his unique political skills caused even those who opposed him to call him one of the most effective legislators to ever walk the capital corridors. >> i pick up a fallen standard. sustained by their memory of our priceless years together. >> edward moore kennedy, teddy, was born in 1932, the last son of the wealthy kennedy dynasty. when his older brother won the presidency, massachusetts voters sent 30-year-old ted kennedy to finish out jfk's senate term and never let him leave. the new young president and his family brought a glamour to washington never before seen. assassinned bullets brought down john kennedy, robert fell to another crazed fanatic. his young companion died and for ten hours, kennedy failed to report the crash. what happened that night would haunt kennedy the rest of his life. >> this morning, i ended a

plea of guilty. >> even so, kennedy's name would be floated as a presidential candidate. he finally ran in 1980. he challenged the incumbent, jimmy carter. he was ill prepared and it showed in an interview with cbs news correspondent, roger mud. >> why do you want to be president? >> well, i am right to make the announcement to run. >> he never sought the oval office again, but back in the senate, he honed his legislative skills, formed personal alliances with ideological opposites, and forged piece of piece of legislation on racial equality, labor law, and healthcare. >> as long as i have a voice in the united states senate, it's going to be for that democratic platform plank that provides decent quality of healthcare. >> as the last of the kennedy brothers, he was the one who walked the nieces down the

aisle and stood up for the nephews in trouble. for the kennedys, the trouble seemed endless. his own son lost a leg to cancer. his first wife went through alcoholism. it was ted kennedy who held the family together when tragedy after tragedy struck. when john kennedy jr. died in a plane crash, it was ted kennedy who again spoke at another kennedy funeral. through it all, his love of politics sustained him. he was never happier, like he was this day campaigning for barack obama. >> our next president of the united states, barack obama. >> he braved sub freezing weather to see obama sworn in as the nation's 44th president, but he suffered a seizure at the capital lunch following the ceremony. [ singing happy birthday ] kennedy was feeling well enough

to attend a star studded birthday celebration in washington and with his wife, vicki at his side, he beamed as president obama led the birthday song. ted kennedy never became president, but some say his legislative accomplishments leave a lasting mark on american life far eater than that of most o the office he never won. and we have found out about the arrangements for senator kennedy. he will lie at the jfk presidential library tomorrow and friday. kennedy's funeral will take place at a nearby church on saturday and he will be buried here at national arlington cemetery near the graves of his brothers. local members of congress are also remembering senator ted kennedy tonight. maryland senator, barbra says senator kennedy drew people to him because he truly liked people and was genuinely interested in their lives. he brought out the best in those around him. and house majority leader of

maryland calls edward kennedy quote, one of the most dynamic and influential legislators in our nation's history and his legacy will live on, and the lives of the millions of americans in which his passion made a difference. one big question tonight though is the impact is that kennedy's death on the healthcare overhaul. it could deprive reform supporters of a critical vote, but bruce leshan is on capitol hill where some people are saying this will perhaps give it increased momentum. bruce. >> it is possible, a vase of white roses marked kennedy's desk here at the senate and there is already a move of foot to rename those health reform bills in his honor. >> i told myself i would get better. >> abby is one of the people ted kennedy always fought for. hired o ut of college at her dream job in new york, she was two months shy of earning health insurance when she was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor.

>> okay, fast forward. surgery is done and i'm healthy and i have a bill for $12,000 that i can't afford. my parents had to refinance their home to help me pay off my debt. >> maryland's chris is one of the democratic leaders of the effort to pass health reform. >> i believe that if kennedy were in the senate today and really able to work it and been able to work it for these many weeks, we would have seen more progress in the senate. >> reporter: the controversy over the healthcare overhaul was rockous at a town hall meeting in resten. >> these folks are not from the eighth district. they really don't belong here and i'm going to ask them to leave. >> reporter: congressman jim moran suspects that kennedy's passing may actually help quiet the anger and smooth the passage of the bills. >> he needs to get his bill enacted and it needs to be named after him and that should

be the legacy he leaves for future generations. >> flags are at half staff and even republicans are paying tribute at the democrats washington office. >> i think that he probably went through more in his lifetime than most of us were asked to endure. >> massachusetts governor said today that he supports a plan that would allow him to appoint someone to kennedy's now vacant seat for the five months that it takes to set up a special election. there are some signs that the plan may be weakening in the legislature. that could give supporters of health reform one more democratic vote when and if it ever comes to the senate floor. derrick, back to you. >> thank you so much for that. and we have much more on senator edward kennedy on our website, wusa9.com. there you'll find a is slide show of his life, plus video of the kennedy tribute and the senator's speech at the 2008 democratic national convention. there's also written and video

