takeaway is our company emerges from a time of war that i was elected in part to end. buzz we really want to turn away from taking appropriate action in the face of such an

news has been breaking all day. i want to begin with the statement from president obama. . he is going to ask congress to vote first. in a statement on the white house lawn, the president says the u.s. should target syrian government sites. he wants to get approval from congress. lawmakers are not due back from their summer break until september 9th. president obama also indicated he won't wait for a report by u.n. chemical weapons inspectors, nor will he look for approval from the u.n. security council. our whi white house correspondent mike vaquiera, a big surprise from the president, mike. sgl we had a tip that he was not going to

announce imminent action. the destroyers were in place. secretary kerry had laid out the indictment in the eyes of the administration yesterday. the evidence collected by intelligence sources had made some of that public about four pages worth. the president spoke to this yesterday making it clear that a limited, so-called surgical strikes, were something that was in order. and then, he made the announcement that will not many of us expected because, frankly, aides had been saying behind the scenes there was no need for congressional consultation as you pointed out, thomas, congress isn't even back until september 9th. that's a week from monday. let's listen to a little bit more of what the president had to say. >> i am confident in the indicates our government has made without waiting for u.n. inspectors. i am comfortable going forward without the approval of a united nations security council that, so far, has been completely paralyzed and unwilling to hold assad accountable. while the u.n. investigation has some time to report on its findings, we will insist an

atrocity committed with chemical weapons is not simply investigated. it must be confronted. i don't expect every nation to agree with the decision we have made. privately we have heaexpression but i would ask those to stand publicly behind our action. >> secretary kerry had called bashar al assad a thug and murderer. the president said sending a shot across the bow as he once phrased it was in the core interest of the united states and our allies around the region. now it's up to a bitterly divided congress. no one has any idea at this early stage how this vote is going to turn out. already, we see the administration publically announcing they are going to be up there briefing members of congress announcing their positions, announcing that they are going to be holding town halls at the remainder of this break that lasts another week. it's all up in the air, thomas at this point. >> are we getting initial

reaction from the hill, mike? >> well, we are. you know, all along, we had h heard from many conservatives in the house that happened to be part of the tea party who said they opposed any part of the convention. it was against the constitution, there is a divide within the republican party exemplified by the statement by john kerry -- i'm sorry john mccain and lindsey graham just after the president spoke where they said that what the president was contemplating wasn't strong enough anyway. they want something that is going to change the momentum on the battlefield, as they put it, against bash arrest al assad. there are democrats who have called to the president to come to congress for a prior authorization. at this point, thomas, all bets are off. no one knows exactly how this vote will turn off. >> for some, it will be a tough sell from the president. mike, thank you. for more reaction on the president's statement we are joined on the phone by representative ryan higgins, a

democrat who serves on the homeland security committee sffrnlths good to be with you. >> your reaction to what the president said >> there are no good military options for the united states relative to syria. the syrians are going to have to figure this out. assad is a murderer, a thug. gu there are a lot of murderers and thugs leading countries in that part of the world. the reality is countries, if they can't go through a civil political reconciliation, they end up in civil war. that's been the case in syria. it's the case today, and it will be unless and until the syrians stand up and take responsibility for their future. >> you are saying hands down you will not support any military income syria? >> absolutely not. americans are sick and tired of war. the fact of the matter is we have been involved in wars the past decade in both the middle east and south asia and those places are no better. iraq is as violent as it was when we went in there and when we left, and it's gotten no

better. and the united states can't do anything about that. the iraqs, themselves, shiia, sunnis and kurds have to develop a compact for reconciliation. afghanistan was and is the most corrupt and one of the poorest countries on the face of the earth after 10 years of american treasury and american military involvement. the fact of the matter is, we need to nation-build at home in america, in a strong, prosperous america that provides for its own people is our best foreign policy. >> congressman higgins, i am sure you have seen the horrific images coming out of syria. what about if we don't take action? what does this mean for the syrian people? >> well, it's horrible. i mean, you know, these are moral atrocities. but keep in mind, the current president's father was involved in 1982 in something very similar. you know, we have seen the use of chemical weapons in iraq with the kurds.

