making news on this thursday, august 19th. >> headed home. a major shift in iraq. the last combat brigade ends its mission ahead of schedule. but no one is saying mission accomplished just yet. expanding recall. the salmonella threat on your breakfast table. hundreds of millions of potentially contaminated eggs. rampage. a bull bolts into the stands as people run for safety. >> from abc news, this is "america this morning." with vinita nair and rob nelson. good morning and thanks for being with us. as one soldier put it, leaving iraq means no more of his friends will be killed. >> in a major sign that the war is in its final chapter, the last combat brigade left iraq last night, crossing over the

border into kuwait for flights back here to the u.s. >> that doesn't mean the violence or troop deaths will stop. john hendren is monitoring the withdrawal from washington. >> reporter: good morning, 9 nita, good morning, rob. as the u.s. military leaves iraq the obama administration plans to fill the void with an army of civilians, bringing the u.s. combat mission to a close. after seven years of war the last combat brigade is gone from iraq. >> we're going home! we won! it's over! >> reporter: the 2nd infantry division's 4th stryker brigade crossed over into kuwait last night. >> whoo! >> reporter: as the u.s. mission officially turns from war to diplomacy. >> our commitment in iraq is changing. from a military effort led by our troops to a civilian effort led by our diplomats. >> reporter: the exodus comes nearly two weeks before the president's august 31st deadline for ending combat operations. not a day too soon for many troops. >> getting pack to kuwait, one.

knowing everybody else is going to get hurt, two. and going home. >> reporter: for troops who have done two, three, four or more tours here it's a time to exhale. >> immense, immense relief. it's over. it's all over for us. >> reporter: and a time to celebrate. >> go, going to go! >> reporter: for iraq's security forces still battling weekly, sometimes daily insurgent incidents, struggle continues. there are still 59,000 troops in iraq with a goal of reducing that number to 50,000 by august 31st when the combat mission is officially over. rob and vinita? >> what will happen to those troops you mention, those 50,000 remaining? >> those 50,000 troops will remain for at least a year in a supposedly support role. they'll be able to back up iraqi troops as quick reaction forces if asked to do so. of course the special forces will continue their role of hunting down terrorists and aiding the iraqis there. >> john hendren in washington this morning, thank you. in the morning's other major

story there has been a dramatic increase in the number of eggs being recalled because of salmonella. the wright county egg company expanded that recall to 380 million eggs. that's nearly 32 million cartons. david wright shows us exactly what to look for. >> reporter: at grocery stores across california, consumers are already cautious. >> because we eat a lot of eggs i just want to make sure that we're not -- don't get sick from it. >> reporter: the tainted eggs were sold under 13 different brand names. among them albert sons, ralphs, farm fresh. all of them from a producer called wright county egg in galt, iowa. the cartons in question are stamped with numbers 1026, 1413, or 1946. the voluntary recall of eggs from those plants start ed fridy with some stores reaching out directly to customers enrolled in their loyalty programs. >> hello. this call is from your local ralphs store with an important recall announcement. >> reporter: even though all the

tainted eggs have now presumably been removed from grocery store shelves, millions of them are already in people's fridges. >> this outbreak could really be one of the largest linked to eggs that we've seen in 20 years. >> reporter: when an outbreak like this occurs, local health authorities become food detectives. >> this is shoe leather epidemiology. this is an outbreak investigation. >> reporter: in northern california, officials noticed that dozens became sick after eating a certain kind of custard pie. in southern california 12 people became ill after attending a catered event. >> similar incidents are being discovered in other parts of the country. >> reporter: normally eggs become contaminated with salmonella through rodent droppings or other unsanitary conditions. but in this particular strain, salmonella enteriditis, the hens' ovaries become infected, passing the bacteria on inside the egg. >> the birds themselves aren't sick so the farmer doesn't even know what's going on.

