making news on this tuesday, august 3rd. a delay in the gulf puts off an attempt to close that troubled oil well for good. and a horrific alley in a louisiana river, leaves a group of teenagers dead. they were cooling off in the water but couldn't swim. massive wildfires in russia. good morning. and thanks for being with us. plans to permanently plug the gulf oil well are on hold this morning. engineers have found a small leak that needs to be fixed first. >> after that comes a preliminary test to make sure the busted blowout preventer can handle the stress. all this as new figures confirm

it is the largest oil accident in marine waters ever. >> emily schmidt is joining us now from washington with the latest. good morning, emily. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning to you. bp needs some patience. it's handling one more small setback in permanently plugging that well. but it believes today is the day the static kill may get under way. bp says it will have to try a bit longer to try its 11th plan to stop the oil. monday's testing showed a small hydraulic leak on a containment cap. it must be plugged before the static kill begins, potentially today. scientists say it looks good. >> the chances are up around 95%, 99%. >> reporter: the static kill requires heavy mud, and lots of it, to push the oil back in the reservoir. it will fill a two-mile well hole and kill the well, before a cement injection permanently fills the well. it's reason for optimism in a

region where divers say it's increasingly difficult to fi oil. >> we went offshore looking for oil. and made four or five jumps in different spots across the outside offshore. and didn't see anything. >> reporter: plaquemines parish president, billy nungesser, disagrees. >> it's shameful that we have to keep proving ourselves. i wish there was no oil. i'd like to get my life back, too. but every day, oil is appearing somewhere. >> reporter: new government numbers estimate 5 million barrels of oil spewed from the well before it was capped two weeks ago. that's 53,000 barrels each day. there has been a lot of congressional criticism about all of the chemical dispersants, a million gallons that were used to fight all that oil. yesterday, the epa released a study that said it looked at the dispersan dispersants. and they were no more toxic than the oil itself.

>> emily schmidt in washington for us. thank you. a family picnic at a shreveport, louisiana, park, ended in a devastating loss. while adults were setting up a barbecue, seven teens went widing in the shallow waters of the red river. one boy fell into a sink hole. the other teens and adults who rushedore tried to help. but no one could swim. >> they had one life jacket here. as you can imagine, everybody started yelling for help. nobody could swim. >> the life jacket did save one boy. but six of the teens died. it took fire officials and divers three hours to recover all the bodies. the second washington lawmaker in two weeks is to face ethics charges. and now, she is vowing to fight the allegations. california democratic congresswoman maxine waters, is accused of taking improper steps on behalf of a bank in which her husband owned stock. waters said she was advocating for the minority-owned bank. and that she did not benefit. her trial could begin next month.

actor charlie sheen has pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife. but he will not be going to jail. in the plea deal, sheen agreed to misdemeanor assault. and prosecutors dropped the more serious charge of felony menacing. he was sin tensed to a rehab facility and anger management classes. pakistan issued new flood warnings this morning aseffe th effects of epic, monsoon rains continue to spread. 1,400 people have died and millions need help. and pakistan's battle with the elements is in a region where it is already battling the taliban and al qaeda. nick schifrin reports from peshawar. >> reporter: we arrived here late last night with the u.s. military from across the border in afghanistan. the military, every few hours, is sending planes into pakistan, trying to help the pakistani government and the pakistani military respond to some of the deadliest and worst floods in the country's history. the u.s. has pledged about $10

million so far. and most of that has been spent on meals ready to eat, or mres, military rations. the devastation here is so wide-spread. so many have not gotten the help they need. that has created anger. yesterday, we saw a protest in one area. people saying it's been five days. why haven't we seen anybody from the military or the government yet? and that's simply because of the size of this devastation. with so many people living on the sides of the road and so much standing water, diarrhea or cholera could create an outbreak among the people who have fled their homes. and that's the biggest fear right now. now, it is sunny. and that has helped things here. but there's still a fear that from northwest pakistan, some of the water can come downstream into central pakistan. and we could u snately see some of the same images in northwest pakistan in midwest pakistan. in russia, soaring temperatures and drought have both fueled deadly forest fires

there that are burning out of control. >> dozens are dead. and the thick smoke is now posing a health threat to millions of people far from the flames. alex marquardt is in moscow with the latest. good morning, alex. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. fires continue to rage in parts of central and western r thisa this morning. one-fifth of russia's regions have been affected, with firing covering some 300,000 acres. smog has covered most of city for the city for most of the past week. officials said walking around for a few hours in the smog is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes. elsewhere, the situation is more serious. entire villages have been burned to the ground, leaving more than 2,000 homeless. at least 40 people have died. and hundreds have been injured. this remarkable video shows four volunteers driving towards a village to help keep the fire away. but before they can arrive,

their car was engulfed in flames. they abandoned their plan and turned around, managing to escape. this is the fifth week of the russian heat wave. a country better suited to handling freezing cold temperatures. officials say the fires could get worse, as temperatures this week are set to go up. rob? vinita? well, speaking of heat waves, it's time, now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. hail, 80-mile-per-hour winds and isolated tornados from kansas city to omaha and des moines and chicago. more drenching rain and flooding from arizona to colorado. thunderstorms along the gulf coast and southeast. and scattered showers in new england and upstate new york. >> meanwhile, upper 80s from boston to baltimore. 90s from minneapolis to kansas city. and 106 in dallas. 75 in seattle. and 92 in salt lake city. and when we come back on this tuesday, toyota. new evidence suggests the company knew about those accelerator problems years ago. that's in business news, next.

