>> hello and welcome to al jazeera. i'm tony harris in new york. our top stories at this hour. presidents present and past, gather at the mall in washington. >> nidal hasan is a coward and unrepentant murderer. >> a convicted felon receives a death sentence. u.n.'s leader asks for more time for inspections and diplomas. diplomacy.

the 50s anniversary of the march on washington brought out some of the biggest names in politics and the civil righting movement. tengz of thousands gathered at the lincoln memorial, congressman john lewis, the only living person who spoke 50 years ago was there. keynote speaker president obama. >> march 50 years ago was not merely how many blacks could join the ranks of millionaires, it was whether this country would admit all people who were willing to work hard regardless of race into the ranks of a middle class life. >> mike viquera joins us. there was forrest whittaker, oprah winfrey was there, i'm curious who the crowd responded to most. >> you know tony it was an

extraordinary day, it was renewal, celebration and commemoration. a lot of people who were talented public speakers really moved the crowd. and i gt to mention there was music that was extraordinary. it was a rainy day, drizzled off and own. partnered the cliche it didn't dampen the spirits of the crowd. president obama talked about putting a shoulder to the gate and pushing back and both he and president obama who spoke after the members of the king family spoke paid some overtly political comments about the gridlock in washington as well. president obama took the podium, he immediately noted the symbolism and the reality of the fact that here we are, 50 years to the day after this speech on these very steps where we're standing where this crowd had gathered today. here is an african american, the first in american history, his rhetorical motif because they marched and concluded the white

house changed hands. the fact that he was standing there behind the presidential seal, tony. >> mike was there, you hit at it a moment ago, was there a central theme to the message 50 years ago? it was about jobs and freedom. was there a central message galvanizing the speakers today? >> i think there was. president obama, it's interesting, he talked about economic empowerment, not simply what happened 50 years ago and what happened today. we heard this from a couple of speakers. people say the african american community has not made progress over the last 50 years or disappointed in the progress. we heard john lewis dismiss that and bill clinton dismiss that and president obama dismiss that but he turned to the theme that he talks about most even when he's not on such a grand stage, economic renewal, he used martin luther king's words, what does it profit a man to sit at a

lunch counter if you can't afford the meal? the people who marched 50 years ago, were not marching for an abstract principle but for jobs. tony. >> all right mike good to see you. martin luther king iii spoke to us afterwards and said he was moved by president obama's comments. >> the first thing is that it's monumental that this anniversary, this commemoration, was addressed by the president of the united states. and then of course by two former presidents, presidents clinton and president carter. then to be here with my wife and daughter, my brother and his wife, and my sister, and all of our family, and then, to hear themes that resonated, that i've been talking about, throughout this week. we had a march on august 24th

where we had over 100,000 people here, also, this past saturday, and we talked about immigration issues. we talked about youth unemployment. we talked about violence. eradicating the triple evils that my dad talked about poverty, racism militarism and violence, i heard all of those things resonate saying that america, the dream is not yet realized but we can in fact continue in the tradition. and ultimately we will get there. >> now to syria and the looming aspect of u.n. intervention. the u.n. security council began considering a british backed resolution, the u.n. is asking that a team on the ground in damascus be allowed to finish its investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack. there is concern that russia

will object to intervention but the state department says that vote or no vote it will not allow russia to stop action on syria. >> we see no avenue forward. given continued russian option to any meaningful council action on syria. therefore the united states will continue its utle consultations. attempts to act on syria have been blocked and we cannot allow diplomatic response to be blocked. >> the goal of any imr action in syria would be to block the chemical weapons use throughout the country. israel planes conducted a separate strike earlier this year. the syria military's command and control centers seem to be on or close to damascus, the heavily

guarded presidential palace and the residence of the president assad. syria has six major air fields including the international airport in damascus. to discuss all these things is john terry, a reaction from the speaker of the house john boehner. >> john boehner the speaker of the house is writing to president obama and saying look, i agree with you. he has already said he agrees with the president's attempt to remove president assad. but you need to explain why this would benefit. that is john boehner writing in the last hour. samantha power is the new u.n. ambassador on behalf of the united states. she has only taken over. she tweetout, unfortunate

