Brian Williams takes a break from MSNBC after back surgery
MSNBC anchor Brian Williams will be out of action for a few days after a procedure to repair a herniated disc.
An NBC News spokeswoman confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that Williams underwent the successful procedure earlier this week and is expected to be off the air for a few days.
Williams is said to be recovering at home. The procedure was not an emergency and was performed after other treatments failed.
Williams has no set schedule or program on MSNBC, where he serves as breaking news anchor. He puts significant time on the air when the cable network carries continuous coverage of major stories. In the seven days after the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, Williams was in the anchor chair for more than 20 hours.
Williams likely would have been on MSNBC when it went live Wednesday to cover the mass shootings in San Bernardino. The coverage was led instead by MSNBC anchors Kate Snow and Thomas Roberts.
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Willliams, formerly the anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” was assigned to MSNBC in September after serving a six-month suspsension for making false statements about his reporting during the 2003 U.S. invasion in Iraq.
Twitter: @SteveBattaglio
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