making news on this thursday, august 5th. >> marriage battle. a federal judge throws out california's gay marriage ban, setting up a likely showdown at the supreme court. last step. today, the final operation begins to kill bp's problem well for good. and birthday wishes for the president, who spends a star-studded night on the town without the wife. good morning. and thanks for being with us. the ruling to overturn california's same-sex marriage ban is not even a day old. but those on both sides of the issue are already preparing for the next phase of the legal fight. >> following the ruling, supporters of gay marriage

rallied in san francisco's city hall. but no one can get married just yet, with an appeal set to begin. don guevara has the story. >> reporter: a celebration in the streets of california, after a judge ruled proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage, unconstitutional. judge vaughn walker said, quote, opposite-sex couples are not better than their counterparts. instead, as parents and citizens, opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples are equal. >> this is a victory for the american people. it's a victory for our justice system. >> reporter: two same-sex couples filed the lawsuit to overturn prop 8. >> we know that we have the law, the incredible people you see behind you, and so many more on our side. thank you. >> rrs p 8 supporters say traditional marriage needs to be protected.

and that children are better off with biological parents. >> marriage is a state jurisdiction. the voters have said, twice now, keep marriage only for a man and a woman. >> reporter: but this same-sex couple wasted no time rushing to get married, moments after the ruling. >> and we're here to ask for a marriage license. >> reporter: now, despite this victory for same-sex couples, they can't get married yet. they still have to wait to see if the judge is going to allow gay marriage to resume during the appeals process. in los angeles, don guevara, abc news. rob and vinita, back to you. california's republican governor, arnold schwarzenegger, a has said, he supports gay marriage. but he will abide by the will of the voters a in a in a statement yesterday, schwarzenegger said, this decision affirms the full, legal protections and safeguards i believe everyone deserves. it is a ruling that could impact bans in dozens of states. we'll dig deeper into this complex issue later on "good morning america." after gushing nearly 206

million gallons of oil for 107 days, bp believes its blownout well in the gulf of mexico is finally sealed. >> engineers used tons of mud to plug the leak. and now, they will reinforce their fix with a massive infusion of cement. emily schmidt has details. >> reporter: 2,300 barrels of mud killed the well. and now, the insurance begins. >> it is sort of the beginning of the end of the sealing and containment phase of this operation. >> reporter: today, bp will pour a column of cement nearly two football fields long on top of the mud. the first relief well could be ready in two weeks, adding to government confidence that no more oil will leak into the gulf. >> the long battle to stop the leak and contain the oil is finally close to coming to an end. and we are very pleased with that. >> reporter: 108 days into the oil spill, it is long-awaited,

welcome news. >> it was finally accomplished after all this time. >> reporter: government scientists now say three-quarters of the oil spill has evaporated, dispersed or been captured from the water. >> the 26% of the oil that was released would be equivalent about four exxon valdezes. there is still oil in the gulf. >> it will take a while to get the confidence back. >> reporter: fishermen worry it will take time for consumers to trust local seafood. and for some businesses, a killed well comes too late to salvage a lost tourist season. >> i myself will have to go out of business. with the window of opportunity, the 100 days of high volume did not happen. >> reporter: the government says 650 miles of gulf coast shoreline still has some oil right now. it says 31,000 people are still working to help clean up the coast. reporting live in washington, i'm emily schmidt. vinita and rob, back to you. >> emily schmidt, thank you. a vote is expected in the senate today, on a $26 billion bill that would save hundreds of

thousands of jobs across the country. about $10 billion would go to cash for school districts to avoid laying off as many as 140,000 teachers. the legislation would also keep thousands more firefighters, police officers, and other public employees on the job. opponents say, though, the bill is a payoff to public employee unions, that would make the states more dependent than ever on federal money. the smell of smoke in the cabin forced a cross country flight to be diverted. the american airlines flight from new york to l.a. made an emergency landing in albuquerque. a male passenger reportedly lit matches and ran to the bathroom when he was requested about it. he was taken into fb fbi custody. there will be no relief for the heat wave in the south and midwest. the triple-digits have been the norm from oklahoma to texas and georgia. at least a dozen people have died because of extreme heat. farmers say the blazing temperatures are killing their crops. and that could cause higher prices for all of us.

accuweather's ava dinges now has more. >> good morning, rob and vinita. the heat wave began in the southern u.s. at the end of july. and every, single day since then, dallas has been in the triple digits, including yesterday. 101 degrees. memphis after lch set a record at 104.roke the rthat broke the in 1947 of 103 degrees. and we even had records as far north as louisville, at 102. 100s will be the big story again on this thursday. anywhere from texas, across arkansas. even across the mississippi river valley. and looks like we could see a few more records. dallas expected to be at 108 degrees. their record stands at 106. it's not just the temperatures we talk about. it's the humidity, as well. dew points in the 70s and 80s. it can feel like 110, 115 degrees across much of the south and into the carolinas. heat exhaustion, heat stroke, all big concerns. unfortunately, we'll also see strong storms in the northeast. from memphis, tennessee, to new york city, heavy downpours

