• 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.

• Rep. Earl Perlmutter (D-CO) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to update us on health care reform.

• Christine Romans, host of “Your $$$$$” on CNN, calls in at 7:50am Pacific to update us on the economic recovery.

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is preparing to unveil a retooled health care overhaul plan today intended to bridge differences among Dems. She wants to have the legislation on the floor next week with a final vote before Veterans Day, that would give President Obama a bill to sign by year’s end.

• President Obama is considering a scaled-down version of the war plan advanced by his top Afghanistan commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, U.S. officials say. The plan would focus on protecting Afghan cities and key infrastructure. One official described the plan as “McChrystal Light.”

• Fox News Channel and the Obama administration are talking. The network confirmed a Politico report that a Fox News executive met at the White House yesterday with Robert Gibbs, President Obama’s press secretary. There were no details given about the meeting.

• The Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Yankees 6-1 last night in Game 1 of the World Series.

• 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.

• House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Comedian John Fugelsang joins the Mooks in studio in L.A. for another edition of “Fridays with Fugelsang.”

• After scouring northern Colorado by foot and air, frantically chasing a now-infamous Mylar balloon for dozens of miles and interviewing his big brother over and over, local and federal authorities ended their search for 6-year-old Falcon Heene where it began – at his house. He was in a box. In the attic. The whole time.

• House speaker Nancy Pelosi warned her Senate counterparts yesterday that she intends to fight hard for a public plan option as part of any comprehensive health care overhaul bill. Dem Senate leaders have not yet indicated whether they will include the option when they combine their two measures.

• President Obama signed legislation yesterday providing an additional $7.5 billion in assistance to the Pakistani government to help them combat a wave of attacks orchestrated by the Taliban.

• Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized Wednesday night for what appeared to be an adverse reaction to medication, but she was released Thursday.

• 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.

• Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

• Jennifer Palmieri, Senior Vice President of Communications for the Center for American Progress, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform and Obama’s speech to kids yesterday.

• Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) calls in at 8:05am Pacific to talk about health care reform.

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

• Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about health care reform and Obama’s speech to school kids yesterday.

• House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said yesterday he could vote for a health care bill that lacks a public option. However, his statement differed from the insistence later yesterday by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that a public option was essential to passing a bill in the chamber.

• President Obama steered clear of politics yesterday in a pep talk to students that sparked controversy among high-strung conservatives, who accused him of trying to indoctrinate America’s children.

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

• Comedian Margaret Cho calls in at 8:05am Pacific to talk about her new fall tour, her appearance on E!’s “Chelsea Lately” tonight, and her new Lifetime series, “Drop Dead Diva.”

• The battle to overhaul health care intensified yesterday, with President Obama accusing GOP critics of putting politics ahead of policy and a top GOPer saying Dems’ plans would undermine the country’s economic future.

• Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) said yesterday that a closed-door meeting between Dems and GOPers resulted in a tentative agreement on several substantive issues as part of what is considered the first possible bipartisan health care bill, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she was willing to limit a proposed tax increase after Dems threatened a revolt on the issue.

• The Obama administration’s annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits and unemployment and slower growth than projected in February, and that could complicate his efforts to get his signature health care and global-warming proposals through Congress. The release of the update has been put off until the middle of next month, giving rise to speculation they’re trying to delay the bad news until Congress leaves town on summer recess.

• Comedian John Fugelsang joins us in studio at 8:05am Pacific to talk about the news of the day.

• Questions surrounding Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s past speeches generated more controversy in the final day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings yesterday, as Dems again called her a mainstream jurist and GOPers portrayed her as a liberal activist likely to legislate from the bench.

• Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday she would be willing to lower the amount of a new surtax on wealthy Americans to pay for health care legislation if more savings from proposed reforms can cover the cost of the bill.

• Speaking at the NAACP’s annual convention in New York, President Obama last night commended the progress of African-Americans but said there was still much work to be done. Obama highlighted some of his administration’s policies as examples of how the government is attempting to break down the barriers of inequity.

• Explosions tore through the Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott hotels this morning in south Jakarta, Indonesia, killing nine people and wounding at least 50. Police found an unexploded bomb on the 18th floor of the J.W. Marriott Hotel, but they were able to diffuse it.

• President Obama marked his first Memorial Day as president yesterday, calling on Americans to remember U.S. troops who died in the service of their country. The president participated at the 141st annual Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknowns.

• California’s Supreme Court decides today at 10am Pacific whether gay marriage is legal in the most populous U.S. state, a key battleground in American culture wars. Some leaders from both sides of the gay marriage issue have predicted that the California justices will uphold the ban but also allow approximately 18,000 same-sex marriages from last summer to stand.

• U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, long a fierce critic of Beijing, toured China’s financial capital of Shanghai yesterday on a visit focused on environmental issues rather than human rights, though her presence emboldened Chinese protesters, imploring her to pay attention to human rights abuses.

• President Obama is expected to announce his Supreme Court nominee this week, perhaps as early as today. He has said he will pick an intellectual heavyweight with a “common touch” who will see life from the perspective of the powerless.

• Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about his new book, “Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press.”

• Top Republicans are demanding an apology from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or proof to back her claim that the CIA misled Congress about the use of torture. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the top GOPer on the House Intelligence Committee, said yesterday that if Pelosi’s accusations aren’t true, she may need to step down. House Minority Leader John Boehner demanded Pelosi provide evidence to support her accusations.

