it's thursday, july 9th. meetings under way right now, have world leaders tackling the world's biggest problems. but will any of it carry any weight. murder motive. and cheap tricks. airlines and hotels want your business. so, they are offering the best business. so, they are offering the best deals in years. captions paid for by abc, inc. good morning. thanks for joining us on this thursday. you might call tsmorning's summit in italy the group of eight plus five. president obama and the fellow g-8 leaders are including some of the fastest-growing economies

in today's talks. >> brazil, china, and south africa, are among those nations who are saying they are taking an especially hard hit in an economic crisis they had no part in making. yunji de nies has more from rome. >> reporter: good morning, vinita. good morning, jeremy. the prident has another busy day of meetings, focusing on the global economy, climate change and international security. the meetings are being held in nearby l'aquill'aquila, a town devastated by earthquakes just months ago. in l'aquila, the damage is still evident. much of the area is still unlivable. >> obviously, the hearts were broken by the death and destruction that took place after the earthquake. and i'm very pleased that the united states, like many other countries, will be contributing to help the rebuilding process. >> reporter: so far this, summit

has been dominated by talk of the global economy. the leaders agree that things are improving. but say it's still too early to pull back on any economic stimulus planshey put in place. there was some movement on climate change. the leaders colleged to cut 2050.house gas emissions by and for the first time, they agreed that worldwide temperatures must not rise more than two degrees. it's a big step. but it's nonbinding. and many environmentalists say it doesn't go far enough. on iran, the leaders condemned the recent postelection violence, but said they would give iran more time, on working out a diplomatic solution on ending its nuclear program. the president stressed the need for a united front. >> it's very important for the world community to speak to countries like iran and north korea, and encourage them to take aath that does not result in a nuclear arms race in places

like the middle east. >> reporter: while the president delves into diplomacy, the first lady is doing a little outreach of her own. she'll meet with the other g-8 spouses. that group will take a tour oaf the damage in l'aquila. they want to see that for themselves. at the same time, first tweens, malia and sasha are here. they saw the coliseum. they made jill lat toe. they're having quite an adventure, as well. >> we know the president and rst lady will meet with the pope tomorrow. what can you tell us about that visit? >> reporter: the president and first lady are both religion. but they're not cathol. the president has said he is treating this as a visit with any other state leader. this is one head of government meeting with another head ofof government. that said, he understands the profound influence that the pop has on the entire world. and so, he says he's looking forward and taking special care with this particular visit. >> abc's yunji de nies with the president in italy.

thank you. lots of new rumors and questions are swirling this morning about michael jackson. where and when will he be buried? where is his body now? and most pressing of all, what exactly killed him. t.j. winick has this from outside the jackson family home in encino. >> reporter: two days after michael jackson's big public memorial service, abc news has learned that members of the jackson family are pushing for a final resting place. three of michael jackson's brothers plan to seek permission to bury his body at neverland ranch, according to sources close to the family. but state officials say establishing a cemetery area in a residential area could take weeks. >> they have to have a cemetery manager. >> reporter: adding to delays, the desires by jackson's mother, katherine, that the family find an appropriate place for burial. there's been no determination about the cause of jackson's death, two weeks ago. but his longtime dermatologist,

told "good morning america" he saw no signs of his drug dependency when he saw him three days before his death. the los angeles city attorney's offices instigating how the city plans to pay for tuesday's memorial service. t.j. winick, abc news, encino, california. the website tmz, is posting pictures of jackson's three sisters, janet, latoya and rebbie. they appeared before the crowd to thank their brother's fans. >> once again, thank you for all of your love. all of your support. michael will forever live in all of our hearts forever. and one more note about the jackson memorial service. the mayor's office saying the site asking for donations to fray costs crashed. the city's only collected about $17,000 so far. and the mayor is urging fans to

revisit the site and donate. vigils are planned in california, today, for the two journalists being held in a north korean prison. laura ling and euna lee were sentenced to 12 years hard labor. lisa ling said laura admitted during the call that she and euna lee broke north korea law and need u.s. help to be free. the ethnic violence in northwest china has subsided for now. but when our crew entered the city, they were confronted by a mob of rebels, with sticks, saying they were angry. our crew managed to walk away unharmed. police in nashville confirmed steve mcnair was murdered by his girlfriend, who then turned the gun on herself. fans of the football great turned out to remember him, at the stadium where he quarterbacked the tennessee titans. police say 20-year-old sahel