and damaging winds. that will be the concern on this thursday. now, back to you. >> ava, thanks. president obama is waking up in his own home in chicago this morning, after celebrating his 49th birth day with some friends. >> the president marked the occasion with dinner at a chicago restaurant. he was joined by oprah winfrey, gayle king, senior white house adviser and long time friend, valerie jarrett and others. and the president received birthday calls from the first lady and his two daughters. first lady michelle obama made that call to the president from spain, where she is vacationing with her younger daughter, 9-year-old sasha. she is staying with a large group of friends. on sunday, the first lady visits spain's king and queen at their summer home in the mediterranean. when we come back this morning, a supermodel on the stand. can naomi campbell help put away a former dictator? later today, she will testify. and the end of a high-speed chase, with an ending that even and the end of a high-speed chase, with an ending that even shocked the officer in pursuit. !

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it is time, now, for a check of market activity, starting overseas. tokyo's nikkei average picked up more than 164 points today. hong kong's hang seng is down slightly in late trading. in london, the ftse opened higher. wall street starts the day with the dow jones industrial average at 10,680, after gaining 44 points yesterday. the nasdaq index picked up 20 points to close at 2303. the nikkei's big gain comes after a positive earnings report by toyota. the company made a $2.2 million

profit from april to june. the sales levels indicate the company'sing back after the public relations beating it took about recalls and questions about vehicle safety. positive employment news this morning. a trade group is reporting job growth in the economy's service sector in july. the institute for supply management says it's the seventh-straight month of growth. meaning that employees like hospitals, shops, restaurants and airlines have been adding jobs all year. well, the race between google and bing is on. google is still the giant, handling the majority of searches here in the u.s. the site has recently added more fee churs, like ways to view more images at a time, ways to link to social networking sites. bing has only been around for a year. but "the new york times" nick bilton says it is making a name for itself, with the amount of detail it provides. >> it's trying to create searchs that are more in-depth and offer more information. if you search for a flight on the big search engine, it will

tell you what current prices are and also predict what future prices will look like. and tell you if you should buy or or wait for later. >> google handles five-times as many searches as bing. are you a binger or a googler? >> i'm a googler. i still google. coming up next on this thursday morning, the frantic calls as a man opens fire on his co-workers. and a member of rudy giuliani's family under arrest. c

the southwest is bracing for more flash flooding after getting battered by days of torrential downpours. the storms are creating a muddy

mess in new mexico, washing out bridges and roads. and leaving residents stranded. that drenching rain will make for a tough compute commute on i-40 in new mexico. and i-70 in colorado. flooding in the east, from boston to raleigh. and across much of tennessee, as well. wet in the southeast. and on i-10, from jacksonville to new orleans. >> if you are flying today, expect airport delays from denver and memphis, all the way down to charlotte. naomi campbell is on the hot seat in a london courtroom this morning. testifying in the war crimes trial of former liberian leader, charles taylor. >> prosecutors want to know of a so-called blood diamond taylor allegedly gave the supermodel. one they say came from rebels in exchange for weapons. sonia gallego joins us from london with all the details. good morning, sonia. >> reporter: good morning, vinita. naomi campbell gives evidence ie the case of charles taylor.

the former liberian leader, accused of selling weapons in sierra leone. turning up late for court, naomi testified at for the tl, annal, and testified she received, quote, dirty stones. the trial of charles taylor, who is charged with counts of war crimes, including murder, mutilati mutilation, has not received such high interest since it ars. prosecutors claim that taylor gave a so-called blood diamond to the british supermodel. an allegation backed up by the actress mia farrow. >> you don't forget when a girlfriend tells you she was given a huge diamond in the middle of the night. >> reporter: the diamond was allegedly given to campbell after a celebrity dinner at the home of former south african president nelson mandela. >> naomi campbell came down. and she said, during the night, some men had knocked at her door. and it was representatives of president charles taylor.

and that they had given her a huge diamond. >> we believe it's important because it shows his possession of rough diamonds, close in time bringing into sierra leone, the arms. >> reporter: campbell, reluctant to talk about the issue. she stormed away from this recent abc news interview. and rebuffed initial requests to testify, until the tribunal ordered her to appear, or face contempt of court charges. campbell's direct examination is expected to be brief. but it will give judges further insight into the affair, that has been causing so much media speculation. rob? vinita? >> sonia, thank you very much. the first funeral has been held, following that deadly workplace shooting rampage in connecticut. and we are now hearing the frantic 911 calls from the beer distribution center where driver omar thornton opened fire yesterday, killing eight co-workers, and then himself. >> i'm in the back paper storage

closet. >> okay. stay back there. we'll come to you. all right? >> thornton's girlfriend said he had complained to her about racial harassment on the job. company officials are denying those allegations, saying he went on a rampage after he was fired for stealing beer. the daughter of former new york city mayor rudy giuliani has been arrested for shoplifting. police say caroline giuliani was caught on surveillance camera, pocketing about 100 bucks' forth of makeup at a n cosmetic store. police released the harvard student, after charging her with petty larceny. a police officer in maryland said it was something like out of a monster truck show. take a look at this. he was chasing a carjacked suv. and he thought he had the suspects cornered. that is when the driver threw the suv in reverse and went straight up on to the police car, before tipping over. one of the three, young suspects was injured. all of them are facing a slew of charges. there's a new member of one of baseball's most exclues if

