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Longtime Fox News broadcaster Alan Colmes passed away Thursday morning at the age of 66. His family said in a statement that he had been battling a "brief illness."

Colmes was a fixture on Fox News Channel and for over a decade served as the co-host of Hannity & Colmes alongside Fox host Sean Hannity, serving as Hannity's liberal counterpart. In a statement Thursday, Hannity called Colmes "one of life's most decent, kind, and wonderful people." Colmes' family remembered the longtime political commentator as "a great guy, brilliant, hysterical, and moral."

Fox anchor Bill Hemmer announced the news of Colmes' death in a broadcast Thursday morning. Watch the segment — including the network's touching tribute to its longtime contributor — below. Kimberly Alters

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