hi everyone, welcome to al jazeera, i'm john siegenthaler in new york. here are the headlines. the white house says it's about to release intelligence that formally links syria's government to the suspected chemical weapons attack. but a former weapon's inspector has this warning for the obama administration. >> not simply on the bases of gut feeling or that's what we think. we need it as hard evidence to show the world the proof, and once that is done, the picture will look very different indeed. >> also making headlines one of the largest fires in california history is still growing tonight

inside yosemite national park. ♪ we begin with syria tonight and a warning from a form weapon's inspector. ambassador richard butler, the un's former chief weapons inspector in iraq said the u.s. should make sure it has evidence that syria used chemical weapons against its own people. today when vice president biden talked about syria, he founded very certain. >> for we know that the syrian regime are the only ones who have the weapons, have used chemical weapons multiple times in the past, have the means of delivering those weapons, have been determined to wipe out exactly the places that were

attacked by chemical weapons. >> am -- ambassador butler said if the u.s. has proof, it needs to show the world. >> it seems almost certain, pretty credible -- let's say it is clear that chemical weapons were used, i'm prepared to say it has all of the appearance of that. let's say that is given. what we don't know is who directed that action, and that's crucial to determining what punishment as i think joe biden called it, and the french ministers have been saying. there must be a consequence, a price to be paid for having done this. in principle i agree with that. but we must be sure we're

punishing the right person, and -- and i'm taking the purely intellectual or perhaps slightly political point that it's in everyone's interest that the indication of that person, that authority that is held responsible, be not simply on the basis of gut feeling or the best -- you know, that's what we think. we need it as hard evidence to show the world the proof. and once that is done, the picture will look very different indeed. >> tonight there are indications president obama has a number of options to deal with syria. patty has more. >> reporter: the obama administration says it will respond to this, but the goal, they insist is not to get rid of the syrian president but to send him a message. >> it is not our policy to respond to this transgression with a regime change.

>> reporter: they say no decision has been made, but it seems likely the response would at most involve cruise missiles attacking infrastructure. experts say a limited strike is unlikely to change the direction or momentum in the war in syria. >> i think that targeted strikes are really more powerful in terms of the signalling that they -- that they achieve, and that -- sending a very strong message that the use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated. >> reporter: many believe the president left little choice but to respond. >> a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. >> reporter: the majority of the american people don't want to get involved in syria, and robert hunter says the administration is afraid of who

could come to power if assad falls. >> then what happens? who replaces that? who happens to the alds -- alds ohhites? i think the idea is to send a message but not so much as to change momentum on the ground. and if there's somebody who knows thousand do that, i have never met that person. >> reporter: the obama administration is expected to tell the american people why they feel they need to get involved. it will declassify some of the evidence it says proves the assad government is behind the attack. and joining us from oxford, maine is aaron david miller. he had more than two decades of

experience advising the state department on middle east issues. mr. miller thank you for being with us tonight. we app meech at it. >> pleasure. >> what is your reaction to what you heard ambassador butler say? >> i think he is right. or at least washington has to make the best case. they already have an enormous credible problem given the gap that separates the president's rhetoric and his action, they certainly don't want to increase that gap by doing an iraq 2.0 reduck. but in some respect that miss the point. what you are seeing here is an outgrowth of president obama's requirements, needs, and objectives. he is probably the most controlling foreign policy president since richard nixon, and his syria policy is his, and

it flows from three fundamental calculations. number one obama has limited objectives in syria, rightly so. he has watched for two years a -- a civil war that is not going to be ended as a consequence of american situation or military power. he also has limited interest. he cares much more about the middle class as his legacy than about the middle east, and that leads him to his final conclusion, he has limited power. which is why in terms of his capacity to effect a fence on the ground. so all of this tick tock about the inadequacy of an american response, the fact that we're not going to tip the balance, i think misses the point. what we're going to do is an outgrowth of two years of policy, an effort by an american president to help when he can. >> yeah, but he --

