Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb took a break from their crazy, fourth-hour antics Thursday to bid farewell to their colleague Ann Curry.
After Curry confirmed late Wednesday she'd be leaving TODAY after fifteen years, Gifford and Kotb used the first part of their opening segment to honor the morning show veteran. (Curry, 55, will still be a part of the NBC family, as an Anchor at Large and National and International Correspondent for NBC News).
"She's going to have a seven-member team and she's going to travel the globe reporting on stories that she cares a lot about and loves," Kotb explained to viewers.
"And nobody's better at it than she is," Gifford chimed in. "She's very courageous and she's very dedicated to what she does and she's going to bring us great stories from all over the world."
Added Kotb, "She's fearless."
About an hour earlier, Curry said a tearful good-bye before signing off during her last broadcast as a TODAY anchor.
"I have loved you and I wanted to give you the world and I still do," she told viewers. "For all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I'm sorry I couldn't carry the ball over the finish line, but man I did try."