would Susie Say?”

• Humorist Charlie Pierce (author of “Idiot America”)calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform, the economy, and other news of the day.

• Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform and the economy.

• Former President Bill Clinton is expected to speak to Senate Democrats today about the importance of health care legislation during their weekly caucus. President Obama wants to sign the legislation into law by the end of the year, but abortion opponents in the Senate are seeking tough restrictions in the bill.

• Nearly a year before Maj. Nidal Hasan allegedly went on a shooting rampage at Ft. Hood, terrorism investigators conducted an “assessment” of him before deciding he did not pose a threat. After the shooting, the FBI is doing a new assessment – of its own conduct. President Obama, meanwhile, will attend a memorial service for the victims today at Ft. Hood.

• D.C. Sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad will be executed today for the attacks that terrorized the nation’s capital region for three weeks in 2002.

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

• Mary Bonauto, Civil Rights Project Director at Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), calls in at 7:30am Pacific to discuss the repeal of gay marriage in Maine.

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

• President Obama yesterday praised the “historic” House vote to pass a bill overhauling the nation’s ailing health care system, and said it is now time for the Senate to “take the baton” and complete its work. The House passed its health care bill late Saturday night by a 220-215 vote, with 39 Dems opposing and 1 GOPer supporting.

• The alleged Ft. Hood shooter apparently attended the same Virginia mosque as two 9/11 hijackers in 2001, at a time when a radical imam preached there. The FBI is looking into any possible associations.

• Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) has declared a state of emergency in Louisiana as Hurricane Ida heads toward the Gulf Coast. It’s the first hurricane to target the U.S. this season.

• Christian Weller, economist with The Center for American Progress, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to give us an update on the economy.

• John Fugelsang joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific for “Fridays With Fugelsang.”

• Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform, the economy, and texting while driving.

• Military officials are starting today to piece together what may have pushed an Army psychiatrist trained to help soldiers in distress to turn on his comrades in a shooting rampage that killed 13 people and wounded 30 at Ft. Hood, Texas. The suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, is on a ventilator and unconscious in a hospital after being shot four times by military police.

• Chanting “Kill the bill,” thousands of conservatives rallied at the Capitol yesterday against health care reform. “This bill is the greatest threat to freedom that I have ever seen,” House GOP leader John Boehner told the crowd.

• A drop in unemployment claims gave investors new reason to be optimistic about the economy and sent the Dow jumping by over 200 points to close above 10,000 yesterday.

• Erica Williams, Deputy Director of Campus Progress, calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about where the youth are in the health care reform debate.

• John Marcotte, originator of the 2010 California Marriage Protection Act, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to talk about his proposed ban on divorce in California.

• Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about the economy and health care reform.

• In a coup for House Dems, AARP will endorse sweeping health care overhaul legislation headed for a history-making floor vote. House Dem leaders are hoping it will give them a needed bost as they strive to deliver on President Obama’s signature issue.

• President Obama’s top budget official promised this week that the administration will try next year to wrestle the skyrocketing budget deficit under control to avoid higher interest rates and putting the health of the economy in jeopardy.

• The New York Yankees scored a 7-3 victory at the new Yankee’s Stadium in Game 6 of the World Series last night to win the series over the Philadelphia Phillies. It’s the Yankees’ 27th championship.

• Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) calls in at 7:33am Pacific to talk about health care reform, the economy, and yesterday’s elections.

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

• Republicans won gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey yesterday, two states that had backed President Obama last year. Dem Bill Owens beat Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in upstate New York. Opponents of gay marriage claimed a victory in Maine, but voters approved an “everything but marriage” law in Washington State that greatly expands the rights of gay couples.

• In a blow to the White House, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) signaled yesterday that Congress may fail to meet a year-end deadline for passing health care legislation, leaving the measure’s fate to the uncertainties of the 2010 election season.

• Republicans boycotted the start of committee debate yesterday on a bill to curb greenhouse gases, protesting that the bill’s costs have not been fully examined. The action put a spotlight on the difficulties Dem leaders face in moving climate legislation this year.

