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NBC says Tamron Hall is joining the third hour of the "Today" show as a co-host.

She will supplement a team already comprising Al Roker, Natalie Morales and Willie Geist.

A regular “Today” show fill-in host, Hall has recently interviewed Hugh Jackman and Mariah Carey. She is also the anchor of MSNBC’s “NewsNation.” She joined MSNBC in 2007.

She is the host of Investigation Discovery’s “Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall” and TLC’s “Sister Wives.”

“Today” executive producer Don Nash said Hall brings “wit, enthusiasm and a keen sensibility” to the team.

The third hour of NBC’s “Today” airs at 9 a.m. Eastern.

Morisseau’s play ‘Detroit ‘67’ wins drama prize

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Dominique Morisseau's "Detroit '67" on Monday won a theater award honoring the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, one of the largest prizes given for dramatic writing.

The Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History honors a new play or musical that explores the United States’ past and deals with “great issues of our day.” It comes with $100,000.

The jury unanimously picked Morisseau’s play, the first in a three-play cycle about her hometown Detroit. According to the jury, the play “explores an explosive and decisive moment in a great American city” and has “compelling characters struggle with racial tension and economic instability.”

“Detroit ‘67” received its world premiere at The Public Theater in New York City in March and was presented in association with the Classical Theater of Harlem and the National Black Theater.

The prize was established by Kennedy's sister Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith in consultation with playwright Tony Kushner.

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Alec Baldwin says he misses the days when New Yorkers signaled their appreciation of celebrities briefly and politely while taking care to maintain privacy.

The 55-year-old actor writes in New York magazine that he “probably” needs to move out of the nation’s largest city. Baldwin says he has a happy home for the first time in his adult life. He says he’s considering Los Angeles, living insulated behind a gate with his wife and their child.

A lot of the article deals with comments that Baldwin says were misquoted or misinterpreted. Among other things, he details strongly worded evidence that he’s not homophobic.

Baldwin says he realizes he “could have done things differently.” He apologizes if he’s “offended anyone along the way.”

Associated Press

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Country singer Ralph Stanley is 87. CBS newsman Bob Schieffer is 77. Actress Diane Baker is 76. Actress Karen Grassle ("Little House on the Prairie") is 72. Singer-guitarist Mike Peters of The Alarm and Big Country is 55. Actress Veronica Webb is 49. Actress Tea Leoni is 48. Comedian Carrot Top is 47. Actor Sean Astin is 43. Singer Daniel Powter is 43. Singer Justin Jeffre of 98 Degrees is 41. Comedian Chelsea Handler is 39. Actress Rashida Jones is 38. Singer Shawna Thompson of Thompson Square is 36. Actor Justin Berfield ("Malcolm in the Middle") is 28. Actors James and Oliver Phelps ("Harry Potter") are 28. Bassist Erik Haager of Carolina Liar is 27.

associated press