• 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.”

• Democratic Strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the politics of Ebola

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

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

• Members of Congress questioned government and hospital officials about their response to the Ebola crisis Thursday, seeking to identify any mistakes made in containing the virus in the United States. They also pushed for more aggressive measures to prevent it from spreading further.

• The first nurse to be diagnosed with Ebola after treating an infected Liberian man at a Dallas hospital has arrived in Maryland for treatment at a specialized isolation unit. Nina Pham will be treated at a National Institutes of Health center in Bethesda, Maryland.

• President Obama said he is open to appointing what would essentially be an Ebola Czar to deal with the ongoing situation with the deadly disease in the U.S.

• Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden was discharged from the Navy in February after testing positive for cocaine, a person familiar with the case confirmed. The person said Biden had failed a urinalysis test administered in June 2013 before he was discharged from the Navy.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the politics of the Ebola reactions

• Dean Obeidallah, columnist for “The Daily Beast”, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the problem of businesses named ISIS

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

• A Dallas nurse who treated an Ebola patient contacted federal health officials before boarding a passenger flight Monday due to a slightly elevated temperature, but was allowed to board the flight because she was not exhibiting additional symptoms of Ebola.

• A top official at the Texas hospital where Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan died and two nurses contracted the deadly virus is apologizing to Congress for his facility’s “mistakes” in handling the highly contagious disease.

• A growing chorus of lawmakers is calling on President Obama to impose travel restrictions on passengers coming to the U.S. from West African countries stricken by Ebola. House Speaker John Boehner has become the highest-ranking GOP lawmaker to ask for a travel ban.

• U.S.-led air strikes have killed several hundred Islamic State fighters around the Syrian town of Kobani, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, but it cautioned that the town near Turkey’s border could still fall to the Sunni militant group.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about how the Democrats are once again being cowards

• Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the close race to defeat Sen. Mitch McConnell in Kentucky

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

• A second worker at the Texas hospital where a Liberian man died of Ebola has tested positive for the disease, the C.D.C. said early Wednesday morning. Officials have confirmed that the health worker did provide care to Thomas Eric Duncan, who died at Presbyterian on Oct. 8.

• Co-workers of a Dallas nurse who contracted Ebola from a sick patient say they worked for days without proper protective gear – and that the hospital’s Ebola protocols and procedures were unclear and inadequate.

• President Obama wet with military commanders from more than 20 countries on Tuesday to discuss how to fight ISIS. The terror group is gaining more ground in Syria and Iraq, even after weeks of airstrikes by the U.S. and other countries.

• The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked key parts of a 2013 law in Texas that had closed all but eight facilities providing abortions in America’s second most-populous state.

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the non-storm over marriage equality

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

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about the media’s Ebola hysteria

• Federal health officials on Monday urged U.S. hospitals to “think Ebola” and launched a review of procedures for treating infected patients, while the World Health Organization called the outbreak “the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times.”

• Nina Pham, the Texas nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for a dying Liberian man, repeatedly visited his room from the day he was admitted to the intensive care unit until the day before he died, medical records show.

• Baghdad is close to being encircled by ISIS. Much of Anbar province to the west and part of Diyala to the northeast have fallen. The U.S. is hitting ISIS from the air, but it’s up to the Iraqis to win on the ground.

• Pounding rain didn’t deter hundreds of protesters yesterday outside Ferguson police headquarters, where they stayed for almost 4 hours to mark how long 18-year-old Michael Brown’s body was left in a street after he was fatally shot by police.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the quiet competence of President Obama

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Fox News’ silence on marriage equality

• A nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the Ebola patient who was hospitalized and later died there has tested positive for the disease, despite taking apparent and prescribed safety precautions like wearing protective gear.

• A federal judge has struck down Alaska’s first-in-the-nation ban on gay marriages, saying the ban violates the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights. The state intends to appeal the ruling but chances of it winning in the 9th Circuit Court are slim considering previous rulings in ID and NV.

• Turkey will let U.S. and coalition forces use its bases, including a key installation within 100 miles of the Syrian border, for operations against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants, American defense officials said Sunday.

• Seventeen people were arrested during weekend protests, St. Louis police said Sunday, and more demonstrations were planned over the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in suburban Ferguson this summer.

• Sexy Liberal 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 Whore Fridays

• Six U.S. military planes arrived in the Ebola hot zone Thursday with more Marines, as West Africa’s leaders pleaded for the world’s help in dealing with “a tragedy unforeseen in modern times.” Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, said he was reminded of the start of the AIDS epidemic.

• U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that the key military assistance the United States would like to get from Turkey would be access to the Turkish air base at Incirlik and an agreement to help train and equip the moderate Syrian forces.

• A federal judge on Thursday likened Texas’ tough voter ID law to a poll tax meant to suppress minority voters and blocked Texas from enforcing it just weeks ahead of next month’s election, knocking down a measure the U.S. Justice Department condemned in court as deliberately discriminatory.

• Marriage equality came to West Virginia on Thursday, following a decision by the state’s attorney general to stop defending the state’s ban on same-sex couples’ marriages. Casie McGee and Sarah Adkins of Cabell County became the first gay couple married there yesterday.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the marriage equality earthquake this week

• Ian Millhiser, Editor of ThinkProgress Justice, calls in at 6:30am to talk about the legal justifications for the Supreme Court’s marriage inaction

• Dean Obeidallah, columnist for “The Daily Beast”, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about what he calls Bill Maher’s Muslim problem

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

• President Obama calls it a “belt and suspenders” approach — an extra level of screening at five major U.S. airports to try to catch any travelers from Ebola-ravaged countries who may be carrying the disease. About 150 travelers a day will have their temperatures checked using no-touch thermometers.

• The body of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to die of Ebola in the U.S., will be cremated, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Centers said yesterday. Duncan’s body will be enclosed in two bags and the bags will then be disinfected, the hospital said in a statement today.

• A judge in northeast Kansas has ordered a county to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following actions earlier this week by the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Michael Tomasky of “The Daily Beast” calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Bill Maher’s spat with Ben Affleck over Islam

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

• Officials in Baghdad say that militants with ISIS have downed an Iraqi military helicopter near the refinery town of Beiji, killing the two pilots on board. This is the second Iraqi military helicopter shot down over Beiji by ISIS militants in one week.

• Four men were arrested Tuesday in London on suspicion of planning an act of terrorism, one that the city’s police commissioner described as “quite a serious case.” Islamic terrorism was “the clear reason” for the plot, according to a source.

• Bureaucracy and red tape are slowing the budding Ebola aid effort in West Africa, aid groups complain. The U.S. government now says 4,000 troops will be deployed in Liberia alone to help distribute supplies. The response from aid organizations: Hurry up.

• A federal appeals court declared gay marriage legal in Idaho and Nevada on Tuesday, setting the stage for couples to marry in Las Vegas, the self-proclaimed wedding capital of the world.

• Matt Breen, Editor in Chief of “The Advocate”, calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about The Supreme Court and marriage equality

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the bad news for Mitch McConnell

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

• President Obama reiterated again Monday that the chances of an Ebola outbreak in the United States are “extremely low,” but that the case of a Liberian man who began exhibiting symptoms of disease after arriving in Dallas shows how vigilant U.S. health workers must be.

• Thomas Eric Duncan, the Ebola patient in isolation at a Texas hospital, has begun treatment with an experimental drug that was just authorized by the federal government for certain patients, the hospital said.

• An Illinois teenager was arrested Saturday at Chicago’s O’Hare airport as authorities say he was attempting to travel to the Middle East to join ISIS. Mohammed Hamzah Khan, age 19, appeared in court to face charges for allegedly attempting to provide material support for a terrorist organization.

• The Supreme Court cleared the way for marriage equality in five states yesterday, and Tony London and Tim Bostic of Norfolk, VA was just one of the couples who received a marriage license in Virginia yesterday.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about why it’s time to build a fence around Texas

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the GOP pumping up Ebola hysteria

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

• The U.S. journalist who tested positive for Ebola while working in Liberia is scheduled to arrive at the Nebraska Medical Center today. Ashoka Mukpo, who was working as a freelance cameraman for NBC, left Liberia in a specially equipped plane Sunday.

• The first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States was downgraded to critical condition and is fighting for his life at a Dallas hospital on Sunday He appeared to be receiving none of the experimental medicines for the virus, a top U.S. health official said.

• Militants from the Islamic State group on Sunday publicly killed six Iraqi soldiers captured in an embattled western province where the extremists continue to advance despite an expanding U.S.-led campaign of airstrikes, residents said.

• Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters remained encamped on the streets as dawn broke on Monday, just hours before a government deadline to clear key thoroughfares they have blockaded for more than a week.

• Comedian and actor John Fugelsang calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT for “Fridays With Fugelsang”

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

• An American cameraman helping to cover the Ebola outbreak in Liberia for NBC News has tested positive for the virus and will be flown back to the United States for treatment. NBC News identifies him as Ashoka Mukpo, 33. He is the fifth American to contract the virus.

• The Dallas hospital treating a patient with Ebola blamed a flaw in its electronic health records as the reason he was first released despite telling a nurse he had come from West Africa. Thomas Eric Duncan is currently confined to an isolation unit at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

• Speaking in Chicago yesterday, President Obama suggested that if voters elect Democrats in this November’s midterm elections, it could “set the stage for America’s greatness” in the decades to come. Obama argued that the US is poised for greatness because of the foundation he’s laid.

• With frustration mounting, President Obama sought Thursday to quell doubts he’ll use his presidential powers to act on immigration, telling Hispanics and immigration activists it’s “not a question of if, but when.”

• Democratic Strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the Secret Service failures and their hearings

• Dean Obeidallah, columnist for “The Daily Beast”, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about solutions for the ISIS crisis

• Comedy legend Jo Anne Worley calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about a benefit for Actors and Others for Animals

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

• A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was in Dallas Wednesday investigating why a hospital sent an Ebola patient home, potentially exposing others to the deadly virus. This is the first Ebola case diagnosed in the U.S.

• Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, who has been skewered by critics over the Sept. 19 White House security breach, has resigned, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Joseph Clancy, formerly special agent in charge of the Presidential Protective Division of the Secret Service, has been named interim acting director.

• Prosecutors are investigating possible grand jury misconduct with a Twitter post claiming that those hearing evidence in the police shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old near St. Louis haven’t seen enough evidence to justify prosecuting the officer.

• Country music star Chely Wright calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about her latest project

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

• Secret Service Director Julia Pierson said Tuesday that she takes “full responsibility” for several high-profile security failures at the White House in testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

• An armed security contractor convicted three times for charges of assault and battery was allowed on an elevator with President Obama earlier this month, adding another tally mark to a score of headaches that have recently besieged the United States Secret Service.

