AIRLINES

DELTA PILOTS VOTE TO AUTHORIZE STRIKE

Pilots at Delta Air Lines, the third-largest American carrier, voted to authorize a strike in an effort to pressure the bankrupt company to scale back demands for $305 million in annual pay and benefit reductions. The pilots voted 95% in favor of letting the top council of their union declare a strike, Delta’s Air Line Pilots Association said in a statement yesterday. “It doesn’t mean there’s going to be a strike, it just means that they’ve maintained some of their clout at the bargaining table,” said Mike Boyd, who leads an Evergreen, Colo.-based consulting firm that has advised both airlines and unions.

– Bloomberg News

TELEVISION

CBS SAID TO BE CLOSE TO SIGNING COURIC; VIEIRA MAY REPLACE HER

As CBS gets close to a contract that would make Katie Couric, the host of the “Today” show on NBC, the next anchor for the network’s evening news, NBC may be close to signing up Meredith Vieira, of the talk show “The View,” to replace Ms.Couric, the New York Times reported on its Web site last night. The deal with Ms. Vieira is said to be expected sometime this week, the newspaper reported.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

TAXES

IN UNDERCOVER EXAM, ALL PROFESSIONAL TAX PREPARERS ERR

Tax return preparers made mistakes on virtually every tax return prepared at the request of undercover congressional investigators, the auditors said yesterday. In 19 visits, the Government Accountability Office asked for assistance from commercial chain preparers to file returns for two hypothetical families. Only two of 19 tax returns showed the correct refund amount, but both of those returns included errors. Incorrect refunds on the other tax returns delivered as much as $2,000 extra to some taxpayers but took more than $1,500 from others. The GAO said it looked at a tiny number of returns and the findings cannot be generalized across the industry.

– Associated Press