and in the meantime, it's producing eggs that look clean and fine. >> reporter: ironically, the fda just issued strict new guidelines for farmers designed to prevent salmonella outbreaks. those regulations took effect just last month. clearly, not in time to prevent this outbreak. food safety officials insist that their investigation is still in its early stages. they fully expect this outbreak to grow. david wright, abc news, los angeles. we posted more information about the brand names and codes to look for. you can find that at abcnews.com. president obama says he has no regrets about wading into the political furor surrounding plans for that islamic community center and mosque near new york's ground zero. asked about it yesterday in ohio, mr. obama turned his back to reporters saying, "the answer is no regrets." the president sparked an outrage last week when he said muslims have the right to build a community center and mosque. the entire debate apparently has more americans questioning the president's religion. a new poll says 18% think the

president is a muslim, up from 11% in march of last year. and 43% say they don't know the president's religion, an increase of 9% from early last year. for the record, the president is a christian. record flooding in pakistan has now left 4 million people homeless. earlier, u.n. estimates had put that number at about 2 million. aid agencies have been pushing for more funding as they try to tackle some major problems like food supplies, lack of shelter, and outbreaks of disease. the u.n. general assembly opens a special session in new york today to deal with the growing crisis. parts of tennessee remain under water this morning after a day of torrential downpours. up to 8 inches of rain fell in some areas, triggering widespread flooding. residents at an apartment complex and nursing home had to be evacuated. a train washed off its tracks and many roads were quickly inundated. >> when i took him to school we went this way. i mean, it was about 7:30 when we left. and then i got back about 8:15. and it was covered.

>> the rain swamped some of the same areas affected by severe floods back in may. and they won't be drying out any time soon. more rain is in today's forecast. and now for this morning's weather from around the country as that soaker continues in the south. louisiana, mississippi, and alabama will see the worst of it. lighter rain though from florida to virginia. scattered showers for upstate new york and new england. severe storms from the dakotas to wisconsin. thunderstorms and isolated flooding in the southwest. >> 107 in phoenix. 92 in albuquerque. much cooler in the pacific northwest with 68 in seattle. 78 in portland. dallas will hit 103. kansas city 92. omaha 90. 80s boston to atlanta. when we come back, some of hollywood's a-list celeb rights scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. plus, business news and a new fee. one of the nation's biggest air carriers. and the nationwide battle against bedbugs. they're spreading faster than

they have in decades. ñ [ male announcer ] do your contact lenses feel as good at the end of the day as they do at the beginning? air optix® contact lenses have superior deposit resistance for cleaner lenses. air optix®, the lens you can survive a long day in.

go to airoptix.com for a free one month trial offer. but viva puts 35% more towel between you and the mess. 35% more? are you ready to take that 1-step? yes, i'm ready. beautiful. [ cheers and applause ] [ sandy ] try viva® and quit the quilt. 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. try the first great-tasting, zero-calorie... natural sweetener borne from the leaves of the stevia plant.

truvía. honestly sweet. find it at your grocery store. . . it's been a positive trading day so far in asia. tokyo's nikkei average gained well over 100 points today. hong kong's hang seng is up in late trading. in london, the ftse opened lower. and the dow gained nine points yesterday. meanwhile, the nasdaq index picked up six points. and some positive news about the economy. "usa today" reports that

business spending on capital, like equipment and software, was up more than 20% from april through june. and a survey of 400 large and mid-sized companies, says more than half plan to boost their spending on capital in the next year. economists say this sort of spending should spark some growth in jobs. general motors is starting on the road to a huge stock sale. it filed the paperwork for an initial public offering yesterday. if regulators approve the ipo, the federal government could start selling 61% of gm it acquired during the auto industry bailout. american airlines is joining several other airlines with a new fee. the carrier announced it will charge $19 to $39 for passengers to sit what it is calling express seats. those are the first rows of the coach section. the additional fee will put passengers in the first boarding group. several other airlines also charge extra fees for special seats. pizza hut is telling customers they can get more for their money. the company is introducing a new

promotion this week, saying prices will be cut by as much as half. the company introduced another promotion in february and said profits went up. >> $8 for a medium. $10 for large. not bad. coming up next on this thursday morning, the nation's pest problem. so bad, the pentagon is now getting involved. bedbugs, now spreading to public places like movie theaters. and fans watching spain's national pastime have to run for their lives.

