it's thursday, august 6th. in the news this morning, deadly, new details about the man who attacked women at that gym near pittsburgh. he didn't know any of them. and was very lonely. japan remembers a dark day. 64 years after the world's first atomic bomb attack. and junket jets. some in congress want to spend millions for new planes to chauffeur members around. do they remember what they told chauffeur members around. do they remember what they told those corporate ceos? captions paid for by abc, inc. good morning. thanks for joining us on this thursday. we now know the gunman who went on that deadly rampage at a suburban pittsburgh gym had no criminal record and no history of mental illness. but his chilling online diary, reveals a tortured, lonely man, fueled by hatred.

>> the target of george sodini's rage, women. john berman has the latest from bridgeville, pennsylvania. >> reporter: police say george sodini had no relationship with any of the women he shot here. george sodini said he had no relationship with any women at all. we know that because the 48-year-old law firm systems analyst tried to tell us. in a soul-spilling blog. a road map to murder. why do this to young girls? he asks. just read below. in december of 2008, he writes, no girlfriend since 1984. who knows why. i'm not ugly or too weird. no sex since july 1990, either. the l.a. fitness club member fretted over appearance. december 29th, 2008. just got back from tanning. been doing this for a while. i actually look good. i dress good. am clean-shaven, bathe, touch of

colon. yet, 30 million women rejected me over an 18 or 25-year period. he said he first considered his deadly plan in the summer of 2008. but in january 2009, he actually game close. i brought the loaded guns. everything. hell. but by july, he was back at it. girls and women don't give me a second look anywhere. there is something blatantly wrong with me that no god [ bleep ] person will tell me what it is. then, i took off today, monday and tomorrow to practice my routine to make sure it's well-polished. i need to work out every detail. there is only one shot. he circled a calendar with the schedule of the all-feel latin impact dance class. tuesday, he takes three trips in and out of the gym. the third is deadly. his last blog entry is simply, death lives. at about 8:00 p.m., ten minutes into the class, sodini walks in

the back of the room, wearing gym clothes. he unpacks his bag, turns out the lights and opens fire. chaos. he fires 3 handguns, 36 shots, leaving 3 women dead, 9 injured, before shooting himself. so, what are the loose ends here? police say they don't know for sure whether anyone even read george sodini's blog. the fbi is looking into it. if someone had been reading it, authorities say they should have said something to somebody. and perhaps something could have been done to help ease his debilitating, dangerous and now deadly pain. john berman, abc news, bridgeville, pennsylvania. the senate has reached an agreement to pump more money into the cash for clunkers program. senators are expected to vote today to add $2 billion to the plan. that could give car buyers until labor day to trade in gas-guzzlers for a $4,500 rebate. well, if all goes as

planned, judge sonia sotomayor will be the next supreme court justice by the end of the day. the senate is set to vote on sotomayor's nomination. although most republicans say they will vote against sotomayor, the democratic majority is squarely on her side. an announcement is expected today from the obama administration about reforming the immigration detention system. under the new plan, federal workers would be in charge of monitoring the treatment of detainees. currently, that role is handled by private contractors. the idea is to streamline and speed up the system, moving immigration violators instead of keeping them locked up. newly-freed journalists euna lee and laura ling are waking up on american soil for the first time in two months. the two women and their families got together over dinner last night, after a long, emotional day, that began in north korea and ended in southern

california. here's our carla wohl. >> reporter: laura ling and euna lee stepped out of the plane and into the warm embrace of their families, who they haven't seen for nearly five months. >> the past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart wrenching time of our lives. >> reporter: their time in a north korean jail ended suddenly, after a trip by former president bill clinton. the north koreans had asked that clinton be sent as an emissary. but ling says they had no idea he was coming. >> we were shocked. but we knew instantly in our hearts, that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. >> reporter: it has been a rollercoaster of emotions for ling and lee, who thought they were headed to a north korean labor camp. and now, find themselves home. >> how does it feel to be home? >> so good. thank you so much for your

