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Wednesday, August26, 2009 ton who left his mark on every branch Senator, 77, of government. His early endorsement of Obama succumbs to helped vault a relatively untested ju- Newsline nior senator to the White House. As much as any president, Kennedy n News n Money n Sports n Life brain cancer helped shape the Supreme Court from his seat on the Senate Judiciary By Kathy Kiely Committee, where he served longer USA TODAY than any other senator in history. In the Senate, Kennedy was the Sen. Edward Kennedy, who began driving force behind dozens of land- his public life as the prodigal son of a mark bills that changed the social fab- political dynasty and ended as its re- ric of the nation, expanding the avail- spected patriarch, died late Tuesday ability of health care, education and at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass. He housing and advancing the rights of was 77 and had been battling brain immigrants, women, minorities, gays cancer. and the disabled. “We’ve lost the irreplaceable center Agifted speaker and skilled legisla- of our family and joyous light in our tor, his career was punctuated by a se- By Brett Flashnick, AP lives,” the said in a ries of personal setbacks and humilia- statement. “He loved this country and tions — often of his own making. The He’s $259.9 million richer devoted his life to serving it. He al- most devastating came in 1969, when ways believed that our best days were acar that Kennedy was driving hur- mSolomon Jackson of Columbia, S.C., still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine tled off a bridge in Chappaquiddick, aretiree, wins Powerball drawing, 3A any of them without him.” Mass., killing a young female pas- His political career spanned five senger, Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy $1.6 trillion annual deficit is a record decades and continued even after his fled the scene and did not report his diagnosis with terminal brain cancer. role in the accident until the next day. “Historic” figure may threaten president’s agen- After surgery to reduce the size of the By Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images Kennedy was the youngest of nine da, endanger some congressional campaigns. 4A. tumor in June, 2008, the senator re- “Lion of the Senate”: Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., led a political dynasty children born to Rose andJoseph Ken- turned to Congress, determined to following the assassinations of his brothers John and Robert. nedy, a wealthy businessman who mMoney: Economy shows signs of life help President Obama enact health served as president Franklin Roose- Housing market fosters bidding wars in some care reform legislation. expected appearance before the dream of following his brother, presi- velt’s ambassador to Great Britain. He markets; consumer confidence rebounds. 1B. Kennedy called the goal of expand- Democratic National Convention just dent John F. Kennedy, into the White had three children with his first wife ing access to health care “the cause of three months after his cancer surgery. House, the Democrat Joan. The couple were divorced in mSports: Two NFL rookies holding out my life,” in an emotional and un- Although he never realized his became a towering figure in Washing- 1982. Bengals offensive tackle Andre Smith, 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree want more pay. 1C. mLife: Gerard Butler makes ’em laugh Building slump Versatile actor has fun in wedding scene with On vacation, but not Jennifer Aniston, jokes with his mom and crew. 7B. uPilots volunteer to save doomed pets. 11B. paves way for Now at usatoday.com quite away from it all stimulus extras

USA TODAY’s website keeps you By Brad Heath current 24/7. Check now for: USA TODAY mR&R for WASHINGTON — Federal stimulus money will presidents pay for hundreds of extra roads, bridges and build- For a photo ings this year because almost all of that work has been far less expensive than expected.

om gallery of The stimulus law President Obama signed in Feb-

.c presidents on vacation, see ruary was slated to pour billions of dollars into ay usatoday.com thousands of building projects across the country, perhaps the best-known part of a $787 billion plan od mStatus report on our wallets to create jobs and revive the economy. As that work at To track how the economy is faring, began this summer, the state and federal officials in

see economicoutlook.usatoday.com us charge of paying for it say a dramatic slump in the construction industry brought bargain prices. Now they’re launching hundreds of millions of mEvery morning, dollars’ worth of additional projects to use the extra an electronic copy of money. “That gives us the ability to create more USA TODAY is e-mailed to you. For a free sample, or jobs through even more projects,” says Federal to subscribe, go to usatodayservice.com/eesample. Highway Administrator Victor Mendez. There is no measurement of exactly how much the government has saved. An analysis of 700 pro- USA TODAY Snapshots® jects for USA TODAY by Onvia, a private firm that tracks government contracts, found that those jobs Texting while driving will cost an average of 16% less than expected. The savings will pay for additional work. For example: Percent who said they had texted or e-mailed By Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images while driving during the previous 30 days: uPennsylvania launched an extra 52 road and Busy break: President Obama leaves Mink Meadows Golf Course on Tuesday in Vineyard Haven, bridge projects this summer because its original list Mass. Just before the outing, Obama appeared with Fed chief Ben Bernanke to renominate him. of stimulus projects cost 10% less, says Rich Kirk- patrick, a state Transportation spokesman. Americans do on vacation: hanging out. uThe Transportation Security Administration 79% 21% Obama’s island break Despite his admonition to news reporters to says it anticipates price drops will allow savings of No Yes :) “relax,” however, Obama didn’t wait 48 hours almost a quarterof the $1 billion Congress gave it to aquest for tranquillity before interrupting his vacation Tuesday to an- improve security at the nation’s airports. It will use nounce he is renominating Ben Bernanke as the remainderto install faster luggage-scanning By Richard Wolf Federal Reserve Board chairman. On Monday, systems in 10 more airports nationwide. USA TODAY the White House announced the creation of a uThis year’s road projects in Oregon came in new unit to supervise terrorist interro- $43 million under budget, and the state plans to use CHILMARK, Mass. — The health care gations, and a presidential council most of that money to buy new rail cars for Amtrak Source: AAA Foundation for Traffic debate drags on 24/7. The economy Cover warned that the swine flu virus could in- passenger trains, says state Transportation spokes- Safety survey April 15-May 12 of 2,501 Americans 16 and older sputters its way back from recession. story fect half the country later this year. man Dave Thompson. By Anne R. Carey and Keith Simmons, USA TODAY Wars rage in Afghanistan and Iraq. “I apologize for interrupting the relax- “We were guessing they’d come in a little under, Still, a president’s got to kick back ing that I told all of you to do,” Obama but we were very surprised by how much,” he says. Crossword, Sudoku10B sometime. Golf, anyone? Or boccie? said in his brief appearance with Bernanke, the Prices have fallen because of a huge slowdown in Editorial/Forum 6-7A After one of the most exhausting opening pair dressed casually in open shirts and jackets. construction. That has pushed down the price of Lotteries11C QIJFAF-03005x(N)k Marketplace Today10B acts in White House history, President Obama Ahalf-hour later, the president was golfing. concrete, steel and other materials, and it has Market scoreboard 4B —by all appearances, anyway — is taking a Presidential vacations never happen in a sharply increased competition for the work that re- State-by-state 5A week off from the perils of the presidency here vacuum. George W. Bush’s trip to his Crawford, mains, says Kenneth Simonson, economist for Asso- ©COPYRIGHT 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. on Martha’s Vineyard. Texas, ranch in 2005 was interrupted by Iraq ciated General Contractors of America trade group. Subscriptions, customer service He’s golfing, playing tennis, tackling a hefty No one knows how long the construction fire sale 1-800-USA-0001 www.usatodayservice.com reading list and otherwise doing what most Please see COVER STORY next page u will last. Simonson calls it a “limited-time offer.”

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