it is a question a lot of people are asking, did prescription drugs play a role if michael jackson's death? what the lapd is doing now to get some answers about the singer's medical history and you the doctor who treated him. new revelations about the 20-year-old woman who was found shot to death along with former nfl star steve mcnair. what police are saying about the nature of their relationship. and endless questions and rumors about sarah palin's decision to step down as alaska's governor. why the fbi had to issue a rare public statement about the woman once consider canned a rising star in the republican party. welcome to hln news and views on this monday, we hope you had a great holiday weekend. i'm susan hendricks. we start to out in los angeles where more than 8700 people will have to travel here

to the parking lot of l.a.'s dodger stadium in order to pick up tickets to michael jackson's memorial. the parking lot now is divided into about 20 lanes and set up like a drive thru today. the memorial will be held tomorrow at staples center there. we will carry it live right here on hln. we are also getting our first indications as to who will be performing at the ceremony. tmz is now reporting singer mariah carey will perform the jackson five classic "i'll be there." ticket winners will get two wrist bands that will get them inside the memorial. a staples center spokesperson says wrist bands ripped, taped or tampered with wouldn't be allowed in. scalping is a possibility since winners are allowed to give anyone their second bracelet. police aren't expecting any trouble tomorrow. here it is. >> i answer the crowd here will be well behaved. it will be a crowd that gathers for the right reasons and keeps the reason that they are there in mind. but as far as putting a number on it, we have reached out a

number of times every chance we get, actually, asking people to stay home if they don't have tickets, enjoy it from the comfort of their own home with friends rather than coming out standing in the hot sun on a city street, two to three blocks away from the venue. >> more than 1.6 million people registered online for a chance to attend jackson's memorial. you are looking at live pictures there from the stadium where people will have to go again to pick up their tickets, people that did win. the 17,000-plus won the tickets, 11,000 will be at the staples center for the actual memorial much the other 6500 will be in the neighboring nokia theater watching the televised service. again, we will cover that live right here on hln. meanwhile, l.a. police say michael jackson's family is working with the forest lawn cemetery in los angeles on plans for a private service tomorrow there are five forest lawn ceremonies in the los angeles area and it is not clear exactly where jackson will be buried. media crews are gathered outside the cemetery in hollywood hills.

sammy davis jr. and humphrey bogart are there as well. hln will have special live coverage of michael jackson's memorial service that is tomorrow. our very own robin meade will be joined by "showbiz tonight's" aj hammer and issues jane velez mitchell. our coverage starts tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. eastern. don't miss that. police are trying to piece together what prescriptions jackson had and which doctors gave to him. sources tell the l.a. times at least threer is much warrants have been executed to try to figure out if the medications were involved in jackson's death. last monday, you may remember, police took two bags of medical evidence out of michael jackson's rented home. the day he died, they removed prescrip cans drugs and they also loirpd found bodles of the anesthetic diprivan without prescription labels. the "times" says five doctors who prescribed jackson drugs are now under investigation. it is expected to take weeks to get results from jackson's toxicology tests. a court hearing happening right now over who will handle

michael jackson's estate. attorneys for jackson's mother, katherine, and the co-executor named in the will are at an l.a. court right now. now, the associated press is reporting the family wanted the hearing postponed and the ap cites an unnamed source close to the family saying the family wants to look deep near michael jackson's affairs and see if another will is out there or not. the hearing is expected to designation attorney john franca, a music executive, john mcclean, as temporary state administrators. also, a hearing about guardianship of the children has been postponed until next week. we will keep you posted on that. another big story we are following today. police ruled former tennessee titans' quarterback steve mcnair's death a homicide. mcnair, who was marry and the father of four, was found shot to death on saturday along with a woman police say was his 20-year-old girlfriend. kaz zbleem mitch the gun was found under her body.

mcnair had been shot twice in the chest and twice in the head. kazemi had had a single gunshot wound to the head. many are in shock, of course, including mcnair's brother. >> very upsetting, of course, a person of steve's caliber get cut like that. just bad. i can't really believe that, you know, that that happened like that without him just putting up a fight or something like that. just hard to believe. >> the 36-year-old mcnair met kazemi at a local restaurant and the two vacationed together. they are seen right here in photos obtained by tmz parasailing together, vacation photos a memorial service for mcnair will be held thursday in nashville much the funeral will be saturday in mississippi. to miami now, where gunmen stormed a house party, leaving 12 people wounded. police say several gunmen

wearing all black opened fire with automatic weapons just before 1 a.m. last night in a neighborhood there in miami. three of the victims are in critical condition and one person running from the home was struck by a car. no word yet on a motive and no arrests have been made. a frantic search is on in south carolina for a man investigators say killed five people in one week. even though the small town of gaffney is gripped by fear, hundreds turned out yesterday for the memorial for the two victims. >> reporter: they arrived sunday afternoon for 50-year-old gina parker and her mother, hazel linder, age 83. police officers along the streets in front of the church. they watched as parker's co-workers arrived in a school bus, along with others who came to pay their respects to the two women with. >> they are neighbors and done so much for this community.

>> they are friends and everything. what can you say? our hearts go out for the family. >> she was so strong. she just lit up a room and at football games, she always had a cowbell. you never had to know where she was sitting. she was ringing this cowbell all the time. she was the greatest supporter. she love herd family. >> reporter: while there were words of warning for the killer. >> if he comes to me face-to-face, i'm ready, i'm loaded, i'm aiming for him. he better not come near my front door. >> it is a dogfight. i'm going to win. >> reporter: gina and hazel were found bound and shot to death on wednesday in the mother's rural home. county officials say this is their best guess at the identity of the killer, described as

unpredictable by the sheriff, the suspect is identified only as a white male, 6'2" with salt and pepper hair. they believe he is driving an early '90s two-door ford explorer. police are also linking him to the death of 15-year-old abby tyler, who died on saturday, and her father, steven, who was found dead on thursday at their family business. richard lui, cnn, gaffney, south carolina. president obama is in moscow for talks with his russian counterpart, dmitry medvedev it is the first u.s./russian summit in seven years, live pictures there. both leaders say they hope it will improve strained relations between the countries. the talks are focusing on reducing nuclear stockpiles. the two leaders signed a joint understanding that is seen as the first step toward reaching that goal. ÷ it is designed to replace the 20-year-old start one agreement, which expired in december. >> increase nuclear security and to stop the spread of nuclear

weapons. this starts with the reduction of our own nuclear arsenals, as the world's two leading nuclear powers, the united states and russia must lead by example. and that's what we are doing here today. we have signed a joint understanding for a follow-on treaty to the start agreement that will reduce our nuclear warheads and delivery systems by up to a third from our current treaty limitations. this legally binding treaty will be completed this year. >> tomorrow, the president will deliver the keynote address to graduates of moscow's new economic school. his week-long overseas trips also include trips to italy and ghana. it has been three days since governor sarah palin dropped that political bombshell and people are still shocked, still stunned. now, a facebook message to her supporters may indicate why she is quitting her job.

odd, even bizarre,that is how some analysts are describing alaska governor sarah palin's decision to quit her job 18 months early. over the weekend, a message on her facebook page told supporters she was leaving office for a "higher calling" and ordered them to disregard the pundits. that didn't offset the criticism or the speculation. >> i have been talking to to political consultants all weekend long. they describe this as a very odd move move, highly unusual. why would you leave with 18 month remaining in your term when really one of the criticisms about you is the fact you didn't have enough experience? so, you know, the power elite in washington, the republican power elite are dumfounded by this move. >> as you can imagine, palin's decision to quit created a wave of internet rumors that the fbi was investigating her for corruption, so yesterday, the fbi made a rare public statement saying they are not investigating her. so, we wanted to hear from you on this. what is your view? what do you think of alaska

governor sarah palin's decision to step down? is she quitting or just moving on? finally, tomorrow, a senate seat will be filled by al franken today. workers installed the new office this morning. he will meet with harry reed this afternoon. you see there he is all smiles. franken and republican norm coleman fought a nasty court battle over election results. with franken in the senate, democrats will have a filibuster-proof majority. will congress get back to work today to figure out how to pay for president obama's health care plan? the president wants to overhaul the some cover 50 million people who don't have insurance. there are currently three different versions of the plan

which include ideas like providing vouchers for private coverage and setting up nonprofit co-s on. the president says he wants to sign the bill by october. an amazing story here now, four fishermen survived more than 24 hours in the water after their boat capsized on lake erie.

welcome back to hln on this monday. well, a congressman from new york says all the media coverage of the death of michael jackson is just glorifying a "pervert." the singer was tried for but acquitted of child molestation as you know but king says jackson's talents shouldn't overshadow those allegations. >> in the bible, anyone who does -- who causes evil or endangers children, to me, that supersedes anything else. and do we, as a culture, really want to be defined by michael jackson's singing and dancing or that he became a worldwide spectacle for abuse of children. >> if mother theresa could have moonwalked, she would have been better off. >> king in a run for the senate says society should glorify people like teachers, firefighters and veterans, not michael jackson. trials are under way for four people accused of organizing a fight club among mentally disabled patients.

the suspects are former employees at a special needs state facility in texas. you might remember this alarming cell phone video here of the fight. today jury selection begins for three suspects and a separate trial starts for one suspect facing lesser charges. disney world is investigating its first monorail crash in the four decade it is has been running. a 21-year-old driver died sunday morning when his train plowed into a parked one at disney world in florida. you are seeing the damage here. another employee and a family of six were also on board. they are okay. they were not hurt. witnesses tried to help but couldn't get in. >> we immediately tried to gain access into where the driver would be. gain access into the rear part of the red one and that's the one that was parked and there was nobody inside there. but like i said, the blue one is so mangled up, we couldn't get access to see that. we were trying to tear apart the doors and there was no way we could get in there and once fire rescue and the police showed up,

the asked us to step back. >> disney has shut down the monorail system for the investigation. the driver was a college senior. his family said he loved his job. former washington, d.c. mayor barry was arrested again, this time on stalking charges. u.s. park police say a woman flagged down an officer and said he was stalking her on saturday. his rep says these allegations are baseless. she says barry has helped the woman financially several times. you might remember here back in 1990, the fbi videotaped barry smoking crack cocaine. he served is six months in prison. he's now on the city council. the deposed president of honduras says he will try again to return to his country, even though he could be arrest fed sets foot there. jose manuel zelaya tried to return yesterday but his plane couldn't land because military vehicles blocked an airport runway. at least one protestor was killed wenzel lie ya supporters crashed with troops. zelaya is expected in washington

later today. become to the story now, a 76-year-old man was one of four fishermen who survived more than 24 hours on their capsized boat in lake erie. they say a large wave overturned them on thursday. their families reported them missing and spent a long night in the water before they were rescued. >> we didn't panic. we -- each one of us were doing some serious soul searching. >> the thing that was a little disturbing is all the boats that went by us were waving and trying to get help and nobody come over to see what was going on. >> they were eventually spotted them about 15 miles from shore. they were all treated for hypothermia. a judge approved the way for gm to get out of bankruptcy. there is an expensive contract.

a lawsuit is appealing gm. it would bar consumers from making liability claims against the new gm for incidents that occurred before the old gm went into bankruptcy. appeals from bondholders and unions are also expected. there is a new on-line auction site promising some great deals on brand name merchandise. hln money expert clark howard tells you how to get in on the action. >> okay, i have a new kind of auction deal i want you to be aware of. everybody knows about ebay, you buy stuff that's new, you buy stuff that's used, you buy stuff that's knock-off. what if you could buy brand name stuff, brand new, that's cheaper even with comparison shopping? that's the promise of a new auction site set up by sam's club. you have to be a sam's club member to do it. that's the idea, to get and retain members for sam's club.

on the auction site, you can buy jewelry, electronics. the hottest item right now is both televisions and computers. and the prices that these auctions are at, if they close out at near these prices, extraordinarily cheap. i'm looking at a sheet from realtime bidding just from earlier today and great, great, great bargains. if you are a sam's club member, check it out at auctions.samsclub.com. you can check me out at cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> clark has great consumer advice and you can hear it every is saturday and sunday at noon eastern right here on hln. he can help you save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. we haven't heard much from debbie rowe in the last few years but reporters got an earful from jackson's wife. hear what she had to say.

more than 8700 people will have to head right here to the parking lot of l.a.'s dodger stadium, live pictures at the parking lot, in order to pick up tickets to michael jackson's memorial. the parking lot is divided into 20 lanes and set up now like a drive thru. the memorial will be held tomorrow at the staples center, we will be carrying it live right here on hln. we are also getting our first indications who will be performing at that ceremony. tmz is reporting that singer mariah carey will perform the classic, i will be there. ticket whip letters get two wrist bands, being happened out right there. a staples center spokesperson

says wrist bands ripped, taped or tampered with will be voided, not allowed in. but admits scalping is a possibility since whippers are allowed to give anyone their second bracelet. today, one of the few fans who won a ticket explains why the event is such a big deal to her. >> been such a big part of my life. i mean, growing up, he has always been around and always been a part of my life and he just represents joy and happiness, no matter what club you are in, what party you are in, someone played michael jackson, everyone is really happy, dancing, connect with people. and remember just as a kid his music videos being such a big event. my whole family get together, like when "remember the time" came out or "black and white video" network premiere, end, everything would stop to watch michael jackson's videos. so it is always such a big deal and just always makes me so happy. >> so many fans feel the same way. now, police are ready for but not expecting any trouble. 1.6 million people registered

online for a chance to attend the memorial. 11,000 will be at the staples center for the memorial and the other 6500 will not be neighboring nokia center watching the service. we will have coverage of the jackson memorial service tomorrow. our own robin meade will be joined by "showbiz tonight's" a j hammer and jane velez mitchell. our coverage starts at 2:30 eastern time. meanwhile, police are trying to piece together what prescriptions jackson had and which one doctors gave to him. sources tell the "l.a. times" three search warrants have been executed and five doctors under investigation now. kara fin strom has the latest from the jackson family compound in encino, california. what is the latest, kara? i see balloons and flowers stacking up behind you. >> reporter: yeah, fans coming here and paying their tributes here, as well as those obviously getting ahold of the tickets and

hope to pay tribute to him during the memorial service on tuesday. but we are getting a little bit of information we want to share with you. there was a court hearing held this morning in which a judge decided to actually hand of other the execution of the will to two people that were named in the 2002 will of michael jackson and those are long-time personal attorney john branca and also music industry executive john mclem mcclean. now, these two have been pushing to get media control of jackson's assets. immediately after his death, they were turned over temporarily to his mother, katherine. these two said it was crucial for them to get ahold of his assets now, especially considering michael jackson's large debt and huge number of assets, so the news we are just getting out of the courtroom is the judge has granted them control over jackson's asset he is and control until another hearing can be held on august 3rd. >> kara, as you know there has have been a lot of rumors surrounding this case, of

course. is there any -- is there any talk about another will or just a rumor here? will this will, the one they do have the one we have heard about, will that stand? >> there has been a lot of speculation about, you know, possibly a second will. and that often happens. this will was written back in 2002, so it is conceivable there could have been something he had written, put together more recently. i don't have all the details out of the courtroom yet, do have a crew inside the courtroom and just passed along the judge did grant the executors of his will that was put together in 2002 control, but at this point, no word of any possible second will, nothing official. >> what about the investigation, as i mentioned, a lot of doctors now being questioned because of the enormous amount of prescription drugs that we're hearing that michael jackson was taking? any word on the investigation? >> well, the "los angeles times" reporting overnight that three additionaler is much warrants

were issued, at least three they said. the purpose of thor is much warrants, they say, was to collect information about prescription drug use. a number of personal friends, people who knew michael jackson as well as law enforcement officials had raised a question about whether prescription drugs may have led to his death. and this is -- just seems to be one more step in that investigation. >> all right, kara fin strom, live in encino, california, for us. thanks so much. appreciate that report. >> thank you. now also talking today about michael jackson's ex-wife, debbie rowe. she explode ted media after being ambushed as she was leaving a restaurant yesterday. here it s >> are you going to fight for your kids, debbie? >> are you ready to fight for your children? >> do not touch me. >> nobody touched you here. >> you just did. don't. >> are you ready to fight for your children? >> are you ready to get your butt kicked? don't [ bleep ] touch me. >> debbie, are you willing to take a cash settlement for the kids? >> how important are the kids to you, debbie? >> are you ready to fight for your kids, debbie?

