US President Bush said today that he was "saddened" to learn of the death of ABC's Peter Jennings.

"Peter Jennings had a long and distinguished career as a news journalist," he said. "He covered many important events, events that helped define the world as we know it today. A lot of Americans relied upon Peter Jennings for their news. He became a part of the life of a lot of our fellow citizens, and he will be missed. May God bless his soul."