• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about charges against those Baltimore cops

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Total Trollop Tuesdays”

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” and “The Bob And Chez Show” podcast calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Bernie Sanders

• President Obama said Monday that a “sense of unfairness and powerlessness” has helped the fuel protests in places like Baltimore, Ferguson, Missouri and New York that have occurred after the deaths of black men at the hands of police.

• President Obama today will nominate Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The move, which U.S. officials disclosed on Monday afternoon, will put the highest-ranking post in the U.S. military in the hands of a widely respected, combat-hardened commander.

• The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a weekend attack at a center near Dallas exhibiting cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. It was unclear whether the group was opportunistically claiming the attack as its own.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the increasing clown car that is the GOP presidential field

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the GOP’s daddy issues

• Two gunmen were killed Sunday after opening fire on a security officer outside a provocative contest for cartoon depictions of Prophet Muhammad in Texas, and a bomb squad was called in to search their vehicle as a precaution, authorities said.

• Six days after the death of a young black man at the hands of police sparked riots in Baltimore, the city’s mayor lifted a citywide curfew on Sunday morning, signaling an end to the extraordinary measures taken to ensure public safety amid an outcry over police practices.

• Carly Fiorina officially jumps into the GOP 2016 presidential field today, and she is still a longer than longshot while trying to position herself as the anti-Hillary Clinton candidate.

• Retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson is running for the Republican nomination for president, he said in an interview Sunday. Carson will follow up with an announcement event in Detroit today.

• A man who officials say boasted of being a street “hellraiser” and who served prison time for attempted murder was arraigned on charges that he shot a New York City police officer in the head.

• Ian Millhiser, legal analyst for Center for American Progress Action Fund, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to review SCOTUS this week

• Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Fridays With Frangela”

• Police have handed over their investigation of Freddie Gray’s death to the Baltimore State’s Attorney, which is now tasked with determining whether to bring charges against the six offices who took him into custody. The report found that the police van made a previously undiscovered stop.

• Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday declared “we’re in this race to win” and highlighted key areas he’ll seek to differentiate himself from Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary.

• A $20 million pilot program to extend the use of police body cameras for “transparency” was announced by the Department of Justice on Friday, amid nationwide protests over police treatment of suspects.

• President Obama’s future presidential library will be located in Chicago, two people familiar with the selection have indicated. That means the library will either be located at the University of Chicago, where Mr. Obama used to teach, or the University of Illinois at Chicago.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the scene at the Supreme Court this week

• Attorney Brenda Feigen calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to tell us her impressions of being inside SCOTUS during the marriage equality case

• John Fugelsang, host of “Tell Me Everything” on SiriusXM Insight 121, joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT

• The Baltimore Police Department said Wednesday the results of its investigation into the Freddie Gray’s death will go directly to the State’s Attorney’s Office, not to the public. Police remained on high alert for renewed violence around the city yesterday, but afternoon protests were peaceful.

• The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case challenging the sedative used in a lethal-injection cocktail that has led to several botched executions in Oklahoma. The argument quickly turned heated. The justices clashed with one another and fired hostile questions at the lawyers.

• Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, says he is announcing his candidacy for president today. Sanders says he will declare his run for the Democratic nomination and will be the first to challenge Hillary Clinton, running to her Left.

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Lisa Bloom, legal analyst for Avvo.com and NBC News, calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the SCOTUS gay marriage case

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• President Obama condemned the violence in Baltimore this afternoon, saying there is “no excuse” for the violence, looting and arson that followed the funeral held for Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old African American who died after suffering a spine injury in police custody earlier this month.

• The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed to be debating how — not if — same-sex marriage should become legal in every state in the country. The 9 justices weighed whether now is the right time to force states to let same-sex couples marry, pointing to how quickly public opinion has shifted on the issue.

• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will launch a campaign seeking the Democratic nomination for president in 2016 on Thursday. Sanders will be the first official challenger for the Democratic nomination to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who launched her campaign earlier this month.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Elizabeth Warren and the TPP

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Total Trollop Tuesdays

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” and “The Bob & Chez Show” podcast calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Ted Cruz & marriage equality

• Rioters plunged part of Baltimore into chaos Monday, torching a CVS pharmacy, looting businesses, setting police cars ablaze and throwing rocks and bricks at officers hours after thousands mourned the man who died from a severe spinal injury he suffered in police custody.

• Nepalese soldiers loaded supplies onto helicopters Tuesday and headed into the remote villages cut off since Saturday’s devastating earthquake. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala told the Reuters news agency that the death toll from the disaster — already nearing 5,000 — could reach double that figure.

• Sen. Rand Paul defended President Obama over the accidental killing of two hostages in a U.S. drone attack in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. Sen. Lindsey Graham, sharply critical of the senator’s views on foreign policy, took to Twitter to welcome Paul’s comments.

• The contentious issue of marriage for same-sex couples comes to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday — the first big legal showdown of its kind since laws against interracial marriage were struck down almost 50 years ago.

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about media coverage of the “Clinton Cash” book

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• An earthquake aftershock stronger than many earthquakes hit Nepal, collapsing more buildings and triggering new panic in a country trying to recover from the most powerful quake to hit it in 80 years. The death toll in Nepal from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake rose to at least 3,726 people.

• After weeks of scrutiny over how the Clinton Foundation disclosed its donors, the organization is publicly admitting to the “mistakes” it made when reporting its cash flow. The foundation’s CEO says that they “have taken steps to ensure they don’t happen in the future.”

• President Barack Obama got some big laughs during the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington on Saturday. He took jabs at his fellow politicians, major media outlets, and even took a few shots at himself. SNL’s Cecily Strong hosted the evening with a strong comedy set herself.

• Former Olympic champion and reality television star Bruce Jenner broke the silence on transitioning to a woman Friday, telling ABC’s Diane Sawyer: “For all intents and purposes, I am a woman.” “My brain is much more female than it is male,” the 65-year-old said.

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host Dean Obeidallah calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the upcoming bloody GOP primary

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host John Fugelsang calls in at 11am ET / 8am PT for another edition of “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• President Obama said yesterday that he takes “full responsibility” for a U.S. government counterterrorism operation that killed two innocent hostages held by al Qaeda. Dr. Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto were “accidentally” killed by a U.S. drone strike in January.

• Protests continued in Baltimore for a sixth day Thursday over the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old man who suffered a fatal spine injury while in police custody. A union police lawyer says that Gray was shackled but not placed in a seat belt during his trip to the police station.

• Former CIA Director David Petraeus, whose career was destroyed by an extramarital affair with his biographer, was sentenced Thursday to two years’ probation and fined $100,000 for giving her classified material while she was working on the book.

• Loretta Lynch was confirmed as attorney general Thursday by a vote of 56 to 43, becoming the first African-American woman to ascend to the post of the nation’s top law-enforcement official. Lynch was nominated by President Obama in November to replace Attorney General Eric Holder, who is retiring.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about Hillary vs. the crowded GOP field

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about growing support for the Affordable Care Act

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• As protesters decrying Freddie Gray’s death plan more rallies in Baltimore on Thursday, anger is mounting over a police union’s comparison of the protest to a “lynch mob.” That comparison drew swift and sharp criticism, given the history of African-Americans being lynched.

• Sen. Marco Rubio leads all GOP presidential hopefuls in a Quinnipiac poll released this morning, capturing some momentum in the weeks after he became the third major Republican to announce his presidential campaign. Rubio garnered 15% support from those polled, while Jeb Bush got 13%.

• An image of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev giving the middle finger to a surveillance camera three months after the deadly bombing was released by the government yesterday, a day after it was shown to the jurors deciding if Tsarnaev should get the death penalty.

• Presidential candidate Rand Paul’s son, William, received a citation for driving under the influence of alcohol this past weekend, according to reports.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about what the gobshites are saying these days

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• The Senate is moving forward on a human trafficking bill, leaders announced Tuesday, after Dems and GOPers overcame their disagreement over abortion language in the bill. This could soon allow the Senate to vote on the confirmation of President Obama’s attorney general nominee, Loretta Lynch.

• The April health tracking poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that the public is almost evenly split between favorable and unfavorable views of the Affordable Care Act as favorable views are on a slow but steady rise.

• The Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation Tuesday into the death of Freddie Gray amid ongoing protests over the Baltimore man whose spine was allegedly severed while he was in police custody. Gray, 25, died Sunday, a week after he was arrested on a weapons charge in Baltimore.

• Saudi Arabia resumed airstrikes in Yemen on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after announcing the end of its “Operation Decisive Storm,” a nearly month-long campaign against Houthi positions.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Marco Rubio’s disastrous presidential launch

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Total Trollop Tuesdays

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Bill O’Reilly’s sad conclusions about marriage equality

• Hillary Clinton on Monday promised a group of New Hampshire voters that she will make the “quiet epidemic” of substance abuse, and mental health issues in general, a big part of her presidential campaign.

• Baltimore officials said they share residents’ frustration with the lack of answers for why Freddie Gray, whose family says he was injured during his arrest last week by Baltimore police, died Sunday. “This is a very, very tense time for Baltimore city,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said.

• The Pentagon confirmed yesterday that the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the cruiser USS Normandy have moved into the Arabian Sea because of the deteriorating security situation in Yemen.

• Now we know when Jon Stewart will make his last appearance as host of “The Daily Show.” He announced during Monday night’s taping that it would be on August 6.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about racist idiots losing their racist businesses

• SiriusXM Progress 127 host Michelangelo Signorile joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to talk about his new book, “It’s Not Over”

• GOP presidential hopefuls descended on New Hampshire over the weekend as part of the Republican Leadership Summit, a two-day event that drew about 500 activists and the party’s entire 2016 field to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nashua.

• Bill Clinton offered his first comment Sunday on his wife Hillary’s presidential bid, saying: “I’m proud of her.” The comment was the first time he’d weighed in on Hillary Clinton’s second run for the White House. Clinton continues her campaign today in New Hampshire.

• The Secret Service arrested another person last night for attempting to scale the White House fence. A statement says “this individual was immediately arrested by USSS Uniformed Division Officers,” and says the person was taken into custody and charges are pending.

• A boat crowded with migrants capsized in the sea north of Libya overnight, leaving at least 24 confirmed dead with the death toll expected to rise into the hundreds, Italy’s Coast Guard said Sunday. The boat was headed to Italy and highlights a growing immigration crisis in the European Union.

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Hillary’s first week on the campaign trail

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host John Fugelsang calls in at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• The man who flew what he called a “flying bicycle” through restricted airspace above Washington DC and landed near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday made his initial appearance in federal court yesterday afternoon. He faces four years in prison plus fines.

• Authorities in Tulsa dismissed as “rumor” a report that supervisors falsified the training records of the reserve sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed an unarmed man this month. The paper reports the deputy was given credit for training he never completed and firearms certifications he never received.

• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told TODAY’s Matt Lauer that Hillary Clinton will not simply be handed the Democratic nomination for president in 2016, and her unsuccessful 2008 campaign shows nothing is a “foregone conclusion.”

• Wisconsin governor Scott Walker may be planning a run for president but a new Marquette University poll shows that his job-approval rating has sunk to 41 percent and he trails Hillary Clinton by 12 points in a hypothetical matchup.

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about where GOP ideas go to die

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Thotal Throllop Thursday

• The United States military says it was unaware that an aircraft had flown into restricted airspace over D.C. Wednesday and was only alerted of its presence after it landed. Douglas Hughes was arrested after landing his gyrocopter on the West front of the United States Capitol building.

• Chris Christie said he’s still relevant to the presidential race and added that Hillary Clinton would have to earn her Dem nomination, in an interview taped on Wednesday. “Mrs. Clinton’s going to have to perform so she’s going to have to earn the nomination. Nobody is handed these things.”

• In a markedly new position, Hillary Clinton is calling gay marriage a right afforded by the Constitution. “Hillary Clinton supports marriage equality and hopes the Supreme Court will come down on the side of same-sex couples being guaranteed that constitutional right,” said a Clinton spokeswoman.

• After months of tensions with Congress over a bill giving the legislature a say in the potential Iran nuclear deal, the White House has indicated that the president would be willing to sign the compromise version of the measure.

• Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama, calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about solutions for working families

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host Dean Obeidallah calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the lying ways of the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• President Obama officially removed Cuba from the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, the White House announced. Cuba was one of 4 countries on the U.S. list of nations accused of supporting global terrorism. The countries still on the list are Iran, Syria and Sudan.

• Hillary Clinton made her first official campaign stop in Monticello, Iowa yesterday. The Democrat held a low-key roundtable with students and educators at Kirkwood Community College, where she laid out four specific priorities of her campaign, including campaign finance reform.