statements from president obama and other politicians about senator kennedy's passing and you'll find it all again on our website, wusa9.com. perhaps you would like to share your thoughts about the passing of senator kennedy. we invite you to do that. send them to mcginty's mail bag. the address, mailbag@wusa9.com. and topper shutt is here with that first forecast. top, how does it look outside? >> not bad. it was 91 today. a little more humid, but actually comfortable evening. here is your recast first. for tostnight, partly cloudy. not quite as cool as it was last night, but not too d.urertw tempureserghnow t. wndoto bi down to 8888 88 in ti. in t ou d 80s out toward winchester. upper 80s in cumberland and 89 in fredericksbu this is the late lasatellite ie urof our friend, danny. you can see him well south of bermuda. located 700 miles southeast. we'll come back and talk about

which way danny is going and if it matters if he stays a tropical storm. derrick. thank you top. senator edward kennedy once said this, though much is taken, much still abides. why those words may ring true for the kennedy legacy and the future of america. stay with us.

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welcome back. ted kennedy was in the senate longer than most americans have been alive. part of a family tradition, shipping american politics for more than half a century. gary has that legacy. >> his brother, john, set the tone in a more innocent time. >> ask what you can do for your country. >> a call for energetic involvement in public life. >> all of the kennedys left the message saying, you can make a difference, you can make the country a better place. >> idealists responded. and the world did change, bruce morton watched it change. >> you think back to 1960 when john kennedy ran, the south was segregated, blacks couldn't vote. we come a long way. >> got there before we knew who the beetles were, stayed there when the idealism was wounded by assassination. the belief in government, its leaders was wounded too.

vietnam, nixen, watergate. kennedy's friend, thomas. >> if you are putting that faith in politicians or in princes and kings, you are ultimately going to be disappointed because nobody can make your life better than you. > some of the idealists turned away from the public fights. but kennedy is so rich he could do anything, he stayed. >> millions of people who counted on this guy every day. >> bruce morton watched the dedication ceremony a few years ago. >> john always used to end speeches with robert frost. i have promises to keep and miles to go before i sleep. and watching ted there that day, the last of the brothers, it was easy to believe what the promises were. >> so unlike his brothers, he grew old trying to keep them. gary, 9news now and wusa9.com.

tbl and few people in washington knew ted kennedy like him. he has been involved in politics for more than half a century. we welcome him to 9news now at 7:00 p.m. thank you so much for coming in tonight. we appreciate it today and our condolences. i want to talk about the fact that ted kennedy was a man who grew up as rich as he did, obviously liked to have a good time. i think he would be the first to admit that, yet he decided to spend his life in public service. why? >> i think it was characteristic of the whole family. certainly true of his brothers who grew up in the same way and had the same reputation for kind of having -- enjoying themselves. i think his father may have been mainly responsible. he brought them up rich, but told them that they owed something in return. you have to give something back. certainly all of them did, including the women. >> exactly.

everybody is talking tonight about ted kennedy's ability to go across the aisle. he would get up in the senate and say partisan things. at the same time, they trusted him on the other side of the aisle and talk with him and deal with him unlike some of the personal partisanship we do today. what is the big difference there? >> he understood the senate. better than both of his brothers who served there. he knew the senate. >> he was there longer. >> he was there much longer, but even in the short time, he became a member of what used to be called the club. the insider's group at the senate. it was as good as his word, always kept his word and that was important too. and you know, he would get people to come along on some issues of never all the way, by any means. i think he understood that some things were more important to him and other things were more important to others and that you could find where those trades could take place, you

could get something done. >> politics was the art of the possible. >> that's right. now according to cbs news, he authored 2500 pieces of legislation over those 40 some odd years. what do you think ted kennedy was most proud of or is there one? >> i would think probably the stuff that relates to individuals lives. the 18-year-old vote, the minimum wage, the healthcare advances that he was able to get, the americans with disabilities act. title 9 for women competing in the college athletics. wherever he saw a group or even a few people disadvantaged because of their race or their economic condition or whatever it might have been, immigration, he was a strong supporter. >> as president obama said today, it was not a surprise, what we saw coming. and unfortunately, there are a lot of mixed feelings about ted

kennedy and i have seen them on the web today. a lot of folks like him, but a lot of folks can't forgive. as you talk to him, how much did he internalize that anger and did he need forgiveness for those things? >> he carried it with him all the time. there wasn't a day that he didn't think about that or regret it. and i think he understood some of the extremes of the language that was used against him and intended to pass it off. that didn't bother him. >> you think he was at peace at the end? >> i think so. i think he was at peace because for 45 years, he did what he thought was the right thing and succeeded at it. >> again thank you so much for your insight. >> thank you, i enjoyed b@bein here. we still have something special to show you tonight and we'll learn y this photo is so significant to the kennedy

family. stay with us, 9news now at 7:00 will be right back. need a lift? hey buddy, i appreciate the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure.

