• NY Times columnist Frank Rich calls in at 6:30am Pacific to talk about his latest regarding the economy, “Awake and Sing!”

• Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) calls in at 8:05am Pacific to discuss the anti-gay murders in Iraq and the need for an investigation. Polis was in Baghdad earlier this week.

• Lead Franken attorney Marc Elias calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about the latest in the Franken / Coleman fight for the Senate in Minnesota.

• In a speech at Georgetown University yesterday, President Obama balanced painting an optimistic picture on the health of the economy – spurred by what he claims are his administration’s efforts – with the likely rocky road ahead to economic recovery.

• The Liberty Sun, a U.S.-flagged cargo ship bound for Kenya, was attacked last night by Somali pirates. The pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the ship, which sustained damage, but they never made it onto the ship and the vessel is now being escorted by a coalition ship, still bound for Kenya.

• A nationwide “tea party” protest is scheduled in 500 cities for today, Tax Day, in the United States. The protesters’ goal is to pressure Congress and states to reject government spending as a way out of the recession and build an anti-spending coalition around taxpayers.

• GOP Strategist Rich Galen of Mullings.com calls in at 7:05am Pacific to talk about Obama’s new dog, the Somali pirate situation, and the economy.

• Liberal columnist for Newsday and Fox News contributor Ellis Henican calls in at 8:30am Pacific to talk about Obama’s handling of the Somali pirate situation, the economy, and other news of the day.

• Undeterred by U.S. and French hostage rescues that killed seven bandits, Somali pirates brazenly hijacked three more ships in the Gulf of Aden, the key waterway that’s become the focal point of the world’s fight against piracy.

• Assailants fired mortar shells at Mogadishu Airport in Somalia as a plane carrying U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) took off yesterday. The plane departed safely, but 19 Somalis from surrounding residential areas were reported injured.

• North Korea vowed today to restore its nuclear facilities and boycott international talks on its atomic weapons program to protest the U.N. Security Council’s condemnation of the country’s rocket launch.

• President Obama began to allow Americans to make unlimited trips and money transfers to family in Cuba and eased other restrictions yesterday, ushering in a new era of openness toward the island nation ruled by communists for 50 years.