Late-Night Hosts Return With Laughs, Politics

Late-night talk shows returned to the air tonight for the first time in two months with a dose of politics mixed among the laughs, the AP reports. Mike Huckabee appeared on Leno, apparently a bit confused by the status of the writers' strike, while Letterman got a taped intro from Hillary Clinton. Letterman and Conan O'Brien sported beards, having put their razors on strike, too.

Because he struck his own deal, Letterman was the only one with union writers, and he brought them on to read his "Top Ten" list of strike demands, including "Complementary tote bag with next insulting contract offer." Huckabee, meanwhile, says he crossed the picket line to appear with Leno only because he thought the writers had approved the return of all the shows. (More late night talk show stories.)