this morning on "early today," put to good use. former president bill clinton arrives in north korea to negotiate the release of two u.s. journalists. closing time. facing massive red ink, the u.s. postal service prepares for some drastic measures. and questionable source. police in ohio take down a knife-wielding elderly woman.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with bubba, back in the saddle. after eight years on the political and diplomatic sidelines former president bill clinton is in the north korean capital this morning. he was enlisted by the obama administration for a surprise mission to negotiate the release of two american journalists held prisoner there. clinton arrived early this morning on an unmarked chartered jet from south korea. the surprise, high-profile trip marks only the second time a former u.s. president visited this communist nation. clinton will try to secure the release of tv reports euna lee and lauer ling, who were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for illegally crossing into korea.

the administration said clinton's focus will remain on those reporters and not nuclear policy. after a series of delays, yesterday a superior court judge in los angeles got down to dealing with the legal matters since the death of michael jackson, beginning with the custody of michael jackson's children. >> reporter: michael jackson's mom, katherine, and other members of his family, part of a throng that included at least 17 lawyers from every aspect of the pop star's life. the hearing started with judge beckloff appeariroving a custod agreement worked out last week between katherine jackson and debbie rowe. >> everyone sought the same

objective. doing what was best for the children. >> reporter: the judge also approved a monthly financial allowance for both the children and katherine jackson, paid out by the pop star's estate. an estate proving much more difficult to sort out. the hearing ended without much agreement between katherine jackson and the two men named executor of jackson's will. they will continue to administer the estate as the judge considers what role ms. jackson might play in that process. >> this was not the end game. this was the first move in a long chess game. >> reporter: confidentiality is part of the long legal battle. lawyers over whether ms. jackson can discuss contract details with the contract company for

michael jackson's tour. the judge told ms. jackson she must abide by contract confidentiality agreements until he makes a ruling in the case. >> the white house once again spent yesterday twisting the figurative arm of the u.s. senate, insisting its cash for clunkers program is headed for a complete stall-out friday unless senators provide another $2 billion in funding. neither a quarter million drivers have taken advantage of the rebate plan, hoping to boost july auto sales to their best monthly showing this year. still, some republicans say the plan just represents more government giveaways. once eager auto dealers now worry they could be left on the hook for some of the money if congressional funding doesn't come through. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. ohio police subdude an elderly woman threatening people with a clive.

cell phone video from a bystander captured the 84-year-old woman walking around a walmart parking lot responding to reports she threatened other people and threatening to cut them. an officer pulled the woman to the ground. witnesses believe the cop used too much force against the elderly woman. she was treated for head injuries but not charged with a crime. cameras captured liquor thieves in florida walking out with pricey bottles lining the legs of their pants. surveillance video shows one man distracting a clerk while another man stuffs expensive bottles of alcohol down his pants. police believe the criminal duo ridding their pants with pouches to hold the bottles. the two have stolen thousands dollars of liquor from various stores. two people were rescued from a pennsylvania river after their pleasure boat tanked. the coast guard says one of those victims was pulled from the chilly waters by a good

samaritan. the 15-foot boat the victims were on sank around night fall. a colorado fisherman reeled in a state record. the man caught a 35-pound catfish. the largest catfish ever to be snagged in the state. the avid angler now has a fish tale to tell his friends that he can actually document. for a look at national and regional weather, here's meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. not bad, huh? >> one of the tricks is when you get the picture taken, you have to hold your arms out as far as possible to make the fish look even bigger. thought i would give that away. i've done it. let's take a look at the forecast this morning. it will be a warm day. we're already looking at temperatures in the 70s. just about everywhere. even into the boston, up in the 70s. 84 to start your morning in miami. 78 in new orleans and 70 in chicago. today will be for the eastern half of the country one of the

warmest days collectism of the summer. here's a closer look at the temperatures. charlotte, the queen city at 72. norfolk at 74. this front is off the coast. a good deal of sunshine. the next storm system by minneapolis. that will take two days to get to the eastern seaboard. some of the warm air in oklahoma and texas will stream eastward. we'll see temperatures jumping today. a chance for the first 90-degree day of the summer for new york. warm to the southeast but dry. that's your national forecast. here's a look at the weather outside your window. sunshine today. even northern maine, airs around bangor to portland in the low 80s. philadelphia at 92. stay cool and also stay in the shade. it's amazing.

you know they say 89 or 90 is hot. compared to how it's been this summer, a lot of areas will feel just that. >> i'm looking forward to it because july was cold. stocks rise again. precious metals jump. getting paid to not go to school. your early morning business headlines straight ahead. plus, he made the world howl with laughter as borat and then bruno. who will his next chair be? >> plaxico burress is indicted and urban mire cashes in at florida. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. the united states, the united nations and the european union have all condemned israel after that nation's supreme court

ordered the eviction of more than 50,000 palestinians from homes in east jerusalem. leading the criticism, secretary of state hillary clinton, who called the move by israel, quote, provocative and regrettable. meanwhile, secretary clinton is now on her way to africa for a seven of nation trip. during the tour, she's expected to push for stability in somalia and free trade for african nations across the continent. in a rare attack on the relatively calm afghan capital of kabul, eight rockets slammed into the city at daybreak with one damaging an afghan official's house near the u.s. embassy. the taliban claimed responsibility for the blast. and scientists are on a three-week voyage to study a huge mass of plastic accumulating in one particular spot in the pacific ocean. it's known as the great pacific garbage patch. researchers want to know how much debris is there and what

