welcome to al jazeera, i'm del walters. here are your headlines at this hour. >> translator: i believe the pretext of chemical weapons is false. >> as un inspectors postpone their work, the syrian government says it will defend itself if attacked. and firefighters are trying to hold on line on wildfires that are burning in california. and a trip to space could soon be in reach for every day americans. ♪ the united states and

itself itselfal -- its allies appear to be moving towards intervention in syria. reuters news agency saying the syrian opposition has now been told to expect a strike within days. on the ground in syria, the un inspection team has postponed any ongoing investigations due to safety concerns. earlier this morning the syrian foreign min ster had this to say. >> translator: we are all hearing the drums of war being beaten around us. if these countries are willing to deliver an attack against syria, i believe the use of chemical weapons is baseless and groundless. >> we go now to david jackson who is standing by in lebanon. david, what are you hearing about these reports that

military action in syria could happen very soon? >> well, del, most people here expected that. they thought it would come sooner than later, and there is a contingent here that wants it to be sooner than later. the government is nervously awaiting what will happen, and saying if it is a serious large attack, it can just destabilize the region. but in the street-level population, which covers both sides of the issue somewhat here, both sides expect there will be an attack, and it will be a cruise missile attack and it will come very quickly. one of the things that is of interest here is what was stated yesterday by john kerry, was that he had additional information regarding the chemical attacks in syria. and a lot of people are asking what is that information? and does it point directly at

the syrian regime. del? >> are you hearing anything about the possible use of humans as shields in an attack by an allied coalition? >> not as an organized effort. the reason that came up is because the command structure is such that the buildings that they utilize inside damascus are located inside residential areas already. they had been built that long ago, assad's father has built things that way within the military. there was never a thought that people were specifically being positioned as a shield, but it is targeted areas that exist already inside a vulnerable residential area. and everybody hoping that the residential folk find out there is an attack coming.

hopefully they have time and the ability to get out of the way. >> david jackson joining us live from beirut, lebanon. david thank you very much. white house officialses are talking to leaders from around the world about a possible syrian intervention. i talked to gregory meeks about what that would look like? >> i think it will be multi-lateral. it will not be a unilateral basis. it would not be putting boots on the ground. it would not be a situation where it's an open-ended pieces. >> and now we go to mike viqueira. mike, are we at a point right now where it's not matter of if, but when? >> oh, i think we have clearly crossed that point, del. behind the scenes there is a

furious pace diplomacy going on. chuck hagel continues on his trip, and he has been on the phone with his counterparts from the uk, more calls yesterday into the night. that's what is going on behind the scenes. public we are waiting for a statement from the president himself. yesterday secretary kerry spoke in tough and very personal terms of what was going on. sort of laying the predicate for what we expect to be a public statement by the president. and the other big question is what is the goal assuming there is a military attack, and you are right it's a question of when not if, but what is the goal? is it to degrade assad's military. the president is on the record two years ago as favors assad's

removal. but would that be the operation? would they be hitting the chemical weapon targets? that seems unlikely. it would be more punitive action than anything else, del. >> mike, i got the feeling this morning that not only has congress been briefed, but they have been given classified information that left him with little doubt that the united states and its allies will be doing the right thing. >> i don't think you really need to look between the lines too far to understand that the administration has now set its course. the question now what will the coalition look like? we understand the white house last night or yesterday afternoon was in touch with speaker boehner's office, who has been saying the white house needs to consult more closely. the foreign relations committees are behind this question of surgical strikes.

del one thing we have to note for folks, congress has been off for all of august, and you have got to assume that this is going to go forward without any sort of formal vote on the house or senate floor. and that's probably just fine with leaders. they don't like these war votes. having said that, there are several of the libertarian wing, of the isolationist wing on both sides of the isle and on capitol hill who say that that president needs an authorization under the war powers act. that is unlikely to carry the day, however, del. as always stay with us of the continuing developed happening in syria, tune in to aljazeera.com 24-hours a day. a mega church have now questioned the use of vaccinations. health officials are trying to

contain the outbreak by hosting vaccination clinics. it started when a person who contracted the disease overseas visited the church. measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease. a new year means a new start for students and staff who survived the sandy hook elementary school shooting last year. they are going to classes at a middle school in a neighboring town. a newtown task force approved a plan to tear down the former sandy hook school, and rebuild a new one on the same spot. that proposal is awaiting approval by residents. crews battling the california wildfires are making some progress. this map shows what firefighters are up against. the rim fire covers more than 250 square miles, and that is about the size of the city of

