Starting next week, the Early Word will be taking a hiatus, so we can reboot and revamp the podcast...and bring you something even better in the new year.  Check the podcasts page at our web site for updates.  And if there's anything YOU'd like to hear in a new and ...

Starting next week, the Early Word will be taking a hiatus, so we can reboot and revamp the podcast...and bring you something even better in the new year.  Check the podcasts page at our web site for updates.  And if there's anything YOU'd like to hear in a new and ...

This morning's Early Word: Af-Pak envoy Richard Holbrooke dead at 69; Beth Fertig on changes to NYC teacher tenure; Bloomberg budget cuts hit FDNY, CUNY; Ilya Marritz on Gov. Paterson's split-the-difference move on natural gas fracking.

This morning's Early Word: Senate GOP blocks Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal & 9/11 health bill; Marianne McCune on young immigrants awaiting a stalled immigration bill; Ilya Marritz on the final days of a NYC OTB parlor; a museum...for your nose.

This morning's Early Word: 9/11 health bill and others delayed in Senate; NYC teachers union fights release of teacher ratings; MTA says if unions don't budge, fares rise; Janaya Williams on the first major Pakistani-American theater company.