remembering the life of senator edward kennedy. he died early this morning in his hey anise port home of massachusetts. this afternoon, flagsere and around the world are flying at half-staff, his family, friends, colleagues, rivals remember the man known as the lion of the u.s. senate. good afternoon. i'm jim handly. >> i'm eun yang in for pat lawson muse today. senator kennedy is comed to brain cancer late last night. yet, he didn't let his 15-month battle with the disease keep him from pursuing his passions and promises as a dedicated publicer is zblant after his diagnosis, kennedy championed the push for health care reform legislation. completed a memoir and became an instrumental onti pecfn ode election of president barack obama. that was only a small part of a long distinguished career that was at times controversial but ultimately respected and admired by supporters and opponents

alike. >> surviving members of the kennedy family, dynasty, american politics, are seeing an outpouring of sympathy from around the world. colleagues plan to honor his colleague by working on cause most important to him. live coverage from michelle franzen. michelle? >> reporter: good evening. hyannis port, and the family's compound here, a place for senator kennedy loved to come and recharge. at age 77 he was the patriarch of a dynamic family dynasty that's captured america's attention for more than a half century. tributes poured in today for a towering figure in american politics. residents and visitors in hyannis port left flowers for senator kennedy near the family compound. a summer haven. now in grief along with the nation. >> regardless of what people thought about his political ideas, they are going to hurt. because they loss a great guy. >> reporter: at the family compound, a steady stream of

family members. kennedy's children and wife vickie released a statement saying that we have lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives. and in the political realm, rivals and colleagues are remembering a fierce and influential senator. >> outpouring of love, gratitude, and fond memories to which we have all borne witness is a testament to the way the singular figure in american history touched so many lives. >> reporter: kennedy was a champion of causes in legislation that permeates nearly every facet of american life. from civil rights to equal pay and greatest passion, health care. >> left a great void in our public life. and a hole in the hearts of millions of americans and hundreds of us who were affected by his personal touch. >> reporter: he was the youngest of nine and following the deaths of his brothers, kennedy was at the helm of the famous family,

steering them through rough waters of personal tragedy and a heart be political spotlight. tributes for the senator are now revealed. a motorcade will take his body to the jfk library in boston where he will lie in repose through friday. the funeral will take place at our lady of perpetual health basilica saturday where family and world leaders including president obama will honor the man and his legacy. the senator will then be laid to rest at arlington cemetery next to brothers john and robert. a powerful voice in american politician silenced but one that will continue to echo long after his death. back here in hyannis port, the kennedy family had already been in mourning. i was just two weeks ago today that the senator's sister, eunice shriver, passed away. i'm michelle franzen, in high april its port. now back to you. >> michelle, thank you. lawmakers from our area are also remembering senator kennedy with both respect and heavy

heart. virginia senator mark warner said his approach to issues and legislation was respected by all members of the senate and should be a model for anyone who serves in public office. >> what was remarkable was he was respected perhaps mostly some of those who i had oriole logically differed with him most. and that kind ofvidence of mutual respect even when they differ on opinions is -- lord knows we could use a lot more of that in politics today. >> he was a person who -- spoke to those that were voiceless. folks of disabilities, children, and i often say not only did he speak for those that were voiceless but am reply void the voices of those that were too soft to be heard. we are going to miss him tremendously. >> elijah cummings said as a young person, he gained inspiration and hope from the kennedy family and later had the pleasure of working closely with the senator on capitol hill. d.c. delegate eleanor holmes

norton praised senator kennedy today for his longtime support of d.c. voting rights and statehood. she spoke with news4 by phone this morning. >> you know, we didn't have any senators but we did have ted kennedy. there was no important issue since i have been a member of congress where ted kennedy was not only involved but at the head of the line. you know, they say that there's a crusade no one is irreplaceable. all i can tell is ted kennedy comes darned close to it for the district of columbia. >> meanwhile, maryland senator barbara mikulski remembers kennedy for his achievements and how he helped her personally.nt >> when i came to the senate, i was the only -- one of two women. he was, along with paul sarbanes, a tremendous help to me. he showed me how the inner workings of the power got me on

