By Mark Memmott

Good morning. Things are going to be a bit busy right away today, so let's get to it.

At 8 a.m. ET, President Barack Obama is scheduled to hold a news conference in L'Aquila, Italy, where he and other leaders are wrapping up the G-8 summit. We're planning to live-blog it, so come back around then if you want to follow along.

Climate change was among the top issues at the summit, at which the major industrial nations agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% before 2050 -- but developing nations declined to set such a numerical target. The leaders also agreed on a $15 billion initiative aimed at boosting food production in the world's poorest nations.

After his news conference, the president heads to Rome for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli previewed that meeting on Morning Edition. As she reports, the two men's personalities could not be much more different:

The president ends his day in Ghana. As NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reported on Morning Edition, the visit is seen as a landmark for that sub-Saharan African nation:

At 9 a.m. ET, General Motors holds a news conference to talk about its whirlwind, 40-day trip through bankruptcy proceedings. There will be a webcast here, and we'll have live updates as well. As the Detroit Free Press notes, "now one of the biggest challenges facing the company is convincing buyers that yes, indeed, it is a new GM and it is worthy of their business, experts say."

On Morning Edition, NPR's Frank Langfitt told co-host Steve Inskeep that the bankruptcy accomplished something GM executives had been trying to do for decades -- shrink and simplify the automaker. Now, he says, GM has no more excuses:

Other stories making headlines include:

-- The Washington Post -- "AIG Seeks Clearance For More Bonuses": "American International Group is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives after an earlier round of payments four months ago set off a national furor. ... The payments coming due next week include $2.4 million in bonuses for about 40 high-ranking executives at AIG, according to administration documents from earlier this year. Though the actual sum may have changed since then, the payments are much smaller than those that caused the upheaval in March."

-- ABC News -- "Dad Fears 'Foul Play' In Michael Jackson Death": "Joe Jackson suspects 'foul play' may have been involved in the sudden death of his son, Michael Jackson, he told ABC News in an exclusive interview. In fact, the 79-year-old Jackson family patriarch was dumbfounded as he learned his 50-year-old son was being rushed to the hospital after collapsing at home on June 25, he told ABC News' Chris Connelly in an exclusive interview at the Jackson family compound in Encino, Calif."

-- The Associated Press -- No Quick Resolution Of Honduran Crisis: "Hopes for a quick resolution to the post-coup leadership crisis in Honduras dimmed as the two rivals fighting over the presidency refused to meet face-to-face and emerged from talks in Costa Rica showing no signs of budging from their hardline positions."

-- Morning Editon -- GOP Whip Pushes Again For Tax Cuts Aimed At Small Businesses: Yesterday, Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep spoke with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, about the economy's problems and whether another economic stimulus package is needed. This morning, he interviewed House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va. Cantor pushed the GOP plan that emphasizes "investment" in small businesses:

-- BBC News -- "Bull Gores Man To Death In Spain": "A young Spanish man has been gored to death in the traditional running of the bulls in Pamplona, northern Spain. The 27-year-old was gored in the neck on Friday, during the fourth bull run of the week-long San Fermin festival. Daniel Jimeno Romero, from Madrid, had emergency surgery in hospital but died of his injuries. Earlier reports had described the dead man as British. ... Fifteen people have died from injuries at the Pamplona fiesta since 1922."

categories: Foreign News, Morning Edition, Morning Roundup, National News

7:45 - July 10, 2009

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