• For the first time, a patient in an American hospital has been diagnosed with Ebola. The unidentified man, who is being treated at a Dallas hospital, didn’t show symptoms until after four or five days of arriving in the United States from Liberia.

• Tracy Morgan is speaking out after Walmart faulted the comedian for not wearing his seat belt in connection with injuries he sustained in June from a six-car crash on the New Jersey Turnpike. “I can’t believe Walmart is blaming me for an accident that they caused. My friends and I were doing nothing wrong,” the comedian said in a statement.

• Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the religious right’s slow-motion suicide

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the deviousness of the Koch Brothers

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

• The man who scaled the White House fence and was able to run through the front doors made it farther into the building than was previously reported. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson is scheduled to answer questions about the incident this morning on Capitol Hill.

• ISIS is tightening its grip on the Syria-Turkey border. Kobane, in Syria, is a Kurdish city and it is nearly surrounded. Tens of thousands of residents have fled across the border, and the Kurdish defenders left behind seem both outgunned and outmanned.

• A divided Supreme Court has put off the start of early voting in Ohio, which had been set to begin Tuesday. The justices’ order by a 5-4 vote Monday granted a request from GOP state officials to wipe out a week in Ohio when people could both register to vote and cast ballots.

• Walmart says Tracy Morgan wasn’t wearing his seatbelt during a New Jersey wreck with its truck that left the former “30 Rock” star with serious injuries.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about whether sex toys can save Kansas

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about how the DC press portrays women

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

• President Barack Obama admitted Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that the United States underestimated the threat posed by Islamic State fighters in Syria, as US-led coalition warplanes pounded the oil sites that fund the jihadist group.

• At least a dozen people were arrested Sunday night in Ferguson, Missouri as a large crowd gathered in front of the city’s police headquarters, St. Louis County Police report. Officers said bottles and rocks were thrown at Ferguson officers.

• A man accused of beheading a woman in Oklahoma will be charged with first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, authorities said. Alton Nolen, a recent convert to Islam, allegedly attacked a woman Thursday at a Vaughan Foods processing plant, soon after he learned he’d lost his job there.

• Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton say they are “blessed, grateful, and so happy” to become grandparents. Their daughter Chelsea gave birth to a daughter Friday night.

• Actor and comedian John Fugelsang joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 9am ET / 6am PT for 3 hours of Fridays With Fugelsang

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Dubbing six years at the helm of the Justice Department “a pretty good run,” President Obama on Thursday announced that Attorney General Eric Holder will be stepping down – a “bittersweet” moment, the president noted, in the career of one of just three remaining members of his original cabinet.

• Iraq’s prime minister said Thursday that captive militants for ISIS told his intelligence agents of an alleged plot to attack subways in the United States and Paris. FBI Director James Comey told reporters Thursday afternoon that he was unaware of any threat directed at U.S. subways.

• An Afghan official said Friday that Taliban insurgents had beheaded 12 civilians and torched some 60 homes in an assault on security forces in the eastern Ghazni province.

• Derek Jeter capped his Yankee Stadium farewell with a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning, the latest – and perhaps last – storybook moment in his charmed and illustrious career, to give New York a 6-5 victory Thursday night over the Baltimore Orioles.

• Comedian and actor John Fugelsang joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 9am ET / 6am PT for all three hours

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner joins us at 11am ET / 8am PT for Jacki’s Healthcare Corner

• U.S. warplanes have again bombed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) positions in Syria, the Pentagon confirmed late Wednesday afternoon. The strikes were against a dozen ISIS targets with five of the strikes being carried out by the U.S. and seven by Arab allies.

• The threat from Khorasan, whose targets were hit by U.S. airstrikes on Monday, began building as Syria’s civil war was expanding in 2012. That’s when U.S. and foreign intelligence first tracked a small number of senior al Qaeda terrorists as they moved from Afghanistan and Pakistan into Syria.

• President Obama told the United Nations Wednesday that “America will not base our entire foreign policy on reacting to terrorism,” even as he works to dismantle a “network of death” established by Islamic extremists in the Middle East.

• Police in London arrested nine men today as part of ongoing investigations into “Islamist related terrorism,” the city’s Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement. The men – ranging in age from 22 to 51 – are accused of being members of a banned group and encouraging terrorism.

• Comedian and actor John Fugelsang joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to hang for the rest of the show

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

• President Obama will speak today at the U.N. General Assembly to defend his decision to bomb terror groups inside Syria without approval from the U.N. Security Council, Congress or an invitation from Syria. He is set to address the overall unease in the world given the new dangers posed by groups like ISIS and Khorasan.

• U.S. military forces carried out two more airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria overnight and another in Iraq, the U.S. Central Command said. The airstrikes took out two ISIS armed vehicles near the eastern city of Dayr az Zawr. The military said the vehicles were considered “targets of opportunity.”

• A US-led air attack against jihadists in Syria targeted Al-Qaeda’s Khorasan group because it was on the verge of carrying out “major attacks” against the West, the US military said Tuesday.

• Angry protesters took to the streets of Ferguson, Missouri late Tuesday after a memorial to Michael Brown was destroyed in a fire, renewing tensions in the St. Louis suburb. Many at the site blamed police for the blaze.

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the battle between religion and science

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

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about dismal new changes at “Meet The Press”

• The U.S. military has launched airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. The U.S. military said five Arab nations had roles in the attacks, which focused on ISIS’ heartland around the Syrian province of Raqqa. Reuters quoted a group that tracks the war as saying at least 20 ISIS fighters were killed in the strikes.

• When President Obama addresses the United Nations climate summit on Tuesday, he’ll call on world leaders to follow his lead and develop plans to cut carbon pollution.

• Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti criticized a report that suggests he and other team officials tried to persuade the NFL to be lenient on Ray Rice after the running back was arrested for knocking out his then-fiancee in an Atlantic City elevator.

• President Obama was “obviously concerned,” a White House spokesman said Monday, that a man wielding a knife managed to jump the White House fence on Friday night and actually get inside before being apprehended. Obama says he still has “complete confidence” in the Secret Service.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Kentuckians’ strange love/hate with Obamacare

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

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

• Islamic State (ISIS) has urged its followers to attack citizens of the United States, France and other allies who have joined a coalition to fight the militant group, the SITE monitoring website said on Monday.

• The man accused of scaling a security fence and getting into the White House with a knife is scheduled to have his initial appearance today in federal court. Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, is facing charges of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds while carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon.

• More than 300,000 people turned out today for the People’s Climate March in New York City, making it the largest recorded demonstration calling for a response to climate change. The marchers just hope someone was paying attention.

• Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, said it would be a “huge mistake” for the NFL to allow its players to continue to play if they are convicted of violent felonies.

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

• Jen Palmieri, White House Chief of Communications, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about their new “It’s On Us” program to help prevent campus sexual assault.

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• Scottish voters have rejected independence, deciding to remain part of the United Kingdom in a historic referendum that shook the country to its core, bringing a huge sigh of relief to the British political establishment.

• The White House Thursday sternly told the NFL that “it’s important that the league get a handle” on players who commit child abuse and domestic violence ” and that the league must “have a zero tolerance” regarding those issues.

• With a bipartisan vote, the Senate on Thursday approved a request from President Obama to arm and train Syrian rebels in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, also known as ISIL), sending a bill to Mr. Obama for a final signature.

• Australia ordered federal police to take over security at the house of parliament Friday, a day after police conducted one of the nation’s largest counter-terrorism operations in Sydney amid chatter of potential terror threats.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about Code Pink’s appearance at the ISIS hearings yesterday

• Author Naomi Klein calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about her new book, “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate”

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

• Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer was arrested Wednesday on charges of aggravated assault, criminal damage and preventing someone from calling 911, Phoenix police said. The alleged victims were a 27-year-old woman and an 18-month-old child.

• The House voted Wednesday to give President Obama the authority to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The vote was bipartisan, passing with 273 votes in favor and 156 votes against.

• A day after his top military leader said he would advise sending combat troops into Iraq if it becomes necessary, President Obama doubled down on his pledge not to pursue another ground war in the country during efforts to decimate ISIS.

• Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about our plans to take on ISIS

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

• After a day of public pressure from angry fans and concerned sponsors, the Minnesota Vikings have reversed course and placed star running back Adrian Peterson on the exempt-commissioner’s permission list, which means he will have to stay away from the team while he addresses child abuse charges in Texas.

• Gen. Martin Dempsey, the nation’s top military leader, told Congress Tuesday that he will recommend President Obama consider using ground troops to combat ISIS if the expanded military campaign to the president laid out last week fails.

• President Obama on Tuesday announced a major expansion of U.S. aid in the fight against the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, warning that the virus is spiraling out of control and could become a threat to global security if left unchecked.

• Broadening its push to improve police relations with minorities, the Justice Department has enlisted a team of criminal justice researchers to study racial bias in law enforcement in five American cities and recommend strategies to address the problem nationally, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.

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

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about the ugly side of the NFL

• U.S. officials said Monday the United States has taken the first step in its planned expanded fight against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants, conducting airstrikes to aid of Iraqi security forces near Baghdad who were being attacked by enemy fighters.

• The Obama administration will assign 3,000 U.S. military personnel to West Africa “to combat and contain” what senior administration officials call an “extraordinarily serious epidemic” with the Ebola outbreak.

• Minnesota Vikings player Adrian Peterson has issued a statement after being charged with child abuse and says he is “sorry about the hurt I have brought to my child.” Peterson was charged last weekend after he struck his 4-year-old son with a tree branch as a form of discipline earlier this summer.

• Hurricane Odile snapped palm trees like twigs, washed out roads and left tourists trapped in Mexican resorts Monday. Even as it weakened into a Category 1 hurricane, the storm threatened to bring torrential rains and flooding as it moved over Baja California and closer to the American Southwest, forecasters said.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about why he won’t be mocking the big Palin fight in Anchorage

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the loss of proper Beltway analysis in the media

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

• After the beheading of another Western captive by ISIS, an international conference is convening today in Paris to talk about how to tackle the threat posed by the Islamic extremist group. The conference is being hosted by French President Francois Hollande and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Masum.

• The eyes of the political world turned to Iowa on Sunday as Hillary Clinton took the stage at the 37th-and-final Harkin Steak Fry, a Democratic fundraiser spearheaded by longtime Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. Clinton began her speech with an ebullient, “I’m baaaack!”

• Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) added his voice to the growing debate surrounding NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s fate, saying that Goodell “should go” if he lied about the NFL not having seen the violent video of former Baltimore Ravens star Ray Rice knocking his then fiancé unconscious.

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• 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 to hang with us for the hour

• The United States signed up 10 Arab allies on Thursday to a “coordinated military campaign” against Islamic State fighters, a major step in building regional support for President Barack Obama’s plan to strike both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi frontier.

