RUSH LIMBAUGH RETURNING TO AIRWAVES NEXT WEEK

Five weeks after he left the airwaves to undergo treatment for addiction to
prescription painkillers, conservative broadcaster Rush Limbaugh will
return to the microphone as host of his daily radio show, it was announced
on Wednesday.

Limbaugh's plans to resume his regular schedule starting on Monday were
revealed to listeners of his nationally syndicated program by his brother,
David, during an appearance with Internet gossip columnist Matt Drudge, who
was filling in for the day as guest host.

"He's obviously chomping at the bit to get back to doing what he does best,
and that's getting back on the air," David Limbaugh said. "And as you can
imagine, there are one or two ... things that he probably will have on his
mind."

Limbaugh, 52, told his millions of listeners on Oct. 10 that he has
suffered for years from an addiction to prescription painkillers and was
taking time off to check himself into a drug treatment center for 30 days.
He also acknowledged that he was the subject of a criminal investigation
but gave no further details. Limbaugh did not specify the type of
medication he was hooked on, though news reports have identified several
powerful narcotics, including OxyContin. He said he began taking
prescription drugs for chronic back pain years ago. The revelation came
less than two weeks after Limbaugh resigned as a TV football commentator on
ESPN's "NFL Sunday Countdown" amid a public uproar over his on-air comments
suggesting Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated by
the media because he is black.

David Limbaugh told listeners on Wednesday that his brother had
"successfully completed the first phase of his treatment," though "he's
very realistic about the long road ahead of him and he's committed to
staying the course." Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates the radio
program, issued a statement confirming that Limbaugh would return as host
for a full three hours a day, five days a week, starting on Monday.
Limbaugh's program reaches about 20 million listeners a week. Beloved by
political conservatives for his biting attacks on liberals, Limbaugh
launched his show in 1985 amid the Republican revolution of Ronald Reagan
and helped spawn a wave of right-wing commentators who have since
proliferated on radio and television.