this morning on "early today," papal parlay. presidt obama wraps up discussions with world leaders and prepares for an audience with the pope. the new g.m. a federal judge clears the way for the nation's largest automaker to sell its good assets to a new company largely owned by you, the taxpayers. and grim discovery. workers are charged with reselling grave sites at a historic black cemetery near reselling grave sites at a historic black cemetery near chicago. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning, everyone. i'm dan kloeffler. and today we begin with the president and the pope.

this morning president obama wraps up meetings with world powers on climate change and the economy at the g-8 summit in italy. next up on his overseas tour, a stop at the vatican. he will be having a frank but constructive talk with the poement for more we go to savannah guthrie in rome. savannah, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. on the president's final day in italy, he's meeting with african leaders and is expected along with world leaders, to announce up to $15 billion for a food security initiative. the idea, to help the world's farmers produce more food as opposed to traditional aid. the president then comes to rome with a meeting with the pope. he'll have a state meeting with the pope, just the two of them. first lady michelle obama and the two daughters will come and have a private audience. then the president travels to africa where he will give a major speech on democracy in ghana. dan, back to you. the illinois senator tied to

that state's impeached governor is expected to announce he will not run for election in 2010. senator roland burris has been haunted by his connection to rod blagojevich. burris himself has raised eyebrows after changing his story several times about that appointment. and whether he was part of a pay to play scheme to get the seat. meantime, nevada's senator has dropped a bombshell saying his family wrote a check for $96,000 to his mistress. senator john ensign admitted he had an affair with a former campaign aide back in 2008. well, after hanson's husband went on television describing some of that a fashgs ensign revealed his parents paid that woman for the concern of a well-being of long-time family friends during a difficult time. ensign said the money was not paid for with campaign funds and not a violation of ethics or

political contribution laws. the l.a. county coroner's office has issued subpoenas for jackson's medical records, including psychiatric and radiology documentation. jackson was treated by numerous doctors over the years, making the process of gathering evidence a challenge for investigators. as the jackson family waits for autopsy and toxicology ltsures, the coroner said they ha. >> police in louisiana released dash cam video of a routine arrest that turned fatal. the officer is asking this driver about a bag of drugs in the man's hands and he suddenly shoves the bag in his mouth. the man apparently choked on that bag and died during that five-minute struggle. investigators say that deputy did try to prevent that man from choking. investigatorsn indiana are

trying to figure out if someone tampered with the brakes on a train. 22 train cars derailed after rolling for more than four miles. luckily, nobody was hurt in this accident, but the cost of the cleanup is expected to be around $1 million. thousands of visitors to boston harbor turned out for a lofty, look at these pictures. 45 vessels sailed in. visitors can board of these trendous ships. the ships come from different countries, 17 in all, and they will eventually race across the atlantic to northern ire land. and a zoo in washington, d.c. celebrated a giant milestone. marks the fourth birthday for their giant panda on loan from china. it included a three-tier frozen cake made of booets and bamboo. mmm. that birthday bear happy to dive right in. what every kid wants for their

birthday. now for a look at the national and regional weather, here's meteorologist todd santos with the weather channel forecast. >> happy friday. >> happy friday to you. we made it another week. >> we did. i wish we could celebrate with one of those three-tiered booet cakes. >> let me know how that turns out for you. >> i bet you could find it in new york city. including today the sun. many folks will finally be very happy about this. yesterday afternoon, pretty solid setup across the area. boston, even all the way up to portland, maine. do see a few showers and thunderstorms forming outside chicago, minneapolis as well. this is the area of the country that's likely to be a hot spot as far as showers and thunderstorms are concerned. the southeast, a few areas improving, including atlanta, column bee yashgs charlotte, north carolina, where yesterday we had pretty significant rainfall in just a short amount of time. so isolated flooding concerns there. now most of the showers off the coastline. you can see a little bit of a swirl of low pressure there at least in the upper level thanks

