this morning "early today," a farewell to ted kennedy. massachusetts senator ted kennedy a member of one of america's most powerful and captivating political families dies after a year-long battle with brain cancer. "discovery" grounded. for a second time the launch of space shuttle "discovery" is called off. learning his punishment. chris brown is sentenced for

assaulting former girlfriend and chris brown is sentenced for assaulting former girlfriend and pop star rihanna. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm christina brown. today we begin with the passing of a political icon. early this morning came word that massachusetts senator ted kennedy died, a powerful voice on capitol hill for nearly a half century. kennedy passed away after a battle with brain cancer. ted kennedy was 77 years old. for more on his life, here's nbc's brian mohr. >> reporter: edward kennedy grew up in the shadow of two brothers who became american icons. but his decade in the senate established him as a lenl end in his own right. >> they want to undermine the medicare system and next will be social security. >> reporter: massachusetts voters sent him to the senate in 1962, two years after brother john f. kennedy won the white

house. >> the torch has been passed. >> reporter: those days of cam lot were short-lived. jfk's assassination in 1963. >> onto chicago. >> reporter: was followed by robert kennedy's assassination in 1968. it then seemed teddy's destiny and his burden to run for president. he did it in 1980 against president jimmy carter. kennedy lost the nomination, then delivered a stirring convention speech many considered his final. >> the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die. >> reporter: but his political star was often eclipsed by a tumultuous private life. in 1969 he drove off this bridge at chappaquiddick island. his 24-year-old marriage to joan ended in divorce in 1982. a decade later, he married

victoria, who brought balance back to his personal life, and a renewed sense of purpose in washington. at age 75, he appeared to be at the top of his game when he endorsed barack obama, in fact, handing the kennedy torch to a new generation. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. across the nation this morning, tributes are pouring in for the kennedy family. for more now we go to nbc's ann thompson in hyannisport, massachusetts, not far from the kennedy compound. good morning, ann. >> reporter: good morning, christina. this is where senator kennedy passed away late last night. sources close to the late senator say he was surrounded by his immediate family. they were at his bedside, including his wife, victoria, and his three children, teddy jr., cara and patrick kennedy of rhode island, and care can line

and karen. the extended kennedy family, they came throughout early evening last night to be with the family as well. there's no word on funeral arrangements at this time. we expect perhaps we will hear something later today or tomorrow. but in a statement today, the kennedy family said in announcing the death of senator kennedy, that they had lost the irreplaceable center of their family. christina, back to you. >> all right, thank you. ann thompson joining us live from hyannisport this morning. thank you, ann. a police chase in kentucky took a wrong turn for law enforcement. while responding to the pursuit of a suspect on foot, a sheriff in an suv crashed into a metro police officer's squad car. the collision sent the sheriff's suv into a fish store, knocking out the front en trance. both law enforcement officials went to the hospital with nonlife threatening injuries.

meanwhile, firefighters in louisiana battled a three-alarm fire which they determined was the result of arson. fire crews fought the blaze at the local arts center for hours. investigators say seven separate fires sparked the inferno. an ohio man brought more than his resume to apply for a job. security cameras outside a school board building captured the man hiding a handgun in a planter. before walking into the government building for a job application, a pedestrian actually claimed seeing the man bury the gun and called police, who then arrested him for carrying a concealed weapon. for one man in illinois, work ethics certainly isn't a question. take a look. joe taylor has worked for the same company since he was 19 years old. now, exactly 50 years later, he has still never missed a day of work. amazing. and joe says at the age of 69,

hey, he still has many good years on the job ahead of him. and why not? now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. imagine never missing a day of work. >> yeah. you and i we try to go a couple weeks without missing a day, right? >> yeah, right. >> good morning, everyone. we are continuing to watch the topics carefully. if you live in the coastal areas of georgia, carolinas, up through the mid atlantic, new england, we need to watch this system. and it looks like it's going to, regardless if it gets a name or not, going to be an area of low pressure that will create pretty good waves and rip currents along the coast. friday, saturday, maybe even sunday up into new england. we'll watch this carefully. this easily could become tropical storm danny later on today. right on the edge of your careen, the east coast is here. still have two or three days to go to get to us. we're also watching a front up

by chicago. it will put down heavy rain. temperatures are warm today. it's going to be a hot summer day almost everywhere. be prepared for 90s from boston to washington, d.c. 90 into atlanta. everyone has a good warmup ahead of the next cold front. still a chance of showers and storms in area of florida. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. we're going to continue to be very warm in southern new england. look at that. 91 in providence. pittsburgh, 82. louisville, kentucky, should be beautiful at 86. a little hot in charlotte at 92 degrees. that's your wednesday forecast, christina. >> all right. thanks so much, bill. home prices pop, retailer stocks surge, and the price of a cold one is heading up. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, she may not be making idols anymore, but paula abdul has landed herself a new job.

phillies walk the plank. and surprise, surprise, another lands on the d.l. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm christina brown. and here are some of your top headlines this morning. if you are just joining us, we have been covering the death of senator ted kennedy. known as the liberal lion of the senate, senator kennedy died last night at his home in hyannisport, massachusetts, after battling a brain tumor. senator kennedy was 77. for the second day in a row, nasa called off the launch of the space shuttle "discovery" this time due to a faulty fuel valve. the next attempt will be made friday. and ben bernanke to a second term. his out of the box thinking helped put the brakes on the economic prefall.

and english authorities are investigating mass violence that broke out between westham united and millhall. one man was stand in the chest during vicious clashes. several others were also arrested >> and now here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the s&p was up 2. nasdaq added 6 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei jumped 142 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng gained 21 points. the market managed modest gains tuesday thanks to upbeat reports on the state of the economy. an industry report said home values are up nearly 3%, the first quarterly increase in three years. that news, along with an encouraging uptick helped market to a slightly higher close. that positive news helped drive retail stocks higher. women's retailer cihc's gained