do you think she is ready to fight? >> asking people around them. she is not too happy with the media. rojasant said for sure whether she will seek custody of her two children. katherine jackson, the singer's 79-year-old mother has temporary guardianship of all three. the police are searching for a serial killer that terrorized a small south carolina town, another big story we have been following for you. police are offering as 20,000 reward to catch the suspect in this sketch. police say he has killed five people so far, killed them all in a week. it is in the town of gaffney, what they are talking about, very scared a peach farmer was the first victim. then last wednesday, an elderly mother and her daughter were shot and killed and a day later, a a man and his 15-year-old daughter were shot as well. yesterday, the town buried two of the town victims. the county sheriff told our cnn

sister network that the cases are linked. >> right now, we don't -- we don't have a current motive or a connection between any of the murders. with a community this small, it is very possible. i knew all the victims and it is possible that all the victims knew each other, but we don't have any information that links right now -- that links -- >> so you are just saying because of the sheer number of murders in a small ten-mile radius, in the small span of time, that you believe that these might be linked? i understand you just had six homicides in all of 2008. so, it is just because of the sheer number that you believe these all might be linked? >> well, they are linked. they are linked through the investigation and through evidence. that's how we've linked them. >> the sheriff is confident. he says every day his task force is getting closer to catching the killer. we are also following this. police have ruled former tennessee titans quarterback

steve mcnair's death a homicide. mcnair, who was married and the father of four, was found shot to death on saturday, along with a woman police say was his 20-year-old girlfriend. mcnair was shot four times while the girl had a single gunshot wound to the head a ruling has not been made on her death at this time, though the gun allegedly used was found under her body. mcnair's violent death stunned many, of course, including his brother. >> i couldn't believe it. right now, i'm still in disbelief a little bit. just the idea that he was gone, just -- in a state of shock. we think that the whole community and everybody is in disbelief right now. >> 36-year-old mcnair met kazemi at a local restaurant, the two vacationed together. these are shots, photos obtained by tmz, parasailing together.

a memorial service for mcnair was held thursday in nashville much the funeral will be held saturday in mississippi. to miami now, where gunmen stormed a house party, leaving 12 people wounded. is several gunmen wearing all black oeb opened firing, carrying automatic weapons. three of the victim in critical condition, one person running from the home was also struck by a car. there is no words yet on a motive. no arrests have been made. three days since governor sarah palin dropped a political bombshell and people are still in shock. now, a facebook message to her supporters may indicate exactly why she is quitting.

president obama is in moscow for talks with his russian counterpart, dmitry medvedev, the first u.s./russian summit in years and both say they hope it will improve strained relations between the country. the talk are on reducing nuclear stockpiles. they signed a joint understanding seen as a first step toward reaching that goal t is designed to replace the 20-year-old start one agreement which expires in december. >> increase nuclear security and stop the spread of nuclear weapons. this starts with the reduction of our own nuclear arsenals, as the world's two leading nuclear powers, the united states and russia must lead by example and that is what we are doing here today. we have signed a joint understanding for a follow-on treaty to the start agreement that will reduce our nuclear warheads and delivery systems by up to a third from our current treaty limitations. this legally binding treaty will

be completed this year. >> tomorrow, the president will deliver the keynote address to graduates of moscow's new economic school. his week-long overseas trips also includes stops in italy and ghana. odd, risky, even bizarre that is how some analysts are describing alaska governor sarah palin's decision to quit her job 18 months earlier. over the weekend, a message on her facebook page told supporters she was leaving an office for "a higher calling." >> i have been talking to consultants all weekend long, a very odd move, highly unusual. why you leave with 18 months in your term when one of the criticisms about you is you didn't have enough experience? the power elite in washington, the republican power elite are dumfounded by this move. >> pavin's decision to quit created a wave of internet

rumors that the fbi was investigating her for corruption so yesterday, the fbi made a rare public statement saying they are not investigating her. we want to know what do you think about this? what's your view? do you think alaska governor sarah palin's decision to step down was a good one? e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. you can call us, love to hear your voice. 877-tell-hln and you can text us, text the word views, plus your comment to hlntv. standard text rates aplichl we will air some of your responses today. senate seat will be filled today after a long time waiting. workers installed the new plate outside the office this morning. al franken and norm coleman fought a nasty court battle over election results. with franken in the senate, democrats will have a

filibuster-proof majority. congress gets back to work today to figure out how to pay for president obama's health care plan. the president wants to overhaul the system to cover nearly 50 million people who don't have insurance. there are currently three different versions of the plan which include ideas like providing private coverage and setting up nonprofit co-ops, they are called. the president wants to sign a bill by october. he admits that michael jackson may have been a good singer, talking about congressman peter king. he says that is not good enough. a good enough reason to spend so much time and energy on a man he calls a low life. hear his take on a legacy of the king of pop.

welcome back to hlna congressman from new york says the coverage of the death of michael jackson is glorifying a "pervert." he was tried in another case and acquitted. jackson's talent shouldn't overshadow those allegations. >> in the bible, anyone who does -- causes evil or endangers

children to me that supersedes anything else and do we, as a culture, really want to be defined by michael jackson's singing and dancing or the fact he became a worldwide spectacle for abuse of children? >> if mother theresa could have moonwalked, she would have been a lot better off. >> king, who may run for the senate, says society should glorify people like teachers, firefighters and veterans, not michael jackson. texas now, trials under way for four people accused of organizing a fight club among mentally disabled people. the suspects are former employees at a special needs state facility in texas. you might remember the shocking cell phone videos of the fights. today, jury selection begins for three of the suspects and a separate trial starts for one suspect facing lesser charges in this. a man got shot directly in the face, here it happened yesterday, robert norman. he was at an indianapolis bank when the gunman walked n he

tried to run but found himself face-to-face with the robber. there he is there. he tried to grab the gun and the robber shot him. >> god protected me. you know what i could have died. all he did was break some bones and my jaw and the bullet has to stay in my neck. they don't want to take the risk of damaging anything, so i've got a souvenir, the doctor said, of this experience. >> he has a positive attitude about t his eye looked pretty bad there, but says it is actually okay, he can still see out of it. the even after being shot, norman tried to get the license plate of the getaway car. police tracked down the suspect after he crashed his car. he is now in custody. the deposed president of honduras says he will try again to return to his country even though he could be arrest fed sets foot there. jose manuel zelaya tried to return yesterday but his plane couldn't land because military vehicles blocked an airport run watch one protestor was killed

when zelaya supporters clashed with troops. zelaya is expected in washington today. a deadly day spilled into a second day in a chinese province. look at this destruction here. pretty bad. authorities say 140 people have been killed and more than 800 hurt. demonstrators are demanding police investigate a deadly fight between ethnic workers at a factory last month. a 76-year-old man was one of four fishermen who survived more than 24 hours on top of a capsiz capsized boat in lake erie. they spent a long night in the water before being rescued. >> we didn't panic. each one of us were doing some serious soul searching. >> the thing that was a little disturbing is all the boats that

went by us, we were waving and trying to get help but no one came over to see what was going on. >> rescuers eventually spotted them 15 miles from shore. they are all treated for hypothermia but doing well. a judge cleared the way for general motors to take the fast track out of bankruptcy protection. he has approved a plan for the automakers created new company. a law firm representing people of the new gm are suing because of liability claims against gm for incidents that occurred before the old gm went into bankruptcy. appeals from bond holders and unions are also expected. we're certainly all feeling the pinch with the shaky economy. but clark howard is here to help out. logon to cnn.com/clark and submit your i-reports. you could be selected to be profiled on our network. get valuable advice from clark howard.

michael jackson is being remembered in a hip-hop song. we will turn up the musical tribute and show you who is behind it. you're watching hln. not long ago, this man had limited mobility.

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sfloo how. how a small town is fighting a killing spree into michael jackson fans are flocking a dod dodgers stadium to get their tickets for the memorial. why it's next to impossible to stop scalpers. and alaska governor sarah palin is calling it quits. do you think that's a smart move or a little odd? your views on her resignation. a police search is on for

what police are calling a serial killer. he has salt and pepper hair, middle age, around 6 feet tall. police say he's killed five people in a week. it's all people in the tough of gaffney are talking about. last week an elderly mother and her daughter were shot dead. yesterday the town buried two of the victims. worried residents are taking every precaution. >> >> we're asking people to be cautious until we catch this murder. >> law enforcement analyst mike brooks is on the phone right now. what's the latest?

you spoke to south carolina officials. do they think is an out of towner or somebody that lives nearby? >> the sketch they have came from two separate witnesses. five shootings over nine days and within a ten mile radius. officials were saying, if someone recognizes this sketch or the car, the vehicle description, they would probably know this guy because it's such a small community. there's a possibility that he could be performing these murders and then leaving and coming back and they are able to ling them through ballistics. so they have ballistic evidence linking all of the different crime scenes. >> anything stolen from the victims? >> there is a possibility that

one of the victims victims may have been robbed but they are also trying to figure out whether or not another double homicide at a home, if anything was stolen from there. they don't have a motive yet there either. >> if this was a thrill killer, wouldn't the police have a law enforcement contact? >> possibly. but there are certain types of evidence that if they had it, they would be able to link something like that. right now they don't have that evidence as of yet. >> is the first death in the spree killing the most important for investigators? do you investigate chronologically or in reverse. >> you can take them as they come. a crime analysis will see if they can have it and right now the only way they are able to link all five homicides is by ballistics. because of who had been shot. >> a rifle or handgun?

we don't know? >> right now it looks like a handgun but they can't be for sure. >> i hope they get him soon. a little town up by greenville, spartanburg, charlotte, population, maybe 15, 18,000. as mike was saying, as someone known in the community, you would think that they would recognize that sketch by now. we'll have the latest. mike, appreciate it. another big story, police have ruled steve mcnair's death a homicide. that surprises no one. mcnair was shot several times. he was married, the father of four, shot saturday along with a woman who was his 20-year-old girlfriend, sahel kazemi. a ruling has not been made on her death at this time although the gun allegedly used was found under her body. mcnair's violent death stunned many, including his brother.

>> everybody is in disbelief right now. >> the two had vacationed together and seen here in photos obtained by tmz, parasailing. a memorial service will be held on thursday and the funeral will be held on saturday in mississippi. more than 8700 people will have to travel here to the parking lot of dodgers stadium of los angeles in order to pick up tickets from michael jackson's memorial. it's divided into 20 lanes. it's sort of like a drive through. the memorial will be held at the staples center. we'll carry it live here at hln. we're getting indications as to who will be performing. tmz is reporting that mariah carey will be singing "i'll be

there." two wrist bands will get them in. wrist bands, if they have been wrecked or tampered with in any way, they will be voided. though scalping is a possibility, since winners are allowed to give anyone their second ticket. police are not expecting any trouble. >> it keeps the reason in there in mind but as far as putting a number on it, we have reached out any chance we get asking people to get tickets to enjoy in the comfort of their home with friends rather than coming outside and standing in the hot city street two or three blocks away from the venue. >> people registered online to attend the jackson memorial. of the 17,000 people who wanted tickets, the other nearby, 6500 in the neighboring nokia theater will watch a televised theater

from there. new details on how jackson's family may honor him privately. they are working for the forest lawn cemetery in los angeles on plan force a private service on tuesday. many of the crews have been gathering outside of the one in hollywood hills. it's unclear where jackson will be buried. live coverage of the jackson memorial service. the service will shown live here on hln at 12:30 p.m. eastern time. given immediate control of the assets of the entertainer until august 3rd. an unnamed source is saying that

the jacksons wanted to look deeper into a singer's affair and to see if another will is out there. a hearing about guardianship of the children has been postponed until next week. four more people were killed in afghanistan. the taliban have claimed responsibility. the attacks come as thousands of u.s. marines wage in the south. deadly ethnic violence spills into a second day in a chinese province. look at the destruction. 140 people have been killed and more than 800 hurt. demonstrators are demanding that police investigate a deadly fight at ethnic workers at a factory. last night's protest caused the deadliest unrest in the province in decades. it's been three days since governor sarah palin dropped a political bombshell and people are still stunned. now a face book message to her

supporters may indicate why she's quitting her job.

i've been talking to political consult stants all week long and they describe this as a very odd move and highly unusual. why would you leave with 18 months left in your term? so the power -- the republican power lead are dumb founded by this move. >> palin's decision to move created rumors that the fbi is investigating her for

corruption. the fbi flatly denied that. we'd love to hear more of your views on this. what do you think is the reason behind the governor's decision to step down with 18 months left to go in her first term? e-mail us at cnn.com/hln. or text your name and views to hlntv. we'll air your responses all day. a seat in the senate has been empty for six months. actually, it's been longer than that but tomorrow will be filled by senator al franken. he will meet with harry reid this afternoon. workers installed his nameplate outside of his new senate office this afternoon. norm coleman and franken fought a fight to win the seat. there was a filibuster majority. president obama is in moscow meeting with president medvedev.

the talks are focusing on nuclear arms reduction treaty. the current treaty expires in december. >> to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. this starts with the reduction of our own nuclear arsenals with the two world leading nuclear powers, the united states and russia, must lead by example. and that's what we are doing here today. we must sign a joint understanding to the s.t.a.r.t. agreement to reduce the nuclear warheads up to a third from our current treaty limitations. this legally binding treaty will be completed this year. >> and moscow's new economic school and the stops between

italy and ghana. former defense secretary robert mcnamara has died. he was 93. he was under presidents kennedy and washington. he saw the military buildup in vietnam and later said both administration were terribly wrong to pursue military action in vietnam beyond 1963. general motors may be a step closer to getting out of bankruptcy. people who say they've been hurt in gm vehicles.