• The U.S. military flew two air strikes today, knocking out ISIS machine guns near the Mosul Dam as it geared up for more aggressive attacks. Once the new campaign begins, all ISIS forces across Northern and Western Iraq, including their leaders, will become potential targets.

• The NFL needs a “zero-tolerance” policy for players who commit violent acts against women, 16 female U.S. senators told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a letter Thursday.

• Oscar Pistorius sat down in a South African court Friday and within an hour, he heard the verdict for which he and much of the world have waited more than a year. The judge declared Pistorius guilty on the charge of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter in the U.S. legal system.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the president’s ISIS speech last night

• Michael Tomasky, columnist for The Daily Beast, calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the president’s speech on ISIS

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

• President Obama on Wednesday announced a comprehensive strategy to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, or ISIL) that will broaden the U.S. military role to include airstrikes in Syria but not put any American combat troops on the ground in the region.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi praised Obama’s “concrete and forceful strategy” against IS and highlighted his pledges to act “with a broad coalition of partners and without using U.S. combat forces on the ground.” Rep. John Boehner crowed that Obama had “recanted his earlier dismissals” of the threat posed by ISIS.

• Former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III will conduct a probe into how the NFL handled evidence as it investigated domestic violence claims against former Ravens running back Ray Rice. A law enforcement official said that he sent a tape of Rice striking his then-fiancee at a casino to an NFL executive in April.

• Dean Obeidallah, columnist for The Daily Beast, calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Dems and the midterm elections

• Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the situation with ISIS, Iraq, and Syria

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

• In his first visit to the warzone since the launch of U.S. airstrikes, Secretary of State John Kerry helicoptered into Baghdad today to meet new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi, whose government is a cornerstone in the Obama administration’s plan to combat ISIS.

• In an address to the nation tonight, President Obama will outline an expanded military and political effort to combat militants in Syria and Iraq, and urge Congress to quickly give him authority to arm moderate Syrian opposition forces fighting President Bashar Assad.

• Baltimore Ravens owner Stephen Bisciotti wrote a letter to the team’s fans and sponsors Tuesday, addressing the team’s handling of the Ray Rice situation and stating that the Ravens could have handled things differently.

• Apple on Tuesday introduced two new iPhones, its long-awaited Apple Watch and a mobile payment system as part of a marketing blitz aimed at drumming up consumer excitement.

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the new face of Meet The Press

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Fox News laughing at the Ray Rice assault

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

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Rand Paul’s newest flip-flop on ISIS

• As President Obama prepares to speak to the nation about his plans to confront Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria, the White House is offering little detail about what new strategy he might share. Mr. Obama said that he will tell the nation about his plans to “hunt down” ISIS in a speech tomorrow.

• The Baltimore Ravens cut star running back Ray Rice from their roster Monday afternoon after video emerged earlier in the day appearing to show him punching and knocking out his then-fiancee and now-wife Janay Palmer.

• President Obama said Sunday that his decision to postpone any executive action on immigration until after November’s midterm elections was not driven by politics. But lawmakers from both parties spied politics in the president’s decision, and they almost unanimously disagreed with it.

Today’s vacation Best-Of show features, by overwhelming listener request, journalist May Lee in Hours 1 and 3, with Hour 2 featuring John Fugelsang in studio along with our final talk with comedy legend Joan Rivers from this past June. Listen from 9am to Noon ET / 6am to 9am PT on SiriusXM Radio Progress 127, on the Progressive Voices channel on the TuneIn smartphone app, on fine Progressive Talk stations around the country like The Mic 92.1in Madison, 880 the Revolution in Asheville NC, KTNF-AM in The Twin Cities, 1480 KPHX (Official) – The Valley’s Progressive Talk – Phoenix, AZ Phoenix, or KPTR 1450 AM in Palm Springs.

Today’s vacation Best-Of Steph show featuring women’s sports pioneer Debbie Millbern Powers, actor Tim Robbins, and Prop 8 attorney Ted Olson is posted! Grab it on iTunes, Stitcher, or at the Stephcast page on this site if you’re a subscriber! If you’re not a subscriber, do so by also going to the Stephcast page (only $4.95 a month if you buy a year in advance *gling*).

We have a great vacation Best-Of today… Hour 1 features Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter, as well as Simpson’s creator Sam Simon, who has the most inspirational story you’ve ever heard. Hour 2 features comedian Michael McDonald in studio with us, and Hour 3 features Prop 8 plaintiffs Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo in studio with us. Enjoy!

Vacation Best-Of today! Hour 1 has former Vikings kicker Chris Kluwe, Hour 2 has Steph’s actor nephew Paul Fitzgerald talking about bisexuality, and Hour 3 has former president Jimmy Carter!

Happy Labor Day, everyone! We’ve got a great Best-Of Show lined up for you. Kathleen Madigan from February will grace us in Hour 1, Georgia school shooting hero Antoinette Tuff is in Hour 2, and our Earthquake Show from March is in Hour 3! Listen from 9am to Noon ET / 6am to 9am PT on SiriusXM Radio Progress 127, on the Progressive Voices channel on the TuneIn App, on fine Progressive Talk stations around the country like The Mic 92.1 in Madison, WCPT AM & FM – Chicago’s Progressive Talk Radio, 880 the Revolution in Asheville NC, KTNF-AM in The Twin Cities, 1480 KPHX (Official) – The Valley’s Progressive Talk – Phoenix, AZ in Phoenix, or KPTR 1450 AM in Palm Springs. You can also watch the show on the Free Speech TV channel on your Roku or at www.stephaniemiller.com.

• Syndicated Columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about LGBT civil rights around the world

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• President Obama admitted that his administration does not yet have a strategy to combat the militant Islamic group ISIS that has seized large chunks of Iraq and Syria. When the president was asked if he would seek Congressional approval for U.S. attacks on ISIS targets in Syria, he responded, “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. We don’t have a strategy yet.”

• Ukraine’s president today declared that a “Russian invasion” of his country was underway and the United Nations’ Security Council called an emergency session to discuss the latest crisis involving allegations of Russia’s overt support for Ukrainian rebels.

• Hillary Clinton, speaking in San Francisco yesterday, addressed the situation in Ferguson, applauding President Obama for his response to the protests and calling for a nationwide effort to improve racial inequalities that she said still persist in the American justice system.

• Joan Rivers is “resting comfortably” after she was hospitalized Thursday, her daughter said. “I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming love and support for my mother,” Melissa Rivers said in a statement released by Mount Sinai Hospital. “She is with our family.”

• Democratic Strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the GOP’s expensive lawyers to sue President Obama

• Filmmmaker CC Goldwater calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the political news of the day

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

• A second American from the Minneapolis area has been killed while fighting for the Islamic State of of Iraq and Syria, according to family and friends. The death follows that of Douglas McCain, an American who grew up in Minnesota, who was killed while fighting for ISIS in Syria over the weekend.

• Shirley Sotloff, the mother of an American writer being held hostage by ISIS, pleaded directly with the leader of the Iraqi terror group in a new video, begging him to “please, release my child.”

• President Obama has yet to decide whether to authorize air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria, the White House insists. More and more, though, the signals and nuance from the administration and the military suggest such a campaign could be coming.

• The death toll of the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa continues to accelerate with 1,552 now dead, according to the World Health Organization.

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

• U.S. officials say an American has died fighting with ISIS terrorists in Syria. The death of Douglas McAuthur McCain was confirmed Tuesday by National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden. McCain, using the Twitter name “Duale Khalid,” had often praised ISIS and defended Jihad.

• A Boston journalist who was held hostage in Syria is back home. Peter Theo Curtis was reunited with his family last night. The 45-year-old, who wrote under the name Theo Padnos, had been held captive in Syria for almost two years before being released this past weekend.

• An open-ended cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip was holding Wednesday, as many people on both sides of the conflict wondered what was gained during 50 days of fighting.

• Burger King announced that it has reached a deal to buy Canadian doughnut chain Tim Hortons and base itself in Canada, a controversial transaction that raises questions about business taxes and corporate patriotism.

• The FBI has questioned a man who says he recorded audio of gunfire at the time Brown was shot by Ferguson, Missouri, police on August 9. In the recording, a quick series of shots can be heard, followed by a pause and then another quick succession of shots.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about failed efforts to bash Hillary Clinton

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Sarah Palin’s ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

• Syria said today it’s willing to cooperate with the United States to put down the Sunni Muslim terrorist group known as ISIS. But the foreign minister warned against any attacks against ISIS targets in Syria — without Syrian permission. The US Military has said it will be ready for anything.

• Michael Brown’s relatives said goodbye Monday to the 18-year-old who was shot and killed by a police officer, remembering him as a “gentle soul” with a deep and growing faith in Christianity and ambitions that one day “the world would know his name.”

• The earthquake that jarred Napa caused $1 billion in damage, officials estimated Monday as business owners mopped up high-end vintages that spilled from barrels and bottles and swept away broken glass in the rush to get the tourist hotspot back in shape for the summer’s final holiday weekend.

• “Breaking Bad” and “Modern Family” won the Emmys for best drama series and best comedy series at last night’s Emmys 2014 awards hosted by Seth Meyers.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the GOP and race in Ferguson

• Dean Obeidallah, columnist for The Daily Beast, calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Rick Perry possibly doing time

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

• The father of Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old shot to death by a white police officer in Ferguson more than two weeks ago, pleaded yesterday for a “day of silence” as he lays his son to rest today.

• The U.S. government says an American journalist held hostage for about two years by an al Qaeda-linked group in Syria has been released. The Obama administration and the hostage’s family identified the man as Peter Theo Curtis of Massachusetts.

• The San Francisco Bay Area’s strongest earthquake in 25 years struck the heart of California’s wine country early Sunday, igniting gas-fed fires, damaging some of the region’s famed wineries and historic buildings, and sending dozens of people to hospitals.

• Sir Richard Attenborough, actor in such movies as “Miracle on 34th Street” and “Jurassic Park” and Oscar-winning director of “Ghandi”, died yesterday at age 90.

• 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 to hang with us for the hour

• Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday defended the failed U.S. attempt to rescue James Foley, but warned that the Islamic extremists who executed the American journalist are “beyond just a terrorist group” and “beyond anything that we’ve seen.”

• Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, American aid workers who were infected with the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, have recovered and have been discharged from an Atlanta hospital, officials announced Thursday. Brantly called it a “miraculous day.”

• An AP reporter has seen the first trucks in a Russian aid convoy crossing into eastern Ukraine after more than a week’s delay amid suspicions the mission was being used as a cover for an invasion by Moscow. The Red Cross says that no personnel from the organization were accompanying the convoy.

