úú welcome back 9 news now. i'm jessica doyle. j.c. hayward is off today. 47 years of service. that's how long senator ted kennedy served his country on captiol hill. the man, dubbed the liberal

lion died early this morning of brain cancer and we just learned that he will be buried at arlington national cemetery. he passed away with his family by his bedside in hyannis port, massachusetts. a short while ago, president obama took a break from his vacation in martha's vineyard to talk about his courage during his final days. >> since his diagnosis last year, we have seen the courage with which he battled his illness. while these months have no doubt been difficult for him, they have allowed him to hear from people in every r tierrno our nation and around the world how much he meant to all of us. >> reporter: here's part of a statement released by the senator's family shortly after his passing. -- republicans are also

phrasing the career of ted kennedy. arnold schwarzenegger who's married to maria shriver called kennedy a loving husband, father, uncle and brother and the rock of the family. nancy reagan release a statement saying -- reaction to senator kennedy's death is pouring in not just from the u.s. but around the world, as well. gordon brown says even facing illness and death he never stopped fightinger the causes which were his life's work. i am proud to have counted him as a friend. kevin rudd had this to say. while his passing didn't come as a surprise, the kennedy

family political allies and critics are all in morning. the late senator emerged from the shadows of big brothers john and robert to become one of the preimminent politicians in the country. we have more from the kennedy compound in hyannis port, massachusetts. >> reporter: the liberal lion of the senate loses his battle with brain cancer. senator edward ted kennedy passed away last night at his family compound in hyannis port. president obama vacationing nearby got the news at 9:00 a.m. >> we were denied when his brothers were taken from us. a blessing to say thank you and good-bye. >> reporter: the senator endorse for obama during a tough primary. serving nearly a half century in the senate he championed civil rights, minimum wage and health care reform. >> don't you find it remarkable, one of the most

partisan liberal men in the last century serving in the senate had so many of his foes embrace him. >> reporter: early in his career it was his personal life that seemed to overshadow his legislative work. in 1969, he drove off a bridge and a young female drowned. kennedy later expressed regret for not immediately notifying police and received a suspended sentence for leaving the scene of an accident. in 1980 he took on jimmy carter for the democratic nomination for president. he lost and refocused his energies on the senate for the next three decades. kennedy suffered a seize your at his family's cape cod compound in may of 2008 and was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

and he spent the last few months of his life surrounded by his family at the kennedy home in hyannis port. we have just received official word that senator ted kennedy will be buried at arlington national cemetery. reporting live from hyannis, massachusetts, samantha hayes, back to you. >> ted kennedy never became president but he left quite a legacy. what will he be remembered for the most? >> jessica, there's so many major pieces of legislation that senator kennedy will be associated with. one of the more recent the no child left behind act, the voting and civil rights act, major pieces of legislation have his name tied it to. part of his legacy, you are certainly getting a big idea of that today. republicans and democrats talking about how he crossed the aisle in many ways to work with members of both parties to get this legislation passed and in that way, affected many,

many americans ' lives. some would argue perhaps more than his brother who was the president. >> do we have any idea how long it will take to replace ted condition did in the senate? >> reporter: jessica, that's a very important question right now. in some ways it is a sensitive question because one of the things most important to senator kennedy is health care reform. he wanted to see a national health care system. that is certainly a huge debate an that is making his death more acute. he wanted to have a law changed in massachusetts so the governor could appoint an interim senator to be able to vote because he knew he may not be able to. the problem, though, is a law in this state requires there be a special election and that could take up to five months. it could be many, many more months before we know who will replace senator ted kennedy. be sure to stay with 9 news now, cbs news and wusa9.com for continuing coverage on the

death of senator ted kennedy. leave your comments at wusa9.com on kennedy's legacy. tonight at 00, watch a cbs news special. kennedy the last brother. in other news, today the maryland board of public works will vote on a half billion dollars worth of budget cuts. today's vote is one day after governor martin o'malley outlined the spending reductions. the o'malley administration cutbacks include shutting the state government down for five days, furloughing all state workers, laying off 205 employees and cutting $211 million in aid to county governments. >> these are difficult times, and we have to make the decisions necessary in order to protect our priorities and to continue to move forward to the other side of this recession. >> reporter: in the last three years, the o'malley administration has been forced to slash state spending by $4 billion and cut 3200 jobs. the projected budget deficit is looking even bigger

than previously thought. the white house now expects the ten-year deficit to reach $9 trillion. that's about $2 trillion more than it estimated earlier in the year this year. and the amount means the debt held by the public would reach 82% of the nation's gross domestic product, double the number reported last year. coming up when 9 news now continues, we'll look back at senator ted kennedy's family life. plus, new information about the final hours of michael jackson's life. 9 news now continues at noon. stay b@withwi uths.

