this morning on "early today," on a mission. president obama heads to moscow in an effort to repair at erred u.s. relations. golden ticket. thousands of michael jackson fans wait for word on whether they'll get to y good-bye in person. and crowning glory. lady issliberty's crown reopensr the first since since the lady issliberty's crown reopensr the first since since the september 11th attacks. captions paid for by nbc-universal tevision hello and good morning,

everyone. i'm dan kloeffler. today we begin with taming the russian bear. president obama is on his way to moscow on a high stakes trip to thaw the frozen relations with russia and the united states. both sides have signaled they are ready to repair their somewhat stressed relationship. deep divisions could complicate the two days of talks. for more, we go to nbc's savannah guthrie who is live in moscow this morning. savannah, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan. as you say, this is an effort for the u.s. to reset relations with the russian government. but of course with significant areas of disagreement, the obama and the first lady will be there too, will lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns. then it's on to a four-hour meeting with the russian president. they hope to announce framework for a new agreement to reduce nuclear arms. and another deal where russia will let the u.s. use some of its land and air supply as supply routes to afghanistan. that would be a significant

achievement. but there are still differences as you mentioned, over iran and missile defense. a lot of talks to cover, a lot of ground to cover in this three-day visit. dan? >> all right. nbc's savannah guthrie live in moscow. thank you. appreciate it. as thousands of michael jackson fans are waiting to find out whether they won tickets online to the public memorial, authorities are preparing los angeles for the event. investigators continue to look for clues in the pop star's death. nbc's jay gray reports. >> reporter: as crews continue to work at the staples center, los angeles police are preparing for as many as a million people to pour into the city. >> we'll have everything in place we need to to make sure it's a safe environment for everybody. >> reporter: part of that security plan is altering bus routes downtown. and closing streets to create a quarter mile perimeter around the arena. >> anybody who does not have proper credentials, tickets to get into the event will not be

allowed in that zone. those who live here, those thinking about coming out with a shot to get in, that won't happen. >> 1.6 registered. winners in the yn line lottery are being notified by e-mail. there are concerns they could create a frenzy as they show up to pick up the passes wrist bands required for access to tuesday's memorial. another worry is scalpers. already there have been offers on ebay to sell tickets. the opening price, $20,000. even though details about the celebration continue to be shrouded in secrecy. >> there's a lot we still don't know about what's going to happen at the memorial. this is a major challenge to put together thousand of celebrities and thousands of regular people. >> reporter: all coming together on tuesday to honor michael jackson and say one last good-bye. ♪

jay gray, nbc news, los angeles. and now here is a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. in florida, one employee at disney world is dead after two monorail trains collided. officials say the accident happened early sunday morning as visitors were leaving a fireworks display. the cockpit of one of those trains was crushed, killing a 21-year-old operator. authorities are still investigating the cause of that accident. a truck in north carolina exploded while workers there were unloaded fireworks for the town's independence day show. the massive blast tore apart the truck and killed four workers around there. police have determined the cause was accidental. one of the workers survived, though, and is in the hospital in fair condition. there's some tense moments in new york when a barge used in saturday night's fireworks exploded. no one was injured. but the cause of the fire now

still under investigation. and the streets in seattle looked like they were overcome by hordes of the undead. participants came out lurching and bloody, fake blood, of course, to try for the largest zombie walk. still don't know whether the current record of 4,000 zombies was broken. . and now nor a look at the national and regional weather, here's nbc's meteorologist talktodd santos with the weather channel forecast. >> who knew you would be dressed up as a zombie instead of george washingt washington. >> they had elvis in there. >> elvis is a true patriot. but zombies, i don't know. we'll leave it up to your interpretation there. of you may want to dress up in the southeast. this is likely the story in the weekend. a rain coat through some spots.