>> but he -- he is simply not interested, and in a way he -- he shouldn't be given his conception of the national interest in -- in doing anything more than he is about to do, which is a limited, but i would argue, punishing military response. >> right. but wouldn't you agree that the administration really switched gears today and got much tougher. what happened? >> i think you have a situation in which august of 2011, the president talked about assad going. august of 2012 he talked about chemical weapons if they were used he would change his calculus. you now have the single largest deployment of chemical weapons since they were used against the kurds. and obama has developed it seems to me a response to that narrow

issue. it is totally consistent, and totally in line with his policy towards syria up until now. >> but doesn't he have a political problem at home? >> no. because i think his response will be consistent with it will not be encumbering. it will not be a response that trips him into a slippy slope of military intervention. no one is talk about deploying american forces. we're talking about stand-off cruise missile strikes or b2 bombers from some distance. so there's very little danger of american casualties -- >> what about the danger of hitting chemical weapons? >> what? >> what about the danger of hitting chemical weapons? >> i mean if -- if we can't manage after iraq and afghanistan -- let's be clear, the fact that the political objectives in these two conflicts may have been skewed and screwed up, doesn't mean the

military wasn't incredibly adept at what they do. we do this extremely well, and i suspect -- and there may be exceptions, these weapons are precise and accurate, but not -- not -- not flawless. there may be mistakes, but by and large i suspect they will hit the targets they are intended to. and they are not going after chemical weapon sites anyway. again, john, i think this is quite consistent with what the president wants, where he has been for two years, and what he would like to see unfold over the next two. >> aaron david miller thank you for joining us tonight. before syria, before iraq, an international coalition confronted the regime in serbia. hairy smith on the lessons of that conflict and how that may apply to today. >> reporter: even in a city steeped in history, it stands

today as belgrades most famous ruin. they are leaving it as a reminder of a terrifying chapter in its recent past. [ explosion ] >> reporter: the ministry of defense billing was one of the first to be targeted by nato. the precision of the bombing, and ferocity of the attack reminded the world of the power of the west. >> translator: in the days ahead of nato attack on my country, i felt helpless. we could only be losing side. i would advise president assad to do everything to prevent nato and u.s. intervention. >> reporter: this is part of the world where war isn't just a

weigh possibility. this museum in the heart of belgrade has relics of many past conflicts, including two world wars in the last century, and many painful reminders of a far more recent conflict. from 1999 its displays include the uniforms of captured american soldiers and some of the vehicles which brought them here. but despite the precision bombing there were civilian casualties. 16 died here. one who was rescued still relives that moment next to the bombed out building stands a simple memorial to those who died. >> translator: i hope an event like this will never happen again. this was the unprecedented. i couldn't believe that this could happen in spite of all of the warnings given to us.

>> reporter: there are many differences in the situation the people of serbia found themselves in 14 years ago and that of syria today. but in one important respect they may soon find they have much in common. many thousands of syrians are fleeing their own country, and still ahead, how iraq is coping with the flow of refugees arriving every day. and next the enormous challenges of fighting a fire burning in and around yosemite national park in california. g102

♪ one of the largest wildfires in california history is now burning deeper into yosemite

national park, burning dozens of square miles in the park. the huge destructive rim fire has been burning for 11 days now. the flames are threatening to contaminate the water supply that serves more than 2 million customers in and around san francisco. there are still more than 4500 homes that remain at risk. katherine barrett joins us at the command center in california. have they made any progress? >> i think they have. the rim fire grew just 5,000 acres today that's far better than yesterday. night shift crews just received their operational briefing before they fan out into the dark smokey vast perimeter of this fire. the crews were warned about low visibility, shifting winds, to potential flairup spots, there

were even warnings about hazardous wildlife encounters like bears and bees that they might step on in the ground. one fire officials said i think we're the best firefighters in the world. john? >> what about the reservoir, what are you hearing about that tonight? >> that is a big concern to residents of san francisco. it's a 300,000 acre watershed. the fire is burning close to the reservoir. however, officials with the water supply say that the water is repeatedly and constantly tested. it has tested perfectly safe. there may be some ash that has fallen on to the surface of the water, but the drinking supply is taken from almost 300 feet below the surface. and even though the fire is quite close, they say the rocky terrain and limited fuel ought to keep the potential risk slim.

