it's monday, july 6th. this morning the president begins a summit with the leaders of russia made more tricky because the former president may still be in charge. murder mystery. an nfl superstar found dead. was it an act of ors it an act of passion? getting ready for the public memorial for memorial for michael jackson. ticket ticket demands swamped supply. that that may not stop record crowds who want to be a part of that may not stop record crowds who want to be a part of history. captions paid for by abc, inc. it's been seven years since they held a summit but it

changes today. >> the countries aren't wasting to time already announcing a deal. >> however, the rest of the visit may not go so smoothly. yunji de nies joins us with the details. good morning, yunji. >> reporter: good morning, jeremy and vinita. the president faces a unique challenge. he and his family left washington last night for an overnight flight. he headed straight to the negotiating table when he arrives. the question is, which leader should he focus on? president obama faces not just one russian leader but two. a president and a prime minister. president dmitry medvedev holds formal power but prime minister putin who elevated him may in fact still be in charge. >> looks like vladimir putin is making the decisions and running the show. >> baas should spend more time with mr. putin and trying to understand what makes this guy tick. >> reporter: but the president plans to spend the bulk of his

time with mr. medvedev and told the associated press he wants to reset america's relationship with russia. >> time to move forward in a different direction. i think medvedev understands that. i think putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one in the new. >> reporter: the leaders are meeting to discuss nuclear disarmament, the growing threats of nuclear and iran. they'll also focus on afghanistan. the u.s. wants guaranteed access to key supply routes that run through russian territories as they ranch up the fight against the taliban. on those key issues, analysts say mr. obama must deal directly with putin. and he must be tough. prime minister putin has said he hasn't ruled out another run for the presidency in 2012. all the more reason that while mr. obama may want to focus on the current russian president,

he cannot ignore the powerful prime minister. jeremy and vinita? >> yunji, curious of getting sense what the russian people think of the new american president. >> reporter: it's very interesting because recent polling suggests the majority of russians have a very favorable view of mr. obama but the majority still has an unfavorable viewf the u.s. this is, of course, the first time that the president comes here as president. he's got to make a very strong impression. >> abc's yunji de nies reporting from moscow. thank you. alaska governor sarah palin has gone online defending her decisionon to resign. she told her followers on twitter critics are spinning so hang in there as they feed false info on the right decision i made and vowed to smack lies about her. among those leaders of the republican party who say they are just as puzzled as everyone else. >> it's also unclear what her strategy is. >> if this is geared for her run for the presidency in 2012 it is

one of the most politically tone deaf decisions that we have weigh seen. >> as the rumors continue to fly, the fbi has taken the unusual step of announcing that the governor is not under investigation. michael jackson ll be buried tomorrow followed by huge public memorial to celebrate his life. today, his mother will be in court fighting to control what he left behind. carla wohl has the latest from good morning.enter. >> reporter: good morning, jeremy. those lucky jackson fans who won the lottery today will pick up the wristbands that will get them into the memorial here at the staples center tomorrow. christina belltran is one of the lucky ones. >> it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. >> reporter: that feeling shared by over 17,000 michael jackson fans who won the lottery and will get a seat at the king of pop's memorial tomorrow. >> i ran over and looked and could not believe it. i thought i was dreaming. >> reporter: hundreds of

thousands of ticketless fans also are expected to converge on the staples center to say good-bye to the singer. streets in the area are being blocked off and 2,500 police officers will be on duty working crowd control. their message to people if you don't have a ticket, stay away. >> just doesn't make a lot of sense for purposes of being able to see you participate in the event. i'm hoping that people will heed that advice and to the degree that that's possible will have much smaller crowds. >> reporter: before the memorial the jackson family will have a private service at the forest lawn cemetery. meanwhile, police continue their investigation into the singer's death. they want to talk to five doctors who prescribed jackson so many medications often under false names. and the court battles are gearing up over custody of jackson's three children and control of his estate. in fact, later today a judge here in l.a. will hear arguments about whether jackson's mother should be in control of his estate or the executors named in

his will. they say it is estimated to be worth more than $230 million. live in los angeles, i'm carla wohl. jeremy? >> all right, thanks. abc is planning extensive live coverage of the jackson memorial service tomorrow starting at 1 p.m. eastern. 10 a.m. pacific and i'll be reporting from los angeles beginning tomorrow morning. in nashville stunned fans are leaving flowers and messages outside the restaurant owned by former quarterback steve mcnair who was murdered this weekend. investigators are focusing on mcnair's relationship with a 20-year-old woman found dead nearby. they say both had been dated for several months. >> we have already begun talking to friends of miss kazemi and friends of mr. mcnair in an s y ascertain if they were upset at each other. >> he was married with four sons. funeral arrangements are expected to be announced later today. china's state media is reporting 140 people have been

