LEAKED: Meet the 2 Unexpected Names Who Just Booted Craig Melvin and Hoda Kotb Off The TODAY Show!
The NBC show was missing its regular co-hosts on March 31—both Craig and Hoda Kotb, who has been filling in for Savannah Guthrie, were off
Craig Melvin was missing on Today on Tuesday March 31st, with viewers waking up to see two new faces at the news desk.
Not only was Craig absent, but Hoda Kotb - who has been filling in for Savannah Guthrie during her leave - was also off. Instead, Laura Jarrett and Willie Geist filled in.
At the start of the show, Laura said: "Good morning and welcome to Today on this Tuesday morning, so glad you're waking up with us. I'm Laura Jarrett alongside Willie Geist, filling in for Savannah and Craig, who is on assignment."
© NBC
Craig Melvin was missing from Today - with Laura Jarrett and Willie Geist stepping in
Later that day, Craig posted a picture of himself modeling a Today Show polo shirt at The Shop at NBC Studios on his Instagram account.
Alongside the photo, the star - who lost his brother Lawrence to Colon cancer in 2020, wrote: "As March comes to a close and Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month wraps up, the mission continues. I'm committed to spreading the word and reminding everyone to get screened.
© NBC
Craig has been hosting alongside Hoda Kotb on Today in Savannah Guthrie's absence
"You can still stop by The Shop at NBC Studios or NBCStore.com to check out the TODAY x Colorectal Cancer Alliance polos and socks. Thank you for being part of this fight as I honor my brother, Lawrence Meadows.
"In recognition of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, NBCUniversal will be making a donation in support of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance."
© Art Streiber/NBCUniversal via Ge
Savannah and Craig have been co-hosting together since January 2026
Craig wasn't the only person absent from Today, as Dylan Dreyer was also missing from the Third Hour, substituted by Savannah Sellers.
Over on the Fourth Hour, Sheinelle Jones was off, and Willie returned to hosting duties to sit alongside Jenna Bush Hager.
© TODAY
Hoda interviewed Savannah in her first sit down talk following Nancy Guthrie's disappearance
Next week, the Today family will be welcoming back Savannah, who has been absent from the show since the beginning of February, following the devastating news of her mother Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.
Savannah's return date on Monday April 6 - Easter Monday - has a signficance to her faith, which was highlighted by her co-star Al Roker as they discussed her coming back to work on the show last week.
"What’s wonderful, it’s almost symbolic after Easter and the resurrection, the rising, I think as a family we’ll hold hands and help her," he said.
© TODAY
Savannah during her emotional interview
During Savannah's time off, Hoda has been primarily filling in for her, having returned to the show without hesitation.
On Friday's show, Craig made it clear just how grateful the show was to have Hoda back. He said: "You've sat here for a few weeks. You've got a lot happening in your life. You've got two girls you're raising by yourself. And when the coach called and they said, 'We need someone to come in and pinch hit,' you didn't bat an eye."
Savannah and her mother Nancy Guthrie
Jenna Bush Hager mirrored Craig's words, telling Hoda: "We needed you." Hoda replied: "When we say family, we mean it."
Last week, Savannah gave her first sit-down interview since her mother's disappearance, in an exclusive chat with Hoda.
It covered everything from Savannah's return date to the show to her difficult decision to leave Arizona to return home to New York City, where her husband and two young children had remained since the search began on February 1.
Trump Issues Statement Regarding Health of Mitch McConnell
Weeks after former GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was hospitalized for a reportedly serious heart condition, there has been much speculation about his current condition.
Rumors are also swirling about whether he can complete his term, which ends in January.
Initially, reports said that McConnell suffered a “cardiac arrest” and was administered CPR – a health condition that is normally fatal, even for victims much younger than McConnell, who is 84 and has an extensive history of health problems.
But later, in one of the few public updates on the Kentucky Republican’s condition, his staff only said that he was receiving “excellent care.”
However, others who should know more about McConnell’s condition don’t. That includes the president of the United States.
Libby Dean, the White House correspondent for NewsNation, tweeted on Wednesday: “President Trump says he has ‘no idea’ how Sen. Mitch McConnell is doing and says he hasn’t spoken with the Kentucky Republican since McConnell’s hospitalization.”
Now, the governor of the Bluegrass State has grown concerned enough that he has reached out to the senator to inquire about his health.
“As Governor, I request that you fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health,” Gov. Andy Beshear,a Democrat who is seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, wrote in a letter to McConnell on Wednesday.
