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 o space shuttle "discovery" is called off. learning his punishmt. chris brown is sentenced for assaulting former girlfriend and chris brown is sentenced for assaulting former girlfriend and p star rihanna. captions paid fory nbc-universal television

hello and good morning. i'm christina brown. today we beginwith 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. >> repoer: edward kennedy grew up in the shadow of two brothers who became american icons. but his decade in the senate intablished him as a lenl end his own right. >> they want to undermine the medicare system and next will be social security. >> reporer: massachusetts voters sent him to e senate in 1962, two years after brother john f. kennedy won the white house. >> the torch has been passed. >> reporter: thos days of cam lot were short-lived.

jfk's assassination in 1963. >> onto chicago. >> reporter: was followed by robert kennedy's assassination in 968. it ten seemed teddy's destiny and his burden to run for president. he did it in 1980 against presint 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 staras often eclipsed by a tumultuous private life. in 1969 he drove off this bridge at chappaquiddick island.ye-oldn ended in divorce in 1982. a decade later, he married victoria, who brought balance back to his personal lie, 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. goodmorning, ann. >> reporter: good morning, christina. this is where senator kennedy passed away late last night. sorces close to the late senator say he was surrounded by hismmediate family. ey 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 thughout early evening last night to be with the family as well.

there's noord on funeral arrangements at this time. we expect perhaps we will hear something later today or morrw. but in a stement today, the kennedy family said in announcing the death of senator nnedy, that ty had lost the irreplaceable center of their family. christina, back to you. >> all rig, thank you. ann thompson joining us live from mom nianhysport this ornin. thank you, a.an a plice 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 injues. meanwhile, firefighters in louisiana battled a three-alarm fire which ey determined was the result of arson. fire crewsfought the blaze at

the local arts center for hours. investigators say seven separate fires sparked the inferno. an ohio man brought more than his rsume to apply for a job. securityameras outside a school board building captured the man hiding a handgun in a planter. before walking into the government blding for a job applition, a pedestrian actually claimed seeing the bury the gun andcalled police, who then arrested him for carrying a concealed weapon. >> for one man in illiis, work ethics crtainly isn't question. take a look. joe taylor has worked for the same company since he was 19 years ld. no exactly 50 years later, he as 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 no now for a look at your national and regional weather,

here's nbc mteorologist 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 watchhe topics carefully. if y live in the coastal areas of geoia, 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 prsure that will create pretty good waves and rip currents along the coast. friday, saturday, maybe even sunday up into new england. we' watch this carefully. this easily could become trical storm danny later on today. right on the edge of your careen, the east coast is here. stillave two or three days to go to get to us. we' also watching a front up by chicago. it will put down heavy rain. temperatures are warm today. it's going toe a hot summer day almost everywhere. be prepared for 90s from boston

to washington, d.c. 90 in atlanta. everyone has a good warmup ahead of the next cold front. stil a chance of showers and storms in area of florida. that's a lok at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside yr 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. little hot in charlte at 92 degrees. that's your wednesday forecast, christina. >> all right. thanks so much, bill. home prices pop, retailer stocks rge, and the price of a cold one i heading up. your early morning business headlines are straight ead. 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." bu

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'mhrtina brown. and here are some of your top headlines this morning. if you are just joing us, we have been coverin the death ofenator ted kennedy. know as the libera lion of the senate, senator kennedy died last night a i home in hyannisport, massachusetts, after battling a brain tumor. senator kennedy was 77. for the second day in a row, nasa called offhe launch of the space shuttle "discovery" this tim due to a faulty fuel valve. the next attempt will be made friday. nd ben bernanke to a second term. his out of the box thinking helped p the brakes on the economic prefall. a 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 ok at how wall street will kick off the day. the s&p was up 2. nasdaq aded 6 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei jumped142 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng gained 21 pots. 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 fist 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'setailer cihc's gained 7% while big lots ro 6%. macy's gained #.5%.

wall street will be looking for more good news whe a port on new home sales is expectedo rise for a fourth strght month. updad 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 efrt to offset an expected annual loss of $7 millio u. s. post office is offering buyouts. as many as 30,000 will be given the buyoutoponn 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 dclines 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 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 moing sports headlines are straight ahead. from los angeles to dallas, all the way to new england, summer heat refuses to give up. your regional forecasts coming up. you're watching "early today." me

> good mornin if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in orts, talk about momentum. last night, just a day after a marathon win, the colorado rockies downedhe dodgers in dramatic fashion. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports heaines. good morning. at onepoint the l.a. dodgers had a 15 1 game lead in the n.l. west. that was then.