they're still picking up the pieces near phoenix, after getting battered there by a powerful storm.ipped throrong w

residential neighborhoods, toppling dozens of tree there's. on top of that, a car was crushed by a large cactus. another day of thunderstorms means more slick morning road conditions in the four corners of the southwest. flooding on i-10, on the gulf coast. and on i-20, from shreveport to atlanta. flooding also on 90 in south dakota. and if you're flying today, you can expect some airport delays in minneapolis, charlotte, atlanta and new orleans. today, pest experts in new jersey will be discussing the growing problem of bedbugs, one day after a similar conference in ohio. >> for many americans, this has been the summer of the bedbug. a painful and pesingy plague that's no longer limited to the bedroom. here's linsey davis. >> reporter: overnight, bedbugs have become such a concern, several states are calling on the big guns for help. at least five states are pleading for money to get rid of the blood suckers.

experts from a long list of government agencies, including the department of defense, met in columbus, ohio, to talk bedbugs. >> hopefully, we're going to see more resources devoted to various things, such as educational things. resources, perhaps, to help people who can't pay for treatment. >> reporter: ohio was so desperate, they detigsed the government to allow in-home use of a pesticide banned out of concern for its effects on kids. that request was denied. >> it's a very serious problem. >> reporter: in lexington, kentucky, bedbugs forced people out of their apartments. in ft. worth, texas, the city housing authority spent $500,000 to rid this apartment building of the pests. it didn't work. in seattle, bedbug calls to exterminators have spiked. contrary to their name, bedbugs aren't limited to beds. this times square movie theater is back open after shutting its doors tuesday night to deal with the paranoia and panic-inducing

parasite. bedbugs tend to be nocturnal. they're visible to the eye. they're bite humans. and it's painful. the pests for eradicated from the u.s. at the end of world war ii. but in the last decade, they've been making a comeback. >> it has to do with the pesticides not being as effective as they were in the '50s, '6s and '70s. nearly 200 criminal cases in north carolina are going to be reviewed. now that an investigation has found they were decided using tainted evidence.stigatio the investigation was sparked by the case of greg taylor, who spent 17 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. it found agents at the state's crime lab doctored reports about blood evidence to help prosecutors. three inmates whose cases are involved have already been executed. a florida church has been

denied a permit to burn the karon. it was marking the anniversary of 9/11. the church says it will go ahead with its plans. the owner of a beverly hills beauty salon is accused of scamming some of hollywood's hottest a-listers. maria gabriela perez was arrested for allegedly stealing credit card information from a string of celebrity clients. prosecutors say perez ran up nearly $300,000 in fraudulent charges in just one year. rocker steven tyler has reportedly signed a deal to become "american idol's" next judge. sources close to the 62-year-old aerosmith frontman confirmed the agreement. tyler is expected to join "idol" following the departure of simon cowell and ellen degeneres. sports time. this time of year, a lot of

baseball. the highlights now from espn news. >> good morning, i'm dan bell with your espn news update. major league baseball's division races are heating up. we go to the bronx. the yankees taking on the tigers. bottom of the first inning, jeremy bonderman serving mark teixeira. that's pretty good eating. 27th big fly this season. top of the fourth, the yanks up two. it's miguel cabrera. he's going yard. opposite field action for him. he had two jacks in the game. tigers cut the lead in half. bottom of the fifth inning now. yankees up 6-4. and it's curtis granderson. the grandey man going yard. third home run in his last five games. yankees win 9-5. tampa bay, trying to keep pace. here we go. rays, hosting the rangers. evan longoria. 16th jack of the season. his first four-rbi game since may. rays up by one.