out to the west, notice a few isolated thunderstorms. nothing that widespread. but certainly looking at still a chance for pretty strong storms, especially through montana today, extending back to the panhandle of texas. some isolated thunderstorms. meanwhile, in the east we're talking about that front and a new one through the flaix and western new york. this has been one of the areas that wasn't really that great throughout the weekend. we're talking thunderstorm, hail and wind the major threat. the front will will settle slowly to the south the next couple days. showers from atlanta back through birmingham. better chances for strong storms coastal carolina, southern georgia. especially this afternoon the fact that we're talking about rain now. so rain early in the morning to help stabilize the atmosphere. there's a look at the showers across the 90. not a threat for boston or new york city. however, tomorrow they will continue to the east and lielien increase in their scope

across much of the area. meanwhile, a look at temperatures this morning. here's a look at your regional forecast. let's check out your local. providence, rhode island, 83 degrees, sunshine today. again, clouds will be increasing across the area, especially into tomorrow. louisville, kentuc, 84 degrees. myrtle beach, good chance for some thunderstorms. so, dan, yeah, a areas coming in with showers today. though more on the way tomorrow. we'll take a close look at that forecast coming up. not a good day if you're going out to beat the zombie record. >> it's going to be a tough one, especially in southern south carolina. >> thank you, todd. appreciate it. g.m. gets the okay. chrysler gets some new blood at the top. and why being a top spy and being on facebook doesn't exactly watch up. your early morning business headlines straight ahead. plus, neck and neck down the stretch. and we're still not sure who to call box office champ.

federer at wimbledon. and the big the is now theig b four. you're watching "early today."

good morning, everyone, and welcome back to "early today." i'm dan kloeffler. here are some of your top headlines this morning. china state immediate wra reports at least 140 people have been killed in ethnic unrest in the western part of the country. hundreds of homes and vehicles were destroyed as police clashed with a muslim minority group upset over the government's handling of a recent deadly fight involving its followers. in honduras, military vehicles prevented a plane carrying the ousted president of the country from landing yesterday. instead, manuel za lay ya headed for el salvador promised to return again. violent clashes continue to flare-up with at least one person killed in the fighting at the airport on sunday. vice president joe biden

said sunday israel has a right to decide what's going on with iran and s nuclear ambitions. mike mullen said any military strike on iran's nuclear facilities would be, quote, very destabilizing. and for the first time since the september 11th attacks, the statue of liberty crown opened for independence day. so far more than 14,000 tickets have been sold for that. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day following the long holiday weekend. dow opens 8,280 after losing 223 points thursday. s&p fell 26. the nasdaq tumbled 49 points many taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei fell 135 points and in hong kong the hang seng tumbled 223 points.

for more on that and all your early business headlines, we turn to geoff cutmore from the london headquarters of cnbc. geoff, good morning to you. >> reporter: business coverage kicks off this morning with g.m., a federal judge late sunday appring a plan by g.m. to sell its best assets to a new government-backed company. that's a crucial step now for the business to restructure and complete its trip through the bankruptcy courts. chrysler group sunday announcing the remaining members of the new board of directors, a group that includes a former ceo of northwest airlines, investment bankers and top officials of the italian automaker fiat. big week for earnings numbers. we kick off the second q quarte earnings season with aluminum maker alcoa. mostly lower to the closes going into this big reporting week.

a debate about the dollar as the world's reserve currency. china going into the g-# and italy saying it is not an issue at the table for them. and companies reaping the best rewards. the stock market rewarding companies such as johnson & johnson and sisco that have been brave enough to make acquisitions. holiday snapshots and family details about the newly appointed mi 6 have been removed from a facebook page after a newspaper told the government about them. apparently the wife put these on the facebook site. very embarrassing. red fce all around. but i guess they're going to get taken off. that's your roundup of the business stories. i'm geoff cutmore on the cnbc in london. >> all right. thank you, geoff. baseball's all-star lineups are out. sunday's top highlights on the diamond. and tiger is back on the prowl. plus, roger federer makes tennis

history at wimbledon. coming up, we'll talk about chances for showers during the morning commute. or tmof hat coming up. you're watching "early today." of

good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barbara harrison. straight ahead on "news 4 today," another brush with the law for d.c. councilman marion barry. the latest on his recent arrest and the stalking charges he's facing. >> plus, thousands of fans will be picking up their tickets today to attend michael jackson memorial service tomorrow. details about the event that will be broadcast around the world. >> good reason to grab another cup of coffee. why it could be good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today."

