• 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.

• Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform, and the national call-in with President Obama today.

• Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Comedian Hal Sparks joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific to talk about all things politics and pop culture.

• Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the lead GOP senator in bipartisan health care negotiations, said yesterday that he urged President Obama this month to make clear he would accept a bill without a government-funded public insurance option. A White House spokesman yesterday expressed doubt that Grassley’s plea to Obama had any impact on weekend comments by Kathleen Sebelius that a public option is “not an essential element” of health care reform.

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday that information her husband brought back from North Korea has been “extremely helpful” by providing a window into what’s happening in the reclusive country.

• Hurricane Bill, the first hurricane of the 2009 Atlantic season, strengthened into a Category 3 storm yesterday with top winds near 125mph. It looks likely to miss the U.S. East Coast.

• Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today expressed happiness and relief at the release of two journalists, on whose behalf her husband, former President Bill Clinton, sought amnesty from North Korea. North Korea pardoned Laura Ling and Euna Lee after the former US president arrived in Pyongyang.

• After a “pep talk” from President Obama, Senate Dems said yesterday they believe Congress will pass a bipartisan health care bill this year. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) now says the Dem senators are ready to “take on the world.”

• Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in Afghanistan, is expected to ask the Obama administration for additional troops and equipment for conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as well as more military resources to deal with roadside bombs and explosives.

• Paula Abdul announced yesterday that she will not be returning to American Idol when the show debuts its ninth season early next year.

• Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the Sotomayor hearings and about health care reform.

• The Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about the Sotomayor hearings and Sen. Jeff Sessions’ racism.

• Sonia Sotomayor strongly asserted her adherence to the law while senators from both parties pressed her on her personal views on issues such as abortion, gun control, and executive powers on the third day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Sotomayor consistently answered she needed to know the specifics of a particular case, such as applicable state statutes and other facts.

• One of several proposals to overhaul the U.S. health care system passed a Senate committee yesterday, with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) praising the $600 billion plan as a step toward his longtime goals. GOPers said it costs too much and would ration care to Americans.

• Iran’s crackdown on protests after its disputed presidential election has “shifted” its prospects for direct talks with the United States, but they remain on the table, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday.

• Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said yesterday that an independent commission is needed to determine who authorized the use of abusive interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists. “I want to know who was it who made CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

• The Obama administration announced late last week that the Pentagon would turn over to the ACLU 44 photographs showing detainee abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq during the Bush administration. The pictures are a part of the ACLU’s Freedom of Information Act request.

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a surprise trip to Baghdad over the weekend, where she deplored the recent bombings in Iraq that left over 160 people dead, but said the “terrible and tragic events” haven’t stopped the nation from making strides in its security.

• The U.S. is “relatively close” to making decisions on what to do with an initial group of Guantanamo Bay detainees, Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday. Holder said the first step is to decide how many total detainees will be set free, and he announced that it will be done “on a rolling basis.”

• Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) calls in at 6:05am Pacific to talk about the torture memo debate.

• Comedian Michael McDonald calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about his upcoming gig at The Improv in Hollywood, CA.

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned yesterday that Pakistan is in danger of falling into terrorists’ hands because of failed government policies and called on Pakistani citizens and expatriates to voice more concern. Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state.

• Ramping up his campaign to crack down on credit cards, President Obama will meet today with executives of 14 leading companies to press his case for new consumer protections. Meanwhile, the House moved forward on a bill Tuesday to ban “arbitrary” interest rate increases, prohibit excessive fees, and order more disclosure.

• Condi Rice, John Ashcroft, and other top Bush administration officials approved as early as the summer of 2002 the CIA’s use at secret prisons of harsh interrogation menthods, including waterboarding, a technique that Attorney General Eric Holder has described as illegal torture.

• Brushing aside the president’s suggestions, congressional Dems pushed ahead firmly yesterday toward investigations into the Bush administration’s harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects including hundreds of instances of waterboarding and other abusive practices.

• Rep. Diana Degette (D-CO) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about the return of stem cell research and about the omnibus spending bill.

• President Obama yesterday signed the omnibus spending bill passed through Congress, but called for a reform of the much-maligned earmarking process. The president maintained that earmarks can serve a useful purpose, but he said it’s time for Congress and the White House to embrace a new set of guiding principles.

• House Dem aides denied yesterday that work is already underway on a second stimulus package. The pushback came a day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested more stimulus spending might be needed. Dem leaders believe they need time to assess whether the first recovery package is effective before taking up another bill.

• First lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton marked International Women’s Day with the presentation of the International Women of Courage award to seven women from all over the world who have fought against discrimination and inequality in their countries. President Obama also signed an executive order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls to ensure women “have no limits on their dreams.”