kazemi's life was out of control. >> we also know that kazemi believed that mcnair was involved with another woman. and that, too, participated in her state of mind, we think. >> kazemi was facing a dui charge. this video was captured just two days before the murder/suicide. and mcnair was a passenger in the car. a new jersey man is dead after falling into a vat of chocolate at this processing plant. police say the 29 worker was tossing chunks of raw chocolate into the eight-foot tank when he fell in. he was struck and killed by one of the paddles that stirs the melted chocolate. things are back to normal in west los angeles, after a blackout last night. the power outage caused massive traffic jams, as the lights were out at many intersections. the fire department had to

rescue many people trapped in elevators. the blackout is being blamed on a failed cable at a distribution center. also, a brush fire that forced the evacuation of the getty museum, is about 90% contained. the fire charred about five acres of brush and threatened a college and a gated community. fire officials say it was caused by spashgs from a weed whacker. now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. severe storms in the middle of the country today. hail, gusty winds and tornadoes threatening six states, from the dakotas to missouri. heavy rain, thunderstorms and flooding in the southeast. stifling heat in the southern plains. >> parts of texas, oklahoma and kansas will feel like 110. cooler-than-normal in the northeast. with a mild 66 in boston and 75 here in new york. a high of 85 in chicago, detroit and minneapolis. and 92 in st. louis. 70s in the pacific nefts. and 86 in sacramento. today could be gm's final

day of bankruptcy. we'll have the latest business news next. plus, david and goliath. google challenging microsoft on what it does best. $30 air tickets and other des, as the airlines face a dismal summer season. ♪ /

general motors' brief trip through bankruptcy court could end as early as midnight. that's when a judge is expected to free the automaker to close

the sale of its best assets to a new government-controlled company. gm will emerge a smaller, more nimble company. that may not be the only big change. the company is said to be considering the blue background on its iconic logo to green. a sign of its new commitment to fuel-efficient cars. wall street begins to turn its focus to corporate earnings today. aluminum giant, alcoa, kicked off last night to a loss. experts feared the results would be worst. that helped boost the stock in late trading. overseas investors appear unsure of what to make of the alcocoa reresults.s. tokyo's nikkkkeiverageelell 1.1% y. and d n londndon, the ftse open higher. the dodow at after adding g 15 points yesterdaday. the nasdaq ticd up 1 p point t close e at 1747. well, amamazois cututti t t price for its s populaectronic bookok aderer. the kindldle 2 w wilostt 9.9.

that's $60 lesss tn w wn itt rst ntn sasale. amamaz is s hopi to make u up t books.s more e electroroninic d whwhen i it annouounceded on s own operating st, taking aimm at micicsoft windows. windoware running o t t whwhy is gooee bothering. "the new york times" sam grobart explains. >> operating systems, according to google, are not built to work on the web. what google is suggesting is more of a clean slate approach, with an operating system that is leaner, faster, simpler. and more integrated with the internet, than the existing operating systems are today. >> unfortunately, anyone anxious to test out google's operating system is going to have to wait. it won't be available until the second half of next year. >> if you want to find out about their plans, i'm sure you can google it. you can also go to our

website anytime, abcnews.com. coming up next on this thursday, fare wars. airlines and hotels in a rare, summer battle for your business. and before you reach for a bottle of water, is it really healthier than tap?

and about lipitor. welcome back. these are the latest headlines from abc news this morning. president obama and his fellow group of eight leaders have invited leaders from five ofhe fastest developing market economies to join them today. the focus, how to solve the global recession. new questions this morning about michael jackson. specifically, where is his body? where will he be buried? and when? so far, the family is mum on those details. and the boston area is the latest to be hit by severe summer thunderstorms. causing a tornado warning and leaving mounds of hail.

on capitol hill, dmms the house are racing to finish work on the health care reform bill by tomorrow. they hope to have it ready for a committee vote by next week. vice president biden said that hospitals have agreed to give up $155 billion in medicare and medicare for the next ten years. there is also talk about taxing high-income earners. a fare war between major airlines makes this the right time to travel. southwest started it with fares as low as $30 one-way. as lisa stark reports, carriers are offering some of the cheapest tickets in a long time. >> it is for a purpose. that's really to get the people in those seats for fall travel. >> reporter: it's not just southwest. airtran and frontier have announced g sales, and major carriers are beginning to follow suit. fly round trip at the end of the summer from seattle to baltimore for just $199, compared to $360 a year ago. or dallas to tampa, $137. $250 a year ago. >> nobody wants to be undercut

