The Inside Scoop will be off Thursday

12/25. We will return on Friday 12/26.

Quote Of The Day

”Properly practiced creativity MUST result in greater sales more economically achieved. Properly practiced creativity can lift your claims out of the swamp of sameness and make them accepted, believed, persuasive, urgent.”
- William Bernbach (1911-1982)

Did You Know

The largest number of movie theaters in one city was 986 in New York in 1913.

Tonight and Thursday On The CBS Evening News

Here’s a look at what’s coming up on tonight’s broadcast from Harry Smith, in tonight for Katie Couric:

Happy holidays, everyone. This is Harry Smith filling in for Katie.

If you're traveling this holiday season, there's a good chance you’re hitting the road today. In fact, it's expected to be the busiest travel day of this holiday season. And while a lull in terrible winter weather in parts of the Midwest has provided some relief to weary travelers, delays are still clogging up airports on both coasts. Kelly Wallace has the story of some who may not make it home in time for Christmas.

Turning abroad, our Elizabeth Palmer visits one Iraqi city to observe, first-hand, the evolving mission for American troops. They’re now letting the Iraqis take the lead in providing security. But are the security forces really ready to take over?

As the mortgage crisis continues, homeowners are making some big life changes just to stay in their homes - including taking in rent-paying strangers to help make ends meet. Ben Tracy reports from Los Angeles.

And our health story tonight is one about bureaucracy - turned to generosity. U.S. hospitals toss out tons of perfectly good medical equipment every day, but at least some of it is now being used to save lives in Africa. Dr. Jon LaPook explains how a ground-breaking new program works.

Finally tonight, he's been making magic for L.A. kids for generations. But the tough economy is hitting business hard. Will the puppet-master make it to his 50th year of tickling imaginations? Bill Whitaker has the story of pulling strings … in hard times.

See you tonight and I hope you have a wonderful holiday,

-Harry

For more on some of the stories noted above, please click on the following links:

Weather Is Frightful For Midwest, North
Click Here

Midwest, Northwest Brace For Xmas Eve Snow
Click Here

Save, Don't Spend, During The Holidays
Click Here

And here’s a look at a few of the stories we are working on for Thursday’s Christmas Day broadcast of the CBS EVENING NEWS:

REPAIR: Hari Sreenivasan takes a look at how the business of fixing things is looking up in this tough economy. And why more and more people are going in for repairs.

ILLITERACY: In our Other America series, Seth Doane finds out that it’s never too late to learn to read. We’ll tell you how programs are helping eradicate illiteracy among the poor.

A LOOK BACK AT THE YEAR IN MEDICINE: Dr. Jon LaPook highlights the best discoveries of the past year.

If you would like more information on any of these stories or the broadcast, please click on the following address and e-mail us: evening@cbsnews.com

Tonight On David Letterman

David Letterman is pre-empted this evening due to holiday programming

Tomorrow night, Dave is back with Political satirist Stephen Colbert; actress Kristen Stewart and musical guests Super Diamond

Thursday and Friday Morning On The Early Show

Julie Chen, Maggie Rodriguez, Harry Smith and Russ Mitchell will anchor THE EARLY SHOW from New York. Dave Price will bring us the weather.

Here’s an early look at some of the stories we are working on for our special Christmas broadcast

SMALL BUSINESS SERIES: BIG MAMA - We’ll look back at the story about an inspiring woman - Brenda Franklin - whose soul food takeout restaurant in Pittsburgh “big mama's house of soul” is about to celebrate its first year anniversary. A team of mentors from Ruth’s Chris steak house helped Brenda reach her dreams, and Thursday, we will remember her story.

HARRY TAKES YOU TO THE MIDWEST FLOODS - Record rainfall forced rivers in the Midwest to historic highs this summer and levee breaches flooded farms and small river towns across three states. Harry Smith headed to Quincy, Illinois in June to get a birds-eye view of just how powerful the mighty Mississippi really is. The sights are unbelievable, and we’ll take your viewers back to this momentous month.

HARRY FLIGHT OPERATIONS - On Harry’s adventure to the Theodore Roosevelt Aircraft carrier, he got the chance to fly a fighter p*** - a job that Lieutenants on the Roosevelt take very seriously on a daily basis. He’ll introduce you to the pilots and sailors that live aboard this massive boat, and take you through their daily activities.

RHINO DARTING IN SOUTH AFRICA - On Dave’s trip to South Africa, he’ll take your viewers on safari of a lifetime. One of the most exciting parts of his trip was going face to face with a white rhino. This huge grass eating animal got its name not from its color - but because South African’s called its mouth "wide" which eventually became "white." He’ll show you how they live in the wild.

TINA TURNER INTERVIEW - With over 170 million albums sold, Tina Turner remains the queen of rock 'n roll. At 68, Turner is still strapping on her sky-high heels on dancing across the stage. Tina sat down with Julie to talk about what it takes to be "simply the best."

ROLLING STONES INTERVIEW - The rolling stones' new documentary, called "shine a light" debuted a few months back. Harry got to sit down with the band and talk about their extraordinary lives in the world of rock and roll, and their new film.

HARRY POTTER GAME: QUIDDITCH - Once a fictional game that existed only in the famed Harry Potter books - 'Quidditch' lept from the pages and onto college campuses this year - and although the broomsticks didn't fly, we found the magic was definitely still there. Greg Gumbel reports from the CBS sports desk, as Dave takes part in a real life Quidditch game against college students.

REBUILDING GREENSBURG, KANSAS - This spring the early show spent an entire week in the small Kansas town of Greensburg, where more than 90% of the homes and businesses had been destroyed by a twister a year earlier. But Greensburg was determined to rebuild and we went there to see the remarkable way they planned to do it.

POPE BENEDICT VISITS THE UNITED STATIONS - In April, the whole world watched as Pope Benedict the-sixteenth made his first visit to the United States as pontiff. The six-day trip was intended to introduce the pope to his Catholic flock, and by all standards he received a very warm welcome. We’ll look back at this momentous occasion.

And, here’s a preview of a few of the stories we are working on for Friday morning’s broadcast of The Early Show.

Friday on The Early Show…gift cards 101...the extra perks you may not know about. And the new rules that could change the way you use them!

If you would like more information on any of these stories or the broadcast, please click on the following address and e-mail us: earlyshow@cbs.com

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