you know, these are horrible, horrible things and we should condemn them in the strongest possible terms but a military strike in syria has the potential to create a larger conflict in the middle east. i am specifically concerned about israel on their northern border in southern lebanon sits hezbollah, a shiia terrorist organization. they have the capability of about 45 to 50,000 long-range missiles. does, because iran is a -- is a -- is an ally of syria and hezbollah acts as a proxy for iran. does hezbollah begin a military strike on israel? what does that do to turkey? this is a very complicated area of the world, and i think a lesson in iraq and afghanistan, the unless and until the people of those countries stand up and take responsibility for their own future, nothing is going to change. >> how do they begin that process? first of all, what do you see

for the assad regime if the u.s. takes no action? and how do the people there change things? >> well, you know, i think unfortunately, countries go through civil wars from the united states went through a civil war. we, you know, the mid 19th century, our population was about 34 million people, over 700,000 people were killed. the reality, the reality is that those countries make these choices. there are alternatives for them to resolve their differences pivalates and seek political reconciliation, but when that doesn't occur, the consequences typically is civil war. and these countries have to forge some kind of packet onpac once they are exhausted by civil war and they realize that their hate for each other is -- what's more important is their hope for a better future for their kids. these countries are young. these countries, because of a

450i7er-connected world, because of the internet, because of youtube, social media, they see how everyone else is living and they are humiliated. >> we will certainly see what's ahead. depressionman brian higgins, we certainly do appreciate your time tonight >> good to be with you. thank very much. the highway linking beirut and lebanon and damascus is syria has been jammed. many are carrying sirrians struggling to leave target areas. others may be heading directly into the danger joan. david jackson from the lebanon higher syria borders. >> it has been a day full of fear, many waited until the last moment until the u.n. chemical weapons inspect orders were gone, gather extended families and drive to the safety of lebanon. they passed through numerous checkpoints, paperwork in hand, moving west, safe distances from what they believe is a coming attack. but the situation has intensified here at the border

as more and more people have also decided to go back home. many of the syrians who left and went to lebanon have now decided they want to be back in their country regardless of the danger. >> i don't care about what the world is saying. i care about what my people are saying. i don't care what people might think of my country. i love my country. if i want to die, i want to die there, defending my country, my president. >> for these syrians, it's a matter of patriotism about returning home. >> woassad is working for our country and we are 100% behind him. he did nothing wrong to syria. >> reporter: but for others like yenko badazio. he has spent four months fooding the poor and is only now headed out waiting to the very last moment. >> any family member would be concerned about their -- their family member working in an environment like that. >> is there any indication

anywhere of when you might be able to go back to work? >> i am hoping i will be back in a week, within a week, yeah. i am hoping, but we have to wait and see how things go. >> reporter: the u.n. has given its syria staff the option of staying or leaving, but transportation out is set to end tonight. and for those syrians who support bashar assad, it is simple: according to many of them, he launched no chemical weapons, did not kill more than 1400 syrians. they simply cannot believe it. >> it is not from inside syria. no. somebody from outside syria, they are trying to destroy our country. >> not assad. not assad. not his president. h his kids go to your schools. he won't kill his own kids by his own hands and only weak regime. assad is so -- i'm sorry. i love him. >> it's about waiting.

al-jazeera on the syrian border. >> i want to continue the conversation now. i am joined by retired richard knewton who served as former assistant vice chief of staff for the air force and robert pate at the university of chicago. talk about shock and awe, today's announcement by the president was shock. is that a good move by the president, lieutenant? >> it was an interesting move. it is certainly one that took us all by surprise, i think, when we were waiting en in the green room. it was the announcement that the president made, it was a bold move obviously not to exhibit on the politics but to go back from my standpoint certainly from a retired 7 ario officer, he did make the announcement the military is ready, we would be ready in a week, 30 days. the military has given him the option of time, from a military standpoint, that's probably something -- >> do we have time to wait to take action? >> absolutely, because there is no imminent attack that we are about to disrupt.

there is nothing in the process we need to launch. this was about punishing assad for an action he took now over a week ago. i would say this isn't just a bold move. i think this is a brilliant political move. what we have just watched is a president who saw a policy increasingly become a disastrous policy. had he gone forward, virtually unilaterally, not just simply unilaterally internationally, with virtually no domestic apriling support. the most recent poll were sewing 9% supporting action in syria. this is truly not a good political environment to go forward in. and how does he get out? he gets out with a brilliant political move. he delays action but then passes the buck to a dysfunctional congress. the most dysfunctional institution we have in the country. >> you can see this backfiring, certainly the president putting cards on the table here. you don't see this backfiring if the depressed were to vote know

