this morning on "early today," the legacy of ted kennedy. from hyannisport to capitol hill, the nation remembers a legend in american politics and prepares to say good-bye. brush with death. a day at the beach nearlyurned deadly for a teager in rhode island. and oh, baby. what baby names are a hit with and oh, baby. what baby names are a hit with new parents. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning.

i'm christina brown. today we begin with saluting the senator. in just hours, the nation will mark the first of many formal tributes to senator ted kennedy, who lost his battles with canc on tuesday. from a public wake to a private funel, the coming days ll see thousands of people, including president obama, say good-bye to the senate's liberal lion. nbc's michelle franzen begins our live coverage from hyannisport, massachutts. good morning, michelle. >> reporter: well, good morning, christina. certainly before it goes public it has been a very private for the family here. a spot illuminated by a ship in annisport. a beacon of hope off the kennedy compound. inside family and friends, including senator john kerry, reflecting on the life lost. >> there is a very beautiful and

personal, private vigil taking place. it's very spitual and about as beautiful as it could be. i think it's everything that senator kennedy would have wanted. >> reporter: private and public tributes kennedy would have loved. ♪ at fenway park, taps played in hi honor at theed sox game. and flags flown half-staff all the way to capitol hill. >> mighty roar. i'll always remember. his dream shall never die. >> reporter: president obama september said his conibutions can be felt every day. >> his ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and reflected in llions of lives. >> reporter: kennedy's lasting impresson for family will be patriarch. the husband, father, and uncle

who loved to sail the nantucket sound on his sailboat, the mya. in hyannisport, massachusetts, michelle franzen, nbc news. >> certainly apologize for that technical difficulty. that was, however, michelle franzen joining us from hyannisport. well, in a tale of internation intrigue, russian officials now say a ship recently hijacked off sweden may have actually been carrying suspicious cargo, not just the stacks of lumber first reported. after playing down the sculation for days, officials admit they can't rule out the possibility that other more sensitive items were on board. there's been speculation that the vessel whic was pirated and recaptured the russian navy was possibly loaded with weapons or nuclear materials. 11 sailors from that trip are mo owsclewhainn moscow whle the ship is being takenack to

russia. a teenager in rhode island who dug a hole in the sand had anything but a day at the beach. when the 17-year-old climbed into the eight-foot hole, it collapsed around him. a photo shows him with an oxygen mask after his father dug out enough sand for him to breathe. after two hours, rescuers finally removed the trapped teenager. a nebraska woman paid the price for trying to drive hrough high floodwaters. her car stalled while driving through an underpass which wasir inundated with thretfe of water. firefighters waded to the car wearing their life jackets to safely rescue her. in florida, trappers caught a repeat visitor, a large black bear in a backyard. the bear was released far from berithyard. the bear hasea become a regularn the nak, enticed by a bird

feeder that it regularly raided. a north carolina school district certainly flunked its spelling test afte a gift given to their teache misspelled the word education. 800 posters were delivered to a teachers appreciation. the letter "a" in education was missing. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. i'm sure you have nothing but an a-plus weather forecast. >> let's talk a little bit about the tropics this morning. this is a tropical storm danny. everyone on the east coast that's closely watching this system, it's still relatively unorganid. not in a very favorable environment to blow up into a big storm. we are watching thunderorm activity in the north. the center of the storm may be relocating a little bit.

so here's the forecast track that everyone wants to see. it will head parallel to the southeast coast, close to the outer banks. the only threat area at this time appears to be eastern new england. mostly talking about cape cod and into the canadian maritime. we'll continue to watch it. otherwise, the forecast for today not too bad. just showers and storms in the southeast from tallahassee to orlando. chicago, rain for you. but pretty nice and summer like in many areas. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. northern new england had that cold front move through last night. you're going to wake up to almost chilly temperatures. highs in the 60s and 70s in northern new england. a beautiful day from new york to philadelphia. enjoy. well, chstina, i'll give you the latest on danny when i come back. >> all right. thanks so much, bill. new home sales jump, taking a bite out of apple, and the

bottom line on cash for clunkers. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, lindsay han turns out even wn she's the victim of a crime she can still get herself into trouble. mark sanchez has a new gig, and david ortiz was nice he did it twice. you're watching "early toda"