great committees and sometimes when i had to put up with bad times or bad jokes, lee would take me out and give me a little shooter or something, and give me a pep talk. and i knew what he was doing for me, he was doing for so many people. he was a lot of fun. we shared everything from the diets to health care reform. >> mikulski praised kennedy for his ability to cross party lines and make dr antyen f adrn fent released this statement today. e l remembered for his leadership as lig feon-lpublic servant and of rtnes.s. to get results on some of the most importantuess is of our ssti. l nctor kennedy'stieresncse wil be sorely missed in the halls of the capitol and throughout our capital city. our hearts and thoughts are with the kennedyamil fy during this difficult loss. senator ted kennedy was an iconic leader in the u.s. senate and kennedy family.

what does his passing mean for politics in america and the kennedylegacy? joining us now is nbc's political direct wror mark murray. we know ted kennedy had friends and familiar loy both sides of the aisle. what are you hearing from them? >> universal praise for senator kennedy. one thing not only did his passing mark the end of the kennedy era in american politician for -- his brothers, jack, robert, but also the end of an era in kind of a civility and bipartisanship that we are seeing less and less from the united stas senate in congress nowadays. as much of a liberal lion as ted kennedy was, that he had tremendous friends on the other side of the aisle. we are -- utah, republican senator orrin hatch was one of his closest friends. worked with john mccain on immigration reform and really could reach across the aisle and work with the other side. now as -- the united states senate is grasping with health care reform and other controversial issues, having someone like that even with

someone who was as liberal as ted kennedy to work with the other side and vice versa, congress is missing that now. >> and you just said that it is an end of an era. is this also the end ofhe kennedy family political legacy? who can fill his shoes now? >> well, his son patrick is a congressman in rhode island and gash but really when you look beyond that, caroline kennedy, as you know, passed an opportunity to be the new york senator and so we are seeing perhaps the end of the kennedy clan's dominance in american politics. never say never, of course. there could be a kennedy that comes across the next 10, 15 years. a lot of people made the point the proverbial torch was passed to barack obama when ted kennedy endorsed him for president back in january of 2008. and that seems to be where the torch was passed. not necessarily the kennedy clan. >> we know health care was one

of his great passions. with his passing, how does that affect the health care debate now on capitol hill? >> there are two schools of thought. one that democrats would see his passing as a rallying cry to be able to get health care reform passed. the other hand, that -- some people are saying it really isn't going to make that much of a difference. other than ted kennedy's name being affixed to any kind of big health care reform, legislation. that congress has already so locked and democrat versus republican on what to do with health care versus what not to do. that his -- his -- his presence really wouldn't play much of a role but you definitely are probably going to see in the next couple of months the democrats really trying to channel his spirit, his passion, and his energy to get something done. >> all right. .ark murray, nbc's deputy orcte chksan.ct muo haks so muchy.da tou>> y jnkto h y. se' one-ho u for having me hoio ed n of "nbcht ed nlyht th brian . ssttthhuseacs. the impn hu oicam on american p

ngmi up here on news4 at 7:00 right after "news4 at 6:00." thoughts taking your thoughts oday at nbc 4 connected a nbcwashington.com. one rsteonri wsnri -- even when it is expectedt is sad. we los a great ysr otsa aug he otysansar although sa'she ahe controversial figure mostly dawe do f hacteto didn'tomid medl ane naysayers he was stillto a man, father, grandfather, and a friend to many. jason adds -- sending s by sending n elai-mo t e-mail to hihiton.com andcows4ne for wsne4 fneor continuine kennedy. ild nldw e w

kennedy. we histo r ng the senator is being r aem tunhr today areroundd ahehe world coming up on "news4 at 4:00." >> obviously senator kennedy and i didn't vote alike but he was a person that you could reach across the aisle when you did agree on something like cancer survival and really make headway and we were in the process of d

another nice summer day. another soggy weekend? veronica johnson has our fast forecast from storm center 4. >> there's that possibility as we deal with one weather front that will be hanging around for a while what's now tropical storm danny that developed early part of today. leesburg, virginia, up to 90 degrees, your temperature. there is your dew point temperature, too, at 69 degrees. it is awfully sticky outside. let's take a look at another neighborhood. mclean, virginia, 91, the temperature after a high of 92. dew point temperature there, 68 degrees. so it is not just humid. it is very humid outside. 92 with moderate air quality across the area. today our winds are out of the south and southwest. that's allowing the heat to push up this way and the moisture, too. and weave one more day where we are going to see pretty high temperatures, too, before a cooldown and showers will start moving in.

