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Cokie Roberts

Cokie Roberts was one of the 'Founding Mothers' of NPR who helped make that network one of the premier sources of news and information in this country. She served as a congressional correspondent at NPR for more than 10 years and later appeared as a commentator on Morning Edition. In addition to her work for NPR, Roberts was a political commentator for ABC News, providing analysis for all network news programming.

From 1996-2002, she and Sam Donaldson co-anchored the weekly ABC interview program This Week. In her more than forty years in broadcasting, she has won countless awards, including three Emmys. She was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, and was cited by the American Women in Radio and Television as one of the fifty greatest women in the history of broadcasting. In 2020, she was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in the Longstanding Network/Syndication (20 years or more) category.

In addition to her appearances on the airwaves, Roberts, along with her husband, Steven V. Roberts, wrote a weekly column syndicated in newspapers around the country by Universal Uclick. The Robertses also wrote From This Day Forward, an account of their more than 40-year marriage and other marriages in American history. The book immediately went onto The New York Times bestseller list, following Roberts' number one bestseller, We Are Our Mothers' Daughters, an account of women's roles and relationships throughout American history. Roberts's histories of women in America's founding era — Founding Mothers, published in 2004 and Ladies of Liberty in 2008 — also became instant bestsellers. Her most recent book, Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868, was published in 2015. In total, she wrote six national bestsellers that honored and elevated the role of women in American history.

Cokie Roberts held more than thirty honorary degrees. She served on the boards of several non-profit institutions and on the President's Commission on Service and Civic Participation. The Library of Congress named her a "Living Legend." Roberts was the mother of two and grandmother of six. She died on September 17, 2019, at age 75.

  • The Republican field for 2016 is more crowded than the Democratic side. With Hillary Clinton unchallenged, the GOP can focus its attacks on a single candidate. That has some Democrats worried.
  • The huge numbers of illegal migrant children has overwhelmed detention center. His request comes at a time when GOP leaders say Obama's idea of flexibility means taking the law into his own hands.
  • The runup to President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday was overshadowed Monday by news out of Rome: the announcement that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning. What does this mean for the Catholic Church in America?
  • Tuesday is Election Day and the presidential race appears too close to call. Political oddsmakers have made President Obama the favorite to win, citing his narrow lead in key states, and also in recent days his narrow lead in most national polls. But even the oddsmakers admit there's a chance the president could lose.
  • President Obama says that when he nominates the next Supreme Court justice, it will be a person who is in touch with ordinary Americans. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah says that if a judge has to be a person of empathy, that's a code word for an activist judge. Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont says he would like to see another woman or minority on the bench.
  • Come Tuesday, Barack Obama will be on the steps of the Capitol, where he will be sworn into office. That's when the real work will begin. Mr. Obama will need the support of those lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
  • President Bush said he would ask Congress to release the remaining $350 billion in bailout money for Wall Street, if President-elect Barack Obama asks him to. Bush warned the incoming president that he'll face "disappointments" as president.
  • President-elect Barack Obama is set to announce his national security team Monday. The list of people will be familiar to many Americans. Hillary Clinton is expected to be named secretary of state.
  • After what may seem like a lifetime, Election Day will be here Tuesday. As the candidates sprint through a final day of appearances, Democrat Barack Obama remains comfortably ahead of Republican John McCain in national polls. Swings states that previously leaned red have been getting a lot of attention from both candidates.
  • Colin Powell, a Republican and retired general who was President Bush's first secretary of state, broke with the party Sunday and endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president. Powell called Obama a "transformational figure" while criticizing the tone of John McCain's campaign.