>> good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm christina brown. here are some of your top headlines this morning. in a surprising move, taiwan says it has agreed to let the dalai lama visit the island to comfort survivors of this month's devastating typon. that visit could endanger taiwan's rming relations with china. the communist state condemns the spiritual leader for advocating for a free tibet and undermining its authority. still, taiwan insists it is for humanitarian not political purposes. south korean officials say a

satellite they attempted to put into orbit in its first space rocket launch likely burned up in the earth's atmosphere after missing its designated orbit. a protective cover failed to separate from the sellite causing it to overshoot its mark. best-selling author and journalist dominiquedunn died after battling cancer. dunn was 83. and new parents are still going for old-fashioned baby names. that according to the social security administrati's annual list of the most popular baby names. the top three names for girls, emma, isabella and emily. boys, jacob, michael, and ethan. >> and now here's a look at how wall street will ck off the day. the dow opens at 9,543 after adding four points wednesday. the s&p and the nasdaq were both

up a fration. tig a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei shot down 165 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng lost 213 points. all street's annual summer slowdn is in fu swing with markets finiing mostly flat despite the release of eouging economic data. new home sales jumped almost 10% from une, driven mostly by first-time me buyers taking advantage of an $8,000 federal tax credit before it expires. but that's still a fourth straight month of gains and 30% rise from january's lows. that news gave the dow u.s. home construction index a boost of 3 pesh3%. home depot, the largest home improveme retailer, advanced on that news. shares of apple dipped 1% on news nokia plans to compete with

the iphone. williams-sona had rising 11% after posting a surprising second quarter profit. meanwhile, orders for long-lasting goods like appliances, computers, and cars rose nearly 5% in july, the third increase in the past four months. one reason for that surge, the popular cash for clunkers program. the government reported its final tallies wednesda coming in just under its $3 billion budget. sales of neay 700,000 vehicles totaled $2.8 billion. well, aaa is pdicting a dramatic drop in labor day travel this year. the surv finds 11% fewer americans will hit the road this holiday and 20% less will travel by plane. in order to cut costs but also keep kids already in school close to home. finally, you've probably heard living in new york city is a tight squeeze. well, this home is for sale.

it is in historic greenwich village and it takes new york andards to an extreme. the super skinny house is barely nine feet wide but has a fat price tag, $2.million. > well, a high-priced rookie is awarded a starting role. and the phillies ryan howard keeps banging big dingers. plus, boston remembers ted kennedy on the same night david ortiz remembers how to hit home runs. your early morning sports headlines are jt ahead. everyone on theeast coast is watching tropical storm danny. eryone on the west coast rey for another hot mmer day. your lastor cong up. you're watching "early today."

good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> i'm ung yang. straight ahead on "news 4 today," remembering the life of senator ted kennedy. >> plus, a major road project is set to get under way.

how that construction might affect your commute. >> then, a major airline once again adding more fees. why you want to carry a little extra cash the next time you fly. >> stay with us. good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, boston slugger dav ortiz with reignite the offense, he may make a few people rget about the firestorm surrounding his use of performance-enhancing drugs. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early lookt all your sports headlines. good morning. it's been an up and down year for boston's did ortiz. after steroid allegations, ortiz seems to be finding his stride for a playoff push. a moment of silence for massachusetts senator ted ken

did. opposite field shot into the monster seat. in the ninth inning, tied at two. walk-off solo shot around right. red sox won in dramatic fashion, 3-2. boston leads the a.l. wild card by 2 1/2. home plate umpire tom was hit in the chest by a pitch. he wasown for several minutes. he was okay, just a littl shaken pup. to add insult to injury, he wasn't supposed to be behind the plate. he filled in for jerry crawford after crawford left with back pain. now to the ninth. j.p. howell deep to tie the game. things went from bad to worse for howell. in the dirt. jays won it 3-3. another great finish between the pirates and phils. brandon moss steps in and steps out. solo bomb to center and that game was headed to extras. in the 10th, howard put the

champs back on top with a three-run blast. 4-1. mark sanchez threw touchdown in his first pro start. apparently that was good enough for the jets. he was named starter opening day against the texans. check out this play. twins/orioles game. come backer up the middle. flipped to cabrera for an inning-ending out. dove to make the play. all in one, flipped the ball to second. that was the lone highlight for thetwins. they lost 5-1. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. well, what if i told you ssca simpson may have captured the attention of another nfl quarterba? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. us, shame and degradation. that's just the start of with what this waywardspouse has to report to.

you're watching "early toda"

welcome back. new information fm the hurricane center. it takes the storm and relocates the center a little bit to the north. we're going to continue watch this system over the next couple days as it approaches new england. right now the forecast keeps it off the north carolina coast,

maybe barely brushes new england. could be another storm more or less for the canadian maritimes. we'll kep an eye on it for you. if you're watching nbc 3 in syracuse, new york, grab a ticket to the hottest event of the summer where you'll enjoy big name entertainment, good food, thrilling rides all at the great new york state fair. that's your eastern event of the y, christina. >> thanks so much, bill. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. you may have heard lindsay lohan's home was robbed over the weekend. apparentlyhey don't sell insurance against the possibility of sex tapes getting out. supposedly among it contents, incriminating videos and photos, plus, legal documents. well, entertainment weekly reports susan van don is the latest big name negotiating with