later tonight we will drop to 87 by 7:00 p.m. 80 degrees by 11:00 p.m. expect partly cloudy skies for the overnight and partly sunny start to the day tomorrow. but first, it is going to be a humid wrap-up for this day. and again, we have tropical storm danny that was born this morning, impact on the weekend, we will talk about that in a few minutes. >> veronica, thank you. there are more signs today that the u.s. economy may be on the menld. once again, it is tied to improvements on the home front. leanne gregg has the latest. >> sales of new homes were up 9.6% in july. it is the fourth monthly increase in a row. >> we like -- we saw this morning. >> more positive news durable goods. orders rose last month by close to 5%. the largest am in two years. fueled mostly by sales of airplanes and along with reopening of some chrysler and general motors assembly plants close to bankruptcy. >> this is a clear sign the recession over. >> others say not so fast.

the bottom may linger if we are even there. >> i believe we have gotten very, very positive one-time effect. i think we will see abdouble dipdown in the fourth quarter. >> reporter: those one-time dips include the government's cash for clunkers rebound program that stimulated the auto industry by taking gas guzzlers off the roads replacing them with more fuel efficient cars. and first-time home buyers' federal tax credit that expires the end of november. >> the recession is going to fade but the financial crisis will not end until forecasts peak, home prices stop falling, and banks begin lending again. there's still not a good amount of risk in front of us. >> reporter: coming out of the worst recession in decades, even a slight rebound is worth celebrating. prices are up to compensate for lower sales and higher commodity costs. builders facing a tough economy. leanne gregg, nbc news. >> unusual accident on the beltway. roadside punishment from an angry wife. here is a look at three other stories making headlines in our

area today. a public schoolch tean i t rrginia under atrr tesoday ter police tell f uthey uound drugs and pornographythnoorhyapg m gldorhi c ie say they foundep d anma juria plants growing ijus n hi ba evidence of a sexua l evidence of a sexual relaonitshid wiph a w minor. how is a teacher at cedar lee middle school in countddyquau ntouy being held today on a $120,000 bond. a close calling on the beltway today. dump truck traveling eastbound lors two of its tandem back tires sending them bouncing across the roadway and over the jersey wall. it happen order the inner loop just past connecticut avenue. at least one of the tires hit an suv going in the opposite direction. a man and woman inside the suv were taken to the hop with what police described as minor injuries. d get a load of what commuters in tysons corner saw this morning. this guy says he cheated on his

wife so he had to wear this homemade sign at the intersection of leesburg pike and international drive. the sign says i cheated. this is my punishment. almost taylor of centreville says his wife found evidence of an affair on his cell phone and she came up with t creative payback. taylor stood at the busy intersection for about two hours before his wife texted him and told him he could head home with his tail between his legs. >> i think he got -- i think he got off easy. if you ask me. >> pretty big letters. there's a lot of traffic, lot of people saw that. they are hearing it now. >> recall affecting millions of blinds hanging in homes across the country. why your drinking habits may have more of an impact on your kids than you realize. >> rescue on an east coast beach after a teenager gets stuck in beth sand. pore fpleo ls tngkima porkeeople who make the day special in tay early morning hours.

