making news in america this morning, new developments in the cleveland kidnapping case. as a suspect prepares for sentencing. today, we're learning more about what went on inside that house, including detailed diaries. steroid scandal. baseball fans waiting for verdicts. the possible deal in the works between the league and alex rodriguez. packing heat. george zimmerman is pulled over by police with a gun in the car. and a baby elephant stars in what could be the cutest baby animal video ever. good thursday morning, to you.

today is a day of reckoning for former school bus driver, ariel castro. >> castro faces 900 counts for torturing 3 women for more than a decade. >> today, for the first time, we hear about some of the things that went on in that home. devin dwyer has all of the details. >> reporter: the new details are absolutely horrifying. in a 22-page report, prosecutors document what they call castro's disgusting and inhuman conduct. today, ariel castro will be sent away for life. the 53-year-old former school bus driver faces final justice for his horrific crimes. >> guilty, your honor. >> reporter: guilty of kidnapping, rape and abuse of three cleveland girls for a decade. castro will be spared the death penalty, accepting a plea deal of life plus 1,000 years in prison if the judge approves. >> do you understand, mr. castro, upon entering this plea, you will never be released from prison. >> i know it's going to get the

book thrown at me. >> reporter: overnight, prosecutors revealed details of the victim's ordeal in a memo before sentencing. amanda berry, gina dejesus and michelle night were chained by their ankles. at one point, the women were locked in a car in the garage for three days when castro had a visitor. >> i may have been through hell and back. but i am strong enough to walk through hell with a smile on my face. >> reporter: prosecutors say the women kept diaries to document their abuse. describing being treated like a prisoner of war. the home that was their prison, now boarded up and slated for demolition. >> give it up for amanda berry. >> reporter: the victims are slowly rebuilding their lives and enjoying new pleasures. for amanda berry, it was a surprise appearance at a cleveland music festival. for gina dejesus, it's a simple hug from mom and playing with her dogs. today, castro will have a chance

to explain his crimes in court. we could also hear from the victims who have not faced their captor since being freed. >> at the plea deal hearing, castro said he misses his daughter that he fathered with one of the girls he kidnapped. >> reporter: this is the 6-year-old girl that castro fathered with amanda berry. he told the judge, he not only misses his daughter but he wants to see her in jail. the judge denied that request. prosecutors said today they'll ask the judge to pemp innocently prohibit castro from seeing his daughter again. >> devin dwyer in washington, thank you. cleveland police posted a handwritten note on facebook by michelle knight. i know you went above the call of duty. in her words, she's overwhelm by the thoughts of love and prayers by complete strangers. overnight, it became legal in two more states for gay couples to tie the knot.

dozens of couples counted down to midnight, in minnesota, as the state joined rhode island, to be the 12th and 13th states to legalize same-sex marriage. 30% of the population leaves in place where's gay marriage is legal. anthony weiner scrambling to save his campaign, as growing numbers of democratic party leaders urge him to throw in the towel. poll numbers show his support dive right there. his sexting scandal appears to be snowballing with each passing day. each bringing more heated confrontations with voters, like this one in queens. >> this neighborhood does not trust the government. okay? i would like to know, how can i trust you with my family and my community when you can't be trusted in your own family? >> that's between i and my wife. i tried to be a good congressman for you. i try to work hard every single day for you and your neighbors. >> despite the criticism, weiner

shows no sign of giving up his bid for new york city mayor. today could be the day that baseball's doping scandal comes to a head for alex rodriguez of the yankees and other players. espn is reporting that a-rod's a possible deal with mange major league baseball. >> major league baseball is going to try to ban alex rodriguez for life. but if they do, they know they're going to get an incredible fight with the union. >> the league is hoping a-rod will accept a long suspension that would keep him off of the field through at least next season without having to go through a long appeal. the suspensions could be announced at any time. o.j. simpson has been granted parole but will not be allowed to walk free just yet. it's from some of the charges. he faces another four years behind bars on sentencing

