“May the DAYBREAK mug rest in peace.”

This morning, Carol Costello gets “45 extra minutes of sleep,” and Soledad O’Brien loses 45 minutes.

CNN’s early morning newscast said goodbye on Friday. Beginning today, American Morning expands to four hours, beginning at 6 a.m. (It’ll be “a Miles sandwich.”)

I’ll miss seeing Costello’s face at 5 a.m. while pulling all-nighters. “The Daybreak team had crazy hours,” she told viewers on Friday. “Actually most of them came in at 10:00 at night. But they came to work passionate about their jobs. They became my second family, as you did. Your e-mails made my laugh. They made me think. And they taught me so much. I enjoyed my time with you.”

Costello, along with other Daybreak-ers, are part of the longer AM. Expect lots of live coverage from Baghdad on today’s four-hour program…