if you know seone lik that l e-mail their story along with a clear close-up picture or video morningperson@nbcwashingtocom. we may even tell that person's

it was hot today but a nice hot day. >> yeah. >> nice summer day. >> yeah. decent. at least the ragweed count was down today. just over -- seven grains per cubic meters. stickiness in the air today. that's what we have to deal with tomorrow. more moisture in the air and also for the next couple of days, some moisture in the air, too. get rain out of the conditions and you can get moderate to heavy rains, too. that's what we might see on friday and saturday. let's look at the current conditions across the area. some heat, close to 90 degrees. most locations today. humidity, 41%. southwest wind at 7 miles per hour. today is our 21st 90-degree day of the year. on average we get 29. so fewer this summer. 92 down south. raleigh-north carolina, 85 degrees. cincinnati, ohio, meanwhile, dew point temperatures in the low and mid 60s today. they are going to be going up to

the mid 60s to around 70 degrees tomorrow. so very humid conditions and as we get ready for this weather front to move in. it is a weather front just west of the area. there's some clear skies still hanging on. areas of southern pennsylvania and down through north carolina. because of high pressure. but around that high, southwesterly wind, warm flow of air and sticky flow, too. as long as we are on this side of the weather front. and that front will be moving in later tonight. as it stalls out, south of the area tomorrow, we might see just a few shors around the northern neck. we will talk about that in a minimum. this big storm, it is danny. it was named early part of day. just east of the bahamas. it is tracked to the north west and likely to see more big waves and rip tides from florida to maine over the next couple of days. for the weekend, especially, the carolinas up to maine. and some more beach erosion, too. so the forecast, let's talk about it.

west-northwest, driving north before it hits the east coast. right now, the outer most part of the forecast that tracked brushes the coast so focus more on the center of the track here. i think worst case what we will see around here is some periods of moderate and heavy rain coming up for the weekend. especially prince george's county and anne arundel county. 976 miles south-southeast of ocean city. we are not going to see high waves or high winds, i should say, for this area over the weekend. but we could see good rains. keep in mind there are three and four and five-inch rain totals in prince george's county and anne arundel county last weekend. watch what happens. partly cloudy skies. tonight a look at the blue. showers for the northern neck. for the blue ridge tomorrow, better chance for more widespread showers coming up on friday as danny comes up the coast. partly cloudy and warm, 81 to 86 degrees. sun sets at 7:47. we will start out warm and muggy tomorrow. we will have another sticky day

coming up with temperatures getting close to 90 degrees before cooling off and getting wet. jim? >> thanks, veronica. when we come back thing evening on news4, your drinking habits may be affecting your teenagers. we will have the results of a new study about adolescent drug and alcohol abuse and what influences it. >> a rescue at the beach and it wasn't in the water. how a teenager got stuck in the sand. digging a hole. we will have much more on the life and legacy of senator edward kennedy. how he is being remembered today here and around the world. >> ted kennedy was a great american leader. he was also a great friend of the state of israel. >> senator edward kennedy, very important democratic figure for the united states.

we hope it will be continued in the direction and attention to the palestinian cause and palestinian oppe.

welcome back. i'm eun yang in for pat lawson muse today. >> i'm jim handly. more now on our top story at 4:30. death of senator ted kennedy. >> during his lifetime kennedy had a powerful effect in the senate pushing through major legislation to help the working class. steve handelsman has our report. >> reporter: year ago yesterday the democratic national convention with his own health failing, ted kennedy crusaded for what he called the cause of hilife. >> every american, north, south, east, west, young, old will have decent quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege. >> teddy spent a lifetime working for a fair and more just america. >> i'm a candidate for --

>> kennedy's successes were legendary, civil rights act. the americans with disabilities act. >> he was fhting for civil rights. and fighting for all of those that have been left out. and left behind. >> reporter: kennedy joined president bush on immigration reform and on education. no child left behind. >> i liked ted kennedy. >> reporter: this year fighting his own brain tumor, kennedy pushed for a wider war on cancer with another republican. >> he was a person that you could reach across the aisle when you did agree on something like cancer survival and really make headway and we were in the process of doing that. >> reporter: too sick to lead the fight for universal coverage, kennedy turned over his senate health committee to chris dodd. >> while he was tlpt to cast votes, believe me, his presence was felt during suggestions as they will be in the coming days. >> reporter: without his leadership and legislative skills there, and his vote, this becomes far, far more