• Gay and lesbian rights advocates continued their undefeated run Thursday when a federal judge ruled Florida’s same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional — though he didn’t go so far to allow such marriages as to take place right away.

• Democratic Strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the GOP’s reaction to Ferguson

• Filmmaker CC Goldwater calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the events in Ferguson

• Civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the legal issues going on in Ferguson

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

• Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who has been in charge of security in Ferguson for nearly a week, told reporters early Thursday there were six arrests last night, compared to 47 the previous night, and called it “a very good night.”

• President Barack Obama sent special operations troops to Syria this summer on a secret mission to rescue American hostages, including journalist James Foley, held by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, but they did not find them, the Obama administration said Wednesday.

• The Atlanta hospital where two American aid workers were brought after getting infected with the Ebola virus in Liberia have scheduled a news conference for this morning to discuss the recovery and release of Dr. Kent Brantly.

• Former Vikings kicker Chris Kluwe calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about his settlement with the team over their alleged anti-gay behavior

• Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president-elect of the National Education Association, joins us in studio at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT

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

• Police and protesters in Ferguson were finally able to share the streets again at night, putting aside for at least a few hours some of the hostility that had filled that time on previous nights. Tensions did rise briefly. But the overall scene was more subdued than on the past five nights.

• The Islamic extremist group that has overrun parts of Syria and Iraq released a video Tuesday that apparently shows the beheading of American journalist James Foley. The militant group also threatened to kill another U.S. journalist if the U.S. does not halt its airstrikes in Iraq.

• Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, turned himself in Tuesday afternoon to be booked and have his mug shot taken at the Travis County Justice Center. The governor was indicted last Friday on two felony counts of abuse of power, which he called “baseless political charges.”

• Crews rescued residents and motorists after a monsoon surge that brought extensive flooding to Arizona, trapped residents in their homes and closed a major freeway in Phoenix.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the events in Ferguson, Missouri

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about the Sarah Palin Channel

• Protesters filled the streets of Ferguson, Missouri again after nightfall Monday, and officers trying to enforce tighter restrictions at times used bullhorns to order them to disperse. Police deployed noisemakers and armored vehicles to push demonstrators back. Officers fired tear gas and flash grenades.

• Amid ongoing tension in Ferguson, President Obama announced on Monday that he’s sending Attorney General Eric Holder there on Wednesday to work with community leaders through the issues dredged up by the shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown.

• Iraqi and Kurdish forces recaptured Iraq’s largest dam from Islamic militants Monday following dozens of U.S. airstrikes, President Barack Obama said, in the first major defeat for the extremists since they swept across the country this summer.

• Don Pardo, the durable television and radio announcer whose booming baritone on shows like “Saturday Night Live” and “Jeopardy” became as much a part of the cultural landscape as the shows and products he touted, died Monday in Arizona. He was 96.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the events in Ferguson, Missouri

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Texas governor Rick Perry’s indictment

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

• Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has called out the National Guard after another night of trouble in Ferguson, Missouri. Police used tear gas to clear protesters off the streets late Sunday, a week after demonstrations over the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer filled the St. Louis suburb with angry, defiant crowds.

• Iraqi state television reported Monday that Iraqi national and Kurdish “peshmerga” forces had retaken the key Mosul dam from Sunni militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but the fighting didn’t appear to be over.

• Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Sunday defended the veto that led a grand jury to indict him on two felony counts of abuse of power, noting that even some Democrats have questioned the move by prosecutors.

• Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Egypt-mediated Gaza truce talks have hardened their positions today ahead of the expiration of a five-day cease-fire.

• Actor Tony Hale (VEEP, Arrested Development) calls in at 9:50am ET / 6:50am PT to talk about his new children’s book, “Archibald’s Next Big Thing”

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• County police in riot gear and armored tanks gave way to state troopers walking side-by-side with thousands of protesters as the St. Louis suburb where an unarmed black teen was shot by a city police officer overwhelmingly avoided violence Thursday after nearly a week of unrest and mounting public tension.

• Robin Williams faced the early stages of Parkinson’s disease and was sober at the time of his death, his wife revealed in a statement on Thursday. News of Williams’ battle with early stages of Parkinson’s disease sheds some light on his last days as fans, family and friends grapple with the loss.

• Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s prime minister for the past eight years, relinquished the post to his nominated replacement late Thursday, ending a political deadlock that has plunged the country into uncertainty as it fights a Sunni militant insurgency.

• Ukraine said its customs and border service officials on Friday began inspecting a Russian aid convoy parked just beyond its border, a sign that the two countries were taking steps to ease mounting tensions over the shipment.

• Democratic Strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the loss of two great Progressives in Hollywood this week

• Filmmaker CC Goldwater calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the Dems’ changing chances for the 2014 elections

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

• Police used tear gas and smoke bombs to repel crowds they say threw Molotov cocktails during another violent night on the streets of a St. Louis suburb in the wake of the weekend shooting of the unarmed 18-year old Michael Brown.

• Israel and Hamas agreed to extend a temporary cease-fire for five days, Egyptian and Palestinian officials said Wednesday, potentially averting renewed violence and permitting the sides to continue to negotiate a substantive deal to end the war in Gaza.

• An American team flew to Iraq’s Mount Sinjar on Wednesday to consider possible ways to rescue stranded refugees, but the Pentagon said later it was “far less likely” that the U.S. would try to evacuate the refugees.

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

• Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about why Liberals should back the Iraq intervention

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

• Robin Williams committed suicide by hanging himself with a belt Monday at his California home, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday during a press conference. The actor also had superficial cuts on his wrist and a pocketknife was found nearby.

• Police in St. Louis County, Missouri say an officer shot and critically wounded a suspect early Wednesday near Ferguson, the suburb of the city of St. Louis where a fatal weekend police shooting sparked two nights of violent protests.

• The Obama administration is sending 130 U.S. military personnel into northern Iraq to assess the scope of the humanitarian mission and develop additional humanitarian assistance options there

• Lauren Bacall, the model-turned-actress who starred with husband Humphrey Bogart in classic movies such as “Key Largo” and “To Have and Have Not,” has died at age 89.

• Comedian Kathleen Madigan joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 9am PT / 6am PT to hang with us all three hours

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the debts the Bush Family left America

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Dems’ ability to stay “fact-based”

• The actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead Monday at his home in Tiburon, Calif. Police say it appears to have been a suicide. Williams was 63 years old. Officials say the cause of death is suspected to be asphyxiation, but a forensic exam and toxicology tests will be conducted.

• President Obama said Monday that the incoming Iraqi leadership “has a difficult task” ahead as it works to form a new government and battle the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but pledged his support as long as the new government works to govern inclusively.

• The Red Cross will lead an international humanitarian aid operation into Ukraine’s conflict-stricken province of Luhansk with assistance from Russia, the European Union and the United States, Ukraine said Monday.

• The United Nations on Monday named experts to an international commission of inquiry into possible human rights violations and war crimes committed by both sides during Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel has dismissed the inquiry as a “kangaroo court”.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about President Obama’s acknowledgement of torture

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

• Israel said a new cease-fire with the militant Hamas group was holding in the Gaza Strip Monday morning, a day after the two sides agreed to resume talks in Cairo for a long-term truce to end a month of heavy fighting in Gaza that has killed More than 1,900 Palestinians and 67 Israelis.

• Iraq’s embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in a surprise speech late Sunday, resisted calls for his resignation and accused the country’s new president of violating the constitution, plunging the government into a political crisis.

• President Obama said Saturday that airstrikes against Islamic militants in Iraq “successfully destroyed arms and equipment” used by fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). He also suggested the U.S. military campaign could persist for several months.

• People smashed car windows and carried away armloads of looted goods from stores Sunday night after thousands of people packed a suburban St. Louis area at a vigil for an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by a police officer.

• An investigation into what happened at a NASCAR race in upstate New York is under way after a 20-year-old driver named Kevin Ward Jr. was killed when he got out of his vehicle. He was run over by three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart.

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

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang with us for the hour

• President Obama authorized airstrikes “if necessary” against Islamic militants if they move toward Erbil in northern Iraq where American military, diplomats and civilians are stationed.

• Gaza militants renewed rocket fire on Israel after a three-day truce expired Friday and negotiations in Cairo on a new border deal for the coastal strip hit a deadlock. Israel, in turn, fired rockets at missile sites across the Gaza Strip.

• The World Health Organization on Friday declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to be an international public health emergency that requires an extraordinary response to stop its spread. WHO declared similar emergencies for the swine flu pandemic in 2009 and for polio in May.

• U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday opened a second day of talks in Afghanistan aimed at preventing the fragile country from collapsing into political chaos after disputed elections.

• The National Weather Service has downgraded Iselle, barreling toward the Big Island of Hawaii to a tropical storm from a hurricane. Residents are still urged to take precautions.

• Democratic strategist Karl Frisch calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the GOP’s continuing calls for impeachment of President Obama

• Filmmaker CC Goldwater calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the politics of the 2012 mid-term elections

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

• An Israeli Cabinet minister warned Thursday that Israel will respond if Hamas resumes fire after a temporary truce expires in the Gaza Strip. The statement, along with Hamas’ earlier threats, signals that both sides are digging in their positions as negotiations continue in Cairo on a lasting truce.

• Russia on Thursday banned most food imports from the West in retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine — a sweeping move that will cost Western farmers billions of dollars but could also lead to empty shelves in Russian cities.

• The worst outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in history could actually be much worse than the official death toll reflects. Already, the World Health Organization says 887 people have died, but a top doctor working at the heart of the outbreak in West Africa says many cases are going unreported.

· Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the GOP taking money in dubious ways

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

· A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that ended a month of war was holding for a second day Wednesday, ahead of negotiations in Cairo on a long-term truce and a broader deal for the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

· A U.S. general was killed and more than a dozen people including a German general were wounded in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday, in the latest insider attack by a man believed to be an Afghan soldier, U.S., German and Afghan officials said.

· The 6th US Circuit Court Of Appeals in Cincinnati today is set to hear arguments in six gay marriage fights from four states — Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee — in the biggest such session on the issue so far.

· Sen. Pat Roberts fended off an aggressive challenger Tuesday in the Kansas Republican primary, dealing another blow to a national tea party movement that has targeted longtime Washington incumbents.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about George Will’s stupidity

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at11am ET / 8am PT for Maximum Mookage

• The second American missionary to contract Ebola in West Africa left Liberia early Tuesday en route to the United States, authorities said. Nancy Writebol, 59, from Charlotte, N.C., will be treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

• A man who visited West Africa last month and is at a New York City hospital being tested for possible Ebola likely doesn’t have it, doctors said Monday.