outcome, the p-5 meeting, block any meaningful action, then going on from there, jay carney, saying that diplomacy has been paralyzed. they'll tweak it and have a look at it and send it back to the u.n. so expect more activity there tomorrow. >> syria, has the ambassador, anyone from syria at the united nations had anything to say about all of this activity? >> the man that is responsible for syria at the u.n. is bashar jafari, speaks many, many languages but has a penchant of going on and on and on when you give him a microphone or a camera. today he couldn't have been more blunt. he says look, the country is in a state of war and we're preparing for worst.

take a look. >> it's up to the security council only and exclusively to deal with this issue. it's not up to the united states or nis anybody else on baseless allegations that we are not yet -- that are not yet clarified, scientifically, and politically speaking by the investigation team. >> all right a new development in a new interview, president obama is saying that syria was definitely responsible for this chemical weapons attack outside of damascus. >> it's very interesting because the americans seem to think they know exactly what happened. they are the only ones that are saying this kind of stuff. >> and we've been promised there's going to be an intelligence assessment today, this week. >> it is not going to be released because of the plings celebrations. look for that the plng celebration he. they want to be absolutely sure,

that draft resolution slows things down. the uk and france are now saying that they are prepared until the u.n. inspectors in damascus actually file their report. they will have to write it file it and there will have to be a reaction. there are two newspapers in the uk tonight reporting that the british people are simply not behind it so they're buying time. they really need the inspector's report to give them the authority to go ahead and join in the coalition. >> to make the case. >> exactly. the public in britain are against the thought of any attack. >> to restate it here, in a new interview with pbs, president obama is saying that conclusively that syria in his estimation, there is a piece of

the interview now, we're going to watch it go through it and i believe we'll be able to use that particular moment when the president says that syria was behind conclusively the attack. >> remember whatever is said doesn't really matter, at the end of the day, if there's to be any kind of military assault of any kind we know it won't be boots on the ground but it could be cruise missiles for example, the final say rests in the white house. >> john terry. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> again let me repeat it. let's roll the tape of the interview, president obama stating to pbs that syria was behind the chemical weapons attack. according to the president, it is not an alleged attack. it is an in fact chemical weapons attack. on a suburb just outside of damascus last wednesday.

>> it has been reported that the americans have information which is coming in from israel who were listening in to what was said in syria. >> we need to see it. >> and this is why the americans seem so convinced it was the government of -- >> which is interesting because some of this intelligence -- before we get to that point let's listen to a bit of the interview. >> yeah. >> why consistently the rules of war have suggested that the use of chemical weapons violates jen geneva protocols. we want to make sure they are not loose in the way that ultimately could affect our security and if in fact we can take limited tailored approaches, not getting drawn into a long conflict, not a repetition of you know iraq which i know a lot of people are worried about but if we are

saying, in a clear and decisive but very limited way, we send a shot across the bow saying stop doing this that can have a positive effect on our national security over the long term and may have a positive impact in the sense that chemical weapons are not used again on innocent civilians. >> let's turn back to where you were earlier this afternoon. the martin luther king anniversary of his i have a dream speech, the anniversary of the march on washington. you have a reputation, mr. president, for being pretty cool and detached. but standing there at the lincoln memorial at the place -- >> our thanks oour friends at the -- to our friends at the newshour at pbs for allowing us to watch.

the president it seems to me is attempting to make the case for what he is assuming is a limited attack, that's what it is a limited attack on syria. >> he's a man who campaigned on ending wars not starting one. you can hear it in his tone of voice so i'm looking for the information that the administration says it has which is coming in from some source which backs up the claim that it was the syrian government that did that chemical are attack last wednesday morning. we're looking for that sometime on thursday. >> there was something else. the moment we dropped on that discussion, there was a discussion of the chemical stock piles that the world knows exist inside syria. the idea of securing the chemical stock piles, i don't know that you could do that without putting boots on the ground. >> that's not even going to lap. >> and apparently that is off the table at this point. >> boots on the ground is an absolute last option and no