problematic for barack obama. >> reporter: democrats lost their strongest voice for health care reform and a host of other issues. instead of waiting 20 weeks for a special election, democrats in massachusetts still hope senator enkennedy's successor can be appointed soon to continue his crusade. i'm steve handelsman, news4, capitol hill. >> senator kennedy's home was, of course, in massachusetts. but his primary residence was s longtime residence in washington as well. he and his wife bought a house on tracy place ten years ago. the welcome mat at the house reflects one of their loves -- sailing. neighbors say despite the senator's celebrity he was open and always friendly. >> they have been very good neighbors. they included us and other neighbors. for his 75th birthday a few years ago, an interesting evening. >> he called me one time and said the greatest father/son was

taking my older son down the colorado river. patrick, my younger son is 13 and ready to go and he wants to take your son along. he ought to come, too. we spent five days floating the colorado river getting to know them pretty well during that time. he was a lot of fun. >> often seen in the dog parking walking his portuguese water dogs. the family brought life and energy to the block and hoped that senator kennedy's widow will remain there. soon after news broke this senator kennedy passed away leaders from around the world began paying tribute. israeli president shimon peres today called kennedy a great american and a gray friend of israel. and former president jimmy carter stopped during his visit to the west bank to praise kennedy's devotion to the peace process. carter defeated kennedy for the nomination. aop official in northern ireland said the late senator would be remembered for has work to bring peace to that region. who will replace senator kennedy, massachusetts governor patrick supports changing state law so he can appoint an interim

successor to senator edward kennedy's seat. currently a success yr to a vacant u.s. senate seat in massachusetts is chosen by a special election. five months after the position opens. kennedy had recently requested that the law be changed to allow the governor to appoint someone during the course of the election. if that person pledged not to run for the seat. in an interview today patrick said he would sign the bill if it reached his desk. legislative l v if theyer they support t ayst stay with news4 anday nbcwashington.com foracongeve ta ran the o death of ed kennedy. w co ming t p coming up tight at 5:00. and we will be right back. >> treasured his family in a way that makes you feel affectionate towards him because you see him much.

he enjoyed a joke as much as he en ors uod t.ayttleeat for us to.

little bit of humidity as well.

take a lk outside. ds there. no showers across the area. our temperature is up to 90 and we will have another 09-degree day coming up tomorrow before we start cooling down. it is 92 in hagerstown. 9 in springfield. cooler again, just a little cooler near the water. annapolis at 8 degrees. pax river at 87. today's wind out of the south and southwest. warm wind force. lookt the clouds in pennsylvania and ohio. those driving southward and associated with a weather front that will be stalled out around the area tomorrow. we will drop to 80 degrees by 11 cloak p.m. and midnight. start the day tomorrow in the 70s. it is going to be a warm start,l muggy start with a few clouds across the area. starting out around 60 martinsburg, 64 frederick, maryland. 72 in d.c. and 73 in st. mary's tomorrow. we start out dry but muggy and humid conditions by the afternoon. once again, on your 7-day forecast, close to 90 degrees tomorrow. cooling down, way down, for the remainder of the workweek.

friday, front, 60% chance for rain across the area. saturday, 60% chance and sunday, too, as we deal with danny brushing by the coast. and a weather front that's going to take its time moving through. low humid 2i and comfortable conditions and 70s by the beginning of next week. >> j >> veronica, a day at the beach turned into a delicate rescue operation for a teen buried in sand in rhode island. take a look at this picture. the 17-year-old had been digging an eight-foot hole when sand collapsed around him and oxygen mask was put on his face to keep him breathing. his father and about 100 rescuers spent 2 1/2 hours trying to remove him. he was rushed away as witnesses applauded. fearing more sand would collapse on top of him, crew has to use giant stabilizers and dig from the back. >> he had been digging a pretty deep hole and was kneeling -- my understand sing he was kneeling in the hole because his knee was up near his chest when i saw him

and his fingers were exposed. and the -- sand all came in because of the pressure, i guess. collapse order top of him. if he was fully covered over the head and down the front. there was a little bit left of the hole where -- >> connecticut teenager was airlifted to the hospital and it was his brother who first called for help on the beach. at win point point only his nose and few fingers were sticking out of the sand. scary. >> innocent little play in the sand could get that crazy. coming up, major recall involving blinds hanging in millions of homes across the country. nbc's tom costello will be here to break down tee tails. how much of an influence do parents have on their kids when it comes to using drugs or alcohol. the result of a new study might. we will be right back.