>> all right. katherine keeping us up to date on the fire out in california. we get more now from melissa chan. >> reporter: the fight continues to contain the fire. and firefighters are gaining ground, now dealing not only with front line duties but aftermath work, making sure fires don't reignite, clearing debris. along with homes protecting infrastructure has been a priority. the reservoir provides water to some 2.6 million people in the san francisco bay area. >> san francisco has a number of fiscal aspects up here, and the water asset that is being effected. and the incident itself, and all of the overhead have taken that into consideration, and provided protection, preparation. >> reporter: the reservoir has been just one of the many

challenges with the rim fire. and this wildfire season firefighters have had to hopscotch from incident to incident sometimes across states. most firefighters have 24-hour shifts. and the only way they can do this is with the help of multiple logistics teams. it's formally called the incident command center. some call it base camp. there is a main street all set up to fight the fire. >> a fire camp is a smault city in the middle of the wilderness to support all of the people around it. >> reporter: here is the mobile command center, a tent is set up as a mobile clinic. >> copy that thank you. >> reporter: supplies come in throughout the day. providing critical items to the

thousands of people working here. >> clean hot water, clean clothes goes a long ways when you are out there in the dirt and the heat every day. >> reporter: and perhaps the most important thing to keep engines running, food. firefighters look forward to their meals. each plate must provide more than 2,000 calories, enough energy to keep crews going. >> the other day i was out talking to the guys on the firefighter lines, and they said joe, i want bacon cheeseburgers, with french fries and potato salad. >> it's incredible. the crews that manage the base camp do such an outstanding job. >> reporter: the command center will continue to operate as long as the rim fire burns. and with us now from the wildfire command center is the rim fire information officer, michael williams.

good evening, michael. >> hey, john, how are you? >> great. can you tell us what is going on at yosemite national park? you have labor day coming up, what sort of access are people having to the park right now? or has it been closed off entirely. >> first off thanks for having me on your show, and the fire right now as of earlier today burned approximately 41,000 acres into the park. we're expecting that number to increase. but the park is still open. they still do have access to the park, but they just -- what i would encourage people to do is to call over to yosemite before making it over there just to find out if there has been any change. >> can you talk about the homes that are threatened by this? how many have been destroyed and how many people have had to evacuate their homes object to. >> in total we have 85 structures that have been lost.

there was a berkeley family camp, a place for the city of berkeley to go on vacation, tents, cabins that sort of thing. but there were some residentser that were lost. there were 4500 structures that were threatened, and it is a testament to the skill of the firefighters that are out there. >> weather alwaysplays a roll in this. what is the weather tonight? >> well, they are expecting some of the same weather. they are talking about tropical moisture, but really until we see it, to me it's just kind of speculation. the weather has been pretty consistent, hot and dry, low humidity, and winds coming out of the southwest. but a fire like this can produce its own weather. when the air actually starts to cool and settle down, it can push the air out in all

directions. the wind may be coming out of one direction, but can be pushing in another direction. if it is pulling oxygen from one area, it can pull the air into another. so we tell our firefighters to just make sure they are aware of their situation. >> so i know some people are still out of their homes, any idea when they might be able to go back? >> well, there is some small mandatory evacuations that are in place, but most of the area around the fire is in what we call a preliminary evacuation. they are not required to leave, but just to be aware that the fire is in the vicinity. >> what communities are still in danger? >> the specific communities, the primary areas actually are going to more towards the northwestern portion of the fire up near the community of -- i struggle saying the town, t town is what we have been referring to it as,

and the southeast portion of the park. those communities are the ones being mostly in jeopardy. >> thank you very much for joining us. ♪ i'm meteorologist -- kevin corriveau. this is the 14th storm of the western pacific, and the 2013 typhoon season. we don't think it will make landfall in taiwan. it is getting very close, and we expect to see a lot of rain. this is called kong-rey.