a new york congressman says that all of the media coverage is glorifying a pervert. a decade later jackson was tried in a case aacquitted. peter king says so much time should not be devoted to a man he call as low life. >> let's talk about people that make a difference in this count try, the men and women in the armed forces, firefighters, people who work with dying cancer patients. teachers. they are the ones we should be glorifying, not some pervert like michael jackson. >> he says jackson's talent

shouldn't overshadow the allegations against him. tickets sold on ebay may not be valid. they will make sure it's the same people who applied for the tickets online. also, winner also get a wrist band snapped on their arm to prevent them from selling tickets. special coverage tomorrow at the statements center. our own robin meade and jane velez-mitchell. that begins tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. eastern right here. trials under way for four people accused of organizing a fight club among mentally disabled people. the suspects are former employees at a special needs state facility in texas. you may remember the cell phone video of the fights. jury selection got under way for three suspects. a separate trial started for one suspect facing lesser charges. we're getting reactions out of what disney calls the deadly

monorail crash. a 21-year-old monorail driver died monday morning when his train plowed into a parked one. you can see the damage right there. another employee and a family of six were also on board. they are okay. witnesses tried to help but they couldn't get inside. >> we tried to gain access into where the driver would be. we got access into the rear part of the red one and like i said, the blue one was so mangled up that we couldn't get access to that. we were trying to tear apart the doors and nobody could get in there. the fire rescue and police showed up and they made us step back. >> disney shut down the monorail system for the investigation. the driver was a college senior. his family said he loved his job. overcrowding may have led to a collapse of a parking garage in indiana.

half the people were hurt. none of the injuries were life threatening. there were twice as many people as there should have been on that pedestrian bridge. there were police officers at either end trying to control the crowds but pedestrians rushed them. the former mayor of washington, marion barry, was arrested again this time on stocking charges. a woman flagged down an officer and told him that barry was stocking him on saturday. the allegations are baseless, says barry. the 1990 and he's now on the washington, d.c., city council. >> a judge has cleared the way for general motors to clear the fast track out of bankruptcy protection. he's approved a plan for the automaker to shred crushing debt and contracts. a law firm representing people who sued gm is appealing. provisions in that sale would bar consumers from making liability claims against the new

gm appeals from bond holders and unions are also expected. >> what if you could bip brand new things even with good comparison shopping? that's the promise of a new auction site set up by sam's club? you have to be a sam's club member to do it. that's the idea. to get and retain members for sam's club. but on the auction site you can buy jewelry, electronics, the hottest item right now is both television and computers.

and the prices of these auctions are at, if they close out near these prices, extraordinarily cheap. i'm looking at a realtime bidding from earlier today and great, great bargains. if you are a sam's club member, check it out. >> don't miss greats consumer advice every saturday and sunday at 4:00 eastern right here on hln news and views. clark will help you avoid spending more. reporters got an earful from michael jackson's ex when she lashed out at them yesterday.

[ music ] >> welcome to comcast local edition, i'm donna richardson, and my guest this hour is christine bergmark who is the executive director of the southern maryland agricultural development commission. welcome, christine, it's good to have you here. >> thank you for having me. >> that's a big mouthful, and i know that you're working on an extremely exciting program, bi-local challenge. >> it is an initial that we launched two years ago, and essentially what it is is the last full week of july we ask everyone across the state of maryland and beyond to take a pledge, and the pledge is eat something or drink from a farm every day during that week.

>> oh. so where do we get the information about where to find the farms or how do we sign up for this pledge? >> well, there's a website. it's www.by-local-challenge.com that website will give you all sorts of information why to buy local and where to buy local and it connects you to other statewide initiatives that are going on at the same time. if you go to the website, we've added a count. people used to say, where do i sign up? normally you have to go buy, eat something from a local farm. this year we decided to add a counter to the website. when you are' counted, you can receive a certificate with your name on it that you can put up in your office or your home or wherever. >> which is very, very important. it's reduces your carbon foot print because you're driving hopefully a shorter distance,

you have access to local products that are available, and also it helps the farmers. >> well, and in fact, our theme this year is healthy plate, healthy planet. all kinds of benefits to buying local, benefits for you, healthy, nutrition, it's fresh, and preserving our farms survive, we keep clean water, we keep clean air, we reduce the carbon footprints from things traveling 1500 miles, and it tastes good. >> exactly. now for those people who may not cook, how can they be a part of this? >> yeah, sometimes people say, well, i hate to cook. that's okay. you can go to a store or to a restaurant that features local farm products, and there are more and more restaurants every year, some of them are on our website, and you can click throughout to find out who they are,. >> what kind of items can we acquire localfully.

>> during the last week of july, there is so much product available. there's sweet corn, blackberries, all kinds of tomatoes and melons are in season, and of course, there's always wine, cheese, eggs, meatss. >> so we do have a wide variety of things we can get. say that i go and i go to a local farmer's market and purchase something, what is a vegetable that i'm not quite familiar with, how did i find a recipe. >> excellent question. there are recipes on our website. people can post their own recipes of their own events and own blogs by why they buy local. some of the things i wanted to mention is the economic benefits. we talked about the planet, we talked about the fact that it tastes good, and it's fun, but there's also the benefit of

supporting our farms, and if every household in the state mucofmaryland were to buy just 2 worth of products for 8 weeks, basically the summer season that, would put $200 million straight back into the pockets of our farmers. that would do a lot to keep our farmers thriving. >> which is so important. i know we have less than 30 seconds, but you have some partners that you wouldn't typically think of who have now joined in. >> yes. hospitals are joining in this year. fact, they're looking to do a competition to see how many people they can get involved. >> have you exciting. christine, thank you very much for coming in today. >> thank you. >> my guest today has been christine bergmark with the southern agricultural commission. if you're interested in what comcast is doing in your area, go to on demand and click get local. for comcast local edition, i'm donna richardson.

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ahhh! with plugins lasting impressions. and yes, it's glade. s.c. johnson, a family company. right about now fans are streaming into the stadium to get their tickets to attend the memorial at the statements center. we have more on the latest. ted, what's the latest? >> reporter: chuck, a lot of activity here and at dodgers stadium. here it is getting ready for the big memorial service and a lot of that is people from the public and the word has come down here and a lot of networks

have been setting up risers, trying to work all of the logistics out as they prepare forever tomorrow's ceremony which, of course, will be watched by millions worldwide. you talk about dodgers stadium, that's where the action is right now. people that won the internet lottery, 1.6 million people tried to get tickets for tomorrow's event. the lucky few that did receive confirmation, they have a day to come and pick up their tickets. they are using a secret pass code which they've been given to get their free tickets. some of them when they get their ticket in hand are quite emotional. >> i'm happy to be here but then i'm so sad why i'm here, the reason that i won the ticket. so i just can't stop crying and i've never won anything in my life. and i've won the ticket. it's so surreal.

and. >> mulg whut xzed dodd vusz tlg's you a through swabl. >> meanwhile, the doctors are being looked at and the people around jackson in the months and weeks before his death. also, a judge has granted at least temporarily the control of the jackson estate to the lawyer and a long time friend that were mentioned in the 2002 will. that's against the jackson family wishes. they wanted katherine jackson, michael jackson's mother to control the estate but the court ruled that those two individuals identified in the 2002 will will patrol the estate until august 3rd when there will be another hearing. chuck? >> thanks, ted. sort of orient us. the staples and nokia stadium are right across the street? >> reporter: yes. they are right across the street. and the statement center is right behind us, directly across

the street. they will have a live feed into the nokia center while the event is happening in the staples center. the rest will be in the nokia center watching from there. >> i hope it's not first come first serve. >> reporter: absolutely. that will be designated by the time they get to the dodgers stadium. you wouldn't want a first come first serve scenario at all when you're talking about this event. >> ted, thanks. hln will have special live coverage tomorrow of the memorial. robin meade will be hosting this. a.j. hammer and jane velez-mitchell will assist. coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. eastern right here on hln. new details on the how the jackson family will honor him privately. they are working on private service for tuesday. there are five forest lawn

cemeteries in the l.a. area but media crews have been concentrating on the one in hollywood hills. it's unclear where jackson will be buried. his ex-wife, debbie rowe, exploded at the media as she was leaving a restaurant yesterday. >> debbie, are you ready to fight for your kids? are you ready to fight for your children? >> do not touch me! >> nobody touched you. >> you just did. don't! >> are you ready to fight for your children? >> are you ready to get your butt kicked? do not touch me! >> how important are the kids to you, debbie? >> god bless you, debbie. >> are you ready to fight for your kids, debbie? do you think she's ready to fight. >> debbie rowe hasn't said for sure if she's going to fight for custody. the singer's mother, 79-year-old of the singer, i'm sorry, has temporary guardianship of all three kids. a police search continues

for what is being called a serial killer in northern south carolina right along the border which has terrorized gaffney, south carolina. they are offering a reward to catch this man, the suspect in that sketch. he's killed five people in a little over a week. it's all people in this town are talking about. a peach farmer was the last victim and last wednesday an elderly mother and her daughter were shot and killed. a day later, a man and his 15-year-old daughter were shot. yesterday the town buried two of the victims. worried residents are taking precautions. >> people are using caution. and that's what we're asking them to do. just be cautious until we catch this murder. >> the sheriff also said there is physical evidence that links the shootings. >> another big story we're following today, a former tennessee titan steve mcnair's death was a homicide. mcnair, who was married and the father of four was shot dead on saturday along with a woman

police say was his 20-year-old girlfriend, sahel kazemi. mcnair was shot four times and kazemi had a single gunshot wound to the head. the gun, allegedly used, was found under her body. mcnair's violent body stunned many, including his brother. >>. >> i can't believe it the whole community and everybody is in disbelief right now. >> the 36-year-old mcnair met kazemi at a local restaurant and they have vacationed together. they are seen here in photos parasailing together. a memorial service for mcnair will be held in nashville on thursday. the funeral will be on saturday in mississippi. incredible pictures to show you now from a huge fire that

broke out at a meat packing plant on the south side of milwaukee. 100 firefighters have been working throughout the night. they are still trying to put out the flames. there have been no reports of injuries. residents near the plant, though, have been told to evacuate because of the threat of toxic fumes. as yet, we don't know the cause of the fire. the former defense secretary robert mcnamara has died. his wife said that he died in his sleep. he was 93. he drew a lot of flack for his management of the vietnam war and over saw the u.s. military's role there as it grew to half a million troops. he later said both administrations were terribly wrong to have pursued action in vietnam beyond '63. it's been three days since sarah palin dropped a bombshell from her home in wasilla, alaska. now a facebook comment may indicate why she's quitting her job.

curious, risky, and even bizarre. that's how some characterize sarah palin's decision to quit her job some 18 months early. she told supporters she was leaving for a higher calling and urged them to disregard all of the pundits, though it didn't offset criticism or the speculation. >> i've been talking to political consultants all week long and they describe this as highly unusual. why would you leave with 18 months remaining in your term when really the fact that you didn't have enough experience. the power lead in washington are dumb founded by this move.

>> it created a wave of internet rumors that the fbi was investigating her so the fbi in a rather unusual move flatly denied that any investigation was ongoing. we want to hear more of your views, though, on what you think was behind her decision to step down right now. e-mail us at cnn.com/hln or call us at 877-835-5456 or text your comments to 45688. a seat at the senate has been empty for about six months although tomorrow it will be filled by democrat al franken. he arrived in washington today. the senate elect will meet with harry reid today. workers installed his nameplate this morning. franken and norm coleman fought a very protracted battle over election results. they will have a filibuster

proof majority. elephants being paraded through the streets is a neat sight but it's a way to squeeze cash from your pockets. brook baldwin is here to explain. what is going on? >> i had no idea. you think of bangkok, thailand and what do you think of? amid this sort of concrete jungle there are elephants, as you mentioned, lumbering along. here's pictures we're getting. we're get aggregate piece written by our own dan rivers. they are begging for money and you give them a couple bucks and you can pet the animal. the practice has a name. it's called elephant begging. and tourists are compelled to give a dollar or two because the elephants look hungry. but it's illegal to do this.

it's illegal to bring the elephants into the city but the law is ignored because the fines are very small. cash is usually pocketed and animal rights groups claim they are often abused. here's a new development. there is a new government that is trying to crack down on this elegant begging. people have tried in the past unsuccessfully and they really just kind of abuse them. they treat it like an investment. but the new plan is to severely fine anyone bringing an elephant into the bangkok city limits. so these funds from thailands queen would be to return them to the jungle. they are sort of dub yoes over the fact that it would be enforced and if in fact they would be returned to the jungle. >> it's very sad. it's a public health risk, too, i would think. >> absolutely. >> all right. ideas abound about our alternative fuel sources but

explain chocolate. >> yeah, we're talking chocolate and race cars. perhaps it's delicious. but as i read the article, i'm thinking, i don't know about this. and i'm a chocolate fan here. we're talking about formula three race cars running on a tank of chocolate and fruit. maybe it smells good. built by university researchers in the uk as a part to push the most green car imaginable in addition to using chocolate fuel, it's made by hemp and made from carrots. all right. as for the fuel, cocoa butter extracted from fruit. it's too slow for other standards and when it kwoms to the fuel it comes because they are saying you have to replace other crops and people to grow enough of the raw material.

and researchers and the steering wheel made a carrot and made the emission smells good, nice a sweet. >> i prefer peach over chocolate but -- >> i'm a chocolate girl myself. i could do that. >> brooke, thanks. good to see you. >> thanks. congressman peter king says michael jackson is not a good enough reason to spend so much time and energy on a man he calls the low life.

