hello, and welcome to al jazeera. i'm dale walters. these are the headlines at this hour. syria once again topping the agenda during high-level white house meetings in a hearing that will take place soon on capitol hill. a bankrupt detroit selling off its schools closed because of cash problems. and looking for work? we'll have the ten fastest-growing jobs in the u.s. president obama just finishing his meeting with house leaders on the issue of syria. speak john boehner speaking

breechly after that meeting saying he will support the president's plan and called on other republicans to do the same. first, here's what the president had to say just before that meeting started. >> the military plan that has been developed by our joint chiefs and that i believe is appropriate is proportional and limited. it does not involve boots on the ground. this is not iraq, and this is not afghanistan. this is a limited, proportional step that will send a clear message not only to the assad regime but also to other countries that may be interested in testing some of these international norms that there are consequences. >> randall pinkston joins us live from washington with more. randall, the drums are beating louder and in unison at this hour. >> reporter: yes indeed, they are, dale. president obama said this morning that he believes and he wants to make sure that there is unified action with respect to

any strike against syria. he met with 16 members of congressional leadership along with his national security staff, and this morning he picked up a key vote of support from republican house speaker john boehner. >> this is something that the united states, as a country, needs to do. i'm going to support the president's call for action. i believe that my colleagues should support this call for action. >> reporter: in addition to speaker boehner, who is the speaker of the entire house and not just the republicans, we also hear today from cantor, his number two, eric cantor, another opponent of president obama in some many -- on so many issues. cantor saying that he, too, supports the president's call for action against syria. keep in mind that yesterday two key republican senators, john mccain voiced their support for

presidential action against syria. president obama had already said he intended to take action, but again, that any action he takes would be much stronger if he could get bipartisan support. this morning it appears that he is getting much more support than many analysts had thought possible. dale. >> i have to admit, i'm glad you have those comments from eric cantor, because he has been a harsh critic of the white house. that may be the polite way of putting it. the full house comes back on the 9th of september. any thoughts on reading the tea leaves when it comes to that little grum group called the tea party? >> reporter: i wouldn't dare try to predict what a vote on any issue in congress would turn out to be. keep this in mind, dale, while the republicans have a majority in the house, with key house leaders voicing their support for president obama along with the house minority leader, nancy pelosi, voicing her strong support for president obama, you can expect an overwhelming vote by democrats and you can also

expect probably a sizable vote by republicans. ideally, of course, the president would want the vote to be unanimous in both houses. that would be the ideal. that would be what has happened in many other times when there have been actions taken, military actions taken abroad. if he gets an overwhelming vote of any sort, it's better than what's discussed in the past few days of him going forward with congressional disapproval. today i think it's fairly safe to say elget congressional approval. now the question is how much approval? >> randall pinkston is joining us live from washington. that's half of the full court press in washington. later today secretary of state john kerry along with secretary of defense chuck hagel will be meeting with the senators in front of the senate committee there. he will also be there along with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. paul is now in washington with more on the story.

the senate foreign relations committee upcoming. paul, tell us about it. >> that's right, dale. obviously this is a key part of the white house sales pitch making their case before this important group of senators. now as you mentioned early whyier and we heard from randall ping ston at the white house, a sense the momentum may shift here. eric cantor posting on his website a moment ago. i'll read a little bit to you. i intend to provide the president of the united states the options to use military force in syria. he said this is a compelling national interest. pardon me. compelling national security interest. so again, a sense of momentum is beginning to shift ahead of this key meeting in the senate. secretary kerry taking the case to the senate foreign relations committee a couple hours from now. >> paul, thank you very much. of course, you have a very busy day ahead of you. one-tenth of syria's entire population, some 2 million people, are now said to be refugees.

there's a new report out from the united nations that says the first million fled the first two years of the conflict. the second million just over the last six months. the meetings are now scheduled in geneva tomorrow to raise awareness and support for the refugees, and the host countries bringing them and harboring them. in fact, iraq, jord tan, leb na and turkey. we go to lebanon. >> reporter: the lebanese government says over 1 million syrians live in this country. that is a high number for a tiny nation like lebanon. it has caused tensions in this country because as you can see behind me syrians live among the local population. the lebanese are complaining that syrians are taking their jobs. they're also complaining that the apartment rent has sky-rocketed. some people really exploiting the situation. so there is tension and there's also the security aspect of this

crisis. lebanon hasn't been able to stay out of the syrian conflict . if it does decide, take a

look. now it stretches all the way as far as i can . >> in the funding crisis here. if tlsz any potential military strike, those refugees continue to stream across the border leading to even more pressure here in northern iraq. >> we turn to peter kessler, the senior regional spokesperson for the u.n. refugee agency in the middle east and north africa. he's joining us live from amman, jordan. the u.n. is working nonstop, but there's not enough money to go around, as we heard in that report. >> that's correct. we face enormous challenging in the region. many parties want to be prepared to help the warring factions inside syria, but we're not seeing the same eagerness to address the address massive

humanitarian needs. we have 2 million people, refugees outside of syria. we have many millions of people inside syria experiencing the brunt of the war firsthand. there has to be much more done to help these people, and now we have to winterize the refugee camps for their third winter and then build facilities that may endure for years to come. >> peter, when you say winterize the refugee camps, what exactly does that entail? i guess, is that what you're going to ask the ministers from jord t jordan and lebanon and turkey you're meeting with tomorrow, is that what you're going to ask for resources for? >> reporter: well, the geneva talks are about several issues. we want to thank the governments for keeping their borders open. it's amazing that iraq, in everything it's sperjss and increase in violence and 1 million residents uprooted to receive in recent weeks some

