this morning on "early today," the last encore. friends, family, and fans celebrate the life of michael jackson. overseas swing. president obama travels to italy to meet with leaders of the world's major industrialized nations. and dummy up. an ohio restaurant owner wins and dummy up. an ohio restaurant owner wins his fight for mannequin rights. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm christina brown. today we begin with the final bow. nearly two weeks after his death, michael jackson was remembered in ace public memorial service by his friends,

family, and countless fans. nbc's jay grey jones us from the staples center in los angeles. >> reporter: good morning, christina. it was an amazing collection of entertainment superstars. they gathered with thousands of fans to say good-bye to michael jackson. but it was someone who took the stage for the first time here who ultimately made the most emotional and lasting impression at the memorial. ♪ it was a memorial that was part church service -- ♪ -- part concert --. ♪ and all michael jackson.

>> he is the greatest entertainer that ever lived. >> reporter: an amazing group of all-stars that gathered to honor him. >> we need to look up where he is undoubtedly perched in a crescent moon and we need to smile. >> reporter: but the smiles would have to wait as the most poignant tribute was delivered by those who were perhaps closest to him. his brother jermaine singing michael's favorite song. ♪ followed by a jackson who had never been on stage, michael's 11-year-old daughter paris. >> ever since i was born, daddy has been the best father you can ever imagine.

>> reporter: with a heart wrenching final good-bye. >> and i just want to say i love him so much. >> reporter: it really was the defining moment of the memorial, a reminder that even with all the controversy that has followed jackson, there is a family aching right now over the loss of a son, a brother, and a father. in los angeles, i'm jay gray. christina, now back to you. >> all right. thank you, jay. following meetings with russian leaders this morning, president obama switches gears as he arrives in italy. that's where he will be sitting down with world powers for the g-8 summit addressing problems facing countries around the globe. for more on that, with he go to nbc's savannah guthrie who joins us live from italy. good morning, savannah. >> reporter: good morning,

christina. the president just arrived here in italy, and he'll be here until friday. actually, friday he has a meeting with the popement but he's here for the g-8 summit, the meeting of the eight largest economies getting together to talk about a range of issues, climate change tops the agenda. and of course the global financial crisis. there's been a traditional divide between some of these leaders about whether to do more stimulus to help the economy or to stop getting into debt and focus more on new financial regulations. so that will continue to be of interest. and whether leaders will come to agreement on a statement on iran. in a bit of an unexpected situation, the president of china who was here earlier in the week had to leave because of some of the unrest in china. a meeting with the pope on friday. christina. >> thank you so much, savannah guthrie, joining us live from italy this morning. now, here's a look the other stories making news "early

today" in america. california police hope surveillance video will help them catch a vandal in a church. it was a $3,000 statue of the virgin mary and returning to steal it. churchgoers called this crime devastating saying, that statue was the centerpiece of their parrish. a restaurant owner in ohio will will be able to skeep a scantily-clad mannequin on display thanks to a ruling by the town council. officials ordered the owner to add more clothes to the busty blonde who started controversy with her ever so revealing bikini top and short-shorts. but the store's owner appealed and the mannequin known as barbi-que can continue attracting customers. the memphis zoo is celebrating a brand-new addition, a 3-day-old baby

elephant. it's the first elephant birth in the zoo's 103-year history. officials say mom and baby are doing fine but won't be on display just yet. and in nebraska, the franklin county fair wouldn't be the same without a popular pig wrestling contest. young competitors got down and dirty for a race to drop a pig into a basket. the fastest walked away with a cash prize and much-needed shower. here's nbc meteorologist todd santos with the weather channel forecast. good morning, todd. >> good morning, christina. i feel bad for the pig. that's all i can say. they will hose off all the kids and the pigs as well. showers out along the west. this area of showers and thunderstorms moving toward kansas city. if you're headed that direction as far as the airlines are concerned, may run into some issues. chicago, could see isolated showers and thunderstorms.

boston, still an active part of the northeast. meanwhile, new york through d.c. should be fairly quiet. good news there as far as your travels are concerned. this will likely remain in place at least through just about the finish of the week before it fizzles out across the southeast. northern florida a chance of showers. your morning commute will be settled but a chance for thunderstorms especially out to providence and boston. there's a look at the region. let's check out your local forecast. burlington, vermont, also in line for showers. 68 degrees. mostly cloudy skies. hartford, connecticut could see thunderstorms especially early this afternoon. 78 your daytime high. meanwhile, wilmington, north carolina, looking did. christina, a few areas with repeat performance of showers. we'll talk about that more in the next couple days coming up. thanks, todd. stocks fall, oil tumbles and

google does battle with microsoft. your early morning business headlines straight ahead. plus, the skies opening up in london last night couldn't stop the premiere of the latest harry potter flick. one of the most creative goals you'll ever see. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm christina brown. and here are some of your top headlines this morning. the associated press reports a cyber attack that started july 4th has knocked out a handful of government agency web sites, including some aimed at fighting cyber crime. among those that went down, the secret service's site. south korean officials say similar attacks there may be linked to those in the u.s. chinese president has abandoned plans for the g-8

summit. new violence erupted yesterday following recent clashes that claimed 146 lives. >> hundreds of anarchists squared off with police in athens. a protest in favor of giving more rights to illegal immigrants in greece. and in brazil, a 90 million-year-old fossive of an unknown species of crocodile has been unveiled. dubbed crocodile armadillo is a surprise because usually they live in human areas but this one is believed to have lived in a dry region. and now, here's an early look how wall street will kick off the day. the dow falls 161 points on tuesday. the s&p dipped 17. and the nasdaq lost 41 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 227 points, while in hong kong the hang seng

