Imus Returns to Radio

Eight months after Don Imus was fired for making a racial and sexual remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team, He went back on the air todat at 6 a.m.

This time vowing he would not say anything like that again. "I will never say anything in my lifetime that will make any of these young women at Rutgers regret or feel foolish that they accepted my apology and forgave me," in front of an audience that was listening in person at Town Hall in midtown Manhattan.

Imus also introduced two new cast members Karith Foster, Tony Powell, both African American comedians - and said they would join him in conducting "an ongoing discussion about race relations in this country."

Prospects of Imus' widely anticipated return have outraged critics including the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Organization for Women, who said the idea of the icon returning to the airwaves months after he was fired is nearly as insulting as the comment that took him off the air.

Just before his dismissal, Imus signed a five-year, $40 million contract with CBS. He threatened a $120 million lawsuit after he was fired, but settled in August for an undisclosed amount of money.

In addition to its WABC-AM slot, Imus' morning show will air on four other Citadel Broadcasting-owned stations as well as 17 other stations around the country. The show will also be simulcast on Rural Media Group's 24-hour cable channel RFD-TV, which reaches nearly 30 million homes nationwide