• A 73-year-old reserve deputy turned himself in at the Tulsa, Oklahoma County Jail today on a second-degree manslaughter charge in connection with the deadly shooting of a suspect. Robert Bates, an unpaid, volunteer reserve deputy, “shot the victim with a Smith & Wesson Revolver which at the time he shot it he believed it to be a Taser gun,” according to court filings.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about what the Gobshites say on the Sunday morning shows

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” and “The Bob & Chez Show” podcast joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Marco Rubio kicked off his presidential campaign in Miami Monday by telling supporters, “the time has come for our generation to lead the way toward a new American Century.” The Republican senator from Florida became the third politician to enter the race on the Republican side.

• Newly declared presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is off and running toward Iowa — or rather, driving to Iowa, in a van dubbed “Scooby.” She was seen at a gas station in Pennsylvania and last spotted at a Chipotle in Maumee, Ohio, via low-resolution security camera footage.

• A reserve deputy has been charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of an unarmed man who was killed during a sting operation in Tulsa. The volunteer Tulsa reserve deputy intended to grab his taser, but instead grabbed his firearm when the suspect tried to run.

• A federal judge has sentenced a former Blackwater security guard to life in prison, and three others to 30 years in prison, for their roles in a 2007 shooting that killed 14 Iraqi civilians and wounded more than a dozen others.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Hillary Clinton’s big announcement yesterday

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the harsh media coverage of Hillary Clinton

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• Hillary Clinton, who officially announced her 2016 presidential campaign yesterday, has already hit the road to the White House. The newly-minted candidate, has embarked on a road trip to Iowa, making a few pit stops along the way.

• Just one day after Hillary Clinton formally jumped into the 2016 race, Florida senator Marco Rubio will follow suit. A 6pm ET announcement in Miami at the Freedom Tower is expected. He will be the third Republican officially on the 2016 ticket.

• Rev. Al Sharpton called for unity during a vigil at the site where 50-year-old Walter Scott was fatally shot by a North Charleston police officer. A small crowd assembled Sunday afternoon under cloudy skies in the grassy, fenced-in area to pray for Scott, his family and for justice.

• 21-year-old Jordan Spieth romped to his first major championship with a record-tying performance at the Masters yesterday, shooting an 18-under 270 to become the first wire-to-wire winner of the green jacket since 1976.

• John Fugelsang, host of “Tell Me Everything” on SiriusXM Insight 121, calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang

• Dash cam video shows the black man fatally shot by a white South Carolina police officer get out of his car and then run away during a traffic stop. The video ends with what may have been a warning that the officer was about to use his stun gun. The officer is heard yelling, “Taser! Taser Taser!”

• A security guard stationed at the main gate of Census Bureau outside Washington, D.C. was shot Thursday and later died, authorities said, and the suspected gunman later led police on a chase through the district.

• Hillary Clinton is moving toward announcing her candidacy for president of the United States as soon as this weekend. The exact timing of any announcement is not clear, but this time frame is in keeping with widely reported expectations regarding her timeline.

• A tornado slammed the tiny Illinois town of Fairdale last night, killing one person, injuring seven and destroying homes across the town, authorities said. The tornado affected every single one of the 40 to 50 homes and buildings in the tiny town.

• President Obama is set to meet face-to-face with his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro today, the first time the leaders have interacted since their nations agreed to renew diplomatic relations after half-a-century of enmity.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the GOP presidential clown car that’s beginning to fill up

• Health Care Reform Expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• A Boston jury has found Dzhkohar Tsarnaev guilty on all 30 counts related to the deadly 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, meaning Tsarnaev could face the death penalty. As the verdicts were read, Tsarnaev stood but for the most part did not react.

• The cellphone video of the moments when the encounter between a South Carolina police officer and Walter Scott turned deadly was acknowledged by North Charleston officials as a determining factor in the decision to fire the officer and charge him with murder.

• The Secret Service has placed a high-ranking supervisor on administrative leave and suspended the supervisor’s security clearance after what it called “allegations of misconduct and potential criminal activity.”

• President Obama is calling for an end to psychiatric therapy treatments aimed at changing the sexual orientation or gender identity of gay, lesbian and transgender youth.

• The first president to visit Jamaica in three decades, Mr. Obama arrived in Kingston Wednesday evening to meet with 15 leaders of Carribean nations to discuss issues of the region.

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) made his presidential bid official yesterday, laying out his vision to restore liberty and freedom to Americans. He’s building his candidacy on a strong national defense, a flat tax, school choice, an end to government surveillance, and the “defeat” of the “Washington machine.”

• Russian hackers penetrated the White House non-public, non-classified computer system for several months last year, forcing the White House to shut down the system for several days, U.S. officials said.

• Two black candidates were among three people elected to the Ferguson City Council Tuesday, tripling African-American representation in the St. Louis suburb where poor race relations have been a focal point since the August shooting death of an 18-year-old boy by a white police officer.

• Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel won a second term Tuesday in a runoff election campaign that hinged on serious financial challenges facing the nation’s third-largest city and the brusque management style of the former White House chief of staff.

• Cuba may be taken off America’s list of state sponsors of terrorism at any moment, sources say. The State Department has not sent the paperwork to the White House yet, but officials expect it at any time.

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about why Christians feel like they’re under attack

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about what the gobshites said on the Sunday morning shows

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about what Santorum thinks of these new anti-gay laws

• Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is set to become the second Republican to enter the 2016 presidential race today, with an announcement planned in Louisville, Kentucky. He follows one other Republican senator into the field, Ted Cruz, whose campaign kicked off at Liberty University last month.

• U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has announced he will run for re-election in 2016. He made the announcement to run for a sixth term on Monday in an interview with NBC News. He is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

• Duke’s basketball team played like veterans down the stretch, outscoring Wisconsin by 14 points over the final 13 minutes last night to grit out a 68-63 victory for the program’s fifth national title.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am PT / 6:30am PT to talk about who the supporters of these “religious liberty” laws REALLY hate

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about media coverage of John Kerry’s success in Iran

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• In an interview with the New York Times published this morning, President Obama is casting the Iran talks as part of a broader foreign policy doctrine that sees American power as a safeguard that gives him the ability to take calculated risks.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the agreement reached over Iran’s controversial nuclear weapons program is a “bad deal” and asserted that Iran would use the relief from sanctions to bolster its military operations and what Netanyahu called its “terror machine.”

• Rolling Stone issued an apology for a 2014 article that detailed allegations about a gang rape at the University of Virginia, retracting the article and posting a critique of the magazine’s editorial process on the story in its place.

• The son of a Kenyan government official has been identified as one of the Islamic extremists who attacked a Kenyan college where 148 people were killed, authorities said Sunday.

• Indiana Talks Network president Gary Snyder calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Indiana’s religious “freedom” law

• John Fugelsang, host of SiriusXM Insight 121’s “Tell Me Everything”, calls in at 11am ET / 8am PT for Fridays With Fugelsang

• Gov. Mike Pence has signed an amended version of Indiana’s controversial religious freedom law, which now states the law cannot be used to discriminate against anyone, including gay and lesbian customers who feared the original law would allow businesses to deny them service.

• Now that the U.S. and five world powers have reached a framework for a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities, lawmakers in the House and Senate are renewing their demands to review and approve any deal before it is finalized.

• The co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 appears to have researched suicide methods and cockpit door security in the days before he crashed the plane into the French Alps, killing everyone aboard, German prosecutors said Thursday.

• Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, pleaded not guilty yesterday to 14 counts of corruption, bribery and fraud in New Jersey. He was indicted on Wednesday for his interactions with a Florida eye doctor.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the rash of anti-gay bills across the nation

• Daily Beast columnist Michael Tomasky calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about SCOTUS’ big gay Pandora’s box

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Attorney and legal analyst Lisa Bloom joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday he would not sign a religious freedom bill passed by the legislature unless it makes changes to the legislation. Some see the bill as anti-gay.

• Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, is “outraged” over his indictment on federal corruption charges, saying prosecutors are “dead wrong.” Menendez said that his political career had started with a fight against corruption and promised that “this is not how my career is going to end.”

• For the first time in California’s history the entire state will have to abide by strict water restrictions. Governor Jerry Brown announced an executive action Wednesday aimed at reducing water usage by 25 percent across the state.

• Ian Millhiser of the Center for American Progress and author of “Injustices” calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Indiana’s anti-gay law

• Dean Obeidallah of “The Daily Beast” and SiriusXM Insight 121 calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the new Daily Show host’s Twitter problems

• Actor and comedian Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• Amid an uproar over Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Gov. Mike Pence yesterday promised to clarify the law to make it clear that it does not give businesses a license to deny service to gay and lesbian citizens.

• The Arkansas House of Representatives passed a “religious freedom” bill similar to the controversial measure in Indiana. The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s desk for signing into law.

• Lufthansa issued a statement this afternoon confirming that the co-pilot of the crashed Germanwings plane had informed them of his medical history during his training. The airline said they handed those files over to investigators.

• The foreign minister of Iran said last night negotiators “accomplished quite a bit” today and he hopes that the process of drafting an agreement can begin today.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the strange evolution of Rand Paul

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Total Trollop Tuesdays

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Mike Pence and the Indiana anti-gay law

• Under fire by critics of Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act and companies threatening to boycott the state, Governor Mike Pence published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal last night defending the law, which he wrote “has been grossly misconstrued as a ‘license to discriminate.”‘

• Prosecutors in Germany say that the co-pilot of the downed Germanwings plane had been treated by a psychotherapist because of previous suicidal tendencies. Prosecutor Christoph Kumpa said that they still do not know the motive of the crash and they have not found a suicide note.

• Officials say that Iran and six world powers are close to ending the latest round of nuclear talks with a statement that lacks specifics accompanied by documents outlining more detailed understandings.

• One person is dead, and two more were hospitalized after two men dressed as women in an unauthorized vehicle tried to gain access to the National Security Agency campus in Maryland.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the uselessness of Indiana’s anti-gay law

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters For America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about how broad Indiana’s anti-gay law is

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act will not be changing despite critics saying it allows business owners to discriminate against members of the LGBT community, state Gov. Mike Pence said during an exclusive interview on ABC’s “This Week.”

• Germany’s leading newspaper, Die Welt, reported 27-year-old first officer Andreas Lubitz was suffering from a “psychosomatic” illness. The report said police found prescription medication in searches of Lubitz’s home. Police have also questioned Lubitz’ “female partner” this morning.

• Secretary of State John Kerry’s talks with Iran over its nuclear program are intensifying. The deadline for a preliminary deal is Tuesday, but with just 48 hours to go, negotiators say that the talks are at risk of failure unless Iran makes significant concessions.

• The Michigan State Spartans capped an improbable run to the Final Four with an overtime win against Louisville yesterday.

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the GOP’s hate for Attorney General Eric Holder

• John Fugelsang, host of SiriusXM Insight 121’s “Tell Me Everything”, s in at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Republicans muscled a balanced-budget plan through the Senate on a near party line 52-46 vote early Friday, positioning Congress for months of battling President Barack Obama over the GOP’s goals of slicing spending and dismantling his health care law.

• Police and prosecutors searched the homes of Germanwings crash co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, seizing several items as investigators hunted for clues about what triggered the tragedy. A German tabloid reported that Lubitz received psychiatric treatment for a “serious depressive episode” six years ago.

• Under fire over an alleged DUI incident, the Secret Service is strengthening its policies against staff drinking and driving. New regulations prohibit staff from driving government cars for 10 hours after consuming alcoholic beverages.

• At least 19 people were injured, four of them critically, when a gas explosion ripped through four buildings in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio and fire officials said Thursday.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about Ted Cruz’ ridiculous run for president

• Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about how the GOP’s budget makes life harder for Americans

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• The cockpit voice recorder recovered from the wreckage of Germanwings Flight 9525 indicates that one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit before the plane crashed. He then banging on the door with increasing urgency in an unsuccessful attempt to get back in.

• Iran’s foreign ministry called Saudi-led airstrikes against Shiite Muslim rebels in Yemen a “dangerous step” Thursday, and said they would only worsen the crisis in the country. Iran provides support to Shiite militias fighting ISIS extremist groups in the region.

• American soldier and former Taliban captive Bowe Bergdahl has been charged with desertion over his disappearance from an Afghan outpost in 2009 and could face life in confinement, the Army announced yesterday.

• The 228-199 roll call yesterday by which the House passed a conservative budget that relies on nearly $5 trillion in cuts to eliminate deficits over the next decade, calls for repealing the health care law and envisions transformations of the tax code and Medicare.

• Dean Obeidallah of SiriusXM Insight 121 calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about racism when it comes to claims of terrorism

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• Crews began a second day of searching on an Alpine mountainside where a German jetliner crashed without making a distress call Tuesday, apparently killing all 150 people on board. Authorities say the black box is damaged and must be reconstituted in the coming hours in order to be useable.

• Sen. Ted Cruz, arguably one of Washington’s most outspoken opponents of Obamacare, will be signing up for health insurance through the government program he despises so much. His wife is losing her employer’s insurance so he will be signing his family up through the online exchange.

• President Obama has agreed, at Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s request, to slow the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, leaving 9,800 in place through 2015.

