the biggest fights of their young lives. these are not the faces of battle-hardened warriors. they're young men, barely 20 years old. defectors from the syrian military, with just basic training. they call themselves "the martyrs of freedom." they tell us they can't wait to get in the fight. they're going to aleppo tonight, the battle that assad said will determine the fate of syria. >> reporter: are any of you afraid about going to fight tonight? "no, no, no," they say, "we're only afraid of allah." their god, and their inspiration. what these young men lack in battlefield experience, they make up for with hatred of the syrian regime, and religious fervor. the regime has tanks, planes, helicopters. you just have ak-47s and rpgs. how can you defeat them in aleppo? "we have allah with us" says 21-year-old ali, "he will send soldiers."

this is the holy month of ramadan when they fast all day. after sundown, they break the fast. the mood is light, not what you'd expect hours before the big fight. then, it's time to gear up. they eagerly wait for their names to be called. weapons are assigned, ak-47s, rocket-propelled grenades. if they're nervous, they're hiding it well. victory or martyrdom, says ali, god willing. ali and the others chosen for battle say good-bye to their brothers in arms and head out into the dark. those left behind are disappointed. abdulrahman went last time. tonight, it clearly pains him to be missing out. for many this will be the first, and maybe last, fight of their lives. but there's not a hint of doubt among them that this is a battle that must be waged and won. alex marquardt, abc news. on the turkey/syria border. >> thank you. this one in the nation's heartland, the worst drought in more than half a century.

after another week of intense heat and little rain, two-thirds of the country suffering from a punishing drought. we hear from the american voices, the farmers whose livelihoods have been hurt hardest by this relenless drought. . >> reporter: premisesed by drought, the pictures and the people battling some of the worst drought conditions since the 1930s dust bowl. >> i'm john keener from manhattan, illinois. >> reporter: he showed us the damage already done. >> this is what healthier corn looks like. but unfortunately we're finding ears that look like this. >> reporter: illinois could see its worst drought on record and it's not alone. half of america's corn crop is now rated poor quality. since corn is used to feed livestock, that's driving up those costs, too. >> i'm from illinois. we're hog producers. >> reporter: animals cost more to take care of as the price of

feed goes up. >> from this point forward there's no profitability in the big business. they'll start to have to downsize or even liquidate, because the profits will be so short. >> reporter: hogs like the ones raised by huber on average used to cost about $160 to bring to market. now it's $185. that means bacon will be more expensive. the same will happen with other livestock. prices for chicken and milk will soar. overall food prices are expected to surge 4.5% over the coming year. >> i'm darryl, a farmer in nebraska near brownville. >> reporter: a proud nebraskan farmer forced to use his winter feed two seasons early to keep his cows alive and arkansas rancher jim tapley took even more drastic measures, moving his whole herd, hundreds of cows, 75 miles away to greener pastures. one of the cities in extreme drought, oklahoma city.

they tied their all-time record high. that's right, the hottest temperature ever, 113. something they haven't done since 1936, the dust bowl. >> ginger live outside our studios, a hot and warm new york city. while we have you, you told bus tropical storm ernesto. where is that tracking tonight. >> south of jamaica, late weekend, early wiig, it should become a hurricane. all eyes on the yucatan peninsula by midweek. we'll be tracking it on gma and throughout "world news" this weekend. >> thank you. one more note on the weather. you heard ginger mention the heat in oklahoma. they can't catch a break. the 100 degree temperatures and lack of rain are fueling at least half a dozen wildfires across the state tonight. several homes have burned and this evening we are learning of evacuations now under way. we move on to other numbers we're following tonight as well. the government reporting 172,000 jobs created in the private sector last month.

factor in the government jobs lost and you get 163,000 jobs added in july. the most in five months. the unemployment rate still inching up to 8.3% from 8.2%. first, let's talk about your team of economists. they told you this was higher than they expected? >> that's right. it wasn't a great report, but it was better than they expected. we saw hiring across a broad ç range of sectors from manufacturing to restaurants, the temporary work. that's significant because historically, temporary jobs are a precursor to permanent hiring. >> you see the unemployment rate inching up. >> they contradict each other. what's actually happening is more jobs come online. more people who gave up looking for work are starting to apply for them now. >> i wanted to show folks at home what the dow did today. we'll put the number on the screen. up more than 200 points today, closing at 13,096. did the market like what it saw? >> they did like what it saw, but don't let one day fool you.

