Sick of watching reruns? Nervous you'll only get 8 episodes of Lost next season? Well, The NY Times reports on the first break in the writers' strike.David Letterman is pursuing a deal with the Writers Guild of America that would allow his late-night show on CBS to return to the air in early January with the usual complement of material from his writers, even if the strike is still continuing. Executives from Mr. Letterman's company......

The New York Times looks at the ascendance of the heckler as self-appointed critic at large. Voicing one's displeasure in the here and now has apparently taken on enough significance that it is being called a societal trend. Hecklers who boo politicians at public addresses are crusaders for peace. The woman who Mel Gibson dismissed as a heckler at an event for his movie Apocalypto described herself as a dutiful academic. And some sports......

Last month, it was revealed the Department of Education was investigating claims that teacher Johnny Cuevas vacationed with a student during spring break - and that school officials at A. Philip Randolph School tried to cover it up. Now it turns out that while Cuevas has been investigated, he was chatting up a 16 year old student online. From the Daily News:While Cuevas was under investigation for the trip, he allegedly started contacting a 16-year-old......

Just in time for July 4, the International Union of Operating Engineers has called a strike after failing to agree on a new contract Friday. "It's safe to say the strike will affect hundreds of construction sites over the weekend," said Christopher O. Ward, the managing director of the contractors association told the Times. Not only does this strike mean that high-profile projects like the foundation work for the Freedom Tower and the excavation......

We've been following the career of Ellis G for about a year-- ever since he started chalking his shadow-art around Smith Street in Brooklyn. He's already gotten a fair amount of press for the shadow-outlines-- and he deserves it, because the pieces are unique and fun. Today the Times weighs with a nice bio piece: But Mr. Gallagher's passion for graffiti was extinguished for good early one morning in 2001, when he and Hector......