welcome to al jazeera. i'm del walters. these are your headlines at this hour. un inspect trors searching for evidence of chemical weapons near damascus. and army doctor turned killer, getting his last chance to speak to a military jury that will decide if he lives or dies. >> i have a dream. and 50 years after that historic march on washington, looking back at the dream and the dreamer. ♪ diplomats are gathering in

new york to discuss potential military intervention in syria. and un inspectors are continuing their investigation in a suburb of damascus. the chemical weapons attack happened one week ago today. david cameron has now called for meeting of the un security counsel permanent members. the security counsel has been debating action since it began more than two years ago, but so far no decisive action has been taken because of division among members of the counsel. the council consists of 15 members, of those five are permanent. they are the only nations with the power to veto the council's resolutions. joining us now for the late zest john terret.

>> dell, i think you have to remember that the british have a parliamentary system. the executive sits in the chamber. it's a bit like having the white house in the house of representatives. so therefore there is a lot more pressure on the executives over there to make sure they do things legally. and i think the british way is to try to make one last outreach to the securesy council before an attack happens. no one will tell us what is in this draft document. it simply hasn't leaked. there was a line in a sunday newspaper which alluded to it. but now we have this document. whatever happens, russia and china is going to veto this movement unless the wording is dramatically different. it is hard to imagine they would come up with words that would be

dramatically different. i think they will say we can't have this situation. what has happened in the last hour is that the uk has met with the four other permanent members and looked at this draft document. and then they went in the main chamber in the security council, and they are discussing haiti. and i think when they finish discussing haiti, you may find out a little bit more what is in this document. but the british probably won't present this as a full blown resolution if they can't get the russians and chinese on board. if they put it to a resolution, there was a vote, and then the attack happened. >> reading the tea leaves in this case has not been easy, because we're seeing conflicting information coming out of the un. >> we are, and it's kind of hard to know -- i think this

generally is the way of the world, really. the americans seem to know, for example exactly what happened in syria, everybody else is a little bit hedging their bets. so you have two diplomatic tracks going on and two clocks ticking. you have the ba -- bankky moon o said give us four days. he said give us time, give peace a chance, which is a rather good quote from him. the inspectors are there, taking blood, urine, and other samples. sooner or later if the attack is going to have, states will have to inform the un to put the inspectors out. and we also have to talk about the special representtive in geneva, and he was asked

directly, what if this attack goes ahead and doesn't have the backing of the un secure i can council. he it is absolutely clear that it is illegal. >> stay tuned. israel ordered a small scale mobilization of reserve troops. those troops are going to beef up civil and air defense posts near the syria border. israeli sources have told the prime minister that the probability of israel being targeted is quote, lie quote. israeli citizens lined up for gas masks at distribution centers all day today. we go live now to david jackson standing by in beirut, and we are looking at a region on edge, david? >> we certainly are, dell,

there's no question about that. and we're getting a little bit more information just now on what the united states may know about this chemical weapons attack that we have not learned up until now. we heard john kerry speaking about the fact that the united states would reveal more information in the coming days. foreign policy magazine now beginning to put out the information that american as they say spies, cia is the implication, had picked up telephone calls taking place one week ago between syrian generals in the military, and syrian generals who control the stockpile of chemical weapons speaking back and forth about what has happened. what have we done? or what has this done? has there been a launch of some sort? so that is a critical -- piece

of information. this is a foreign policies magazine statement that indicates within the syrian military, there was some confusion, and angst over what took place and who might have authorized it. all of this leading to a lot more tension on the ground. >> the un inspectors are back on the ground today. the first time they left their hotel, they were shot at. what about today? >> today they are being protected by rebel forces, and they are back on the ground in the region a little bit east of downtown damascus where the worse of the chemical weapons attacks took place. so they are doing their work on the ground. they are about toward the end of their work today in the late

afternoon hours now. and they have been getting more blood samples and soil samples. we have heard from bankky moon saying they will need four more days of work on the ground in that area, and four more days at this point feels like a long time, and then following that, there should be a further period of time for them to go over what they have learned. dell? >> david jackson joining us from beirut. we are going to go live now to the uk foreign minister william hague who is addressing a group at this hour. let's listen to what he has to say. >> parliament must debate these things. it is right that parliament asks certain questions. that is what parliament is for. we're strong believers in the current government in going to parliament on these matters, so