we have a major product recall to tell you about. one the consumer product safety commission says poses an

immediate threat to small children. nbc's tom costello joins us now with more on this. tom? >> good afternoon to you. we are talking about 5 million window shades and blinds sold to some of the nation's biggest retailers. kyle was 18 months old and supposed to be sleeping in his crib when his parents suddenly heard a scream. >> we went across the room to find him and standing in his crib with a loop of cord from the shade near his bed wrapped around his neck and he was unable to get out of it. >> reporter: his dad, pediatrician, managed to free his son from thes into but it was immediately clear that they had a very close call. >> we noticed ligature marks around his neck from the cord actually cutting into his skin. >> reporter: one of seven chirp nationwide to nearly strange gled to dth in the cord from blinds or shades. three other children have died. >> this is a rollup shade and the risk is this cord becomes

detached. and strangled or nearly strangled in this cord. >> reporter: ts is enough right here to strangle a child. it is. it is. >> reporter: rollman shades like the one that nearly killed collier with the cord running along the back. even a typical horizontal blind like this one can pose a hidden danger if the cord comes loose providing enough of as into to strangle a baby. the fix is to attach a plastic clip up here to prevent the cord from moving. now the consumer products safety commission is announcing a nationwide recall. 5.5 million blinds soemd under various names. >> parents need t understand that these are hidden dangers that a child can get and strangle on these cords very quickly. >> reporter: manufacturers are already designing child practice blinds and shades but the retailers say the recalled shades should be returned or repaired now.

>> if you are not sure if you happen to have those kinds of shades or blinds in your home, suggestion is go to those weites we mentioned. the retailer's weite. they have all the information they need about the recall and you can go to the consumer product safety commission's website which has been beefed up, i would tell you, over the course of the past few months. >> this is not a new problem, tom. what are they doing to deal with it? >> the cpsc has been putting pressure on the retail -- manufacturers to come up with a fix. so the redesigning essentially redesigning how these things will be working and in the case for the roman shades, they want to create the eyes, much more closer together. so you don't have that string gap between the eyes. >> all right. >> they also want to come up with clips, safety clips, prevent the string from -- cord from dropping, as i explained in mine stand up there. so it is a matter of trying to assure that there never becomes enough of a looses into in the string or cord to create a real potential hazard or danger for children.

>> so ary. so many homes. 5.5 million are being recall. >> tom costello. thanks so much. still ahead on "news4 at 4:00," hundreds of cyber fans take to the streets in london. what sparked this riot outside of the stadium. and a crash involving a police cruiser in california sends water gushing into the air.

an update on the weather. veronica johnson has the latest. >> hey there. we look at the pollen count for today. that ragweed weed is down from moderate to low. seven grains peric cub meter. ragweed. temperatures at 90 degrees. certainly doesn't help with the warmth -- ragweed count. warm and today on the humid side. i think tomorrow will be the last day of heat across the area for a while. upper 80s and dropping. we start the day tomorrow. 62 and 72 degrees. so i think still shorts ared in

or for tomorrow. short sleeves and short pants. sun is up at 6:33. a warm one if not hot by the afternoon and getting close to 90 degrees. showers around martinsburg, wincheer, and through southern maryland and northern neck tomorrow. just a few light showers. here's a look at our setup for today with the weather front coming in. stalling out south of the area. warm and humid evening. hot one coming up tomorrow. there's a look at danny. outer bands brushing the coast with another cold front. weekend with periods of rain and slight chance that we could have some moderate, prapts heavy rain in a few neighborhoods saturday. like last weekend it is another weather front in tropical system which could be a hurricane off the coast by early saturday. we are going to monitor the system very closely. more waves for the coast and dangerous rip tides, biggest concern will be that of flooding for some of the counties like prince george's county and anne arundel county on east. and not likely we are going to have any high winds across this area.