after that it is going to be southern japan that we need to worry about. speaking of the tropics it has been a very quiet month for most of the gulf of mexico. we're watching this area down here in southern parts of florida. the national hurricane center says it has a slight chance of development over the next day, but we don't think it is going to get very big. a lot of heavy rain is expected in this area. that region is seeing about 85 degrees water temperature. that's the fuel you need for these storms. we're all watching very closely what is happening out in the atlantic. these waves, these thunderstorms that you see back here, these are the ones we keep our eye out in case they make their way over here towards the west, this could be our next topical system. back to you. ♪

thank you, kevin. michael eaves is here to talk about sports and football. >> yeah, johnny hoping to play some football this weekend, that's when he will start his quest for a second straight heisman trophy. but this last sunday he faced six hours of questions from the ncaa, concerning allegations that he received money for signing memorabilia. one of the best soccer players in u.s. history has signed a new long-term deal to stay with the galaxy. donovan needs just four more goals to become the all-time leading scorer in mls history. the nfl and major league baseball aren't the only leagues

handing down steroid, related suspensions this season. an australian football league has been kicked out of the playoffs for a doping conviction. an investigation discovered that several players used perform-enhancing drugs. we'll have a little bit more in sports coming up in about 20 minutes. ♪

welcome back to al jazeera. i'm john siegenthaler. here is a look at the headlines. richard butler, the un former chief weapons inspector in iraq told al jazeera that the united states must make certain that it has evidence needed to prove that syria used chemical weapons against its own people. >> it must be not based simply on the basis of gut feeling or the best that's what we think. we need as hard evidence to show the world the proof, and once that is done, the picture will look very different indeed. and the un team investigating the suspected chemical attack is to resume its

efforts on wednesday. the un team was able to collect samples on monday, despite first coming under gunfire from a sniper. tensions are growing on an international scale over syria tonight. and the foreign minister is not backing down. james bays has this report. >> reporter: the syrian foreign minister gave reporters his first comments about the growing possibility of an imminent military strike by the u.s. and its allies. >> translator: we are all hearing the drums of war around us. if they want to launch a war in syria, i think the 3re text of chemical weapon is frail and fragile. russia and the iranians are among those says a military operation conducted without the authorization of the un security counsel would be a breach of

law. >> translator: we hope they have enough wisdom especially seeing the un security counsel has issued no permissions in this regard. >> reporter: a un spokesman was asked about this, and was quick to dodge the question. >> i wouldn't speculate on what a hypothetical future military action would look like. >> reporter: and the white house they are expressing certainly that chemical weapons were used the president only now has to decide what option to take. >> the deliberations that are taking place now and the options being considered by the president and his national security team are not around the question of whether or not chemical weapons were used in syria on a significant scale, causing mass death and injury to independent civilians, to women and children. it is not around the question of

whether or not the syrian regime is responsible, it is around the question of what is the appropriate response to this clear violation of international norms. >> reporter: ten the u.s. envieded iraq, it shows that if a u.s. president wants to launch action there's no way to stop him. right now the security counsel is not discussing syria, but behind the scene there's a flurry of activity. >> the u.s., uk and france are looking to persuade as many as possible that the action they most certainly are about to take is justified. the conflict in syria especially difficult for those who have relatives in that country, and al jazeera's correspondent spoke to some in the west bank.