six american troops were killed in afghanistan today killed by a roadside bomb and the taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. the attacks come as thousands of u.s. marines wage an offensive in the south. it's the biggest u.s. military operation in eight years against taliban militants. deadly ethnic violence strike as chinese province. authorities say 140 people have been killed and more than 800

are hurt. demonstrators say that as police investigate the deadly fight between ethnic workers at a factory last month. last night's protest caused the deadliest unrest in decades. the deposed honduran president says he'll try again to return to his country. he had no luck over the weekend. he could be arrested if he ever sets foot in his homeland. zelaya tried to return yesterday. military vehicles blocked the runway. at least one protestor was killed when zelaya protestors collided with troops. washington is the headquarters of the organization of american. students in iran are questioning the results of the election in iran last month, everything from the handling of the ballots to the state-run's media coverage which they say was one-sided. they say a process has left a

bitter taste and doubts any informed conscience would be satisfied with the resulting situation. in another development, iran has developed a british staffer detained since last week. one, though, is still in custody. initially nine were arrested. police are trying to piece together what prescriptions michael jackson had and which doctors gave him. sources tell the l.a. times that at least three search warrants have been issued to figure out if the medications were involved in his death. last monday, police took two bags of medical evidence out of his rented home. the day he died, they removed prescription drugs and reportedly found bottles of diprivan without prescription labels. five drugs are under investigation though it may take weeks for toxicology results to come back. a congressman from new york says all of the media coverage on the death of michael jackson

is just glorifying a pervert, his words. he settled one child molestation case out time and energy should be devoted to a man he calls a low life. >> let's take some time out to really look to the people that do make this a great country, the men and women of the armed forces, police, firefighters, teachers who work in really rough neighborhoods, people who volunteer with dying cancer pashths. tho those are the people we should glorify, not some pervert like michael jackson. hln will have special coverage of the michael jackson memorial service tomorrow. our own robin meade will be joined by a.j. hammer and jane velez-mitchell. the coverage right here begins at 12:30 p.m. eastern. trials are under way for four people accused of organizing a fight club among

mentally disabled people. the suspects are former employees at a special needs state facility in texas. you may remember that cell phone video of the fights. jury selection got under way for three suspects and a separate trial began for one suspecting lesser charges. a bankruptcy judge has approved a plan for gm to create a new company. that way it can get out from under its crushing debt and expensive contracts a law firm representing people who have sued gm is appealing. provisions in the sale would bar consumers from making liability claims against a new gm for incidents that occurred before the old gm went into bankruptcy. appeals from bondholders and unions are also expected. well, we're all feeling the pimple of a shaky economy, but clark howard is here to help. logon to cnn.com/clark and submit an i-report that could be selected and profiled on the network. for valuable money advice, free advice, from america's money coach. when the president of the

united states is the commencement speaker at your graduation, it's a big deal. how do some russian students feel about mr. obama headlining their graduation? we'll hear from them. ux

a frantic search is on for a man accused of killing five people in a span of a single week in south carolina. what investigators are doing to crack the case. and new revelations about the 20-year-old woman that was found shot to death along with former nfl star steve mcnair. what police are saying about the nature of their relationship. also, alaska governor sarah palin is calling it quits. do you think it's a smart move? maybe a strange one? your views on her resignation. good monday to you. you're watching hln "news and views." i'm susan hendricks. we take you to los angeles, our top story here. more than 8,700 people will have to travel here. that's the parking lot of l.a.'s dodger stadium. they are there to pick up tickets to michael jackson's memorial. the parking lot right now is

divided into about 20 lanes. kind of set up like a drive through. the memorial will be held at the staples center tomorrow. we will carry it live on hln. we're also getting our first indications as to who will be performing at the ceremony. tmz is reporting maria carey will perform "i'll be there." ticket winners will get two wrist bands that will get them inside. a staples center spokesman says wrist bands that have been ripped, taped, or tampered with will be voided. but he admits scalping is a possibility here since winners are allowed to give anyone their second bracelet. police though are not expecting any trouble tomorrow. >> i anticipate the crowd here will be well-behaved. it will be a crowd that gathers for the right reasons and keeps the reason they're there in mind, but as far as putting a number on it, we have reached out a number of times every chance we get actually asking people to stay home if they don't have tickets, enjoy it

from the comfort of their own home with friends rather than coming out standing in the hot sun on a city street two to three blocks away from the venue. >> a lot of people wanted to attempt. more than 1.6 million people registered online for a chance to go to the memorial. of the 17,000 plus who won the tickets, 11,000 will be at the staples center. the other 6,500 will be in the neighboring nokia theater. hln will have special live coverage of michael jackson's memorial service. that's tomorrow. our own robin meade will be joined by "showbiz tonight's" a.j. hammer and "issues" jane velez-mitchell will join them as well. our coverage starts at 12:30 p.m. eastern time. we will speak to a.j. in a few moments and get a detailed preview for you. police are trying to piece together what prescriptions jackson had and which drugs doctors gave to him. sources tell the "l.a. times" at least three search warrants have been executed to figure out if the medications were involved in

jackson's death. last monday you may remember police took two bags of medical evidence out of his rented home. the day that jackson died they removed prescription drugs as well. they also reportedly found bottles of the anesthetic diprivan without prescription labels. sources also say five doctors who prescribed jackson drugs are now under investigation. it may take several weeks to get results from the tax kolg teoxi tests. the co-executors have temporary control of the estate. john brabbrabca and john maclea were given control until another hearing takes place. lawyers for jackson's mother were also at the hearing. the associated press is reporting the family wanted the hearing postponed and it cites an unnamed source into saying the jack soven wanted to look deeper into the singer's affair

to see if there's another will out there. a hearing about guardianship of the children has been postponed until next week. another big story we're following for you today, police have ruled former tennessee titans quarterback steve mcnair's death as a homicide. mcnair, who was married and the father of four, was found shot to death saturday along with a woman police say was his 20-year-old girlfriend, sahel kazemi. a ruling has not been made on kazemi's death at the time. the gun allegedly used was found underer body. mcnair had been shot twice in the chest and twice in the head. kazemi had a single gunshot wound to the head as well. many, of course, are still in shock, including mcnair's brother. >> very disturbing that, you know, that a person of steve's caliber is dead. and, i mean, it's just bad. i can't really believe that that

happened like that without him just putting up a fight or something like that. just hard to believe. >> the 36-year-old mcnair met kazemi at a local restaurant and they vacationed together. these are photos of the couple parasailing together. a memorial service for mcnair will be held on thursday in nashville. the funeral will be held on saturday in mississippi. we want to share this with you. we're getting new information that n that killing spree in south carolina. police in gaston county, north carolina, say they shot and killed a man during a possible robbery today and they say they then called authorities in gaffney, south carolina, where five shooting deaths are blamed on the same man. the two areas are about 30 miles apart. gaston county police say they have evidence police in gaffney needed to know about. we haven't gotten any more details on what the evidence was, but a car matching the general description of the suspect's car was at the scene

there. take a look at this. the sketch of the suspect in the five shooting deaths in gaffney. the shootings began just over a week ago. it is all people are talking about, of course, in the area. a peach farmer was the first victim in south carolina. then last wednesday an 83-year-old mother and her daughter were shot and killed. a day later a man and his 15-year-old daughter were shot. yesterday the town buried two more victims. worried residents are taking precautions, of course. >> people are using caution, and that's what we're asking them to do, just be cautious until we do catch this murderer. >> now, the sheriff also says there is physical evidence that links the shootings. we'll bring you more information as we get it in. the main airport in honduras is now closed to all flights and the country's doueposed preside is expected to come back to washington today. a week of protests turned

violent and deadly yesterday in the country's capital as riot police tried to use gunfire to gain control of pro-zelaya crowds. karl penhaul is there on the ground in honduras. he says the red cross is reporting one death so far, but the protesters are saying at least one other person, a boy, was also killed. >> reporter: a dying man is carried through the crowd. video clearly shows him bleeding from a head wound. the red cross confirms an initial death toll. we have one person dead, a man in his 20s, from a gunshot in the head, and eight people wounded, he says. amid the violent clashes, protesters report more may have died. this man, soaked in blood, says a child died in his arms. i ran over and laid beside the boy to try to help him because i didn't want him to die, but he died.

>> zelaya unsuccessfully tried to return to honduras yesterday, but he says his jet was denied permission to land there. the military forced zelaya out of the country at gun point just over a week ago and the country's congress installed roberto micheletti in his place. deadly ethnic violence spills into a second day in a chinese province. authorities say at least 140 people have been killed, more than 800 are hurt. demonstrators are now demanding police investigate a deadly fight between ethnic workers at a factory. that happened last month. last night's protest caused the deadliest unres in xinjiang province in decades. president obama is in moscow for talks with president medvedev. the talks are focusing on reducing nuclear stockpiles. the two leaders signed a joint understanding that is seen as the first step toward reaching

that goal. it is designed to replace the 20-year-old s.t.a.r.t. 1 agreement which expires in december. a big announcement, gm may be a step closer to getting out of bankruptcy. we'll get down to the nuts and bolts of what needs to happen to get the automaker back on track.

a seat in the senate has been empty now for six months, but tomorrow it will finally be filled by democrat al franken. he arrived in washington today all smiles. the senator-elect will meet with senate majority leader harry reid later today. workers installed his new name plate outside of his senate office this morning. franken and republican norm coleman fought a nasty court battle over the election results. with franken in the senate, democrats will have a filibuster-proof majority. get ready for a new gm. a bankruptcy judge has approved a plan for the automaker to create a new company of sorts that. way it can get out from under its crushing debt and expensive

contracts, but a law firm representing people who sued gm is, of course, appealing. provisions in the sale would bar consumers from making liability claims against the new gm for incidents that occurred before the old gm went into bankruptcy. appeals from bondholders and unions are also expected here. so the question now is what is next for the embattled automaker? cnnmoney.com's poppy harlow joins us live to tell us about this. a big announcement and really hard to dig through in all of the lawsuits pending. >> this is a big boon for not only general motors but also for the obama administration pushing for this restructuring for the company, now steps closer to the ultimate goal of a new general motors. they want to be lean. they want to be profitable. general motors is doing what it can. they're closing about a dozen factories. you have heard that before. they're slashing up to 40% of their dealerships. focusing on the core brands, but a lot of analysts are still skeptical about what this will

mean for gm. can they really make a comeback? one analyst told us this morning this might just be something that buys gm time by erasing its debt. doesn't get to the fundamental problems of the company. one of the problems is what gm is working to fix. that is the declining market share. look at the chart on your screen. what this is is the sales volume falling year after year after year for general motors since 1985. back in '85 they had about 40% of u.s. market share. today the first half of this year, less than 20% of the cars sold in the u.s. were general motors' cars. another issue for general motors, they still face big labor costs. they have cut thousands and thousands of wosrkers, but some of the long-time union workers haven't taken as big a pay cut. those are all bill challenging ahead for general motors. >> the ultimate goal is to really turn things around s that possible for gm? what are people saying? >> of course, it's possible, but the first thing is you have to get the product line right so people are buying the volume of

cars you need to sell. the ceo now in the hot seat, fritz henderson, has underscored the importance of general motors going back to what it is great at, that is exciting customers. he said if the company can do that with its new product line, and i was talking to him a week ago and he was showingi off all the model he is very genuinely excited about that, if they can do that he said the public perception of this company will change. now it's our responsibility to fix this business and place the condition on a clear path to success without delay. this is a man that wants to move very, very quickly to make that change. but we want to any what you think. did the judge make the right decision by approving gm's bankruptcy plan? what do you think? weigh in on facebook.com/poppyhar low. ryan wrote into us, he doesn't think so. he says let general motors fail. howard wrote in, yes, it was the right decision. he calls general motors a

national asset. you want to look there and we'll bring your comments to air. >> thank you for all the new information. as poppy said, you can go to cnnmoney.com for all the latest information. we want to bring this to you just into hln. look at the live picture here. a car in oklahoma city in a dangerous situation. it's sliding down that hill right there into the water bank. we don't know if anyone is inside. looks pretty banged up. it was involved in some sort of accident. that's what we do know. crews there are on the scene. that's an aerial shot. the accident happened moments ago about to go into the water. we're getting information into us at hln, we'll bring it to you. stay with us.

the memorial for michael jackson takes place tomorrow. as we said, we will bring it all to you live. "showbiz tonight's" a.j. hammer will be part of that special coverage. he joins us now, and a.j., we understand they're handing out tickets at dodger stadium. we've been showing that all day today, but police say they're not too worried. >> sounds like everything is going pretty smoothly. they're handing out tickets to people who won the ticket lottery who have to get their tickets, claim them by the end of the day from dodger stadium. this is something that would be a daunting situation. i think organizers have done a terrific job of putting this together in a short amount of time. same thing for the memorial tomorrow. smart they cordoned off a few

blocks around the area. there will be a lot of people showing up who want to get in there. everybody, of course, gets a pair of tickets but they've been told they can sell one of the tickets. so i popped on ebay just before coming on with you, susan, yeah, they're selling, $5,000, $6,000, $10,000. they're out there. no big surprise. people want to make a little money on the situation. >> this isn't only a tribute to michael jackson. this isn't just remembering him, but there will also be a lot of performers there remembering michael jackson as well, and performing. so a concert as well as memorial. >> organizers have been very quiet about it since they announced the memorial. we're not going to release any details. who is going to perform. but some names are starting to trickle out. we're hearing names like mariah carey, stevie wonder, one of michael's idols. justin timberlake, one of the guy who is says i probably wouldn't be doing what i do were it not for michael jackson.

expect an unprecedented kind of event. >> for the lucky few thousand. i know you saw debbie rowe kind of lash out at photographers and the press saying please leave me alone, back off. do you think she will be there? >> it's interesting because there were reports coming out saying she had acquired a pair of vip tickets. now rowe's attorney is telling us she will not be attending the memorial. it brings into question what the truth is. we'll continue to follow that, of course, and you would have to think at least when she's out in public perhaps now she'll be a little more low key than she was when she was spotted leaving a restaurant and being hounded by the paparazzi yesterday. can we take a look at that clip? >> debbie, are you ready to fight for your kids, debbie? >> don't touch me. >> are you ready to fight for your children? >> do not touch me! >> nobody touched you here. >> you just did. don't! >> are you ready to fight for your children? >> are you ready to get your butt kicked? don't touch me. >> our first glimpse of debbie

rowe there. you can't blame her for seeming so aggravated. she's being hounded. obviously not answering the question will she be fighting for custody of her kids. we won't know until the hearing next week. she is scheduled to attend that hearing. she has been invited, about you she's not indicating yet whether or not she'll make that fight. can you imagine the cameras in her face all the time now. >> i know, you have to feel for her. she's certainly lashing out. j.j a.j., appreciate it. >> we'll see you tonight at 11:00 eastern and pacific for the late-breaking developments. >> thank you. as a.j. said, 11:00 p.m. eastern tonight and also tomorrow starting on hln you can catch live coverage of the michael jackson memorial. we have other news we're following for you. trials are under way for four people accused of something horrific. organizing a fight club among mentally disabled people. the suspects are former employees at a special needs state facility in texas. you're looking at cell phone video of those fights. jury selection got under way this morning for three suspects.

a separate trial started for one suspect facing lesser charges. take a look at this. fire crews are trying to put out this huge blaze at a meat packing plant south of milwaukee. about 100 firefighters have been working through the night on this. residents near the plant were evacuated because of possible ammonia fumes. the plant official says only a few workers were inside when that started. one was treated at the hospital and released. two were still being evaluated for breathing problems. look at that smoke there. a 76-year-old man was one of four fishermen who survived more than 24 hours on their capsized boat in lake erie. their boat eveoverturned thursd. they spent a long night in the water before they were rescued. >> we didn't panic. each one of us were doing some serious soul searching. >> the thing that was a little disturbing is all the boats that went by us, we're waving and trying to get help, and nobody come over to see what was going

on. >> rescuers eventually spotted them about 15 miles from shore. they were all treated for hypothermia. >> governor sarah palin drops out. what do you think? coming up.