• A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas meant to last at least three days and end nearly a month of fighting went into effect in the Gaza Strip Tuesday. The truce came ahead of talks in Cairo aimed at brokering a deal that would prevent future cross-border violence.

• The government said Monday it will soon close three emergency shelters it established at U.S. military bases to temporarily house children caught crossing the Mexican border alone. It said fewer children were being caught and other shelters will be adequate.

• James Brady, the spokesman for former President Ronald Reagan who was shot during a 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan, has died at the age of 73, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence confirmed.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the awesomeness of Dems fundraising off impeachment threats

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about how impeachment has tied the Far Right into knots

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

• Israel has been drawing down its ground operation in the Gaza Strip since the weekend but has kept up its aerial, offshore and artillery bombardments. The Gaza war, now in its fourth week, has left more than 1,800 Palestinians and more than 60 Israelis dead.

• A forthcoming Senate report on the controversial interrogation techniques employed by the CIA in the wake ofSeptember 11 is expected to clearly label those techniques torture and conclude that they did not yield much in the way of actionable intelligence.

• A second American suffering from Ebola is expected to arrive in Atlanta on Tuesday from Liberia, where she contracted the deadly virus. The first evacuee, Dr. Kent Brantly, is making progress since he arrived in Atlanta from Liberia on Saturday.

• New tests Sunday showed some toxins still contaminating Lake Erie, leaving Toledo, OH water supplies off limits and some 400,000 residents in parts of Ohio and Michigan headed into a third day of scrambling to stock up on drinking, cooking and bathing water.

• Anthony Wright, Executive Director for Health Access California, calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT with good news for ObamaCare

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang out and talk about the news

• A Palestinian official says Israeli shelling has killed at least 27 Palestinians in southern Gaza as an Israel-Hamas truce unraveled less hours after coming into effect. The Israeli military says Gaza militants have fired eight rockets at Israel since the cease-fire began, one of which was intercepted.

• A bill to reform the beleaguered Veterans Affairs health care system cleared the Senate by a wide bipartisan vote on Thursday evening. The law now heads to President Obama’s desk just before lawmakers depart for their August recess.

• After a last-minute search for ways to address the flood of unaccompanied immigrant children coming across the southern border, the House Republican leadership was forced to cancel a vote on an emergency funding bill that would allocate $659 million to bolster the cash-strapped agencies dealing with the crisis.

• Two American medical missionaries working with Ebola patients in Liberia have been diagnosed with the virus. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, who worked at a medical center operated by a charity, were listed in stable but grave condition, according to a statement from the organization.

• Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the Far Right’s version of Facebook… ReaganBook!

• Filmmaker CC Goldwater calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the GOP’s threats of impeachment of President Obama

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

• The House has approved a compromise bill to refurbish the Veterans Affairs Department and improve veterans’ health care. The 420-5 vote Wednesday sends the bill to the Senate, where approval is expected by the end of the week.

• HealthCare.gov, the federal health-exchange website plagued with glitches at its launch, has already cost $840 million to build, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of two task orders and one contract related to building the system.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he will not accept any truce that won’t allow Israel to complete its mission of destroying the sophisticated tunnel network, which has been used to carry out deadly attacks inside Israel.

• The historic outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa continues to spread. Two nations have declared public health emergencies, and Liberia is pleading for help trying to bring the virus under control.

• Tim Bostic & Tony London, plaintiffs in the Virginia marriage equality case, call in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the case

• Dean Obeidallah of The Daily Beast calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the new Sarah Palin Channel

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

• President Obama announced Tuesday that the U.S. is once again moving to impose fresh sanctions on Russia as a consequence for its continued support of separatists in eastern Ukraine. The new sanctions target the defense, energy and financial sectors of the Russian economy.

• House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, slammed Democrats on Tuesday for saying House Republicans want to impeach President Obama, calling it “a scam started by Democrats at the White House.”

• Israeli tank shells slammed into a crowded U.N. school sheltering Gaza war refugees Wednesday, killing 15 Palestinians and wounding 90 after tearing through two classroom walls, a health official and a spokesman for a U.N. aid agency said.

• A broken water main near the UCLA campus sent a geyser of water some 30 feet into the air Tuesday, trapping people in underground parking garages and covering the school’s basketball arena with water.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about how the unserious people will kill us all

• Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast calls in at 11am ET / 8am PT to talk about our exploding world

• Israeli tank shells hit a fuel tank of the Gaza Strip’s only power plant on Tuesday, forcing the plant to shut down, a spokesman for Gaza’s electricity distribution company said. A huge cloud of black smoke rose over the coastal city.

• With a fresh compromise in hand to address long wait times and other deficiencies at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) , the chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees are now working quickly to send the bill to President Obama before Congress leaves town Friday for its five-week summer break.

• White House officials are making plans to act before the midterm elections to grant work permits to millions of immigrants in this country illegally. The move could scramble election-year politics and lead some conservative GOP-ers to push for impeachment proceedings against President Obama.

• A judge ruled against Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling on Monday in his attempt to block the $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Sterling’s lawyer says he hopes a higher court will allow him to appeal the decision.

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the Central American kids at the border

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the GOP’s dreams of taking over the Senate

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

• The Israeli military says it has carried out three airstrikes on Gaza, targeting Hamas rocket launchers and infrastructure in the strip. The strikes broke a relative lull in the fighting at the start of a major Muslim holiday.

• The House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committee chairmen have reached a deal on legislation that will address problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL) are expected to outline the deal at a news conference today.

• A new CBS News/New York Times poll finds the GOP positioned to take the Senate this year, with a likely 51-49 seat edge if the November election were held right now. The 2 percent margin of error means Dems still have a real possibility to keep the chamber.

• Lightning struck 14 people, killing one, as rare summer thunderstorms swept through Southern California on Sunday, authorities said.

• Sexy Liberal John Fugelsang joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 9am ET / 6am PT for all three hours of Fridays With Fugelsang

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang for the hour

• Israeli aircraft struck 30 houses in the Gaza Strip early Friday, killing a leader of the militant group Islamic Jihad and two of his sons, while ground troops and Hamas gunmen fought intense battles in the north and center of the territory, Palestinian officials said.

• The wreckage of an Air Algerie plane with 116 people on board that disappeared from radar during a rainstorm has been found in Mali, a top official from Burkino Faso and Malian state television said Thursday.

• The Obama administration is weighing giving refugee status to young people from Honduras as part of a plan to slow the influx of unaccompanied minors arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, White House officials said Thursday.

• Arizona officials assured a judge during the nearly two-hour execution of inmate Joseph Rudolph Wood that he was comatose and not feeling pain at any point, according to a transcript of an emergency court hearing.

• Sen. Ted Cruz vowed Thursday to continue blocking confirmation of a series of ambassadorial and other diplomatic nominees despite the Federal Aviation Administration lifting a ban on U.S. airline flights to Israel.

• Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about President Obama’s executive order to protect LGBT workers

• CC Goldwater, director of “Mr. Conservative: Goldwater On Goldwater”, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about continuing fights between the GOP and Dems

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

• A Dutch military aircraft carrying remains of victims from the Malaysian plane disaster departed for the Netherlands Thursday and a second prepared to go, while Australia’s government dispatched 50 police officers to London to prepare to join a proposed U.N. team to secure the scattered wreckage.

• Israeli tanks and warplanes were pummeling the Gaza Strip Thursday as U.S. and other diplomats pushed for a cease-fire with Hamas militants. Gaza police say an infant boy was among those killed when Israeli fighter jets struck the Jabaliya refugee camp.

• A condemned Arizona inmate gasped and snorted for more than an hour and a half during his execution Wednesday before he died in an episode sure to add to the scrutiny surrounding the death penalty in the U.S. Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) has called for a review of the state’s execution process.

Ted Olson, attorney for the plaintiffs in the Prop. 8 case, calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about his new book, “Redeeming The Dream: The Case For Marriage Equality”

Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about yesterday’s court decisions on ObamaCare

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

Ukraine held a departure ceremony Wednesday for the bodies of many Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 passengers and crew who became victims of fighting raging far below them on the plains of eastern Ukraine.

Secretary of State John Kerry defied an FAA ban and flew into Israel’s main airport Wednesday in a sign of sheer will to achieve a cease-fire agreement in Gaza Strip despite little evidence of progress in ongoing negotiations aimed at halting fighting that’s left at least 31 Israelis and 650 Palestinians dead.

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit court of appeals ruled Tuesday against a key component of ObamaCare — the federal subsidies for millions of people who signed up for health coverage. A few hours later, all three judges on a 4th Circuit panel in Virginia decided the opposite by declaring the subsidies legal and proper.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the creepy GOP market for dead Reagan memorabilia

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Bill O’Reilly’s awful ideas for securing the border

• The train carrying the remains of most of the victims of downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 reached the Ukrainian government-controlled city of Kharkiv on Tuesday, a final stop before they were to be flown back to the Netherlands where their ill-fated journey began.

• President Obama on Monday bluntly accused pro-Moscow separatist fighters in Ukraine of stealing evidence and improperly removing bodies from the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and pressed Russia to compel the rebels to stop blocking an international investigation.

• Israel bombed five mosques, a sports stadium and the home of the late Hamas military chief in strikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, a Gaza police official said, as the U.N. chief and the Secretary of State John Kerry launched a high-level effort to end two weeks of deadly fighting.

• Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, announced Monday that he is activating up to 1,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border as he accuses the federal government of offering “lip service” on border security.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about what’s happening in Gaza, and on our southern border

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Fox News’ debasing rhetoric about immigrant kids

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

• Actor / director Tim Robbins calls in at 11:20am ET / 8:20am PT to talk about his latest project at The Actors Gang

• Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that there is an “enormous amount of evidence” that Russia provided separatists in Eastern Ukraine with the weapons used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 last week, resulting in the deaths of nearly 300 people.

• International investigators were still waiting Monday for full access to the 42-square-mile area where the shattered pieces of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 and its passengers and crew fell to the ground in eastern Ukraine. Russian separatists were guarding the area, the same separatists who are also the prime suspects in downing the plane.

• The death toll among Palestinians from the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip reached 512 on Monday, Gaza health officials said, as the two sides counted their dead following the bloodiest day of fighting so far in the two-week campaign. The officials said some 3,150 Palestinians had been wounded. 20 Israelis have also died.

• Sexy Liberal John Fugelsang joins calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT for another edition of Fridays With Fugelsang

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to debut her new jingle

• Emergency workers, police officers and even off-duty coal miners — dressed in overalls and covered in soot — searched Friday through wreckage and bodies scattered over a vast stretch of farmland after a Malaysian Airlines jet flying over eastern Ukraine was shot from the sky, killing 298 people.