to, again, the radar there. you can see a little bit of that. not a tropical syst or anything like that. again, just impulse. along that frontal boundary still stalled across the area. especially for northern florida tmptd an isolated chance for maybe just a popup shower or thunderstorm in the mountains. really, again, not a great opportunity for today. so good news across much of the area. there's a look at the clear skris across the northeast this morning and a look at the region. let's check out your local forecast. albany, 81 degrees. look at that beautiful sunshine. providence, rhode island, coming in with 77. a really nice day out there to finish off the week. charlotte, north carolina, 86. still a few clouds. ft. myers, florida, much better chance for some of those thunderstorms. so, dan, again, finishing off the week, absolutely beautiful. though we do have a chance for showers in the forecast for the weekend. we'll talk more about that coming up. and i ordered your booet came while you were doing the weather. i went online. no bamboo.

booets only. oil drops, stocks finish flat. and aig wants permission for more bonuses. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, bruno has been burning up the press, but will he be too hot the handle at the box office. also, yankees are feeling minnesota. dodgers take a bite out of the big apple. and one of the strangest finishes to a ball game ever. you're watchiy "rlyeadato ."su

good morning and welcome back to "early today," everyone. i'm dan kloeffler. and here are some of your top headlines this morning. in iraq, bombs killed nearly 60 people, marking the worst violence since u.s. troops pulled out of iraqi cities just last week. the worst attack happened in a northern suicide, where two suicide bombers detonated their explosives within minutes of

each other. in iran, thousands of protest else taking to the streets all in an attempt to revive demonstrations by the post-election turmoil. despite tear gas and batons, the crowds marched on shouting, quote, death to the dictator. outside chicago, authorities there say three grave diggers and a cemetery manager dug up hundreds of corpses dumping some and double-stacking others in existing graves. now, it was all apparently an effort to resell the plots. the four have now been charged with felonies. and a spike in underground rumblings on the san andreas fault. the activity remains somewhat of a mystery. but it could be a risk of a major earthquake to come. the obama administration is warning americans be prepared for an aggressive return of the swine flu virus this fall.

vaccinations will begin in october if the scheduled tests prove the vaccine is safe and effective. first in line would be school-aged kids, pregnant women, and people with conditions like asthma that could worsen flu symptoms. for more information on this and other health stories check out the health page at msnbc.com. the s and n nudged up 3. taking a look at overseas trading, in tokyo the nikkei dipped three points. while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 82 points. a lot of paychecks and a lot of dreams are on the line. in just a few hours, general motors rolls out of bankruptcy cut after hitng the reset button on how to make cars. for more on that and all your early business headlines we're joined by geoff cutmore of the london headquarters of cnbc. geoff, good morning. >> reporter: hi. good morning to you.

it's been a whirl wind 40 days in bankruptcy protection for g.m. now they look set to emerge from it with the seal of some key glands like chevrolet and cadillac to a new company that will be majority owned by the u.s. treasury. big sory for today, of course. as far as the markets are concerned, well, we finished a little flat, just edging higher as investors bought beaten down technology and commodity shares. oil dropping amid concerns a prolonged recession may zap energy demand. even though new jobless claims numbers for benefits fell more than expected last week, dipng below the 600,000 level since early january, the number of americans seeking the safety net points to an economy that is still very weak here. of course retailers, limited glands, gap and abercrombie and fitch reporting worse than expected declines in store sales. aig going through the obama government and asking whether it can pay previously agreed to

retention bonuses including $235 million pending for emplees. the compensations should give a ruling on that story. and, hey, who comes bottom of the list for the worst tourists? it's the french, according to a new survey of hotel owners across the world carried out by expedia. the french rated the rudest. hey, they come across as the better dressed. the highest ranking was the japanese. they make the politest tourists. the brit and the germans came in tops for the europeans. so that's a ick look at some of the best people to have stomping around your city. dan, back to you. >> all right. cheap but looks good in toe tur. final slots are thrilled on this year's all-star rosters. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and seeing that it's friday,