REMINDER:  Be sure to join Producer Chris Lavoie in the StephSpace chat room tomorrow right after the show – 12 Noon Eastern / 9am Pacific.  He’ll be there answering your questions about how the show is put together, what it’s like to work with Steph, and more!

• President Barack Obama is sending his Treasury secretary and budget director to Capitol Hill today to defend his proposed tax increases, which are being met with misgivings by both GOPers and Dems in Congress. Administration officials say the nation’s economic crisis requires bold action to right the economy and expand access to health care while providing tax breaks to middle- and low-income families.

• The CIA has destroyed nearly 100 interrogation tapes of terror suspects, a number far greater than was previously acknowledged by the agency. The agency’s admission came in new documents filed in a lawsuit seeking details about the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody outside the country.

• U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised today to work with the incoming Israeli government, easing tensions ahead of a meeting but delivered a clear message that Washington is committed to the establishment of a Palestinian state, putting her at odds with Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu.

• President Obama nominated Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius yesterday to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services. She would help him overhaul a health care system whose cost has risen 4 times as fast as people’s wages in recent years.

• President Barack Obama is traveling to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science today to sign into law the most sweeping economic package in decades, a rescue plan meant to reinvigorate job creation, consumer spending, and public optimism. The setting is meant to underscore the investments the new law will make in “green” energy-related jobs.

• Government officials are preparing to review “viability plans” due to be submitted today by the ailing American automakers. Since December, GM and Chrysler have received billions of dollars in loans from the federal government, and they both were required to submit the plans to receive billions more. Without government aid, both companies are at risk for bankruptcy.

• President Obama will focus on home foreclosures this week as part of the effort to shore up the economy. Details of the new plan, due tomorrow, will come just days after Congress passed the stimulus bill aimed at creating jobs.

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made her strongest comments yet about North Korea this morning during her tour of Asia. She warned that a possible North Korean missile launch “would be very unhelpful in moving our relationship forward.” She also said the U.S. is “watching very closely” actions by North Korea.

• Economists expect an already deep recession to get even worse in 2009, according to the National Association for Business Economics survey released this morning. Companies will lay off more workers and hoard more cash during the next 12 months.

• Obama is enjoying about a two-thirds approval rating for his first days as president, a poll released Saturday found. The Gallup survey found 68% of Americans approve of Obama’s performance as president. That’s a number near the high end for new presidents, but short of President John F. Kennedy’s 72% in 1961.

• New York Senator-designate Kirsten Gillibrand said yesterday that she plans to “hit the ground running.” She spoke to reporters after finishing a congratulatory lunch in New York City with newly minted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), and NY Gov. David Paterson.

• President Obama struck down a rule Friday that prohibits U.S. money from funding international family-planning clinics that promote abortion or provide counseling or referrals about abortion service. Obama says that he plans to “initiate a fresh conversation on family planning.”

• Comedian John Fugelsang joins us in studio at 7:30am Pacific to talk about the inauguration and to promote his upcoming gigs in New Mexico.

• Angela Shelton and Frances Callier join us in studio at 8:30am Pacific for another edition of “Fridays with Frangela!”

• Promising to return America to the “moral high ground” in the war on terrorism, President Obama issued three executive orders yesterday to demonstrate a clean break from the Bush administration, including one requiring that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility be closed within a year.

• The other executive orders formally banned torture by requiring that the Army field manual be used as the guide for terrorism interrogations, and established an interagency task force to lead a systematic review of detention policies and procedures and a review of all individual cases.

• New York Gov. David Patterson has chosen second-term Dem. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to succeed Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate. She is expected to be named at a noon Eastern public announcement in Albany, NY.

• In an interview with a Conservative magazine, Dick Cheney said that Bush should have pardoned Cheney’s former chief of staff Scooter Libby, whom he calls “a victim of a serious miscarriage of justice.”

• President Obama retook his oath of office yesterday after Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed while delivering it at Tuesday’s inauguration. The do-over was aimed at dispelling any confusion that might arise from Tuesday’s take – in which “faithfully” was said out of sequence – and erase any question that Obama is legally the president.

• Promising “a new era of openness in our country,” President Obama signed executive orders yesterday relating to ethics guidelines for staff members of his administration. Obama also said he would issue a pay freeze for his senior staff members and promised swift action on the beleaguered economy.

• Sen. Norm Coleman began packing his Capitol Hill office yesterday, but said he has no intention of giving up his legal fight to serve another term in Congress. Coleman claimed that Al Franken’s 225-vote lead was “artificial” and expressed hope that the courts will rule in his favor on ballot disputes when a court hearing begins next week.

• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the Oscar nominations this morning. Front runners for Best Picture are “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Frost/Nixon,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and “Milk.”