ted kennedy leaves behind a large family. in addition to the original kennedy clan. harry smith had the story. >> reporter: the once notorious bachelor ted kennedy never intended to remarry after his divorce from joan bennett kennedy in 1982, but looking back his union to victoria reggie could seem like fate. the kennedy and reggie families were politically and personally close. in 1956 as a louisiana delegate, edmond reggie, victoria's father supported kennedy's bid for the presidency. he went on to manage all of the kennedy campaign operations in

his home state. vicki interned in kennedy's senate office in ' 96 but the two didn't meet again until ' 91 at an anniversary party for her parents. the divorced mother of two and bachelor becam friends. a year later they married. >> i saw him with my children. i saw him with his own family and i just knew i had wonderful man who had come in to my life. >> reporter: with victory kennedy found stability and laughter after years of turmoil. >> her relationship signaled a major change in his life she kept him strong and focused on his work and she gave him the kind of anchor that he really needed after a very rough time. >> reporter: vicki was ted's partner in politics. during his hotly-contested re- election campaign in ' 94 against mitt romney, vicki was considered his biggest asset. kennedy boasted on the trail, i can tell you if november was a

referendum on vicki we could all go home now. ted and vicki continued their political work. together they became a fixture of the washington establishment. when ted was diagnosed with brain cancer in may of 2008, he faced the public in the fight of his life with vicki by his side. she remained there until the end a female announcer: from jennifer, while supplies last, this luxurious microfiber sofa and chair for just $399. our most dramatic offer ever:

both pieces, just $399. while supplies last. from jennifer: you don't have to spend a lot to have good taste.

end. we're learning more about the final hours of michael jackson's life, especially the period of time between when police say his doctor found the singer not breathing to the moment someone called 911. cbs ' patty kauffman has more from las vegas. >> reporter: a police officer police affidavit says dr. conrad murray found michael jackson not breathing at 11:00 a.m. the day the singer died. >> did anyone witness what happened. >> no, just the doctor, sir. the doctor has been the only one here. >> reporter: but the 911 call

wasn't mad until 12:21 p.m. and cell phone records show that he made 47 minutes of other calls. at 11:18, a 32-minute call to his office in las vegas. and then another vegas number for three minutes and then called houston for 11 minutes and then he called a jackson associate for one minute. he police affidavit shows these calls happened while he was unconscious in his bed and murray was performing cpr. legal experts say if dr. murray is charged with a crime it wasn't be just administering dangerous drugs but not rehacking quickly enough to a dying patient. >> any reasonable patient would expect him to administer cpr and call 911 immediately. this is proof of reckless conduct and what law enforcement needs for a manslaughter charge. so when investigators raided dr. murray's offices last month, one las vegas defense attorney cautioned there could be an explanation for the long phone calls. >> was he talking to another

physician? trying to find out if there was some drug he could administer to revive him? you know? if we don't know it is premature to say that that shows some criminal intent. >> reporter: the office has been closed for some time now. we're told dr. murray remains in his home and is keeping a low profile. one of the things the late senator kennedy hoped to witness is the passage of president obama's plan to overhaul health care in this country. the latest contentious town hall meeting took place last night in northern virginia. congressman jim moran invited howard dean to speak on the president's plan. >> i'm sorry, but i can't even here the governor and i'm sitting next to him, which means that there are hundreds of people in this gymnasium who can't hear him because of a handful of people. >> howard dean is a baby killer. >> one protester was pro life

activist who was led out of the auditorium by police. supporters and protesters made their views known outside of this school because the venue was at maximum capacity. yesterday afternoon, fellow virginia democrat gerry con hely held a meeting at the green spring retirement community in springfield. in germantown, maryland, congresswoman donna edwards held the latest of her meetings. this one didn't get as loud but the signs people brought expressed opinions on both sides of the issue. you can read more at wusa9.com. just click on living well. a huge wildfire continues to burn right now here los angeles. 1,000 firefighters are battling the flames. the fire officials report no home or businesses have been threatened by the fire. no word yet on how the fire started. we have bone dry conditions there, kim. that's really causing a