we're doing that. and they will want to hear the case put by the prime minister. but i believe parliament will support a response that is legal, proportionate, and meant to deter the use of chemical weapons. thank you very much indeed. >> you have been listening to william hague addressing what could best be described as the process that leads up to any possible military strike on that side of the pond as they would say. on this side of the pond you would have the equivalent of the white house calling members of congress and alerting them before possible military action should be taken. it was 50 years ago today that an african american preacher changed the world forever with his vision. on the famous "i have a dream

speech," 50th anniversary, thousands are gathering. they are going to be joined by civil rights leaders past and present. these are live images coming from the mall right now. later this afternoon, president obama is going to speak there. when he does, we will take you to the mall live as al jazeera has expensive coverage on the day's happenings. but before that, we want to go to mike viqueira who is standing by live. >> dell you hit me just at the right time. the trumpet just kicked off. we have started this day, it's part celebration, part renewal of what happened 50 years ago today, the march on washington for freedoms and jobs. they are doing it all over again today. the day demand with a

commemorative service downtown. marchers are gather near the lincoln memorial, they will march up here towards the steps of the lincoln memorial. it's a bit rainy out today. they are probably not going to get the anywhere near the quarter million that were here 50 years ago, but they will have bill clinton, jimmy carter, two white southerns, and the sitting president, president obama. >> i wasn't sure whether or not that trumpeter was your theme song? but president obama being the first african american president some 50 years later after martin luther king's historic speech. >> and it's more than just

symbolism, it's a reality. this is a president who has tread lightly on the issues of race. that is to the disappointment of many of his core constituents. they are probably wants to hear more from the president over the last several years, but there's also disappointment that there hasn't been marked improvement in standings of race relations in our society, dell. >> mike viqueira joining us live from the washington mall. we know you are going to be very busy down there. mike thank you very much. before we go back to the events in washington, we want to take a look back at this significant period of time in american history. back on april 12th, 1968, dr. king was arrested and put in jail. that's where he wrote the famous letter from the birmingham jail. that may images of brutality

were televised and published, shining a national spot light on what was going on across the country. and on june 12th, medgar evers was shotted outside of his home. and then just one year later, under a year, president lyndon johnson signs the civil rights act of 1964, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since reconstruction. and on that day, in that crowd, there was a small group of japanese americans, just 35 people, one was todd indo. good to see you again. >> good to see you, dell. haven't seen you in two days. >> i was going to say you are one of two that are still surviving. this must be a very poignant

moment for you. >> it is. the reason i'm here i think is because i'm old and arrive. the japanese/american citizens league was one of the -- the only asian/american group cosponsoring the first march. this march this must have been dozens of asian/american groups, but i was one of 35 in 1963. my mother and i were two of the marchers in that generation, and i was the youngest, so that's probably why i'm here. . >> and for those who may have forgotten and those who need to be reminded. the japanese-americans had a real reason to march on the mall. you were actually in a japanese internment camp, correct? >> that is correct. i was born 23 days after pearl

harbor. and the japanese-americans of that era has their collective civil rights violated. 110,000 people including my parents and all of my grand parents were moved outside of that area. so, yes, my family went to arkansas, and i spent the first three years of my life there. >> from the perspective of a japanese-american has enough been done? and if not, what needs to be done? >> perspective of the japanese-americans i think -- there are many issues, but i think the reason for us marching in 1963 was in part a memory of relocation and world war ii, when our civil rights were violated, but it's the same -- marching for jobs and freedom, which we did there, were for all groups, not just the japanese. not as much for the japanese americans or asian americans,

but for all groups, that one was much more of a civil rights march. we're happy to participate. because marching for jobs and freedom is not an issue for asian americans or black americans, it's for all groups. it's a human rights issue we were marching for then and now. >> todd thank you very much for joining us live from the washington mall today. hope to see you again in another 50 years. we want to go back to washington for another live look at the events taking place on the mall. the bell you see in the middle there will be rung at 3:00 this afternoon. that is the exact moment when dr. king delivered his famous speech. we will continue our coverage of the 50th anniversary of dr. king's famous "i have a dream" speech. later on today, we invite you to join us at 2:00 for our very

special coverage. al jazeera continues. >> i have a dream. [ cheers and applause ] >> my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. [ cheers and applause ] >> i have a dream . . . ♪