>> i think congress can vote no. over some period of time, we can have a debate. the question here is picking your losses. if you look forward, just because congress might some sort of a political problem for you doesn't mean you want an even bigger political problem by, again, going forward with a disastrous policy that would redown to his legacy, tarnish his legacy and actually harm the united states. but president obama has done something that's very good for the country. it's not necessarily so good for his staff inside the west wing and the oval -- and those who surrounded him, but this was a brilliant political move. it's equivalent to the reverend writing spee wright speech where many thought he was in deep trouble. he could not get himself out of it. there was a no-win situation, whatever way he turned. he took his own counsel and created a political opportunity out of what was a political

disaster. >> i want to talk about the assad regime. does this help assad or put pressure on him as we wait? >> i think it can do both. it sounds like a tricky answer to a tough question, but there are, again, it now, i think the president has made clear we have the ability to strike. it does put a little bit of the timetable on the table, if you will, for assad. it also still creates some unknown for assad in terms of certainly he will wait until, you know, a congressional, you know, vote is ensuing, but then up to that point, then what happens? it also puts him in a little bit of, i think, a box, if you will. i don't believe that he would be -- of course, i can't necessarily consider him a rational actor, but if you just for a moment put yourself into he trying to be somewhat of a rational actor, i believe this would compel him not to act against the, you know, his citizens with another chemical attack or so, but it really h hasn't bought him time, per se,

other than the fact of it puts a quand restill in his mind in terms of will the united states act or not based upon what time. >> in final seconds i want to continue the conversation i had with congressman brian higgins where he said it's not our concern. the people need to fend for themselves. your reaction to that? >> well, this is a humanitarian problem for the united states, that is syria. so when the congressman said, the people, i think he must mean the people in syria need to fend for themselves. that means we don't have medication national interests at stake. however, i would say, we have acted for humanitarian causes in the past. we protected the kurds in northern kuwait in 1991 under the first president bush. we acted to defend the bosnians and the kosovars under the clinton administration. we acted to defend people in benghazi. so the u.s. has add to defend and save likes under republican and democratic administrations

in the past. the key question is not whether we -- there is a humanitarian problem but can we do some good? i think what we have really observed is this policy of limited tomahakw strike was not going to do anyone any good. >> retired lieutenant general and richard pape and i want your response to russia and iran. coming up on al-jazeera, "utter nonsense," the first time vladimir putin reacts to the syrian people killed his own people with chemical weapons. >> the syria anti-intervention march in london.

saudi arabia for that. ♪

>> here is my question for every member congress and every member of the global community: what message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price? >> president obama challenging other world actors to take action against the assad regime. the response from some other kuntz trees has not been what the president was hoping from, especially from russia. vladimir putin spoke out against any possible strike in syria. correspondent peter sharp has more from moscow reporter>> this is the first time we have heard from president putin in many months discussing syria. the last time the topic was brought up was at the g8 summit and the taught talk was of a peace conference in geneva. that's long gone. >> that's long past. i think now president putin realizes this is possibly the last chance, possibly the last

chance he's got to deliver his verdict on a possible strike. hostilities could begin at any time. so he took this opportunity to appeal to president obama. >> common sense speaks for itself. the syrian government forces are advancing. in some regions, they have circle the rebels. under these circumstances, giving a winning card to those who con standsly call for a military intervention is utter nonsense. it does not fit any logic, especially on the day of the arrival of the u.n. inspectors. so i am convinced that it is just a provocation by those who want to pour other countries into the syrian conflict, who want to gain support from powerful international players, first of all, the united states. >> he said, i am speaking to the president, basically, as a you don't believe pea nobel peace pe laureate and asking obama how many civilians would be killed, innocent lives killed, taken, if the strike went ahead. as far as putin is concerned, as far as the kremlin is concerned,

this attack, if it takes place, has got nothing to do with chemical weapons. it's all about degrading the syrian military and securing victory for the rebels. >> i am joined by nina krucheva, at the new school and a great granddaughter of nikita sation cr crhusc crhuschez. what was your reaction >> i think it was a brilliant spee speech. president obama said america is not going to stand by while people are being slaughtered. on the other hand, he gave a lot of time to have people involved, congress involved, and it may be to negotiate with other countries and probably even including russia because he's going to russia next month very soon and may be hoping in some