• Lawmakers investigating allegations that two senior Secret Service agents drove drunk through an active bomb threat investigation at the White House hammered agency director Joe Clancy on Tuesday for his unwillingness to allow the agents working that night to testify.

• Ian Millhiser of The Center for American Progress calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about his new book, “Injustices: The Supreme Court’s History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted”

• Civil Rights Attorney Lisa Bloom calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the Robert Durst case

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Ted Cruz’ weird announcement for president

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Total Trollop Tuesdays

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about his handy guide to Ted Cruz

• Texas Sen. Ted Cruz believes that Jeb Bush, one of his likely opponents, will “shatter every fundraising record,” but he also said that “on the money side we are going to surprise a whole lot of people,” too.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized for what some are saying were offensive statements made about Arabs voting during the Israeli election.

• Angelina Jolie has revealed that she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed preventively a week ago due to a family history of ovarian cancer and her having a gene mutation that puts her at high risk for the disease.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Ted Cruz’ big announcement

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters For America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the media’s war on Hillary Clinton

• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the GOP’s proposed budget

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• Ted Cruz is running for president. The Texas GOP senator sent a tweet after midnight saying, “I’m running for President and I hope to earn your support!” He will reprise his announcement this morning at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

• President Obama on Thursday called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him for his party’s success in the Israeli elections earlier this week. The two leaders agreed to “continue consultations” on a range of issues, including finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

• Sen. John McCain said Sunday that President Obama is letting his personal issues with newly re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affect his decision-making and shared policy goals and that the president needs to get over his “temper tantrum” about Israel.

Hey everyone! Steph and the Mooks are on vacation this week. We’ve got some great Best-Of’s for you on the radio end of things, and Free Speech TV is running some great documentaries in our place. Please remember the Free Speech TV fund drive at this time and considering donating at www.freespeech.org

We will return full strength on Monday!

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host John Fugelsang joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 9am ET / 8am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the 47 Senate Traitors and their letter

• Comedy duo Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Attorney General Eric Holder harshly condemned the “damn punk” responsible for shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri early Thursday morning, saying the incident “turned my stomach.” “What happened last night was a pure ambush,” Holder said.

• President Obama personally knows both of the Secret Service agents currently under investigation for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and crashing near the White House. And he’s “disappointed” with their conduct, sources close to the investigation says.

• Another chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity is under fire for alleged racial slurs — this time in Seattle. University of Washington students are accusing fraternity members of offensive comments during a protest to raise awareness about racism last month.

• Americans are more likely than not to say it was inappropriate for GOP senators to send an open letter to Iranian leaders, a new HuffPost/YouGov poll finds.

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host Dean Obeidallah calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the 47 Senate traitors who wrote to Iran

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for another edition of Jacki’s Healthcare Corner

• Secretary of State John Kerry had harsh words for Republican senators over their letter to Iranian leaders with words of warning over any nuclear deal with the White House. “My reaction to the letter was utter disbelief,” Kerry said to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday morning.

• Two officers were shot outside the Ferguson, Missouri police headquarters early this morning as demonstrators gathered following the resignation of the city’s embattled police chief, authorities said. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar says he believes the officers were targeted.

• Two U.S. Secret Service agents are under investigation over allegations that they were under the influence of alcohol while driving a government vehicle near the White House and crashing it into a barrier, a Secret Service official confirmed.

• The board of trustees and alumni of the University of Oklahoma Kappa chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon apologized for a video of its members reciting a racist chant and blamed it on a “horrible cancer” that entered the fraternity a few years ago.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Hillary’s email press conference yesterday

• Actor and comedian Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• Addressing the ongoing email controversy for the first time, Hillary Clinton said yesterday that she used a private account out of “convenience” and later went through a “thorough process” to deliver her work-related messages to the State Department.

• A day after releasing open letter organized by freshman Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) warning the leaders of Iran that any nuclear deal reached with President Obama could expire as soon as he leaves office, Cotton appeared at an “Off the Record” event with a lobbying group for defense contractors.

• One of the University of Oklahoma students seen on video chanting racial slurs before a fraternity event issued an apology Tuesday evening, expressing regret and denying he is a racist. Parker Rice said he withdrew from OU on Monday.

• The Ferguson City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday night to remove City Manager John Shaw, following a scathing Justice Department report that already has led to a Missouri appeals court judge being tapped to overhaul the local court system.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am PT / 7:30am PT to talk about the abject stupidity going on in Florida

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Total Trollop Tuesdays

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about how reporters have covered Hillary’s email

• Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif thinks some Senate Republicans need a lesson in civics and international law. He “expressed astonishment that some members of Congress find it appropriate to write leaders of another country against their own president,” a press release explained.

• A source close to Hillary Clinton says that the former secretary of state is considering a public statement in the next 48 hours in response to revelations that she used only her personal email account rather than a government address while at the State Department.

• A racist chant by several members of the University of Oklahoma chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon that was caught on video has led to outrage from the school’s president and the organization’s banishment from campus.

• Apple showed off more capabilities of its first-ever watch yesterday and revealed new information about the various models that will range in price from $349 to a luxury $10,000 gold edition.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the Far Right’s attacks on Hillary Clinton

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the uproar over Hillary Clinton’s email address

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• A day after President Obama had walked atop the Edmund Pettus Bridge, thousands of people crowded on to the small Alabama bridge on Sunday to commemorate the bloody confrontation 50 years ago between police and peaceful protesters that helped bring about the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

• Criminal charges against Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) could come later this month as a federal grand jury continues to hear evidence in the case. Menendez has been under federal criminal investigation in connection with gifts from Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen.

• Passionate but peaceful protesters descended for a third day Sunday on the Madison, Wisconsin, street where Tony Terrell Robinson Jr., an unarmed black teenager, was killed by a police officer Friday night.

• President Obama said the U.S. will walk away from nuclear negotiations with Iran unless it can verify that country is not developing nuclear weapons. The talks have dragged on for two years, but this week there were signs of progress.

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host John Fugelsang calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for another edition of Fridays With Fugelsang

• Comedy duo Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for a raucous edition of Fridays With Frangela

• All 46 Senate Democrats joined together Thursday to tell Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, to schedule a vote for the confirmation of Loretta Lynch as attorney general. The GOP object to her support for comprehensive immigration reform.

• A bipartisan group of senators had introduced a bill to force President Obama to cede some authority over any Iranian nuclear agreement to Congress, but an attempt by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to speed up consideration of the bill led some of the Democrats to revolt.

• Actor Harrison Ford was seriously injured when his vintage plane crash-landed on a golf course near the Santa Monica Municipal Airport Thursday afternoon. Ford, 72, was transported to a hospital in fair to moderate condition.

• The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus said today it is doing away with elephant acts. The circus, which calls itself “The Greatest Show on Earth” has been accused of abusing the magnificent beasts in the name of entertainment.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about Boehner and the GOP’s show of weakness this week

• Ian Millhiser of the Center for American Progress Action Fund calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about ObamaCare before SCOTUS yesterday

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• Ferguson mayor James Knowles said one police department employee was fired and two others placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into racially disparaging e-mails discovered in a Justice Department investigation.

• The Supreme Court seemed sharply divided yesterday in the latest challenge to President Obama’s health overhaul, this time over the tax subsidies that make insurance affordable for millions of Americans.

• Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went on trial Wednesday in the Boston Marathon bombing, with his own lawyer admitting in opening statements that her client was guilty. But she argued that he had fallen under the evil influence of his older brother.

• Hillary Rodham Clinton is urging the State Department to release the emails she wrote from a private email account when she was secretary of state.

• Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Netanyahu’s speech before Congress yesterday

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Hillary’s use of personal email at the State Dept.

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host Dean Obeidallah calls in at 11am ET / 8am PT to talk about Netanyahu’s speech before Congress yesterday

• President Obama didn’t watch Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address regarding Iran to the House and Senate yesterday, but he did read the transcript and concluded “there was nothing new” he had to say.

• The future of health care in America is on the table — and in serious jeopardy — this morning in the Supreme Court. Justices will hear oral arguments in a case challenging a central provision of President Obama’s signature health care law.

• The Alabama Supreme Court yesterday ordered the state to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a decision that flies in the face of rulings by federal judges in Alabama and other states who have said banning gay marriage violates the U.S. Constitution.

• The White House yesterday declined to say whether it was appropriate for Hillary Clinton to use solely her personal email account while serving as secretary of state.

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Bill O’Reilly’s “war” experience

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Total Trollop Tuesdays

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about the stupidity on display at CPAC

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that his speech to Congress on today is “not intended to show any disrespect to President Obama or the esteemed office that he holds.” He said he does not want Israel to become a partisan issue.

• President Obama said Monday that Iran should agree to freeze its nuclear activity for at least 10 years in order to reach an agreement over the issue with the United States and its allies, hinting at the roadmap for a new deal.

• While Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, she did not have a government email address and used only a personal email account for government correspondence, according to a report by the New York Times. This is a possible violation of the agency’s archival requirements.

• ISIS has been under attack in the last few days from Twitter, which has quietly suspended at least 2,000 accounts linked to the terror group and its supporters, according to people with knowledge of the operation.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about whether anything’s going to happen to Bill O’Reilly

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Bill O’Reilly’s damage to Fox News

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• A day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to speak to a joint session of Congress, Secretary of State John Kerry said the prime minister is welcome to speak in the U.S. but worries it injects far too much politics into the relationship.

• After three days packed with Republican stars peddling their latest book, 2016 presidential hopefuls vying for grassroots approval and business attire including tricorn hats and American flags, the long-awaited CPAC straw poll results are in, Kentucky’s Rand Paul is the winner.

• After a day marked by high drama and surprising setbacks, Congress narrowly avoided a shutdown late Friday by passing a bill extending Homeland Security funding for one week. The temporary resolution came just hours before the department’s coffers ran dry at midnight.

• Another blast of snow and ice impacted weekend plans from the Midwest to the Northeast on Sunday. Another winter storm will be taking aim on millions of Americans beginning Monday night and hitting many of the same locations that received snow over the weekend.

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host John Fugelsang calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for “Fridays With Fuelsang”

• Filmmaker CC Goldwater joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• House Republicans sounded a retreat from a battle that could partially shut down the Homeland Security Department, agreeing to vote today for three weeks of funding for the agency while leaving in place Mr. Obama administration immigration policies they have vowed to repeal.

• CPAC, the largest gathering of conservatives all year brought the GOP A-list to Washington a full 21 months before the next presidential election. Among them were many likely Republican presidential hopefuls making their cases and illustrating their targets.

• The knife-wielding masked ISIS militant seen in a number of beheading videos and dubbed “Jihadi John” has been named as Mohammed Emwazi, a London man with a college degree, a U.S. intelligence official confirmed yesterday.

• The Federal Communications Committee voted Thursday to enact Net Neutrality. The ruling will enable the FCC to enforce new rules that would prevent Internet service providers from manipulating how quickly or slowly sites are transmitted along their networks, a huge win for net freedom.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the awful things Rudy Giuliani has said about the president

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Three NYC residents were charged yesterday with providing material support to ISIS. Officials allege they devised a plan to travel to Turkey and then to Syria for the purpose of waging jihad. If they were not successful in joining ISIS, they allegedly planned to carry out terrorism in the U.S.

• House and Senate GOPers remain at odds over how to fund the Department of Homeland Security. With just 2 days left before funding for DHS runs out, there is still great uncertainty about whether and how lawmakers can get a bill to Obama’s desk in time to avoid a partial shuttering of the department.

• President Barack Obama urged immigrants thrown into limbo by legal wrangling to keep planning for eventual relief, professing confidence Wednesday that his deportation directives won’t be thrown out in court.

• Up to eight inches of snow fell on the Deep South on Wednesday as another storm brought nasty weather to the region, walloping places that were hit hard just last week. Relief in the form of higher temperatures is expected today.

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host Dean Obeidallah calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about how Muslims can define themselves for peace

• Actor and comedian Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• Former Marine Eddie Ray Routh was found guilty Tuesday night for the murders of “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle and Kyle’s friend Chad Littlefield. A jury in Texas, convicted Routh of capital murder for shooting and killing Kyle and Littlefield at a shooting range in February 2013.

• President Obama has vetoed a Republican-backed bill on Tuesday that would have approved construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, putting a freeze on a top GOP priority – at least for now.

• With three days left until funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to expire, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he is prepared to hold a vote on a clean bill to fund the department through the end of the fiscal year without any immigration provisions attached.

• Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel failed to capture a majority of the vote in Tuesday’s municipal election, an embarrassment for the former White House chief of staff because it forces him into a runoff this spring against Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about this year’s political Oscars

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Total Trollop Tuesdays

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about MSNBC’s image as a Liberal network

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he is changing tactics in an attempt to break a stalemate with Democrats ahead of Friday’s deadline when the Department of Homeland Security will run out of money. He now wants to separate immigration from the DHS funding matter.

• President Obama warned governors on Monday that a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security would economically have a “direct impact” on their states. “These are folks that, if they don’t have a paycheck, are not going to be able to spend that money in your states,” he warned.