we'll be talking about your weekend fo ccangsmito up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barbara harrison. straight ahead on "news 4 today," marion barry won't face stalking chars. but he's not in the clear quite yet. coming up, why a d.c. council member is calling for an investigation. >> then the red line's getting an upgrade. why this face lift could be añi headache for metro riders. >> got plans for the weekend? meteorologist tom kierein has your forecast. join us for and good morning, everyone. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, after beating up on the minnesota twins all season, the new york yankees finally got the win they needed to tie the

division rivals boston red sox for first police. here's mario solis with a look at all your sports headlines. hi there. good morning. as the summer heats up, so do the yankees. a clean sweep of the twins. wishful thinking for this minnesota fan but not even brett favre can stop the red hot yanks. a monster blast. yankees win 6-4. they have won eight straight on the road. mets hosting the dodgers. ramirez with an rbi single giving the dodgers a lead in the first. more manny in the second. hoot hit, another rbi. raphael comes in to score. dodgers up 6-1 after two. they go on to rob the mets, 11-2. astros and nationals playing the final ending of a game that was rained out in may. should have been an inning-ending double play. tejada overthrows first.

stores a winning run. nationals win. here's the crazy part. the winning pitcher is no longer on the team. he was traded to the pirates for none other than morgan, who scored the game-winning run. nationals get one of the craziest wins in baseball history, 11-10 is the final. major league all-star rosters are set. inge and victorino has been voted to next week's mid summer classic in st. louis. and speaking of the phils, check out chase utley. a shot to deep center against the reds. off the wall and bounces into right field. utley and his horse taking full advantage as the ball continues to go around the outfield for a stand-up in the park home run. phillies win the game, 9-6. and that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. >> thank you, mario. a celebrity upset for one

night to feed those in need. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, break out the antacid. a new mexico cafe goes for a spicy title. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." looking for a pretty beautiful day at least across much of the northeast. check out the sunshine boston through new york. back through d.c., a few clouds

extend to the northeast. a few popup storms possible in low country, south carolina. chicago, good chance for thunderstorms. overnight in detroit, potentially a few isolated leftover early in the morning. showers move in toward buffalo, potentially new york city overnight into sunday. if you're watching wtwo in indiana, your kids can create anything from cell phone holders and whatever else they can dream up with duct tape at the express yourself. that is your eastern event of the day, dan. this is coming from somebody who carries a duct taped wallet right now. >> it is in your wallet. >> i still carry one. it's a variation of it >> you don't carry the -- not the duct taped wallet thing? >> it's embarrassing to admit it, dan. >> and yet you did. thank you, todd. now, here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment.

there's buzz and kocontroversy over the film bruno. we finally get to see what got everyone talking. the r-rated comedy certainly raised eyebrows for its publicity alone. it's expected to bring in $30 million for the top spot. also opening is the high school comedy i love you beth cooper. it's targeting young females. reviews haven't been anything amazing. experts think it will be lucky get double digit millions. harry potter fans can't wait until wednesday. harry potter and the half blood prince will cast a spell on theaters. based on j.k. rolling's popular book series. for one night david arquette is giving up the cushy hollywood life. he's trying to raise a quarter million dollars to to feed the homeless by sleeping in a box over new york city's madison square garden. i'm happy to see this. >> i am too. if he was hard-core he would take a bench as opposed to a

plexiglass box. regardless, very good cause. >> it is true. it is better than some of those illusionists who i'll leave the name out who do them for the sake of doing them. this from news channel 9 in el paso, texas where in nearby new mexico one restaurant is hoping to make it into the record books with a green initiative, green chili that is. the heaping 10-inch patty is topped with half a pound of cheese and their signature green chili. the owner still waiting official word from guinness on this $18 mega meal that will feed a family. i'm dan kloeffler. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on you look at this morning out there. look at that sky. it's gorgeous, and it feels