one -- >> who is securing the stock piles? >> we don't know for certain. it depends how accurate the missiles are if they are sent in accurately. i will tell you newspaper reports, are suggesting it will be the early part of next week. we have a little bit longer to wait. >> theoretically that would give the inspectors the four days they need to finish up the reporting. >> we're not sure what ban ki-moon meant. we assumed it was four days from now, he might have meant four days in total. if there is going to be an attack of any kind and the inspectors are there, the u.n. will tip them off and they will leave. you don't want to risk the 20 inspectors either being held hostage or being surrounded by an angry mob at the airport. >> let me repeat your reporting are from just a moment ago on

reaction from the uk and there might be a bit of a stall. >> well britain is a very different kind of democracy to the united states. it's a parliamentary democracy. it's about like having the white house in the house of representatives. the same are scenario. it's a bit of pressure to actually play by the book and play by the rules. plus it's their natural character to try and go that last mile all the time which is why they drafted that security council resolution. but now as the day has gone on it's becoming clear that this is also a stalling tactic being imposed by the british government because there really is no appetite among the british people for this attack. >> none in the united states. >> none here either but they are operating under different circumstances. now we have that draft resolution which was a roadblock.

actually now they say we're prepared to wait until the inspectors report, which may suggest no attack until early part of next week. >> it would be nice to bring the u.s. congress back to have representatives of the nation weigh in on this as well. john good to talk to you. thank you tony. >> other news now. the fort hood shooter is sentenced to death, major nidal hasan was convicted in the 2009 shooting rampage that killed 13 people at a texas military base. heidi jo castro joins us from fort hood. a couple of issues i want to take up with you but now the sentence is known, it is death. is the next step for nidal hasan leavenworth prison in kansas? >> that is the destination. he is at the jail awaiting the next military cargo transport to

kansas. when his son steps into the jail cell he will be stripped of his pay and rank. this is a mandatory appeal. even if hasan tells the government he does not want any appeals whatsoever it will be still at least four years before he is executed. >> heidi how did the families react to the death sentence? >> well, they were out here just momentarily before, tony, and two families spoke to the media. the wife and two daughters of retired chief warrant officer michael cahill, remembering their father, their husband. he was the one civilian who died at the hands of hasan. and he died because he rushed at the shooter armed with nothing but a chair in an attempt to

save the lives of soldiers. his family said that's the kind of man he was and today they feel like a weight has been lifted from their shoulders and they believe that hasan is being held accountable for justice, tony. >> thank you, heidi, appreciate it. coming up, the saibers rattle and -- sabers rise and real money's alli velshi reports. i'll have a live report on yosemite coming up on al jazeera in just a minute.

>> for nearly two weeks now fire crews in california have been working nonstop battling the fierce wildfire around yosemite national park. in some areas crews are using drones, and more than 4,000 firefighters now trying to get a handle on this stubborn wildfire. katherine barrett is live. we worry about the wood lands

and the reservoir that feeds san francisco. we worry about the families displaced and the buildings that could be burned but mostly we are concerned about the firefighters who have to be completely exhausted at this point. >> well they are, but they keep bringing new personnel on board. they've added just a couple hundred more. they do have 12 hours on 12 hours off, some of them are on 24 hour shifort. they are encouraged to eat lot and take care of themselves that's job 1. additional resources being deployed like this military drone they've brought in actually declared special permission from the u.s. secretary of defense. the unmanned drone will be driven by the california national guard. it will be used to spot new fires, and help deploy resources efficiently around this 280 mile square territory.