way to come with some consensus with president putin. >> what do you think russia will do if the u.s. strikes syria? >> i don't think russia can do much nor that there is go to be another proxy war, sort of the cold war type proxy war that both countries are going to be fighting for their interests in syria. not much they can do, but putin can do a lot of posturing because that's exactly what that clip that you just played showed, is that he is going to persist with the anti- -- united states rhetoric, the united states actually means -- says something but they don't -- they don't mean what they say and whatnot, which, by the way, is a very effective message for a lot of countries right now because the united states especially in recent months with the nsa scandal and what not did lose a lot of -- a lot of its credibility. so putin can continue to push that message. >> saying it's all talk but why is putin speaking now?

>> well, i mean he's speaking now because it has been a week since -- or 10 days since the -- since the strike, the chemical strike, and putin has been sort of speaking here and there in one sentence or less and also his foreign ministry has been speaking quite a bit. so there has been a lot of conversation going on. and so there was speaking in the far east right now. >> russia and iran have warned a u.s. attack could have catastrophic repercussions in the region. what do you think that means? >> well, i think what putin, i think what he means is that at the has little to lose or assad has little to lose, listen 100,000 people died. if it is true he is the one who used chemical weapons, he can do it again and if he does have nothing to lose, then, he -- the cat two astromh can be more

neeta kruschavev, appreciate your time. >> thank you british lawmakers may have voted down any military action in syria. that didn't stop people there from taking to the streets and protesting. philip ittner has more from london. >> anti-war protesters took to the streets to capitalize when prime minister's motion was defeated. the police estimate the numbers to be between 800 to 1,000 people, a significantly lower number than the hundreds of thousands of protesters who marched against the iraq war in 2003. but their passions are high, and so is their confidence, so much so some are calling it a victory march. in australia, hundreds gathered in a number of cities, including outside the u.s. con ssulate in sydney to urge the golf to reconsider possible action against damascus. berlin and paris, people

gathered like the other protests around the globe, these people on london have come out to send a clear message to the governments and, in particular, the white house not to attack syria, but there are governments around the grab that aren't - -- globe that aren't listening to these street protests and taking a hard line against the assad regime. >> al poll shows over two-thirds of the french population are against the strike. australia's foreign minister bob carr agreed and said there needs to be a response to the violation of international law. >> we think that if a government in this day and age uses chemical weapons against innocent men, women and children, it deserves a response. we are confident the obama administration has weighed carefully what that response will be. >> it is syria's neighbor, turkey calling for the strongest

action. ankara is asking for strikes that cou that would toppel the assad regi regime. refugees may be the cause for such language or it could be the prime minister has long been one of the most vocal critics of bash arrest al assad. there is no lack of capability in turkey. one of the largest u.s. air basis in the world is there and could easily be part of any action to punish you assad if they get the call. but for the thousands who took to the streets saturday around the world, it's clear, they hope that call never comes. >> thomas, obviously, the protesters who are on the street here in london will take the announcement that president obama plans to take any kind of military action in to congress on a vote, those protesters no doubt take that as a positive reaction although, also in

addition to that, there is serious concerns if congress does approve it, the general atmosphere here in europe is that further military escapades in the middle east is just something nobody wants. >> a growing voice, phili philip ittner. >> after a quick break, president obama makes his intentions clear on what he wants to do. now, he needs to wait to hear what congress wants to do. millions who need assistance now. we appreciate you spending time with us tonight. up next is the golden age of hollywood going golden but elsewhere. why l.a.'s mayor has declared a state of emergency for the entertainment industry there. next. ♪ ç]

welcome back to al-jazeera. i am thomas drayton. president obama says the u.s. is ready to strike syria at a moment's notice. he said he will get the go-ahead from congress first but he won't bother trying to get support from the u.n. security council. mike viquera joining united states now. mike? reporter: thomas, the president says the case is rock-solid. the military is ready but any perspective military action now was expected in the next few days now is going to come later if it comes at all. a surprise to everyone. the president reversing course, saying he wants to consult with congress and one of the most immediate concerns that was brought up was, if you are tell

