• Ian Millhiser, Legal Policy Analyst for the Center for American Progress, calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the Sotomayor confirmation hearings.

• Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform and the Sotomayor hearings.

• U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor said yesterday that her hotly disputed judicial philosophy is, in fact, quite simple: Remain faithful to the law. In her first day of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sotomayor sat impassively as senators detailed a deep divide between Dems and GOP on whether she is the best choice to fill the vacancy left by Justice David Souter’s retirement.

• Congressional demands for an investigation grew Monday over new disclosures that a secret CIA program to capture or kill Al Qaida leaders was concealed from Congress for 8 years, perhaps at the behest of former Vice President Dick Cheney. The program was cancelled last month by CIA Director Leon Panetta shortly after he himself first learned of it.

• President Obama yesterday pressed Democratic leaders to pass health care reform legislation in both houses of Congress before August and expressed confidence about the ultimate outcome for his top domestic priority. “Don’t bet against us. We are going to make this thing happen,” the president proclaimed.

• AIG Insurance is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives after an earlier round of payments set off a national furor. The troubled insurance giant has been pressing the federal government to bless the payments in hopes of shielding itself from renewed public outrage.

• The White House says it expects “frank” but constructive talks in President Obama’s meeting today with Pope Benedict XVI – two men who share similar views on helping the poor and pushing for Middle East peace, but disagree on abortion and stem cell research.

• CIA Director Leon Panetta has ordered an internal inquiry into the agency’s handling of a contentious and still highly classified program that has caused heated dispute between the CIA and Dems on the House Intelligence Committee.

• Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) will today be announcing that he will not run for re-election in 2010. In addition to his problems regarding the details of his appointment to the seat by ousted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Burris has raised just $845 for the 2010 cycle.

• In April 2008, Sen. John Ensign’s parents each made gifts to the campaign staffer he had his affair with, her husband, and two of their children in the form of a check totaling $96,000. The payments were made as gifts, accepted as gifts, and complied with tax rules governing gifts.

• Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) calls in at 8:35am Pacific to talk about the economy and the stimulus.

• CIA Director Leon Panetta recently testified to Congress that the agency concealed information and misled lawmakers repeatedly since 2001, according to a letter from seven House Democrats to Panetta made public yesterday. The letter contained no details about what information the CIA officials allegedly concealed of how they purportedly misled members of Congress.

• House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said Tuesday he would consider supporting a second economic stimulus bill, but said people need to give the package that passed in February more time to work.

• Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) said yesterday that lawmakers still need to come up with $320 billion over the coming decade in taxes to pay for health care reform. The remaining cost of the bill would be paid for through savings in Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs.

• The leaders of the G-8 nations issued a joint statement last night expressing serious concerns about the post-election violence in Iran, as well as its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons, but the G-8 will not push for new economic sanctions or tougher enforcement of those that exist, the Obama administration announced yesterday.

• Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about the Obama presidency and the stimulus and housing bills.

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

• President Obama visited Canada yesterday in his first foreign trip as head of state, meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss possible remedies for the global economic downturn, global warming, and the ongoing struggle against Taliban and Al Qaida elements in Afghanistan.

• World stock markets dropped sharply today, with benchmarks in Japan and Hong Kong sliding about 2 percent or more, after gnawing economic fears sent Wall Street tumbling to its lowest close in more than six years yesterday.

• A day after publishing a cartoon that drew fire from critics who said it evoked historically racist images, the New York Post apologized in a statement on its website – even as it defended its action and blasted some detractors.

• Vice President Joe Biden yesterday presided at a ceremonial swearing-in for the new CIA director, Leon Panetta, at the intelligence agency’s headquarters in Langley, VA, where he was cheered by employees.

Bark Park Song can be downloaded here!

• Frances Callier & Angela V. Shelton (Frangela) join us in studio at 7:30am Pacific for another edition of Fridays With Frangela!!!

• House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to tell us about the progress being made in passing President Obama’s economic stimulus plan.

• The Senate plans to vote on the $789 billion compromise stimulus late tonight after an all-day debate, Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday from the chamber floor. The House, which had planned to vote on the package yesterday, delayed it until today after many rank-and-file Dems who were unhappy with some spending cuts demanded time to read the compromise measure.

• Republican Sen. Judd Gregg withdrew his nomination as President Barack Obama’s commerce secretary yesterday, citing “irresolvable conflicts” over the administration’s stimulus bill and the upcoming 2010 census. He’s the second nominee to withdraw from consideration for the post after Bill Richardson withdrew in January.

• The Senate last night confirmed Leon Panetta as CIA director by unanimous consent. Panetta, who served as President Clinton’s chief of staff, now becomes the oldest person to head the spy agency at 70.

• A Continental Airlines plane crashed into a home near Buffalo, NY late last night, killing 44 passengers and 4 crew members. One person in the home was also killed.