more economists are thinking that this might be stalling. tonight it comes as no surprise, president obama and mitt romney jumping on these numbers but with different takes. who makes the stronger argument? you be the judge. your voice, your vote, here tonight, abc's john carl. >> reporter: mitt romney wasted no time in pouncing on the latest jobs report. these are real people, really suffering, having hard times. 23 million americans are out of work or stopped looking for work. >> reporter: while romney seized on the unemployment rate going up to 8.3%, the president focused on the silver lining, some better-than-expected news in the very same report. >> this morning we learned that our businesses created 172,000 new jobs in the month of july. >> reporter: true. but that's still not enough jobs. in fact, for more than 42 straight months, the

unemployment rate has been higher than 8%. no president has won re-election with an unemployment rate that high since the great depression. campaigning in nevada, romney also had to deal with a different set of numbers, the amount he pays in taxes. >> i have paid taxes every year, and a lot of taxes. a lot of taxes. >> reporter: he was responding to an outrageous and apparently unfounded allegation from harry reid, the top democrat in the senate. >> the word is out, he hasn't paid any taxes for ten years. >> reporter: reid offered not one shred of evidence, drawing ridicule from late night comedian jon stewart. the allegation has gotten under romney's skin. >> harry reid really has to put up or shut up. all right? so, harry, who are your sources? >> reporter: but reid is really just trying to goad romney into releasing more tax returns. he's only released last year's return and an estimate of this year's, showing he paid a tax rate of about 13.9%. last week david muir asked about that. >> was there ever any year when

you paid lower than the 13.9%? >> i haven't calculated that. i'm happy to go back and look. >> romney made it clear once again today, he will release this year's tax return when it is complete and no more. he wants to talk about jobs, not his taxes. >> john carl tonight from washington. john, thank you. meantime a major development when it comes to a widely use as ma -- asthma and allergy drug in this country. the fda has approved the first generic versions of singulair. the generic versions will cost much less. the latest in a string of drugs that have been on the market so long now that their patents no longer apply. now to london and the olympic games and this image today. just hours after gabby douglas won the gold. here it is. kellogg's rolling out this new edition of corn flakes. it's been another golden day for team usa and how about michael phelps? bill weir leads our coverage,

again tonight from london. >> reporter: so far in london only two people have won three golds, both are american swimmers. missy franklin set a world record in the 200-meter backstroke tonight. and for the teen toast of aurora, colorado, the sound of our anthem from the top of a podium is still a delicious novelty. and then there is michael phelps who has heard that tune this way 17 times, but since his comeback win in the 100-meter butterfly was his final individual olympic win, he seemed to savor it all the more. but as one swimming legend winds down, another is born. 15-year-old katie ledecky crossed a grueling 16 laps of the pool in near world record time. and the host brits are finally piling up precious medals, enough to coax will and kate into exceedingly rare displays of public affection. back home, the girl american sponsors most want to hug is gabby douglas. with her color barrier breaking performance, her infectious energy and movie of the week life story, the new all-around

gymnastics champion is about to get very rich, very fast. she got a look at her first kellogg's corn flakes box today and other american brands are clamoring to ride the gabby-licious vapor trail. >> at this moment, i would predict she earns in the mid eight-figure range in endorsement income over the next four or five years. >> reporter: that's over $10 million. not bad. and judoka made history today, not because she lost her first judo match in 82 seconds but she became the first woman to ever compete for saudi arabia in an olympic games. after a bit of diplomacy, she was allowed to wear her traditional headscarf and many hope it's a symbolic step for women's rights in the arab world. david? >> shreds -- let's hope, bill. we loved gabby's smile. to the medal board we go. team usa has the most medals overall and for the first time, the most gold. china second and russia third.

back here at home, involving an american sports legend, cal ripken jr. speaking out for the first time since the bizarre abduction of his mother. he's asking for the public's help. here's david kerley. >> reporter: a shaken baseball legend, cal ripken, didn't want to talk to reporters. >> the reason i'm standing reluctantly in front of you is just to help the process. >> reporter: the process to find his mother's kidnapper, this man according to police. it was last tuesday that a masked man entered vi ripken's garage, cal's boyhood home. kidnapping her at gunpoint driving off in her car. 14 hours later, cal got the call. his mom was missing. >> it was the worst feeling you can imagine. >> reporter: the hometown boy who thrilled fans for years felt helpless. >> i physically got in the car and drove around, it's like finding a needle in a hay stack,

iç suppose, but it made me feel like i was doing something. it was a horrible night. >> reporter: the kidnapper reportedly made her comfortable. he was captured by security cameras at a maryland walmart. then after 23 hours he dropped the car and vi ripken near her house. tonight, the mystery remains. was it ripken's celebrity the fact that he's a hall of famer known as the ironman because of his streak of not missing a game. was it that notoriety that led to his mother being kidnapped? please say they don't know and neither does ripken. but he believes the kidnapping was premeditated. >> it's bizarre on many levels and i think i struggle with why. so i'd want to know why. >> reporter: his mother is too distraught to live in her home right now, which is more than a half dozen billboardsre up around baltimore, the plea of a baseball hero looking for the man who took his mom. >> our thanks to david tonight. still ahead on "world news," plain jane's bandit is done.