bottom five, b.j. upton. get up and get gone. the rays win it 8-6. they sweep the rangers. they're tied with the yankees for first place in the a.l. east. phillies and giants. jimmy rollins, j-roll, going deep to right. giving back to the people at citizens bank park. the phillies take a 5-1 lead. bottom eighth, it's domonic brown, the rookie. that's a huge blast. that's to the upper deck. the phillies win 8-2. i'm dan bell. now, back to you. brett favre says his 20th season in the nfl will be his last. favre is back with the vikings to fulfill a two-year, $25 million contract. he says he came back for the chance to win another super bowl. favre's first preseason game action could come sunday night in san francisco. and you just have to see

this one to believe it. a bull in northern spain yesterday, gets a running start and jumps straight into the crowd. panicked spectators do all they can to get out of the way. 30 people were injured. and five had to be treated in the hospital. the bull was subdued and lifted out of the arena by a crane. it was later killed. up next, the stories we'll be following on this thursday morning. >> including the leader of the islamic center planned for lower manhattan, on a taxpayer-funded. ngngngngngngngngngngngngngngngng

now, a look ahead to the

stories we'll be watching on this thursday. even more egg cartons are being taken off store shelves, now that the recall has grown dramatically. 380 million eggs have being recalled because of a link to salmonella. we have posted more information on our website. the u.n. general assembly opens a special session in new york today, to deal with the growing crisis in pakistan. new figures released today show 4 million people are homeless after record flooding there. parts of tennessee are bracing for more rain this morning. a day after heavy downpours trigger widespread flooding and washed out roads. some residents were evacuated while others had to be rescued. the imam at the center of the controversy of the proposed imlammic center at new york's ground zero begins on a trip to the middle east. he's on a taxpayer-funded journey to promote tall lance in the muslim world. and martha's vineyard is gearing up for another visit

from the first family. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, "america this morning" continues right after this. [ female announcer ] what if your natural beauty could be flawless, too? new aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers, with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on, to even skin tone in four weeks. new aveeno tinted moisturizers. ♪ pop-tarts®! i'll have a frosted strawberry...

as an ice cream sandwich. ♪ chocolate fudge... on a stick please! ( crunch ) with the endless possibilities of kellogg's® pop-tarts, it's sure to be a picture perfect summer. pop-tarts®. made for fun. hi. we're ready to switch our car insurance to progressive. today just seemed like a great day to save. oh, it's not just today. with our free loyalty program, you earn great stuff like accident forgiveness and bigger discounts just by staying with us. oh! ooh! so, what you're saying is, it gets even better with age. oh! tell me we're still talking about insurance. rewarding loyalty. now, that's progressive. call or click today. when allergies make them itch, don't wait for your pills to kick in. choose alaway, from the eye health experts at bausch & lomb. it works in minutes and up to 12 hours. bausch & lomb alaway. because it's not just your allergies,

it's your eyes. and finally, a good reason this morning for teenagers to listen up.

if they can. >> a new study finds many teens are now experiencing hearing loss associated with old age. an increasingly popular ipods and other listening devices may be to blame. more, now, from t.j. winick. >> reporter: a chain saw. 100 decibels. a rock concert, 115 decibels. this is how loud many teens are listening to their mp3 and cd players. and doctors believe that's having some pretty devastating effects. >> about one out of five adolescents in the united states, has at least some evidence of hearing loss. >> reporter: those are the results from a new study published this week in the prestigious "journal of the american medical association." one in five teens suff hesome hearing loss is a significant jump. up 30%, when compared with previous generations. >> i just want you to raise your hand every time you hear a beep. >> reporter: hearing experts thee rohrize that listening vic devices like ipods and cell

phones for long times, are the chief culprit. most of the young people we spoke to here on the streets of new york city say they're not completely surprised by the study's findings. >> they've become so loud. but the sound quality's so great. it's feeding on this demand. which my generation has, for this music. you know? we just want to hear it the best we can. >> reporter: still, doctors know there are other possible reasons for early hearing loss. >> how loud even the lunchroom is. and when i'm going home, listening to my music. and if we're going to concerts. or even sports events. >> reporter: 17-year-old alexa curran is having her hearing tested. >> once you lose it, it's not coming back. just be careful how much noise exposure you have. >> reporter: it's a message alexa and hearing experts hopes grow louder by the day. t.j. winick, abc news, new >> it'ork. >> it's not just teens. some adults are guilty, too. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> get more from abc