By Larry King, USA TODAY

King's things ...

Last week, on the same day that my stepson, Danny (future football star), went on a Mormon mission, my wife, Shawn, and I had a private one-hour meeting with Gordon Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Hinckley informed me that the Mormons were opposed to the concept of the new White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, designed to help Americans most in need by inte grating religious organizations with social services. "I am in favor of complete separation of church and state, and while we appreciate the offer of federal funding, we like to do ours on our own. Once the government is involved, regulations follow." In other words, thanks, but no thanks.

The more we look at the late president Dwight D. Eisenhower, the more complicated our analysis of him. For example, he once said, "Every gun that is fired, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." How about them apples?

Michael Connelly remains one of my favorite novelists. His most recent, Void Moon, is an American classic, and now he has just published A Darkness More Than Night (Little, Brown, $25.95). To say that it is brilliant is underestimating its worth. A former FBI agent is working a potential serial killer case while a Los Angeles police detective testifies in another murder trial. The FBI man suspects the cop of being the killer in the former crime. That is some kind of plotting.

Some other recommended books include Jonathan Kellerman 's Dr. Death (Random House, $26.95), which I told you I was looking forward to and exceeded my expectations. Protect and Defend by Richard North Patterson (Random House, $26.95) is a heckuva political thriller that involves the appointment of the first female chief justice. The courtroom scenes, as well as the congressional hearings, are right on the money. If you like short stories, you'll like Jeffrey Archer 's new collection, To Cut a Long Story Short (HarperCollins, $25).

Congratulations to my man Don Rickles, who just signed an exclusive two-year deal with the Stardust Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. He made his initial appearance there this past weekend.

Tuesday night, we celebrate the 90th birthday of former president Ronald Reagan on Larry King Live with a special exclusive interview with Nancy Reagan . She details his recent hip surgery and brings us up to date on his condition and that of his daughter Maureen, 60, who had cancer surgery in January.

Other guests this week are Morley Safer, Conan O'Brien, Connie Chung and Maury Povich .

Thanks to Henry J. Oechler Jr. for his letter concerning my reference to Sen. Fritz Hollings of South Carolina, who says in my new book, Anything Goes! What I've Learned from Pundits, Politicians and Presidents that watching bills get made and passed is "like making sausage." It ain't pleasant to watch. Henry reminds me the statement originated 150 years ago when the famed Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich said there were two things people shouldn't watch — the making of sausage and legislation.

Coming up March 17 in Phoenix, I again will emcee the seventh annual Celebrity Fight Night, which will showcase celebrities "duking it out" to benefit the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. Michael J. Fox will receive the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award. Music producer David Foster is putting together a terrific show, and if it is anything like past shows, we can expect a great night of entertainment.