• Bill O’Reilly has threatened The New York Times over its coverage of his Falklands War controversy. O’Reilly said to a reporter who asked him for comment, “I am coming after you with everything I have…You can take it as a threat.”

• Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald apologized Monday for misstating that he had served in the military’s special forces. McDonald made the erroneous claim while speaking to a homeless veteran last month.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Rudy Giuliani and President Obama’s love for America

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the GOP’s strange obsessions about President Obama

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• The Mall of America in Minnesota, one of the largest malls in the United States, has heightened security after a video claiming to be posted online by a al-Shabab, a Somali militant group affiliated with al Qaeda, called for attacks against the mall.

• Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s comments on President Obama’s patriotism are “not helpful” and “unfortunate.”

• Eric Engberg, a retired CBS correspondent who was working with O’Reilly in Buenos at the time of the Falklands War, accused the Fox News host yesterday of embellishing his war reporting experience in Buenos Aires. He says the scene there was less dangerous than O’Reilly lets on.

• “Birdman” won Best Picture at last night’s 87th annual Oscars ceremony. Eddie Redmayne won Best Actor for his role of Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything” and Julianne Moore won for her role as a professor diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in “Still Alice”.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about continuing inequality in marriage equality states

• Dean Obeidallah of SiriusXM Insight 121 calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the existence of Christian terrorists

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Comedian Jen Kirkman joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• President Obama offered an extended defense of his approach to countering violent extremism yesterday, saying those who’ve criticized his reluctance to single out the threat specifically posed by Muslim terrorists are in danger of offering extremists the kind of legitimacy they crave.

• “I am my own man,” Jeb Bush, former Florida Governor and potential presidential candidate, said yesterday in a speech designed to both introduce the world to his thoughts on foreign policy and differentiate himself from his father and his brother.

• Candles lit up the plaza of the Prescott, Arizona courthouse Wednesday as hundreds gathered to honor the American woman pictured before them who was taken hostage by Islamic State militants. Kayla Mueller’s death earlier this month had been confirmed by her family and U.S. officials.

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Jeb Bush’s eternal connection to George W. Bush

• Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Humpdays With Frangela

• U.S. intelligence officials are analyzing facial features, accent, and speech patterns of the masked man who spoke in the recent ISIS beheading video to determine who he is, and if he could be one of ISIS’s American recruits, according to a senior U.S. official.

• President Barack Obama said Tuesday the law and history are on his side and he expects to prevail in the legal fight over his use of executive action to give millions of immigrants relief from deportation.

• More than 11 million people signed up for subsidized private health insurance under President Obama’s law this year, the White House announced Tuesday evening. The final number could grow because of a grace period for people who started applications before Sunday’s official deadline.

• Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for a meeting at her D.C. home in December, the New York Times has reported. The meeting was described as “cordial and productive” but there was no request for an endorsement.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the GOP’s poor education credentials

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Total Trollop Tuesdays

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about the GOP’s new anti-gay Jim Crow laws

• A federal judge in Texas ruled a temporary halt on President Obama’s executive action on immigration Monday, agreeing with Texas and 25 other states in a lawsuit aimed at blocking the directive. The ruling suspends Obama’s orders, which includes the expansion of the DREAM Act.

• On the heels of bombing ISIS targets in Libya, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi called on the United Nations to mandate a resolution to provide assistance in Libya during an interview with a French radio station today.

• A train transporting more than 100 tankers of crude oil across West Virginia derailed and exploded during a snowstorm about 30 miles southeast of Charleston last night. 14 to 17 tank cars were on fire, with one car sliding into a river and another hitting a house and bursting into flames.

• Court officials said a man accused of fatally shooting three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, N.C., was indicted on three counts of murder yesterday.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about why the state of Alabama sucks

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the cratering GOP field for 2016

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• Egypt has launched airstrikes against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) targets in Libya after the extremist group released a grisly video purporting to show the beheading of several Coptic Christians it had held hostage for weeks.

• Danish police say that they have arrested two men suspected of helping the gunman who carried out two shooting attacks over the weekend in Copenhagen. The gunman was killed in a gun battle with a SWAT team early Sunday.

• In a funding spat that could shut down the Department of Homeland Security, House GOP-ers don’t appear to be backing down. When asked if he was “prepared” for the DHS to run out of financing, House Speaker John Boehner responded: “Certainly. The House has acted. We’ve done our job.”

• Audiences were more than curious to check out the big-screen adaptation of “Fifty Shades of Grey” this weekend. The erotic R-rated drama sizzled in its debut, earning an estimated $81.7 million from 3,646 theaters in its first three days, setting Valentine’s and Presidents’ Day weekend records.

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host John Fugelsang calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Comedian and actor Judah Friedlander (“30 Rock”) joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• A majority of Americans (54%) support President Obama’s proposed authorization to use force against ISIS, according to an exclusive NBC News/Marist poll conducted after Obama sent his authorization to Congress.

• ISIS fighters launched a major offensive just miles from a U.S. air base where American military advisers are stationed on Thursday, according to a senior security official and a tribal leader. The U.S.-led coalition followed the assault with airstrikes on ISIS positions around the town.

• The federal government can’t protect your cyber data by itself. That’s why President Obama is expected to unveil executive actions Friday designed to increase information sharing among private sector companies and federal law enforcement.

• More than 5,000 people attended funeral prayers for the three murdered Muslim students in North Carolina Thursday. The massive crowds that came to mourn made it clear that Muslims here feel a bubbling tide of resentment that has boiled over.

• Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the GOP’s threats to defund Homeland Security

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host Dean Obeidallah calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Muslim comedy and Jon Stewart

• Health Care Reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for Jacki’s Healthcare Corner

• Actress and activist Tichina Arnold joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Declaring that ISIS “is going to lose,” President Obama outlined the request he sent Congress Wednesday to formally authorize war against the militant group. The request authorizes the president to fight ISIS for three years with no restriction on where U.S. forces can go.

• House Speaker John Boehner implored Senate Dems yesterday to “get off their ass” and help the Senate GOP majority advance a bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security while de-funding President Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration.

• The North Carolina man accused of killing three Muslim students in a dispute over parking spaces had earlier run-ins with his neighbors, sometimes while wearing a handgun on his hip. His wife said the killings had nothing to do with anyone’s faith.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the further troubles of GOP Rep. Aaron Schock

• Ian Millhiser of the Center for American Progress Action Fund calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about ObamaCare and Marriage Equality before SCOTUS. Pre-order his new book, Injustices: The Supreme Court’s History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• Wiping away tears and with breaking voices, family and friends of ISIS-captured aid worker Kayla Mueller spoke about her life and legacy yesterday afternoon, hours after her parents and the White House confirmed the American hostage had been killed.

• Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee united Tuesday in support of immunizing children against preventable diseases as federal health officials and senators from both parties declared vaccines a public health priority.

• NBC News said Tuesday it has suspended its chief anchor and managing editor Brian Williams immediately for six months without pay, forgoing the option of firing the embattled newsman for now due to his popularity and past work at the network.

• Jon Stewart told his audience Tuesday that he will step down from Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” by the end of this year, when his contract expires.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the marriage equality battle in Alabama

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Total Trollop Tuesdays

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Mike Huckabee’s new gay-bashing documentary

• The Supreme Court is inappropriately signaling it intends to clear the way for gay marriage across the nation, Justice Clarence Thomas complained Monday in a bitter dissent to the court’s refusal to block the start of same-sex marriages in Alabama.

• The Obama administration is nearly ready to send Congress legislation that would formally authorize war against ISIS, administration sources indicate. The legislation outlines the military goals and strategy against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

• As international leaders grapple with how to confront renewed violence in Ukraine, President Obama says that the U.S. is exploring “all options” to pressure Russia to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity — including sending defensive arms to Kiev.

• A relentless storm that dumped more than two feet of snow on some parts of New England is tapering down today. The storm brought 23 inches of snow to Boston, making it the seventh-largest snowfall total ever recorded there.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the Right’s reaction to President Obama’s Christian terrorism comments

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Fox News’ tasteless exploitation of the ISIS video

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• The parents of 26-year-old American Kayla Mueller who has been held hostage for more than a year by ISIS extremists were clinging to hope Sunday that their daughter is alive, having yet to receive information confirming otherwise. ISIS claims she was killed in a Jordanian airstrike last week.

• President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are trying for a public display of unity despite a potential split over arming Ukrainian fighters to better battle Russian-backed separatists. Germany and France want a summit meeting, and the U.S. won’t be at the table.

• Alabama was set to become the 37th state with marriage equality this morning, but the state’s Chief Justice last night sent a letter to probate judges ordering them to refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

• Beck took on the Beygency and won the Album of the Year award at the Grammys last night for “Morning Phase.” He beat Beyoncé’s “Beyonce,” Sam Smith’s “In the Lonely Hour,” Ed Sheeran’s “X” and Pharrell Williams’ “Girl” for the honor.

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host Dean Obeidallah calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about his visit to the White House this week

• John Fugelsang, host of SiriusXM Insight 121’s “Tell Me Everything”, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Fridays With Frangela”

• President Obama is poised in coming days to ask Congress for new authority to use U.S. military force against ISIS, the White House said Thursday. But the GOP warned it won’t be easy to pass the measure and that it will be up to Obama to rally support from lawmakers and the public.

• Dozens of Jordanian fighter jets bombed ISIS targets on Thursday, including training centers and weapons storage sites, the military said, pledging to keep up the attacks until the militants are defeated.

• Bennett Barlyn, former assistant prosecutor with the Hunterdon County, New Jersey prosecutor’s office, has confirmed that he was interviewed Wednesday night by two Justice Department investigators about the Christie administration’s quashing of cases against the governor’s allies in 2010.

• Bobbi Kristina Brown remains hospitalized, fighting to survive. However, a family source says that contrary to media reports, Brown was not taken off life support yesterday.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about Rep. Aaron Schock’s (R-IL) Downton Abbey-inspired office

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 11am ET / 8am PT to talk about how the entertainment industry enabled Bill Cosby

• Senate GOP put Dems on record for a 2nd time yesterday against legislation combining Homeland Security funding with rollbacks of President Obama’s immigration policies. But there was little evidence Congress was any closer to a solution to fund the department as the Feb. 27th deadline approaches.

• Jordan’s king vowed Thursday to wage a “harsh” war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) after the militants burned a captive Jordanian pilot in a cage and released a video of the killing. The images have sent waves of revulsion across the world.

• The measles outbreak has spread to at least 145 cases in 14 states. Legislation is being introduced in California that would require kids to be vaccinated before starting school, except for medical reasons, abolishing exemptions for personal beliefs.

• Health insurer Anthem, which has nearly 40 million U.S. customers, said yesterday that hackers had breached one of its systems and stolen personal information relating to current and former consumers and employees.

• Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about President Obama’s new budget

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• ISIS militants burned a captured Jordanian pilot to death in a cage, according to a purported video of the violence released Tuesday. The Kingdom of Jordan, which had vowed a swift and lethal response, executed two al Qaeda prisoners by hanging early Wednesday.

• A crowded commuter train rammed a sport utility vehicle on the tracks at a suburban New York crossing setting a train car on fire, killing seven people and seriously injuring nearly a dozen in the railroad’s deadliest crash, authorities said.

• Gov. Chris Christie canceled three scheduled media appearances with reporters in London on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the New Jersey Republican made controversial comments about vaccinations and after a new report revealed lavish travel by Christie that was paid for by others.

• House Republicans voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act again on Tuesday. It was the 56th shot they’ve taken at the law, and just like every other time they’ve tried to erase President Obama’s signature achievement, this attempt was doomed to fail. The GOP have nowhere near the veto-proof majority they’d need to kill Obamacare.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about President Obama’s budget that’s pissing off the GOP

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Mike Huckabee and marriage equality

• President Barack Obama on Monday argued the country’s economic security and national security are intertwined while unveiling his $4 trillion budget at the Department of Homeland Security. “Our economy flourishes when our country is safe and secure,” he said.

• Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said yesterday he’s heard of cases where vaccines lead to “mental disorders” and argued that parents should be the ones to choose whether they vaccinate their children, not the government. Paul is a former ophthalmologist.

• Forecasters from Philadelphia to Portland, Maine, have warned that “flash freezing” could make roads dangerously slippery a day after large amounts of snow fell on much of the East Coast.

• Robin Williams’ children and wife have gone to court in a fight over the late comedian’s estate. In papers filed in December, Williams’ wife, Susan, says some of the late actor’s personal items were taken without her permission.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Lindsey Graham and same-sex marriage

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Sarah Palin and the demise of the Tea Party Media

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• President Obama’s budget plan, to be announced today, lays out the President’s strategy to fight income inequality. The budget would install new taxes hitting U.S. corporations storing assets overseas and offer nearly $300 billion in tax cuts aimed at mainly the middle class.

• Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee says expecting Christians to accept same-sex marriage is “like asking someone who’s Jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli.”