7% while big lots rose 6%. macy's gained #.5%. wall street will be looking for more good news when a report on new home sales is expected to rise for a fourth straight month. updated sales of durable goods like autos and appliances is also expected to rise. australia gave the go ahead for a development of a natural gas field that will export $41 billion of energy to china over the next 20 years. they have agreed to buy 2.25 million gasper year. in an effort to offset an expected annual loss of $7 million, u. s. post office is offering buyouts. as many as 30,000 will be given the buyout option in what could save the agency half a billion a year. anheuser-busch is betting

u.s. beer drinkers are willing to pay higher prices for its bruise. they plan to raise prices this fall despite declines sales. the owner of papa john's pizza was delivered good news. after launching a nationwide search, john has been reunited with his beloved 1971 camaro he sold more than 25 years ago to launch his business. the price, a cool 225,000 grand to the current owner who had paid just 4,000 for the car. well, last night's pennant race, baseball results, and your daily new york met injury update. plus, the pirates keyholed the phillies stealing one with a walkoff. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. from los angeles to dallas, all the way to new england, summer heat refuses to give up.

your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, talk about momentum. last night, just a day after a marathon win, the colorado rockies downed the dodgers in dramatic fashion. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines.

good morning. at one point the l.a. dodgers had a 15 1/2 game lead in the n.l. west. that was then. this is now. pick it up in the ninth. man aboard for manny ramirez who punched a single to right. tied the game. this was headed to extra innings. in the tenth, troy tulowitzki, he delivered. game-winning base hit into the gap. for the second straight game, rockies win in extra innings. they take care of game one of their crucial three-game series against the dodge, 5-4. pittsburgh, phils and pirates. rollins solo shot to right. 1-0, phillies. rollins hit a second homer of the game. hit them both out. phils up 2-1. pirates had the last laugh. tied at four in the ninth. walk-off homer. watch mccutcheon come in to touch home plate. do you think he's happy? red sox hosting the white sox.

a bit of boston history to start the game. ellsbury stole third without a throw. tied at three. jason bay, go ahead home run by the green monster. boston played in the wild card remains 1 1/2 games. new york mets wish they could press the reset button for the rest of the season. they have an astonishing 12 players on the d.l. as we mentioned earlier, rangers beat the yanks thanks in part to this diving grab in center field. robbed cabrera of a sure base hit. rangers didn't like it but andruw jones d. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. he's fame fous or his

daredevil escape but did the ocean finally get the best of david blaine. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, proof off 90 years you can still go for the thrill of a lifetime. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this wednesday morning. in chicago, grab the umbrella if you're headed out the next 5 to 10 minutes. a light rain and shower activity is pushing down on you. a lot heavier by rockford and

davenport with thunderstorms. here's your forecast for today. there's the showers in chicago. you aren't the only cool spot with michigan and the detroit area. that's where the cold front has moved through. other locations will be warm ahead of the front. you get those southwesterly winds, warm summer winds, 90s from charlotte, atlanta, virginia, maryland, up through the mid atlantic and new england. it's going to be a warm summer day. well, if you're watching whdh 7 nbc boston, massachusetts, head to the community arcade to enjoy some of the best art and live music the area has to offer during arts on the arcade. that's your eastern event of the day, christina. >> all right. thanks so much, bill. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. despite public reaction when singer chris brown assaulted his then girlfriend rihanna, yesterday his legal case quietly wrapped up with brown serving no time in jail. a judge sentenced brown to five

years of probation and six months of community labor but ready onned him to stay away from his ex for the next five years. elsewhere, paula abdul has her first post idol gig. she will host the vh-1 diva gig. the latest and "jon & kate plus 8" land, jon wants to quit the show. he called the show, the nightmare i'm living. kate, on the other hand, she thinks he's blowing all their money. recently he took a girlfriend to france, spent a week in the hamptons, bought a bmw, and rented an apartment in new york. finally, escape artist david blaine is denying reports he had to be rescued by lifeguards after he drifted out into waters churned up by a passing hurricane. well, i would have to say he would certainly get some bragging rights if he was able to withstand something like

that. >> what was he doing? maybe he was out there not for a stunt. maybe he got too close to the water, learning how to surf. >> or perhaps it was all just one big illusion. this comes from king 5 news in seattle, where in nearby shelton, the sky's the limit for one great grandmother's birthday. rambo had never been sky diving so, hey, for her 9 0e birthday, she decided she was going to jump out of a plane. now, joined by her daughter, grandson but also great grand daush daughter, the elderly thrill seeker took the plunge. with three generations by her side, the daring great grand mother led her family to a soft landing. it was a safe landing and of course that's all that matters, right? >> you would have a heart attack tomorrow if i did that. >> just thinking about it. >> would you do it? >> yeah, no.

not going to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. not if i don't have to anyway. i'm christina brown, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> a very good middle of the week to you. we hope you are doing well on this wednesday. things are quiet on hd doppler again. there are some things growing in our west. another hot day today. it will be warmer today than yesterday. we were 85 yesterday at the airport. a high of 90 degrees today.

it is 73 degrees downtown. we are under a dry air mass. 70 at the airport. 77 degrees in ocean city this morning. 87-91 degrees today. the sun is setting at 7:46. it will be up at 6:30 this morning. it will be a nice night tonight. as we head into tomorrow, 84 degrees-87. some isolated thunderstorms possibly. the potential for a tropical frogs. some complicated whether. more on that -- a potential for a tropical storm. some complicated whetheeather. more on that later. >> his battle with brain cancer is over. as senator ted kennedy has died. we will have more next.

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