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Outdoors with Tom Venesky: Secrecy and etiquette vital among birdwatchers

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Southern states join to promote civil rights tourism

<p>Katie Couric, who was Matt Lauer&#8217;s &#8220;Today&#8221; co-host for several years, broke her silence Saturday on sexual misconduct allegations against him.</p><p>Couric told People magazine: &#8220;I had no idea this was going on during my tenure or after I left.&#8221;</p><p>She departed NBC in 2006 to anchor the &#8220;CBS Evening News&#8221; and has been criticized for her silence in the more than a month since Lauer was fired. NBC News conducted an investigation of a Lauer colleague&#8217;s detailed complaint of &#8220;inappropriate sexual behavior.&#8221; Other women have come forward with accusations against him.</p><p>&#8220;I think I speak for many of my former colleagues when I say this was not the Matt we knew,&#8221; Couric told People. &#8220;Matt was a kind and generous colleague who treated me with respect. In fact, a joke I once made on late-night television was just that, because it was completely contrary to our brother-sister relationship. It&#8217;s still very upsetting. I really admire the way Savannah (Guthrie) and Hoda (Kotb) and the entire &#8216;Today&#8217; show staff have handled a very difficult situation.&#8221;</p><p>Couric was referring to a remark she made in 2012 on &#8220;Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen&#8221; that Lauer &#8220;pinches me on the ass a lot.&#8221; The clip received wide attention online after Lauer&#8217;s firing in late November.</p><p>Couric&#8217;s only other public statement on Lauer was one she made on Instagram last month in response to a user who chided her for not speaking out: &#8220;It&#8217;s incredibly upsetting and I will say something when I&#8217;m ready to. Thanks for your interest.&#8221;</p><p>Lauer has since apologized in a statement.</p><p>Couric is working on a six-part documentary series for the National Geographic channel called &#8220;Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric&#8221; and said one episode will focus on harassment women have faced in the workplace.</p><p>&#8220;The whole thing has been very painful for me,&#8221; Couric told People of Lauer&#8217;s behavior. &#8220;The accounts I&#8217;ve read and heard have been disturbing, distressing and disorienting and it&#8217;s completely unacceptable that any woman at the &#8216;Today&#8217; show experienced this kind of treatment.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">FILE - In this May 31, 2006 file photo, Katie Couric and Matt Lauer, co-hosts of the NBC Today&quot; program, open her farewell broadcast in New York.  Couric told People in a story published Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018: &#x201c;I had no idea this was going on during my tenure or after I left.&#x201d; She left NBC in 2006 to anchor the &#x201c;CBS Evening News&#x201d; and has been criticized for not speaking out in the more than a month since Lauer was fired. The show&#x2019;s network, NBC, said an investigation of a Lauer colleague&#x2019;s detailed complaint showed &#x201c;inappropriate sexual behavior.&#x201d; Since, other women have reportedly accused him of harassment and assault.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_119597036-eeb1356979ef497dbf0531c5552f0240.jpg</photo0><caption0>FILE - In this May 31, 2006 file photo, Katie Couric and Matt Lauer, co-hosts of the NBC Today&quot; program, open her farewell broadcast in New York.  Couric told People in a story published Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018: &#x201c;I had no idea this was going on during my tenure or after I left.&#x201d; She left NBC in 2006 to anchor the &#x201c;CBS Evening News&#x201d; and has been criticized for not speaking out in the more than a month since Lauer was fired. The show&#x2019;s network, NBC, said an investigation of a Lauer colleague&#x2019;s detailed complaint showed &#x201c;inappropriate sexual behavior.&#x201d; Since, other women have reportedly accused him of harassment and assault.(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By The Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

Katie Couric breaks silence on Matt Lauer: ‘I had no idea’