• Super Bowl XLIX will be remembered for its exciting, crazy ending. Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to a 28-24 heart-pounding win over the Seattle Seahawks and undrafted rookie defensive back Malcolm Butler made an astonishing interception to seal the win.

• Whitney Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, is on a ventilator and in intensive care in a coma, after she was found facedown and unresponsive in a bathtub full of water, a source close to the family said.

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about why we’re stuck with Saudi Arabia

• SiriusXM OutQ host Lance Bass calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about his E! special, “Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding”

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host John Fugelsang calls in at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• The Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday approved a bipartisan bill to construct the Keystone XL oil pipeline, defying a presidential veto threat and setting up the first of many battles with the White House over energy and the environment.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is the latest Republican to formally announce he is considering a presidential bid with the launch of a political action committee (PAC) called Security Through Strength.

• Hip hop mogul Marion “Suge” Knight plowed a truck into a group of people in Compton, California, on Thursday, killing one man in what authorities are calling a hit-and-run, Knight’s lawyer and law enforcement officials say. The attorney called it an accident.

• The New England Patriots will face the Seattle Seahawks in the 49th annual Super Bowl this Sunday, February 1, 2015. The game will be played in Glendale, AZ and kickoff is at 6:30pm ET / 3:30pm PT and will be shown on NBC (and can be heard on SiriusXM).

• Democratic Strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the House GOP’s stumbles right out of the box

• Health Care Reform Expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch yesterday defended the legality of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, but sought to win approval from Congressional Republicans by pledging to rebuild the rocky relationship between the Justice Department and the GOP.

• Japan said it was putting its trust in Jordan to help gain the release of a Japanese journalist held by ISIS militants, after the latest message purportedly from his captors extended until sundown Thursday in the Middle East the deadline for the Jordanians to release an Iraqi prisoner.

• House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday confirmed House Republicans are filing a lawsuit against Obama’s executive action delaying deportations for millions of immigrants here illegally.

• Cuban President Raul Castro demanded on Wednesday that the United States return the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, lift the half-century trade embargo on Cuba and compensate his country for damages before the two nations re-establish normal relations.

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host Dean Obeidallah calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Bobby Jindal’s associations with a hate group

• Actor and comedian Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• New Englanders savaged by a blizzard packing knee-high snowfall and hurricane-force winds began digging in bitter cold out as New Yorkers and others spared its full fury questioned whether forecasts were overblown.

• President Obama flew to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and paid respects to the Saudi royal family after the death of King Abdullah. The president held his first formal meeting with the new king, Salman, and discussed Middle East security issues.

• The major components of Obamacare through the end of the decade are projected to be 20 percent cheaper than first estimated, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

• Democrats on Tuesday accused a Republican lawmaker of hiding witnesses from members of a special panel investigating the deadly 2012 attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya.

• U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive for five years after disappearing from his base in Afghanistan in 2009, will be charged with desertion.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the end of “Princess Dumbass of the Northwoods”

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Sarah Palin’s rambling speech in Iowa

• Mass transit systems were shut down from New York City to Boston, roads were ordered closed to traffic in all or parts of five states, and airlines canceled thousands of flights as heavy bands of a massive blizzard took aim at the Northeast.

• On his final day in India, President Obama declared U.S. relations with the world’s largest democracy “one of the defining partnerships of this century,” while nudging his Indian counterpart, Narenda Modi, to pursue greater economic equality, women’s rights, and religious tolerance.

• New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft demanded an apology from the league once the Patriots are found to be not guilty of breaking any rules regarding using under-inflated footballs in the AFC championship game.

• Flexing its financial might, the political machine backed by billionaires Charles and David Koch on Monday told its allies that spending across its conservative network would approach $1 billion ahead of 2016’s elections.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to tell us what “American Sniper” is actually trying to say

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the pathetic GOP field for president

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• A summit in Iowa this weekend served as the unofficial kickoff to the 2016 race. Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and Chris Christie all spoke in the state that holds the first nominating contest, although there were some notable absences, especially Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, and Bobby Jindal.

• President Obama this morning took in a grand display of Indian military hardware, marching bands and elaborately dressed camels, becoming the first American leader to be honored as chief guest at India’s annual Republic Day festivities.

• Residents of the Northeast are girding for a “crippling and potentially historic” storm that could bury communities from northern New Jersey to southern Maine in up to 2 feet of snow or even three feet in some places from today through tomorrow.

• “Birdman” took flight at the 21st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards last night, winning the night’s top prize for outstanding ensemble in a motion picture.

• Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the Congressional reaction to the State of the Union address

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about GOPers pretending to run for president to rake in the cash

• John Fugelsang, host of SiriusXM Insight 121’s “Tell Me Everything” calls in at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Rep. John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell took aim at some of President Obama’s State of the Union ideas. The president said he’d like to raise taxes on the wealthy, make community college free and increase the federal minimum wage — all bad ideas, said Boehner and McConnell.

• The GOP-controlled House passed legislation yesterday banning all taxpayer money for abortions. But that bill was a backup, after another proposal to ban so-called “late -term” abortions was suddenly yanked the late Wednesday night because of blow back from moderate Republicans.

• As the NFL investigates whether the New England Patriots illegally deflated footballs in Sunday’s AFC championship, coach Bill Belichick says he had no knowledge of it happening. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said the balls were “perfect” before the game.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the aftermath of the State of the Union address

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about what’s next after the State of the Union

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Actress and activist Tichina Arnold joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to tell us about the WE WIN Foundation to fight Lupus

• A day after presenting a decisively liberal agenda to the GOP-led Congress in his State of the Union address, President Obama argued that Republicans “can’t just say no” to his plans. If they disagree, he continued, “they should put forward some alternative proposals.”

• The Republican-controlled Senate acknowledged Wednesday that climate change is real but refused to say humans are to blame.

• In an embarrassing setback, House Republicans abruptly decided Wednesday to drop planned debate of a bill criminalizing virtually all late-term abortions after objections from GOP women and other lawmakers left them short of votes.

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host Dean Obeidallah calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about last night’s “State Of The Union” address

• Attorney Ted Olson calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the Supreme Court taking up Marriage Equality this Spring

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• In his sixth State of the Union address — the second to last of his presidency — President Obama declared an economic resurgence, telling Americans, “the shadow of crisis has passed.” Obama made middle class tax cuts a centerpiece of his annual address to the nation.

• In response to President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), representing the new Republican majority, promised to make Congress more productive — and even, in some cases, to work with Mr. Obama.

• The NFL says its investigation into whether the New England Patriots used under-inflated footballs in the AFC championship game is ongoing, after a report Tuesday night claiming the league found 11 of 12 balls were under-inflated.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Romney’s chances in 2016

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about terrorism and free speech

• President Obama delivers his annual State of the Union address tonight, and there’ll be few surprises, if any. The White House has steadily rolled out ideas ahead of the President’s speech. The plans include a tax hike for the rich that would pay for the president’s spending plans.

• ISIS threatened to kill two Japanese hostages Tuesday unless they receive $200 million in 72 hours, directly demanding the ransom from Japan’s premier during his visit to the Middle East. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to save the men, saying: “Their lives are the top priority.”

• A new report from Oxfam estimates that the richest 1% will have as much wealth as the other 99% combined by next year. The report comes a day before President Obama is expected to unveil proposals that close tax breaks on the wealthy.

• According to a new NBC / WSJ poll, just 27 percent of Americans now offer a positive rating for Romney, the Republican party’s nominee in 2012, compared to 40 percent who give him negative marks.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about SCOTUS and marriage equality

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Mitt Romney’s run for president

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• Senior White House officials say President Obama will use his state of the union tomorrow to float several new economic ideas, including tax hikes on capital gains and wealthy inheritances, and new fees on the largest financial firms to pay for more middle class-friendly tax credits and cuts.

• Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney acknowledged Friday that he is once again considering running for the Republican presidential nomination, declaring that the country is in worse shape on both the domestic and foreign fronts since President Obama took office.

• Shots were fired from a car passing by Vice President Joe Biden’s house in Wilmington, DE Saturday night while Biden and his wife were out, but federal sources said today there is no clear indication the vice president’s home was targeted.

• The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks won the AFC and NFC championships yesterday and will meet in the Super Bowl on February 1st in Glendale, AZ.

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host John Fugelsang calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Comedy duo Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Fridays With Frangela”

• U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry paid his respects and “gave a hug” today to the victims of last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris in a show of American solidarity with the French people.

• Two suspects died in a gunfight as authorities searched locations they believe are tied to a terror plot in Belgium, an official said. The deaths occurred after individuals at a location in Verviers, Belgium, opened fire on police with automatic weapons. A third suspect was arrested.

• A 20-year-old Ohio man arrested in an FBI sting and charged with plotting to set off bombs at the U.S. Capitol and shoot government officials is scheduled to make his first appearance in court today. Christopher Cornell is described as “a mommy’s boy” who lived with his parents in suburban Cincinnati.

• Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has made a rare move for a GOP state executive: He rebuffed the N.R.A. Snyder vetoed a bill that would have overhauled Michigan’s concealed permit applications in a way that would have allowed people who faced restraining orders as a result of domestic violence or stalking allegations to obtain guns.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the GOP’s moves to kill immigration reform

• SiriusXM Insight 121 host Dean Obeidallah calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about whether all terrorists are Muslim

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• The FBI has arrested 20 year old Christopher Cornell of Ohio for allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on the U.S. Capitol, where he hoped to set off a series of bombs aimed at lawmakers, whom he allegedly considered enemies. He then allegedly planned on opening fire on those fleeing the explosions.

• Renewing a push for paid leave for workers, President Barack Obama today will call on Congress, states and cities to pass measures to allow millions of workers to earn up to a week of paid sick time a year, the White House said.

• Four top U.S. Secret Service executives have been removed from their leadership positions. The shake up at the agency follows a string of security lapses over the last year, including an incident in September in which a man jumped over the White House fence and entered the building.

• A pair of Americans yesterday completed what had long been considered the world’s most difficult rock climb, using only their hands and feet to conquer a 3,000-foot vertical wall on El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park.

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• The Yemen-based branch of al Qaeda officially claimed responsibility yesterday for the massacre exactly a week earlier at the Paris headquarters of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, as copies of the paper’s new edition — which again mocked the Prophet Muhammad — flew off shelves in France.

• A former Ohio country club bartender — who told authorities that he was Jesus Christ — threatened to murder House Speaker John Boehner last fall because he believed the Ohio congressman was responsible for Ebola, according to records made available Tuesday.

• Coming soon from the IRS: Slower tax refunds, fewer identity-theft protections and worse customer service. That’s because the IRS budget has been slashed so deeply that the IRS Commissioner says “we have no choice but to do less with less.”

• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has accused President Obama and his wife, Michelle, of double standards in parenting, saying in an interview that the first family shelters its daughters from some things but allows them to listen to the music of Beyoncé.

• Today is Producer Chris’ birthday.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about satire and Charlie Hebdo

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET 8:30am PT to talk about the GOP taking credit for the economic turnaround

• In a rare admission, the White House yesterday said it made a mistake in not sending a higher-level official to represent the U.S. at the unity rally in Paris on Sunday, in the wake of last week’s terror attacks. The U.S. was represented at the rally by Ambassador to France Jane Hartley.

• Two YouTube and Twitter accounts belonging to the U.S. military were hijacked by ISIS supporters today, in an incident the military commander referred to as “purely a case of cybervandalism.” CENTCOM said its operational networks were “not compromised”

• Search and rescue teams have recovered the cockpit voice recorder from AirAsia Flight 8501, the second black box recovered in as many days, Malaysian authorities said.

• The Ohio State Buckeyes won the first College Football Playoff national championship yesterday, upsetting Oregon 42-20.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about what the terrorist attacks in France have brought us

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the NYPD’s slowdown during a terrorist alert

• John Fugelsang, host of “Tell Me Everything” on SiriusXM Insight 121, calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to tell us about today’s debut of his show.

• Comedian Rick Overton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Around 3 million people joined with world leaders to fill Paris streets Sunday in a rally for unity that was the largest demonstration in French history. More marched in cities around the country and the world to repudiate a three-day terror spree around the French capital that killed 17.

• Divers have retrieved one of the black boxes from AirAsia Flight 8501 that crashed into the Java Sea two weeks ago, officials said. The plane’s flight data recorder was pulled from the water Monday and will be analyzed by authorities.

• “Boyhood” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” took home the top movie honors at the 2015 Golden Globes last night. Showtime’s “The Affair” and Amazon’s “Transparent” took home the top television honors.

• John Fugelsang of SiriusXM Insight 121 calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Comedy duo Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Fridays With Frangela”

• The suspects in the terror attack on a newspaper’s Paris office were located again Friday morning having stolen a car near a highway northeast of the French capital and then reportedly holed up on an industrial estate, possibly with one or more hostages.

