I am excited that NPR Correspondent Mandalit Del Barco will be sitting in. She flew in from Los Angeles this week to give us a hand. If you listen to NPR programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered you will have heard her reporting on the L.A. gangs, the fiscal crisis and a little bit of Hollywood. ... She is all that.

And, don't worry, I AM NOT SICK AGAIN. I'm just headed to a public radio conference in Cleveland for a few days.

I'll be back in the chair on Monday.