>> here is the latest from al-jazeera. hosni mubarak released from prison but not a free man. and prab on a tour of colleges to talk about the cost of college, the topic of the day. he is on the road with a new proposal aimed at making higher education more affordable and dozens of wildfires burning out of control in ten states including one threatening california's yosemite national park.

former egyptian president hosni mubarak's months in prison are over after just moments ago, a helicopter flew him to a military hospital. mike reports from cairo. >> a helicopter rises from the tourin prison. after hours of procedure, president hosni mubarak is released but his destination is a short flight down the road, a medical military facility. his release from prison is very much a technical term. he will remain under house arrest under the terms of a state of emergency decree issued by the prime minister. a ban on leaving the country has

also been imposed. hosni mubarak is expected to be back in the courtroom on sunday where his charges on the deaths during 20,911 revolution resumes. >> he is not being acquitted. he will be subject to trial for three different cases and it means for the muslim president that they will use it for marking that the movement is not just a revolution, it is a military coup. >> on a same day in a different court, leaders of the muslim brotherhood that opposed mubarak for decades will appear. they cited the violence leading to demonstrations for the military to take down the government. the protests that preceded the military action has called for the court to strongly pursue for persecution of mubarak and morsi

and ironically, accuses the morsi government of not being strong enough for the actions to take down mubarak and because of this, he must be responsible for the actions of the man he replaced. >> we go live to the egyptian capitol and david do, we know anything about mubarak's condition, understanding he is old and in a out of the prison e

was when he went into the prison but there are no updates on his facility to the other? >> well, that interesting, rachelle in that there were only a couple of people outside the prison when he was airlifted out of there. they were supporters of hosni mubarak, no protestors really at all as he was taken from the prison to the helicopter. the supporters were in the street in small numbers and of course they were not in evidence in 2011 when he was taken out of office. interesting that i have talked to a number of people on the streets of cairo and they said as they watched him coming out of prison today, you have to be careful what you wish for. they wanted him removed from

office, protested his regime but said the following two years have been so chaotic that when they see him flying to a hospital, they are almost, hate to say it, wistful celeb his wae legal process. thank you so much. keep it here on al-jazeera for the continuing turmoil in egypt. you can follow the developments on our website. and we need to tell you about breaking news that is happening. the nasdaq has halted trading because of some sort of technical issue. we don't exactly know what is going on but we need to let you know that it is happening right now. as soon as we get more information on that, we will let you know but some sort of technical issues causing a halt in trading on nasdaq and we'll let you know more as we know it.

and restoring international condemnation after alleged chemical attacks in syria calling for a swift investigation into the claims. the images we're going to show you are only the ones we thought appropriate to air but we will warn you they are graphic. >> the search among the dead for missing relatives. the syrian opposition says more than 1300 people died after the government used chemical weapons in a numb of areas east and west of the capitol damascus, an acquisition strongly denied by assad's government. but the shocking video of the victims have brought swift international condemnation. the french government demanding some sort of action. [ speaking fore language ] >> if proven, our position is

there needs to be a reaction. what does that mean? not to send soldiers in the field but a reaction of international condemnation and a condemnation and i will be more precise, of force. >> and the germans hinting at an act of barbarism. [ speaking foreign language ] >> we're very concerned about the allegations of chemical weapons in syria. should it turn out to be true, would be a monstrosity. >> an hour of the united nations security council failed to pro*e dues an agreement on the best response. the u.n. secretary general called for a thorough investigation for all reported incidents but ultimately, it would be up to the syrian government to give their permission. they continued to deny responsibility. [ speaking foreign language ] >> everything that has been said

is ridiculous and most unscientific and objective. we mean what we are saying. there is not any use of that weapon at all. the military operation taking place on the ground is a successful one and our forces are making progress from all sides facing the armed groups. >> both russia and iran say the news of the chemical attacks are accurate. it is more likely that rebel groups are behind the attacks. the syrian coalition has called for an international investigation. they say u.n. weapons inspectors are already in syria to investigate previous allegations of attacks and should include these in their mandate. there have been claims and counter claims over the use of chemical weapons during the last twao years -- two years and until they prove the existence in syria, the slaughtering of people is likely to continue.