• A bill giving congressional approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline advanced in the Senate on Thursday, allowing the full Senate to consider the bill next week. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined Republicans on the Senate Energy Committee to pass it.

• President Barack Obama said on Thursday he would offer a proposal in his State of the Union speech that would make two years of community college free for anyone willing to work for it. Students who maintain a 2.5 GPA while making steady progress would have their tuition eliminated.

• California’s junior senator, Barbara Boxer has announced that she will not run for re-election in 2016, marking an end to her 30-year career in D.C. Boxer’s decision opens the 2016 race to a wide field of Dem contenders. Former mayors Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa have been mentioned.

• Democratic Strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to tell us all about his trip to Cuba

• Dean Obeidallah of SiriusXM Insight 121 calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the terrorist attack in Paris yesterday

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to update us on the benefits of ObamaCare

• Jody Hamilton of the “From The Bunker” podcast joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Three masked gunmen stormed the Paris offices of a satirical newspaper yesterday, killing 12 people, including its editor, before escaping. It was France’s deadliest postwar terrorist attack. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the shootings, which also left 11 people wounded.

• President Barack Obama used the first stop on his three-day roadtrip to tout the resurgence of the American automobile industry in Michigan on Wednesday, saying the turnaround proves “any comeback is possible.”

• Staff members at a Colorado NAACP office say they are waiting for more information before drawing any conclusions about an explosion near their chapter, even as the FBI said it was investigating whether it was a case of domestic terrorism.

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about GOP excuses for Steve Scalise’s KKK speech

• Just after they took power yesterday, Republicans immediately introduced Senate Bill One: a bill to expedite construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, followed by a bill to alter a key Obamacare provision requiring companies to cover full time workers.

• Former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell was sentenced yesterday to 24 months in a minimum security prison for his corruption conviction on 11 different counts related to conspiracy to commit fraud.

• Divers and an unmanned underwater vehicle spotted the tail of the missing AirAsia plane in the Java Sea on Wednesday, the first confirmed sighting of any major wreckage, 11 days after Flight 8501 disappeared with 162 people on board, an official said.

• Less than two years before Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones paid for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s tickets and travel to NFL games, government documents show Christie personally pushed the Port Authority to approve a lucrative contract for a firm part-owned by Jones.

• John Fugelsang calls in at 10:15am ET / 7:15am PT to talk about his big announcement today

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Conservative judicial activism

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about why he wants Louie Gohmert for House Speaker

• John Boehner is expected to be re-elected as House of Representatives Speaker today, but a vocal and growing pocket of conservative opposition could hamper his ability to pass difficult legislation this year.

• In the wake of the murder of two New York City police officers and a national debate about policing, the National Fraternal Order of Police is asking for the Congressional hate crimes statute to be expanded to include crimes against police officers.

• President Obama has signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on North Korea following last month’s cyber-attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. Officials say this is the first instance the US government has imposed sanctions in response to a direct cyber-attack on a U.S. company.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to give us his rude wishes for the new year

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about media shenanigans in the new year

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• Republicans continued circling the wagons on Sunday around embattled House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) who came under fire this week after it was reported that he spoke at a white supremacist gathering in 2002.

• Over the weekend, a handful of conservative members of the House announced they would not support Boehner for House Speaker, and Reps. Ted Yoho (R-FL) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX) have said they might make a run to unseat Boehner.

• Thousands of New York police officers turned their backs Sunday as they watched Mayor Bill de Blasio eulogize an officer shot dead with his partner, repeating a stinging display of scorn for the mayor despite entreaties from the police commissioner not to do so.

• TV host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has left his Fox News talk show as he considers whether to seek the Republican nomination for president, a decision he expects to reach in the spring.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

The Stephanie Miller Show is on vacation and will return Monday, January 5th. In the meantime, we’ve got some great Year-End Best-Of Steph shows for you. See you in the new year!

Steph

• Comedian and actor John Fugelsang calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for a Christmas edition of “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Comedy duo Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for a Christmas edition of “Fridays With Frangela”

• President Obama continues to grapple with the question of whether to formally accuse North Korea of hacking Sony, with a White House spokesman stopping short of directly blaming the North Koreans, but FBI sources say the trail points pretty clearly to the rogue regime’s involvement in some manner.

• Republican leaders in both the House and Senate oppose normalizing relations with Cuba. They oppose lifting the trade embargo and wants to block confirmation of whomever the president nominates as U.S. Ambassador.

• With a slight, scruffy beard and long, tousled hair, accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appeared in federal court yesterday – the first time he’s been seen in public in a year and a half. He politely answered questions in his last pre-trial hearing before the case in January.

• The Dow Jones industrial average rose 412 points yesterday, its biggest surge in three years and its second straight triple-digit gain following the Federal Reserve’s reassurance that it was in no hurry to raise interest rates.

• Democratic Strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the thaw in American/Cuban relations

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the barbarism of torture

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Comedian Jason Stuart joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Sony Pictures pulled the plug on “The Interview”, bowing to threats of potential violence at movie theaters. Sources say that the US government has determined the North Korean government is behind the Sony hack but the U.S. government has not yet publicly named a suspect.

• President Obama announced Wednesday that the United States is taking steps to restore full diplomacy with Cuba, a historic move that will end 50 years of frozen relations with the communist nation.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to fix Russia’s economic woes within two years, pledging to diversify the gas-dependent economy and persuade businesses to help prop up the collapsing ruble.

• President Obama’s approval rating with Latinos has jumped 10 points since he announced a new policy of deportation relief for millions of undocumented immigrants. 57 percent now say they approve of the job that Obama is doing.

• Dean Obeidallah, columnist for “The Daily Beast”, calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the Torture Report in the Muslim world

• Michael Tomasky, columnist for “The Daily Beast”, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the rise of Sen. Elizabeth Warren

• More than 140 people are dead after Taliban forces stormed a school in a northwestern city of Pakistan and opened fire on students and teachers. All but about ten of the victims are children. The Taliban are at war with Pakistan, trying to topple the government and set up an Islamic state.

• Australia’s prime minister acknowledged Wednesday that the nation’s security system failed to keep track of a gunman responsible for a deadly siege at a Sydney cafe, and promised a transparent investigation into why the man was not on any terror watch list despite having a long criminal history.

• The fallout from the Sony Pictures hack that began four weeks ago exploded Tuesday after the shadowy group calling itself Guardians of Peace escalated its attack beyond corporate espionage by threatening moviegoers with violence reminiscent of the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

• The Dem-controlled Senate confirmed the last batch of President Obama’s judicial appointees and sent the White House legislation extending tax breaks for working-class millions late Tuesday as Congress ended a tumultuous two-year run.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s fight against big bank giveaways

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Dick Cheney’s psychotic interview this past Sunday

• Tearful Australians laid mounds of flowers at the site where two of 17 hostages were killed Tuesday when police swooped into a cafe to rescue them from a gunman – an Iranian-born self-styled cleric described as a lone-wolf “jihoodlum” carrying out a “sick fantasy.”

• Pakistani officials say Taliban gunmen have stormed a military-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 126 people and wounding many more. At least one security officer was also killed in the initial siege, according to a hospital official.

• With just enough votes to clear the required threshold, Dr. Vivek Murthy on Monday evening was confirmed by the Senate to become U.S. Surgeon General. Republicans had opposed Murthy’s nomination because of his views on gun control.

• After weeks of media headlines and scrutiny and a subsequent career downfall, Bill Cosby’s wife, Camille, is speaking up and standing by her husband of 50 years.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the lingering effects of the Senate’s torture report

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about how the GOP is shortchanging veterans

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• Five people have fled from a Sydney, Australia cafe where a gunman took an unknown number of hostages at the height of Monday morning rush hour. Two people inside the cafe were earlier seen holding up a flag containing an Islamic declaration of faith.

• The Senate passed a sweeping $1.1 trillion spending package Saturday night to stave off a government shutdown after days of high drama, legislative maneuvers, and an unusual weekend session that put the Republicans’ most conservative members at odds with their own party.

• Former US vice president Dick Cheney on Sunday defended America’s now-banned program that tortured Al-Qaeda suspects, praising the CIA operatives who ran it as heroes. Cheney said there is “no comparison” between the tactics and the deaths of American citizens on September 11, 2001.

• Police arrested 45 people Saturday in the hours after thousands of protesters took to the streets of San Francisco and Oakland in largely peaceful protests, joining in a national demonstration against police killings.

• Comedian and actor John Fugelsang calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for another edition of “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for another edition of “Whore Fridays”

• CIA director John Brennan says that the CIA obtained valuable information from detainees who had been subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques, but the question of whether that information could have been obtained without brutal interrogation sessions was “unknowable.”

• The House narrowly passed the $1.1 trillion spending bill meant to keep the government funded for the next year after a dramatic daylong showdown in which the legislation’s opponents were just one vote away from derailing the measure.

• Another Bill Cosby accuser has come forward. This time it’s supermodel Beverly Johnson — who’s adding her name to a growing list of women accusing the once-beloved comedian of drugging or sexually assaulting them in the 1970s and ’80s.

• The UVA students described as friends of the alleged rape victim Jackie in a Rolling Stone article have revealed their identities and said that some of the magazine’s story is false. “The text was so divergent from what we said that evening,” said Alex Stock, who said he’s identified as “Andy” in the article.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the politics of the Senate Torture Report release

• Dean Obeidallah of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Bill Cosby’s accusers

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Podcaster Jody Hamilton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Former Vice President Dick Cheney says a declassified Senate report on the post-9/11 CIA torture program is “full of crap.” “I think it is a terrible report, deeply flawed,” Cheney said on Fox News. “It’s a classic example of where politicians get together and throw professionals under the bus.”

• Dr. James Mitchell, a psychologist who is reported to be one of the contractors who helped craft and carry out the CIA’s enhanced interrogation program, said the so-called Senate torture report is “not balanced” and an attempt by Senate Dems to “smear” the CIA.

• Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer who a grand jury decided not to indict in the death of Eric Garner, spoke with internal affairs investigators about the case this week. “He indicated he never used a chokehold,” said Pantaleo’s attorney.

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about whether the Dems should forget about The South

• Actor and comedian Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• The Senate Intelligence Committee released the findings from their investigation into the CIA’s torture techniques yesterday, saying that the methods were not only ineffective at gathering information, but that the CIA misled Congress and the public about the program to keep it going.

• President Obama said he believed it was “important” for the Senate to release the results of its investigation into the CIA’s use of torture, saying in a interview that “One of the things that sets us apart from other countries is that when we make mistakes, we admit them.”

• Republicans and Democrats agreed Tuesday on a $1.1 trillion spending bill to avoid a government shutdown and delay a politically-charged struggle over President Barack Obama’s new immigration policy until the new year.

• A South African judge has ruled that prosecutors can appeal the acquittal on murder charges of Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted of culpable homicide in the death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year punishment

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about his big fight with the Far Right media

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about the Obama Economic Boom

• Senate Democrats today will use some of their last hours in the Senate majority to release the much-anticipated report about the CIA’s methods of extracting information from terror suspects, called “enhanced interrogation” by some and “torture” by others.

• Demonstrators reacting to the Eric Garner grand jury decision moved toward New York’s Barclays Center as Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton arrived to watch a basketball game. Prior the game’s start, the demonstrators staged a “die-in” in front of the arena.

• Hundreds of people marched through Berkeley, CA for a third night a row, blocking a major freeway and stopping a commuter train as activists protested grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers in the deaths of two unarmed black men.

• In a letter to parents yesterday, University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan outlined a series of changes at the school in the wake of a Rolling Stone story about sexual assaults — but at the same time also stood up for the embattled university’s staff.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about reactions to the Eric Garner choke hold decision

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to tell us why it’s nothing but good news for President Obama

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• Raucous demonstrations hit Berkeley, California’s streets for a second straight night last night as protesters angered by police killings in Missouri and New York clashed with officers, vandalized businesses and even fought with each other, officials said.

• Attorney General Eric Holder and The Department of Justice are announcing today new limits on racial profiling, and the department’s hope is that other law enforcement agencies will follow the example.

• Al Qaeda captors who were holding American Luke Somers and a South African man hostage in Yemen may have been alerted simply by a dog when Navy Seals attempted to rescue the two, U.S. officials said Sunday. Somers and the other hostage were killed in the raid.

• U.S. embassies around the world are bracing for a potentially explosive report about to be released that details what the CIA did to terror suspects in the days after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and the fear is that its release could threaten American lives.

• Actor and comedian John Fugelsang calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for another edition of “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for another edition of Whore Fridays

• Demonstrators angry that a grand jury decided not to indict an NYPD officer in the chokehold death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner marched throughout New York City and around the nation for a second night Thursday. NYPD estimated 10,000 protesters were marching at one point.

• The head of New York City’s police union said officers felt “thrown under the bus” by Mayor Bill de Blasio following a Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict an officer in the death of Eric Garner.

