FIRST OFF . . .

A CBS news team headed by Dan Rather will travel to the Soviet Union in May to film a prime time news special, CBS News President Howard Stringer announced Monday. Stringer said the news team--after lengthy discussions with Soviet representatives--will have unprecedented access to many aspects of life in the Soviet Union. Nine CBS news correspondents, with production crews, will spend a week in Moscow, Leningrad and Georgia, but advance crews leave May 4 for three weeks of preparation for the visit. Stringer said the correspondents will interview a wide range of Soviet citizens, including Politburo members, journalists, doctors, artists, entrepreneurs and military, farm and steel workers. The two-hour special, “Seven Days in Moscow,” will air mid-June.