in sports, after an epic battles against andy roddick, roger federer may have proven why in his sport he should be called the best over. here's nbc's froed roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> reporter: good morning. roger federer for his 15th grand slam title. tied at two sets apiece. fifth set, no easy task for federer. roddick played the best tennis of his career and pushed federer to the brink. but in the end federer came on top. 15th grand slam and sixth wimbledon title. one champion to another, tiger woods hosting and winning his own event. i don't know if that's fair but tiger proved over the years he can do just about anything. the bird on 16 sealed it for wood. and finished the at&t national and will donate all tournament wings to his foundation.

wallace to go to the celtics. over 5.3 million. jeter earned top honors in the american league. mid summer classic next tuesday in st. louis. speaking of jeter and the yanks. they gave a pin striped ford mustang to a fan against the blue jays. the shortstop signed the glove box of the car. jeter ripped a two-run homerin the fifth to give the yanks a lead. they won 9 of their last 10. throwing out the first pitch can be a bit nerve-racking. airmail before the red sox/mariners game. wall burg's second attempt behind but over the plate. as for the game, they scored five in the seventh inning. red sox thanked the mariners, 8-4. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. the contest this holiday weekend at the box office finished nose to nose. your early morning entertainment

headlines are straight ahead. plus, speaking of contests, you are no doubt familiar with coney island's famous july 4th hot dog eating contest. but we have the highlights of a much more mammoth contest. you're watching "early today."

good morning to you once again. hope your morning is going well so far. looking good across much of the northeast.

think of mainly central new york from even syracuse back to just east of buffalo. better chances for some showers, especially into the afternoon. not so much on the east coast, major cities. so your airlines shouldn't be too many delays there. however, back from atlanta, charleston, back through florida, will see a good chance of showers and potent thunderstorms in the afternoon hours. some will make their way toward boston later on tomorrow afternoon. if you're watching channel 3 in chattanooga, learn how farmers use animals to plow fields and how the animals do the work at the wild park ranch exhibit. that's your eastern event of the day. >> they have a great john deere exhibit, too, right? >> sure. the replacement. >> exactly. bad attempt at humor. sorry, todd. now, an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. no such thing a extra innings in the box office. this weekend, though, according to studio estimates, ice age debuted with $45.5 million.

well, since opening wednesday and including the $148 million, the ice age 3 earned overseas the film has taken in over 215 million bucks. now, sunday is pretty family friendly. ice age dawn of the dinosaurs will be declared champ. sales for transformers revenge of the fallen fell way steeper than expected, 61% last weekend. it's not a loser, though. after just two weekends, it has taken in almost 300 million bucks. now, perhaps the biggest weekend surprise at the box office, johnny depp's public enemies debuted with over 26 million, better than expected since it appeals to older audience and not exactly jack sparrow's friends. >> it may be the depp factor. my friend's mom wanted to go just because of that.

i don't think she's that big of a dillinger fan. >> just to see what he can do with a historical portrayal. this from wnbc 4 new york, where in brooklyn's coney island, the fourth of july means it's dog day, hot dogs of course. joey chestnut scarfed down a record 68 dogs in 10 minutes for now his third straight title. however, nearby in a slightly less covered event, one contest pitted man against beast. up against elephants, human competitors downed 143 hot dog buns in six minutes. that effort, nothing. the elephants, the new world enter species eating champions put away 505 buns. i'm dan heakloeffler our time is 4:54.ay

