All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

Katie's off today. I'm Bianca Solorzano.

You know how it is: you buy an airline ticket, pay the checked baggage fee and the extra charge for an aisle seat, and maybe even the new surcharge for flying on the busiest days.

All you really want is to get there on time.

Well, a report out today from the Brookings Institute finds the average flight delay is nearly an hour - and ten percent of all planes arrive at least two hours behind schedule.

Only four percent were that late in 1990, and they say it will only get worse as the economy improves and more people fly again.

The researchers blame too many short flights and an outdated air traffic control system. They say the government could ease the situation by investing in high speed trains - and new technology that would allow planes to fly closer together.

These are not quick fixes.

So, for now, get used to waiting. And hope the airlines don't start charging you an on-time arrival fee.

I'm Bianca Solorzano, CBS News.

(CBS)

We're working on a special broadcast for Wednesday night. In addition to our regular 6:30 show, we'll also go on air again for a full, half-hour broadcast at 8 p.m.

Check out the release below:

THE “CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC” IN PRIMETIME

One Time Special Edition to be Broadcast at 8 PM on Wednesday, January 28

CBS News announced today a Special Edition of the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC will be broadcast in primetime on Wednesday, Jan 28, 2009 (8:00-8:30 PM ET, PT) on the CBS Television Network. The one-time special primetime broadcast will be in addition to the regularly scheduled 6:30 PM newscast that evening and will include breaking news of the day and new reports from the broadcast’s signature franchise series.

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Seth Doane is a CBS News correspondent based in New York.

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“I’m not eating that much,” Maranatha Mays told me, because “my kids have to eat before I do.”

That’s a choice that more and more Americans who depend on food stamps have to make as the costs of the basics go up – while their benefits stay the same. Mays, who depends on food stamps, hasn’t been able to shop for groceries for about two weeks.

Food stamps don’t stretch as far as they used to as the cost of groceries go up. By the end of the month, some shoppers at One Stop Foods on Chicago’s south side told us, they are getting hungry.

I asked shopper Michael Jordan, a home health aide, how long his food stamps lasted his family. “Out of the month … about three weeks,” Jordan said.

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Time pieces have come a long way since 5,000 B.C.

Back then, a stick in the ground was a sufficient tool. Those sticks became a bit more sophisticated with the invention of the sundial.

The modern wrist watch wasn't introduced until the late nineteenth century. And now that timekeeper may soon join the others as a curious novelty more decorative than functional.

For the rest of my Notebook, just click the monitor.

Kimberly Dozier is a CBS News correspondent based in Washington.

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More than a million folks are expected to gather in Times Square, New York, to ring in the first of January 2008 — just about as far away as you can get from Baghdad or Balad, Kabul or Bagram.

But on one of those glowing signs, Americans can broadcast text messages of support to those troops, thousands of miles away in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Why bother? Vets from Iraq or Afghanistan will tell you, the troops often think: A) the public has forgotten them; or B) the public is down on the war in general, and them in particular.

Rightly or wrongly, many of them take personally the media’s reports of continuing violence, or anti-war demonstrations, or congressional moves to set troop withdrawal deadlines. They perceive these acts as a negative report card on their performance, even while those reporting, marching or negotiating believe what they’re doing ultimately protects the troops. It’s one of those classic "failure to communicate" moments.

So whatever you think of the war, how it was started, how it’s being fought, what it has or will accomplish…a veteran’s group, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, is inviting you to take a moment to tell the guys and gals serving ‘over there’ what you think of them, and the sacrifice they’re making – serving in harm’s way on New Year’s Day.

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There's more than just a ball drop this year in Times Square.

To hear a bit about the history of New York's legendary New Years' festivities, click the monitor at left.

Hi, everyone.

Remember the Chicago song: "Does anybody really know what time it is?"

Get ready to start singing that this weekend.

Daylight Saving Time kicks in on Sunday -- remember to "spring forward, fall back." But it's three weeks early, because of a 2005 law enacted by Congress. Congressman Ed Markey predicts it will save consumers 1% on energy costs per year, and might even save lives, with more daylight and more visibility for pedestrians. But now there are worries about a "mini Y2K," that could throw off computers...clocks on VCRs, and even digital watches.

Worst case scenario, according to one analyst: computers might give the wrong times for appointments or transactions, potentially losing time...and money.

Computer manufacturers are offering a "patch" you can download. Let's hope that works.

Or we might be singing another song next week: "Manic Monday."

That's a page from my notebook.