Wolf Blitzer will convene teams of top CNN correspondents and experts on the news of the moment in The Situation Room, the new CNN/U.S. broadcast announced today by CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein. The program will blend traditional newsgathering with up-to-the-second information from online sources on homeland security, politics and national and world affairs.

The Situation Room airs each weekday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., replacing Inside Politics, Crossfire and Wolf Blitzer Reports. The program debuts mid-summer.

“The Situation Room becomes a showcase for CNN’s unparalleled, world-wide newsgathering operations,” Klein said. “The 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. block marks the most active part of the news day, when stories start to gel and begin stacking up like planes over O’Hare Airport. There will be no better place to monitor developments than in The Situation Room, whose studio has been expressly designed to incorporate traditional reporting methods with the most innovative online resources, such as blogs, Web sites and podcasts.”

The Situation Room, originating from Washington, D.C., is modeled somewhat on the concept of the White House Situation Room. The program draws together CNN’s extensive reporting and analysis resources including its renowned political and polling units, D.C. beats, national and global newsgathering bureaus.

The program will gather dozens of experts, analysts and opinion leaders, establishing a “CNN Security Council” with expertise spanning topics from personal security to the economy to the war on terrorism. Regular contributors will include former Crossfire hosts Paul Begala, James Carville and Robert Novak; political analysts Victoria Clarke, Jeff Greenfield, Bill Schneider and Carlos Watson; security analysts such as former Defense Secretary William Cohen, Richard Falkenrath, a former terrorism advisor to President George W. Bush, Clark Kent Ervin, former inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security, and John McLaughlin, former acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and military analysts Gen. David Grange and Gen. Don Shephard.

In addition, Jack Cafferty will move from CNN’s morning newscast American Morning to offer commentary and insights on the day’s events; Ali Velshi, host of CNN’s small business show The Turnaround, will contribute regular business updates; and Zain Verjee, co-anchor of CNN’s international news report Your World Today, will report on international news developments. CNN’s groundbreaking Internet reporters Abbi Tatton and Jacki Schechner will cover the blogosphere, reporting on who is saying what and what information can be trusted.

Until The Situation Room debuts this summer, Inside Politics will run for a full 90 minutes from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. with a rotating host followed by Wolf Blitzer Reports at 5 p.m. Sam Feist, senior executive producer of political programming for CNN, will be executive producer of The Situation Room.

Wolf Blitzer is the host of Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, the only Sunday talk show seen in more than 200 countries and territories. Blitzer has interviewed many of recent history’s most notable figures, including former President Bill Clinton, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former South African President Nelson Mandela, former Israeli prime ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Another change in CNN/U.S. programming that becomes effective on Monday, June 6, will be a simulcast of CNN International's Your World Today from noon to 1 p.m. (ET) each weekday. Broadcast globally through CNN International, Your World Today offers a daily, in-depth look at current world affairs through the eyes of the day's top newsmakers and political analysts. Originating from Atlanta, Your World Today is anchored by Jim Clancy and Zain Verjee. In addition, the program will be expanded to include updates on top domestic stories to enhance the CNN/U.S. airing.

CNN, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is one of the world’s most respected and trusted sources for news and information. Its reach extends to 14 cable and satellite television networks; two private place-based networks; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; six Web sites, including CNN.com, the first major news and information Web site; and CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service.