• President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday held their first face-to-face meeting since each took power. The two met at the White House to discuss, among other things, the endorsement of a two-state Palestinian solution and relations with Iran.

• President Obama is expected to adopt higher mileage standards for automobiles today. New cars and trucks will have to get 30% better mileage starting in 2016 under Obama’s move to curb emissions tied to smog and global warming.

• Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), 91 and the longest-serving senator in history, was hospitalized last Friday with a temperature spike caused by a minor infection. He is being treated and is expected to be released from the hospital in a few days.

• The Stephanie Miller Show’s third hour can now be heard every weekday at 11am on WWRL-AM 1600 in New York City!

• Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about the economy and other news of the day.

• President Obama delved into the abortion debate in a controversial Notre Dame Commencement address yesterday, calling for a search for common ground on one of the most divisive issues in American politics. Obama conceded that no matter how much Americans “may want to fudge it… at some level the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.”

• Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich offered a blistering critique of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s handling over oversight on torture tactics over the weekend, in a major escalation of partisan attacks being aimed at Pelosi. Gingrich claimed that Pelosi “has lied to the House” and said he thinks that it’s “the most despicable, dishonest, and vicious political effort I’ve seen in my lifetime.”

• A school assistant principal who was sick for several days with swine flu on Sunday became New York City’s first death linked to the virus and the nation’s sixth. As of yesterday afternoon, health officials have reported 5 other deaths in the U.S.: three in Texas, one in Washington State, and one in Arizona.

• President Obama has appointed Dr. Thomas Frieden as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Frieden has served as New York City’s health commissioner for the past seven years and spearheaded a campaign to eliminate smoking from the city’s bars and restaurants.

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bluntly accused the CIA yesterday of misleading her and other lawmakers about its use of waterboarding during the Bush administration, escalating a controversy grown to include both political parties, the spy agency, and the White House.

• The CIA says it has denied a request by former Vice President Dick Cheney to declassify secret internal government memos that detail whether valuable intelligence was gained from the use of torture techniques under the Bush administration. A CIA spokesman says the documents are the subject of pending litigation – making them not subject to declassification.

• President Obama is planning to resume the Bush administration’s highly controversial military tribunal system – which Obama suspended his first week in office – for some Gitmo detainees. The updated system will include expanded due-process rights for suspects. The ACLU called the expected new approach “fatally flawed” despite the changes.

• President Obama urged Congress yesterday to quickly send him legislation ending abusive credit card practices. But his populist appeal also included a stern warning to shoppers whose eyes are bigger than their budgets.

• Mike Lowe, former writer and graphics editor for “The Onion,” calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about his new book, “Thanks for the Memories, George.”

• Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about the economy and other news of the day.

• Yesterday, the army identified the American soldier who went on a deadly rampage at an Army base in Iraq and charged him with the murder of five other U.S. service members. Sgt. John Russell, a 44-year-old Texan, has been in the military for 20 years.

• The Senate Finance Committee yesterday heard proposals on how to pay for President Obama’s proposed universal health care plan, which is expected to cost more than $1 Trillion. Among the proposals: A three-cent tax on sodas as well as other sugary drinks, including energy and sports drinks. Diet sodas would be exempt.

• A source close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now confirms to CNN that Pelosi was told in February 2003 by her intelligence aide that waterboarding was actually used on CIA detainee Abu Zubaydah. Pelosi reportedly didn’t object because she had not been personally briefed about it – only her aide had been told.

• Jo Sullivan, Senior Vice President for Development and Communications for the ASPCA, calls in at 7:30am Pacific to talk about how to become an ASPCA Guardian.

• Angela V. Shelton and Frances Callier (Frangela) join us in studio for another edition of “Fridays with Frangela!”

• Democrats on Capitol Hill are divided on how to deal with the torture issue. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told reporters yesterday that he is against the idea of starting a “truth commission” to look into the issue. He believes the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation is adequate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said yesterday she favors a truth commission.

• The Pentagon will release “a substantial number” of photographs showing abuse of prisoners at prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the ACLU, which says the photos provide visual proof that prisoner abuse by U.S. personnel was widespread.

• Surrounded by some of the country’s top credit card company executives, President Obama yesterday called for an end to “unfair rate increases,” “abusive fees,” and “confusing terms and conditions” facing American consumers.

• Tonight Show host Jay Leno fell ill and checked himself into a Los Angeles hospital yesterday. The nature of his illness is unknown.

• 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 Obama on Saturday asked Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be his nominee for Health and Human Services secretary. Obama is expected to make the announcement this afternoon. The post is still vacant after the first pick, former Sen. Tom Daschle stepped aside after some tax issues were revealed.

• President Obama plans to move ahead this week with an ambitious plan to overhaul the country’s health care system. Obama is asking for $634 billion in his new budget to be put aside over the next 10 years as a sort of health care fund.

• The government has revamped its rescue package to insurance giant AIG and will provide the troubled company another $30 billion. The new package comes as the company has burned through cash and has been unable to repay the government on its existing loan package, which totals some $150 billion.

• A massive late winter storm roared out of the Southeast and into the Northeast overnight, dumping what could be more than a foot of snow in spots, idling hundreds of flights and promising to make this morning’s commute treacherous.