its effect is on marine life. here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 9286 after jumping 114 points on monday. the s&p was up 15. the nasdaq gained 30 points. taking a look at overseas trading, in tokyo, the nikkei inched up 22 points. in hong kong, the hang seng dipped ten points. more signs that the economy is improving had investors in a buying mood on wall street monday. the s&p index made its way past the 1,000 mark monday. experts believe breaking that psychological barrier could feed the market's current momentum. investors rallied after encouraging reports that manufacturing levels and construction spending both ticked higher in july, possible signs economic conditions are improving. that news fueled interesting commodities where the prices of

aluminum, copper, silver and gold all jumped by percentage points. the dollar fell to its lowest point since last fall. postal workers were delivered bad news on monday. the u.s. postal service announced aid cost-cutting measure that may force it to shut down 1,000 local offices. among monday's top performers, bank of america traded higher on news of a $33 million settlement following s.e.c. accusations over merrill lynch bonus payouts. cisco, scheduled to report this week, up 2.6% by the end of the day. helping the nasdaq to its first close over 2,000 since last october. asian markets hit 11-month highs tuesday before profittakers moved in. and the japanese automaker toyota posted its third straight quarterly loss. on the bright side, the company said it expects less red ink for

the full year. wall street will be watching this morning when new reports are released on personal income and spending, followed by pending home sales data. keep an eye on whole foods, the upscale grocery chain is due to release its earnings after the market closed today. finally, there may be a few more college students on the beach in south florida this semester. that's because the university of miami law school accepted too many students and they're now offering $5,000 to any admitted grads who will postpone their enrollment until next semester. how's that for a deal? more nfl. news from the docket. last night's baseball highlights from parks around the country. including a diamond back going on a birthday bashing spree in the big apple. >> your tuesday weather, warm conditions. really from coast to coast. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, after stumbling through the first half of the season, the chicago cubs have come roaring back. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. with the cardinals off

yesterday, the cubs had a golden opportunity to move into a two-way tie for first in the nl central. taking on the reds, giving the cubs an early lead. the ninth homer of the year, giving chicago a 3-0 lead in the second. cubs won, 4-2, tied with cards for first place. cardinals and orioles. making the sliding catch in left. check out tims in the second. tied game in the ninth. lee thomas says, let's go home. a walk-off home run. tigers come from five runs down to beat the orioles, 6-5. mets hosting the diamondbacks. three cheers for mark reynolds, celebrating his 26th birthday with a bunch of highlights. reynolds starting things off with a home run in the first. then in the second, it's reynolds again. this time to deep center. his 32nd of the year.

reynolds doing it with his glove. he smothers the ball at third, tosses to first in time to get the runner. d'backs beat the mets, 6-5. college football, the florida gators resigned head coach urban meyer to a six-year $24 million deal. he's the second highest-paid coach in college football behind usc's pete carroll. plaxico burress was indicted on weapons charges for shooting himself in the thigh last november. nascar pennsylvania 500. if you ain't rubbing, you ain't racing. danny hamlin gives boyer a little bump and races past him. hamlin takes the checkered flag, his first win of the season, an emotional one at pocono. that's your early look at sports. nicolas cage is in hot water with uncle sam. your early morning entertainment headlines straight ahead. plus, a summertime feast for the senses.

and some pretty excited kids in florida. you're watching "early today."

good tuesday morning to you. in hit valley, you have a chance of strong storms today. keep an eye on the sky. ohio, indiana, down into kentucky. the southeast should be relatively dry and hot. the northeast, new england, a mini two-day heat wave with areas near 90 two days in a row

from boston to d.c. get ready finally. it only took two months. if you're watching on wpxi in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, enjoy the sounds of some of the city's finest jazz musicians at the katz plaza. >> thanks so much. here's an early look at headlines in entertainment. he may have been a hit in national treasure, that hasn't stopped the nation from coming after nicolas cage's personal treasure. he's been hit with a whopping bill from the arizonirs. california governor signed up soccer star david beckham to promote california around the world. don't look for ryan o'neal to hang out with estranged

daughter tatum o'neal any time soon. he'll never forget her for spilling the fwheenz a tell-all biography. he told vanity fair, quote, how dare she throw our laundry in the street for money. finally, he's retiring borat and bruno. what's next for sasha baron cohen, a wannabe pop star who's desperate to win a singing competition. this comes to us from wtvj in miami where some blind children are getting the ride of a lifetime. for the past three summers, a florida farmer hosted kids from a local camp for the blind. this is the first chance for many children to get a close look at horses, let alone climb on top of them. the farm donates money for the field trip out of pocket. the joy on these kids' faces is, as they say, priceless. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today." your first stop of the day,

today on your nbc station.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> a very good tuesday morning. we got into the mid 80's yesterday. today, it will fill a lot more humid. we will have a high of 90 degrees before it is all over. a week high pressure is in control. it is not as strong as yesterday. the dewpoint will creep up and bring back some moisture in the

environment. nothing going on as far as precipitation my neck. we will not have that until tomorrow afternoon. the 76 degrees downtown. 69 degrees at the airport. 63 degrees across this airline -- state line in northern pennsylvania. 87 degrees-91 degrees today. the sun will set tonight at 8:15. a mild overnight well. another front will push through here. i will have more on that coming up. >> we will see you in a little bit. here's a look at 11 news today. >> a couple facing a laundry list of charges including sexual abuse against children and child pornography. the details are straight ahead. >> in washington, cash for clunkers, to some and other government bailout. to others, a win for the environment and the economy. will the senate approved an

extension? i will have that story coming up. >> we will let you know how traffic is affected