chicago. the fire is now 20% contained. the fire chief says they have the blaze boxed in, which allows them to contain its spread. also some good news, officials say the wildfires are unlikely to disrupt san francisco's water and power supply. katherine is in the county where fire officials had a briefing just minutes ago. what did they say? >> they said they have devoted intense resource around the area, and they are confident that the hydro electric structures next to the dam -- the dam obviously isn't going to burn, but they have secured the structures, and even though the fire is up against the reservoir, they don't hear any trouble with water quality issues. the fire has doubled in yosemite

park in the last 24 hours. it is burning in largely remote wilderness areas of the park, and the direction it is moving towards the northeast will have it running into rock, and they hope burning it's a out in the park. there may be some smoke issues around the pass entrance, they have worked hard to secure their singling down and securing the growth of sequoias that people treasure there, but the park is fully open and operational. there is a lot of smoke as you can see around me, ash moving through the air. the smoke generated from the fire yesterday has been pushed down by cool night air, and that will present visibility problems for firefighters at least in the early going today. it is expect as the air warms the smoke will go away. >> is the weather out there

cooperating today? >> well, national weather service meteorologists told us that the word for today in weather is change. the cool air keeping the smoke down will -- as the ground and the air warm up, turn the smoke into plumes, columns that generate their own up drafts. that will potentially drive fires up drainages, up canyons, and they are a little bit harder to control sometimes in that regard. there will be higher humidity, though not the thunderstorms that might be seen elsewhere. that's the latest from here, del. >> katherine, joining us live. thank you very much. still ahead, president gerald ford talks to attorneys about the 1975 assassination attempt on his life. it would truly be a trip of

a lifetime. space tourism could be around the corner, but how much? and things are really starting to heat up in the northern plains, a look at the temperatures and the national forecast is all coming up.

♪ welcome back to al jazeera, i'm del walters. reuters news agency is saying the syrian opposition has been told to expect a strike within days. and syria's government says they will defend their nation if they are attacked. firefighters have gained some ground on the wildfires that are burning at yosemite national park. talk about a trip of a

lifetime, there are two corporations that are joining forces expected to start scheduling flights to outer space. now back to syria, one result of that ongoing conflict there is the number of syrian kurds who are fleeing the country. last week alone, nearly 40,000 arrived at a camp in northern iraq. there are nearly 160,000 people already in the region. as imran reports residents are frustrated. >> reporter: imagine if this was your home for over 18 months, then imagine sharing it with 60,000 others. it's no wonder the syrians living here are losing hope they will ever return home. as syria's war drags on, the initial relief felt by these refugees escaping the conflict has disappeared.

the anger is easy to find. as soon as we start filming, we're surrounding by people wanting to tell us how they feel. >> translator: we aren't used to live like this. we would rather go back to syria and end our suffering here in this place, but we can't because of our children. they might be killed and raped in syria. this camp i'm in is all the fault of assad, the militias, they are all to blame. >> reporter: that anger has lead some authorities to take measures. important places here have been secured, giving some parts of the camp a prison-like atmosphere. aid agencies have also noticed. >> to deal with these long term displacement issues, and the psychological difficulties, first they manage their own life. we promote this community

management. >> reporter: as part of the long-term process, many refugees have taken up manual labor jobs. that allows them to guy groceries and other goods, creating an informal but crucial economy in the camp. this place has the feel of a more permanent town. it has a very different atmosphere than the ones that have just been set up for the newest syrian refugees. there they still have a sense of relief that they have escaped war. time stands still for the refugees who try to make due as best they can. life behind bars or death by lethal injection.

a jury in texas is hearing more testimony in the penalty phase of nidal hasan. heidi joe castro joins us live from fort hood, texas. what are they saying, what are you hearing? >> hey, del, we're finding out why yesterday court was mysteriously dismissed early. apparently hasan has personal hygienish yous that prevented him from being present [ technical difficulties ] he was paralyzed from the chest down as a result of being taken down during the shooting, and he depends on caretakers for his every need. in court this morning he was back, and he was his usual no emotion or reforce face.