problem. how are we looking in our area in terms of rainfall? >> if you have any plans this weekend? >> not really. >> well, it is a good thing because it looks like the latest tropical system to join the ranks is already going. we have tropical storm danny and it looks to have eyes set on kind of grazing, close to the east coast and it wilweathe let's get ctpa urweather. let's get r. movingthis onvitso. r outside. r oumbounureves 84al degrees. were'r're achingthe 90 bu. alreliny es thssace bay,ricksburg isso fo 89ross ace bay, easton icoming , ng in miwith 82 and enjoy that 86 while you have it up in martinsburg as temperatures will pick up a few degrees warmer. here's how it comes across 22,000 miles. looking down we see a lot of sunshine. hardly any clouds. today is probably going to be the last mostly cloud free day. tomorrow a transition day and then as we think about friday and especially saturday

morning, we could be eyeing tropical storm danny out in the ocean, not too far away off of the atlantic. and in fact one computer model indicates that we are look eight to be a category one hurricane by saturday morning. here's how things will unfold in our forecast. we have this frontal system from the northwest. that's descending upon us. tomorrow it will increase the clouds. maybe bring us a shower on thursday night. at the same time, this stationary front, just off the coast, will start to back in, as well. we will have a squeeze play. one of the items pushing that front toward us, tropical storm danny. right now it is a minimal tropical storm. it has winds of 45 miles an hour. it is gusting to 58. and it is moving to the west northwest at 16 miles an hour. the path over the next 48 hours brings it toward the mid- atlantic region. notice, though, i have highlighted 8 a.m. on saturday morning, 75-mile an

hour winds anticipated would put it tot a category one hurricane off of the coast. so again, ocean city is going to be rough weekend with the surf and potentially heavier rain. again, this is a cone here. it could go to the west and it could go to the east. the general idea of what we think danny will do. as we close out the weekend an head up to new england, notice the winds are still 75. but instead of a one or hurricane symbol we give it an l. even though it will have winds of hurricane status the dynamics of the storm will go from a warm core storm to a cold core storm. that makes it extra tropical but still it can have winds gusting if not sustained at 75 miles an hour. so this will probably be another problematic event for the folks up in maine and atlantic canada. all right. as for the weather here, until then we will be watching the sunshine start to break up about late tomorrow in to the evening certainly we have a shot of a stray shower or

thunderstorm as that front from the north approaches us and begins to stall. as we head in to the weekend, friday and especially saturday morning, we will be dealing with the moisture coming up in what we think will be tropical storm or hurricane danny. 72 for the lows tonight. tomorrow 87. here's the saturday forecast. touch and go weekend. you bet. we will be on top of it, the 9 news now weather team and we will be keeping you updated at wusa9.com where you can down load our free hurricane tracker. well, don't change that dial. wellness wednesday is up next. you are watching 9 news now.

it is wellness wednesday. every week at this time we focus on health and wellness issues affecting baby boomers. the editor of aarp the magazine is here with the news about prostate cancer. it is pretty widespread. how big of a problem is this? >> it is very common. in fact, one in every six men will get it in his lifetime. and there are 2 million survivors and counting. it is very, very widespread. >> now, obviously it is very difficult to go through the process of getting diagnosed, emotionally that is difficult but it is also agonizing to decide how you will go ahead with treatment. why is that? >> because there are various treatments that have the same cure levels. so part of what you have to decide is what you are most comfortable with and there's

also, for some people with slow- growing cancer the option of not doing anything at all and waiting and watching it carefully and they are up to the parents to decide. >> or not treating it at all is an option i would think people take often. >> particular my if it is a tiny cancer or if you have less than ten years of life expectancy because you are old or have other health conditions. >> what are the indication that's may be at risk of prostate cancer. >> any male over 50 is at risk. there is a screening test and the doctor can best advise you on whether you need to be screened. >> how often should you consult with your doctor about possible screening. >> men should see their doctor regularly, i guess once a year is common but your internist can help you figure it out. >> when a family member comes down with an illness, this is a problem not just for that individual but the loved ones around them. what are things to keep in mind

for folks if they are facing this situation? >> well, you know, for a wife, particularly, or a partner, i should say, there are things that a man will be concerned about, not only facing a life- threatening disease but also the consequences of the treatment, which if you are looking at surgery or radiation therapy can include incontinence and impotence and that is something to talk to your doctor about. >> thank you for your insight about the situation and for talking to us about prostate cancer. that's 9 news now at noon. back at 5:00. cncn