FIRST OFF . . .

CBS News is getting its cables and dishes together and taking them on the road . . . to Cuba. Dan Rather and Co. will be uplinking the “CBS Evening News” from Havana on Friday night--where Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will be visiting after he leaves New York. “CBS This Morning” will be airing from the Cuban capital as well. The morning show’s co-anchor, Kathleen Sullivan, will also be broadcasting from Havana this morning, with colleague Harry Smith joining her Friday when Gorbachev pulls into town. Both CBS shows were granted permission to originate from Cuba for Gorbachev coverage by the Cuban government, the network announced Tuesday.