we took a ride to the south flank where it's actively burning. they are letting it burn up to bulldozer lines, but have mop up crews in the woods digging out and damping out hot spots. they are protecting remote ranches in the area. but mother nature has been no help. the continued heat and winds make this a tricky opponent. >> there are still evacuation warnings on the south part of the fire. some areas are essentially out of the danger that they were in. so we are -- we are doing our best to get ahead of this and deal with it before it has its way. with us. >> now a lot of this terrain is actually open grazing ranch land. and farmers have had to get their head of cattle back out of the fire. but some of them are still

stranded out there. they've asked that firefighters help them actually locate their stray livestock. tony. >> katherine barrett appreciate it thank you. in business uncertainty over syria is driving oil prices up. crude is up $1.09 to over $100 a barrel. ali, i understand that syria is not a major producer of oil. what is going on with this spike? >> with trading tony as you know, traders react because of what other traders are going to do. syria is not a major oil producer. there is a pipeline that goes from iraq to turkey, the bigger issue here is that syria's big ally in that part of the world is iran. iran has said if syria's

attacked it won't stand by and watch. now iran does control a lot of the oil flow in the middle east. it's itching to get into a bit of a scrap with the united states. i don't think they're looking to get on to a full-out fight with the united states but about 20% of the world's oil goes through the so-called straits of hormuz but iran is on one side of that so you could end up choking off a lot of the supply. basically the world produces about 89 million barrels of oil every day, the price of oil is up $4 so far this week tony and that's probably going to be reflected into your gasoline prices. >> that's the next question, this will eventually hit gas prices, that makes sense. >> gas prices are down 8 cents compared to a month ago but this is the thing that usually works its way into gas prices because

the base cost, the most important cost of the cost of gasoline is the barrel of oil right now. there are mixed signals in the economy but generally speaking we saw consumer confidence strong, home prices up, everybody feeling pretty good unemployment coming down and then you've got this. gas prices really do hit americans in the wallet so we're a little bit concerned about the effect that the saber rattling will have on the entire economy. >> more on this at the top of the hour? >> absolutely. we're worried about cities paying pensions of the people. we'll talk about this on real money. >> ali velshi, we'll see you then. i'm going to take you now down south of the equator towards brazil, and peru. take a look at video, i want to

show you the snow event. this is the worth snow event they have seen in southern peru in almost ten years. quarter of a milliona million as have frozen to death. on the other side of the continent, a state of emergency has been called, we'll give you more information over the next day or so. up here, central plains it is not the snow, it is the heat. take a look at the temperatures we're looking at right now. this is actually much better than we saw yesterday. 91° in minneapolis and over here towards chicago we're looking at 81°. believe it or not for chicago this is 13° colder than what they had this time yesterday. omaha, minus 2° there but omaha is going to be another hot day,

relative humidities are going to take that into the triple digits. >> thanks. the word is wait, give the u.n. inspectors the chance to complete their investigation. the latest on the syrian crisis is coming up on al jazeera.

>> welcome back to al jazeera. i'm tony harris in new york. updating the hour's breaking news, president obama says he has concluded now that the government of syria carried out a chemical attack against its own people, but he stopped short of saying, he the united states is going to retaliate. >> first of all, i've gotten options from our military, had extensive discussions with the national security team. if the assad regime used chemical weapons on his own people that that would change some of our calculations. and the reason has to do with not only international norms but also america's core self interests. >> now the president spoke of a limited tailored military strike that would send a shot across the bow to deter future chemical

weapons attacks. the u.n. security council is considering a british backed resolution to take all means possible to protect civilians but the u.n. team should be allowed to finish their investigation into the alleged chemical attack. there is growing concern that russia will object but the state department says it will not allow russia to stop action on syria. james, if you would talk about the flurry of activity from your post with the p-5 members of the security council meeting. >> toinl i have to say today if you look at all the developments things have gotten more challenging for the obama administration. he's talking about sending that shot across the bow but he has more challenges now than he had some 24 hours ago. first let's start with the british. you mentioned that draft resolution they're trying to get, that doesn't seem to be

going anywhere and the other challenge seems to be coming the british under pressure at home, david cameron has changed the motion that will go before the british parliament and because of the pressure he's received he has put in place quite a lengthy procedure he has to go through before he can join any military action. he is committed to if inspectors to finish their inspection, then for ban ki-moo ki-moon to go bee security council. i have to say to use the phrase that i remember margaret thatch err used before the american president, she said you've gone wobbly, it looks like the british have gone wobbly because of domestic pressure at home. >> simply put is that a