ordered to run consecutively. simpson is waiting to see if a nevada judge will grant him a new trial. a michigan man is under arrest after showing up at a theater with a loaded gun, body armor and 30 rounds of ammunition. police were called to a theater near flint, when someone spotted the armed man watching a movie. they say he had another 100 rounds of ammunition in his car. he's not been charged with any gun-related crimes. but he was charged with possessing a fake cia identification card. president obama is meeting with lawmakers about the nation's surveillance programs. he's sitting down with members of both parties to address their concerns about how the nsa goes about its business. the secret was revealed yesterday, the existence of a program that allowed the u.s. government to snoop on everything a user does. the troops were in the middle of training exercises at ft. carson when the bad weather moved in. the lightning struck as they were trying to move to shelter. military officials say it didn't

take a direct hit. but one soldier was critically injured. five of them are already out of the hospital. bad news for folks in colorado. some storms on the way there. thunderstorms in the rockies, as well as across the nation's middle. some of them will be severe. rain up and down the entire east coast. completely clear for the west coast. >> temperatures will be pleasant in the low to mid-80s. all-80s from florida to new england. once again, lovely in the low 80s across the great lakes. it's not just about the pins anymore. the wildly popular website pinterest is about to roll out something brand-new. george zimmerman resurfacing. the man acquitted of killing trayvon martin, stopped from speeding far from his home in florida. an nfl player at the center of a storm. a camera was rolling when he used a racial slur. this morning, new reaction from his teammates.

you know, from a young age. i definitely want to major in political science. become the mayor or something. make the situation better for other people. my name is justin, and i am your dividend.

this morning, there's much-needed relief for millions of american college students. there's a bill to lower interest rates on student loans headed to the president's desk after passing the house last night. rates doubled in july. undergraduates this fall will borrow at a rate of 3.9%. president obama heading to arizona next week, the next stop on his missed class speech tour. the visit to phoenix on tuesday will focus on home ownership. it's part of a series of speeches on a growing middle class and boosting the economy. lululemon is the latest retailer to be accused of shunning plus-sized shoppers. "the huffington post" reports that in one store, large sideses

were kept in the back and rarely restocked. the company did not comment on the story. the vendor says often times a stores simply don't have room to display the smallest and the largest sizes. and the wildly popular website pinterest has a new feature to save you money. starting today, the social network will alert you when the price of a pinned object has dropped. pinterest promises to limit the note i have faces and will only send them a couple times a day. the powerball jackpot is up to $290 million. there was no winner of last night's drawing. >> how fast can you read so we can get out of here to buy some tickets? >> let's do it, man. how would you like a grape that tastes like cotton candy? "the l.a. times" says it's the latest designer fruit created for its flavor, much like the hundredor crisp apples. cotton candy grapes will hit high-end stores this month. they could cast about 6 bucks a pound until more growers produce them. >> i like my grapes the way god made them. i like the cotton candy the way the carnival makes it.

no need to mix the two. >> cotton candy out of sugar. and apples to taste like apples. >> i'm with you. >> i'm good. >> we're very strange that way. >> it's in high-end stores anyway. we'll keep it for the high-end people. when we come back, a woman is trapped after driving into a pond. new this morning, we're going to hear dramatic 911 call. simon cowell is soon to be a father. but it's the mom-to-be that's getting all the attention. details when we come back.

watching a little girl become a little lady, and finding the courage to let her go.

but what about the little victories? a smile... a confident glow... or a "thanks, mom." these are the victories we're famous for. famous brands, famously easy... famous footwear. victory is yours. welcome back. let's check today's road conditions. if you're driving along the east coast, count on some wet roads, particularly for the evening commute along the northeast corridor. rain across the middle of the nation. and in the rockies. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible from boston down to d.c. as well as charlotte and kansas city. back to the news now. and george zimmerman having trouble staying off police