we have been following developments from beirut, lebanon. >> reporter: we have heard tough words from french officials saying force needs to be used if weapons were used by the syrian government. turkey saying the syrian government has crossed the red line but the regime of the syrian government says they have heard those words before and have russia and china blocking any resolution or statement demanding on official investigation on exactly what happened in the suburbs of damascus. and so at the same time the opposition demanding that some sort of investigation is held, they have lost faith in the international community and you talk to them and they say well, if the united nations is not going to act, we do not understand why the u.n. weapons investigating team is still in dam mass can you say. why are they investigating incidents that happened months ago when an incident just

happened less than 24 hours ago, incidents of course that they are claiming that the syrian government used chemical weapons. so a very thorny issue, a lot of tough words but highly unlikely we are going to see action for the time being. at the end of the day, we do know it is not just russia and china blocking any movement or u.n. action. we do know the u.s. administration is quite concerned about getting involved in syria because of what is on the ground. rebel groups on the ground really are not supporting their interests and we are also seeing really the growing strengths of al qaeda in syria. >> talking more about president obama's red line for syria being tested again after claims that the syrian government carried out this toxic gas attack. the sovereign regime has denied the allegations and mike joins us live from washington with more on this. it would be almost impossible to

verify this, right, because they have heard these accusatio

as a staging ground, you put military action in there and it could become even more chaotic. >> taking boots off the table, senator john mccain says air strikes are on option. what about that? >> limited air strikes, take away bashar's air superiority in attacks and it was two years ago that president obama called for the removal of bashar al assad and can john mccain with

withering interests saying that the interest is at an all-time low. two rockets fired north of the country landing in a border town. there is no report of any injuries and al jazz zero has confirmed the rocket were fired from lebanon. there are no claims for responsibility and right now there are no plans to retaliate. domestic issues topping the president's agenda today. a speech to students at the university of buffalo, barack obama proposed a number of reforms with a series of speeches called a better bargain for the middle class. he says the administration wants to help students manage debt, bring down costs and create a new ranking system based on the value colleges offer students. >> i think we should rate colleges based on opportunity. are they helping students from

all kinds of backgrounds succeed? [applause] >> and on outcomes, on their value to students and parents. so that means metrics like how much debt does the average student leave with? how easy is it to pay off? how many students graduate on time? how well do those graduates do in the workforce? because the answers will help parents and students figure out how much value a college truly offers. >> and fees for college tuition, books, room and board are outpacing inflation. costs are forcing some students to rethink their college plans or take on enormous debt. high school senior josh zambrano is looking at colleges with his dad but he has set his sights on just one school.

>> what i am looking for happens to be at yale and that is why i am pursuing that. >> wally and his wife have been stashing away funds for their son's university since he was a baby but their savings won't come close to covering the $60,000 annual tuition and fees. >> it is ridiculous it has gone up to that point and makes it very difficult for the lower and middle class students to get a good education. >> the zambranos are not alone it. also affect people trying to to go less expensive state schools. over the last five years, tuitions and fees have increased by 30%, partly because of lower investment on endowments and shorter tax revenues. two-thirds of college students as a result applied for some type of financial aid last year. the student financial aid director at university of chicago is concerned about the

debt students are shouldering. >> we tell students only borrow what you need and if you can get a job or second job to help fund that, we recommend that. >> many students are now opting for community colleges first. >> typically they have agreements with four-year institutions where all of your credits will transfer. >> josh hopes to find a way to finance his ivy league dream without bankrupting his parents so you will look for scholarships. and word is that mayor bob filner may resign as mayor of san diego over the sex scandal. the city council is expected to take up the case on friday. 17 women were accused him of harassing them. and aaron hernandez scheduled to appear in court on

thursday as prosecutors detailed the evidence they have against him. without the indictment, reports are that hernandez' lawyers were set to ask for their client's release from jail where he has been since his june 26th arrest. a chance of parole. still ahead on al-jazeera, after admitting to killing afghan civilians, the story the jury is hearing from the state of mind of robert bales. and the japanese nuclear plant directors making an international call for help.

