Ted Kennedy

U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a leading advocate for universal healthcare, announced late Wednesday that a bipartisan coalition prominent senators has formed to worked toward healthcare reform.

Kennedy, the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), was joined by the Republican ranking member of his committee, Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) as well as Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who recently released a proposal for healthcare reform.

The record for the highest winning percentage in a race for United States Senator in Massachusetts is held by Ted Kennedy, who set it in 1964 when he received 74.3% in his second statewide campaign. The previous record came six years earlier when his brother, John F. Kennedy, was re-elected to a second term with 73.2%. When John Kerry won a fourth term in 2002 with 72.3%, it was the fourth best winning percentage. The lowest winning percentage for a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts came in 1922, when Henry Cabot Lodge won 47.6%.

Winning percentages since 1916:
Ted Kennedy (1964) 74.3%
John F. Kennedy (1958) 73.2%
Ted Kennedy (2000) 72.9%
John Kerry (2002) 72.3%
Ted Kennedy (2006) 69.5%
Ted Kennedy (1976) 69.3%
Ted Kennedy (1988) 65.0%
Leverett Saltonstall (1944) 64.3%
Edward Brooke (1972) 63.5%
Ted Kennedy (1970) 62.1%
Ted Kennedy (1982) 60.8%
Edward Brooke (1966) 60.7%
Ted Kennedy (1994) 58.1%
John Kerry (1990) 56.9%
Henry Cabot Lodge (1946) 59.6%
David Walsh (1934) 59.4%
Leverett Saltonstall (1960) 56.2%
David Walsh (1940) 55.6%
Ted Kennedy (1962) 55.4%
John Kerry (1984) 55.1%
Paul Tsongas (1978) 55.1%
Marcus Coolidge (1930) 54.0%
David Walsh (1928) 53.6%
Leverett Saltonstall (1948) 53.0%
John Kerry (1996) 52.5%
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (1942) 52.4%
David Walsh (1926) 52.0%
Henry Cabot Lodge (1916) 51.7%
John F. Kennedy (1952) 51.4%
Leverett Saltonstall (1954) 50.5%
Frederick Gillett (1924) 50.3%
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (1936) 48.5%

U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy was taken to the hospital around 5 p.m. today from his Cape Cod home, the Associated Press is reporting.

Barnstable police say the senator was alert and responsive.

Kennedy's office said he suffered a "minor seizure."

"Doctors believe the incident was triggered by a change in medication," the statement read. "Senator Kennedy will return home tonight and looks forward to watching the debate."

U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy paid tribute to those who lost family members in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks Wednesday.

In a statement read at the ceremony on Beacon Hill, the Hyannis Port Democrat drew upon his own experiences with family tragedy.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Hyannis Port)"I know how hard it is, how much you yearn to reach out and touch the memories you can see so clearly- the smiles, the warmth, the Sunday dinners, the last movie you watched together, the last summer evening on your porch, or the last time you watched the autumn leaves turn their beautiful colors together," Kennedy said in the statement. "Your loved ones were a part of our community and as friends and family we continue to hold them dear. That is why you gather here now, and I hope very much that honoring them eases some of your pain."

U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy will not return to Washington, D.C., when Congress reconvenes this week, choosing instead to work from Massachusetts, the Associated Press reports.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Hyannis Port)The Hyannis Port Democrat plans to return to the Senate in January.

"As Sen. Kennedy said two weeks ago in Denver," Melissa Wagoner, a spokeswoman for Kennedy, said in a statement, "he intends to be on the floor of the United States Senate next January when we begin to write the next great chapter of American progress."

Kennedy surprised his party with his appearance and speech two weeks ago at the Democratic National Convention. 

Hug it out!

Cable news playing unwitting pranks on you? One of these guys is a winner and a loser (hint: it's not the one who was arraigned in court this week).

Smile, you're on Massachusetts Winners and Losers for July 11, 2008.

CLICK HERE