so there's a look at the forecast. pretty wet throughing the weekend. certainly saturday. see you back here tomorrow. >> thanks, veronica. up next, could biology play a role in the career you choose. some researchers say startnglieb >> startling new findings released about teens and drugs and alcohol. strong influence parents can have on

some of the stories making news on the web today. >> riots broke out in london last night after fans of two soccer teams started clashing. police say hundreds of fans were involved in the riots before game between two rivals. one man was stabbed but is expected to survive. a three-car crash including a lice cruiser included a geyser in los angeles when one of the cars slammed into a fire hydrant. three people, including two police officers were hurt in last night's wreck. one of the other drivers was

last reported in critical condition. a rea waos area was closed to tra the numbers are out and cash for clunkers created 700,000 new car sales and juthe transportatn department says initiative helped spur demand for the slumping auto industry. prompting the big three u.s. automakers to boost production plans for the second half of the year. it appears that biology may play a role in what career choices women make. researchers in northwestern university and the university of chicago studied 500 male and female students in an nba program. they found that women with higher levels ofestosterone were more likely to take risks than go into careers in finance. testosterone levels did not appear to impact the men's career choices. >> the sins of the father can be

passed down for generations and may be especially true at home for teens of parents that drink heavily. new study out today finds more than half of 17-year-olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk and they have been influenced by it in negative ways. brian mooar reports. >> reporter: more than a third of america's teenagers have seen one or both parents drunk. that makes children twice as likely to get drunk and three times as likely to smoke marijuana or cigarettes. those are the troubling new findings of a new various released today in washington. >> no one has greater power to influence a teen's decision whether to smoke, drink or use drugs than that teen's mother and father. >> reporter: the survey by columbia university's center on addiction and substance abuse also demonstrates parental involvement can put the brakes on abuse. >> we know a child under age 21, smoking, illegal drugs or abusing alcohol is virtually certainly never to do so important the rest of their

life. >> reporter: responses from a thousand teens and nearly 500 parents suggest that the ava availability of marijuana is up sharply. two-thirds of high school students say drugs are readily available at school but the real threat may be at home in your medicine cabinets. >> we were surprised to find how readily available prescription drugs are to american teens. one in five which translates to almost 5 million, 12 to 17-year-olds can get their hands on prescription drugs. >> reporter: this massachusetts mom wants to give her kids a good head start. >> once they are out the door they are in other people's influence. so i do what i can at home. but i know that they are going to be influenced by their friends. i do what i can. >> reporter: that's a message to all parents. teach by example. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. >> the study also says parents don't think marijuana is a big deal the teen is twice as likely to use it. that's "news4 at 4:00." "news4 at 5:00" starts now.

heas known as the lion of the u.s. senate and tonight people all over the washington area are remembering the life and legacy of massachusetts senator ted kennedy. good evening. i'm jim handly. >> i'm wendy rieger. senator kennedy lost his battle with brain cancer last night. the 77-year-old passed away at his cape cod home. president barack obama speaking out about his mentor today. >> the united states senate, i can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection for members of both sides of the aisle. >> we have coverage as we look back at the life and career of senator kennedy and begin with the imprint he made right here in d.c. tom sherwood joins us with that part of our story. tom? >> there are and will be tons of tributes to senator kennedy but local washingtonians felt his

impact, too. >> certainly the white house will use democrats will use the name, aura of senator kennedy to say look, this is the year it has to be done. >> that's the national about and international tribute and reactions to ted kennedy's death pour in, many local washington institutions are feeling a personal loss from kennedy's death. local catholic schools in the city. >> he was interested in the schools it anded in what we were doing. >> reporter: kennedy with conservative ohio republican john boehner for years to quietly raise $5 million for d.c. catholic schools. with little fanfare but a big impact. >> it was sort of a unique relationship because both congressman boehner and senator kennedy represent strongly different sides of the political respect frum but were able to come together and support the catholic schools in washington, d.c. inner city catholic schools. >> reporter: blessedincipal sai principal said kennedy resigned

from fund-raising