Curtain coming down after 30 years at 'Inside Edition' for Deborah Norville

NEW YORK (AP) — For a television news industry in a constant state of motion, Deborah Norville has been a model of stability. She began hosting the syndicated newsmagazine “Inside Edition” in 1995 and has remained there ever since.

Now that 30-year run is coming to a close.

Norville, 66, signs off on May 21. She's planning to celebrate with a long vacation through Europe with her husband, and try something new when she gets back. She will host “The Perfect Line,” a trivia show that begins airing this fall. No successor has been named at “Inside Edition.”

“I'm very excited about the game show,” she said. “It's fun, and who doesn't want to give away somebody else's money to people who are happy to take it?”

Three decades ago, Norville left CBS News for a genre largely dismissed as tabloid television. She's proud of telling stories that add value to the audience's lives: A company that makes a device to aid choking victims says it has traced a thousand uses to people who say they learned about it through an “Inside Edition” story.

During COVID, the show began broadcasting from her kitchen almost immediately and never stopped, as she built a makeshift studio in her New York-area home.

“We were a familiar presence during a time when everything else was topsy-turvy," she said, “and I think the bond with our audience was made even stronger then.”

As she prepares to adjust to a life no longer governed by news cycles, Norville paused to reflect on her time with The Associated Press.

ASSOCIATED PRESS: You made the decision a while ago to leave “Inside Edition.” Now that it's happening, how does it feel?

NORVILLE: It really hit me today. It's the same day my daughter and husband came over (to the studio) for an in-person interview for a piece they're doing — a farewell Deb thing. My daughter was on “Inside Edition” the day she was born. Nine hours after I gave birth, the crew was in my hospital room taping “Inside Edition” because they couldn't find anyone else to do the show, which was ridiculous. To see her, this beautiful, 27-year-old grown woman, so statuesque and wonderful and lovely and perfect, to do an interview about what it's like having her mom work at this place for literally her entire life, it was like, oh my gosh, there's something major about to happen.

AP: When you first joined, tabloid shows were considered less respectable than networks. How do you think that’s changed?

NORVILLE: Remember Tom Shales of the Washington Post? Tom Shales actually put in the paper that I was selling my credibility. The old Deborah would have just gone into a fetal position and cried. The new me said, “Oh, I don’t think so.” I never knew my credibility had anything to do with the peacock or eyeball on my paycheck, because I had worked at NBC and CBS. My credibility had to do with the show that I stood in front of, the stories that I personally produced and reported on and what we put on television every day. All I was asking was that people watch.

AP: When you look back on it, what is the work you'll remember the most?

NORVILLE: “Inside Edition” has evolved a lot in the 30 years that I've been here. When I got here, it was still the hard-core, tabloid, beach blanket bingo — a lot of girls on sandy beaches in tiny bikinis. We don't do that anymore. ... It has evolved in such a way that we as a program have become a companion to people — not just on television, but we're a companion on the internet, on social media, on YouTube. The content that we do is watchable, but also very relatable and meaningful.

AP: It's unusual these days to stay at the same job for a long time. Why did that appeal to you?

NORVILLE: I came to “Inside Edition” because I was expecting my second child. I knew it was going to be a boy (Norville and her husband, Karl Wellner, have two boys and a girl). I turned down an offer from CBS News to be “Eye on America” correspondent four days a week and anchor the weekend news one night. I would have been teed up for the job that Katie Couric ultimately got. But those four nights a week were going to be on the road all over the country and I didn't think I could be the kind of mother I aspired to be, and certainly the kind of wife that I wanted to be, if I was on the road. I just didn't know how I could do it.

AP: Any regrets about paths not taken?

NORVILLE: Oh, probably. But here's the antidote to that. You take a look at where the road has taken you and you take stock at what you see at that spot in the road where you find yourself. ... The biggest thing is that I look at my family, which is the most important thing to me. My husband and I have been married for 37 and a half years. I have three amazing children who actually enjoy being with us, who are solid citizens, who are kind and giving and industrious and entrepreneurial. I didn't mess up my kids. Coming to “Inside Edition” for the right reasons, turned out to be the right reason for me.

David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social

FILE - Deborah Norville arrives at the CBS, CW and Showtime Press Tour Party in Los Angeles, July 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Actor Dustin Hoffman and Allison Atlas talk with Deborah Norville, at right, while taping a spot on the NBC "Today Show" in New York, February 28, 1990. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, File)

FILE - Television journalist Deborah Norville arrives at the Fox Business Network's Launch Party, Oct. 24, 2007, in New York. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano, File)

FILE - Former NBC "Today" television program hosts Tom Brokaw, left, Jane Pauley, second left, Deborah Norville, center, and Katie Couric, right, with veteran weatherman Willard Scott, gather for a toast in New York's Rockefeller Center, Jan. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

FILE - NBC "Today" show anchor Deborah Norville visited with host David Letterman on "Late Night with David Letterman," September 5, 1990, in New York. (AP Photo, File)

A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.

In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace. It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.

Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C., where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their highest priority is connecting with people along the way.

“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every stop.

Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka — have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.

At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.

“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate peace.”

Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19 monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.

Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.

This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means divine light in Sanskrit.

Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he feels like giving up.

“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,” Pannakara said.

The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks, nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.

Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.

“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,” Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we believe.”

In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.

He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up, creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi, he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.

“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus, whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who showed up.”

After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed there.

“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.

Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as a national holiday.

“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.

But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong.

The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.

Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to convert people to Buddhism.

Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in his country.

“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”

On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda. Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents.

“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”

Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed.

“Today is my peaceful day.”

Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," get lunch Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Aloka rests with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

A sign is seen greeting the Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Supporters pray with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Supporters watch Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

A Buddhist monk ties a prayer bracelet around the wrist of Josey Lee, 2-months-old, during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara leads other buddhist monks in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Audrie Pearce greets Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," arrive in Saluda, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," are seen with their dog, Aloka, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)