Prime

CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric and the CBS Evening News come to prime time tonight, and if you haven't been watching the broadcast the past six months or so, I urge you to take this opportunity to check Couric and her newscast out. Here's the cynical explanation as to why the evening news for the first time will be shown in prime time: Fox has American Idol scheduled in the same time slot, so what has CBS to lose by throwing Couric up against it? In fact, CBS will save money by not having to put an expensive entertainment show on only to see it clobbered in the ratings.

WBAL-TV says it has gained the rights to simulcast two Baltimore Ravens "Monday Night Football" games this year with ESPN, the cable channel that produces the prime-time telecasts. The deal the station is scheduled to announce Wednesday is for three years, according to the Hearst-owned station, and will make WBAL the Baltimore partner for all ESPN "Monday Night Football" games involving the Ravens during that time. One of the Monday night games is Aug. 22, a preseason contest against the Carolina Panthers, while the other is Dec. 16, a regular-season matchup with the Detroit Lions at a key time in the season.

Two films airing on Showtime today may be enough for you to consider calling in sick today, or at least taking a long lunch.Maggie Smith won the first of her two Academy Awards for 1969's "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (11: 15 a.m.-1: 15 p.m.), where she's marvelous as a teacher at a Scottish girls' school in 1932 whose students become immersed in art, music and some ill-chosen politics. There are even a few romantic subplots and some schoolgirl conniving thrown in for good measure. But the story is secondary to Smith, who's so good that her performance has since become a model for every would-be actress trying to portray an English schoolteacher.

Many a name-brand casino in Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere feature high-end restaurants conceived by celebrity chefs. Locally, at Maryland Live! casino in Arundel Mills, the celebrity is the restaurant chain, The Prime Rib, which opened in January, joining its venerable Baltimore parent (since 1965) and siblings in Philadelphia and D.C. This is a gorgeous setting. In the main dining room, which can seat about 75, all is sleek and contemporary with a leopard-print carpet and whimsical chandeliers.

The state of "prime time": Going, going, gone!Witness:* In tough economic times, with audiences shrinking, the networks are going the discount route in many time slots with reality shows that are much cheaper to produce than an "L.A. Law" or a "Cosby Show."* Speaking of which, many long-running entertainment shows like "Cosby" are going off the air soon or, even worse, plummeting in quality at slalom speed.* And, the most helpless new feeling of all for programmers: No matter the fare, lifestyles are changing.

The legendary bounty hunter Samus Aran is back and on a new mission: to locate the missing Galactic Federation Trooper Squad Bravo and render assistance - without getting eradicated in the process. For those unfamiliar with the character, Samus first appeared in the 1986 NES release Metroid. The orange, blocky character for the original NES game has come a long way since then to the present-day Nintendo GameCube version. So have the overall graphics and story line. In the recent first-person, behind-the-visor adventure Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, gamers play Samus, the famous bounty hunter who finds herself on a search-and-rescue mission on the rogue planet of Aether.

TOKYO -- He likes jazz, runs a country and publicly dumps on Japan's lack of international responsibility and its intransigent bureaucracy. Moreover, he wants the English-speaking world to know how he feels.In short, he could be any of a number of national leaders -- which is probably just the point. Japan's Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa considers himself part of the outside world. In case that message hasn't gotten out, he has gone beyond what the country's Foreign Ministry says any prime minister has done in memory by publishing an English-language translation of his thoughts while still in office.

Given America's love affair with prime beef, you can open a steakhouse these days and practically count on its being a success. At least that's what restaurateur Jordan Naftal is hoping. He and his wife, Ivette, are planning the grand opening for Jordan's Steakhouse (8085 Main St., Ellicott City) on Jan. 5. The restaurant will feature a variety of both USDA choice and prime steaks. The prime tenderloin, for instance, is priced about $10 more than the choice. Steamed salmon and broiled tuna, as well as free-range chicken, are also on the menu.

SYDNEY, Australia - Prime Minister John Howard and his conservative coalition easily won re-election yesterday as voters endorsed his economic platform despite misgivings about his decision to send troops to Iraq. Labor Party leader Mark Latham, who pledged to bring most of Australia's 850 troops in Iraq home by Christmas, was unable to persuade voters to abandon Howard's ruling coalition, which has presided over 8 1/2 consecutive years of economic growth. "I am truly humbled by this extraordinary expression of confidence in the leadership of this great nation by the coalition," said a beaming Howard, 65, after winning his fourth term as prime minister.

It's been almost two years since ABC's "Prime Time Live" came on the air promising to revamp the world of the weekly news magazine show. Things haven't exactly gone according to plan.The studio audience proved to be a critical fiasco. The highly-touted chemistry between co-hosts Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer produced much more smoke than fire. The ability to go live anywhere in the world sent the show to a dying tree in Austin, Texas, in the middle of the night.The studio audience has long since been shown the door.