and u.s. troops in iraq. more and more of them are coming home. president obama says it's a promise fulfilled. [ female announcer ] ladies, raise your spoons. now there's nothing left standing between you and a satisfying breakfast. introducing special k low-fat granola. with 50% less fat than the leading granola and 5 grams of fiber per serving, it's a satisfying way to help you manage your weight. special k low-fat granola -- a taste of freedom. aveeno hair shines in real life. new aveeno nourish plus shine with active naturals wheat smooths damaged cuticles for 75% more shine in one use. real shine, for real life. yours. [ female announcer ] new aveeno nourish plus shine. and i wondered what it was. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves

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kool-aid delivering more smiles per gallon. overseas stock markets are mixed this morning, despite a strong start to the month on wall street. tokyo's nikkei average climbed 1.3% today. hong kong's hang seng is slightly higher. in london, the ftse opened lower. on wall street, the dow surged 208 points yesterday, closing at the highest level in 3 months. the nasdaq added 40 points. more trouble for toyota this morning, as it faces hundreds of lawsuits over its runaway cars.

according to court documents filed mobd, the automaker knew of at least six kifs sudden acceleration, dating back as early as 2003. toyota's own dealers verified some of them. toyota has recalled millions of cars since last year, blames faulty floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals. countrywide financial has agreed to pay $6 million for shareholder lawsuits, stemming from the mortgage crisis. it could end several class-action lawsuits, claiming countrywide hit mounting risks as it loosened loan standards. criminal investigations by federal regulators. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke is warning that we have a long way to go before the economy is healthy again. in a speech monday, bernanke said progress is being made after the worst downturn since the great depression. but that it's going very slowly.

he cited spending cuts by state and local governments as one of the reason for the sluggish recovery. if you own a cadillac escalade, you're just asking for trouble. a new insurance industry survey finds that the most popular vehicle among thieves. 1 out of every 100 is reported stolen. other top targets include the ford f-250 pickup, infinity g37, dodge charger and corvette z-06. apparently not a black market for suburban. >> get that minivan. when we come back this morning, evidence, of course, of a very hot summer. and changes are coming to h@h@the little league world ser.

a new tropical storm has formed in the atlantic. collin formed early this morning. but it's not on track to affect the oil spill area in the gulf. and a heat wave is baking parts of the southern plains. and it is taking a toll on the roads. >> it was a scorching 105 degrees in tulsa, oklahoma, yet. so hot, it left a gaping two-foot hole on a busy bridge. it happened just before rush hour. and crews had to scramble to fix it back up. now, a look at road conditions. flooding on i-80, from chicago to des moines. flooding on i-10, 25, and 40, in the four corners region of the

southwest. wet on i-10, from new orleans to jacksonville. and slick roads across georgia and alabama. >> and if you're flying today, you can expect airport delays in phoenix, kansas city, chicago, as well as in beantown. president obama is vowing to keep his promise to u.s. service members in iraq. the president says, by the end of the month, most stationed there will be headed home, after eight years of fighting. that's despite a political stalemate in baghdad and a rise in suicide bombings. yunji de nies reports. >> reporter: president obama delivered on a major campaign promise. telling a group of disabled veterans that all combat troops will be out of iraq by the end of the month. >> i made it clear that by august 31st, 2010, america's combat mission in iraq would end. and that is exactly what we are doing. as promised, and on schedule. >> reporter: when the president took office, there were 144,000 troops in iraq.

over the last year and a half, there has been a steady reduction. and by the end of this month, only 50,000 combat forces will remain. mr. obama reached this in large part because of the actions of the last administration. before leaving office, president bush sent an additional 20,000 troops. and extended the tours of many more, a move then-senator obama opposed. >> i cannot in good conscience . it's a policy that's already been tried. and a policy that has failed. >> mr. obama had opposed the surge. and that, if we had not surged, we'd be in a much different place today. a much worse place. >> reporter: the president did not credit the surge directly. although, he did say iraq is increasingly able to stand on its own. >> becau >> because of the sacrifices of our troops and their iraqi

