• CNN’s Paul Begala calls in at 7:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform, Libya, and the President’s vacation.

• The Justice Department’s ethics office has recommended reversing the Bush administration and reopening nearly a dozen prisoner-abuse cases, potentially exposing CIA employees and contractors to prosecution for brutal treatment of terrorism suspects.

• Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), the independent senator counted on by Dems in the health care debate, showed signs of wavering yesterday when he urged President Obama to postpone many of his initiatives because of the economic downturn.

• The First Family settled in yesterday for their vacation on Martha’s Vineyard not long after Hurricane Bill scampered away, leaving behind big waves and heavy rip currents for the Obamas.

• The Obama administration expects the federal deficit over the next decade to be $2 trillion bigger than previously estimated, White House officials said Friday, a setback for a president already facing a Congress and public wary over spending.

• 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. Joe Courtney (D-CT) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the need for health care reform.

• Dr. Mike Newcomb of KPHX-AM 1480 in Phoenix calls in at 7:30am to talk about his personal experience with the health care system.

• Howard Kurtz, media writer for “The Washington Post,” calls in at 8:30am to talk about CNN’s ban against talk show hosts, and the media’s coverage of health care town hall meetings.

• The White House sought to reassure jittery supporters yesterday that President Obama is not abandoning the fight for a public health insurance option. The assurance came amid a media firestorm ignited over the weekend by administration officials seeming to indicate a willingness to drop such an option in order to secure congressional approval of a health care reform bill.

• President Obama took a brief hiatus from his health care push on Monday, promising increased help for America’s war veterans in dealing with life after combat. Obama, speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Phoenix, said his government will always honor military service and never abandon what he called true American heroes.

• Hurricane Bill blew toward land early today, edging closer to the West Indies with near 100 mph winds and the potential for developing into a major hurricane.