• Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) calls in at 9:30am ET / 6:30am PT to talk about the looming sequester and what it means for average Americans

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

• Cities across the country are preparing for austerity measures that the budget cuts in sequestration would require if it goes into effect Friday. The White House previewed what some of those effects might be and President Obama called on governors to help him devise a deal with Congress to avert implementation of the sequester.

• A deeply divided Senate is moving toward a vote on President Obama’s choice of Chuck Hagel to head the Defense Department, with the former GOP senator on track to win confirmation after a protracted political fight

• President Obama today will meet Senator John McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham, leading Republicans working on a bipartisan immigration reform plan, to discuss efforts to overhaul the U.S. system, a White House official said on Monday.

• Another blizzard bore down on the nation’s midsection early today after lashing the Texas Panhandle with hurricane-force winds, closing highways and cutting power to thousands in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.