was down 141 points. worry about the health of the economy sent stocks skidding once again on tuesday. for more on that and all your early business headlines we're joined by geoff cutmore from the london headquarters of cnbc. good morning, geoff. >> reporter: hi, christina. it was the energy stocks that were on the skids really. that's right, it's worries about the economic story that are showing weakness for energy and industrials. we also got a print on nymex on the august contract. at the $62 a barrel level. so continued concerns. we'll be watching al coya very closely for news on just how much money they're making on this environment. the nikkei 225 closing wednesday's session low as investors fret. we were talking about a second stimulus plan, but we know that seems to be bogged down in agreements between the house and the senate in the united states. so that's something else for

investors to weigh. ex ceo of aig hank greenburg getting a jury verdict in his verdict. a bankruptcy judge late tuesday ruling a group who claimed they were injured as a result of defective g.m. products may not appeal directly to g.m.'s asset sale. and google is getting into the operating system business for pcs which will sharpen the already intense competition between google and microsoft. and let's wrap up on this story, clueless thieves bypassed real cell phones and cash when they broke into a cell phone store in marania, mexico. apparently employees say they took replica phones rather than the real things. that's a pretty dumb way of going about trying to make money in this current environment. back to you, christina. >> all right. thanks so much, geoff. manny gets the thumb.

the rays get a walkoff and lance gets second place. plus, a little creativity in the beautiful game. your early morning sports headlines are separate ahead. hey, coming up, we'll have a look at the second half of your week. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, less than a week after returning to baseball is dodger slugger manny ramirez in need of anger management? here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. just five days since returning from a 50-game suspension, doingers slugger manny ramirez put on quite a show in new york and that made an ejection. two for four and three rbis. ramirez wouldn't last the whole game. manny not happy with a call, dropped his bat, tossed his protective gear. watch closely as it landed near the umpire who threw manny out of the game. dodgers won 8-0. gone scoreless in 22 consecutive innings. it took 11 innings to decide a winner between the blue jays and the rays. a two run walkoff homer.

snapping a four-game st. louis losing streak. another huge day for lance armstrong at the tour de france. seven-time champ moves into second place. according to reports, he will remain head coach of the national team. a formal replacement to be made later this month. watch as a brazilian player flipped the ball over his shoulder, over the goalie and tapped it in with his head. the fancy footwork caught the keeper off guard. one of the best goals you will ever see. one fan wasn't all shook up during a wild play in the fifth. freel smashed against the dugout roof. a spectator caught the broken bat while talking on the phone. that is certainly multitasking. that's your early look at sports on "early today."

megan fox did what to audition or transformers? our early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, she's an ins separation, hero and record breaker all before getting her driver's license. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." looks like another beautiful day

in and around nashville. beautiful up towards cincinnati. temperature in the 80s. plenty of sunshine. to the south of atlanta, better chance for thunderstorms. boston, again, fairly active. hartford and providence, good chances for some thunderstorms. much of central and southern maine, also chances for showers. mostly cloudy skies across the northeast tomorrow. still cool temperatures, 66, for thursday in boston. if you're watching channel 12 in jacksonville, florida, tour a south american rain forest and meet jaguars, monkeys and more at the jacksonville zoo and gardens range of the jaguar exhibit. >> thanks so much, todd. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. the morning after michael jackson's farewell, the grumbling has already started over its cost. california is broke and los angeles is laying people off. so yesterday's $3 million plus price tag for police and other security to be paid for by taxpayers is making some people

mad. according to e online, efforts to get aig, the staples center owner, to pick up part of the tab has been refused. hundreds braved heavy rain in london last night for the world premiere of the harry potter. rupe effort, who recently battled swine flu, was able to make it. michael bay made megan fox audition for the first film, get this, by having her come over to his house and wash his ferrari while he filmed her. finally, paris hilton spent fourth of july weekend with a jeweler in lebanon, staying at the world's largest hotel suite. her parting gift, half a million dollars worth of diamonds. and i'm sure it was probably worth every penny. >> unbelievable. i wonder if she claims that comes back to the u.s.

>> she may not have a choice now. well, this comes to us from wrc tv nbc 4 in washington, d.c. where in nearby college park, maryland, a 15-year-old pilot is soaring into the record books. she may be too young to drive, but kimberly became the youngest african-american girl to fly cross country. kimberly hopes she can inspire other teams to tackle big challenges. get this, her next mission, setting the round-trip record by flying back to california. good for you, kimberly. i'm christina brown. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> a very good morning to you, middle of the week and we are going to experience a nice dose of spring. july but we have seen one of the coolest julys on record. since 2001 the average temperature is the lowest it has been the first week of july. today only up to about 80. you can clearly see there is nothing happening over our area. front weak passed through. clear skies to begin. there is activity up north but high pressure will build in over the northeast and it will sag to the south. as it does we will be drier. right now downtown it is 71, 67 at the airport. but today we will go up to between 79 and 83. mostly sunny and lovely

forecast. i will break it down in a little bit. >> the time is 4:57 and here is a look ahead to "11 news today." >> it was a successful sendoff for a pop legend. details are coming up. >> in a stunning move a long-time catholic high school announces its closure in baltimore county. details are next. >> marriottsville road is shu

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good morning, i'm mindy basara. >> i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us. we will get to the big story in a minute but first let's check the forecast. >> five stars today. we had a front move through, pleasant, mostly sunny,