Kathie Lee Gifford to leave NBC's 'Today' show in April

Kathie Lee Gifford will put aside her morning glass of wine and step away from NBC's "Today" show in April.

NBC News chief Noah Oppenheim told staffers Tuesday morning that Gifford will leave the show after 11 years of getting up early, most recently hosting the 10 a.m. hour slot alongside Hoda Kotb and sipping plenty of reds.

In a memo to staff, Oppenheim called the 65-year-old Gifford "one of the most enduring and endearing talents in morning television. In short — she is a legend." He said she will focus on her film, music and book projects.

FILE - In this June 7, 2017 file photo, Hoda Kotb, left, and Kathie Lee Gifford give a toast as they present the award for CMT performance of the year at the CMT Music Awards at Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn. Gifford will be putting aside her morning glass of wine and will step away from the NBC’s “Today” show in April. NBC News chief Noah Oppenheim told staffers Tuesday morning, Dec. 11 that Gifford will leave after 11 years on the show, most recently hosting the 10 a.m. hour alongside Kotb and sipping plenty of reds. (Photo by Wade PayneInvisionAP, File)

In the memo, Oppenheim said Gifford told him she was leaving "with a grateful heart but I'm truly excited for this new creative season in my life."

The move comes as NBC News struggles to remake its sprawling four-hour morning show following the cancellation earlier this year of Megyn Kelly's hour-long slot.

Before landing the NBC gig, Gifford co-hosted "Live" opposite Regis Philbin for 11 years. She left that show in 2000 and joined "Today" in 2008.

Away from TV, Gifford has supplied the book, lyrics and some of the music for the off-Broadway "Under the Bridge," an adaptation of a children's book about a hobo who befriends a homeless family in Paris.

She has released albums, including the poppy "The Heart of a Woman" in 2000 and the religious "Gentle Grace" in 2004. Gifford also has appeared onstage in the Broadway musical revue "Putting it Together" and supplied book and lyrics for the 2012 Broadway flop "Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson."

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed Cuba Wednesday from the State Department's short list of countries that it deems less than fully cooperative against violent groups.

In a statement, the State Department said Blinken had found that Cuban and U.S. law enforcement were again working together on counterterrorism and other efforts.

The State Department had cited Cuba as a “not fully cooperating country” in 2022, saying that Cuba had refused to engage with Colombia in the extradition of members of the National Liberation Army group.

Colombia later dropped its arrest warrants for those members, however. “Moreover, the United States and Cuba resumed law enforcement cooperation in 2023, including on counterterrorism," Wednesday's statement said.

The State Department, in compliance with U.S. laws on arms exports, maintains a list of countries perceived as not cooperating fully on counterterrorism.

The U.S. kept North Korea, Syria, Iran and Venezuela on the list in Wednesday's rulings.

Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez acknowledged the decision, but he said that Washington could do more.

“The U.S. has just admitted what is known to everyone: that #Cuba fully collaborates with the efforts against terrorism,” Rodríguez said on X, formerly Twitter.

But he added that “all political manipulation of the issue should cease and our arbitrary and unjust inclusion on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism should end.”

Associated Press writer Andrea Rodríguez reported from Havana.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister following their talks in Kyiv on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Brendan Smialowski, Pool Photo via AP)