welcome back. a technical glistens has forced nasdaq to halt trading on all exchanges. they say it has been halted because of a problem with the and because of a navigation problem. the securities and exchange commission says they are monitoring the situation and if anything changes, we'll keep you posted. hosni mubarak released from prison and taken to a military hospital. when he is released from the hospital, he will be put under house arrest. he was ordered by the courts to be released on wednesday.

and in syria, officials denying they have used any tox imweapons, this while video surfaces that show civil i don't know weapons. mr. blair joins us now from washington and thank you for your time. the most obvious question, do you believe chemical weapons were used in syria and can we determine what was used? >> thank you for having me, rachelle. i would say it is ingerminate right now whether chemical weapons have been used. clearly there is evidence of either a large scale conventional attack but there is also evidence to suggest that some sort of chemical agent was used. unfortunately, until there is access into the area, it will be imfootball tell if an agent, chemical agent was used. alternatively, of course, tissue samples from the victims could be smuggled out and brought to

laboratories outside the country and tested and they could be tested for the presence of serin or other nerve agents, chemical agents as well. >> what is your best guess? i know that is a difficult question but what could it possibly be? >> well, it is very difficult to determine these things and the conclusions that are made are often wrong. you have to be very careful. and so let's go down a road and say possibly it was serin, which is what everybody seems to be concluding right now. so there is some evidence for serin in terms of you do see some in cases of video, twitching going on and other effects that serin is known to have on its victims. at the same time, there is also

evidence to suggest it is not serin and i can explain how that works. serin evaporates as quickly as water but if exposed to it, it will remain on your clothing for quite a while. and we found out in 1995 when the subway in tokyo was attacked, the doctors and physicians treating the victims were getting poisoned themselves because the victims were offgassing. so they learned very quickly you have to have prophylactics before you could touch the victims. what we have learned about this toxin in syria, there is no prophylactics being used and there doesn't seem to be any effects on the doctor themselves. >> i hate to cut you off but the bottom line is the stakes are just too high to get this wrong?

>> sure, well, that is an extremely good point. this is an extraordinarily difficult decision because the stakes are so high and there is so much ambiguity that the obama administration simply needs more information before it can act. >> charles blair, thank you so much for your insight. we will certainly be calling upon you again. attorneys for staff sergeant robert bale are trying to paint him as a a good father and soldier. the jury deciding whether of par

have a list of 20 potential cases and will not call them. we expect staff sergeant bale to be addressing the court, the public, the people of afghanistan in a matter of 15 minutes. we were told to be back in the courtroom at 20 minutes to the hour so we expect to hear from robert bale in what will be unsworn testimony. that means he will developmentst happening. >> we'll let you get back in the courtroom to hear that and get back with you shortly. we'll take a break and come back with more on the other side of

the break here on al-jazeera.

the justice department going to court today on the texas voter i.d. law. according to attorney general eric holder, the doj will argue the texas law is discriminatory based on race. and the owners of japan's troubled fukushima nuclear plant say they need outside help. the alert level set to be raised to level 3, the highest since the earthquake and tsunami. and ear' looking at showers and storms across the northwest giving rain and lightning on some very dry ground. so we'll take the rain but the lightning causing problems with the fire situation and wind picking up as well. a little rain in idaho, montana,

western wyoming but the southwest not getting any rain at all as these showers are pushing to the north. there is what is left of the typhoon over china causing a lot of flooding in the philippines and dropping a lot of rain over the region. not a lot of rain in the northeast but heavier showers around new jersey, moving through new york. this will cause the temperatures to drop a bit. once the rain moves out, cooler airs moves in. across the southeast, gulf moisture giving showers and storms over florida and southern georgia. temperatures there will try to climb above 86, 87 degrees. not reaching there in the northern plains as this is cooler air that is moving in. as it does so, we get showers and storms around chicago, temperature up to 78, 77 in minneapolis. a little cooler on the northeastern states there but hot again in the southwest. phoenix up to 92 degrees. >> 92? [laughter] >> say tuned for more news, keep

it here on al-jazeera throughout the day and thank you so much for your time. it was sixty years ago, that a group of explorers made their first tentative steps into the unknown. willingly risking their lives, to be the first to reach the roof of the world.