support. >> reporter: ling's husband can't stop smiling. >> a thing of joy. and also, relief that this thing is finally over. >> reporter: the women are starting to tell their families about their time in prison. how they were separated for nearly the entire time. and served rice with rocks in it. >> the little bit that she was able to recount about her experience of the last 4 1/2 months has been challenging for us to hear. >> reporter: lisa says her sister has lost weight and is weak and exhausted. but relieved to be home. carla wohl, abc news, north hollywood. with worries over swine flu running high, some drugmakers are getting a head-start on their seasonal flu vaccines. the companies are shipping out the flu vaccines weeks ahead of schedule. they're doing it to clear the decks so they have plenty of time to work on a swine flu vaccine. officials say there should be plenty of seasonal flu shots to go around this year. japan is marking a somber anniversary, remembering the victims of the first atomic the bomb attack of world war ii. it was 64 years ago today that

the u.s. unloaded a nuclear weapon on hiroshima. margaret connolly reports from tokyo. >> reporter: a peace bell was rung the minute the bomb hit, 64 years ago. the crowd fell into silent prayer, in remembrance of the 140,000 people who were killed. hiroshima's mayor urged leaders to back the stance of the united states. we join president obama in activities to eliminate all nuclear weapons. the prime minister spoke in support of survivors. the sufferings of hiroshima and nagasaki shall not be repeated. and we devote ourselves to the abolition of nuclear weapons. people gather at the most controversial shrine in japan. for some is a place to pay homage for those who died serving their country. for others, a reminder of the militaryist past. a past that people call out for

a world free of nuclear weapons. a pledge the country sees as a minimum responsibility for future generations. morgue rhett connolly, abc news, tokyo. it's time, now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. thunderstorms expected in every western state. hail, flash flooding and tornadoes could threaten idaho, montana, nebraska and the dakotas. gusty winds and lightning increase the fire danger from arizona to the pacific northwest. >> a high of 80 in boston and new york. 91 in atlanta. 90 in new orleans. and 101 in dallas. 88 in st. louis. 77 in detroit. 79 for chicago and the twin cities. and phoenix climbs to 111. albuquerque, 93. and when we come back, overhauling fannie mae and freddie mac. the idea would be to give them a clean slate in the wake of the mortgage meltdown. and the former congressman caught with cash in his freezer. william jefferson pays the price for selling his office. hi, may i help you? lots of discounts on car insurance.

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stocks are rising overseas this morning after wall street took a breather from its summer rally. tokyo's nikkei average jumped 1.3% today. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london, the ftse opened higher. wall street starts the day with the dow at 9280, after slipping 39 points yesterday. the nasdaq fell 18 points to close at 1993. the obama administration is considering one of the biggest overhauls to the housing finance system since the great depression. the president's top economic advisers are meeting today to

determine the future of fannie mae and freddie mac. one proposal would strip the companies of their bad debts. president obama has announced a major investment in clean energy technology for cars. he unveiled $2.4 billion in grants from the stimulus package to use to create advanced batteries and electric vehicles. the money should also create thousands of jobs. one of the world's biggest hotel companies is planning to go public. hyatt is hoping to raise $1 billion in a public offering. the company says it will use the money to buy new properties, adding to its more than 400 hotels and resorts. today, a look inside barnes & noble's new electronic bookstore. the book seller finally opened its online store. the "the times"' sam grobart says that doesn't make it better. >> if you're looking for current

best-sellers and new releases, it's not going to be any better than what amazon has. thurm, barnes & nobel prices tend to be a little bit higher. >> barnes & nobel says it is addressing some of the shortcomings. remember, you can always get the latest business news anytime on our website, abcnews.com. and when we come back, congressmen have plenty to say about using corporate jets, as you may remember. but guess who is working to get some more of them built. and just hanging out in boston. hold on tight. there is more ahead.