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everybody wants to know what that hurricane is going to mean for us this weekend and all that. >> got to focus on where danny goes. that's the track we have to focus on. we are looking at two weather systems. one front to the west of us will get us on friday and danny could get us on saturday. so tomorrow, not bad actually. in fact, the best day of the next three, wouldn't you say? upper 80s tomorrow. a slight chance of an isolated storm. 80 on friday with showers and storms. these primarily unrelated to danny and get into friday night and saturday, if danny hugs the coast, they will be related to danny. high temperatures around 83 on saturday. so temperatures go down a little bit. here's the latest. 2:00 p.m.

friday, located off charleston coast. gathering some strength between haderus as we get towards new england. i would be paying close attention to this. i think this could be a big storm up there. this track keeps it offshore for us. we are looking at rough seas and potentially some more rip currents. here's the spaghetti plot. we are a lot happier. weather spread out, so there is discrepancy as to where the model thinks danny is going to go. one problem is getting a good center, a good initialization for the models and the center is all over the place right now and that's why the models are having trouble, as to which way it is going to g. danny's track, that's the key. i don't care if it has a name or not. heavy surf for the beaches, no doubt about it. friday night to 3:00 p.m. would be our critical time and we are looking at focus on the track, not the name. if it hugs the coast and we are in trouble. tonight, we are not in trouble. partly cloudy, not as comfortable. winds northeast 5 to 10.

mid 80s right now as you go out georgia avenue. 85 in old town and 85 also in deal. partly cloudy, warm. 70s and 80s. tomorrow afternoon, not bad. very warm, a slight chance of an isolated thunderstorm. high temperatures in the upper 80s. zone forecast, upper 80s to the west. a better chance of showers toward bluemont. less of a chance as you jump the river and less of a chance as you go towards the bay. 84 for annapolis. next seven days, 87 tomorrow. isolated storms and then danny could be trouble friday night into saturday. showers and thunderstorms. the showers and thunderstorms friday are coming anyway. that's related to the front. that's in the books. maybe a leftover storm on sunday and then right on cue, it gets cooler. monday, tuesday, maybe 80 on wednesday. >> are you saying it's going to be rain on saturday regardless of whether danny shows up? >> confine to the beaches. >> beaches is okay. >> that's okay.

>> okay fine. thanks top. we have no weird news for you. instead, a photo that had all of us talking. it was almost 46 years ago to this day. august 28, 1963. someone snapped thisphoto. it is all e rethkennedy brothers hanging. john, reof course, was the pr t. bobby was attorney general, ted was the younfirst rm senator. one of the la pictures tan of the brothers together. three months later, president kennedy would gugunned down in dallas. thtuisic p is icon di splay at the kennedy presidential library in bos #news now is sponsored in part by your local toyota dealer.

come on in. you're invited to the chevy open house. where getting a new vehicle is easy. e yothe y icpaemu on ing r the price you pay on remaining '08 and '09 models. you'll find low, straightforward pricing. it'simple.'s l offers. go to chevy.com/openhouse foetfo dreai. d

in the mail bag, the death of senator kennedy. this is a sad day because it is the end of an era. ted kennedy was our link back to a time that reshaped america

and he was a big part of that reshaping. with him, goes the kennedy era. one can only wonder what if the kennedy boys had not left us so soon. it turns out, juan, one of the kennedy boys did not leave us so soon. senator ted kennedy got to comb his gray hair and whether you agree with his legacy or not, there's no doubt he took advantage of the opportunity to leave one. and then we had this reaction to an e-mail from yesterday in which robbin of virginia complained about president obama's vacation, alleging it cost $20 million. tonight sharon from frederick, maryland, offers a mailbag equivalent of, did she really think his vacation cost $20 million? i'm so tired of people trying to impugn this president without logical information. this family paid for their vacation, what right do we have to say how they spend their money? where was robbin when president

bush was off on his many vacations. like i said yesterday, presidents need all the vacations they can get. the job is crazy. a good example would be healthcare reform. that will be waiting for president obama when he comes back. personally, i would rather be greeted by a whole troll of your e-mail waiting for me tomorrow. that's our report. i'll be right back here tonight at 11:00 with anita brikman. log on any time to wusa9.com. we'll see you later. bye. fafafab@fa

this is "entertainment tonight" in high definition. did michael jackson's doctor have a mystery accomplice? the new report that murray made three phone calls as michael jackson lay dead. who did he contact? and are police ready to make an arrest? what my investigation has uncovered. plus, my new interview with michael's nurse, just named in this affidavit. >> did you ever inject anything into michael's body? then -- >> this is who we are. >> michael's brothers versus the media, what you haven't seen from our jackson reality series exclusive. >> they have the power of pen, but they do not have the final say. how senator ted kennedy spent his final days. as hollywood mourns his passing. >> he had