former governor william donald schaefer was hospitalized with pneumonia.ll have a live report on his condition, straight ahead. first, an epic depiction is set to air this weekend of the kennedys, but is it accurate? tonight, a preview of the serie >> betty white is now set to host her own reality show on nbc. it will feature senior citizens playing pranks on hidden camera. nbc has ordered 12 episodes, but there is no word on when it will hit the air. the kennedy family has fascinated america for generations. the latest chapter comes this weekend when a tv miniseries about them finally premieres on cable. >> the kennedy's is an a hour, $30 million miniseries. >> this project was under an extraordinary microscope from the very beginning. >> greg kinnear stars as president john f. kennedy and katie holmes placed first lady jackie kennedy. >> i felt very lucky to have this role. >> their performances almost went unseen. >> six weeks ago, this incredible miniseries was sitting on a shelf, headed for oblivion. >> mr. channell had dropped plans earlier, saying i

well, william donald schaefer has died.nd while he was also the governor of maryland, he'll go down as one of the great big city mayors of the past 100 years. he was born in baltimore, went to baltimore city college and the university of baltimore law school. a world war ii vet, his motto in office became "do it now." he transformed baltimore. he cleaned it up, sometimes by hand. he built it up to include harbor place, camden yards, and the aquarium. he introduced things like urban homesteading and adopt a pothole. william donald schaefer was 89 years old. >>> up next here tonight, in the face of disaster a new reason to believe in the power of people making a difference. >>> finally tonight, our "making a difference" report. once again there's been a natural disaster in the u.s., and once again people have stepped up to help without being asked. nbc's kerry sanders reports tonight from the tornado damage zone in north carolina. >> oh, my baby. >> reporter: for some the tornado stole everything. but in the chaos this disast

. >> tonight former governor william schaefer is in the hospital with pneumonia. the 89-year-old was brought in to be treated for symptoms of pneumonia. he retired in 2007 when he lost his reelection bid for comptroller. he has spent time at the charleston retirement community. he will be 90 in november. >>> ships and helicopters are searching the japanese coastline for bodies. more than 16,000 people are still missing after the disaster. officials have confirmed nearly 12,000 deaths. >>> the people of japan are still coming to grips with the uncertainties that the deadly earthquake has created but it didn't stop one group of local high school students from coming here. the students were hosted by the mcdonough school. today they said their final good-byes. abc's tim rutherford was there. >> reporter: ask any personal exchange student and they will say the personal bonds of exchange students run deep. the teenagers from tokyo said good-bye to the entire school before heading home tomorrow. the earthquake struck 10 days before the students' and visit. even in tokyo

. >> we have more on the story of william donald schaefer in just a minute. but first, we want to tell you about this. a stunning act of violence. tonight, new details are emerging about the 14-year-old boy, accused of trying to kill his grandmother with a hammer. wjz stays on the investigation. mike hellgren is live in waverly, where the attack unfolded. mike? >> it's such a sad story, denise. and police say the teen confessed. he is charged as an adult for trying to kill his grandmother, shirley garrett, inside their home in waverly, using a hammer. charging documents paint a gruesome scene. blood was also observed in the hallway between the bedroom and bedroom where the victim was found. the next door neighbor says the sounds woke her up. >> what did you hear? >> it was just like a loud thump, like something fell. >> reporter: the teen told police he was upset about the way the grandmother was treating him and decided to attack her in her sleep. he told police, his grandmother got up and tried to run away and attempted attempt -- fell face first into a mir

. >> mary, we're continuing to follow the healthcare -- health scare concerning william donald schaeferre live. >>> plus, the jockey club losing millions of dollars this year. >>> and growing problems in japan. the new ways the massive earthquake could end up hitting you in the wallet. check in for these stories and more coming up at 6:00. >>> still to come tonight on wjz's eyewitness news. >> the orioles open their season tonight. mark previews the new look birds coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> the orioles season starts with optimism but gets an injury. >> o's getting ready to play tampa bay. and the team just announced that pitcher brian matusz will not be able to make a scheduled start with tomorrow's game. he'll need an mri exam. jeremy guthrie will pitch tonight. o's do open on the road. it's been a long time and a long road since they have had success. to change their luck, they've changed their look. a take-charge manager and a number of new players. >> reporter: buck showalter studies history. he's aware of the orioles' 13 years of futility. not afraid of it, he's here to change

./ william donald schaefer.../ is... in thh began ...feeling sick.../ several days.../ ago. ago. keeth daniels is live at st. is being treated for pneumonia. 3 3 3 3 ,... grandmother.../ in...// waverly.../ is... attacked.../ ///// áátonightáá...// police.../ say.../ her... own .../ 14... year old.../ grandsonn../ confessed...///. áááathleenáá... cairns.../ has... more../// on... this bizarre.../ story... kathleen the 66 year old grandmother was struck in the face.. and s in critical but stable condtion tonight... her own grandson.. is locked up... and charged as an adult in the assault. 14 year old hassanhii garrett faces attempted murder charges... after pooice say he attacked his own grandmother.. ffrst with a hammer.. then with his fists. police say the two had an argument during breakfast thursday morning as garrett was getting ready for school. after the attackkpolice say the teen called 9-1-1- to get help. (neighbor) "i guess they should look into his history of any kind of mental illness ii he has any. that doesnt sound right for a 14 yyar old to attack his grandmooher li

the latest on william donald schaefer's condition. >>> a heartbreaking attack.4-year-old, accused of beating his grandmother with a hammer. >>> breaking news. the verdict in the trial of a driver who ran into a mall, killing a young couple. a live report with the decision. >>> check in for more on these stories and the day's breaking news. >> eyewitness news at 5:00 starts now. >>> health concerns. beloved former governor, william donald schaefer, hospitalized. >> tonight, the illness he's battling, plus how he's doing. >> hi. i'm kai jackson. >> i'm mary bubala. here's what people are talking about. >>> he's one of maryland's lodgest-serving -- longest- serving politicians. wjz is live at st. agnes hospital. kelly mcpherson has details of schaefer's funeral. >> schaefer was brought here to the emergency room in an ambulance last night, after complaining of some discomfort for the past few days, at the retirement community where he lived. we're told that he has been given medication and it is starting to work and he is feeling better today.

. >> we are following the help of william donald schaefer, the former mayor and governor who was hospitalizedoday. plus, in the wake of the devastation in japan, a dramatic rescue at sea involving his dog. he is believed to have been floating on a pile of debris in the pacific for weeks. the pacific for weeks. we'll have these stories h [ computerized voice ] do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? [ beep ] ♪ ♪ [ beep ] [ whirring ] [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] when did customer service go from above and beyond to just under and short? the world seems to be moving in one direction. we decided not to follow. >> rain and snow showers in the mountains and chilly temperatures through saturday into sunday. then just like that, some oriole magic. 50's 4 highs tomorrow. 56 on sunday, 75 at least, that is a conservative estimate. it could be warmer as the warm front goes through. showers on monday and then some afternoon sunshine just-in-time for baseball. >> not bad. >> we love your forecast just the way it is. >> that is a look at our news. nbc nightly news is next. nbc nightly news