• Separatist rebels who control the area in Ukraine where the Malaysian Airlines plane went down said Friday they had recovered “most” of the plane’s black boxes and were considering what to do with them.

• Both the Ukrainian government and the pro-Russia separatists who have been fighting in the region denied any responsibility for downing the Malaysian Airlines plane.

• Malaysian Airlines initially said there were 295 people on board the Boeing 777, 280 passengers and 15 crew members. Early Friday, the airline increased the death toll to 298, saying there were three infants on board. Several prominent AIDS researchers were also on board. They were traveling to Melbourne for the 20th International AIDS Conference.

• Israel on Friday announced its first casualty since the start of its ground operation in Gaza — a soldier killed following a night of heavy fighting in the Hamas-ruled enclave.

• Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the ever-expanding Hobby Lobby ruling

• CC Goldwater, Barry Goldwater’s granddaughter, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the news of the day

• Comedian and actor Rick Overton joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT

• With House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., shooting down a bipartisan bill to address the crisis of unaccompanied children crossing the southern border Wednesday, it looks increasingly likely Congress might wind up at an impasse just before their five-week summer recess.

• President Obama announced Wednesday that the U.S. is levying deeper sanctions on Russia as the West grapples for a way to quell an insurgency in eastern Ukraine widely believed to be backed by Moscow.

• Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a bill aimed at restoring free contraception for women who get their health insurance from companies with religious objections, a legislative setback for Democrats that they hope will be a political winner in November’s elections.

• Israel thwarted an attack by more than a dozen militants who sneaked in from Gaza through a tunnel on Thursday, the military said, just hours before Israel and Hamas were to observe a five-hour humanitarian pause in fighting.

• Daily Beast columnist Dean Obeidallah calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to explain why Sarah Palin would be perfect for “The View”

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

• Israel on Wednesday intensified air attacks on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip following a failed Egyptian cease-fire effort, targeting the homes of four senior leaders of the Islamic militant movement and ordering tens of thousands of residents to evacuate border areas.

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday a bipartisan proposal to address the flood of Central American children coming across the southern border of the United States was “too broad” and he wouldn’t support it.

• Despite little bipartisan appetite for spending on Capitol Hill these days, President Obama implored Congress to “just do something” to improve the nation’s infrastructure. The Highway Trust Fund runs out of money at the end of the summer if Congress doesn’t act.

• Hillary Clinton gave Jon Stewart no hints about whether she will run for president, but acknowledged during Tuesday’s taping of “The Daily Show” that the speculation surrounding her possible candidacy has become “a cottage industry.”

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the GOP’s lack of urgency with climate change

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about the war between Bill Kristol and Sarah Palin

• Hamas rejected an Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire with Israel that was to take effect Tuesday, saying Cairo did not consult the group over the deal. Israel accepted the truce plan, but warned it would strike Gaza hard if Hamas didn’t abide by it.

• Two Texas lawmakers — a Republican and a Democrat who have both been critical of President Obama’s response to the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border — have teamed up to write a bill to respond to the influx of unaccompanied minors arriving at the border.

• Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will work a “desk job” now that he has completed his reintegration process and returned to regular duties as an Army soldier, the Army said today. The former Taliban prisoner will be assigned to the headquarters of U.S. Army North at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

• Germany’s World Cup-winning team returned home to share the country’s fourth title with huge crowds of cheering fans on Tuesday. The team’s plane touched down at Berlin’s Tegel Airport midmorning after flying low over the “fan mile” in front of the landmark Brandenburg Gate.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Hobby Lobby, science, and you

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about more troubles for Chris Christie

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

• As Congress reconvenes this week focused on dealing with President Obama’s $3.7 billion request to handle the influx of unaccompanied children streaming across the U.S.-Mexico border, Republican lawmakers are already signaling they won’t just write a “blank check”.

• Rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel Monday, officials said, marking the second time in recent days that missiles have been fired from the neighboring country. The Israel Defense Forces said it “immediately responded with artillery fire towards the source of fire.” There were no reports of injuries.

• President Barack Obama will be making a major push this week to urge Congress to continue funding the Highway Trust Fund and avoid a transportation crisis.

• A quarter of a million German soccer fans reacted with unbridled joy, mixed with shock Sunday when Mario Goetze struck late in extra-time for Germany to win the World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Argentina.

• Lanny Davis, columnist for Purple Nation, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the attacks on Hillary Clinton

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang out for the hour

• The Homeland Security agency responsible for removing immigrants who are in the country illegally will run out of money by the middle of next month unless Congress approves President Obama’s emergency request for $3.7 billion to help deal with a flood of child immigrants crossing the border illegally without their parents.

• House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Thursday said that by the end of this month the House should pass legislation to address the influx of unaccompanied minors illegally crossing into the United States. However, he said, “We’re not giving the president a blank check.”

• House Speaker John Boehner announced Thursday the GOP-led lawsuit against President Obama will focus on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the White House decision to delay the employer mandate.

• The estranged wife of alleged Houston killer Ron Lee Haskell had taken out a protective order against him, well before police say he sought her out and, after failing to find her, killed four children and two adults.

• Gaza rocket fire struck a gas station and set it ablaze Friday in southern Israel, seriously wounding one person as rocket fire also came from Lebanon for the first time in the four-day offensive.

• Dean Obeidallah calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about how President Obama could counter Boehner’s lawsuit

• Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 10am ET / 7am PT for the hour

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

• President Obama says Congress has the ability to act immediately to address the wave of unaccompanied minors coming over the border from Mexico into the U.S. Obama spoke in Dallas after meeting with Gov. Rick Perry about unaccompanied minors entering the country by the thousands.

• A father opened fire at a suburban Houston home Wednesday, killing four of his children as well as two adults who were with them, and critically wounding his 15-year-old daughter, authorities said.

• Democratic Sens. Patty Murray and Mark Udall fought back today against the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling with plans for legislation intended to restore the contraceptive coverage requirement under the Affordable Care Act.

• A raging Donald Sterling denounced his wife, called her a “pig,” and denounced her lawyers and the NBA from the witness stand Wednesday, saying he would never sell the Los Angeles Clippers and vowing a lifetime of lawsuits against the league.

• Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the jobs that President Obama has created

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for some fun and frolic

• The Obama administration on Tuesday announced it is asking Congress for $3.7 billion to handle the influx of undocumented children crossing into the U.S. from Mexico. It would help ramp up proper care of undocumented migrants, speed up their court cases, and improve foreign cooperation to address the root causes of the migration.

• Sarah Palin called for President Barack Obama’s impeachment Tuesday over his handling of a growing immigration crisis, becoming the most prominent right-wing US politician to make the provocative demand.

• As rockets and missiles fly back and forth between Gaza and Israel, the Israeli military — saying it doesn’t expect the crisis to resolve itself soon — is preparing for a ground incursion.

• Sen. Robert Menendez, who has been dogged by a federal corruption probe, suggests he was the target of a Cuban intelligence smear plot over allegations — which the FBI has discounted — that he had sex with underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic.

• Germany obliterated Brazil 7 to 1 in yesterday’s semifinal World Cup match, eliminating the host team from the tournament.

• Syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about her new column on the Hobby Lobby case

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Sarah Palin begging for a job on “The View”

• Bob Cesca of “The Daily Banter” calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about more damage that Edward Snowden has done

• The White House said Monday that most unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border are unlikely to qualify for humanitarian relief that would prevent them from being sent back to their home countries.

• President Obama brought forward a new administration effort Monday to place quality teachers in schools that need them the most. Obama said that students who would benefit the most from having skilled or experienced teachers in their classrooms are least likely to get them.

• The spree of shootings in Chicago during the long holiday weekend reached 82 incidents and included 14 deaths, according to police reports. “It all comes down to these guns: there’s too many guns coming in and too little punishment going out,” Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the meaning of the Hobby Lobby case

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the GOP’s utter lack of ideas

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

• The political battle escalated Sunday over the recent flood of undocumented children at the U.S.-Mexico border, with the GOP blaming President Obama’s “failure” to secure the border, and members of both parties faulting the GOP-led blockade of an immigration reform bill that would strengthen border security.

• Sixty-three women and girls kidnapped by Boko Haram last month in Nigeria escaped from their captors and have returned to their burnt village, a security source and a local vigilante fighting the militant group said.

• Video of Oscar Pistorius re-enacting how he says he killed his girlfriend was illegally obtained by the Australian television network that aired it Sunday, a lawyer for the former Olympian said. The network says that isn’t so.

• Israel launched a series of air strikes on Gaza early on Monday to quell Hamas rocket fire, and the Islamist group’s armed wing said seven of its gunmen were killed, making it the deadliest day for Hamas since a 2012 cross-border war with the Jewish state.

• Sexy Liberal John Fugelsang joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 9am ET / 6am PT for all three hours of Fridays With Fugelsang

• Comedian Whitney Cummings calls in at 9:50am ET / 6:50am PT to talk about her new Comedy Central stand-up special tomorrow night

• The legendary Joan Rivers calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about her new book, “Diary of a Mad Diva”

• Journalist May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang out for an hour

• President Obama is asking Congress for $500 million to train and arm vetted members of the Syrian opposition, as the U.S. grapples for a way to stem a civil war that has also fueled the al Qaeda inspired insurgency in neighboring Iraq.

• The Supreme Court on Wednesday limited the president’s power to fill high-level vacancies with temporary appointments, ruling in favor of Senate Republicans in their partisan clash with President Obama.

• Boston will deploy extra police around the city’s abortion clinics starting on today to prevent potential unrest after the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday knocked down the state’s “buffer law” keeping protesters back 35 feet.

• President Obama says tens of thousands of Central American children flooding into the U.S. along the southern border have created a “humanitarian crisis,” and he appealed to parents to stop sending kids north.

• Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the marriage equality rulings in Indiana and Utah

• Daily Beast columnist Dean Obeidallah calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about racism and homophobia in the GOP

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

• House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced Wednesday that he’s pushing the House of Representatives to sue President Obama “in an effort to compel the president to follow his oath of office and faithfully execute the laws of our country.”

• Mississippi Senate candidate Chris McDaniel, who lost a runoff election to Sen. Thad Cochran in the Republican primary Tuesday night, said his team will be examining “irregularities” in the voting data to determine whether to challenge the results.

• Syrian warplanes bombed Sunni militants’ positions inside Iraq, deepening the concerns that the extremist insurgency that spans the two neighboring countries could morph into an even wider regional conflict. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned against the threat and said other nations should stay out.

• Sexy Liberal John Fugelsang joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 9am ET / 6am PT for all three hours today

• Political strategist David Bender joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the Tea Party’s effect on this year’s elections

• Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that President Obama is fully prepared to use American military might to help the Iraqi government push back Sunni Islamic militants sweeping across the country’s west, but not “in a vacuum” of Iraqi political power.