the images of her walking up to tellers with no disguise. no gun. how she targeted eight banks looking like everyone else, and what she said there at the counter. organic artichokes, organic lettuce, organic kale... does your cauliflower have a big carbon footprint? not at all. that's great. melons!!! oh yeah!! well that was uncalled for. uhh... mr. gallagher. incoming!!! hahaha! it's wasteful. you know jimmy. folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico sure are happy. how happy, ronny? happier than gallagher at a farmers' market. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. [ female announcer ] for everything your face has to face. face it with puffs facial tissues. puffs has air-fluffed pillows for 40% more cushiony thickness. face every day with puffs softness.

but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer. ♪ [music plays] ♪ [music plays] they claim to be complete. only centrum goes beyond. providing more than just the essential nutrients, so i'm at my best. centrum. always your most complete.

tonight a california woman, dubbed "the plain-jane bandit," no disguise, no gun, taking on eight banks. this evening she might not be so plain anymore. likely wearing a jail jumpsuit. how did the fbi catch her? here's nick watt. >> reporter: her m.o. was startlingly simple. apparently she just slipped the teller a note demanding money. no weapon, no disguise. the dowdy clothes, glasses and unkempt hair spawned the nickname. that's the plain jane bandit in action. >> she was a little more brazen than the average bank robber. >> reporter: ever since bonnie and clyde -- >> we rob banks. >> reporter: female bank robbers have grasped public fascination. plain jane lacked a little glamour, but still bathed in that audacious outlaw mystique.

apparently she calmly knocked off six banks in a month, tried and failed another two, stole hundreds, not millions of dollars. she'd have made more money claiming the $10,000 bounty on her head. her last hit was tuesday in cerritos. last night she was nabbed near her home after multiple tip-offs. her catchy nickname and the media coverage proved to be her downfall. >> we name bank robbers. the byproduct of that is the media likes the names. they tend to look at the pictures when there's a name associated with it. that inevitably leads to tips. >> reporter: allegedly, plain jane is plain old sylvia helen garcia, 38, from downey, california. but plain jane always claimed there was an accomplice waiting outside. she is now behind bars. but is her clyde? let's call him average joe. is he still somewhere out there living low on the hog with the few bucks she stole? nick watt, abc news, los angeles. >> our thanks to nick tonight.

when we come back, the unwanted passengers on the wing of this plane. they grounded the flight. [ kyle ] my bad. [ roger ] tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have... [ voice of dennis ]...allstate. [ roger ] same agent and everything. [ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah we are. no...we're not.

♪ ask an allstate agent about the value plan. are you in good hands? i took my son fishing every year. we had a great spot, not easy to find, but worth it. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function starting within five minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better. and that means...fish on! symbicort is for copd including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. with copd, i thought i'd miss our family tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today, we're ready for whatever swims our way. ask your doctor about symbicort.

i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. this was unreal today, word of the gamblers, the math experts that cracked the code to the lottery and won the lottery and it was all legal. they figured out when it was $2 million, buying $100,000 in

tickets virtually locked in a win for them. over the course of seven years, they spent $4 million and won $48 million. the game has been shut down. no laws were broken. a pretty good return. a big twist in pittsburgh. look at this, a swarm of bees on a delta flight set to take off. thousands of honey bees drawn to the wing of the plane. a master beekeeper was called in to rescue the swarm. when we come back, you'll meet the american woman about to swing her way into the record books in london. who is our person of the week? [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] zyrtec®. love the air. join zyrtec® rewards. save up to $7 on zyrtec® products. my feet and exactly where i needed more support.

