• Karl Frisch of Bullfight Strategies calls in at 9am ET / 6am PT to co-host Right Wing World

• Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the looming sequestration cuts

• Robert McFadden a former senior NCIS official & top interrogator, calls in at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT to talk about Ali Soufan’s op ed from the NY Times on Zero Dark Thirty and torture

• Across-the-board spending cuts all but certain, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are staging a politically charged showdown designed to avoid public blame for any resulting inconvenience or disruption in government services.

• President Obama has invited top congressional leaders to a meeting at the White House on Friday to discuss ways to avert across-the-board spending cuts that he says may devastate the economy—the day after cuts start kicking in.

• The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Jack Lew as President Obama’s new Treasury secretary, putting the former White House chief of staff in the middle of a bitter political fight over the government’s budget.

• Pope Benedict slips quietly from the world stage today after a private last goodbye to his cardinals and a short flight to a country palace to enter the final phase of his life “hidden from the world”.