more than 8,700 people will have to travel right here to the parking lot at l.a.'s dodger stadium in order to pick up tickets to michael jackson memorial tomorrow. the parking lot is divided into about 20 lanes. it's set up really like a drive-through today for them to pick up their bracelets. the memorial will be held tomorrow. that's at the staples center. we will carry it live on hln. we're also getting our first indications as to who will be performing at the ceremony. a lot of people being tight-lipped about this. tmz is reporting mariah carey will perform "i'll be there." ticket winners will get two wrist bands that will get them inside. a staple center spokesman says that wrist bands that have been taped, ripped, or tampered with

won't be allowed in. scalping is a possibility. police say they're not expecting any trouble tomorrow. >> i anticipate the crowd here will be well-behaved. it will be a crowd that gathers for the right reasons and keeps the reason they're there in mind. as far as putting a number on it, we have reached out a number of times every chance we get actually asking people to stay home if they don't have tickets. enjoy it from the comfort of their own home with friends rather than coming out standing in the hot sun two to three blocks away from the venue. >> the numbers are staggering. more than 1.6 million people registered online for a chance to attend the memorial. of the 17,000-plus who won the tickets, 11,000 will be at the staples center for the actual memorial. the other 6,500 will be in the neighboring nokia theater right across the street watching the televised service. you can watch it right here on hln as well. well, l.a. police say michael jackson's family is working with the forest lawn cemetery now in l.a. on plans

for a private service tomorrow. there are five forest lawn cemeteries in the los angeles area, and it's not clear right now where jackson will be buried. media crews are gathered outsid the cemetery in hollywood hills. sammy davis, jr., and humphrey bogart are buried there just to name a few. hln will have special live coverage of the memorial service tomorrow. our very own robin meade will be joined by a.j. hammer and jane velez-mitchell. our coverage starts at 12:30 p.m. eastern time tomorrow. don't miss that. well, police are trying to piece together exactly what prescriptions jackson had and which ones doctors gave to him. sources tell the "l.a. times" at least three search warrants have been executed to try to figure out if the medications were involve had had in michael jackson's death. last monday you may remember police took two bags of medical evidence out of jackson's rented home the day he died. they removed prescription drugs. they also reportedly found bottles of the anesthetic diprivan it's called without

prescription labels on it. the times says sources also say five doctors who prescribed jackson drugs are now under investigation. it may take weeks though to get results from jackson's toxicology testing. meanwhile, the co-executors named in jack-on-'s will now have temporary control of the singer's estate. john branca, also john maclean, a music industry executive and long-time friend of michael jackson. they were given immediate control of the entertainer's assets today until another legal hearing. that one will be held on august 3rd. jacks jackson's mother katherine previously had control of his affairs. the associated press is reporting the family wanted the hearing postponed. it cites an unnamed source as saying the jacksons wanted to look deeper into the singer's affairs and see if another will possibly is out there. a hearing about guardianship of the singer's three children has been postponed until next week. we, of course, will bring the information to you on that one. another big story we're following for you, police have

ruled former tennessee titans quarterback steve mcnair's death is homicide. mcnair who was married and the father of four was found shot to death on saturday along with a woman who police say was his 20-year-old girlfriend. her name sahel kazemi. mcnair was shot four times while kazemi had a single gunshot wound to the head. a ruling has not been made on her death at this time though the gun allegedly used was found under her body. the 36-year-old mcnair met kazemi at a local restaurant. they vacationed together. there are some pictures there, photos obtained by tmz. you see them pair sailing together. a memorial service will be held on thursday in nashville. the funeral will be saturday in mississippi. we want to take you live, this just in. you're looking at a car chase under way right now in the houston area. of course, that white van that the camera is focusing on, that's a dodge caravan, highway 59. it's going north. this is sugarland, texas, in ft.

bend county. we're still getting more information on this. a very high-speed car chase under way. that white caravan is the focus. you see the helicopter is chasing that caravan. you may know we covered another car chase in the dallas area that ended in a crash with a pickup truck. so, of course, it can be very dangerous. the outcome on these. but it seems as though the cops, if you look right there, is that a police officer? i believe that it is, following very fast as a well right on the tail of that white caravan. and, again, khou is bringing us live pictures of that houston car chase under way. in the stafford area -- i'm still getting information in on this -- it's in the stafford area in houston if you're familiar with that area. that white van, dodge caravan, that's highway 59. it's going north at speeds very, very fast. you see how many cars it's passing. in sugarland, texas, ft. bend

county, is that correct? i believe that it is. we don't have information on why. of course, we never do until the chase ends, why someone would try to outrun the police, but you see it over and over again. recently, we covered one in dallas. we cover a lot of car chases in los angeles. say that again, i'm sorry? all right. i'm hearing that he has made -- because we are just tuning into this, several u-turns, illegal u-turns on the highway, doing dangerous things on the highway right now putting many of the drivers in danger in the dallas area. a car was hit, a pickup truck last week when we covered that car chase, and the driver of that pickup truck angry that the police didn't do something sooner. you see the van slowing down a bit because he has to, he or she has to following those cars, but police are right on his or her tail and of course the news crew always following the car chase. so it's hard really for that person to go anywhere, but it

continues time and time again, and we cover it. khou, a car chase under way heading northbound right now on the beltway. if you're familiar with that area. the houston area. highway 59 going north. and the media is urging people if you're listening to this to stay away, of course. stay away, steer clear if you can help it. a lot of the people in front and on the side of that driver really don't know what's going on. but if you can, the media is saying please stay away from that area. and it looks like, it's hard to tell because we're really on the tail of that white car van, but it looks like there's definitely one police officer on the tail of that car. usually as backup comes in, it turns into several police officers following it. but the suspect, there he or she is. it started -- i'm getting more information as this goes on. but we're hearing that it started about 20 minutes ago. so these car chases, as you

know, can go on for several hours really until either the person runs out of gas, does something very dangerous, causes some sort of crash. sometimes the driver even pulls off into a residential area causing even more danger to residents there. some people even have been seen leaving their houses trying to stop this, but again the media is saying don't do anything. if you're not the police, even stay off the roadways if you can if you're watching this. if you're just joining us, live pictures. this is a car chase in the houston, texas, area, a white van. there it is. dodge caravan, highway 59 going northbound. the information we have is that it started about 25 minutes ago. the driver of that driving erratically, very quickly, and it seems to have made a couple of illegal u-turns before this, before the live pictures, before we tuned in. illegal maneuvers.

usually in these situations the police pull the driver over or attempt to pull the driver over for usually a routine traffic stop, anything from avoiding a stop sign, a red light, so forth, and the person doesn't pull over. therefore, the chase ensues. it is continuing. we've been covering it for a little over five minutes. it's been going on for more than 20. we just got these live pictures and we're bringing them to you, khou. say that again. we understand he's near a tollway which could cause the driver to slow down a bit. just about five minutes ago he or she was behind a group of cars and it slowed them down a bit. time and time again we've spoken to mike brooks on this over and over again about why this happens, about why the driver of these cars don't stop, and it's unclear. there's various reasons and they all think they can get away. they rarely ever do because of

the media coverage and the police on the tail. it doesn't seem like the person will get away. there's really a couple options for that person, they run out of gas, they cause a crash. that is something the police, of course, don't want to happen, but they just kind of ride it out. police -- we can't see it in the shot here, but police officers in houston are on the tail of that driver. they're just staying a safe distance back. and if you're just tuning in, he's heading north. that driver, you're looking at a high-speed chase under way heading north on the beltway, highway 59 if you're familiar with that area. that is northbound. this is sugarland, texas. in that area, i believe it's still ft. bend county. live pictures of a car chase under way. i believe it was last week or the week before we covered a car chase in dallas, a high-speed chase, that lasted a very long time. that ended with the driver in critical condition.

the driver in that chase hit a pickup truck and was severely injured. so not only is this driver putting himself at risk, he's will go putting other drivers at risk. a pickup truck smashed into that car, the car smashed into the pickup truck in dallas, and there were injured. so this could end that way as well. that is not what the police want, so they stay a safe distance behind the car and hope that this guy, male or female, decides, look, i'm not getting away here, i might as well pull over, but that's not usually what occurs. so officers hope that that occurs or the person runs out of gas. we've seen a tire pop in the past out of los angeles. a lot of car chases there as well. as i mentioned, one in dallas, and this one in houston, texas, if you're just tuning in, live pictures, car chase under way. that is a white dodge caravan. it's on highway 59 going north, and apparently that car took several illegal u-turns, and it

just passed the i-10. if you're familiar with that area, the reason we're giving you specifics here, you may not live in that area, but if you do the media is saying, please, do anything but go on that roadway. don't try to help the police out in any way. we've seen that happen before in residential areas. just stay away. stay off the roadway. that's the safest thing for you to do, to keep your distance. we're hearing as we cover this, we've covered it about close to about ten minutes here, it's going in west houston, i believe it is now. and we're joined now by an expert in this field. mike brooks, thanks for coming on such short notice. >> not a problem at all. >> we see this time and time again. why is my first question which i'd like to ask the driver. it happens all the time. there are helicopters around, officers. why do you think -- >> we don't know exactly what started the chase. we don't know if there was a crime in progress and the police

came upon it or if it was a traffic stop and the person might be wanted. usually the reason they run is because they're usually wanted for something or they've done something that they shouldn't have been doing. but people think they can outrun the police. you can't outrun the eye in the sky, i'm sorry. many times we see these cases. a lot of people think it's all fun and games. it's not fun and games. so far this year in the united states there have been two law enforcement officers killed during vehicle pursuits. last year we had two officers for the entire year who were killed during vehicle pursuits. it's very, very dangerous. you know, especially when you get onto -- off the interstates, get onto surface streets. it's hard to say how far because they pull the shot back. we don't see -- >> we think they're listening. they're pulling back. >> it's really tough. we all have to be careful what we say because with satellite radio, you know, especially after they get stopped and sometimes people decide they're not going to get out, we don't want to give away what law enforcement is doing, but this guy or woman, we have seen a

woman just recently in a chase, seems like they're going at least 80, possibly -- when i first was sitting down it looks like possibly 100 miles an hour. >> what is the protocol in terms of what police officers should do? can they lay out what is called -- i believe is it called a spike strips? >> that's one option. there's other option where a law enforcement will come up and try to get one of the either side quarter panels and do what they call a p.i.t. maneuver. we have seen that on a number of cases. this person -- very, very close call there just weaving in and out of traffic. you don't see any law enforcement right on their tail. but i can tell you, susan, in the houston area there is a great mutual aid agreement between law enforcement agencies. so usually what happens in this is the lead agency who started the chase will go ahead and keep on the chase. texas department of public safety will usually get involved, especially on the

interstate much as they go through jurisdictions the supervisor in that particular jurisdiction will basically call the ball and will say what they should do and what they shouldn't do. >> i'm reading that that is a suspect in that van in a robbery. a suspect in a robbery. so as you said, they're wanted for something. they may be pulled over for a routine traffic stop. they don't stop. therefore, the chase ensues. >> right. >> and it's usually a suspect, but think about all the charges this guy or female is racking up as they keep going. they've blown through several toll booth. a lot of laws breaking here. >> definitely felony eluding. most jurisdictions there is a charge like that. besides the robbery, which is also a felony and numerous, numerous traffic charges, now it looks like onto another road and he or she is picking up speed again, susan. very, very dangerous. not only to the police, but to the citizens that are driving along this road. you were right on target, if

anybody is out there and they're listening on their satellite radio to hln, which i'm sure a lot of people are, and you are in this area, the best thing to do is just stay away from this particular area because you don't want to get involved in this. >> an update for folks just joining us, this is in the houston area on the beltway going north, and we understand the driver of that white van is a suspect in a robbery. therefore, going at high speeds trying to avoid the police and he seems to be pulling off on the side there, but the speeds continue, mike. you know we covered a car chase in dallas a short time ago, and i was saying the driver of that is in critical condition. he's not only putting himself in danger, the other people on the roadway in danger, and we have seen drivers pull off into a residential area. but would that be a way police would be able to stop him? >> right now he's going much too fast to throw down some spike strips. in fact, the pursuing officer,

you don't see them that close behind either. so most of the time if there is a robbery involved, they will go ahead and chase. i know in california the highway patrol there, they basically told me, if we chase you, we'll follow you until the wheels fall off. different jurisdictions had different chase policies. in washington, d.c., when i was there, basically we had a we will chase you anywhere policy until a pedestrian was seriously injured after a bank robbery in arlington that came into the district and the chase policy was changed then. it has to be approved by a supervisor now. most jurisdictions where there is a robbery involved, where it's believed there is a weapon involved, they will continue the chase and they will not break the chase off, which i think is most likely. now the car is getting into more traffic, slowing down a little bit, which makes it even more dangerous. >> you mentioned in l.a. they said they chase the cars until the wheels fall off. we have seen that. we have seen that. >> we have seen that, and we've

seen wheels fall off as a result of spike strips. we've seen just hitting curbs, everything else. but it's hard to say what this person -- if this person is armed, but you always have to go under the assumption, especially after a robbery, susan, that this person is considered armed and extremely dangerous, and the car itself, the car itself in a chase like this can be considered a weapon also. and so it's very, very difficult. truckers, sometimes you hear them get involved. they will sometimes if they see inside, they will be listening to the local law enforcement agency and they can contact them through assistance band radio, but, again, it's coordination between ground units and the helicopter -- and the air units, the aviation units coordinating the chase, looking ahead and try to see what traffic patterns are. >> i say male or female because as you say we have seen a female behind the wheel. it looks as though that person is driving close to 100 miles

per hour. as you see all the cars flying right by all of them. if you're just joining us, this is the houston area. police in hot pursuit, not too close though, that white van, that's southwest houston on beltway 8, i believe, in the houston area. live aerial shots of that car. you have to wonder, mike, what is this person thinking? that's always what i think. why don't they just pull over? they will be caught in the long run, but logically they're not thinking. >> no, they're not, and again you never know. if this person has an altered mental status we like to say, polite way of saying they have some issues. altered mental status. is the person on narcotics? we don't know. but it seems people think they can outrun the police but ultimately they don't. and a lot of times people will criticize the police like in dallas just recently when that chase -- the man who was hit when they went through the intersection. he was criticizing the police for continuing to chase, but when you have someone who is considered arms and dangerous

that is being chased because they're a suspect in a robbery, you know, you have to go ahead and try to get this person locked to get this person locked up. they could be a danger to themselves and to the community if they're not brought to justice. >> we have new information here. they're going northwest, harris county, i believe? looks like they're taking a u-turn right there. >> u-turn right on the interstate. going into opposing traffic now, susan. this is harris county. takes in the greater houston area. oh oh, almost an accident there. there's a unit right behind him. that unit you see looks like houston p.d. with the white car with the blue stripe. they're now on him. on a surface street now. so there's a possibility that units, if they can coordinate, if this person stays on the street, they can maybe lay down spike strips. we saw in the chase last week

very, very dangerous. this officer almost got hit laying down spike strips. this person off the interstate onto a frontage road, if you will. but still, we want to remind viewers also this person in this car is a suspect in a robbery. that's what apparently initiated the chase to begin with. >> still saiding the same direction on an access road. just flying through there. >> you saw the car coming up to him. it looks like a small law enforcement suv. you can see strobes in the back. trying to go over -- this could be -- going through the intersection. the uniformed -- you see the car on the right-hand side, that vehicle. trying to keep up with him. looked like i could see strobes in the rear of that vehicle. >> i could imagine officers getting more and more angry at this person. thinking what is this person

doing. they have to keep their cool. >> total professionals. you're trained for this. you hope you never have to use it. i was in a number of chases myself. some with gunfire. some without. you try to keep your adrenaline under control. it's difficult. you're behind the person, the lead car who has the eyeball on the suspect vehicle giving locations as you go. so you're driving, you're talking on the radio. you're coordinating with the aviation units, trying to put together a plan if possible as the chase goes on. >> and the chase we were talking about happened on june 29th. that ended when the driver of the car that was eluding police blew through a red light, hit by a pickup truck. this guy or girl has had a couple of close calls hereddd

welcome back. we continue to cover a high speed car chase going on now in the houston area. the white van, a dodge caravan started on highway 59. it is now weaving in and out of traffic on side streets. this has been going on for 40 to 50 minutes. we're joined by steve kardian. a former motorcycle police officer. steve, can you hear me? >> caller: yes, i can. >> have you been watching? what's your take so far after about 50 minutes? >> well, it's not an extremely high rate pursuit. >> there are the cops on foot. you saw a police officer with his gun drawn. >> right. it looks like they're trying to take out the car with the

strips. but he's ultimately avoided that. they're back in pursuit. someone could get hurt in the pursuit. >> steve, thanks for your expertise. he's making several u-turns. doesn't seem to have a plan. just wants to get away. we don't know why they've been chasing him for the better part of an hour. up the belt 8 onto the northwest part of houston. not really all that far from george bush international airport. there's the spike strips they've been looking to deploy and probably this will disable this vehicle if not immediately shortly thereafter, he'll be driving on rims if those, in fact, took full effect. all the concentration is in this one area of surface streets on the northwest part of houston after several miles and perhaps an hour chasing him on the freeway system. he's making several u-turns right now. driving just erratically.