i had tired, achy feet. until i got my number. my dr. scholl's custom fit orthotics number. now i'm a believer. you'll be a believer, too. learn where to find your number at drscholls.com. there's the sign to the bullpen. here he comes. you wouldn't want your doctor doing your job, the pitch! whoa! so why are you doing his? only your doctor can determine if your persistent heartburn is actually something more serious like acid reflux disease. over time, stomach acid can damage the lining of your esophagus. for many, prescription nexium not only provides 24-hour heartburn relief, but can also help heal acid-related erosions in the lining of your esophagus. talk to your doctor about the risk for osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium levels with long-term use of nexium. possible side effects include headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. let your doctor do his job. and you do yours. ask if nexium is right for you. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. i've been fortunate to win on golf's biggest stages. but when joint pain and stiffness

from psoriatic arthritis hit, even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, and stop joint damage. because enbrel, etanercept, suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. [ phil ] get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biolog medicine prescribed by rheumatologists.

and finally tonight here, the american women of the olympic games, making history, even before they started winning medals, even before they arrived in london. tonight while so many fans focus on the medal count, we zero in on another number, giving us reason to cheer. they are the female faces, the american women at the olympic games in london, mothers, wives, daughters, dynamic, determined, driven to bring home the gold. long before the medal count

began, another number already in the history books, 269. that's the number of american women competing, for the first time, more american women than men, eight more. a long way with a lot of doors being opened for women to compete. the women this year represent 36 states and won well more than a dozen medals so far. they're household names. missy and gabby. [ cheers and applause ] cereal boxes already coming off the line. the judo champ, kayla harrison, racing into the stands. her fiancée cheering her on. just today the youngest female, swimmer katie ledecky, breaking janet evans american record from more than 20 years ago. it's america's first gold in the event in more than a decade. and there are the women yet to compete. >> i'm marlen esparza, a fly weight from houston, texas. >> reporter: on the eve of her competition, she's the fresh face of american olympic boxing. grit and grace. slamming her not only in the

ring, but in the pages of "vogue" magazine. delivering beauty in every blow. >> i am a cover girl.ç >> reporter: this is the first time women's boxing is recognized as an olympic sport. >> i want to show everybody everything i can do, all the cool moves, everything i've learned. this is it. if i'm going to do it, i have to do it now. >> at just 6 years old, always trying to impress her dad. and late today, her father joined us from london. >> was there a time you didn't think it was a good idea for your daughter to be a boxer? >> oh, yes. at the very beginning, everybody, i didn't believe much in women boxing myself. once she started boxing, she showed she was different. >> are her brothers still boxing? >> no, everybody quit. >> they were clearing the way for their sister? >> yes, pretty much. they really had no choice. she was the only one winning. >> after all, she's been on a ten-year tear, winning 69

fights, just 2 losses, knocking down those stereotypes every step of the way. >> when i first started boxing, it was just my dream, then god and my country, and then me and then whoever believes in me. so it's definitely a big deal. >> and so we choose marlen esparza and all of the american women of the olympics, setting a record before they even got there. the most american women competing ever. rooting for them and the men as we head into another weekend. i hope to see you here tomorrow night. for diane sawyer and all of us here at abc news, have a good evening. good night. captions by vitac next, high times thanks to high tech. coming up, silicon valley job surge there is no better place in the country for work. >> alarming number of bicyclists killed this summer

in sonoma county. efforts to make the streets safer. >> charges facing a central valley man after police find a photo of a 6-year-old boy holding a gun. >> we can study animals we might never see. >> and there are using gadgets to peek into the lives of wild animals here in the bay area. >> a job surge and the bay area is leading the way. good evening. >> and the number of mesh americans returning to work soared as employers added 163,000 jobs in july, way more than expected. >> a lot of the credit goes to silicon valley. where there is hiring higher than any other place in the country. we're live from san jose with the story. >> this labor department reports that santa clara

county saw a job growth of 3.8% in 12 months. to put that into perspective, in the east bait was 1.3% during that time frame. silicon valley picking up the pace and getting mcht o swr. o back. >> this is like one of those old times, right? good times. >> technology sector is surging and helping to make silicon valley the hottest job market in the nation. >> we're an innovation society and technology centered so it's not surprising this would only continue. there is more strength and more asset autos a san jose company matches job seeker was employment opportunities. there are 112,000 job was nearly 13,000 positions in california. and this is clear the fight is on for talented tech workers.

>> this is really working hard to get the right candidate. it's hard now. it's everything kind of the situation. >> and there is hiring that seems to be taking place across the word board. professional services saw a 5% growth and construction jobs soared a staggering 15%. unemployment in building trades was as high as 30%. and there are several projects giving the industry a much-needed boost. >> there is a perfect storm but i do think the economy is getting better. and this is a clear indication of that. we're seeing it here first in silicon valley. >> and many economists say california and