• Charlie Pierce, author of “Idiot America,” calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about Election Day, health care reform, Afghanistan, and the economy.

• Today is Election Day in many states. Polls are close in the New Jersey governor’s race, Dem Creigh Deeds trails GOP-er Bob McDonnell in the polls by double digits in the Virginia gubernatorial race, Conservative Doug Hoffman leads Dem Bill Owens in NY’s 23rd Congressional District race, Maine voters are being asked if gay marriage should remain legal, and Washington State voters are deciding on a domestic partnerships law.

• While House leaders are moving toward a vote on health care legislation by the end of the week, enough Dems are threatening to oppose the measure over the issue of abortion to create a question about its passage. A bloc of Dems are worried that the bill could lead to public funding of the procedure.

• President Obama called Afghan President Hamid Karzai to congratulate him on being named the winner of that country’s election, and urged him to work to improve governance and end corruption there.

• The Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Yankees 8-6 in Game 5 of the World Series last night, forcing a Game 6 at Yankee Stadium tomorrow night.

• 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. Chris Murphy (D-CT) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

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

• Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Health care legislation heading to the Senate floor will give millions of Americans the option of purchasing government-run insurance coverage, Majority Leader Harry Reid announced yesterday. Reid said individual states would have the choice of opting out of the program.

• The government will release figures this week expected to show that the economy has emerged from its recession and is in the early stages of recovery. But the following week, the government will issue another set of figures expected to show unemployment continuing to rise toward and possibly above a clearly recessionary 10 percent.

• An al-Qaida linked group claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombings in the heart of Baghdad that killed at least 155 people ahead of January’s elections.

• 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.

• The Senate has long been seen as opposing the public health care option in health care reform, but now senior Senate Dems and White House officials are strongly considering including such a measure, but would permit individual states to drop out of the system.

• The White House yesterday forcefully rejected criticism from former Vice President Dick Cheney and other GOP-ers that President Obama’s Afghanistan decision is taking too long. “What Cheney calls dithering, President Obama calls his solemn responsibility,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

• Physical attacks on people based on their sexual orientation will join the list of federal hate crimes in a major expansion of the civil rights-era law Congress approved yesterday and sent to President Obama. The measure is named for Matthew Shepard. Many GOP-ers voted against the bill, calling it “controversial.”

• Soupy Sales, the rubber-faced comedian whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on 20,000 pies to the face and 5,000 live TV appearances across a half-century of laughs, has died at a hospice in the Bronx. He was 83.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) calls in at 8:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the best-known barometer of the stock market, closed above 10,000 for the first time in a year yesterday. It’s the most visible sign yet that investors believe the economy is clawing its way back from the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

• Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said yesterday that the health care reform bill approved by the Finance Committee needs substantial improvements to make coverage more affordable, contain costs, and protect Medicare. Nevertheless, she joined her Maine GOP colleague Sen. Olympia Snowe in saying she may vote for health care reform this year.

• President Obama will visit New Orleans today for the first time since taking office, address rebuilding efforts in the city ravaged by Hurricane Katrina four years ago. During his trip, Obama will visit a charter school and host a town hall meeting to hear residents’ concerns.

• 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.

• Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform, the economy, and Obama’s Nobel Prize.

• Comedian John Fugelsang joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific for another edition of “Fridays with Fugelsang.”

• President Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize today for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation.

• Buoyed by a new congressional report boosting President Obama’s prospects for overhauling the U.S. health care system, Senate leaders yesterday scheduled a key vote on the Senate Finance Committee’s legislation for Tuesday.

• The House voted yesterday to make it a federal crime to assault people because of their sexual orientation, significantly expanding the hate crimes law enacted in the days after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968.

• The moon is due for a double whammy from two NASA probes today. One slammed the moon’s south pole this morning at 4:31am Pacific in a search for water ice buried in craters.