no intention. no word on why he's being chased. he's -- looked like he's back in the same area he's been over two or three times. and you get the impression this is going to end pretty soon. >> he's the suspect in a car robbery. >> oh, he is? so this is a stolen car. >> we don't know if the car that he's in is stolen. we know he's a suspect in some sort of robbery. a car robbery. so this guy or girl obviously doesn't want to get caught. making several erratic moves. several close calls. i'm surprised nothing has happened so far. he's made several u-turns. >> caller: if i might adds, a robbery is generally done by force and possibly with a weapon. he could be a rather dangerous individual. >> i was talking to mike brooks, steve, i don't know if you were listening to that. but there's different protocol depending on what state you're in. los angeles police say we'll take the person until the wheels fall off. we have covered a lot of chases

in los angeles. what was the protocol for where you were in. >> caller: in new york here it would have to be a serious crime for us to continue a lengthy pursuit such as this. for a crime such as robbery, we would engage in a pursuit as the officers are here. >> he's been filing out a lot of charges. passing on the shoulder. almost struck a motorcyclist. he's gone through a couple of toll plazas. he's put a lot of lives at risk. there he goes. he's up on a shoulder. he's avoiding spike strips obviously. i'm not sure if the one he deployed earlier took. >> steve, is it strange for you to see -- we just saw an officer on foot with a gun drawn? >> caller: it's a rather dangerous maneuver. this is the way they're handling it. hopefully it will be uneventful with regard to injury to life or property. >> he also turned around and headed down the wrong way on an exit ramp on a busy freeway in the mid ld of the day on a

workday in houston. you can imagine -- how many narrow escapes that might have caused. here he is -- i wish we had a better clue as to exactly where he is. he's not far from the bush international airport on a series of surface streets being pursued by police. started out in fort ben county and moved to harris county. this has been going on for almost exactly one hour. almost exactly an hour from now ago in the sugar land area. he's on a series of surface streets. making several u-turns. driving quite erratically. >> oh! >> we know the longer the pursuit goes the more likelihood of someone gletting injured or hurt. now they're deploying different tactics. >> we saw about seven officers in the shot. they're piling up. they're getting a lot of backup

that they need. they don't want to put themselves in danger, which has happened before as mike brooks was saying he knew of two police officers dying in a situation like this. of course, they're going to put their safety as an issue as well. >> absolutely. that's a 3,000 some odd pound weapon that he's driving. that's the way the police officers are looking at it. >> what about the pit maneuver? have you had experience deploy that? >> we don't use that here in new york. it's used around the country and with great success. it's a very dangerous move not only for the police officer, but for the individual they're pursuing and the other individuals of the highway. it's got to be calculated appropriately. >> what's the protocol under which you continue a chase or break it off. here we go. another spike strip. he's got to be disabled pretty soon. i would think one of those was taken? >> it doesn't appear it has. you would start to see the tire

wearing down or him driving on the rim which would generate sparks or smoke. >> the protocol for continuing a chase or breaking it off? >> in a felon situation such as this with an individual who has committed a violent crime, an armed robbery would be a violent crime. we would continue to pursue him. try to take control over that vehicle. >> by any means necessary? >> in new york state you're not allowed to shoot -- most departmental procedures are you're not allowed to shoot at a moving vehicle. >> this is according to -- saying the chase started shortly after 1:00 p.m. houston time in the downtown area. an officer attempted to stop this vehicle, flagged him down, the driver began to speed up, then almost ran over an officer. that's what i'm reading on the website. the partner had to get out of the way at that point that chase began. now you said about close to one hour this chase has been under

way. i saw at least seven officers making several attempts to stop this driver. not being successful. no one injured so far. that's a success in itself. >> go ahead, steve. >> yeah, it is. a pursuit that's lasted this long over this amount of time involving this amount of police officers. the risk goes up considerably with this length of time. and the maneuvers that he's doing. >> usually do suspects head to an area they're familiar with? what's your experience? >> that depends how desperate they are. by him circling around, it appears he may not be highly familiar with the area that he's in. >> yeah, he went into a parking garage and emerged on the other side. that was a risk. >> big time. >> basically northeast houston now. it started in southwest houston. it's gone up the southwest frae into harris county and up the

belt eight freeway. now it's on surface street and taken a serpentine course as he's going into and out of parking lots and businesses. here's another vantage point from our affiliate. looks like he's in a parking area right now. he is bound to get away -- but it's just not going to happen. there we go. >> there seems to be a pretty skilled driver in the bigger picture of these car chases that we have seen, avoiding police. several times. there have been several tries on this guy. steve, isn't this person, this driver, raking up the charges here? >> oh, yes. >> isn't this just increasing? >> yeah, he's going to receive multiple counts and probably multiple counts in a variety of jurisdictions. so they're going to throw the book at this guy. >> does the initial jurisdiction take precedence here? who controls the situation? who is calling the shots right

now? >> whoever gets him is going to take on the initial charges. then he'll be lodged and or charges will be filed in the other jurisdictions that pursuit went through. these are all multiple -- these are going to be multiple charges of reckless endangerment, possibly attempted murder or attempted murder of a police officer if he did try to run a police officer down. >> how close behind do you stay on a freeway? do you give them wider area on a freeway system than a surface street? >> yeah, you want to watch for his reckless maneuvers which may cause you, the police officer, to ultimately crash. >> is someone telling this police officer, we see one in close proximity to the drivers right now, how far or what to do? to decide to move in, move closer or stay safe distance? >> usually the lead officer is calling out directions. they'll be familiar with the territory they're going through. now likely they've changed direction again. they will be advising officers

to cut off on additional intersections. they will hopefully box him in and end this. >> what about the adrenaline rush from the pursuing officer. he might want to take the guy out. how do you control that? >> through your training and professionalism. the adrenaline rush kicks in, but you settle in, okay, this is a pursuit. this is my job. this is what i have to do. the adrenaline rush is good. it puts you more on high alert than it does to make you act in a reckless fashion if you would for law enforcement. >> this is near the greens point mall. he's gone into a parking garage. probably a five or six story parking garage. we're going to lose picture for a while. hopefully this will bring this thing to an end. if they block the entrances there's no other way out, right? >> well, it looks like a rather large complex. the lead car will stay with the vehicle and box him in. if he gets out and gets into the

population there it may be hard to locate and identify him. >> if he gets out without him seeing, they may not have a good video -- visual on him. they may not know how he's dressed, right? >> yeah, in all likelihood they have a general description of him if he was the suspect in a robbery case. they'll have a description. >> we're talking to steve kardian who was kind enough to help us sort through what's going on in hoous touston. it's a car chase. moved up a series of freeways to the northern part of houston on a northern belt highway. finally over a series of surface streets they tried multiple times, three or four times at least to throw out spike strips to disable the car. a white dodge mini van. the reasons are not completely clear, but it was a vehicle

robbery. >> that's what we're hearing so far. it's also very dangerous for d pedestrians inside of the parking garage. >> we don't have a good video of what's going on. i can tell you -- there must be 25 police vehicles, law enforcement vehicles trailing this. so chances are he's going to be captured very soon, unless he's darted into an office building. who knows what might happen. no word on whether -- there's no word on whether he might be armed or whether in fact it is a he driving. steve, thank you for your expertise. we appreciate it. very kind. good job. we'll continue to follow the story and bring you the results of what happened in this hour-long police chase in houston. let's move to another story we've been following. that's the spree killing going on in south carolina where police say they may have a new lead. police in north carolina report they've shot and killed a man

during a possible robbery today and evidence that that scene led them to contact authorities down in south carolina. where five shooting deaths have all been linked to a single gunman. the two areas are about 30 miles apart. no details on what the evidence is. the there's a car matching the general description of the shooting spree suspect's car seen there across the line in north carolina. here's the sketch of the suspect. the shootings began more than a week ago. it's all that people are talking about. a peach farmer was the first victim. that was saturday a week ago. then last wednesday a mother and her daughter were shot and killed. a day later a man and his 15-year-old daughter were also shot. police have ruled that steve mcnair's death was indeed a homicide. the married father of four was found shot dead saturday along with a woman police said was his

20-year-old girlfriend, sahel kazemi. the gun allegedly used was found under her body. the 36-year-old mcnair met her at a local restaurant at dave and busters and the two vacationed together. these are pictures from tmz of them par sailing together. a memorial service will be held on thursday in nashville. the funeral, saturday in mississippi. more than 8700 people are traveling here to the parking lot of dodgers stadium. chavez ravine in los angeles to pick up tickets of the jackson memorial. the parking lot is divided into 20 lanes. it's like a drive through. the memorial will be held tomorrow at the staples center. we're going to carry it live on hln. also the first indications as to who will be performing at the ceremony. tmz is reporting mariah carey will be singing the jackson 5 classic "i'll be there."

the wristbands that have been ripped or tamperred with or taped will all be voided. winners are allowed to give anybody their second brace let. police, though, aren't expecting any trouble. >> we anticipate the crowd will be well behaved. it will be a crowd that gathers for the right reasons and keeps the reason they're there in mind. as far as putting a number on it, we have reached out a number of times every chance we get asking people to stay home if they don't have tickets, enjoy it from the company of their own home with friends, rather than standing on a city street. >> more than 1.6 million people registered online. of the 17,000 plus who won tickets 11,000 will be at the staples center for the actual memorial. the others will be in the neighboring nokia theater watching the televised service. the suspect on that chase we just talked about in houston is

on the roof, and they've got him. he's now been grabbed into custody. that is the end of an hour long chase that began in southwest houston. it went along the freeway system for most of that time. at extreme speeds. a lot of passing on the shoulder. a lot of near misses. he went the wrong way down an entrance ramp on the freeway system. finally exited to surface streets. he was chased by police who tried to throw out spike strips . he darted into a parking garage where he was chased by i would guess two or three dozen law enforcement officials, and finally has been chased down onto the roof. you see the police dog right there. he has been grabbed and taken into custody. this started as a car robbery and ended just a few moments ago on the roof of a parking garage in the northern part of the city, not far from the green point mall if you know the houston area.

guys, what are we going? going to break.

a bankruptcy judge approved a plan for gm to create a new company to get out from under the crushing debt and expensive contracts. a law firm representing people who have sued gm is appealing.

provisions would bar consumers from making liability claim against the new gm for an incident that occurred before the old gm went into bankruptcy. appeals from bondholders and unions are also expected. junk fees are at record highs. you may be able to save money and avoid fees by going online. ger gerri willis is here with details. >> by most measures online bakes offer better deals than brick and medical reporter counters. they have lower fees and smaller minimum balance requirements. interest rates can be higher, too, with especially internet only banks. an average savings account is paying less than half of one percent. some internet banks have rates high as 2%. some offer specials not found at their branches. they recently offered a 2% yield on a one-year cd online.

keeping your money safe is key. over 30 banks have failed so far this year. more than two of those were early online banking stars that offered above average interest rates. for customers who exceeded the insurance limits some of the money was lost. you'll also want to be sure the bank's website has a valid security certificate. so you don't have to worry about cyber thieves. atm access in cashing checks with an internet only bank can be challenging. more and more are joining atm networks and reimbursing fees. >> where's the best place to find the best online bank? >> consumer reports rated seven of the largest online banks. here are the top four. ing direct. hsbc direct. citibank, capital one. also go to bankrate.com to

compare interest rates. if you have more questions e-mail me at gerri@cnn.com. >> we love to hear from you, jer roadway. thanks for your time. the chase is over in houston. took about an hour. went along the highway system and ended up north of the city of houston. not far from the airport. not far from a major shopping center in the parking deck of a business complex. that's where the white mini van that was being chased by houston police and several other law enforcement officers finally trailed him into, and he was arrested. there he is. in custody. just outside the houston metro area. a chase that took the better part of an hour and almost cause ad lot of people injuries. high rates of speed has ended.

police say they may have a new lead in the killing spree in south carolina. this is a scene from houston a short while ago where police finally corralled chase suspect on the roof of a building, a private commercial building north of houston. and he apparently jumped from one deck to the other and seriously injured himself as he was trying to elude police. again, the platform below is where it all ended. there were perhaps two dozen officers in hot pursuit of this suspect. it all started with a car robbery. there's scenes from earlier. a white dodge mini van was being pursued by houston police and several other agencies all the

way from sugar land up the west side freeway. the eight freeway. . a lot of dangerous maneuvers occurred just before the end of this. including wrong turns down entrance ways and several attempts by police to throw out spike strips to disable the car. finally it ended there with a disabled motorist who had tried to get away but didn't. let's move to the other story. may be a new lead in the spree of killing in south carolina. police about 30 miles north in gaston county, north carolina, say they shot and killed a man during a possible robbery today and evidence at that scene led them to contact authorities where five shooting deaths have been linked to a single gunman. the two areas are about a half hour apart. we don't have details on what the evidence might be. a car matching the general description of the shooting spree suspect's car was at the

scene. here's a sketch of the suspect this the five shooting deaths in gaffney. the shootings began over a weekend ago. it's all people there are talking about. a peach farmer was the first victim. last wednesday and 83-year-old mother and daughter were shot and killed. hundreds of people turned out for yesterday's funeral service for the 83-year-old woman and her daughter. they say they're scared but some of the people say they plan to fight back if the killer comes after them. law enforcement analyst mike brooks is joining us. what's the connection between the gaston county, north carolina incident and these incidents? >> right now it's hard to say. the shootout between this guy and police and one officer was juried and the suspect was killed. but they have evidence. they've contacted the south carolina law enforcement division fled to come up there and join them. all weekend north carolina and

south carolina authorities have been working together, chuck. gaffney in south carolina borders the north carolina line. and this gaston, north carolina is only 35 miles northeast of gaffney where the murders took place. the murders were all within a ten mile radius. >> why wasn't there a description of the vehicle? they said generally matched the description. wasn't be on the lookout for. did you see part of that? >> i they had a description with a possible tag. >> did they? >> yeah. the sketches came from two separate eyewitnesss. so we have two separate witnesses that believe they saw this guy. now apparently also the vehicle that has a matching description of the one used in the five murders, they believe, in south carolina fit the general description of the truck on the scene in gaston, also. >> have they been flooded with tips? >> they've been getting tips. they also have been able to link the five shootings in south

carolina -- they've been able to link them together through ballistics. >> no motive? >> they believe one person, the peach farmer, may have been robbed. the other double homicide we were just talking about, they weren't able to say whether or not anything was taken from the home. >> okay. we have a live news conference. this is steve mcnair's former coach with tennessee titans. >> please forgive me. the steve mcnair that i knew would want me to say celebrate my life. for what i did on the field. for what i did in the community. the kind of teammate that i was. that's what steve that i knew would want me to say.

