Charles Gibson, who provided a steadying hand to a "World News" broadcast reeling from tragedy, will retire at the end of the year and ABC News yesterday appointed Diane Sawyer to replace him in January.

Gibson, 66, said he had been planning to retire at the end of 2007 but that events compelled him to stay. He was named anchor following the death of Peter Jennings and the war coverage injury of Bob Woodruff in 2006. He's been at ABC News for 35 years and says he plans to continue as an occasional contributor. There was no announcement on who will replace Sawyer on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Sawyer's elevation means that, with Katie Couric at CBS, two of the three leading anchors at the broadcast networks will be women. Gibson's comforting presence made him an instant ratings hit at "World News" at a time when the other networks had much younger anchors. But NBC's Brian Williams has been leading in the ratings for the past year, with Gibson a solid second.

BLANCHETT GETS BLOODIED AS BLANCHE

Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett got a head wound when she was hit by a prop on stage yesterday during a Sydney theater performance.

The performance of "A Streetcar Named Desire" was canceled, but the 40-year-old Australian actress will return to the stage today, said a spokesman for the Sydney Theater Company, which is run by Blanchett and her playwright husband, Andrew Upton.

Blanchett, who won a 2005 supporting actress Oscar for "The Aviator," is playing Blanche DuBois.

HILLARY SWANK PROMOTES PET ADOPTION

Hilary Swank is putting her animal appreciation to work as an ambassador for a pet adoption campaign.

The two-time Oscar-winning actress said yesterday that the Iams Home 4 the Holidays Pet Adoption Campaign has "struck a chord with my heart."

Her mission is to help 1.5 million pets in shelters find homes between Oct. 1 and Jan. 4.

Swank says older animals have just as much love as younger ones and have "already gone through a lot of the training that can be challenging for people."

PARTON SERENADES THE GREAT SMOKIES

Homegrown star Dolly Parton sang "My Mountain, My Home" as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was rededicated yesterday on its 75th anniversary.

"These are my mountains, my valleys. These are my rivers flowing like a song," sang Parton, her voice rising amid the surrounding forest as some 2,000 people gathered at America's most-visited park, founded in 1934.

Lawmakers and others applauded Parton atop Newfound Gap on the Tennessee-North Carolina line.

"I have always been an ambassador for the Smoky Mountains because I tell everybody how beautiful these mountains are," Parton said. "And no matter where I go, if you say something about the Smoky Mountains, even if the people have not been here, they just smile."