byproduct of the british public having no appetite which is the case in the united states as well, for a military intervention? >> that's right, david cameron is going to put it before his parliament in a matter of hours and i think he's fearing he was going to lose so he has now agreed to go through this long procedure which may mean that the u.s. decides not to have one of its closest allies on board. there are other problems for the obama administration. we have had strong conversations from the u.n. inspectors, should be giving them time to do their job, he said, give peace a chance, the man who was to mediate this conflict, what do you think of that he said quite

simply it would be illegal. >> wow. and then there was the reaction from the syrians. what was set by the syrians? >> the u.n. ambassador, one week ago they were talking about a fabricated attack. now the syrian ambassador is saying the same as ban ki-moon. let the inspectors do their job. when there's a threat of the missiles landing on their country in a matter of days. >> james bays, good to talk to you. a huge crowd gathered in the mall in washington, to hear the words, i have a dream. today on the anniversary of that speech thousands gather again on the mall, former presidents, celebrities and every day americans were there.

bill clinton told the crowd that dr. king's speech had changed america. jimmy carter said dr. king had helped free all people and president barack obama to mark the changes that have come about since that day. >> when we turn not from each other or on each other, but towards one another, and we find that we do not walk alone, that's where courage comes from. [applause] >> and with that courage we can stand together. for good jobs and just wages. with that courage, we can stand together, for the right to health care in the richest nation on earth, for every person. with that courage, we can stand together for the right of every child from the corners of anacostia to the hills of appalachia, to stir the mind and capture the spirit and prepare them for the world that awaits

them. >> let's take a moment to remember some of the key events of that spring and summer of 50 years ago, in april of 1963, martin luther king was arrested and jailed. there he wrote the famous letter from birmingham jail, which argued the case to break unjust laws. gaining sympathy for the civil rights movement. on june 12th mississippi's naacp field secretary medgar evers was murdered outside his home. dr. king delivered his famous i have a dream speech and on july 2nd, 1964, about the johnson signed the civil rights act of 1964, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since reconstruction. both dr. king and his father led the congregation at ebeneezer

baptist church. the current pastor of that church reverend dr. rafael joins me. >> good to be with you tony. thanks so much. >> give us your reflections of this day and move on from there. >> it's been an exciting day and a thrilling week, as we gathered on the mall remembering that great day 50 years ago, i'm a part of the post-civil rights generation, born a decade after dr. king's death. but for americans across the nation dr. king's words that day with his soaring oratory, our right to remember it but our challenge today is to make sure that while we engage in commemoration we move from commemoration to recommitment that we ensure that we do not cash in the dream for sentimental memories, dr. king

came to the capital with a tremendous agenda and we still have work to do. >> you know, i first spoke to you shortly after you were named senior pastor there at ebenezer, have you felt challenged in that job? have you felt a bit of a burden? you know the question, it is the legacy question, the footsteps question. >> well, what has been helpful to me is the recognition that it is not my job to walk in dr. king's shoes, i don't think anyone can do that but to stand on his shoulders. i think the challenge for all of us no matter where we sit is to be our best self, in the moment we find ourselves, and what i have as leverage is the great example that dr. king left not only him but his father and his grandfather, all of whom were pastors at ebenezer church and were activists in their own

right. dr. king's father led a voting rights campaign in 1935, we didn't get a law until 1965. it is the recognition that whatever work we do another generation will have to finish. >> let me tease you out on your activism in atlanta. what is your reaction to the pew research poll of last week? fewer than half of all americans say the country has made substantial progress in the past 50 years towards racial equality. what is your reaction to that? >> well our situation really is a mixed bag. one cannot deny that in the decades since that incredible speech, in many ways we are a much better country. there is a best of your knowledge any black middle class, opportunities that have worked for a lot of people but still, there is this huge under class, really a cast at the

bottom of the well. and much of that is driven by many things but part of what i have my eye on and many others these days is america's growing and increasingly privatized prison industrial complex. i think the irony of this moment is that dr. king and others fought against employment discrimination, housing discrimination, voting discrimination. now we have a prison industrial complex that is grown 800% since 1980. and those young people mostly or disproportionately african american men when they come out of that system they are still under the supervision of our criminal justice system and employment discrimination is legal, housing discrimination is legal, voting discrimination is legal because they wear the stigma of felon. if we are serious about continuing the legacy of dr. king's dream, we will fight for major reform in america's