killed and more than 800 injured after police cracked down on ethnic protesters in a western province. it could be the deadliest outbreak of violence in china in years. tensions between ethnic muslim uighurs and the ruli chinese have been on the rise. the government says uighur exiles are to be blamed. manuel zelaya remains in exile. military vehicles blocked the runway. thousands of his supporters marched to the airport in the capital and were met with tear gas and bullets. at least one was killed. two others severely injured. now a dusk to dawn curfew is in place. minnesota senator-elect al franken is in washington meeting with senate majority leader harry reid. he made his first meet on independence day and will be sworn in tomorrow. the supreme court ruled yesterday that franken was the winner of the race. for this morning's weather from around the nation, thunderstorms in the rockies with the threat of large hail,

gusty winds and tornadoes from new mexico to montana. scattered thunderstorms, heavy rain andigh winds from dallas to orlando, showers in northern new england. cooler with showers in the pacific northwest. just 65 in seattle and 69 in portland but salt lake city hits 95 and phoenix 110. seasonable in the nation's heartland with the highs in the 80s from detroit to omaha. 90s across the south. 77 in boston and 84 here in new york. and coming up on this monday, new evidence that your morning coffee could prevent alzheimer's. >> plus a big green light for general motors. one step closer to emerging from bankruptcy. searching i'm good.

neral motors general motors has cleared a major hurdle on its road to ee mejing from bankruptcy and a judge ruled they can sell their best add sets to a new government controlled company. it's necessary to avoid immediate harm to the automaker. gm and the government will look to close the sale buthursday. chrysler announced it has filled remaining vacancies on the board of directors. it emerged from bankrupt si june 11th and will a holding at the end of the month. after a couple of weeks economic reports about t unrtainty, investors shift their focus to corporate america and they digest reports this

week. it could show how much of a toll the recession is taking on companies. the dow fell 157 points last week and is down 6% since mid-june. well, the next time you go shopping for a flat screen tv at best buy you may be able to pick up environmentally friendly wheels. several best buy stores have started selling green vehicles such as electric-powered scooters, bicycles and segways. for now these vehicles are only in stores in california, oregon and washington. well, the battle for the weekend box office ended in a rare tie. final numbers out today could decide if "transformers: revenge of the fallen" held on to the top spot for a second week in a row. "ice age: dawn of the dinosaurs" gave it a run for its money. both took in $42.5 million. "public enemies" debuted in third place. if you've ever found yourself racing to the bathroom during a movie hoping not to miss a good part, now there is an ap for that.

runpee gives you the cue to listen for, even a brief synopsis of what you missed. >> necessity the mother of invention. reminder, get the latest business news any time at our website, the address, abcnews.com. coming up next a serial killer on the loose targeting people of different ages and background. it's not the first time this town has been terrorized. strategy di at the magic kingdom. hmmm... well... naaa... yeah! calculating for getaway. ♪ find your way to a perfect destination at busch gardens... and water country usa... where family-fun surrounds you... and world-class rides astound. start at buschgardens.com.

it's the all new sesame street forest of fun... at busch gardens in williamsburg. with four family-friendly rides... and everyone's sesame street friends. ( elmo giggles ) ♪ big and small! there's fun for all! ♪ >>lcome ba welcome back. these are the latest headlines. president obama is in moscow on a mission to mend strained relations between the u.s. and russia. he meets with president medvedev today and prime minister putin tomorrow. lucky michael jackson fans who won ticks to his memorial will be picking them up today as the pop star's mother goes to

court for control of his estate. police investigating the murder of quarterback steve mcnair are focusing ott young woman who died nearby. mcnair and sahel kazemi had been dating for a few months. gaffney is held pyongyang hostage by a serial killer. five shot to death there and police say the murders are linked. the first victims were buried over the weekend and this morning the town is on virtual lockdown. jeffrey kofman is there. >> reporter: for the residents of this small south carolina town, there was little to celebrate this holiday weekend as they gathered to bury two more victims of a serial killer, who is now believed to have murdered five people. you knewll five? >> i did. i've grown up in this community, and it's just really been hard to accept. >> reporter: hundreds of police officers and investigators have descended on cherokee county in a race to catch the killer before he strikes again.