and meanwhile we're hearing more emotional testimony from the government's witnesses. one of the survivors who was shot twice by hasan. he talked about how his military career was ended by those injuries, and even today with his ptsd, he can't go into a pharmacy, because the chairs lined up in the waiting area take him right back to the day of the shooting. we also heard from a witness who talked about her young daughter who wanted to join the army to take down bin laden, her death is quote an irreparabler repressible void. del? >> heidi thank you very much. ♪ well, a massive dust storm covered the city of phoenix on monday. winds from an approaching storm

pushed the hazy brown cloud into the city. no one was injured but there are reports of downed power lines and trees. to southern california now, where some of those areas are dealing with flash flooding. heavy rains dropping as much as two inches of rain per hour. a 77-year-old woman was killed on monday when her vehicle was caught in a flash flood. our meteorologist dave warren is here to tell us about those stories and some crushing heat in the midwest. >> we will start with the heat in the midwest. the temperatures are well into the 90s, when you factor in the humidity, it could be well over 10 degrees. 81 in chicago. really seeing the heat build up here. by this afternoon, the heat index could be over 100. and this is all to the west of chicago, so this area, seeing

extreme heat and humidity today. the temperature in chicago, 95, and then maybe some relief once a shower or thunderstorm passes through there on wednesday. it should get a little cooler here over the next few days. the tropical satellite shows the tropical storm developing and a cluster of thunderstorms just off of the coast of mexico. that is helping to enhance the monsoon there, leading to more showers and storms in phoenix today. flash flooding is certainly possible as well as dust storms. some lighter rain up into wyoming, but it does not hit california. rain moved through the northeast here, and then this is followed by some cooler air. temperatures will start to warm up here by the end of the week

and the weekend. dell? >> dave thank you very much. stay with us we'll be right back.

♪ welcome back to al jazeera. i'm del walters.

reuters news agency is saying the syrian opposition has now been told to expect a strike within days. syria's government says they will defend their nation if attacked. fvrts in northern california say they are optimistic they have gained some ground on the fire burning at yosemite national park. victims and survivors of the fort hood shooting massacre are making their statements to the jury there. a newly released video shows eyewitness testimony of the 1975 assassination attempt on gerald ford. it shows ford answering attorney questions. a jury convicted a manson family member concerning the attempted assassination. the gun was never fired. it was the first time a sitting president gave oral testimony in

a criminal trial. >> she was three to four feet from me when i first noticed her. she appeared to want to come forward. i had the impression she did come forward. i didn't see the precise movement. i stopped because i had the impression she wanted to speak to me or shake my hand, and as i moved to either shake hands or speak to her, i then noticed the gun in her hand, and she was approximately two feet from me. >> she was sentenced to life in prison but released on parole in 2009. she now lives in upstate new york. on main street your home prices keep going up.

prices increased by more than 2% in june. that would normally be considered a strong jump, but sit down slightly from may, signalling some moderation in the housing market. americans apparently are like american cars a little less these days. the consumer satisfacti satisfactisatisfaction -- [ technical difficulties ] -- researcher for the american satisfaction index attribute the drop in part because of reliability. they say people feel the quality of u.s. cars have suffered as auto makers ramp up their production. surveys show americans like european cars best followed by asian models. two companies are getting ready for what are called space

tourists. greg geeson reports. >> reporter: space the final holiday frontier. two corporations have combined to begin -- [ technical difficulties ] -- packages are expected to start at around $100,000. >> our aim is to make space affordable to everyone. so we would like to also -- [ technical difficulties ] we have parents who buy ticket for their children and give them as a present when they are going 18, and some retired people. >> reporter: they have signed up about 250 customers globally, and has opened a branch in asia in hoping to attract interest

from china's new wealthy. >> in asia [ technical difficulties ] triple from the figure we're talking about. >> from it's space sport in the u.s., they offer the ultimate space experience. the adventure lasts just six minutes. but it's enough for one of their first customers. >> this is not a new technology. it's something been for years, and i -- and i like to be a part of the -- you know, like this new generation, new travel, i like to be the pioneer. >> reporter: this is the replica of the vehicle, the lynx mock one described as a reusable sub orbit tall launch peek. energies can be switched off --

[ technical difficulties ] -- and more environmentally friendly. once it's up and running, it says it will operate four flights a day. it's one giant leap for space tourism. i have to ask my wife if i can borrow $150,000. the first solar power train may be small, but it could change entire rail systems. it's called the vili, it hit the few months ago in hungry. it is one of the only zero-emission vehicles of any type. that's the news for this morning. i'm del walters.

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