>> reporter: in the hours after last week, this woman poured over every video online. her uncle and grandchildren all live in the area. she thought she saw him among the victims, so they tried to call his number. >> translator: i was watching tv with my mother, and i was telling her he looks just like my uncle. when my husband came back from friday brar prayers. i told him let's call him. my cousin answered so he said what is the latest. he said we have bad news. >> reporter: her uncle and his whole family were dead. including six children. her brother was among them. >> translator: i have seen the mass grave on tv. when i saw it, i was out of my mind. i thought to myself i have lost my brother. he lives there.

i was out of my mind, the killing of a small child is a crime. it's a crime. >> reporter: you expect the relatives to be calling for some sort of retaliation to be supportive of any kind of strike, but they say this wouldn't stop the war, and think it would cause more suffering on the innocent civilians. >> translator: of course they shouldn't. at the engineer of the day it's not this regime that is going to lose, it's the people. there will be casualty, and syria will be in ruins. >> translator: reconciliation is good. >> reporter: she says when shelast spoke to her uncle and asked why he didn't leave he said i can't. if i leave this place i will lose it. instead he and his whole family lost their lives. one result of the conflict in syria is refugees. last week alone nearly 40,000

arrived at a camp in iraq. as emran reports the 160,000 refugees are growing angry with their living conditions. >> reporter: imagine if this was your home for over 18 months. then damage sharing it with 60,000 others. it's not wonder then that 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, has disappeared. there have been a few riots over the past four months, and the anger is easy to find. as soon as we start filming, we're surrounded by people wanting to tell us how they feel. >> translator: we as syrian people aren't used to live like this. we would rather go back to syria, and end our suffering in

this place. but we can't because of our children. this is the fault of assad and the militias. they are all to blame. >> reporter: that anger has lead some authorities to make pressures. workplaces have been secured giving some parts of the camp a prison-like atmosphere. >> to deal with this long-term displacement issues, and psychological issues, we tried to provide the refugees with a fair sense of community, and that 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 to support themselves and their families. it allows them to guy groceries and other goods. so this place has the feel of a permanent town, but the more permanent it becomes the more issues arise.

this camp has a very different atmosphere than the ones who have just been get up for the newest refugees. there is still a sense of relief there. with any kind of solution political or otherwise still to be achieved, time stands still for the refugees who try to make due as best they can. a convicted killer rests his case without putting up a defense. convicted fort hood gunman, major nidal hasan has chosen not to take the stand in the trial sentencing phase. he was convicted of killing 13 people in a shooting rampage in texas. the court is now in recess. closing arguments will be expected on wednesday. part of southern california

has been dealing with flash floods. heavy rains dropped as much as two inches in just under an hour in some regions. one elderly woman was killed monday when her vehicle was caught in a flash flood. high winds and drenching rains from tropical depression ferdinand have left at least 13 people dead in mexico. more than 200 people have been evacuated. ferdinand has now weakened as it moves through southern texas. and the city of phoenix was hit by a dust storm on monday. winds pushed the cloud into t city. arizona's monsoon season has produced massive dust storms in recent years. the united states is sending a special envoy to north korea to try to free an american

citizen. in april, a court sentenced kenny bay to 15 years of hard labor. the white house says they are deeply concerned about the welfare of bay and has urged the north korean government to send him know. florence this is the first public trip by a u.s. official. what does it indicate? >> reporter: well, north korea frequently likes to use these sort of trips by foreign dignitaries as a public relations exercise. and it is likely to portray this as a leader coming to pay homage to its leader. but this is taking place amist a

flurry of activity. on monday north korea apparently has indicated -- has also said according to unnamed military sources that it wants to hold four-party talks with china, the u.s., and south korea on nuclear disarmament. and this also follows a charm offensive in the recent weeks. it's agreed to hold family reunions between korean families separated by the korean war, and has agreed to resume operations at the park, and the corporation project. this sort of activity usually happens because north korea wants to extract some sort of concession or aide from the international community. >> how likely it is that bob king will be able to secure bay's release? >> well, this is not robert

king's first visit to north korea. the last time he visited was in may 2011. at that time his visit was to assess the food situation in improved north korea, but managed to return home with a korean american missionary who has been held for six months for allegedly carrying out unauthorized missionary works. north korea released him on humanitarian grounds. and in its statement the u.s. statement department said this visit at the invitation on a humanitarian mission. so the chances seem pretty good. kenneth bae is at least the sixth american that has been detained by north korea since 200

