REPORT: JAY, DAVE COULD RETURN BEFORE STRIKE ENDS

David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and Craig Ferguson could cross the picket line and return to TV in January since there's no end in sight to the writers strike. After staying off the air for nearly two months in support of the Writers Guild of America, plunging latenight ratings may prompt the hosts to come back in 2008, according to Variety. "Nobody wants to be vilified like Ellen DeGeneres or Carson Daly," one source told the New York Post, referring to the hosts who've crossed the picket line and resumed production. "But it's getting to the point where they are beginning to realize that this [strike] could be going on for a while and they're trying to figure out a way to get back on the air sooner rather than later," says the source. The Post reports that the latenight hosts could all plan a return on the same date in hopes to avoid any bad blood with the unions that could result in a public relations nightmare.