Hoda Kotb, a fixture at NBC for more than two decades, says she will leave her morning perch on the “Today” show early next year, telling staffers “it’s time.” In a memo to her team — and later in an emotional on-air reveal Thursday — Kotb said her 60th birthday this summer helped trigger the departure: “I saw it all so clearly: my broadcast career has been beyond meaningful,

Though no longer a permanent fixture on the show, Gifford still appears on the program from time to time. She and Kotb have continued to be good friends. Kotb’s decision to exit