partners, violence in iraq continues to be near the lowest it's been in years. >> reporter: violence escalated in july, with 161 civilians killed. still, with the height of the violence in late 2006, civilian deaths reached 1,500 a month. >> if you value political liberty, as most americans do, you would say iraq's a lot better off now. if you value personal safety on the street, iraq is still somewhat worse off than it had been in the latter years of saddam's rule. >> reporter: five months after national elections, iraq is still without a fully functioning government. and with this month's troop withdrawal, that political vacuum may only lead to further instability and continued violence. yunji de nies, abc news, traveling with the president, in atlanta. well, there is a new link this morning between internet addiction and depression. chinese researchers say teenagers who spend at least five hours a day on the internet, are 1 1/2-times more likely to develop depression than others. the study found web-addicted

teens became agitated and lost interest in social intersection. researchers say the depression may come from a lack of sleep and stressful online games. expanded instant replay is coming to the world series. the little league world series, that is. for the first time, replay will be used to look at home runs and other plays close to the fence. the little league world series kicks off august 20th. now, for highlights from the major leagues from espn and don bell. >> good morning. a busy night on the diamond. we start with alex rodriguez, looking for history in the bronx. blue jays and yankees. a-rod looking for career jack number 600. bottom of three. he's fanning in the summer heat. he goes down. top of the fifth inning, now. blue jays lead 3-2. and jose batista, outside of the batter's box. back to the wall it goes. two runs will score. and the blue jays lead it 5-2. bottom nine. yanks trail 8-6. two out. there's rodriguez, grounding weakly to short. rodriguez, 0 for 5.

the blue jays win 8-6. indians and red sox from fenway park. bottom one, two out. no score. kevin youkilis, soft liner. but youkilis, jammed so badly by the pitch. he sprained his right thumb. he left the game. bottom seven. red sox down by four. daniel maher singles to right. shin soo chu, into sar los santana. victor martinez, david ortiz, looking on with concern. look at the play. legs are not supposed to do that. santana, taken off by a cart. his leg was in an air cast. and the indians win that thing, 6-5. that's all for your sports update. i'm don bell. now, back to you in new york. it is a cultural display of synchronized motion 100,000-strong.

>> that's how many dancers and gymnasts are taking center stage in the usually stoic and recl e reclusive north korea. hundreds are packing the stadium in the capital to take in the colorful festival, which runs for two months. coming up next, the stories we are following today, including that delay in the gulf.h@h@ and formchchchchchchchchchch

now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this tuesday. bp engineers will have to fix a small leak before they can begin preparation to permanently plug the busted gulf oil well.

and several louisiana families are mourning the loss of six teenagers who drown during a picnic in shreveport. they were wading along the banks of the red river when they stepped into a drop-off. none of the teens could swim. it is decision day for the a new york city commission that is considering plans for an islamic cultural center near ground zero. the plan is expected to be approved, despite intense opposition from those who say it will be nothing more than a mosque just blocks from the site of the 9/11 attack. and the full senate begins debate on the nomination of elena kagan to the u.s. supreme court. kagan's confirmation is all-but certain when senators take the vote friday. day five of jury deliberations get under way today in the corruption trial of rod blagojevich. the former illinois governor has pleaded not guilty to trying to sell president obama's old senate seat. and a heat wave in russia is fueling wildfires that cover one-fifth of the entire country. temperatures are expected to

reach 100 in moscow, where acrid smoke from the fires has filled the air for a week. we'll be right back. ♪

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and finally this morning, paying the consequences for ill-gotten gain. a book dealer who tried to sell a treasured literary collection is now headed to jail.

>> that collection happened to be a stolen copy of the complete works of shakespeare, dating back to the early 1600s. more, now, from chris buckler, of the bbc. >> reporter: raymond scott presented himself as an international playboy. he wore designer clothes. announcing on this previous occasion, he arrived in a stretch limousine, with champagne, cigars and a pot of instant noodles. >> now, is the winter of our discontent. >> reporter: scott actually lived with his mother and claimed benefits. at the sentencing, he was dressed in a suit and a shirt. he was accused of stealing the folio, from durham university library. worth millions of fines and almost 400 years old, it went missing for a decade before it turned up with scott in america. judge richard lowden said scott had tried to sell the stolen book, to fund a ludicrously

extravagant life tile and impress a woman he met on holiday. scott was described as a fantasist. and he carried on cultural vandalism, in order to get rich. he said that was complicated and aggravated by the fact that he tried to sell the quintessentially english treasure abroad. >> raymond scott is a petty criminal. that's what he has been for many years. when he chanced it across this first folio, he took it to another level. and he took it to a level of criminality that was out of his depth. >> reporter: the first folio is regarded as the most reliable source text for many of shakespeare's plays. now, it's at the center of another remarkable tale. raymond scott, the man who planned out that drama, has found himself a tragic figure. sentenced to a total of eight years in prison. chris buckler, bbc news, new castle. >> it certainly would be a hard one to justify, in terms of how you got it. he says he got it in cuba. and so far, is denying all