“As public officeholders, we have made a commitment to our constituents to do our best to represent them and to always be transparent,” Beshear’s letter continued.
“I believe this requires clear communication about one’s ability to serve,” he added.
Several top Republicans were asked about McConnell’s condition on Tuesday, and their responses were not reassuring.
Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee has said that even members of Congress are in the dark about McConnell’s current condition.
Speculation has surrounded the health of the 84-year-old McConnell since the Kentucky senator was found unconscious and required CPR at his home in Washington, D.C., weeks ago.
McConnell’s staff has provided no significant update on his condition since he was hospitalized June 14.
The secrecy has fueled speculation that there is an effort to keep the full extent of the Republican’s condition from the public and has raised questions about whether he will be able to return to office.
On Monday night, MAGA social media user Mila Joy wondered why other senators haven’t spoken out about McConnell’s condition.
“Because they are ALL in on it together. That’s why,” Joy posted to her 571,000 X followers.
In reply, Sen. Lee posted: “Many of us aren’t speaking about Mitch McConnell’s condition because we know nothing about his condition.”
But Lee’s assessment contradicts earlier comments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune after McConnell was first hospitalized.
Thune said he had spoken to the 84-year-old and that he “sounded good.”
“He wants to be back, but I’ll defer to his staff on when,” Thune said on June 15.
Popular conservative activist Laura Loomer claimed recently that sources told her that McConnell is in a “vegetative state,” dismissing Thune’s version of events.
Things with McConnell have gotten worse by the day.
Since the reported incident, McConnell’s office has provided scant details on the former Senate GOP leader’s health condition, except to say that he allegedly “appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital.”
His office last week also said the 84-year-old senator “continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”
Trump ‘Briefed With Options’ Amid Stalled Iran Talks
The Trump administration on Wednesday continued to express optimism about negotiations with Iran, even as Iranian officials insist that no direct talks have taken place, according to reports.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said no face-to-face meeting had occurred in Doha and that no direct negotiations with the United States were currently planned.
Despite Tehran’s position, President Donald Trump described the discussions as “very good,” apparently referring to indirect contacts involving U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicating through third-party intermediaries.
Vice President JD Vance struck a firmer tone the same day, warning that the United States could escalate its response if Iran refuses to cooperate or takes actions that further destabilize the Middle East.
His remarks underscored the administration’s message that while it remains open to a diplomatic resolution, additional measures remain on the table if negotiations fail.
“If Iran attempts to rebuild its nuclear program, threaten its neighbors and support terrorism, President Trump has options to deal with it,” Vance noted, without elaborating.
Earlier, a Wall Street Journal report claimed that Trump had been briefed on several military options, including “all-out war,” but Trump said he wanted to give diplomacy more time.
Vance additionally stated that the US “dropped bombs on Iran because it fired on ships, and we used leverage to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”
He went on to suggest that the U.S. could take that course of action again.
Vance also said the current talks are “to discuss the details and flow of maritime traffic.”
The vice president, addressing U.S. military personnel at a naval base in Virginia on Wednesday, also said that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back decades.
“If you look at what our own intelligence says about their nuclear program, they are further away from developing a nuclear bomb than they have ever been since basically the last 20 or 30 years,” Vance said, though he stopped short of Trump’s claim that the program had been “totally obliterated.”
“What the president asks you to accomplish is to destroy the defense industrial base of that country, so that if they ever decided to rebuild their military, or if they ever decided to rebuild that nuclear program, they would be harmless to do it. You did that exactly as well,” Vance added, per the Times of Israel.
The VP went on to say that Trump is now “negotiating from a position of strength because of you.”
“If the Iranians try to rebuild the nuclear program, the President’s got options. If the Iranians try to threaten their neighbors or fund terrorism, we’ve got options,” Vance continued.
“But what we must never do is drop bombs just for the sake of dropping bombs. And that is what the president will never ask you to do,” Vance added.
“He’ll ask you to go to war, yes. But when he asks you to go to war, he’ll tell you exactly what you’re going for,” the veep noted further.
“And I think that is what you should expect out of your political leadership.”
“What I noticed about the people who are attacking the administration for negotiating is that they are the very same people who, for example, encouraged us to just go a little bit further and just drop a few more bombs in places like Afghanistan,” he said.
“If you go back to the mistakes that were made, those very same people refused to say what we were dropping bombs for,” he added.
“We dropped some bombs a couple of days ago… Because the Iranians were shooting at commercial ships… We applied some leverage, and we’ve had free commercial transit for the last three days,” Vance told the naval personnel.