grabbing a military strike, congress doesn't return to september 9th. will the syrian military have an opportunity to hide what it wants to hide, the likely targets, to move things around? will the american ability to degrade as president obama put it, degrade that capability, will that be harmed by a delay? well, the president spoke directly to that issue in the rose garden earlier today. >> our capacity to execute this mission is not time sensitive. it will be effective tomorrow or next week or one month from now. i am prepared to give that order. but having made my decision as commander in chief based on what i am convinced is our national security interest, i am also mindful that i am the president of the world's oldest constitutional democracy. and that's why i have made a second decision. i will seek authorization for

the use of force from the american people's representatives in congress. over the last several days we have heard from members of congress who want their voices to be heard. i absolutely agree. so this you morning, i spoke with all four congressional leaders and they have agreed to schedule a debate and then a vote as soon as congress come back into session. >> reporter: thomas, the outcome of that vote is by no means certain. there are conservatives who want nothing to do with this foreign intervention. others from the more traditional or establishment wing say we need to do more than just limited military strikes. the briefings from congress, they have been going on from days, from the administration to congress, i should say. tomorrow, a classified briefing for all members of congress still in recess. those that are here in washington, administration officials will travel to the hill to brief those members. thomas? >> mike viqueira, thank you.

the uniated nations investigate orders say it will be more before they report. >> president obama has made it clear he is not going to wait for the u.n. in any form, neither for the approval and authorization of the u.n. security council or for the report of those weapons inspectors, but their work does continue. they have left syria. they are now in the hague, which is the bates or one of the basis of the inspection team. they will now take the samples that they've gathered, the blood samples, urine samples taken from the victims and some of those who were injured in the chemical weapons attack as well as some residue they found at the scene to laboratories in europe. the u.n. won't give any details of how long that work will take. them they believe it will be days, possibly even weeks, possibly even a number of weeks.

they say they will work as fast as they can but this is scientificific analysis that needs rigorous assessment by the team before they come up with their final report. >> iran is showing support for its ally syria by sending a 7 ario official to damascus. aladin nigeeri. >> we oppose any aggression and war against syria. this is our message to our brother who is in charge here in syria and also to the whole world. >> iran has repeatedly warned if the u.s. attacks syria, israel could be drawn into the conflict. syria ha route to the hezbollah group in iran demonstrators took to the streets in the u.s. al-jazeera al-jazeera's kilmeni duchardt reports

reporter>> the threat of a u.s. attack brought protesters out from coast to coast. hundreds raised their voices in new york's time square. >> to go into the war with syria, maybe they know how to start the war, but nobody knows how the war can end. it will be horrible for the region. >> most protesters here want to see an end to the conflict in syria, but they say u.s. military strikes are not the answer. >> they weren't alone. in washington: [chanting. ] >> and in nashville, tennessee now, with the president asking congress for approval, these protesters have more than a week to make their case. >> we need peaceful resolutions to these kinds of conflict. they are political. they are very difficult. and we need a humanitarian response. >> we. >> we. >> say no. >> say no. >> whether it comes today. >> whether it comes today.

>> comes tomorrow. >> tomorrow. >> or monday. >> or monday. >> reporter: and many of the protesters that i spoke with today in time square said they are afraid syria is headed for a prolonged confrontation with the u.s., and they don't want a repeat of the iraq war. back to you. >> kilmeny duchardt. ideal crews are digging up an old graveyard in florida searching for human remains. >> shamibuku will have the return of johnny manzel. >> that's coming up in sports.

wouldn't believe there is a farm inside of it.

>> welcome back. recapping our top story, president obama says the u.s. is ready to strike syria at any given moment but first, he will seek congressional approval. our guests are back with me, retired lou less thulu tenant n robert pape, a provensor of political science at the universe of chicago. good to see you. are you concerned that the president is not waiting on the u.n.'s report? >> not really because just by waiting two weeks for congress, the u.n. will be reporting. what the president really said today is that he is not going to hold america's policy hostage to a u.n. test. and so the information from the inspectors will come and it will certainly play into the debate. certainly the debate in congress. indirectly, that information will come to the fore. i think in this case, the