2009. >> all right. florence thank you very much. the raining heisman trophy winner faces allocations of accepting cash for autographs. find out what he told the ncaa investigators next in sports. ♪ al jazeera america - a new voice in american journalism - >>introduces america tonight. >>in egypt, police fired teargas at supporters of the ... >>a fresh take on the stories that connect to you. [[voiceover]] they risk never returning to the united states. >>grounded. >>real. >>unconventional. [[voiceover]] we spent time with some members of the gangster disciples. >>an escape from the expected. >>i'm a cancer survivor. not only cancer, but brain cancer.

that's the headlines "consider this" is up next on al jazeera. ♪ ♪ measles outbreak in texas has been linked to a so-called mega church where ministers have questioned the use of vaccinations. at least 21 people from the illness. health officials and the church itself are trying to contain the outbreak by hosting vaccination

clinics. doctors say a visitor to the church who was infected with measles likely spread it to the population at the community church. it's a bit like having a snow day off, but across the midwest, it's heat not wintery weather that is closing schools. the sweltering temperatures have closed schools. those who have school have been given pop sickles and cups of ice to try to stay cool. school nurses are also on the lookout for heat exhaustion. students and staffers who survived the sandy hook elementary shooting last september, today was the first day of school. at newtown a task force as

okayed a plan to destroy the standing school, and build a new one on the spot. lawmakers are expected to vote this week on legislation that would strip tax exempt status from little league and other groups. >> what are lawmakers trying to accomplish. >> this is called the youth equality act, and if passed it will take away tax-exempt status that lawmakers feel have a history of discriminatory practices against lesbian, gay, transsexual, transgender individuals. as you know the boy scouts of america have been embroiled in controversy for some of its

practices that some people feel discriminate against gay people. this bill could put some other organizations under scrutiny. we have a list of some of them. the little league is one of them, actually, future farmer's of america is another one. pop warner football, and boy scotts. there are about two dozen organizations all together. >> so there -- are there other groups that could be affected as well? >> yes, there are. it's kind of a long list, and some of the organizations on the list say they are not sure why they are on there, because they have practices in place that keep them from discriminating against members, but nevertheless, some of these lawmakers decided to include girl scouts and future farmer's of america, and now basically some of these groups are going to have to prove that they are not discriminating. >> how much could this measure actually cost these groups?

>> losing your tax-exempt status is a big deal. even if it's just on a state level. some of these charities will end up losing corporate tax-exempt status. they won't be able to take in any tax revenue from any of their sales. for example, girl scout cookies or even hot dog sales from football games. they could lose money from donors, because the donors don't get tax deductions anymore. >> how likely is this going to pass? >> a lot of people are saying this is one of the bills that seem unstoppable. there are a number of bills that people are characterizing as gay friendly that have gone through the state capital and been passed really easily. it is expected that this will be passed. some of the opposition to this, a lot of faith-based organizations are hoping that at the last minute, lawmakers will

try to see it from their viewpoint, and see that they should haven't to abandon their traditional values in order to adopt what the state sees as opinions on gender orientation and sexual orientation. >> all right. tracy thank you very much. ♪ michael eaves is talk to talk about the heisman trophy. >> during six hours of questioning recently with officials, reigning heisman trophy winner, johnny manzel ever taking money for his autographs. allegations arose three weeks ago that he received a five-figure sum for signing footballs and autographs during the off season. there is no timetable. the school has imposed a gag order on the head coach and its players, preventing them from

publicly discussing the investigation. manz manzel is listed as the starter quarter book on saturday. roger federer quest to another victory got off to a rough start. rain delayed his march from monday night to tuesday. but fedder won in straight sets. fedders, recorded 12 aces and 35 winners in the match. the top seeded american on the men's side easily advanced to the second round with a win over italy. he is looking to be the first american to win a grand slam tight until ten years. and on the women's side a huge upset, a 17-year-old