A vacant building in a prime location at Annapolis City Dock is about to be sold. An investment group led by Mark Ordan, CEO of Sunrise Senior Living, has signed a deal to buy the former Fawcett Boat Supplies building at 110 Compromise St. The building sits in a key spot in downtown Annapolis and will figure into the city's plans to redevelop the City Dock area. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, and Ordan said it won't be final until the proposal passes a five-month study period "to make sure we have the support and cooperation of the city and the various constituents.

Moving around has always been a big part of new Loyola basketball coach G.G. Smith's life. As a child whose father, Tubby, was a rising star in the college basketball coaching ranks, Smith spent time growing up in college towns like Columbia, S.C., and Lexington, Ky., as well as cities like Tulsa, Okla., and Richmond, Va. As an adult, Smith often took jobs based on where his wife, Lorie, was completing her post-graduate work as she built her career...

The Ravens won't get their season-opening home game, like reigning Super Bowl champions have for the last decade. But they will play four prime-time games, including a Thanksgiving night showdown at home against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, and a much-anticipated rematch with the Denver Broncos to kick off their Super Bowl XLVII title defense. The NFL released its regular-season schedule Thursday and it's highlighted by the Ravens' Sept. 5 matchup against the Broncos, a pairing that produced one of the league's most memorable games from the 2012-13 campaign.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told a Baltimore audience Tuesday night that the world's challenges have never been greater, nor come with such speed, and he advocated intervention in struggling countries by powers such as Great Britain and the United States. "I don't think there's been a more difficult time to be a political leader than now," Blair, who left office in 2007, told an audience of 2,800 at Loyola University Maryland. He described challenges posed by globalization and ever-evolving technology and said that "often the best short-term politics is in collision with the best long-term policy.

Al Jazeera America Thursday announced that veteran business reporter Ali Velshi will join the Qatar-owned channel to develop and host a daily prime-time business show. The announcement comes one day after news that Velshi was leaving CNN where he served as business reporter and show host for almost 12 years. Velshi's last day at CNN will be Friday, according to TVNewser. Here's the release from Al Jazeera America: Al Jazeera America, the new US-based news channel set to launch later this year, today announced that Ali Velshi, CNN's former chief business correspondent and anchor of “Your Money” and CNN International's “World Business Today,” has joined Al Jazeera America to develop and host a daily primetime business program.

The Ravens 2013 preseason schedule is highlighted by a prime-time home game against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, Aug. 22 at M&T Bank Stadium, the NFL announced today. That game, which will be the third of four preseason games for the Super Bowl XLVII champions, will start at 8 p.m. and be televised by ESPN. The Ravens will open up the preseason against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. The exact date and time of the game has yet to be announced. In Week Two of the preseason, the Ravens will host the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday, Aug. 15 at M&T Bank Stadium.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Military leaders here have been told they have no option but to give up power and restore ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide or face "catastrophe," including renewed international economic sanctions, pro-Aristide Prime Minister Robert Malval said yesterday.Taking an unusually aggressive tone, Mr. Malval told two U.S. reporters that army commander Brig. Gen. Raoul Cedras and his allies have violated an agreement he signed in July that calls for General Cedras' resignation and Father Aristide's return on Oct. 30."

Not long ago, I received a call from a savvy young man who said he was in Los Angeles, employed as a "development associate" with a television network and cruising for ideas for made-for-TV movies.What could I offer the guy? All those movies -- serial killers, spousal abusers, child abusers, disaster survivors, medical miracles, women in trouble -- have been done, haven't they?Didn't one of the networks just air a movie about women who posed for Playboy?In the last made-for-TV movie I saw, Veronica Hamel, formerly the hot public defender from "Hill Street Blues," killed a guy in a motel room.

Shin Chon Garden is popular to the point of overflowing. Even on a drizzly weeknight, the tables at this Ellicott City restaurant are full of diners. A friend, arriving a few minutes before I did, texted: "place smells AMAZING. " When Andrew Zimmern, the host of the long-running Travel Channel show "Bizarre Foods," came to Shin Chon Garden last summer, he told the world, via Twitter, that Shin Chon "is one of top ten Korean BBQ experiences in America. A must for anyone who loves food.

Coach Mark Turgeon is hoarse with a bad cold, scoring leader Dez Wells has been nursing a sore knee since midway through the ACC tournament, and Maryland has had to get over playing four games in seven days and not making the NCAA tournament. Despite all that, the Terps (22-12) were getting motivated to play basketball again, beginning with a home game Tuesday night against Niagara (19-13) in the first round of the NIT. If they win, they would play the Ohio-Denver winner. The future schedule has not been finalized, but that second-round game would likely be at Comcast Center on Thursday.