• Attorney General Eric Holder announced that “there is reasonable cause to believe that the Cleveland Division of Police engages in a pattern and practice of using excessive force,” after Justice Department investigators examined nearly 600 cases of use of force that occurred between 2010 and 2013.

• The House voted Thursday to block President Obama’s executive actions to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation in a largely symbolic bill that stands no chance of seeing a vote in the Democratic controlled Senate.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the GOP’s actions against immigration reform

• Actress Lisa Kudrow calls in at 9:50am ET / 6:50am PT to talk about the return of her brilliant HBO series “The Comeback”

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Comedy duo Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Protests erupted across the country, with about 40 people arrested in New York City after a grand jury Wednesday declined to indict New York City police officers involved in the death of Eric Garner, who died after those officers placed him in a choke hold.

• Esaw Garner, the widow of Eric Garner, the New York man who died after a police officer put him in a choke hold, said she will never accept an apology from the officer who a grand jury decided not to indict yesterday afternoon.

• Seventeen states, led by Texas Attorney General and Governor-elect Greg Abbott, are suing the Obama administration over the president’s recent executive actions on immigration.

• Three more women went public on Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles accusing Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting them in the ’70s and ’80s.

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about how we can stave off a Dem civil war

• Actor and comedian Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• The House is set to vote tomorrow on legislation to effectively undo President Obama’s executive action on immigration. It’s a proposal put forward by Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Florida, which allows the GOP to voice their outrage, without sparking a government shutdown.

• Investigators are considering whether to charge Michael Brown’s stepfather with attempting to incite a riot for urging a crowd in Ferguson to “burn this bitch down” as part of a larger inquiry into violence after a grand jury declined to indict Officer Darren Wilson.

• One of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s wives and children have been arrested in Lebanon. Col. Anis Khoury, a spokesman for the Lebanese defense ministry, declined to offer further details and said the army is leading the investigation.

• A 55-year-old woman sued comedian Bill Cosby on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming sexual battery and infliction of emotional distress for allegedly molesting her in a bedroom at the Playboy Mansion when she was 15 years old.

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the reaction to the Ferguson Grand Jury

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about policing our communities with military tanks

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about how racism is alive and well in America

• In the wake of clashes at protests in Ferguson, Missouri, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says new Justice Department guidance will aim to end racial profiling and ensure fair and effective policing. Holder said he will unveil details of the plan in the coming days.

• A St. Louis Rams official and a county police chief differed Monday about whether the team had apologized for the actions of five players who raised their hands during pregame festivities in a show of solidarity with Ferguson protesters.

• Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said Monday has an idea about how he can win the White House, but first he called on the GOP in Congress to offer “adult-like” leadership by working with Dems to pass bills in the final two years of President Obama’s administration.

• Elizabeth Lauten, the Congressional aide who faced backlash after criticizing President Obama’s daughters Friday on Facebook, has resigned from her post as communications director for Tennessee GOP Rep. Stephen Fincher.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about all the things wrong with Officer Darren Wilson’s story

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the media lessons from the Benghazi charade

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• President Obama will discuss the situation in Ferguson, Missouri, today with his Cabinet, civil rights leaders, law enforcement officials and others. The meeting will focus on the administration’s review of programs that provide military-style equipment to law enforcement agencies.

• There have been “egregious” threats against the Ferguson police in the months since the killing of unarmed teen Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson, Mayor James Knowles said yesterday, but he denied that the city asked the cop to leave the force. Wilson resigned on Saturday.

• A body found near the Ohio State University campus today has been identified as that of Kosta Karageorge, the OSU athlete who has been missing since Wednesday, police said. A preliminary investigation found that he died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

• Taking advantage of earlier and longer promotions this season, fewer shoppers were in stores or purchasing online over the holiday weekend compared with last year, a trend that’s expected to continue into Cyber Monday today.

• Comedian John Fugelsang joins us in the 10am ET / 7am PT hour for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Whore Fridays”

• President Obama on Thursday defended the actions he’s taking to shield about 5 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally from deportation as “lawful” and consistent with what his predecessors have done.

• The actions President Obama outlined will grant a reprieve from deportation to about 5 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally and allow them to apply for a three-year work permit if they can pass a background check, register with the government, submit biometric data, and establish they are eligible for relief.

• Police and protesters clashed outside Ferguson, Missouri police headquarters Thursday night. Protesters lined up and chanted, taunting 31 officers, mostly from St. Louis County, for about an hour, as the officers secured the perimeter of the police station.

• A snowfall that brought huge snowdrifts and closed roads around Buffalo was finally tapering off early Friday, but residents still couldn’t breathe easy, as the looming threat of rain and higher temperatures through the weekend and into the coming week raised the possibility of flooding and the specter of roofs collapsing under the heavy loads.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the vote failure of the Keystone XL pipeline

• Senior White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett calls in at 9:50am ET / 6:50am PT to talk about open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 11am ET / 8am PT for another edition of “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Florida State University police fatally shot a gunman at the campus library early this morning after a shooting that left three others wounded as hundreds studying inside the library fled or took cover in panic. There was no immediate word on what prompted the shooting.

• President Obama will unveil his long-awaited plans for unilateral action on immigration this evening and then travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, to promote his plan, according to a video released by the White House Wednesday.

• A federal judge in Montana on Wednesday overturned the state’s same-sex marriage ban. The judge also noted Montana no longer can deprive plaintiffs and other same-sex couples of the chance to marry their loves. He said his ruling was effective immediately.

• The U.S. Secret Service on Wednesday afternoon arrested a man near the White House after finding a .30-30 rifle and ammunition in the trunk of his car. He was arrested for the possession of a firearm.

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT from Israel to talk about the violence since he’s been there

• Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about how the new Congress will work with or against President Obama

• Dean Obeidallah, columnist for “The Daily Beast” calls in at 11am ET / 8am PT to talk about the possible review of US hostage policy

• The Senate on Tuesday narrowly rejected a bill to fast track construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, with supporters of the bill falling just one vote short of the 60 votes needed for passage. The bill failed by one vote, with a final tally of 59 to 41.

• Worshipers have returned to a synagogue in the western Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof, a day after a horrific attack by two Palestinians left five people dead. Three of the four slain rabbis were dual U.S.-Israeli nationals. An Israeli police officer was also killed in the attack.

• A business owner, two pastors, a community activist and a police detective are among the 16 people appointed by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to an independent panel tasked with helping the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson heal after the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

• A ferocious storm dumped massive piles of snow on the Buffalo area, trapping residents in their homes and stranding motorists on roadways, as temperatures in all 50 states fell to freezing or below.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am to talk about Jonathan Gruber and his Obamacare comments

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Chris Christie and pork

• Israeli police said four worshipers were killed and six wounded on Tuesday in an attack on a synagogue in an ultra-orthodox Jewish neighborhood in west Jerusalem. It was the deadliest attack in Jerusalem in years and is ratcheting up fears of sustained violence in the city.

• The parents of an Indiana aid worker who was beheaded by ISIS militants said Monday their hearts are battered by their son’s death but that they believe his life is proof “one person can make a difference.” Peter Kassig, a former Army Ranger, was captured last year while delivering aid in Syria through a relief organization he founded.

• Ahead of a grand jury’s decision on whether to indict a police officer in the killing of Michael Brown, Missouri has both called in the National Guard and diminished the role of the Ferguson Police Department. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency Monday as a precaution.

• Republicans and outside groups used anonymous Twitter accounts to share internal polling data ahead of the midterm elections, CNN has learned, a practice that raises questions about whether they violated campaign finance laws that prohibit coordination.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to tell George W. Bush that he needs to shut up now

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about what Ebola coverage did to networks’ ratings

• Showing no signs of backing down, President Obama strongly pushed back against critics questioning his authority to bypass Congress and act unilaterally to reform the nation’s immigration system. Obama urged Congress to act on the issue so that he wouldn’t have to act unilaterally.

• Newly surfaced surveillance videos and dispatch calls from the day a Ferguson, Mo., police officer shot an unarmed 18-year-old contradict the police officer’s version of events, attorneys representing Michael Brown’s family said yesterday.

• President Obama offered “prayers and condolences” to the family of Peter Kassig, an American aid worker killed by ISIS, which posted a new video online boasting of the killing. The former Army Ranger was abducted in October 2013 while traveling to a town in eastern Syria.

• A surgeon who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone is in extremely critical condition at a Nebraska hospital, his doctors said. Dr. Martin Salia arrived in Omaha on Saturday to be treated at a biocontainment unit that has successfully treated two other Ebola patients.

• Matt Breen, Editor in Chief of “The Advocate” magazine, calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about marriage equality news this week

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the GOP’s war on atheists

• Comedy duo Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for another edition of “Fridays With Frangela”

• Speaking to reporters in Myanmar, President Obama was adamant that, despite mounting GOP objections, he will move forward and take executive action to reform the immigration system by the end of the year because reforms are “way overdue.”

• A surgeon who was infected with Ebola in Sierra Leone will be flown to Omaha, Nebraska, for treatment this weekend. The doctor– who has not been identified — is from Sierra Leone but is a permanent resident of the U.S.

• Health care open enrollment begins tomorrow. “We’re very confident we’re going to be in good shape beginning Saturday,” said Kevin Counihan, the man charged with running the federal government’s insurance marketplaces at HealthCare.gov

• The European Space Agency says its Philae lander is doing well and has succeeded in planting a thermometer in the comet where it touched down this week.

• Democratic Strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the rampage the GOP wants to embark on after the mid-terms

• Dean Obeidallah, columnist for “The Daily Beast”, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the direction in which America is headed

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wasted little time lighting into President Barack Obama on day one of the lame duck session of Congress, criticizing Obama’s emissions deal with the Chinese as evidence that Obama is not ready to work with next year’s GOP-controlled Congress.

• Senate Democrats plan to hold a vote Tuesday on a bill to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, a move that could help Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, who is headed for a Dec. 6 runoff to keep her seat.

• The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday said same-sex marriages can go ahead in Kansas in a decision that the state insists applies to only two counties. Separately Wednesday, a federal judge struck down South Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional.

• A gadget-packed landing vehicle the size of a washing machine sent its own confirmation back to Earth on Thursday morning that it had landed safely and come to rest on the surface of a comet hurtling through space.

• Bill Nye The Science Guy calls in at 9:50am ET / 6:50am PT to talk about his new book on evolution and science, “Undeniable”

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the GOP’s efforts to kill ObamaCare

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for another edition of “Coffee With Carlos”

• Following an intense two days of talks, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled an array of agreements on climate change, military cooperation and trade as they sought to overcome persistent tensions between the nations with the world’s two largest economies.

• Iraqi forces claimed a big win in their fight with the Islamic terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Tuesday, retaking the northern town of Beiji, home to Iraq’s largest oil refinery. Since the weekend, there have been conflicting reports on the fate of the leader of ISIS.

• Republican candidate Dan Sullivan defeated Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Begich in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race Wednesday. The win gives the GOP eight Senate pickups in the midterm elections.

• Police will work to protect peaceful protesters in Ferguson after a grand jury’s decision in the Michael Brown shooting case is announced, but those who cross the line into violence will face consequences, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon warned Tuesday.

• Happy Veterans’ Day!

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about what the Sunday Morning gobshites are saying

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk go over the results of last week’s elections

• Iraqi officials say that the head of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was wounded in an airstrike in western Anbar province. Pentagon officials said they had no immediate information on such an attack or on the militant leader being injured.

• On the surface, President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin were all niceties. But away from the cameras, the two leaders circled each other warily at a global summit in China, coming face to face while relations between their countries continue to deteriorate.

• Craig Spencer, the New York doctor who was diagnosed with Ebola shortly after his return from treating patients with the disease in West Africa, has been declared free of the virus and is expected to be released from Bellevue Hospital today.

• Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has issued an order temporarily blocking gay marriage in Kansas. The brief order puts on hold indefinitely a lower-court order clearing the way for same-sex couples to marry despite a ban in Kansas on gay marriage.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the aftermath of last week’s elections

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the press’ role in last week’s GOP wins

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• The decision to nearly double the number of American advisers deployed to Iraq “signals a new phase” in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, or ISIL), President Obama said Sunday, but U.S. troops will still stay out of combat operations.

• Putting a bright face on the future of U.S. ties with China, President Obama announced Monday in Beijing that the two countries would start granting visas to each other’s citizens valid for up to 10 years. Yet thorny issues like human rights and trade lurked just under the surface.

• Days after the Dems’ defeat in the midterm elections, President Obama said Sunday that he takes responsibility for his party’s poor performance at the polls. “Whenever — as the head of the party — it doesn’t do well, I’ve got to take responsibility for it,” Obama said on CBS’ “Face The Nation” yesterday.

• The coldest air of the season is set to reach into some 42 states this week as an Arctic blast drops temperatures from the Canadian border down to the Gulf of Mexico, forecasters said.

• Comedian John Fugelsang calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT for another edition of “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• House Speaker John Boehner warned yesterday that executive action by President Obama on immigration reform would eliminate any chance of an overhaul bill and damage the nascent relationship between Republicans and Democrats before the new Congress even takes office.