american beat 2011 champion. she earned a spot in the tournament as a qualifier was playing just her second ever grand slam match. you see it in the nba, nfl and even major league baseball, slow motion replay helping the officials get the call correct. al jazeera lee wellings has this story. >> just deciding how we could manipulate this watch. >> reporter: arsenal manager enjoyed his first look at goal line technology, but for the world's most popular football league getting it right is a serious business. a goal needs to actually be a goal. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: the english premier league has pushed hard for the introduction of goal line technology since 2006, and in this new season they are the

first league in the world to use it. the decision system is made by hawk eye, a familiar and successful device in tennis and cricket. in football a complicated process has been made very simple. >> whether you are in the stadium you will be able to see it, and certainly broadcasters will be able to see, you know, it was or it wasn't. it's not a review system, it's just a factual system. >> reporter: how does the system actually work. there are seven cameras on the ground, and when there is a contentious decision, within a second on this watch, it says goal and vibrates. so there's nothing debatable about it. there has been some present controversy over the technology in cricket, but not the part devised by paul hawkins.

fifa have now licensed four systems. uefa president remains opposed to technology and won't be using it in his competitions. but there is optimism more nations will be able to use the technology. >> we recognize that this is not universally able to be applied today, but the reality is, the cost of technology, we have all seen it in our homes and work lives, the cost of technology plummets. >> reporter: there were 31 incidents last year where the goal decision system would have been made. lee wellings, al jazeera, london. last week the union of european football association fined the league of warsaw 40,000 and ordered the team to close the north stand of the

stadium as a punishment for the fan's racist behavior. today they showed their displeasure, by displaying huge signs in the shape of a heat before the seat erupted into a pie pyrotechnic show. as amazing as that video looks right now, no one was hurt. >> i was going to say it looks like people are on fire. >> it was flairs, and they are waving them around, but no one was hurt. >> that's bizarre. >> over a soccer game. >> kind of sad. >> a little bit. >> all right. michael thank you very much. tomorrow the nation will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the march on washington.

president obama will give a keynote speech honoring dr. king tomorrow. former presidents bill clinton and jimmy carter will also speak. be sure to join us tomorrow for our special coverage of the ceremonies in washington. marking the dream 50 years later. we'll be live in washington beginning at 2:00 eastern time. "america tonight" is coming up next. and we'll see you tomorrow night.

>>a. >> >> hello again well over the last couple of days we have seen four states with major flooding

going on in california as well as nevada, utah, and also arizona. now utah was the last of the areas that we're watching. you can see the showers right there. but our focus is going to return back down to arizona over the next day. but for nevada this is what we saw. this is the canyons area, you can see the rain coming in and the visibility dropping across the region. las vegas saw a drop in temperature as well as some major flooding. now what we're going to be seeing is actually more rain pushing over here towards the west. they did mention earlier in the package when we were talking about yosemite, we were talking about possible moisture coming into that area. you can see how the clouds are advanced a little bit more towards the west. now whether or not it will make a difference, i don't really think so at this point in time, but the atmosphere is lightly

changing. the winds are coming a little bit more out of the southeast over the next day or so. so we'll keep you updated on that as well as more heavy rain expected for parts of arizona. the heat is a major problem across the plains. in minneapolis the heat index felt like 113 degrees. it can be 160 to 200 degrees in a car. keep those doors locked, no children around the cars at all. tomorrow we expect to see still heat advisories in effect as well as warnings. have hasn't changed at all. highs tomorrow look like this, rapid city reaching to about 100 degrees, omaha, about 97. that's a look at your national

and international weather. welcome to al jazeera. i'm john siegenthaler. here are tonight's top stories. the obama administration says it is certain chemical weapons were used in syria, and blames the syrian government for the attack. the white house has promised an intelligence report on the attack this week. the syrian government has denied the accusations. >> translator: we are all hearing the drums of war being beaten around us. if these countries are willing to launch an aggression or military act against syria, i believe the pretext of chemical weapons is also, basically and groundless, and i challenge, i dare them to produce any single piece of evidence. inspect