NBC News fires ‘Today’ co-host Matt Lauer for sexual misconduct

FILE PHOTO: NBC Today Show host Matt Lauer poses for photographers as he arrives for the opening of the new exhibit "Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones" in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

REUTERS — NBC News fired Matt Lauer, the popular host of its “Today” morning show, on Wednesday after a female colleague accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior, the network said, making him the latest rich and powerful man to be felled by such accusations. His termination sent shockwaves through U.S. morning television, where Lauer has been a fixture since becoming a “Today” anchor in 1997 and went on to become one of NBC’s highest-paid personalities, earning $20 million a year.