People: Prince William, Kate to make first NYC visit
Among the roughly 5 million visitors expected in New York this holiday season, at least two are certain to get the royal treatment: Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate. They are to arrive today for the first trip either has made to the United States’ biggest city, and William also is set to visit the nation’s capital for the first time.
Properly known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the royals are making their first official visit to the United States since a 2011 jaunt to California. (William made a personal trip to a friend’s Memphis, Tennessee, wedding this May with his brother, Prince Harry.)
Kate is expecting their second child in April, but the royals’ schedule is packed with plans ranging from paying respects at the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum to taking in a Cleveland Cavaliers-Brooklyn Nets game. The couple’s 17-month-old son, Prince George, isn’t making the trip.
Among other commitments, William is set to meet Monday with President Barack Obama at the White House. Meanwhile, Kate will tour a New York child development center with the city’s first lady, Chirlane McCray. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton are accompanying both royals to a New York reception highlighting conservation efforts.
Candy Crowley to leave CNN news
Veteran newswoman Candy Crowley is leaving CNN after 27 years.
Crowley, the network’s chief political correspondent and anchor of “State of the Union,” will exit at the end of this month. Her final appearance hosting the “State of the Union” political broadcast is Dec. 21.
Crowley said she doesn’t yet know her next stop, but said her departure has been years in the making.
“Now I’m at the point where I want another chance to do something new, somewhere new,” said Crowley, who turns 66 the day after Christmas.
Crowley was an anchor for the Mutual Broadcasting System radio network, as well as a general assignment and White House correspondent for the Associated Press, before moving to NBC News’ Washington bureau. In 1987, she joined CNN, where she has covered presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections as well as Capitol Hill. In 2012, she moderated the general election debate between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney.
Her honors include Emmy, Edward R. Murrow and DuPont-Columbia University Silver Baton awards.
The birthday bunch
Actress Ellen Burstyn is 82. Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is 67. Actor-director-producer James Keach is 67. Singer-songwriter Tom Waits is 65. Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird is 58. Actress Priscilla Barnes is 57. Actor Jeffrey Wright is 49. Pop-rock singer/celebrity judge Sara Bareilles is 35.