NEW YORK — Veteran anchor Bill Hemmer will replace Shepard Smith on Fox News Channel’s afternoon newscast, the network announced Monday.

Hemmer has been with Fox News since 2005, after previously working at CNN. He has most recently been a co-host of Fox’s 10 a.m. news program, which now has an opening to fill.

Smith, who had become known for occasionally refuting some of the assertions made on Fox’s prime-time news programs, abruptly quit the network in October. Fox said that under Hemmer, the 3 p.m. Eastern time show would remain a news and not an opinion program.

Hemmer will lead all breaking news coverage for the network as part of his new role.

He will debut on the program Jan. 20.

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