this is now. pick up in the ninth. man aboard for manny rirez who punched a single to right. tied the game. this was headed toxtra 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 gae. hit them both t. phils up 2-1. pirates had the last laugh. tied at four in the ninth. walk-off homer. watch mccutcheon come in to uch home plate. do you think he's happy? red s 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 aheadome 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 parto this diving grab in center fiel robbed cabrera of a sure base hit. rangersidn't like it but andruw jones d. at's your early look at sports on "early today." i'mred roggin. he's me 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 watchg "early today."

welcome back on this wednesd moning. in chicag grab the umbrella if you're headed out the next 5 to 10 minutes. a light rai and shower activity is pushing down on u. a lot heavierby ckfordnd davenport with thunderstorms. here's your forecast for today. there's the showers in chicago. you aren't the only cool spot

ith 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 nds, warm summer winds, 90s from charlotte, atlanta, virginia, maryland, up through the mid atlantic and new england. it's going to be 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, chstina. >> all right. thanks so much, bill. now here's a lo at this morning's headlines in entertainment. despite public reactn when singer chris brown assaulted his then girlfriend rihanna, yesterday his leg case quiey wrapped up with brown serving no time in il. a judge sentenced brown to five years of probation and six months of community labor but ready onned him to stay away from hisex 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'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 anpartment 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 hurriane. well, i would have to say he would certainly get some bragging rights if he was able to withstand something like that. >>hat was he doing? maybe he was out there not for a stunt. ybe he got too close to the water, learning how to surf.

>> or peaps 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. mbo 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 grea great gr daush daughter, the elderly thrill seeker took the plunge. with three generations by her side, the daring geat grand mother led her family to a soft landing. it was a safe landi a of course that's allhat 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 younbc station.

our time right now is 4:54. we have 72 degrees here in the nation's capitol. good morning. welcome to "news4 today" on this 26th day of august. i'm joe krebs. >> i'm eun yang. we begin with breaking news. a lie yacht of the senate, ted kennedy, has died. the news is now making political heavyweights mourn. kennedy was diagnosed in with brain cancer in 2008. this comes the same month of his sister, eunice kennedy. he was the third longest serving senator in histor he as 77 years old. me death of senor t ed kdeath of senor tedmohe kg.rn n h mo g.initt titays4 a nd nbcwashington.com for continuing

coverage. remarkable political figure from a remarkable political family. now to the first forecast from tom keirein joining us in the studio. >> we are o to a clear srte wi the low humidity in place starting off this wedne we'll take a look at theth l take'l look at the ta pidhe t on the ogi on nper 60 upear n o70ea n 70 in ind mont irrifax, pmence george's and arlington counx,esti . arlington counties.ti rt ldernan southern mand-miarow70 - en shenandoah valley, a few weathe d-60s s awell as through .intviraceiargl es ceem oretuut o on the mountains at this hou are in the upper 50s. another come start there. in the upper 60s on the eastern shor off to a clear start here around the region. we'll have lots of sunshine today with afternoon highs climbing to perhaps around 90 grees or briefly the low 90s

by mid-afternoon. then overnight tonight,ytlos clear through the evening. en by dawn tomorrow, the clouds begin to move in with an easterly wind. on thursday it looks like a partly to mostly cloudy day with wyriithdari w fyith the persis emstust emthnte oflaatic picaluy seaboard, we could have a few passing showers on friday and saturday. a look into the weekend coming up in a few minutes. thank you, tom. >> thank you very much. now to jerry ed wads looking at the early roadways. any early problems? >> just a little bit of roadwork out there. good morning. wrapping up the overnight construction over on the capital beltway on the inner loop. leaving river road, they are wrapping that up, but expect uneven pavement. that's the same situation on the outer loop as well. south of town near the wilson bridge, the northeast corners are fine, the southeast is off to a quiet start. back to you. thank you, jerry.

>> thank you, rry. we are following breaking news this morning. the death of senator edward kenny. >> he passed away late last night. here's a look at the kennedy compou in hyannis port, massachusetts. >> his death came just weeks after his sister eunice kennedy shriver died. >>ed kennedy was first diagnosed with brain cancer in may of last year and he lived long enough to see his colleague barack obama president but he died before seeing his dream of e d ersal health care become a c called the cause of my .fe enator kennedy's former. lleagues in congress say theemo. ovjijicg mern of massachusettsan

usthut be can follow in his footsteps.au th au cse s. tbeoteri f p toray the best tribute to pay for orig vn ibe rened t vigor in t to see his dreams realized. the world is going to misted kennedy. i already do. >> we are going to hear much of that today because he was loved on both sides of the aisle. he was a man of strong beliefs, but everyone agreed he worked well with everybody on both sides of the political spectrum. >> stay with "news4 today" as it continues at 5:00 a.m. massachusetts senator ted kennedy has died. the iconic larger-than-life politician lost his battle with brain cancer. his life, his legacy rememd