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'GOOD MORNING AMERICA' SATURDAY AND SUNDAY TEAM GROWS WITH NEW CO-ANCHORS AND A NEW WEEKEND FORMAT
Rachel Scott Joins Whit Johnson To Co-Anchor Saturdays and Rhiannon Ally Joins Gio Benitez To Co-Anchor Sundays Beginning Sept. 12, With Leslie Lopez Joining as 'GMA' Weekend Meteorologist
ABC News announced today the addition of two new co-anchors to the "Good Morning America" weekend team. Beginning Saturday, Sept. 12, ABC News senior political correspondent Rachel Scott will join veteran "GMA" weekend co-anchor Whit Johnson on Saturdays. Johnson has co-anchored "GMA" on weekends since 2018 and will also continue to anchor "World News Tonight" Saturday, as he has since 2021. On Sundays, ABC News correspondent Rhiannon Ally will join "Good Morning America" co-anchor and ABC News transportation correspondent Gio Benitez. Benitez has served as co-anchor since 2023.
Johnson, Scott, Benitez and Ally will also anchor "ABC News Live Weekend" on a rotating basis on weekend mornings beginning at 10 a.m. ET on ABC News' 24/7 streaming news channel on Disney+, Hulu and the ABC News app.
Joining the two weekend anchor teams will be Leslie Lopez as "GMA"'s weekend meteorologist. Lopez is a seasoned meteorologist who joined the ABC News family after spending a decade at powerhouse ABC owned television station, KABC-TV.
"We know weekend mornings are precious to our audience, and we could not be more excited to have Whit, Rachel, Gio and Rhiannon as our new weekend team, along with Leslie, to help our viewers make the most of their Saturdays and Sundays, plus our new format will allow this team to show up more on our weekday broadcasts, too," said "GMA" senior executive producer Simone Swink.
Scott, who began her career at ABC News as a production associate in 2016, brings award-winning reporting to the Saturday desk. In her time at ABC News, she has pressed world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, reported from the ground in Butler, Pennsylvania, in the immediate aftermath of the 2024 assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, covered the January 6th attack on the Capitol, and anchored the network's live coverage the day President Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race. While working as a full-time producer for "GMA" Digital, she was also a general assignment reporter at WTNH-TV in New Haven, Connecticut. She will continue as senior political correspondent covering the White House, Capitol Hill and more from Washington, D.C., in addition to co-anchoring "GMA" Saturday from New York.
Ally joins Benitez on Sundays after reporting and anchoring across ABC News programs and platforms since joining the network in 2021, including recently serving as co-anchor of "World News Now" and "Good Morning America First Look." Ally helped lead the network's live breaking news coverage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse and has anchored overnight coverage of the deaths of Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Francis, as well as the papal conclave when Pope Leo was elected. She also reported on the Mexican Navy sailboat crash into the Brooklyn Bridge. Ally is a Kansas City native who worked at KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri, WFOR-TV in Miami and WCBS-TV in New York before joining ABC News.
Also, beginning Sept. 12, ABC News meteorologist Leslie Lopez will join the "Good Morning America" weekend team. She joined ABC News this past April from KABC-TV, where she served as the morning meteorologist providing weekday weather reports for the 4 a.m., 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. newscasts at the ABC Owned Television Station in Los Angeles. Before joining ABC News, Lopez reported from the Eaton Fire for "World News Tonight with David Muir." In addition to her meteorological duties, Lopez has also contributed to "On the Red Carpet at the Oscars" as a host.
"Good Morning America" Saturday and Sunday air weekend mornings at 8:00 a.m. ET on ABC (check local listings).
Simone Swink serves as senior executive producer of ABC News' "Good Morning America" franchise, overseeing overnight programs "World News Now" and "Good Morning America First Look," as well as the flagship "Good Morning America" and afternoon edition "GMA3."
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