president is going to basically have the u.n. information abobu not tie america's decision to something that an international body ordains. >> there will be a modicum of expectations of what that says. >> do you think that will play a part >> it could play a factor. it will be one that, again, if it's forthright to the point where it can absolutely verify the fact that chemical weapons were used that would certainly probably play into the president's hand or, you know, our nation's hand, but i do not believe it will attribute specifically in terms of who, perhaps, launched or employed those chemical weapons. >> i think there will be some specific issues that will come up in the next week. so, so far, we have said that there is intel that chemical weapons have been used but once you go a little bit deeper in, we talk about sarin, the nerve

gas. there are some technical questions. saron has some of the symptoms that we have seen in some of the dead bodies. but it also contaminates, contaminates a lot. so one of the technical questions is, well, if this really was a sarin attack, good don't we have contamination, a lot of contamination of the sites? now there may be very good reasons for that. so it's not -- there are some types and mixtures in which sarin is used where you wouldn't quite have as much contamination. there are going to be some technical issues that come up and what has been released by the white house on the intel, the 4-page document is a summary of intelligence, not the hard facts underneath that intelligence. so, for instance, we don't have the autopsy reports of the people who have been killed to show that she had sarin or other nerve agents in their bodies. we don't have toxicology reports of the people who will have died. i think that what is going to happen over the next few weeks

is that nell probably go through another round of this discussion on the intelligence. by the way, after iraq, where we had no wmd after the bush administration swore up and down there was, this is actually a healthy debate to have. and it's one that's worthwhile. so as we go forward, there may be some surprises in the intelligence. we just have to see. >> what do you think of the warning of russia and iran that a would have a catastrophic repercussion >> that sounds like a warning order from russia and iran obviously. i think it throws, also, into the discussion the geopolitical ramifications of our -- in the event that we did act in that regard, and so it is another point that has to be taken into consideration certainly by the administration, but, also, that will probably be part of the debate within congress as well. >> more than anything else, it signals that there is going to be international escalation as a result of this. what type of escalation is not

clear. catastrophic doesn't necessarily mean military response by russia or iran, but it doesn't rule that out. it just means that what they are saying is, if you attack our ally, assad, we are not backing off. we are going to be even more closely wetted to this much the way during the time of the missile crisis in the mid-'90s when china was attacking taiwan with missiles, the units didn't back away from taiwan. it got militarily closer. >> if i could pile on just a second, i think what the president does not want to have happen is that from an international political standpoint or certainly from the u.s. national interests in this regard that iran or russia would get a vote in that regard to how we should act or not. he is going to have to carefully and definitely manage that. by the way, he is headed off to russia here in several days for the g20. >> that will be a little awkward? theress? >> it is but actually, this -- we have had basically a misguided or week policy on s

syria for two years. it has not done the syrians any good, obama any good. it has not' done the united states any good. the missile strike we are talking about would have just made everything worse. what's really happening now is we have an opportunity to by obama to totally revisit the entire syria policy. the congress will demand an entire macro scopic look at the syrian policy. so for the next three or four weeks, this is actually extremely healthy thing to do because we have needed to revisit and reevaluate the syrian policy now for quite some time. obama will surely be doing that, and for instance, by trying to publically embarrass russia, we are not getting anywhere. talking more behind the scenes and closed doors, maybe there is some opportunities there. well, as you revisit the entire policy, there may -- this may end up being the best. we are going to have to leave it there. retired lieutenant general richard knewton. robert pape, we will continue this conversation.

other stories making headlines today, a suicide bomber has killed six peopnear police checkpoint in southern afghanistan. the governor there says the bomb killed four civilians, one police officer and one private security guard. authorities say the attacke was on foot when the bomb exploded. no group has claimed responsibility. officials in china say 15 people died and 25 were hurt after liquid am own i can't leaked at a cold storage plants. it happened in shanghai. so far, the cause of the leak is unknown. industrial accidents are common in china. the safety and building standards there are extremely poor. researchers for the university of south florida have begun a difficult task today. they have started unearthing bodies of dozens of boys bur irked at a not orous former reform school. al-jazeera natasha guname reports. >> there are bodies bur irkied camp under the circumstances

dozier reform school for boys. bodies buried over 60 years on the side of campus where the black boys lived >> i think it's something the whole world needs to know. >> it was a place where the state put kids who got into trouble. authur and richard huntley were sent there in the late 1950s. >> scary, you know, like the whole world had deserted us >> this is a form to me of slavery because they beat you to what they wanted you to be. >> they said they did back-breaking farm work. richard lost a toe in the cain fields. when they ran afoul of the school staff, they ended up in what they call the white house >> i would call it a torture chamber because here is where you got your mind right. if you didn't know how to pray, you learned fast reporter>> even though no one knows who died here or how they died, the attorney general says only one stamp is still alive.