kshlg right now. 65 degrees the temperature here in washington. good morning, everyone. welcome. we're glad you're up with us this morning. i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. let's get started with meteorologist tom kierein and we'll ask him if that was ms. de milo up in the sky there. >> it is, venus or serena, we're not sure. i think it's venus, one of those stars, one of those planets. yeah, veen news the eastern sky. the western sky we've got the asju-pstt mullnooitnher jitup next to that.it no precipitation around washingt . erths one little shower there ju teroas e hhe toft arbuonisrgf 's ftthatri din s trio aouthnd east. n wto angasndt' is oy ne ar pa in prince george's and rts of montgomery andai faxrf counties, a little warmer there. shenandoah valley near 60. n50axshe t oas ete. sre 6 cwsfe0 outn iarhe tou mnsheain. udlond iud an out as the day progresses. i'll show you the forecast for this friday coming up in five

minutes. >> serena would be a great planet name, wouldn't it, if they discover any more out there. and they probably will. >> serena is what we hope the traffic will be today. let's go to jerry edwards and take a look at the roadways. >> we're hoping, we're hoping. good morning. happy friday. no matter what the traffic is, it will be friday all day. there you are. we are in fine shape, 95 northbound at the capital beltway, everything is moving along very, very nicely. let's see what else is happening, if anything at all. headed the or from the eastern shore, bay bridge, not much happening there. quiet at the wilson bridge. looking good on i-270. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. >> thanks very much, jerry. >> here's a look at four big stories happening today. the d.c. council chairman is expected to announce an independent investigation into marion barry. according to "washington post," the review centers on barry's use of tax dollars to pay his then-girlfriend to work for him. police arrested barry last week, accusing him of stalking her, but prosecutors have decided not to bring any charges.

>> the man accused of opening fire inside the holocaust museum could make his first court april peerps today. 88-year-old james von brunn is accused o murdering a museum guard. he was critically injured in a shoot out but is expected to survive. >> today, illinois senator roland burris is expected to announce he will not run for a full term in 2010. he was appointed to the seat by impeached governor rod blagojevich. burris has repeatedly denied any charges he tried to buy his way into congress. >> president obama will wrap up the g-8 summit in italy today. he has a busy day planned. talks with south africa's president, plus an audience with pope benedict xvi. afterwards, he heads to ghana. >> so many women love their high heels. they make them feel, well, confident, i guess, maybe -- >> tall. >> tall for sure. but all that style could come with a painful price. >> now there is a new exercise program that makes it easier to walk in the highest of heels and help prevent injury. eun yang has more on how to keep

catwalk cool. >> ually pumps. >> stilettos. >> reporter: you see them on the runway, the red carpet and walking down the street. high heels and they're higher than ever. but doctors say if you're out of shape, you can end up in pain. >> usually i'm fine until i get home. then sometimes i'll get cramps in my legs and my calves. >> reporter: this podiatrist specializes in helping women who wear high heels. she says most of the injuries she sees are women with chronic pain. >> years of wearing high heels. a lot of it's the low back pain. that's just from, you know, weak abdominals. >> reporter: she developed an exercise program specifically for women who like to don stilettos. it's a combination of yoga and pilates that focuses on score strength, posture and balance which she says are all necessary to stay safe in yr shoes.

>> the balance training strengthens the foot and the ankle. it's done barefoot so you're acting the plantar receptors, which plays a big role in balance and gait. >> reporter: she says women with bad posture are more prone to injury and pain from their shoes, so like sacheting on the catwalk, it's important to keep your back and shoulders straight and your head high. that takes esh from you are off the leg and back. >> posture and how we lk is very unconscious. i'm trying to bring it more conscious. that's a perception of our self-confidence. it also prevents injury. >> reporter: if you can't get to one of her classes, she has three tips for the ladies. if you're walking long distances, don't wear your heels. carry them with you. if you're having one of those long days, remember to take a moment to take off your shoes and stretch your toes, feet and ankles. never wear the same height heels or same pair two days in a row. mixing them up can prevent injury. >> i definitely think it will give youe