• In Mississippi, six-term U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran held off tea party-backed challenger Chris McDaniel, in an ugly race marred by name-calling, mudslinging, allegations of cheating and a break-in at the nursing home where Cochran’s bedridden wife lives.

• In New York, U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel claimed victory in what he says is his last race, looking like he’ll survive a second straight narrow victory against the same opponent he faced two years ago. But Rangel’s challenger, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, wasn’t conceding early Wednesday.

• President Obama and his administration “haven’t done a damn thing to help” the investigations into the inappropriate way the IRS targeted certain political groups, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, complained on Tuesday.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the impending SCOTUS decisions

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

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about someone on Fox News who’s even crazier than O’Reilly and Hannity

• Secretary of State John Kerry returned to Iraq on Tuesday for the second day in a row, again trying to convince one of its political leaders that overhaul of the Shiite-led government is the best way to deflate a raging Sunni insurgency that is pushing the country toward civil war.

• IRS Commissioner John Koskinen brushed aside GOP accusations Monday that the agency has obstructed investigations into the targeting of tea party and other political groups, even as Republican lawmakers questioned his credibility.

• President Obama said Monday that the United States should join the rest of the industrialized world and offer paid leave for mothers of newborns. The president is touting paid maternity in the midst of a midterm election campaign focused on women voters.

• Ukraine’s pro-Russian insurgents have agreed to a temporary ceasefire and talks with the new Western-backed president, as President Obama warned Russia it risks fresh sanctions over its support for the separatists.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Dick Cheney’s continuing Iraq press tour

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

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

• Confronting the threat of civil war in Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Baghdad on Monday to personally urge the Shiite-led government to give more power to political opponents before a Sunni insurgency seizes more control across the country and sweeps away hopes for lasting peace.

• President Obama, as part of efforts to make the U.S. workplace more accommodating for employees with families, will today direct federal agencies to step up efforts give workers more leeway in determining their schedules.

• Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) offered some bipartisan backup to President Obama of Iraq Sunday, saying many critics who blame the president for the ferocious Islamist insurgency there, like former Vice President Dick Cheney, should take a look in the mirror.

• The U.S. and Portugal World Cup game last night ended in a 2-2 tie, delivering the U.S. hope for a spot in the second round.

• Sexy Liberal John Fugelsang calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT for another edition of Fridays With Fugelsang

• Anti-war Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the President sending military help to Iraq

• Steph’s former Oxygen co-host May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang and talk about the news

• President Obama said Thursday that the United States will not send troops back into combat in Iraq, but said he and his national security team are preparing to take further action, including targeted and precise military action if necessary.

• The Labor Department on Friday will move to clarify that, under the Family and Medical Leave Act, a federal employee is eligible for leave to care for a same-sex spouse regardless of where he or she lives, according to a White House official.

• House Republicans on Thursday elected Kevin McCarthy as majority leader, succeeding Eric Cantor, who is relinquishing the job after losing his primary election in an upset. McCarthy mainly will focus on using his political skills to help shape the GOP message and strategy.

• Leading Republicans on Thursday insisted that America’s leaders must do more to defend Christian values at home and abroad, blaming President Obama for attacks on religious freedom.

• Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about Obama’s executive action to ban LGBT discrimination

• Kris Perry & Sandy Stier, plaintiffs in the Prop. 8 case, call in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the HBO documentary “The Case Against 8”

• Becky Bond, VP and Political Director at CREDO, calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Dick Cheney’s op-ed on Iraq

• Health care reform expert Jacki Schechner joins us at 11am ET / 8am PT for another edition of Jacki’s Healthcare Corner

• Iraqi government forces battled Sunni rebels for control of the country’s biggest refinery on Thursday as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki waited for a U.S. response to an appeal for air strikes to beat back the threat to Baghdad.

• Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz penned an acerbic op-ed on Tuesday accusing President Obama of “abandoning” Iraq and putting Americans at greater risk of terrorist attacks from al Qaeda.

• Emotions ran high Wednesday at a hearing on Capitol Hill to examine the circumstances surrounding Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s capture by the Taliban in 2009 and the deal that led to his release in late May. Bergdahl’s former roommate said that there was no doubt that he deserted.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the bottomless sinkhole that is Iraq

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

• The U.S. government has captured who it’s calling “a key figure” in the attacks two years ago on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, which killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. He’s expected to be questioned by a special team of US investigators within hours.

• President Barack Obama on Tuesday asked congressional leaders to meet with him Wednesday as he considers his options in Iraq. Administration officials tell us the president will make the case for sending a limited number of special forces troops to Iraq.

• Republicans on Tuesday charged that the IRS has lost emails of a half dozen of its employees involved in the tea party targeting controversy, including a top aide to the now-fired acting IRS commissioner.

• Rep. Lou Barletta says the House “probably” has the votes to impeach President Barack Obama. “He’s just absolutely ignoring the Constitution, and ignoring the laws and ignoring the checks and balances,” the Pennsylvania Republican said of Obama on the Gary Sutton radio show on Monday.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the Sunday shows using the failed architects of the Iraq War as “experts”

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

• Nearly 300 armed American forces are being positioned in and around Iraq to help secure U.S. assets as President Barack Obama nears a decision on an array of options for combating fast-moving Islamic insurgents, including airstrikes or a contingent of special forces.

• A divided Supreme Court sided with gun control groups and the Obama administration Monday, ruling that the federal ban on “straw” purchases of guns can be enforced even if the ultimate buyer is legally allowed to own a gun.

• After years of pressure from gay rights groups, President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, the White House said Monday.

• General Motors says recall about 3.4 million cars because it needs to change or replace the keys which could cause the ignition switch to move out of position if they’re carrying too much weight.

• After 90 brutal minutes of end-to-end action, the Americans emerged with a thrilling 2-1 win over Ghana in the first round of the World Cup.

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

• Comedian Carol Leifer joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to talk about her new book, “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Crying”

• The Islamic militants who overran cities and towns in Iraq last week posted graphic photos that appeared to show their gunmen massacring scores of captured Iraqi soldiers, while the prime minister vowed Sunday to “liberate every inch” of captured territory.

• Acknowledging that hard-won American gains in Iraq are at risk, President Barack Obama said on Friday that he won’t be sending U.S. ground troops back there to battle al-Qaida-inspired extremists but warned he could soon unleash military strikes there.

• House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said Sunday he has “no regrets” and will “remain focused on the mission that I’m about” after a stunning re-election upset this week at the hands of a primary challenger.

• The San Antonio Spurs finished off a dominant run to their fifth NBA championship Sunday night, ending the Heat’s two-year title reign with a 104-87 victory that wrapped up the series in five games.

• Radio pioneer Casey Kasem, who rose to fame with the music countown show “American Top 40” has died at 82.

• Sexy Liberal John Fugelsang calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT for another edition of Fridays With Fugelsang

• Republican strategist Rich Galen calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the stunning defeat of Eric Cantor

• Entertainment legend Donny Osmond calls in at 10:50am ET / 7:50am PT to talk about his new smartphone app and his new album

• Steph’s former Oxygen co-host May Lee joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT to hang for an hour

• Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who spent five years as a Taliban prisoner of war before being released on May 31, has arrived at an Army medical center in Texas where he will receive further treatment, the Pentagon said on Friday.

• The government of Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki remained in paralysis Friday, unable to form a coherent response after al-Qaida-inspired militants blitzed and captured entire chunks of the nation’s Sunni heartland this week, including major cities, towns, military and police bases as Iraqi forces melted away or fled.

• Hillary Rodham Clinton tersely defended her initial opposition to gay marriage, denying in a radio interview that political reasons were behind her shift last year to supporting same-sex marriage. She accused the host of the show of “playing with my words.”

• Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the stunning loss by Eric Cantor

• Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the GOP’s hypocrisy when it comes to prisoner swaps

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

• Vowing not to give up on an overhaul of immigration, President Obama said Wednesday that he “fundamentally rejects” the notion that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s stunning primary election defeat means that tackling immigration legislation is now out of reach.

• Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel delivered an aggressive defense of the secret prisoner exchange of five Taliban detainees for a U.S. soldier, telling Congress that the risks were too great and the situation too uncertain for the administration to tell lawmakers about the plan.

• Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked legislation aimed at letting people refinance their student loans at lower rates, a pre-ordained outcome that gave Democrats a fresh election-year talking point against the GOP.

• The Al-Qaida-inspired group that led the charge in capturing two key Sunni-dominated cities in Iraq this week vowed yesterday to march on to Baghdad.

• Rebecca Coffey, conversion therapy researcher, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the Texas GOP calling for mandated gay conversion therapy

• Sexy Liberal Carlos Alazraqui joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT for another edition of Coffee With Carlos

• In an upset for the ages, Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, the second-most powerful man in the House, was dethroned Tuesday by a little-known, tea party-backed Republican primary challenger carried to victory on a wave of public anger over calls for looser immigration laws.

• A gunman walked into an Oregon high school gym with a rifle and shot a student to death on Tuesday before he was found dead in a bathroom stall, in the third outbreak of gun violence to shake a U.S. high school or college campus in less than three weeks.

• Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will be front and center at the first public hearing on the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap when he goes before the House Armed Services Committee this morning.

• Islamic militants overran parts of Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul on Tuesday, driving security forces from their posts and seizing the provincial government headquarters, security bases and other key buildings. Gunmen cruised through neighborhoods, waving black banners while residents fled.

• Mornay Walters, CEO of Seecrypt Group, calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Snowden and keeping your private conversations private

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the Las Vegas anti-government shootings

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about the Far Right’s abysmal treatment of POW’s

• A Las Vegas couple who gunned down two police officers and a civilian before killing themselves apparently looked at law enforcement as oppressors, officials said Monday. Among the clues: a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag the couple placed on one of the police officers they ambushed Sunday.

• Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is withdrawing his support for the sale of his team and is asking his lawyer to go ahead with a $1 billion lawsuit against the NBA.

• A political storm over the trade of five Taliban inmates for a captured American soldier intensified on Monday when Obama administration officials told U.S. lawmakers that up to 90 people within the administration – but no members of Congress – were told in advance about the swap.

• Five NATO service members were killed in an apparent friendly fire incident in southern Afghanistan, the international coalition said on Tuesday.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Time Magazine wondering of rescuing Bergdahl was worth it

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about Fox News’ disgusting coverage of Sgt. Bergdahl

• Mornay Walters, CEO of Seecrypt Group, calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about how to protect yourself from NSA spying

• Voice Deity Jim Ward joins us in studio at 11am ET / 8am PT

• U.S. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has told people treating him at an American military medical facility in Germany that he was tortured, beaten and held in a cage by his Taliban captors in Afghanistan after he tried to escape, a senior U.S. official said Sunday.

