• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about why the GOP should help raise the minimum wage
• Sexy Liberal John Fugelsang calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for another edition of Fridays With Fugelsang
• Graham Richard, CEO of Energy Now, calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about the growth of alternative energy
• Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Friday announced early presidential elections and promised to form a coalition government in a bid to defuse a deep crisis in which scores have been killed and hundreds injured. There was no immediate comment from opposition leaders.
• Venezuelan prosecutors dropped the most serious charges against opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez, whom the country’s government blames for inciting clashes that have left at least five people dead.
• President Obama’s 2015 budget proposal will not include a budget gimmick that amounts to a cut to Social Security payments, the White House acknowledged Thursday.
• Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged Wednesday that the new Obamacare marketplaces may not meet their original enrollment goals. Still, Biden said that the new marketplaces are nevertheless off to “hell of a start.”
• At a town hall yesterday, NJ Gov. Chris Christie is blaming the federal government for failing to allocate enough money to the state to fully recover from Superstorm Sandy.