radar, literally. >> he ran afoul of the law earlier this week while speeding outside of dallas. abc's brandi hitt has the story. >> reporter: dash camera video shows an officer in texas, pulling over george zimmerman's speeding pickup truck on sunday. seconds later, zimmerman reveals he's carrying a gun. >> i have a firearm in the glove department. >> okay. >> reporter: that's when the officer takes zimmerman's driver's license. and he learns he has just pulled over the man acquitted in one of the most controversial trials in years, the shooting death of trayvon martin. >> where are you headed to? >> nowhere in particular. >> nowhere in particular? why do you say that? >> did you see my name? >> huh-uh. what a coincidence. >> reporter: in the two weeks following the florida jury's verdict -- >> not guilty. >> reporter: zimmerman has been

in hiding. his legal team tells abc news, he's apparently on a road trip. and also posted on twitter, for his safety, we won't make any comments about zimmerman's whereabouts. and we will work to protect his privacy. with his concealed carry permit reinstated, it is legal for the 29-year-old to transport a weapon in most states, including texas. what he can't do is speed. zimmerman's brother tweeted, a heavy foot, nothing more. and this officer gave him a break. >> here's your license. i'm going to give you a warning for you speed. have a good day. >> reporter: brandi hitt, abc news, los angeles. team of police officers pulled off a dramatic rescue in indianapolis, saving a woman drowning in a sur merged car. she slid down an embankment. when she fell asleep behind the wheel and she woke up in the water. she made a frantic car for help as her overturned car started sinking into a muddy creek. she had no idea where she was. >> i'm not sure. i was driving home from work.

and i dozed off. and my car flipped over. and it's filling up with water. >> are you in the vehicle right now? >> yes. and i can't get out. it's flipped over. oh, jesus, help me. >> police tracked her down through her cell phone signal. when they pulled her out, there was only a few inches of air left inside that car. she only suffered minor injuries. this morning, there's another giant recall of contaminated ground beef by the same kansas company. the latest recall by national beef packing company, involves 50,000 pounds of meat, sold meanly to wholesalers in 40-pound to 60-pound cases. it's unclear which retailers sold the meat. the company recalled meat in june after a similar e. coli scare. the use of a racial slur by a philadelphia eagles receiver riley cooper, has him in hot water. his use of the n-word, caught on video at a concert in june. when that hit the internet, he immediately apologized at a news conference. and he also apologized to his teammates. he tried to clarify what happened. >> there was a confrontation with me and one of the security

guards. and i'm not going to get into what happened. but i said something that was absolutely disgusting and terrible. and i should not have handled it the way i handled it. >> cooper has been fined by the team. eagles quarterback, michael vick, says team members have forgiven him. vick also says he disagrees with his brother who used twitter to put a bounty out for cooper. time for more sports. another walkoff home run for the rangers. and a 15-inning marathon in beantown. >> here's stan and neil with some highlights. >> good morning. america. he's stan. i'll neil. we're your "sportscenter" anchors from los angeles. we're going to do baseball highlights. >> is that what we are? >> yeah. >> the rangers, trying to sweep the angels. josh hamilton, with his 16th of the season. bottom nine. still a 1-1 game. adrian beltre, can you believe it?

his 23rd of the season. and it's another walkoff win with a home run for the rangers. it's time for dodger baseball. time for some soccer at dodger stadium this weekend. that's christian renaldo, with yasiel puig. i'll take renaldo in that one. dodgers thought they got him on an 0-2 pitch. they didn't. he gets paco rodriguez right there. yankees add two more. and they win in l.a., 3-0. mariners and red sox at fenway park. they went 15 innings. bottom half of the inning, two outs, bases loaded. same score. stephen drew, down the line. here comes dustin pedroia. and there go the mariners. they've lost eight-straight at fenway park. and the rays lost at home to arizona. >> "baseball tonight" stan verrett, everybody. >> not really. up next, "the pulse." if you caught all of the hype but missed the television event,

you have another chance. wait until you hear what's next for "sharknado." >> we'll be right back.