oliver stone for his wall street sequel. josh brolin is also negotiating. finally, maybe jessica simpson is smarter than some people give her credit for. many football fans would probably tell you the best way for simpson to get back at her ex dallas cowboys tonyomo would be to date the quarterback of their arch rival, the washington redskins. tar" magazine reports it's actually in the reports. colt began sending-mails and text messages with simpson in july. ince then he has sent her a jersey but also tickets to a september game. i'll be curious to see how the fans feel about tha >> redskins fansre laughing and the dallas cowboys fans are probably saying, take her. >> ouch! we'll definitely have to see about that one. this comes from wrc tv nbc 4 in washington, d.c., where in

nearby tysons corner, virginia, a scorned woman showed her full fury. a humiliating way for them to patch up their relationship. he had to wear his relationship on his chest and stand in a busy intersection at rush hour. by 11:00 om his wife called to say he had been out the long enough. just because he's o the corner doesn't mean he's out of the dog house. oh, my goodness. talk about getting creative. >> you know what she done? sent him out with a sign and then changed the locks. >> oh, come on. you can't be too brutal. i guess. i don'know. i'm christina brown, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. 4:54 is our time. 75 degrees here in the nation's capital.

we have a spotlight shining on the capitol dome this morning and perhaps we can see some stars as well. we'll check in with tom kierein for sure. good morning. welcome to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang in for barbara harrison this morning. we're going to start things off, as we always do, with a look at weather and traffic. we start with meteorologist tom kierein who joins us in our studio. it felt a little stickier this morning. um heah, l again. good morning, end and joe, as we stt off this morning we do have a clear sky. jupiter is up there, venus. radar,o precipitation. mp urerteideat i-7 mn0smp ashington, nearbyub aur srebs ne 70. s 60sar70er and north. southern amaryland and around te little more humidba ere.th tta li le drier west and north. dew points in the low 60s. we have a weak front that's just to our north that will be drifting down later today,a ving us clouds. highs, ouhogh r, suldchea the mid and upper 80s. it will be rather humid all the chy through the weekend. owtorr lmo itooks like we may have some passing ishowers, a small chance in the morning, greater chance in the afternoon

and it should be cooler as we.l. maybe a few passing showers on saturday, maybe a thundershower mainly sunday afternoon it appears right now. take a look at next week and the latest with tropical storm danny coming up this half hour. stay tuned. >> thank you, tom. >> thank you very much. let's go to jerry edwards now and the news 4 traffic network. >> good morning. happy thursday. all is well so far. the overnight road work wrapping up. both directions between the american legion bridge pld the i-270 spur, should fine the lanes re-opened. again, you will find the uneven pavement from the milling process. elsewhere south of town to the wilson bridge, no concerns. so far, so good, 395 from the beltway to and across the 14th street bridge. joe and eun, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thanks very much. the memorial event celebrating the life of senator edward kennedy begin today. his body will travel from cape cod to boston and will lie in repose at the kennedy library for two days. kennedy's funeral will be held on saturday in a roman catholic basilican iboston. a private burial will follow at

arlington national cemetery where he will be laid to rest near his brothers. senator kennedy died late tuesday night after a 15-month battle with brain cancer. >> a new round of lane closures on interstate 95 begins tonight. crews will be conducting brief shutdowns of all lanes on the interstates between route 1 and lorton road while they widen the highway and replace overhead signs. commuters should expect delays up to 30 minutes. >> all eyes are now on tropical tsm itsay w way toward the east coast. the storm has top winds near 50 miles an hour. it's on a path to clip the u. east coast over the weekend. >> michael vick makes his return to the nfl tonight. the philadelphia eagles quarterback will play in the preseason game against jacksonville. it will be the first time he's appeared in an nfl game since december of 2006. vick was released from federal custody july 20th after serving 18 months in prison for his role in running a dogfighting operation. >> by his passing, senator edward kennedy leaves behind a

long and impressive record. he has worked to pass some of the most important laws in thi country, especially those benefiting those in need. >> this morning, we take a closer look at just why some of the ways he chain mgd all of our lives by working to level the playing field. here's nbc's kevin tibbles. >> catch on the outside. >> reporter: without ted kennedy, the university of notre dame's women's volleyball team might not have place to play, at least on equal footing with the men. >> i think without the urgency or the passion that edward kennedy had for this movement, i question whether it would have happened. i think it would have happened, but certainly not in the time that it did. >> reporter: kennedy's steadfast support of the title ix educational amendments made it law that women be afforded the same opportunities as men. from the freedom to play to freedom of movement, ted kennedy's battle on behalf of the disabled has made america far more accessible.

just ask this 28-year-old. >> it helps us re-integrate back into the community. without it, i might not ever leave the house because the whole city would be inaccessible. >> reporter: from immigration to education rye form to health care and affordable housing, the common thread of ted kennedy's life work many say was their welfare. >> they could count on him. whether you were a farmworker, cotton picker, woman, native american, you could count on ted kennedy standing there with strength. >> reporter: for the elderly, kennedy's inn at the peen denies through his sport of the meals on wheels program. >> i don't know how i would be existing really. >> without ted kennedy, this program probably would have never come into existence. they would have never received the help that they have. >> reporter: though most never met him, many say ted kennedy's