by Gwen Outen

Sen. Ted Stevens is out, Sen. Joe Lieberman is in, and Senate races in Minnesota and Georgia are still undecided. There's a lot going on in politics, and our own Political Junkie Ken Rudin will help us sort it all out in our first hour. Also, could Sen. Hillary Clinton be our next Secretary of State? Maybe. Maybe not. But you've gotta admit the vetting process is an interesting one. We'll talk about Hillary Clinton's chances, and if she even wants the job... or would be good at it. After that (and this week's trivia question), we'll discuss the talk that's been surrounding President-elect Barack Obama's Blackberry use. Obama's advisors say he's addicted to it, but using it could pose a security risk... which means he may be forced to let it go come January. But guest Jonathan Alter of Newsweek says: Obama! Keep the Blackberry! Alter will explain why Obama needs to stay plugged in at the end of the hour. Have you ever suffered from Blackberry withdrawal?

If there are any friends or family members of mine who are reading this post, please be advised: You will not be getting any Christmas presents from me this year. Seriously. No, I mean it. I may get creative this year, though. If it's something that I made or something that I baked, I may catch the Christmas spirit, wrap it up, and give it to someone. But you've got to admit... it will take some creativity to get through the holidays in the middle of this financial crisis. In our second hour, Ylan Mui, retail reporter for The Washington Post, will tell us what stores and malls are doing to separate us from our cash. Following that, we'll talk with Derek Reveron of the Naval War College about the pirate hijacking of a Saudi supertanker off the coast of Africa that happened earlier this week. And a National Geographic staff writer will tell us what he learned about pirates after he spent time with them in Southeast Asia.