Doctors say they detected the cancer at an early stage, but at age 75, with a history of colon cancer, and with pancreatic cancer a particularly virulent form of the disease, this is hardly good news for the native New Yorker (born and bred in Brooklyn), whose family nicknamed Kiki.
We'll have the latest on her condition, tonight at 11. (Read story)
Also at 11, we'll have the chilling conversations between the control tower and the pilots of the U.S. Airways flight that ditched into the Hudson River. The entire conversation lasts but two minutes, and ends with the pilot radioing, "...we may end up in the Hudson."
The U.S. Senate tonight is expected to pass Pres. Obama's economic stimulus package, this after the House passed it last week without one Republican supporter. Now the bills will be conferenced, and the President should get his wish -- to have the bill become law by Presidents' Day.
The Senate action comes on the day of another employment report that is expected to, once again, be horrible. We should more accurately call it the unemployment report - January's jobless numbers, that are due out tomorrow.
And what is it with government employees and back taxes? And by "back taxes" I really mean THEY'RE NOT PAYING TAXES.
We learn that yesterday the husband of the Secretary of Labor nominee paid $6,400 to settle tax liens against his business -- some as old as 16 years. Who has tax liens for 16 years?
And why in the world would a potential cabinet member allow her President to nominate her, given this situation? And if Congresswoman Hilda Solis didn't know about her husband's back taxes owed, then certainly he must have - and then why in the world would a man let his wife by nominated for the job?
Solis, Geithner, Daschle, Richardson, Killefer - all having problems (four of them tax-related) that blindsided the new President, or at least got by his vetting staffers.
The President would certainly have rather avoided these political road bumps.
We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Lee Goldberg's AccuWeather forecast (a warm up is coming!) and Marvell Scott (in for Scott Clark) with the night's sports. I hope you can join Liz Cho and me, tonight at 11.
BILL RITTER