• Two police officers were “simply having lunch” at a strip mall pizza buffet in Las Vegas when a man and a woman fatally shot them in point-blank ambush, then fled to a nearby Walmart where they killed a third person and then themselves in an apparent suicide pact, authorities said.

• President Obama is prepping new executive steps to help Americans struggling to pay off their student debt, and throwing his support behind Senate Democratic legislation with a similar goal but potentially a much more profound impact.

• Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the GOP’s attacks on Bowe Bergdahl

• David Webb of SiriusXM calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about his special broadcast from Normandy on today’s 70th anniversary of D-Day

• Sexy Liberal John Fugelsang calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for another edition of Fridays With Fugelsang

• Actor John Leguizamo calls in at 11:20am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about his new movie “Chef”

• A lone gunman armed with a shotgun and knife opened fire Thursday in a building at Seattle Pacific University, fatally wounding one person before a student subdued him with pepper spray as he tried to reload, police said.

• While Bowe Bergdahl was still in captivity, the United States knew he had tried to escape twice and that after each try his captors increased security around him. Now, Defense Department officials debriefing him in Germany about his five years in captivity are finding out the conditions were harsher than they thought.

• A bipartisan pair of senators, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. John McCain, announced a deal to reform the embattled Veterans Affairs health care system on Thursday, marking the most significant sign of congressional action on a scandal that has roiled Washington in recent weeks.

• Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the Far Right’s obsession with bashing Bowe Bergdahl

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

• The legendary Lily Tomlin calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about her work with the Los Angeles LGBT Center

• Bowe Bergdahl remained in a U.S. military hospital in Germany Wednesday night. In the meantime, we’ve learned that an internal military investigation conducted after his 2009 disappearance found that he had wandered off post without permission at least once before.

• Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has agreed to sign off on selling the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for what would be a record $2 billion and will drop his $1 billion against the league, his lawyer said Wednesday.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin waded into US politics Wednesday describing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — and possible 2016 presidential candidate — as “weak” in some sarcastic comments about women.

• 1 in 4 Americans who signed up for insurance through HealthCare.gov could be at risk of losing their coverage or be forced to repay part of all of their subsidy because of discrepancies with their applications.

• Daily Beast columnist Dean Obeidallah calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about Colbert viewers being smarter than normal news viewers

• Author Lance Simmens calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about his new book, “Evolution of a Revolution”

• Actorvist Melissa Fitzgerald joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about veterans issues including Bowe Bergdahl

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

• The Army will conduct “a comprehensive, coordinated” review into the case of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — the recently freed soldier whom some have deemed a hero, others a deserter — the military branch’s civilian leader announced Tuesday.

• President Obama on Tuesday defended his decision to release five Afghan detainees from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for freeing an American soldier, saying his administration had consulted with Congress about that possibility “for some time.”

• President Barack Obama called on Congress Tuesday to back a $1 billion effort to boost the U.S. military presence across Europe, as he sought to ease anxiety among NATO allies who are wary of Russia’s threatening moves in Ukraine.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the Far Right’s freakout over new EPA standards

• Bob Cesca of The Daily Banter calls in at 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT to talk about Edward Snowden’s worsening credibility problem

• A Pentagon investigation concluded in 2010 that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walked away from his unit, and after an initial flurry of searching the military decided not to exert extraordinary efforts to rescue him, according to a former senior defense official who was involved in the matter.

• President Obama arrived in Poland Tuesday for a four-day, three-country European tour in which the Ukraine crisis will be the main topic of conversation. The visit comes at a time of violent unrest in parts of Southern and Eastern Ukraine as a new western-backed government prepares to take office in Kiev.

• The Seattle City Council unanimously passed a $15 minimum wage ordinance Monday that gives the city the highest minimum wage in the nation. Some critics said the plan doesn’t go far enough, while others said it would lead to layoffs and higher prices for consumers.

• Sloan Gibson, the acting secretary of Veterans Affairs, vowed to act decisively against the mismanagement that led to the agency’s scandal over delays in treatment and cover-ups at VA hospitals across the country.

• The Rude Pundit calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about whether God is pissed off that it’s LGBT Pride Month

• Eric Boehlert of Media Matters for America calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT to talk about the GOP’s criticism of the POW release

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

• Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan, has been freed by the Taliban in exchange for the release of five Afghan detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Obama administration officials said Saturday.

• Two Republican lawmakers on Saturday accused President Barack Obama of breaking the law by approving the release of five Afghan detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for a U.S. soldier believed held by Islamist insurgents for five years.

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will propose today a new rule for existing coal-fired power plants across the country that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2030, sources close to the matter have confirmed.

• Ann B. Davis, best known for being the wise-cracking maid Alice on TV’s “The Brady Bunch,” has died. Davis was 88 and lived in San Antonio, Texas. She died after falling, her friend, Bishop William Frey, has confirmed.

• Sexy Liberal John Fugelsang calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT for another edition of Fridays With Fugelsang

• CC Goldwater, granddaughter of Barry Goldwater, joins us in the Los Angeles Bureau at 11am ET / 8am PT

• Even as more and more politicians call for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the White House on Thursday insisted President Obama will wait to see Shinseki’s internal review of the VA before determining what steps should be taken to ensure there’s accountability at the agency.

• One day after the bombshell interim Inspector General report showing “secret waiting lists” as a Phoenix veterans hospital, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki met with leading veteran service organizations. The meeting included 15 organization leaders and focused on the interim report and how to fix the problem.

• Shelly Sterling has reached an agreement to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion. The sale must be approved by the NBA before it can go forward and would have required Donald Sterling’s signature but Donald Sterling had been ruled mentally incapacitated, making his wife sole trustee.

• Edward Snowden says he repeatedly raised constitutional concerns about National Security Agency surveillance internally, but an NSA search turned up a single email in which Snowden gently asks for “clarification” on a technical legal question about training materials, agency officials said Thursday.

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• Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about the Santa Barbara massacre and HBO’s “The Normal Heart”

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

• One day after President Obama laid out the end game for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, he talked about America’s role in the world after the war. Delivering the commencement at West Point on Wednesday, he said isolation is not an option but not every problem has a military solution.

• National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden says he would like to go home. The former NSA contract systems analyst is living in Russia on a temporary grant of asylum after leaking a massive volume of NSA documents to the media. Snowden said he had taken action in the belief that he was serving his country.

• An interim report released Wednesday by the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General concluded that patients experienced “significant delays” in treatment at a VA health care facility in Phoenix, providing the administration’s first official confirmation of problems that have been widely reported in recent weeks.

• Just when it appeared the battle over the Los Angeles Clippers was nearing its end, it isn’t. Owner Donald Sterling, who was banned for life for making racist comments, gave his wife permission last week to sell the team; now, Sterling has decided to fight to keep it.

• Comedian Brent Morin of NBC’s “Undateable” calls in at 10:20am ET / 7:20am PT to talk about his new sitcom

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

• President Obama announced Tuesday that the U.S. plans to remove all troops from Afghanistan by 2016, starting with reducing the troop presence in the country to just 9,800 and an end to the U.S. combat mission at the close of 2014.

• Thousands mourned the deaths of their classmates at UC Santa Barbara, California lawmakers proposed ways to prevent the next round of deaths, and the rampant presence of guns were at the forefront of both discussions as a rampage that left seven dead reverberated across the state.

• A response filed with the NBA Tuesday by embattled Clippers owner Donald Sterling claims that the league’s use of an “illegally recorded” conversation that took place during a “lovers’ quarrel” cannot be used to strip him of his ownership, CBS Los Angeles said.

• US fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden “trained as a spy” for intelligence agencies, he told NBC News in aired excerpts from an interview. “I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word in that I lived and worked undercover overseas,” he said.

• Charlie Pierce of Esquire’s Politics Blog calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about the latest mass shooting in Santa Barbara

• Elliot Rodger, 22, stabbed to death three people in his apartment, shot two women to death outside a sorority house and killed another man inside a deli with gunfire before killing himself near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara, on Friday, investigators said.

• Senator Richard Blumenthal said on Sunday he wanted to revive gun control legislation rejected by Congress in the wake of the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut, school massacre, saying it could have helped prevent this weekend’s deadly California shooting spree.

• Almost six weeks after nearly 300 girls were kidnapped by the terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria, the Nigerian defense chief believes the girls have been located. Despite this breakthrough, the Nigerian government seems reluctant to use military force to free the girls.

• The Malaysian government on Tuesday released 45 pages of raw satellite data it used to determine that the missing jetliner crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, responding to demands for greater transparency by relatives of some of the 239 people on board.

• The Ukrainian city of Donetsk was in turmoil Tuesday after a day of heavy fighting in which government forces used combat jets to stop pro-Russia separatists from taking over the airport. The mayor said 40 people were killed.

• Sexy Liberal John Fugelsang calls in at 10am ET / 7am PT for another edition of Fridays With Fugelsang

• Debbie Powers, author of “Meeting Her Match,” joins us in studio at 11am ET / 8am PT to promote sports participation among women

• Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has no imminent intention of stepping down, he indicated Thursday, flouting a growing chorus of lawmakers and veterans’ groups calling for him to do so amid widespread allegations of fraud and abuse at VA medical centers across the country.

• President Barack Obama on Thursday urged Democrats to vote in November elections, saying the chance to pass immigration reform is at risk if Republicans gain control of both houses of Congress.

• The U.N. Security Council committee on al Qaeda sanctions blacklisted Nigeria’s Islamist militant group Boko Haram on Thursday after the insurgents kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls, diplomats said.

• Seven confirmed and three likely cases of E. coli infection linked to raw clover sprouts have been reported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The patients are all in either Idaho or Washington. Half the people who have fallen ill have been hospitalized.

• Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to talk about marriage equality victories in Pennsylvania and Oregon

• Arianna Huffington calls in at 10:50am ET / 7:50am PT to talk about her new book, “Thrive”

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

• President Barack Obama promised accountability, but he made clear Wednesday he won’t fire Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki — yet — over excessive and sometimes deadly waiting times faced by veterans seeking government health care.

• Democrats will participate in the Republican-led House Select Committee investigation of the deadly Benghazi terror attack. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has named five lawmakers to the 12-member panel looking into the 2012 armed assault on the U.S. diplomatic compound in eastern Libya.

• A defiant Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday shrugged off a mounting budget crisis and blamed Democrats for economic problems in New Jersey that threaten to further taint his presidential ambitions.

• Hundreds of firefighters poured into northern Arizona to battle a fire between Sedona and Flagstaff, and by Wednesday afternoon, the fire grew to an estimated 7 square miles.