Posted: 12:18 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009
'Liberal Lion' Ted Kennedy, 77, Dies; Chris Brown Sentenced; Kid 'Cash For Clunkers'
By Veronica Waters
- The third-longest serving Senator in American history has died. Edward "Ted" Kennedy passed away overnight after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was first elected to the Senate in 1962, replacing his brother John. Kennedy is the one who sponsored the bill to establish a holiday in the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Among his legislative achievements: health insurance for kids of the working poor, the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, Meals on Wheels for the elderly and abortion clinic access.
Former President Jimmy Carter says today of Kennedy, "His first commitment was always to the people most in need." President Barack Obama calls Kennedy the greatest senator of our time.
"The Kennedy name is synonymous with the Democratic Party," said the President. "And at times, Ted was the target of partisan campaign attacks. But in the United States Senate, I can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection from members of both sides of the aisle. His seriousness of purpose was perpetually matched by humility, warmth, and good cheer. He could passionately battle others and do so peerlessly on the Senate floor for the causes that he held dear, and yet still maintain warm friendships across party lines...
"His extraordinary life on this earth has come to an end. And the extraordinary good that he did lives on. For his family, he was a guardian. For America, he was the defender of a dream," Obama said.
Vice President Joe Biden fought back tears describing the 36 years he and Kennedy spent together in the Senate. He said Kennedy "restored my sense of idealism and my faith in possibilities of what this country could do.''
Only one of Joe and Rose Kennedy's nine children still lives: Jean Kennedy Smith. Eunice Kennedy Shriver died just two weeks ago. Ted Kenney was 77. - Chris Brown gets formally sentenced in Los Angeles for beating up Rihanna before the Grammys. A stern judge reminded Brown Tuesday that his six months' community service must be labor-oriented, like trash pickup or graffiti cleaning. The judge also told Brown to stay 100 yards away from Rihanna unless they're at the same industry event--and warned him that if he violates his five years' probation, he goes behind bars.
- It's like a kiddie Cash for Clunkers. Call it a kiddie Cash for Clunkers. Toys R Us is handing out 20%-off coupons for select items if customers trade in used strollers, cribs, car seats and other child gear. Some of the items may already be under recall, and therefore shouldn't be used anyway. For each product you bring in, you get a 20% discount on a new product--from makers including Evenflo, Eddie Bauer and Graco. The program could be extended past the scheduled end date of September 20.
- Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick will play in tomorrow's preseason game against Jacksonville. It'll be the first time he's played an NFL game since December 2006.
- Fulton County fires the monitoring company which was supposed to be watching an accused felon out on bond for murder and under house arrest. It took 12 hours before they knew that 17-year-old Antoine Wimes had cut off his ankle monitor--and during that time, police say, Wimes shot a young mom in the face in a brutal robbery and beat her one-year-old son.
- SAT scores in Georgia dropped for the third year in a row. The biggest decline for the state is math; high schoolers here average 1460 out of a perfect 2400--50 points lower than the national average. But the scores of black and Latino students in Georgia are outpacing those of minorities in other states: black students' scores are an average 10 points higher; it's 66 points higher for Latinos. .
- The KISS 104.1 weather forecast: partly sunny, high near 88.
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