Jennings Will Anchor Tuesday’s WNT

Peter Jennings will anchor Tuesday’s World News Tonight, one day after being diagnosed with lung cancer, TVNewser has learned. Jennings is expected to inform viewers of his diagnosis.

Needless to say, it’s a very emotional day at ABC News. The Kleenexes are in high demand. An insider stressed the fact that Jennings is “absolutely” the anchor of World News Tonight — literally and figuratively. “There are going to be good days when he feels strong enough to do the broadcast, and there are going to be tougher days when he can’t, but right now all of our thoughts are just focused on him and his speedy recovery,” the insider said.

> AP: “Jennings, 66, has been feeling ill for the past several months.”

> Jennings used to be a heavy smoker. “He always had a cigarette in his hands” during his foreign correspondent days, a veteran TVer says. Update: He “gave up the habit several years ago,” the AP reports. Update #2: Several ABCers have “seen him outside the building smoking recently.”

> ABCNews.com: Jennings’ bio

> Google search: “lung cancer”

> Is it true that Don Imus said Jennings was going to hell for “disrespecting” the Pope by not going to Rome and covering the story?

> Dozens of ABCNews.com users are posting get-well messages.