the sheriff has released this composite of the man they're looking for. they do not know his motive. >> there's no evidence that he knows the victims. there's no evidence that the victims are connected. >> reporter: the killings began on the outskirts of gaffney when a 63-year-old peach farmer was shot in his home. then, on wednesday, a 50-year-old woman and her elderly woman were found bound and shot in their home just a few miles away. on thursday, a businessman and his daughter were shot in his home supply store. he died at the scene. the 15-year-old died in the hospital. whatever his motive he has put this town on edge. >> we're keeping the doors locked at night. we've got guns pretty much everywhere. i've got a gun in the truck and i'm carrying right now. >> reporter: you got one on you. >> reporter: i got a .25 automatic with me. you have no idea. >> reporter: terror has visited them before. 40 years ago the gaffney

strangler murdered four girls before he was apprehended. he was killed in prison. 40 years later headlines again and this one says it all. this really is a community living in terror and that terror will continue until the murderer, the serial murderer is caught. jeffrey kofman, abc news, gaffney, south carolina. tragedy marred the july 4th weekend. an explosion killed four workers and injured another as they were unloading fireworks from a truck in a parking lot saturday morning. one witness described it as 40 minutes of fireworks going off in just 4 seconds. well, the monorail system at disney world is closed after a fatal accident over the weekend. one driver was killed when two twains collided early sunday morning. no passengers were seriously hurt. it was the first deadly monorail accident in the park's history. coffee may be the newest weapon in the fight against alzheimer's disease.

a study based on mice found drinking five cups of coffee a day could reverse memory problems brought on by alzheimer's. researchers at the university of florida say caffeine can help prevent its onset. doctors are hoping to get the same results once human trials get under way but dementia patients should not start using caffeine supplements. a place for history for roger federer. plus a surprise retirement from one of radio's most famous voices.

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it is the end of an era in the music world. the final countdown for ledge dari digit casey kasem. there was no advance notice and no fanfare. >> the bands that emerged ranked from the sex pistols to the clash to --

his wife says he will pursue other projects possibly a memoir. >> he's never been big on good-byes or hellos. he lets his work speak for himself. >> he turned over his signature american top 40 countdown to ryan seacrest five years ago. known for voicing cartoon characters most famously shaggy. from an icon the radio to someone achieving icon status on e ten cyst court. >> good moing. what a terrific independence weekend it was. we'll start at the all-england club. epic final, pete sampras on hand to watch roger federer potentially break his all-time mark which is at 14 grand slams. second set tie break roddick up 6-5 but hehe misses the backhan smash. fedder win wins. tied at eight games apiece.

roddick. crushes the backhand earns two break points but couldn't capitalize. now 14-15, federer, championship point. and roddick in the far court shanks the forehand. federer can'ts believe it's over, wins 16-14. now his titles passing pete sampras. andy roddick, as you canmagine completely dejected. tiger woods started the day in the lead at his own tournament, at&t national. here on the tee's 11th, into the hazard. that would lead to a being by. he drops the 12 under. meanwhile, hunter mayhan charging. finished two hours almost earlier than tiger did on the 18th. shot a course record 62. so now woods died at 12 under here on the 16th. drains the birdie putt and pars

in. tiger's third win of the year, 68th of his career. that'll do it for now. jeremy and vinita, back to you. well, though andy roddick came up short another american was victorious. serena beat venus for the women's title saturday. that makes her the currenting reigning champ of three of the major tournaments in tennis. >> ended up winning the doubles with her sister so both walked away with williamle didn't happiness. a special july fourth for hundreds who climbed the 354 steps to labor liberty's crown. first time since the september 11th attacks the crown has been open to the public. >> tickets for it sold out in a matter of hours. a new safety plan allows only 30 people at a time to walk up the steps. i can't imagine the view. >> i can't wait to go. >> if you stand in line. >> i know. >> you'll be waiting a while.

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tomorrow tomorrow millions of michael jackson fans will say good-bye.

the city of los angeles is expecting the staples center to be overrun by fans looking to pay final respects to the king of pop. as we've seen anything with a link to michael jackson has been selling fast and the online dend for his cds has gone through the roof. more from abc's eric horng. >> reporter: at reckless records the king of pop is selling like one. everything with jackson's name on it gone. >> we have to special order and just tell people, you know, you got to wait. >> reporter: in this age of declining album interest sales of jackson's cds have jumped 4,000%. amazon's top ten music sellers are all jackson. he's the first to sell over a million internet tracks over a week. ♪ >> definitely now after his death i am going to start collecting. >> reporter: jackson's record label sony has been scrambling to meet demand. its new jersey plant churning out cds. >> right now it's crazy. it's back up to you can get overtime calling everybody in ♪

>> reporter: for an artist whose work has been overshadowed by his personal life the surge in popularity and profits is perhaps the ultimate vindication. >> this is really the opportunity finally for people to feel like they can remember what it was that they loved about him. >> reporter: and retailers expect the trend to continue for months as details about jackson's death slowly come to light. a long final encore for an artist whose music -- ♪ because this is thriller >> reporter: remains a thriller. eric horng, abc news, chicago. of course, so much has been made about those ticks to the staples center. some of them are already on ebay. some of the lucky people that got them are selling them. i saw one for $8,000. >> abc your place for live coverage starting at 1 p.m. eastern. stay with us for "good morning america." robin roberts is live in l.a