♪ welcome back to al jazeera. i'm del walters. in fort hood, texas a convicted killer is waiting to be sentenced. nidal hasan is the man responsible for the 2009 fort hood shooting. she joining us now live from fort hood. heidi where are we in the trial now? >> well just moments ago, dell,

hasan spoke, saying he has no closing statement in this punishment phase of the trial, no surprise to anyone here. he's mainly stayed silent out there this court-martial. you contrast that to what we heard from the government earlier this morning in their closing argument. painstakingly going into detail about these victim impact statements we heard through these last two days of the families left behind from the victims that hasan shot. the 13 people who lost their lives on november 5th, 2009. colonel mike mulligan opening his closing argument by telling the jury, quote, death. he was trained as a doctor to save lives, but on five november he only death death. he dealt no compassion, no understanding, no exceptions, he only dealt death. that's the argument that the

jury will soon start deliberating. and now that we know that hasan is make nothing statement whatsoever. the deliberations could begin momentarily or as early as this afternoon. >> the judge in this particular case bent over backwards making sure that hasan had the opportunity to speak. is that true? >> that's absolutely true. the concern was here every step of the day when hasan made a decision that was disadvantageous, colonel osborn would step in and make sure, a verify that he was knowingly doing this, knowing the consequences. she said, quote, that he is the captain of his own ship, and despite the warnings against continuing to represent himself and waving the right to his live, hasan made this decision and now it's up to the jury to

determine how this will turn out. >> heidi thing you very much. one of the largest wildfires in california history is inching closer and closer to homes. the footprint of the fire continues to grow, and now more firefighters are coming in to help. it is still at this hour only 20% contained. flames have reached the shore of the reservoir that is the main source of drinking water for san francisco. so far the testing shows that the water is still healthy. san francisco's electricity also said to be in danger. that fire damaging two of three power generators there. katherine is standing by live, and we understand there has been an update on the size and scope of this fire? >> dell, fire crews did gain of ground here overnight. containment now stands at 23%. that is an improvement.

we're up to almost 4200 people fighting this rim fire now. today they'll be redirecting resources towards the eastern edge of the fire. it has burned 5% of the park so far. that's about 43,000 acres. if conditions allow they plan a large back burn depreciati depreciatidepreciatio depreciation -- operation from the reservoir south to stop the growth into the park. so we're starting to see some operations in the northwestern part of the park. the pass will be closing at noon pacific time today. fire crews need to access the area via that road, and because of the potential risk of fire if things get out of control, they are closing two more campgrounds in yosemite. white wolf and the lodge will also remain closed.

we do have a public number for information if the public needs to call, it's 209-372-0327. dell? >> ? case you are keeping track is now part of yosemite is being closed. up until now that was not the case. we hope to have that number posted on our website so you can follow it at aljazeera.com. now we go to dave warren to find out if they will get any help from mother nature. the wind is helping to spread that fire and the dry conditions. we're talking about the footprint of the fire, and here it is. this is seen from space, it's just cliping the edge of the park there. just an amazing picture here, shows exactly where the fire is and how it is spreading.

the radar and clouds not picking up any rain in the area. the winds are picking up a bit and the fire helps to enhance that wind. forecasted rain, not looking like much there in the west. i want to go to washington, d.c. now. here is the radar showing a little bit of rain around d.c., and this is what it looks like. a lot of people headed there today. this is a live picture, and it's gray. there is some light rain coming down, but not all that heavy. the heaviest rain could be staying south and west of the city there in virginia and north carolina with light rain continuing around dc. expect temperatures to climb to close to 80 degrees. nowhere near the heat we're dealing with in the midwest. . >> the syrian electronic army strikes again. a social media war on some

american news websites. we'll tell you who the syrian electronic army is. ♪ that's the headlines "consider this" is up next on al jazeera. ♪

♪

welcome back to al jazeera. i'm del walters. it was 50 years ago today that dr. martin luther king, jr. delivered those four famous words "i have a dream." thousands are gathering at the mall to remember that speech. and weapons investigators continuing their investigation in syria. the syrian electronic army is taking aim at american news websites. twitter released a statement saying no user data has been effected. the syrian electronic army using its twitter account to publicize the attack on both of the websites. the group supports syrian

president, bashar al-assad. the international atomic energy group says iran has installed one thousand units for nuclear reaction. a stockpile of uranium gas is still below the red line. the cult -- cult profit that killed the dolphins is now thought to be a virus.

i'm del walters. this is al jazeera. you are watching more news at the top of the hour. ♪