forensic anthropologists could determine if a boy died as a result of, say, a gunshot or blunt force trauma. searchers have found 50 bodies so far and only just begun their work using ground-penetrating radaver, the kind of technology used to find mass graves in the former yugoslavia. reseveralers in south florida are hoping to identify the remains and return them to loved ones. those they can't identify will be properly buried in marked graves here on the campus cemetery. >> there is a legal obligation to t state of florida to return those remains to the families for proper burial and some have argued there is also a moral obligation that the state has to do this. >> until then, richard huntley will have to speak for the dead. >> our life was cut short and now here we lay. bones -- free of us bones. free us. let our bones go home. >> natasha ganame, al-jazeera

marianna, florida. >> researchers hope to remaen e the remains of two to four boys before resuming the excavation at a later date. ross shimabuku. >> we have been waiting for this for a moment for such a long tie. unfortunately, johnny manzel had to wait an extra 30 minutes before making his season debut because of his autograph scandal. texas a & m suspended four other players for violating team rules, johnny future football playing cheerleaders, if you give a hoot, the owls took a 14-7 lead. charles ross powers into the score, but johnny man zel's back-up would rally the tripods. he lays it out to ricky seals jones who seals the deal by

spreading it for the 71 yard score. ing agies took a 28-21 lead into the break. but in the second half, here's johnny. johnny manzel working his magic on his second drive. he hooks up with mike evans for the 23 yard score. manzel putting his signature on this game by throwing forg three touchdown passes. he was 6 for 8 for 94 yards, aggies 50 to 31. after the game, manzel had one incidents where he was called for unsportsmanlike. coach benched him midway through the figure out quarter. >> wasn't very smart. you know, that's why he didn't go back in the game either. so, you know, you would hope at this point we have learned something from that. we are still working that. >> that's why he wasn't going back in the game no matter what was happening. >> number 2, ohio state, airing it out against buffalo on their opening drive, braxton miller

unloads to devon smith. miller threw two touchdowns on the day of the buckeyes would go on to win big. 40-20 is the final. here is the question, will tim tebow ever play quarterback? they cut the heisman trophy to get to their 53 man roster. he has struggled this preseason completing 33% of his passes, throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions. tebow you had man i can't hit a high two years ago but since then, it has been a declare in the jets and patriots. you have to wonder if any other team will give him a shot to play quarterback. he tweeted he will pursue his life-long dream. on the link, big tiger, phil and adam scott in boston. mikelson stole the show with an 8 under par. today, looky here, lefty having some issues. mikelson goes around the trees

and into the rough stuff. hate when that happens. mikelson still at 8 under par as for tiger woods his back is good to go and the big cat is dialed in. he looks like that. yeah. tiger sticks within range, five burdenies on the day, 7 shots -- burdenies on the day, back of the leader 5 of the first seven holes, an eagle on 18, hendrick stenson and castro one shot back. the second leg of the fedex cup. this tournament will wrap up on monday on this labor day weekend. the pittsburgh pirates haven't made the playoffs since 1992, but the pirates going all in, in hopes of ending that drought. the pirates traded for former alnvp justin monroe. in exchange, alex presby to the twins. barneau, 17 homeruns on the season will add pop to the

pirates line-up. pittsburgh tied with st. louis in the nl sentencegtrary. roger federer will take center stage but rafael nadal continues to dominate. nadal hasn't lost a single match this entire season, but that trend will continue today. nadal would go on to win it in straight sets and he is just looking unbelievable, moving around the court really well. he had knee surgery not that long ago but he seems to be so fluid and is dominating. i know andy murray is the defending championship. if i was a betting man which i am not, i would say rafael nad a.m. is the man to beat. >> i am in awe of their skills. ross, thank you. less than a it year ago, hurricane sandy battered new jersey shore line business did lost a total of $30,000,000,000. the estimated clean-up costs were almost 40 billion. now, the shoreline is back on its feet just in time for the

