A "PRIMETIME" INVESTIGATION -- WELDERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY CLAIMING THAT THEIR JOB HAS PUT THEM AT RISK FOR PARKINSON'S AND OTHER DISEASES, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 ON ABC

Also: The Latest on the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; Plus: Inside the Underground Society of Aspiring Pick-up Artists as They Try to Perfect the Art of "The Game"

Life has changed dramatically for Charles Ruth since, he says, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Now basic activities are a challenge for this former soldier who made his living as a welder. Ruth is one of thousands of welders across the country who are claiming in lawsuits that it's their job that made them sick with Parkinson's and other diseases, reports Chris Cuomo. "Welding has caused an epidemic... of movement disorders," says Ruth's lawyer, Dick Scruggs, who has made a name for himself - and a fortune - by taking on the tobacco and asbestos industries. Scruggs and other attorneys claim that manganese, a substance that can be toxic, sometimes appears in the smoke produced during welding. They argue that high levels of manganese in the brain can cause Parkinson's, citing two controversial studies by a St. Louis researcher. Scruggs argues that welding executives knew there were risks, but didn't do enough to warn workers. "Primetime" airs THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Defense attorney Eric Kennedy, who represents a group of corporations being sued in the Ruth case and others, disagrees with the assertions about the link between welding and Parkinson's and other diseases. He tells Cuomo that there simply isn't any scientific evidence linking the two. "I think that everybody believes that Parkinson's Disease has a cause, but the question is...what is the cause? And we don't know." Kennedy says nineteen other studies found no relationship, and charges that Scruggs is trying to win his case with sheer bluster and hype, calling this case a "legal epidemic," not a medical one.

Also: "Primetime" will have the latest on the devastating toll of Hurricane Katrina, with reports from the battered Gulf Coast region.

Plus: In bars and nightclubs across the country, men are practicing a new version of the oldest game in the world, the game of seduction, reports John QuiC1ones. They're using techniques taught them by a growing network of so-called experts who promise to turn average Joes into Don Juans - for a price. Neil Strauss, a rock critic and bestselling author, tells QuiC1ones he used to be a loser when it came to women. "I had no game, zero game, and my life suffered, I was miserable," he says. Determined to find out how other guys acquired "game," Strauss spent two years transforming himself into the master of the pick-up. His new book, "The Game," documents this process and takes a look at the underground "seduction community" - men desperate to learn the right moves, and the "experts" getting rich off their insecurities.

DIANE SAWYER, CHRIS CUOMO, CYNTHIA McFADDEN and JOHN QUICONES are the anchors of "Primetime." DAVID SLOAN is the executive producer.