criminal justice system. >> reverend warnock, great to talk to you again. pleasure. >> great to talk to you too. >> thousands celebrated the 50th anniversary of dr. martin luther king's i have a dream speech earlier today, several presidents honored his dream that changed the world. [ bell clanging ] >> because they marched, america became more free and more fair. not just for african americans but for women and latinos, asians and native americans. for catholics, jews and muslims, for gays, for americans with disabilities. america changed for you and for me. and the entire world drew strength from that example.

>> he dreamed. of an american where all citizens would sit together at the table of brotherhood, where little white boys and girls and little black boys and girls would hold hands across the color line. where his own children would be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. >> the greatest leader that my native state and perhaps my native country has ever produced. and i was not secluding presidents and even the founding fathers when i said this. >> we are standing here in the shadow of abraham lincoln, 150 years after he issued the emancipation proclamation. and only 50 years after the historic march on washington for jobs and freedom. we have come a great distance in this country. in the 50 years.

but we still have a great distance to go before we fulfill the dream of martin luther king, jr. >> we are going to let freedom ring all across the nation. we're going olet freedom ring everywhere we go. if freedom is going to ring in libya in syria, in egypt, in florida, then we must reach across the table, feed each other and let freedom ring. >> and coming up next in sports find out how a college football game in 1969 helped desegregate all facets of the south.

highlighted area of yosemite national park. and there it is. these are the city lights of san >> a florida family is suing local police for tasing their son who died shortly thereafter. 18-year-old israel hernandez was chased down and stunned by miami beach police after they caught him spray painting a wall. a lawsuit claims that the police disregarded his civil rights.

natasha i'm going to talk to you. he was tased but what do we know about how this young man actually died? >> good evening, tony. well this is what we do know. he was tased one time in the chest, officers say he immediately showed distress and died shortly thereafter but we don't have a formal cause of death and that's because we're still awaiting toxicology results and that could take several weeks. i've covered these cases before, in one case the man a medical examiner cited a man's preexisting heart condition, another a million examiner cited drug use. again it's important for toxicology reports to be determined. >> natasha this isn't the first time miami police have faced such allegations correct? >> true but i do want to mention the miami beach police chief

said this man was caught in the act and he alluded arrest and the mime police acted in according to department policy but shot and killed a 22-year-old man in his car, police fired more than 100 rounds after they say the man was trying to use his vehicle as a weapon. right now with this case tony a number of outside agencies are reviewing it including the florida attorney general. >> natasha appreciate it, thank you. los angeles county is experiencing a foster care crisis, too many children getting held in holding rooms and not getting placed. stephanie stanton has the story. >> yay. >> two-year-old bella plays a game with her mom and dad but

these happy scenes weren't always the case. bella came into her parents life as a foster child. >> i don't think there's a time when i regret what we did, she seems just like our child. >> but other foster kids may not get that same happy ending. in los angeles county there are about 17,000 children in the foster care system run by the department of children and family services. half are living with relatives and others with foster families. the number of foster families have really started to decline. >> we really have a huge need for foster families to take responsibility for those children even if it's for a short period of time. >> in 2007 there were about 9,000 children in nonrelative foster care with 6500 foster families. now there's about 8,000 kids but only 3500 homes.

dcsf says a growing number of foster families who age and stop fostering. the problem has been especially acute in the past six months due to an increase in child abuse and neglect calls to county hot lines. >> during the next few months we've seen the increase from 10,000 to 12,000, 13,000 calls per month. >> officials say the increase is done in part to a recent case that has made national headlines. gabriel hernandez was allegedly tortured and killed by his mother and her boyfriend. karen bass is an outspoken criticizer of foster care. >> i think dcsf last a lot to be proud of and i don't want it to go into a consistent and reactive mode. >> last year the county center,

opened in july of 2012 more than 3500 children have been brought here to await placement. even with that, some of the children have been overstaying the 24-hour legal limit because workers had trouble finding foster homes. dcfs has been given a wednesday deadline by the state to correct some of the ongoing problems or face fines. the county is working with agencies to open additional care centers. county officials have also recently gotten approval to add 150 social workers. they outline changes they plant to implement. >> a search engine to allow us to identify vacancies quicker, we have more staff trying to find placement for children. we are increasing our recruitment efforts for our foster parents. >> the ultimate goal to give other kids in los angeles a chance to grow up in a stable and loving home just like bella.