in this economy. when one of them has a sale, they all have a sale. >> reporter: the travel industry is reeling, as the economy and consumer confidence continue in the doldrums. it's not just the airlines. hotels are scrambling, too. compared to last year, hotels have cut their rates an average of 23% in new york city. 21% in las vegas. 18% inest palm beach. and 16% in phoenix. at new york's hotel beacon, advance bookings are off. >> hotels are offering special rates and special deals and special incentives. >> reporter: the one area with few deals, car rentals. prices are up 73%. rental companies are making fewer cars available, allowing them to raise rates. overall, though, for those who can afford to travel, the sky's the limit on good bargains. lisa stark, abc news, washington. there are some new questions this morning about whether bottled water is better than tap

water. new tests from an environment group show bottled water contains the same contaminants that tap water does. all bottled water comes from municipal supplies. residents of one australian town won't have to worry about what's in their bottled water. and that's because they have outlawed it. the community voted to ban the sale of bottled water out of concern for the environment. they're even selling free water fountains around town. they say the ban will reduce the carbon footprint, for bottles and transporting the water. coming up, the latest in sports this morning, including wins by lance armstrong and michael phelps. then, another first in space. one astronaut is even smarter than when he left earth. and he has the diploma to prove it. roasted chicken recipe? okay, savory rice and lamb stew. [ barks ] you're right.

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this stunt by members of the environmental group greenpeace, got 11 activists arrested. they managed to scale mt. rushmore in south dakota, where they unfurled a giant, six-story-high banner, with a message about global warming. lance armstrong is gearing up for one of the race's toughest stages. armstrong is still in second, separated by just seconds from teammate, alberto commodore. and another american is making news, michael phelps, with his winning ways in the pool. anish shroff has that an more from espn news. >> the rangers and angels are tied for first in the a.l. west. angels just 2-6, against texas this season. top one, andruw jones. that's to left center. his 12th of the year. 2-0, texas. jones, just getting started. in the third, his second of the game. 13th of the year. that's a solo shot. 4-0, rangers.

in the fifth, again. his second career three-homer game. only in the fifth inning. jones, with three homers all of last year. in the ninth, jones' fifth at-bat of the night. goes down swinging. three homers, four rbis, he'll take it. rangers, in first place. reds and phillie, tide at 2-2. bottom nine. shane victorino, with two on. that's off of david weathers, scores pedro feliz. and the phillies, 3-2, on victorino's heroics. n.l. east battle, jays and rangers. ben zobrist. tampa has won 15 of 17 at home. zobrist, four rbis. michael phelps in the 200 meter freestyle at the u.s. swimming championships.

phelps in lane four. good start off the blocks. coming down the stretch. phelps would hold off david walters, winning the 200 meter free. he also won the 200 meter butterfly. that does it for this update. i'm anish shroff. let's go back, now, to jeremy and vinita at "america this morning." we have an outof this world achievement for a canadian astronaut. >> robert first accepted a degree while orbiting the earth 240 miles above. the 55-year-old attended the convocation by video link. he had a little trouble keeping his cape from drifting away. >> one of the unforeseen problems. first earned an engineering degree back in 1976. he says education is the key to achieving your dreams. and clearly, he has done just that. >> i think the cape flying makes the picture more memorable. >> i agree. for some of you, your local news is coming up next. >> for everyone else, "america this morning" continues after this.

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and finally from us this morning, at his peak, michael jackson was a moonwalking gold mine, earning a king's ransom

many times over. unfortunately, he spent it faster than he made it. >> but if another king's any indication, jackson's earning power will have thriving, second life. here's chris connolly. >> tragic circumstances of his death at the young age of 50 years old, for him, being in the music business, only increases the interest. >> reporter: so says mark rossler, whose company has obtained the iconic status from marilyn monroe, to john way. he expects michael jackson to outearn them all. even elvis. >> reporter: rossler, says the mystique has incomparable value. the numbers don't lie. since his death on june 25th, michael jackson's songs have dominated radio station playlists. and i tune downloads. there were some 3 million of those alone. >> what will you have?

>> coffee, darling. just coffee. >> reporter: more than three decades after his death, elvis presley remains a high-earning, cult rat iccultural icon. >> those estimates are always in the billions. >> presley was found unconscious at his mansion around 2:30. his he was pronounced dead later. >> reporter: elvis' death in 1977, uncorked an outburst of affection for his music. >> elvis' legacy deserves protecting. there seems to be something in elvis for everyone. >> reporter: if elvis is any example, michael jackson's legacy may follow a similar pattern, as he remains both in their hearts -- ♪ i treated you bad >> reporter: and on the charts. i'm chris connolly in los angeles. and that's it for us. stay with us for "good morning america."