all right. now, for "the pulse." and we start with the summer's entertainment sensation. we're talking about "sharknado." >> it debuted on the sci-fi channel. and tomorrow night, it hits theaters. movie theaters. about 200 of them across the country, in a special midnight screening. tickets are on sale. >> that shark flying through the air, my goodness. you can wait until the 27th of the month when sci-fi will show

it again. a sequel has been ordered. it will be set in new york. simon cowell once claimed he didn't want to be a father because kids take up too much time. >> too late. 53-year-old cowell expecting his first child with his friend's life. >> lauren silverman is said to be ten weeks pregnant with cowell's child. her husband, yes, husband, real estate mogul, andrew silverman, filed for divorce. i wonder what facilitated the divorce. >> the silvermans have a 7-year-old son and are officially separated. i wonder if cowell and his buddy are still friends. >> i'm going to go no. a baby elephant who is a quick learning when it comes to keeping cool. little belle. >> we're using the word little very loosely here. belle is 330 pounds already. and she puts on a few pounds every, single day. she knows how to eat. and she knows how to cool off when the days get hot. >> check her out. when she's enjoying herself like

that, the zoo keepers call it having her own pool time. they've ordered some bigger pools for her. that's one tough pool. she's 330 pounds. most of us cannot function without our high-tech toys and tools. a weather man in miami proves you can still get the job done when you don't have these things. >> when a computer glitch knocked out the graphics, john got creative. he whipped up old-fashioned drawings and used them in his broadcast. >> the morning weather cast went off without a hitch. and it took some plain white paper and a few markers. totally old-school. >> what would happen if our world? >> we could do it all from our heads and we would be awesome. >> i would curl up in a corner and cry. for some of you, the local news is -- uh, next. >> for everyone else -- are we coming back? maybe. stick around. i don't know.

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, can offensive lineman,r do that? defensive tackles, quarterbacks and cornerbacks are all working with united way. for a million little reasons. the kids of our communities. to ensure their academic success, all the way to graduation day. it takes about 12 years to create a graduate. it takes the same time to create a dropout. and the difference between a kid becoming one or the other could be professional athlete. or it could be you. studies show, the earlier we get to kids, the better their chances. so become a united way volunteer reader, tutor or mentor. make a difference in the life of a child. for the life of that child. give. advocate. volunteer. live. united. join your favorite nfl players. take the pledge. go to unitedway.org.

>> live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good thursday morning. thanks for joining us. >> first up, mike nicco is looking at our forecast. are things changing, sirst. >> a little bit. it is clearer this morning than yesterday morning. the clouds are arriving on schedule and will come back in a few hours. we will look at what will happen this afternoon as you look at our roof camera. we are talking about temperatures still below average from 73 in the north bay to 81 in the another bay valleys, 64 around san francisco to 76 headed toward san jose. the coast into san francisco is 58 to 63 degrees. we will find out how the commute is starting. >> ago, everyone. at 4:28 we are starting off to a

quiet going. this is the walnut creek commute. if you are traveling along in the southbound direction everything is moving along just fine with the track not affected out here but for the northbound lanes where we have construction. if we go to our maps i can show you what is going on. we will have four lanes blocked in this area until 6:00 a.m. this morning. i will have that in a little bit. eric and kristen? >> thank you. negotiations between bart and the largest employee unions are coming dawn to the wire. >> by the end of the day the unions could give passengers 72 hours notice they will walk off the job if a contract deal is not reached by late sunday. union negotiators tell abc7 there is no significant movement on three of the main sticking points: wages, benefits and health care. bart says the country offer gives employees slightly more of a raise but the unions say the

lowest paid workers will suffer the most over the four year contract. abc7 news reporter amy hollyfield has more on the negotiations at the top of the hour. if bart workers strike, bay area highways are clogged with computers, most of them driving alone. a survey from the public policy institute shows 55 percent of bay area workers drive solo to work up from 2008 when the survey was last taken. it is lower than a decade ago in 2003. today, only 16 percent of workers rely on public transit to get to work. if there is another bat strike we have a full range of resources at abc7news.com. you will have status on bart talks and information on commute alternatives. you can down load our exclusive abc7 news traffic app to negotiate the freeways. it is all on abc7news.com. >> developing news, police are investigating a fatal shooting