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the cash for clunkers program is expected to get a $2 billion infusion from the senate today. and the full senate is expected to vote this afternoon and expected to confirm judge sonia sotomayor, as the supreme court's first hispanic judge. former louisiana congressman, william jefferson, is facing 150 years in prison, after a federal jury in virginia convicted him of bribery and money launders. in 2005, jefferson was caught on surveillance video, accepting a suitcase filled with $100,000 in cash. prosecutors say he was going to use it for a bribe. most of that money was later found stashed in jefferson's freezer. >> congressman jefferson had a compact with the citizens of louisiana and the people of the united states. and he owed them his honest services. and he violated that trust. the citizens were owed honesty and integrity. and he used his influence and power to enrich himself and his family. >> this case was about power,

greed and money. and the jury agreed with that. it showed congressman jefferson that he sold his office. and now, he will face the price of that. >> lawyers for william jefferson say they will appeal the conviction. jefferson is free until his sentencing, tentatively set for october 30th. congress is supposed to be swinging the budget act. so people are wondering why some controversial jets are not on the chopping block. in fact, members of congress have actually requested the posh planes that are costing taxpayers millions of dollars. abc's jonathan karl explains. >> reporter: call it jets for junkets. congress is poised to spend nearly $200 million to buy three of the highest-performing passenger jets the in the world. the gulfstream 550, capable of flying nonstop from washington to beijing. similar to the planes that congress often beats up corporate executives for flying.

>> couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or joot-pooled or something to get here? it would have sent a message that you do get it. >> reporter: but do members of congress get it? they are mandating that two of the new planes be assigned to the air force wing that flies government v.i.p.s, including, guess who? members of congress. >> lawmakers, rightfully criticize automaker ceos for flying into town. but at the same time, they're stuffing in more than $100 million of taxpayers money so they can fly out of town. >> reporter: the pentagon asked for one plane for its new africa command. but it was congress that ordered the two that will be used to fly members of congress. >> congress would be the one who would best be equipped to answer why it is they've added additional gulfstreams to the budget. >> reporter: the planes were not in the pentagon's budget. but were pushed by two congressmen from georgia, where they will be built. one, a democrat. the other, a republican. they have each received more than $10,000 over the last two

years in campaign contributions from gulfstream's parent company. congressman kingston's office says buying the jets support local industry. and means jobs in his district. the house passed it. if the senate follows, it will mean members of congress flying in style, with your money. jonathan karl, abc news, capitol hill. an update, now, on that wrong-way crash that killed eight people, including four children here in new york last month. the husband of the driver now says he wants his wife's body exhumed for an independent autopsy. he says he doesn't believe test results show that diane schuler was drunk and high when she drove the wrong way down a busy highway. the family insists she was neither a drinker or a smoker. they want to see if schuler's diabetes caused her to have a stroke. and the woman who tried to assassinate president ford in 1975 is being paroled next week.

lynette squeaky fromme was grabbed before she could shoot president ford. she was sentenced to life in prison. but became eligible for parole 25 years ago. two window washers are back on solid ground of a harrowing ordeal, 37 stories up. they were washing windows in the city's financial district, when their scaffolding broke. they were dangling for about 20 minutes until firefighters rescued them. coming up on "america this morning," the new addition at the san diego zoo. >> let's say they already know the youngster has a good set of >> let's say they already know the youngster has a good set of lungs. ca help save a lot m of america up to 20% cash back from over 300 online retailers with our add it up program. just sign up and use your bank of america debit or credit card when .you shop online. it's one of the many ways we make saving money in tough times a whole lot easier.

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name. this morning, sports is all about baseball. >> yeah. with the highlights, here's anish shroff with espn news. >> good morning. the yankees and red sox open up a four-game series in the bronx tonight. before that, though, they had some unfinished business to take care of last night. yanks in toronto. the blue jays. second of two. nick swisher ties it up with a solo home run to left. so, it's 3-3. later in the inning, hideki matsui, pops one up to left. that's going to fall for a base hit. the yankees go on to win, 8-4. as for the red sox, there's diasuke matsuzaka. bottom two. tampa's carlos pena, off of brad penny. pena's 27th. 2-1, tampa. bottom three. rays up 2-1. it's carl crawford.

his 12th. tampa wins 6-4. the red sox, trailing the yanks by 2 1/2 games. angels and the white sox. bottom four. sox down 1-0. jim thome. 19th of the year. that ties the game at 1-1. bottom six. it's thome again. career home run number five. two behind reggie jackson on the all-time list. that does it for this espn news update. now, let's go back to "america this morning" with jeremy and vinita. it was a day of slipping and sliding away in michigan. a grand rapids couple set up a 240-foot water slide at n a park. and invited thrill-seekers fwr the ride. >> the couple wanted to prove there are still ways to have fun, without spending a time.