cloudy skies. we'll have to find out about that. we had a nice full moon, just like i said, perfectly clear out there this morning. we'll get confirmation of that from tom kierein. good morning. i'm joe krebs. >> that's because he was sitting here, tom, shaking his he. it is nice out there. i'm barbara harrison. let's go to tom kierein to start things off as we always do with a look at weather andtraffic. >> big old full moon in the west, a clear sky this morning. we still have low humidity in place. that is certainly a gift for july. certainly didn't feel like july yesterday. the high was only 73 at reagan na. orthis i isnist'sh freng a f .l no preonpiti tan o t dar. w no igtwaw sh.onin rfunoea nea 60n i faxai , ityed t ppntheo u meroms tg oninerery,edfriced ou udrilowin, pe nclliam and fauquier. shenandoah valley only in thee mid-50s. in southern maryland around the

bay, temperatures into the mid-60s. out in the mountains, only in the 50s this mog.rnin we've cleared out. d hame --d a few showers pa inurss oto south on sunday. othwae wnare sy ner ith oundon in tndhe cinarin asw.no withw.e oslleone ti t monuove ay f ounshin onapf t today. caorfo fssthi tre monyinom cg t up in about five minutes at 5:01. >> thank you, tom. >> let's go to jerry edwards, take a look at the roads. they clear, too, jerry? >> good morning. yes, they are, doing pretty well so far. actually, joe, i could have said, no, you're wrong. but i wouldn't dare do that to you. let's head out and see how we're doing as monday morning gets under way. it is back to work, back to the real world. sorry. long holiday weekend is over. no worries on 95 so far, looking good. 270 southbound as we begin the commute through germantown, down, all is well as monday morning gets under way. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. here is a look at four big stories happening today. d.c. councilman marion barry will hold a press conference this morning to discuss his

weekend arrest. police arrested barry on saturday after a woman flagged down an officer and complained that barry was stalking her. barry is charged with misdemeanor stalking and released. >> president obama will meet with the russian president in moscow today. his first stop in a week long trip overseas. u.s./russian relations have bn strained in recent years, but both nations have now pleased to ease that tension. >> fans randomly chosen to at tenth michael jackson's memorial service will get to pick up their tickets today. one of the 1.6 million people who registered for those tickets, only 8,700 received a confirmation e-mail. the memorialervice will be held tomorrow at the staples center in los angeles. >> general motors is on the road to recovery. a bankruptcy judge has approved a deal that allow gm to sell most of its assets to a new company. the judge agreed with gm executives that the sale is needed to avoid immediate and irreparable harm to the automaker. the statue of liberty

reached an important milestone this independents day. >> the crown was re-opened for the first time since 9/11. it's offering visitors and americans like a new perspective on the liberties we cherish. nbc's ron allen hathe story. >> reporter: she is perhaps the most powerful symbol of american freedom, an icon not yet fully recovered from the attacks of september 11th until today. >> out of breath. >> reporter: as the first visitors in eight years climbed 354 steps to reach the statue's crown. >> happy fourth of july. >> reporter: the view of new york harbor is essentially the same as lady liberty's as she has welcomed millions of immigrants to american shores. that's why the crown has such deep meaning for chris, with daughter elena. >> when i was a boy, i came up here all the time with my parents. my grandpa used to come with us. this is really great, to be able to get up here again. >> reporter: the moment moved aaron to propose to erica.

>> yea! >> reporter: he said he chose this place because his grandparents arrived in america at nearby ellis island. security concerns had kept the statue closed. hundreds of visitors used to press up and down the double narrow staircases waiting for hours with no way to evacuate. this park ranger explains some of the new plans. . close up here, hmm? >> it is very tight. the statue's crown holds comfortably eight to ten people. >> reporter: that's what you're going to bring up here. >> that's what we're going to bring up here. >> reporter: this rail is really the only thing that's knew up here in terms of physically changing the statue. >> additional handrails have been installed. it basically provides just a sense of security. >> reporter: the new rules mean that of the 15,000 or so visitors who arrive some days, only about 250 will be allowed to the top. ♪ give me your tired your poor ♪ r