i've known him for 15 years. i endured wins and losses, joy and laughter, sadness. i watched one of the greatest competitors of all time on the field do what -- whatever it took to stay on the field. i watched one of the best teammates you could have ever be a teammate to everybody. to extend a hand to everybody. steve mcnair that i knew was a great person.

put this organization on the map here in tennessee. put us in our first super bowl. i think you all realize everything he did in between. i will miss him. as you all will miss him. i ask you to honor what he did on the field and in the community. it was a tremendous teammate. that is his legacy. i'm proud to have been a part of tha that. >> does anybody have any questions? >> what's your fondest recollection of steve as far as on the field? >> there's so many -- there's so

many great moments, you know, great wins, the giant win. the tampa bay keeper. i will just say this. the memory that kept the memory that kept popping to my head the last week or so was thanksgiving week of 2005 we all know how he was physically. happened to be over at baptist hospital. my son brandon was having minor surgery and i was in the recovery room waiting for brandon to come in. and happen to look out the hallway and steve was walking -- walked across with a walker. with michelle by his side. and he was there to get an epidural injection in his back just so he could go to practice

that week. those types of stories are the ones you've never heard of. you witnessed the moments on the field. but it was those things that made him special. >> talk through how you found out if it changed your itinerary and how hard it's been to be so far away? >> yeah, we had an opportunity to experience a one in a lifetime trip over the last five or six days with four other coaches. i would love to go to that as another time. we were hustling to the airport to try to make our flight. it was going to be difficult to

make. and as i got off the aircraft on the runway and turned my phone on, i had service. i had a number of calls come up. as i was looking at the numbers, eddie called me and gave me the news. >> you -- >> that is jeff fisher, the titans coach from nashville on the death of steve mcnair over the weekend. police have ruled it was in fact a murder. he was found in a condo in downtown nashville. really not all that far from the very venue where he played football. and as jeff fisher, the coach said, he put us in our first super bowl. was it a murder/suicide? what's the latest from nashville? >> right now they have ruled steve mcnair's death a homicide. they have not ruled his girlfriend, miss kazemi, whether it's a homicide or suicide. it looks to me they're leaning towards possible murder/suicide. but they're not ruling her death anything right now. they're waying -- i think

they're waiting for some tests. they brought in experienced homicide detectives. they want to cross all the t's and dot all the i's. i was following this all weekend. law enforcement sources close to the course thought for sure it was a double homicide. with an investigation you take a look at your pictures. you look at the position of the bodies. then you roll the bodies. when they rolled her body over there was a semiautomatic handgun under her body. they have to make sure, is this a murder suicide? the position of the bodies they're going to look at. he was shot four times. twice in the chest. twice in the head. she had one gunshot wound to the head. they'll be able to number one do some swabbings of her hand to see if there is gunshot residue on her hand. also the angle, the position, is she right-handed?

left-handed. all these things will be taken into consideration. they're also going to look at her e-mails, text messages and everything else between the two to see if there was any domestic issues going on. >> and acquaintances, too, to figure out. >> she had broken up with her boyfriend about six months prior. he wasn't real happy about this. we always look at the people closest to the victims. that's what they're doing now. i'm sure they've been out to interview steve mcnair's wife and kazemi's boyfriend. all the people close to them have been interviewed. right now they are not looking for suspects. >> that tells you a lot, doesn't it? >> it tells me a whole lot. >> pulling double duty, sir. >> not a problem. more than 8700 people will have to travel there to the parking lot of l.a.'s dodger stadium. in fact, they're there right now to pick up tickets to the michael jackson memorial which takes place tomorrow at the staples center. also first indications as to who

will be performing. tmz is reporting that mariah carey is performing the jackson 5 hit = "i'll be there." the scalping is a possibility as the winners are allowed to give anybody their second bracelet. >> i'm highway happy to be here, but i'm so sad while i'm hear, the reason that i won the ticket. so i just can't stop crying. i've never won anything in my life. i won the ticket. it's so surreal. i -- >> 1.6 million people registered online for a chance to attend the jackson memorial. l.a. police say the jackson family is working with a cemetery in los angeles on final funeral plans. it's not clear where he'll be buried in or at. media crews were gathered on the one outside hollywood hills

where sammy davis, jr., humphrey bogart and many others are buried. robin meade will be joined by a.j. hammer and jane velez-mitchell. 12:30 p.m. eastern right here tomorrow. gm may be a step closer to getting out of bankruptcy. why a judge's ruling is causing criticism for the auto maker and people who say they've been hurt in gm vehicles.

anchts bankruptcy judge today approve ad plan for gm to create a new company to get out from under its crushing debt and expensive contracts. a law firm representing people who sued gm is appealing. provisions in the sale would bar

consumers from making liability claims against the new gm for incidents that occurred before the old gm went into bankruptcy. appeals for bondholders and unions are also expected. what's next for the em battled automaker? poppy harlow joins us live from new york with details. what do we know? >> what gm is trying to do is become lean, become profitable, two things that it's not at this point. they're closing dozens more factories. they're cutting 40% of dealerships, focusing on the four core brands. analysts are skeptical of whether gm can make the comeback, make the turnaround it needs to make. bankruptcy proceeding buys time for the company to erase debt but doesn't get at the core of the fundamental problems. gm would argue otherwise. when you look at market share for general motors it has fallen

since 11985. less than 20% of the cars on the road in the u.s. were gm cars. they also have huge labor forced issues in terms of costs. a lot of union workers still there that have been there for decades making relatively similar wages to what they were. the way they have cut the unions in terms of salaries is for the future workers coming into general motors, not necessarily the ones there now. those are two things that analysts say general motors, chuck, still has to battle in the months and really years ahead. >> what does it take for gm to turn things around? >> they have to build cars that a lot of people want to by. they sell more cars than trucks in the u.s. than chrysler or ford. but they have to improve the product line. that is what the company is focusing on doing right now. the ceo fritz henderson talks about how this is going back to what gm is great at. that's exciting customers. he issue ad statement this morning saying now it's our responsibility to fix this business and place the company

on a clear path to success without delay. he wants to do that quickly. but we want to know what you think. did the judge make the right decision by approving gm's bankruptcy plan, or did he not? you can weigh in on facebook.com/poppyharlow. ryan wrote in and said let them fail. this is bad for the short term and the long term. when you look at what howard said. he said it was the right decision to proceed as the judge did in that bankruptcy ruling, calling general motors, chuck, a national -- a new, leaner gm. no pontiac. no saturn. >> exactly right. >> much more of the business news up to the minute on cnnmoney.com. slumping oil prices in fears the recession isn't easing as fast as many would hope has caused a slump in stocks. dow trading at a narrow rapg right now. it's on the up side about 30 points.

n nasdaq trading lower today. the dow may go home a winner. president obama in moscow for talks with his russian counterpart medvedev. they say the talks are hoped to reduce the strains from the country. this is seen as the first step towards reaching that goal. >> increase nuclear security and to stop the spread of nuclears. this starts with what a reduction of our own nuclear arsenals. the united states and russia must lead by example. that's what we're doing here today. we have signed a joint understanding for a follow on treaty to the start agreement to reduce our nuclear war heads and delivery systems by up to a third from our current treaty limitations. this legally binding treaty will be completed this year.

>> a seat in the senate has been empty for six months. by al fra arrived in washington today. the transition will be complete very shortly. workers have already installed his nameplate outside his senate office. franken and norm coleman fought a nasty battle over the election results. with franken in the senate, the democrats have a filibuster-proof majority. you can see the destruction here. authorities say at least 156 people may have been killed and more than 800 people killed in two days of rioting. the police are patrolling the streets heavily. last night's protests was the deadliest in the xinjiang province in decades. the muslims claim they have been

treated poorly by the hong chinese who live there. honduras is now closed to all flights and the president is expected to come back to washington today. a week of protests turned violent and deadly yesterday in the country's capitol as they tried to use gunfire to gain control. the red cross is reporting one death, but protestors also say a boy because killed. the honduran military forced him out of the area at gunpoint. fire crews are hoping to put out a blaze at a meat-packing plant in south milwaukee. 100 firefighters worked through the night. residents were evacuated nearby because of the ammonia fumes and

a risk for an explosion. only a few workers were inside when this began. two pets struck up a friendship in an unusual iowa town. wait until you see this. >> he'll follow her down the road and play with her. ux

a driver leads police on a wild chase in houston. how it all came to an end on top of a parking deck. michael jackson fans flock to l.a.'s dodger stadium to get their tickets to the pop star's memorial, but are people trying to make a quick buck? why it is potential to stop potential scalpers. plus, the president meets his russian counterpart in moscow. here's the latest from hln news and views. i'm richelle carey. thank you for your time. a high-speed car chase in the houston area ended on top of a parking garage. look at this. the suspect bailed out of his van and ran to the roof. the police arrested him after he jumped from the roof to a platform a few stories below.

he appeared to be hurt because of that fall. the winding chase lasted more than an hour. this white dodge caravan drove in circles many times going the wrong way on exits nearly hitting other vehicles, including someone on a motorcycle. when officers tossed the spike strips in his path, he we want around them. the chase started with an attempt at a routine traffic stop. the driver just refused to pull over. the police scanners indicate he was suspected in a car robbery. again, it ended when he jumped from the roof of a parking deck. more than 8700 people are traveling here to the parking lot of l.a.'s dodger stadium to pick up tickets to michael jackson's memorial. the parking lot was divided into lanes, set up like a drive-through. the memorial will be held tomorrow at the staples center and we'll carry it live on hln. we are just learning about some of the big name people taking part in this event. kobe bryant, mariah carey, magic

johnson, lionel richie, smoky robinson, usher and stevie wonder. ticketholders will get two wristbands to let them in. the wristbands that will be ripped or tampered with will be discarded. police are not expecting any trouble. >> i anticipate the crowd will be well behaved. it will be a crowd that gathers for the right reasons and keeps the reason that they are there in mind, but as far as putting a number on it, we have reached out a number of times every chance we get, actually, asking people to stay home if they don't have tickets and enjoy it from the comfort of their own home with friends rather than stand in the hot sun in the city street two to three blocks from venue. >> more than 1.6 million people registered for a chance to atend this memorial. of the 17,000-plus who won

tickets, 11,000 will be at the staples center for the memorial at the other 6,500 will be at the neighboring nokia center watching it televised. the family is working with the forest lawn cemetery in los angeles for plans for a private service tuesday. there are five forest lawn cemeteries in the l.a. area that media crews are gathered outside of in hollywood hills. humphrey bogart is buried there, but it is unclear where jackson will be buried. hln will have special live coverage of the memorial service tomorrow. our own robin immediate meade will be joined by a.j. hammer and jane velez-mitchell. our coverage starts at 12:30 p.m. eastern. the co executor of jackson's estate now has immediate control

until another hearing happens on august 3rd. lawyers for jackson's mother catherine were also at today's hearing. they are reporting the family wanted the hearing postponed and sites unnamed sources that the jacksons wants to look deeper into his affair to see if another will is out there. the hearing about guardianship of the children has been postponed until next week. police say they may have a new lead in that killing spree that has been going on in south carolina. police in gaston, north carolina, say they shot and killed a man during a possible robbery today. that scene led them to contact authorities in south carolina where five shooting deaths were linked to a single gunman. the two areas were only about 30 miles apart. we haven't gotten details on what the evidence is but a car matching the general description of the shooting spree suspect's car was seen at that scene. this is a sketch of the suspect

in the five shooting deaths that began more than a week ago. the peach farmer was the first victim last wednesday and then an 83-year-old mother and her daughter were shot and killed. a day later a man and his 15-year-old daughter were shot. police have ruled former tennessee titans quarterback steve mcnair's death a homicide. mcnair who was married and the father of four was found shot to death saturday along with the woman police say was a 20-year-old girlfriend. mcnair was shot four times while his girlfriend had a shot to the head. a ruling hasn't been made to the woman's death at this time. the two did vacation together. these are photos obtained by tmz showing them parasailing together. a memorial service will be held for mcnair on saturday in

nashville. president obama is in moscow for talks with his counterparts. they hope it will improve relations with the countries as the talks talk about reducing nuclear stockpiles. a joint understanding is the first step to reaching the goal. it is designed to replace the 20-year-old start agreement that expires in december. >> this starts with the reduction of our own nuclear arsenals as the world's two leading nuclear powers, the united states and russia, must lead by example. that's what we are doing here today. we have signed a joint understanding for a follow-on treaty to the start agreement by up to a third of our current treaty limitations. this legally-behinding treaty will be completed this year. >> tomorrow the president will

deliver the keynote address to graduates of moscow's economic school. his overseas trip also includes stops in italy and ga in. robert macnamara has died. he died in his sleep at his home in washington. he was 93. he blame a lightning rod for the vietnam war under presidents kennedy and johnson. the military rule grew to over half a million troops. later he said both administrations were terribly wrong to pursue action in vietnam beyond 1963. it's been three days since governor sarah palin dropped a political bombshell. people are still stunned.÷ politicians and pundits alike are trying to figure out what in the world it means. we'll get your views ahead.

a seat in the senate has been open for six months but tomorrow it will be filled by democrat al franken who arrived in washington today. he'll meet with senator majority leader harry reid this afternoon. franken and republican norm coleman fought a nasty battle over the election results. odd, risky and bizarre are how analysts are describing alaska governor sarah palin's decision to quit her job 18 months early. the message on her facebook page told supporters she was leaving the office for a higher calling and told her to disregard the pundit, but that didn't offset the criticism or the speculation. >> i have been talking to political consultants all weekend long. they describe this as a very odd move that is highly unusual. why would you leave with 18 months remaining in your term when one of the criticisms is

that you department have enough experience? the republican power lead are dumbfounded by this move. >> palin's decision to quit created a wave of rumor that is the fbi was investigating her for corruption. yesterday the fbi made a rare public statement denying that. we have been asking what do you think about palin's surprise announcement and you have a lot of opinions. let's get to the phones. betty is calling from ohio. what do you think? >> caller: i believe governor palin never got over her loss as vice president. if she couldn't have it all she wanted nothing, and her daughter's boyfriend said it best when he said it went to her head. the world is just how it should be with president obama as our president. thank you. >> all right, betty. thank you very much. nori is calling from west palm beach, what do you think?