clubs. details on that and other highlights from don bell over at espn news. >> good morning. we have history on tap in the bronx. blue jays and yankees. alex rodriguez, looking for career home run number 600. go to the highlights. we pick it up in the bottom of the first inning. a-rod, one swing away from history. >> the 2-0. line drive, center field. deep. going for the hills. looking up. see ya. there it is. number 600. alex rodriguez, the youngest man ever to get to 600 home runs. >> the 600 mark comes against shawn marcum. and alex rodriguez gets the curtain call. fifth inning, to mark teixeira. a laser to left. the yankees win, 5-1. they snap a three-game losing streak. evan longoria and the rays hosting the twins. bottom nine. rays down by one.

longoria at the dish. a little bloop to left center. delmon young can't get there. longoria hits a double. two batters later, dan johnson, driving him home. so, we are tied at 1-1. we fast-forward to the top of the 13th. game still tied at 1-1. delmon young finds the gap. and twins win 2-1. yankees and red sox are tied for first place in the a.l. east. giants at rockies, in san francisco. 10-2, in the n.l. west sin all-stce the all-star break. bottom six, carlos gonzales, taking outside the batter's box. two home runs in the game. rockies now up by four. ubaldo jimenez on the mound. 7-0, in nine home starts. top seven, that's travis ishikawa, fanning. and carlos sandoval, punched out. the rockies win 6-1. that's all for your espn news update. i'm don bell. now, back to you in new york. >> all right. thanks, don.

up next, the stories we'll be following today, including the senate vote to give elena kagan a new job. and the president's busy day after his birthday dinner with guess who? oprah winfrey. a a ththththththtg zgzgzgzgzgzgzgzg zgzgzgzg

now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this thursday. a federal judge's ruling to overturn california's ban on

same-sex marriage has both supporters and opponents preparing for the next legal fight. that will come in a court of appeals and may ultimately go all the way to the supreme court. now that bp engineers have finally plugged the gushing well in the gulf with tons of mud, they're about to begin reinforcing that seal with cement. they're set to begin that process today. elena kagan is set to be confirmed today by the senate to be the next associate justice of the supreme court. all senate democrats and a handful of republicans plan to vote to make her the fourth woman ever on the high court. former president bill clinton is paying another visit to earthquake-ravaged haiti today, in his role as a u.s. special envoy. they will meet with the haitian president and prime minister. and after celebrating his birthday in chicago last night, president obama remains in the city for a full day of events. he will visit a ford assembly plant this morning. later on, he will attend a political fund-raiser. coming up later on "good morning america," you will meet

dottie the miracle dolphin. and hear how a doctor that usually treats people, helped save her life. for some of you, your local news is up next. for others, "america this morning" continues after this. with high-quality protein, including delicious real chicken, to help him maintain lean muscle and a healthy weight, so he can make the most of every day. long live your buddy. long live your dog. purina fit & trim. but look below the surface. your mouth is no different. brushing leaves teeth looking clean, but millions of plaque and gingivitis germs are left behind. a 30-second rinse with listerine® antiseptic cleans deeper. [ boom! ] its unique penetrating formula destroys germs [ boom! ] brushing leaves behind. [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] listerine®. clean deeper. get healthier.™ and for a deeper clean and brighter teeth, try advanced listerine with tartar protection.

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and finally this morning, a billionaire giveaway. charities across the country are

preparing for a big windfall as some of the wealthiest americans loosen their purse strings in a huge way. >> dozens of billionaires have taken a pledge to give away half of their fortunes. more from bianna golodryga. >> reporter: $249 billion. the equivalent of almost $1,000 for every american, is how much these 40 americans are worth collectively. and they pledged to give at least half of their wealth away. >> we probably called somewhere between 70 and 80 people on the "forbes" list. and it was a very soft sell. >> reporter: warren buffett, together with bill gates, personally called their fellow billionaires, even hosted private dinners, in hopes of convincing them to donate to charities of their choosing. is it surprising that, given the uncertain economic times we're in right now, 40 billionaires already pledged to give roughly half of their money away? >> remember, we have dire economic times.

and rich guys usually aren't the guys that look really good in dire economic times. so, it's really good p.r. to align yourself with buffett and gates right now. >> reporter: among the donors, new york city mayor michael bloomberg. >> what we want to do is find those things that would really make a difference. >> reporter: in a st ent to abc news, donor pete peterson had this to say. "private philanthropy has a unique and urgent role to play in both helping the less fortunate and in educating, motivating and activating the american public." but not all billionaires are as eager to take the pledge. >> some billionaires are saying, you know what? i don't really need to be called out publicly whether i give money back because i've created tens of thousands of jobs. >> reporter: so, who will hold all these billionaires to their word? so, we may see a pledge watch? >> oh, yeah. you're definitely going to see a por: bi golh. >> and according to this pledge, you can give the money after you pass or whul you're st