summer's last holiday weeks. al-jazeera john terek reports. >> surfers riding the breakers, families on the beach and the board walk. it's labor day weekend and this is the way life is supposed to be on the last holiday weekend of the summer. ten months ago, it was all so different. >> that's when hurricane sandy hit hard. a massive storm, sandy, the second costliest hurricane on record pounding beaches, smashing homes, uprooting trees, downing power lines, wiping out store fronts and restaurants and even sending the rollercoaster in seaside heights into the ocean turning it into one of the best known images of the disaster. this is where the rollercoaster once stood. there are plans to replace it, but for now, residents are just glad that the casino pier was back. >> there was a slow start in rainy season we didn't have rides open yet. we had our water park but that was with the weather, a slow

start. then rides open up the weekend, last week of july. so then, we missed two major holidays, memorial day and fourth of july. obviously those are the two main holidays you need. we have labor day this weekend and we are looking for a great turnout. >> those who make the coastal towns their home, any success this summer has been hard-won. as we moved up the coast, many of the towns along the way were damaged in the hurricane. some homes are still being repaired. others have clearly been abandoned. the beach at belmar is frew. not so at seabright which was devastated by sandy. woody's restaurant was under 3 to 4 feet of water but the parking lot became a campsite for people looking for hot food and second-hand clothing to keep warm. the chef says when they re-opened after four months, people came from all over the country and the summer's been solid. >> seeing this town, where it was and as desolate, it was like walking into a desert and right

now, we are rebuilding. >> that's what the seabright rising is for, rebuilding. >> behind woody's restaurant, the lifeguards patrol the beach with 50 to 60% of the town out of their homes, beach income is down this year but they still have plenty of visit orders >> a great summer. people came back. people came from all over just to support us. >> why? >> because it's a great little town by the beach. there is no other place like seabright. >> when the beaches close after labor day and the families go back to their lives, the people of the jersey shore will be left to reflect on their first summer after the hurricane. they will be hoping sandy's the last storm of her size they see for a very long time. john terrett at the jersey shore. rebecca stevensen with a check on the weather and at the top of the weather, fault lines baltimore. stay with us.

[[voiceover]] no doubt about it, inç]

hemo. i am meteorologist rebecca stevenson. we are tracking showers and thunderstorms that have popped

up with the daytime heating across much of the central and eastern portion of the states. we are seeing some become severe in criteria especially as we look at ones coming across minnesota and wisconsin. these are getting reports of hail, up to golf ball size. one of wind gusts reports as well. if we go to our storm report map, you can see here that the wind gusts and the hail are in clusters from storms that are traveling to the south. and that happened comesing across minnesota but also in parts of ohio down towards kentucky. so it's turning into somewhat of a stormy afternoon, evening, into the midwest, but we are also seeing quite a bit of rain in other parts, too. first, i want to give you an international look of what's been going on with tropical storm konray. this developed right around taiwan and it brought in excessive amounts of rainfall. we have had several typhoons just in a matter of weeks tracked near china. we will see this one as it falls

apart, the moisture from it will track across the pacific ocean towards the united states, but it looks more like it's going to impact places around the yukon. as we go to the amount of rainfall here, you can see well over 18 inches for taiwan, some spots obviously 20 inches of rain. we have got a lot of flooding going on here. we have flooding in china especially in northeast china that's already claimed 85 lives. we have over 100 people missing. it's been extremely wet stretch of. this flooding is being called the worst china has had in decades. here is a picture of one of the cities or one of the villages that's near one of the rivers. it's still flooded out. so we are going to see some really tough conditions coming out of taiwan over towards china from these storms in the course of the next few days. back in the states, we are starting to get rainfall coming back into the northeast. and it will be heavy at times tonight.

please go there al jazeera.com. >> welcome to al-jazeera. i am thomas draydon. president obama unveiled his plan for syria this afternoon. >> after careful deliberation, i have decided that the united states should take military action against syrian regime targets. >> the president says he wants approval from congress first. congress is expected to debate and vote on the issue when it comes back from recess on september 9th. president obama says the u.s. is prepared to, quote, strike whenever we choose. russian president skwlad mirror putin is adding his voice to the debate for the first time since last week's chemical weapons attack. he is urging the white house not to launch a strike against