our thanks to john donvan. when we come back, an awkward era in life epitomized on the big screen. filmmaker john hughes. (announcer) back to school means back to busy mornings. that's why i got them pillsbury toaster strudel. warm, flaky, pastry with delicious sweet filling my kids will love. plus i get two bonus box tops for their school. toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. so i always have totino's pizza rolls. big pizza taste in a bite size roll that my kids can't resist. plus i get two bonus box tops for their school. totino's pizza rolls. the pizza way to snack. >>> finally tonight, john hughes, who wrote, produce and directed some of the most memorable films of the 1980's. he died today of a heart attack while walking in manhattan. he was just 59. his movies became the soundtrack for a generation. brilliantly rating the emotional journey of adolescence, with the beauty and humor and dare i say it, cruelty. >> i can't believe you can't get me out of this. >> for a ge

our thanks to john donvan. >>> when we come back, high society. how easy it is to buy pot legally these days? talk abo a wake up call. i had a heart attack at 57. my doctor told me .i should've been... doing more for my high cholesterol. what was i thinking? but now i trust my heartto lipitor. when diet and exercise are not enough, adding lipitor may help. unlike some other cholesterol loering medications, lipitor is fda approved .to reduce the risk..., of heart attack, stroke, and certain kinds .of heart surgeries..., if you have several ! common risk factors... or heart disease. lipitor has been extensively studied... with over 16 years of research. lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems... and women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taing other medications,, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. i learned the hard way. but you may be able todo something. have

our thanks to john donvan. when we come back, an awkward era in life epitomized on the big screen. filmmaker john hughes. ( soft blues music playing ) ( people chatting ) ( laughing ) >>> finally tonight, john hughes, who wrote, produce and directed some of the most memorable films of the 1980's. he died today of a heart attack while walking in manhattan. he was just 59. his movies became the soundtrack for a generation. brilliantly rating the emotional journey of adolescence, with the beauty and humor and dare i say it, cruelty. >> i can't believe you can't get me out of this. >> for a generation of americans, it was that music and those cars pulling into a suburban chicago high school that captured a moment in time. >> does barry manilow know that you raid his wardrobe? >> john hughes had a knack for finding the drama, angst and

here's john donvan. >> look at me. >> reporter: on the last day of camp it was ishan's turn to crosshat river. and he just didn't want to go. >> hold on to me. >> i am holding on here. >> reporter: and the reason they're pushing him so hard is the same reason that he needs the push. >> hold on! ow! her he has autism. which makes the other side that much harder to reach. >> i'm holding on. >> see you soon. >> reporter: but that's what kids here have been doing all week. going beyond their own limits. like riding these rapids, or scaling these cliffs or crossing this river. >> i know you're nervous but you're doing great. >> reporter: which all the kids get a turn at, and that includes ishan, who has now reached the middle. and he's not alone out there. >> it's got to be visceral. it's super intense. the more intense it is the better that are on the other end. >> reporter: doug gilstrap leads this extreme sports camp near aspen colorado where many of the campers are severely limited in speech. like josh devries. >> it's okay. >> reporter: but the program shows that communication and le

here's john donvan. >> reporter: his final years, they were good ones, and personally rewarding, andn some ways charmed. >> to sir edward kennedy. >> reporter: and what a contrast this was to those other days when a ted kennedy headline, all too often, spelled out a story of trouble. much of that trouble was visited upon him. the death of his brother joe when ted was only 12, then his sister kathleen was killed. then the brother who was president, and the one who was fighting to be. ted was still in his thirties when he delivered the eulogy for bobby. >> those of us who loved him pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will someday come to pass for all the world. >> reporter: in that moment he became family patriarch, on whose arm the next generation would lean on as the awful run of kennedy misfortune continued. his son edward losing a leg to cancer, his brother robert's boys, dave, dead of a drug overdose, michael killed in a ski accident, and then john kennedy jr., gone in that plane crash. plane crash. he'd been in a bad one himself earlier in life, but it didn'

for "good morning america," i'm john donvan, on avery island, louisiana.tom relief combines two powerful medicines for fast relief of your diarrhea symptoms, so you can get back out there. imodium. get back out there. i've had asthma for 5 years. 10 years. i used to wonder why my controller medicine wouldn't help prevent... ...help prevent my symptoms from coming back. i just figured it couldn't get any better. and then i found out something i didn't know... i found out there are two main causes of asthma symptoms... ...airway constriction you feel and inflammation you may not. most controllers don't treat both. so my doctor prescribed advair. advair treats both main causes to help prevent symptoms in the first place. (announcer) advair contains salmeterol. salmeterol may increase the chance of asthma-related death. so advair is not for asthma that's well controlled on another controller medicine. advair will not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be taken more than twice a day. talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits

. >> here's john donvan. >> reporter: his final years, they were good ones and personally rewarding andme ways chasome ways charmed. >> sir edward kennedy. >> reporter: and what a contrast this was to those other days when a ted kennedy headline all too often spelled out a story of trouble. much of that trouble was visited upon him. the death of his brother joe when ted was only 12, then his sister kathleen was killed. then the brother who was president and the one who was fighting to be. ted was still in his 30s when he delivered the eulogy for bobby. >> those of us who loved him pray that what he was to us, what he wished for others will someday come to pass for all the world. >> reporter: in that moment he became family patriarch, on whose arm the next generation would lean as the awful run of kennedy misfortune continued, he is son edward losing a leg to cancer, his brother's boys dead of a drug overdose, michael killed in a ski accident and john kennedy, jr. gone in that plane crash. he'd been in a bad one himself earlier in life but it did not break him. his resilience, dignity in

john donvan has an economic reality check. >> reporter: we all know where we want to be as a nation, as an economy after this long, long season of signs that say this and front doors that look like this and a job market that looks like this. where we want to be, we wish we could, we wish we could is out of the woods, bark on track, over the hump and can it be true what this "newsweek" cov said a couple of weeks ago as several big companies are actually reporting profits and people with street kreds are saying this. >> they are emphatic that recovery begins this summer. >> reporter: and this. >> theyou predicted it. is it real? >> i do think it is real. we have enough cumulative signs that we've come through the worse. we're actually starting to see pockets of improvement. >> reporter: hey, it looks like we are really climbing out, right? except -- except the bell rings today and the market's down 2% in six and a half hours and the latest unemployment numbers kout out with nearly a quarter million jobs gone last month while foreclosures reach an all-time record high and you have to as

in our first story tonight, john donvan reported that while many economic indicators suggest things are less bad than they were, we're not out of the economic woods yet. indicators provide a valuable wide angle lens to the economy, but not a tight focus on the individual's bouncing through these tough times. we want to hear from you. so tonight we ask, are you still feeling the effects of the recession or are things looking brighter for you and your family we us what you think -- tell us what you think clicking on the abcnews.com page or the "nightline" twitter page. and speaking of twitter, we officially have our 1 millionth follower. remember, you can join the conversation any time at the twitter page. tomorrow on "nightline," we look at the epidemic of obesity in america and we'll take you inside a special camp for overweight families as they battle to get healthier. that's our report for tonight. "jimmy kimmel live" is up next. from all of us at abc news, good night, america. >>> tonight on "jimmy kimmel live" -- >> first baseman for the brewers -- [ bleep ]. >> teri hatcher. >> lik

donvan has a look back. >> reporter: he was 77 years old whene died today. the name his brothers made legend and it was his burden to live up to. but joe, johnnd robert died young while ted, the youngest, he got a full term on his earth, those 77 years time enough to honor the family name but also time enough to disappoint. >> nothing is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight. >> reporter: it was the honor side of the equatioin denver, 2008, where they would soon nominate barack obama. but when kennedy showed up, >> there knew it was his last convention. >> the hope rises again! and the dream lives on. >> reporter: but he still had it, could still hit the high notes. and this ted kennedy they lionized. right here and now he was equalled to the legislate end. he embodied it. he roared it. but contrast that to the almost confessional speech he delivered at harvard more than 17 years ago when he was nearly 60. >> i recognize my own shortcomings. the faults and conduct of my private life. i reallyize that i alone am responsible for them. and i am the one that must confront them. >> reporter: so often incurring as he said in th