She gained her first national news job in October 1991 for CBS News, when she moved to New York City and became a correspondent and back-up anchor for the morning, evening, and weekend news broadcasts. She later moved to NBC, where she anchored "Weekend Today" and the sunday edition of NBC Nightly News", and filled in for Brian Williams on the saturday edition, and undertook various special reporting assignments in the U.S. and elsewhere. During this period of national news coverage, Fernández reported on the crisis from Cuban immigration, unrest in Haiti, the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama, the trial of the conspirators from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and a scud missile attack while covering the Persian Gulf War. She was invited to make a rare interview of Fidel Castro, then president of Cuba.