• A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld anti-gay marriage laws in four states (Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee), breaking ranks with other courts that have considered the issue. The ruling creates a divide among federal appeals courts and sets up the prospect of Supreme Court review.

• In a rare outreach to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Barack Obama has written a letter about the fight against Islamic State militants, a common enemy in Syria and Iraq, according to diplomatic sources.

• The final person in Texas being monitored for Ebola has passed the virus’s 21-day incubation period, marking the end of the state’s Ebola crisis. None of the 177 people who had contact with the state’s Ebola patients have contracted Ebola.

• Hackers who infiltrated Home Depot’s computer network earlier this year didn’t only steal customer payment data — they also came away with 53 million email addresses, according to the company.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the ramifications of Tuesday’s elections

• Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about how Congress will change after this week’s elections

• Comedy duo Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT

• In the wake of a major Dem defeat in the midterm elections, President Obama vowed cooperation with the GOP to move the country forward in the final two years of his presidency. “The American people sent a message… they expect the people they elect to work as hard as they do,” Mr. Obama said.

• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, who will presumably serve as majority leader once Republicans take over the Senate next year, assured reporters Wednesday that he can make the Senate function again — even with all the “sharp elbows and big egos” to manage.

• President Obama on Tuesday asked Congress to approve an extra $6.18 billion in emergency spending to combat the Ebola virus. The funding, he said in a letter to Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) would be used in Africa, to improve domestic readiness against the disease and speed up the testing of vaccines.

• Dean Obeidallah, columnist for The Daily Beast, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about last night’s election results

• Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about last night’s election results

• Actor and comedian Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• Republicans are projected to win control of the Senate for the first time since 2006. The GOP is projected to pick up four key Senate seats previously held by Democrats, in Iowa, Colorado, North Carolina and Arkansas. They are expected to pick up 3 more Senate seats in Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

• Republicans made a strong showing in gubernatorial races around the country. GOP candidates in Maryland, Arkansas, Illinois and Massachusetts all took control of governor’s seats that were previously held by Democrats. The only upset Democrats were able to pull off was in Pennsylvania.

• Republicans have strengthened their majority control of the House of Representatives. As of 12:30 a.m. ET, Republicans had won 239 seats in the House to 180 for Democrats, which already gives the GOP a stronger hold than they had in the previous Congress, when they had a 34-seat majority.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in from Maine at 10am ET / 7am PT for a preview of today’s Election Day

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in from Iowa at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for a preview of today’s Election Day

• John Nichols of “The Nation” calls in from Wisconsin at 11am ET / 8am PT for a preview of today’s Election Day

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about who the real winner in today’s elections will be

• The battle for control of the U.S. Senate is coming down to the wire, as Democrats and Republicans have made their last-minute pushes. Tight races for the governor’s seat in Florida, Wisconsin and Colorado have prompted campaign spending that has surpassed Senate races by millions.

• Vice President Joe Biden defended President Barack Obama on the eve of the midterm elections, saying criticism of his management style is “unfair” and downplaying candidates’ decisions not to campaign with him.

• A needle-free Ebola vaccine protects monkeys 100 percent of the time from the virus, even a year after they’ve been vaccinated, researchers from the University of Texas reported Monday. However the research is now dead in the water without further funding.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the GOP’s attitude towards other Americans

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the media’s predictions for Election Day

• Former CIA operative Valerie Plame calls in at 10:45am ET / 7:45am PT to talk about her new novel, “Burned”

• In the final days of the 2014 midterm elections, Dems and GOP fanned out across the TV networks and campaign trail to make their final arguments they hope will get voters to the polls. The GOP is focused on convincing voters that a Senate majority will mean an end to gridlock in D.C.

• Kaci Hickox, a nurse who successfully fought Maine’s quarantine for health care workers who have treated Ebola patients, says she had no option but to challenge how medical professionals were being treated, but she will respect her town’s wishes and avoid crowded places during the incubation period.

• Investigators looking into the fatal crash of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane said that the brakes deployed earlier than expected during a test flight Friday. Seconds later, the futuristic space plane broke apart while traveling at the speed of sound, killing one pilot and injuring another.

• Comedian John Fugelsang calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT for another edition of Fridays With Fugelsang

• Sister Simone Campbell of the Nuns On The Bus calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about their effort to get out the vote

• Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, authors of “Game Change” and “Double Down” call in 10:50am ET / 7:50am PT to talk about the mid-terms

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for another edition of Whore Fridays

• In between going on a bike ride and taking delivery of a pizza, nurse Kaci Hickox and her boyfriend did chores and watched a movie while officials struggled to reach a compromise in a standoff that has become the nation’s most closely watched clash between personal freedom and fear of Ebola.

• Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Eric Frein, the man who evaded capture for more than six weeks after allegedly killing a Pennsylvania state trooper and wounding another. Frein was arrested in rural Pennsylvania last night.

• Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board have been unable to inspect a small plane that crashed into a building at an airport in Wichita, Kansas, killing four people.

• Democratic Strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about next week’s elections

• Lily Eskelsen Garcia, President of the National Education Association, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about next week’s election

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• Comedy duo Frangela joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau for the 11am ET / 8am PT hour

• Nurse Kaci Hickox, who treated Ebola patients in West Africa, ended her voluntary quarantine Wednesday, signaling a potential showdown with state police monitoring her home and state health officials seeking to legally enforce it.

• Democrats are rushing to save suddenly vulnerable House incumbents, even in states where President Obama cruised to double-digit victories, amid fresh signs of Republican momentum less than a week before the midterm elections.

• Attorney General Eric Holder says that he is beyond exasperated — he is “mad,” in fact — at the leaks pouring out of the investigation into the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

• The San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 last night to take the World Series title. Some fans in San Francisco celebrated by burning couches and other debris in the streets of the city.

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about next week’s elections

• Queen Latifah calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the season premiere of her talk show

• Comedian and actor Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• Kaci Hickox, the nurse released from quarantine in New Jersey after she had returned from treating Ebola patients in West Africa refuses to comply with another 21-day quarantine imposed by Maine officials, her attorney says. She has agreed to stay in isolation for two days.

• A second Dallas nurse undergoing treatment for Ebola was released from Emory University Hospital after doctors said she had been cured. Nurse Amber Vinson, 29, was discharged after spending the last two weeks undergoing treatment in its biocontainment unit.

• An Orbital Sciences rocket making only its fifth flight exploded seconds after launch from the Virginia coast Tuesday, erupting in a spectacular fireball and destroying an uncrewed Cygnus cargo ship in a disheartening failure for NASA’s commercial space station resupply program.

• Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is ordering more security for more than 9,500 federal government buildings in reaction to “continued public calls by terrorist organizations for attacks on the homeland and elsewhere” after two attacks last week on Canada’s government.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about guns vs. Ebola in the media

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about his view of whistleblowers

• U.S. health officials are recommending that people who are at highest risk for coming down with Ebola avoid commercial travel or attending large public gatherings, even if they have no symptoms. The C.D.C. issued the updated advice to state and local officials yesterday.

• Kaci Hickox, a nurse who treated Ebola patients in West Africa, agreed to be quarantined at home in Maine upon her return from a weekend of confinement in New Jersey, but her lawyer disagrees with officials over how long she’ll have to stay in seclusion.

• Investigators say that a gunman responsible for a shooting at a Washington state high school on Friday invited his victims to lunch by text message. The five students were all at a lunch table when they were shot by 15-year-old Jaylen Fryberg.

• Graphic images and witness accounts have led to claims that the ISIS terror group has gained access to chemical weapons and is using them against Kurdish fighters in Syria and government forces in Iraq. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the reports were under investigation.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about what the Far Right thinks about Ebola

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about gun deaths vs. Ebola deaths

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• The lawyer for a non-symptomatic nurse in a 21-day mandatory quarantine in a New Jersey hospital after she returned from treating Ebola patients in Africa says he is planning to file a federal suit to get her released. Kaci Hickox said she feels that her “basic human rights are being violated.”

• A New York City doctor who tested positive for Ebola when he returned to the city after treating Ebola patients in Guinea “looks better today than yesterday,” but is in serious but stable condition, health officials said.

• Gia Soriano, a victim in Friday’s shooting at a Washington high school, has died, officials said Sunday. She was 14. Authorities have identified the shooter as Jaylen Fryberg, 14. One other female student died Friday. Three other students remain hospitalized.

• A gunman who shot and killed a soldier at Canada’s national war memorial and then stormed Parliament before he was gunned down had prepared a video of himself that police say shows he was driven by ideological and political motives

• Comedian John Fugelsang calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for another edition of “Fridays With Fugelsang”

• Michael Goodwin, President of Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for another edition of “Whore Fridays”

• Dr. Craig Spencer, a 33-year-old emergency room doctor who recently returned to New York City after treating Ebola patients in West Africa has tested positive for the virus, becoming the first case in the city and the fourth in the nation.

• The Canadian man who was shot dead after he killed a soldier and invaded the country’s Parliament was in Ottawa applying for a passport and was hoping to leave for Syria, a top police official said yesterday.

• The Justice Department continues to investigate the fatal shooting of a black man in Ferguson, Mo., by a white police officer. Attorney General Eric Holder says he is “exasperated” by what he called “selective leaks” in the case.

• Two days after audio from a brawl involving the Palin family was released, Bristol Palin has defended herself and her family in writing, explaining her side of what happened on the evening of Sept. 6. In the statement, she blames the “liberal media” and bashes the Clinton family.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about Renee Zellweger and climate change

• Actor and comedian Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Coffee With Carlos”

• A gunman fatally shot a Canadian soldier in an attack near Parliament in Ottawa yesterday what the prime minster called a “terrorist” act. The gunman was shot and killed inside the Parliament building, and the slain soldier was Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, 24, a reservist from Hamilton, Ontario.

• Ashoka Mukpo, an American video journalist who recovered from Ebola at an Omaha hospital, left the facility Wednesday afternoon free of the virus and is heading home to Rhode Island, a hospital spokesman said.

• The Secret Service has apprehended another man who jumped over the White House fence. The man has been identified as Dominic Adesanya, 23 , from Bel Air, MD, the Secret Service said. Adesanya was unarmed at the time of his arrest and charges are pending.

• Four former Blackwater security guards were convicted Wednesday in the 2007 shootings of more than 30 Iraqis in Baghdad, an incident that inflamed anti-American sentiment around the globe and was denounced by critics as an illustration of a war gone horribly wrong.

• Dean Obeidallah, columnist for “The Daily Beast”, calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Dems in the 2014 election

• Legal analyst Lisa Bloom calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Ferguson and about the Oscar Pistorius case

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for “Jacki’s Healthcare Corner”

• A passenger who arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport from Brussels on United flight 998 Tuesday was being evaluated for possible symptoms of Ebola, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• The freelance cameraman who contracted Ebola while working with NBC in Liberia is now disease free, he tweeted yesterday. The medical center announced today that he was free of the disease and would be released from the hospital on today.

• The FBI tracked down three American teenage girls in Germany while they were en route to Syria to join militant groups. The Denver-area girls were trying “to fulfill what they believe is some vision that has been put out on a slick media campaign” by radical groups in Syria the official said.

• Bristol Palin said the drunken brawl involving her family at a house party last month was started when she was defending her younger sister, newly released audio reveals.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about how Ebola is being covered by the press

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about GOP Sen. Ted Cruz hampering Ebola efforts

• The Centers for Disease Control released new guidelines Monday for how health workers should gear up to treat Ebola patients. The guidelines call for face shields, hoods, boot covers and other garb that leave no part of the body exposed.

• President Obama promoted early voting in his home state of Illinois on Monday by casting his ballot near his home in Chicago. Dems across the country are urging supporters to take advantage of early voting ahead of the midterm elections. Earlier voters have traditionally favored Dems.

• Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp with four shots from a handgun on Valentine’s Day 2013.

• Monica Lewinsky nearly broke down in tears yesterday as she recounted her experience as “patient zero, the first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet.” Lewinsky vowed to “give purpose to my past” by speaking publicly about life after her affair with then-President Bill Clinton.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Ebola and President Obama

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 10am ET / 7am PT for Maximum Mookage Mondays

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 11am ET / 8am PT to talk about the GOP’s use of Ebola Panic

• Ebola fears are beginning to ease for some today as a monitoring period passed for those in Dallas who had close contact with a victim of the disease and after a cruise ship scare ended with the boat returning to port and a lab worker on board testing negative for the virus.

• On Sunday the Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had ordered the formation of a 30-person military support team to assist civilian medical professionals in the U.S. to treat Ebola.

• The U.S. military said Sunday that for the first time it had airdropped weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to Kurdish forces defending the Syrian city of Kobani against ISIS militants.

• Marching onto the campaign trail for the first time this year, President Obama cast Dems’ success in this year’s midterm elections as a chance to further the policies he’s fought for in the White House. “Don’t give up now,” he said in Illinois yesterday. “Not after we’ve made this much progress.”