>> caller: i believe governor palin did the right thing for the well being of her children. after all, her children were being harassed by the media and it was a terrible thing said by letterman and his writers. it is never okay to make rude jokes about children who never asked to be in the spotlight in the first place. she was a very good governor, it was the right thing to do for her family. that's how she felt. i believe that's why she resigned. thank you. >> nori, thank you, for your phone call. chris is calling from tucson. do you believe what the governor said, that she just has her own reasons and we should take her at face value? >> caller: no, i really don't. i realize that being governor of alaska probably doesn't have sex appeal like being elected to president of the united states, but sarah palin, to quit her job as governor shows to me her inability to complete tasks. also, to wait patiently in line with other political constituents, also waiting for their chance for a higher calling in the political round.

it is simply called paying your dues. if anything else, playing out the hand you were dealt. this country needs to see credibility among the leaders in that capacity, the official capacity. we look toward our leaders in the official xatty to have the stagnant stay attitude. >> great phone calls there. we have several phone calls and e-mails on facebook as well. this was on my facebook page. john wrote, she lost credibility in my eyes, she most likely quit on the u.s.a. also. her "lame duck" excuse was lame. and joe writes, i not only applaud governor sara palin's kourmg and wisdom to resign as lk governor but intend to support her future goals. >> and randy writes this, governor palin became known to

the lower 48 as candidate for vice president on the ticket with a man of honor whose legacy is never quitting even in the face of extreme hardship. go to my facebook page. i appreciate it. we'll do again tomorrow with another topic to get you fired up. listen to this. gm could be one step closer to getting out of bankruptcy. why a judge's ruling worries critics of the automakers.

deadly ethnic violence has

spilled into its second day in a chinese province. look at this horrible destruction. authorities say 140 people have been killed and more than 800 are hurt. demonstrators are demanding the police investigate a deadly fight between ethnic workers at a factory last month. last night the protests caused the deadliest ethnic unrest in the province in decades. the opposed president in hop durs will try again to return to his country if even he's arrested if he steps foot there. he tried to return yesterday. it was very traumatic. his plane couldn't land because military vehicles blocked an airport runway. at least one protestor was killed when his supporters clashed with troops. he is expected in washington today. the congressman from new york says all the media coverage on the death of michael jackson is just glorifying a pervert, his exact works. he lashed out on the media coverage on youtube.

you can see him standing in front of the american legion hall for calling the people who sacrifice for their country, he says these are the feel who should be glorified, not michael jackson who he calls a low life. >> i expect the entertainment venue to be upset. i would like to say i'm speaking for all americans of races, creeds and nationalities to believe that this glorification went too far and that as a society we have to get our bearings back on track. >> you may remember jackson settled a child molestation case out of court. later he was tried in another case and acquitted. he says jackson's talent shouldn't overshadow all the allegations. and people are trying to cash in on tomorrow's memorial for jackson. tickets are being offered on e-bay for up to $100,000, but they may not be valid. organizers will check ids when people pick up their tickets today to make sure they are the

same people who applied for the tickets online. also, winners will get a wristband snapped on their arm to prevent them from reselling tickets. hln will have special live coverage of michael jackson's memorial service tomorrow. our own robin meade will be joined by a.j. hammer and jane velez-mitchell. our coverage starts tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. eastern. well, a texas judge may not allow cell phone videos to be used in the trial of a man accused of organizing a fight club among mentally disabled people. four former employees at a special needs state facility are charged in this case. you probably remember this cell phone video of those fights. the judge of the alleged ring leader trial has given prosecutors extra time to prove the video can be entered into evidence. florida's walt wid disney world says the monorail system will be up and running today one day after a fay todayal crash

killed a park worker. the 20-year-old monorail driver died sunday morn when his train plowed into a parked one. you can see all the damage there. another employee and family of six were onboard and tried to help, but they could not get inside. >> we nearly tried to gain access into where the driver would be. we were able to gain access into the rear part of the red one and that's the one at the park, there was no one inside there. the blue one was so mangled up that we couldn't get access to that. we tried to tear apart the doors and there was no way we could get in there. then when the fire rescue and the police showed up they made us step back. >> a little bit about the person who was killed, the driver was a college senior and a family says he loved his job. the secret to battling alzheimer's disease could be hiding in your coffee cup. 500 milligrams of caffeine reversed memory problems in

mice. that's the same amount you get in about five 8-ounce cups of coffee. after caffeine also cut a link to alzheimer's in half. it will soon be tested on people. get ready for a new gm. the bankruptcy judge approved a plan for the auto maker to create a new company. that way it can get out from under its crushing debt and expensive contracts. a law firm representing people who sued gm, the law firm is appealing provisions of the sale would bar those to make claims against the new gm. stocks tiptoed around the flat line for most of the afternoon. stephanie is here with the final results from today's session. i hope you had a great weekend. happy monday to you, stephanie. >> reporter: i did, richelle.

you can tell by my voice. i was at the music fest in new orleans. it was fun and worth it. as far as the markets are concerned, we have early losses, but the investors are saying the economy is not close to recovery yet. the major averages ended the day mixed. the dow rose 44 points and the s&p 500 ended marmgally higher. after three months of a rally, the stocks gave up the gains over the past few weeks over concern that is the rally was too soon and the economy is not as close to recovery as once thought. get this, you may soon be able to buy a refrigerator and a motorcycle all at one place. consumer electronics giant best buy has started to sell green vehicles at some of the west coast location. best buy is offering vehicles ranging from electric-powered scooters to a nearly $12,000 electric motorcycle. they will also be the only retailer selling segways, which,

i'm sure, you have one already, don't you, richelle? >> i'm over it. thank you, stephanie. it looks like michael jackson's exdebbie roe is changing her mind again.

bad news for fire crews dealing with this fire. this is a meat packing plant south of milwaukee. we have been following this most of the day. the fire reignited and black smoke is pouring out of this building as you can see from the live pictures. 100 firefighters have been working on this since late last night. the mayor declared a state of emergency. this is such a bad situation. folks near the plant were evacuated because of a possible ammonia fumes and also the risk of explosion. a plant official says only a few workers were inside when the fire started. one was treated at a hospital and released. two are still being evaluated because of breathing problems. again, firefighters thought they had the upper hand on this and the fire has reignited at the meat packing plant south of

milwaukee. another developing story we are following, a police news cop inference is expected at the top of the hour on the shooting death of former tennessee titans quarterback steve mcnair. earlier officials labeled the death a homicide. mcnair who was married and the father of four was found shot to death along with a woman who was his 20-year-old girlfriend, sahel kazemi. the ruling hasn't been made on kazemi's death at this time. mcnair was shot twice in the chest and twice in the head. kazemi had a single gunshot wound to the head. many were shocked to hear of mcnair's violent death, including his former coach, jeff fisher, of the tennessee titans. >> the steve that i knew, if he were here right now, would want me to say, tyler, trent, steven jr., i love you.

that's what he would want me to say, the steve that i knew. theo, fred and everybody, i love you. steve would know that i knew and he would want me to say, i'm sorry, i'm not perfect. we all make decisions sometimes that are not the best interest. please forgive me. the steve mcnair that i knew would want me to say celebrate my life for what i did on the field, for what i did in the communi community. the kind of teammate that i was,

that's what steve that i knew would want me to say. >> jeff fisher knew him for 16 years. obviously, deeply moved. the 36-year-old mcnair met kazemi at a local restaurant and the two vacationed together. here they are seen pair sailing together. the memorial service for mcnair will be held thursday in nashville. the funeral will be held saturday in mississippi. ir rattic and dangerous driving marked an hour-long police chase in houston just a few hours ago. the driver nearly dodge d captured numerous times making wild-view turns sometimes going against traffic. he really just went around medians and sidewalks. it was also in a residential area. at one point he was slightly t-boned by a cruiser but kept going. the cops threw out spike strips

but nothing worked. he eventually went into a parking garage and got cornered on the roof. he tried to get away by jumping several stories onto another level. the police moved in and got him handcuffed. no word on whether he was injured, but he looked like he might have been. as people line up in the parking lot of l.a.'s dodger stadium to pick up tickets to jackson's memorial, we are finally learning about some of the big names taking part in techt. kobe bryant, mariah carey, mamgic johnson, lionel richie, smokey robinson, usher and stevie wonder. also, jennifer hudson and john mayor. the memorial will be held hear live on hln. ticket winners get two wristbands to get them in. the spokesperson says wristbands ripped, taped or tampered will be voided but he admits scalping is a possibility since winners are allowed to give anyone their second wristband. the co-executors name in

jackson's will has a handle on his estate. his producer is joining us by phone to tell us more about what happened. natisha? >> the executors did not get this estate, they didn't have it turned over to them without a fight from katherine jackson and her attorney. they argued that we are not sure if turning the estate over to the executors would be the right decision. however, the judge said michael jackson signed the will back in 2002 and it seemed at that time he had confident in the executor to do their job. they will temporarily have control of his assets. there will be another hearing on august 3rd at which time a permanent appointment will be made for the person who will be able to control his assets. now, the other thing the judge did say is that they will have

to come to the judge, if there are certain things to do with his assets, there are the large liability that is are still out there, the debts of michael jackson, they want to be able to knock the debts out so that the estate still maintains some type of profitability, but the judge says they need court approval before they enter into any ventures and they have to inform them if they find it improper. they can come back to court to object. >> what other move can katherine jackson do? explain where she fits in. >> her attorneys argue that if the executors have the control, there could be irreparable damage done to the estate. in order to safeguard that, the judge said that the attorneys, the executors, will now have to contact katherine jackson and her attorneys if they plan on

doing any dealings with the estate. she can sign off on it, she can say, okay, that's fine, go ahead and do that. if she has an objection, they can come back to court with the objection and then the court will see what needs to be done. >> and natisha, when is the next time we are in court about this? >> august 3rd is the next time in court. at that time there will be a permanent appointment for someone to have control over the estate. >> thank you very explaining all that for us. glad you were in the courtroom. natisha lance. thank you. police are trying to piece together what prescriptions jackson had and which doctors gave them to him. sources tell the "l.a. times" three search warrants were executed to figure out if medications were involved in his death. last monday two officers took two bags out of his home the day he died. they also found bottles of the

anesthetic diprovan without a prescription label. five doctors who prescribed jackson drugs are under investigation. it could take weeks before we get results from the toxicology test. we are getting information on the killing spree in gaffney, south carolina. the officials say they shot and killed a map during a possible robbery today. then they called the officials in gaffney, south carolina, where five shooting deaths are blamed on the same man. the two towns are 30 miles apart. they have evidence that the police in gaffney needed to know about. we have not got up details on what the evidence is, but a car matching the description of the gaffney shooting spree victim's car was found. the shootings began more than a week ago. it is all the people can talk about. the peach farmer was the first victim and last wednesday an 83-year-old mother and her daughter were shot and killed.

a day later a man and his 15-year-old daughter were shot. gm may be a step closer to getting out of bankruptcy. we'll get down to the nuts and bolts on what needs to happen to get the automaker back on track.

a seat in the senate has been empty for six months, but tomorrow it will be filled by democrat al franken. he looks happy arriving in washington today. the senator-elect will meet with senate majority leader harry reid this afternoon. the workers installed his nameplate outside his office this morning. le frankn and norm coleman fought a nasty court battle over the election results.

franken will give the democrats a filibuster-proof majority. get ready for a new gm. a plan was approved for the automaker to create a new plan. provisions of the sale would bar customers from making liability claims against the new gm. appeals from bondholders and unions are also expected. elephants being paraded through the streets seems like a pretty neat sight, but it is iraq trying to squeeze make up from your pockets. go to cnn.com. katherine is here to explain. >> reporter: we are talking about bangkok, thailand. you may run into an elephant,

literally. they call it elephant begging. what they do is parade the elephants through the street and people, of course, walk up and are interested in an elephant encounter and will usually give a few dollars to have their picture made with the elephant or whatever request they want. of course, they are more than happy to let them do it with the elephant as long as they give them some money. there's a move underfoot to pry to remove the practice because there's a lot of concern over the elephant. many tourists give money to the elephant beggars because they are concerned about the elephants looking hungry and frightened. the owners can make $30 a day with this and some of the animal rights activists are saying that little of the money goes to caring for the elephants. the new government attempting to crack down on it, they tried previously and they have all failed. there's a lot of criminal gang interest in these elephants and so the new plan is to try and

fine anyone who brings these elephants into bangkok to try to make money and perhaps use some of the money from the queen in thailand to buy these elephants and relocate them to the jupgle and hopefully it will work, but there are a lot of doubts they will be able to enforce this. as we said, not up usual to see the elephants walking down the streets in bang koch. >> wow, that's a fascinating story, catherine. i hope people go to dot come to find more out about it. >> $30 a day is a lot of money in thailand for the people literally begging for money. >> wow. a lot of people are always looking for alternative fuel sources, but this you must explain. chocolate is part of the conversation? >> reporter: yeah, and i'm thinking that's a pretty big waste. i know i would like the

chocolate. i don't think i want to put it in my car, but here's the idea. it is a biodiesel. chocolate is being used to power a race car. and interesting car, though. this entire car is so-called green. it is chocolate fueled. the frame of the car is made from hemp and recycled bottles. the seat that you sit on, the foam is made out of sew iing beads, and this is made of carrots. even if they use chocolate on convert it into the bio diesel, just trying to produce enough chocolate and fruits and other things there that they are using to make this dee stil is difficult, but it is a step in the right direction looking for all terptive fuels. >> well said. that's a step in the right direction. they are trying. but stop wasting my chocolate. >> reporter: that's right. you can find out more on cnn.com.

>> thank you, katherine. well, what started as a political battle turned into a battle in the streets in honduras. it is up believable. street demonstrations are turning deadly. @ppx

"prime news" is coming up in a few minutes. here's a preview of what you'll find at the top of the hour. in less than 24 hours, the world will say good-bye to michael jackson. hear from people who are headed to the human hi moral at the staples center in los angeles. plus, new details in the death of former quarterback steve mcnair. he and his girlfriend were shot to death over the weekend. was mcnair a victim of murder suicide? and police believe a serial killer is terrorizing a south carolina town. five people shot and killed in nine days. have police found their suspect? call in on all the stories. call 1-877-tell-hln. "prime news" is coming up at the top of the hour. the main airport in honduras is closed to all flights that

oppose the president who is expected to return back to washington today. look at this. a week of protests turns violent and deadly yesterday in the country's capitol as riot police try to use gunfire to gain control of pro-zelaya crowds. we are on the crowd there in honduras and we are told the red cross is reporting one death, but the protestors say one other person, a boy, was also killed. >> a dying man is carried through the crowd. video clearly shows him bleeding from a head wound. the red cross confirmed the initial death toll. we have one person dead, a man in his 20s, from a gunshot in the head and eight people wounded, he says. amid the violent clashes, protestors report more may have died. this man soaked in blood says a child died in his arms.

i ran want him to die, but he died. >> zelaya tried to return to honduras yesterday but says his jet was denied permission to land. this was very dramaticic. the honduran military forced him out of the country at gunpoint a little more than a week ago and the congress installed roberto micheletti in his place. barack obama is in russia for talks with the russian president. the talks are focusing on reducing nuclear stockpiles. they signed a joint understanding that is seen as the first step toward reaching that goal designed to replace a 21 agreement that expires in december. a twist today in the trial of one of four people accused of organizing a fight club among mentally disabled people. the defendants are former

employees at a special needs state facility in texas. you may remember this cell phone video of those fights. today a judge said she would likely suppress the use t video in the trial of the man accused of filming the fight. she says the phone appears to be stolen property but did say she would give prosecutors more time to try to find precedence that would allow her to admit the phone into evidence. and back now to live pictures of a fire at this meat packing plant south of milwaukee. it was under control for a while, but it did reignite and there's black smoke just pouring out of the building. it took 100 firefighters to try to get this fire under control. they've been working on it since last night. the mayor actually declared state of emergency. people that lived near had to be evacuated because of a possible ammonia leak and the risk of an explosion. a plant official says only a few workers were inside when this started. one person did have to be taken to the hospital and was treated and released and two people still being evaluated because of

breathing problems. looks like debbie rowe is changing her mind again. now it's all about michael jackson's memorial. will she or won't she attend? jane velez-mitchell has her take on this. not long ago, this man had limited mobility.

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