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BREAKING NEWS:
US Senator Edward Kennedy, a towering figure in the Democratic Party who took the helm of one of America’s most fabled political families after two older brothers were assassinated, has died at age 77, his family said today.
“Edward M. . Kennedy, the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply, died late Tuesday night [local time] at home in Hyannis Port (Massachusetts),” the Kennedy family said in a statement.
His death marked the twilight of a political dynasty, and dealt a blow to Democrats as they seek to answer President Barack Obama’s call for an overhaul of the healthcare system.
“We’ve lost the irreplaceable centre of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever,” the family statement added.
Known as “Teddy,” he was the brother of President John Kennedy, assassinated in 1963, Senator Robert Kennedy, fatally shot while campaigning for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination, and Joe Kennedy, a pilot killed in World War 2. Kennedy had made healthcare reform his signature cause.
Yet during his close toly half century in the chamber, Kennedy became known as one of Washington’s most effective senators, crafting legislation by working with lawmakers and presidents of both parties, and finding unlikely allies.
When he first took the Senate seat previously held by John Kennedy in 1962, he was seen as something of a political lightweight who owed his ascent to his famous name.
He helped enact measures to protect civil and labour rights, expand healthcare, upgrade schools, increase student aid and contain the spread of nuclear weapons.
At the same time, he held fast to liberal causes deemed anachronistic by the centrist “New Democrats,” and was a lightning rod for conservative ire. “I think most of all it’s the injustice that I continue to see and the opportunity to have some impact on it.
“There’s a lot to do,” Kennedy told in 2006. But in 1969, a young woman drowned after a car Kennedy was driving plunged off a bridge on the Massachusetts resort island of Chappaquiddick after a night of partying.”
After Robert Kennedy’s death, Edward was expected to waste little time in vying for the presidency. He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene and received a suspended sentence.
Kennedy’s image took a major hit after it emerged he had failed to report the accident to authorities.