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Carol Costello (born October 11, 1961) is an American television anchor and former host of CNN Newsroom. In 2017, she left CNN to join sister network HLN, based in Los Angeles. In October 2018, HLN announced that Costello would be let go, with the final broadcast of her show taking place on October 26.
She previously worked out of the network's New York City bureau. She was part of CNN's Peabody-winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the 2008 presidential election, and also covered the Virginia Tech massacre, the inauguration of Barack Obama and the Casey Anthony trial. Costello has done in-depth reporting on bullying, coal ash, and women's issues. After a CNN viewer nominated her, Costello ran with the Olympic torch through the streets of Atlanta prior to the Atlanta Olympics.
As a reporter and anchor, Costello has interviewed Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and George H. W. Bush. Previously, Costello anchored the CNN early morning program CNN Daybreak and also was news reader and correspondent on American Morning. She was the anchor of CNN Daybreak, then a New York-based correspondent, and subsequently a contributor to The Situation Room. Costello hosted the 9 am–11 am slot of CNN Newsroom, based out of CNN's New York news bureau.
Costello elicited criticism when she referred to audio of Bristol Palin describing an assault on her to police as "quite possibly the best minute and a half of audio we've ever come across." Paul Bedard called Costello's "rude and crude enjoyment" an easy slap by a prominent female media star on a young woman.Bedard, Paul. Mainstream Scream: CNN anchor Costello's verbal assault on Bristol Palin, Washington Times, October 27, 2014. Costello later stated that "in retrospect, I deserve such criticism and would like to apologize."Gold, Hadas. CNN's Carol Costello apologizes for Palin remarks, Politico, October 23, 2014.
On January 30, 2017, Costello announced that she would return to HLN to host a new program from Los Angeles. On August 21, 2017, her new show Across America with Carol Costello debuted.
On October 16, 2018, it was announced by HLN that Costello was to be laid off, along with Michaela Pereira and Ashleigh Banfield, as part of the network's decision to scale back their live news programming. The final broadcasts for their programs took place on Friday, October 26, 2018. Although both Ashleigh Banfield and Michaela Pereira stayed to host their shows until their last days, Costello did not appear on air after October 16, 2018, with CNN correspondent Dianne Gallagher hosting the final broadcast.
Since then, Costello has taken a more active role at Loyola Marymount University where she serves as first lady. She is a professor in the newly established journalism major and now also hosts a podcast developed by the university. According to Costello herself, she had been wanting to start a new venture for a while, even back on her days at CNN.
In April 2015, Costello wrote that she became a "lapsed Catholic" after losing her younger brother Jimmy to cancer when she was 25. However, she stated that Pope Francis "reawakened my faith".
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