stephanie stanton, al jazeera, los angeles. >> michael leaves is here and then the other shoe dropped on johnny manzel, hmm? >> it did but didn't kick him that hard. the nook and texas a&m, have made the agreement to suspend johnny manzell. the reigning heisman trophy winner, has denied ever accepting any cash for autographs. since he admitted signing so many foobles that ultimately ended up on ebay, manzell is being punished, student athletes

cannot permit their names or likenesses, used for commercial purposes, including promoting sales of commercial products or accept payment for such. jesse owens, joe louis or jackie robinson. but a football game played six years after the march on washington was the tipping point towards complete desegregation of the south. the civil rights act in 1964, several aspects of the south remained divided down racial lines. including one of the region's most sacred cultural treasures, football. >> football is like a religion particularly in the south. college football teams that were segregated long after the universities themselves had been

forced to integrate. so the ability of the black colleges to compel integration by dint of how effective their football teams were had huge effect on the colleges of the south. >> changed the course of civil rights examined the groundwork which eventually led to the first ever game between historically black college and university and the all white school of the south. >> the game of fordham against tampa in 1969 was so controversial and so scary to people in the south there were so many fears it would cause a race riot what happened if a black team beat a white team? >> validate the ability of players in black colleges how much was that game pivotal in the black movement? >> that game plays a huge role in a couple of ways. first of all it demonstrates to

skeptics that black players were the equal in this case the better of the top white players. >> eventually that integration led to the demise of greatly historically great black football programs because now all the best players are going to the traditionally white schools as opposed to traditionally black schools. >> integration was a real mixed blessing. certainly as proud educated dignified african american men they wanted to see the legal structure of white suppresscy -- supremacy end end. >> their influence on the game of football is still felt today. even if most fans, players and coaches don't realize it. well last weekend the best golfers in the world converged in new york for the opening leg of the fedex playoffs, adam scott winning over tiger woods and others. now, to washington for the

deutsche banc championship. woods pulled out today to give him the as much rest as possible. how tiger's back could affect his chances in boston. >> back spasms are sum that if you get the right treatment at the right time they can turn around really quickly. the deutsche banc championship starts on friday and ends on monday instead of the normal thursday to sunday finish. i think the extra day is going to give tiger woods an advantage. who knows, the things about backs, as easily as they can heal they can go back the other way. hopefully? tiger woods is healthy again. the most dominant participant, u.s. open in flurk new yorflushing new york.

the leaders both advanced, winning in straight sets but then the rains came, delaying the matches of serena and venus williams. the rain is playing a big deal over in flushing as they play the last grand slam of the year. >> we could get out of here and make the night session, couldn't we? >> if there was one. >> the whole session is rained out. >> kevin is up next with the weather. >> coming up on real money, what rising oil prices could mean for you and for the economic recovery. what is tapped to keep paying pensions for police and firefighters. and what has gotten worse 50 years after the i have a dreen

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>> well, 50 years in washington for the martin luther king speech it was a beautiful day about the same temperature as today but of course today was

rainy. we'll take a look what that rain is going to do for the rest of the evening. we're going osee more rain pushing through most of the eastern seaboard. our focus is what's going to be happening near west virginia. flash flooding is going to be the trouble for the rest of the evening. temperatures coming down to 72° but tomorrow we expect those temperatures to go up to 80° there. as the labor day weekend unfortunately rain showers for many locations on the east coast, not just here in washington. 89° there. we're also going to be watching what happens very quickly down here towards the south. very heavy rain showers for parts of miami but for orlando things are looking quite nice. that is the look at your national weather, have a great evening. headlines are up next.

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