52,000 people as your reporter said, that's amazing generosity we see echoed in jordan, in lebanon and in turkey amongst other countries receiving syrians. clearly, in addition to keeping borders open to people in need, we also must get governments and donors to move beyond just simple tented refugee camps putting people into plastic containers and other kinds of shelters as we say in zatri. indeed we must start to build settlements that involve digging proper sewage systems, water systems, putting in brick homes. you know, this is a crisis for which people need something more permanent, the children and women need something more permanent, and they need the dignity that they may be able to achieve by having at least a temporary home that provides them with space for all their personal need. >> peter kessler joining us life from amman, jordan. he's the regional spokesman for the u.n. for middle east and

north africa. thank you. a reminder that al jazeera has continuing coverage of the ongoing crisis in syria. stay tuned to us here at al jazeera and also go to aljazeera.com for updates. israel held a joint test with the u.s. they fired a land-based missile over the mediterranean sea in a test of an anti-missile system there. the u.s. says the test was part of a long-planned joint effort and had nothing to do with any consideration of an attack as a response to syria's use of chemical weapons. paul has more from jerusalem. >> reporter: the significant alarm that was evident on tuesday morning has now calmed down somewhat, but what we do know is that the israelis fired one of their new type of missiles. it's a sparrow missile known here in israel as hebrew anchor

to test arrow two, which is known here in israel as hets. obviously, it caused alarm because although the americans were informed in advance this test was taking place, and the russians were not informed. so the russian tracking of this missile caused a certain amount of con "discovery" -- con stern nation. i spoke to one source within the israeli government who said, we're just practicing. he said we're making sure everything works. no big deal. that said, russian analysts are describing the test as irresponsible, and there's no doubt at this very sensitive period, while we await a decision by the u.s. congress as to whether or not president obama will be permitted the option of launching a military strike against syria, you can see that this type of military strike certainly, while it might

be nonsha lant from the israeli point of view is intended, i think, to send a message to israel's neighbors that israel is prepared and equipped if necessary to be able to defend itself. >> there is lots of other news to get caught up on today, including the fact that children across the country are going back to school today, but many bankrupt detroit dozens of shuttered schools are being sold off to help alleviate the strain on the cash-strapped school district. the latest technology on your wrist. samsung set to unveil the new smartwatch.

they presented the president with an autographed jersey, and obama shared a few praise. >> coach shula retired with more wins than any coach in history. each time that record has been challenged, team after team has fallin short. >> michael eaves joins us to talk more about that. the president was having a lot >> "consider this" will be right back. ♪ ♪ welcome back to al jazeera. i'm dale walters coming to you live from new york.

summer is over, and kids across the nation are headed back to school, but for school districts nationwide, tough times. budget cuts are a harsh reality. in michigan some districts there are being done away with completely, and the 53 that remain, well, they're starting the school year in the red. from our bureau in detroit, we have more to tell you about the closures. bizi. >> reporter: dale, the detroit public school system no longer wants to hold onto property it doesn't need, and this means that many investors now have an opportunity to breathe new life into these old structures. joel landy loves movies, and here he runs the show. the movie theater, the entire building, all of it, is his. it was once a detroit public high school. >> many people saw the schools as a one-purpose, one-use. it's a school and tear it down. when i walk in, i see a great

space that can be used for almost any purpose. >> reporter: he's invested hundreds of thousands of dollars buying up several shuttered detroit schools. one is now a charter school and another a music school and residential lofts. >> the rewards are the influence it has on other people. >> reporter: joel isn't alone. over the past four years, all told, the city has sold 46 school buildings. >> detroit is hot right now. >> reporter: tammy dean runs the detroit public school district's real estate office. >> everyone is looking to see what's going to happen with the city, what's going to happen with the school district and all the property. there's lots of property. >> reporter: sales have generated over $18 million, money that goes back into the budget of the city's cash-strapped school district in a city whose population is half the size it was 50 years ago, the sales have been largely uncontroversial. most of the buyers are local, but some are from out of state

competing for the property. >> lots of offers, and people fighting over property, yes. >> reporter: 81 schools are still on the market, and more schools here are expected to close. some see that as just more opportunity. >> it's an educational and a publicity job to convince people in this city that they have great futures and that a built structure has great value and to learn how to re-use it. that's one of my important missions that i work on every day. >> reporter: with active bids now on as many as 13 more schools, there is growing hope that a historic part of detroit's past can soon become part of its future. if it's not for sale, it's likely for represent. the school district has also been leasing property to area churches and nonprofits. back to you. >> bisi, i was looking at one of the cornerstones of one of the school's 1922. it has to be asked.

what is the school district doing to try and improve enrollment? >> reporter: well, as you know, there are projections that basically say that enrollment will continue to decline. i can tell you that over the summer there have been people here in the school district knocking on doors trying to encourage parents to enroll their students here in the school district if they haven't already, so there really is a push to get that enrollment up. >> you have to ask the question, too, seeing that some of the schools are sold off, what's the status now of the school district's finances? >> reporter: well, the finances still aren't where they should be. it was a couple years ago, a little over two years ago when the state appointed an emergency financial manager here in the school district. as it stands right now, that person is still in place. >> bisi, thank you very much joining us live from our bureau in detroit. smoke filling a terminal in the world's busiest airport this morning. fire officials say the blaze started around 5:00 this morning

and involved an elevator in con course t. the escalator rerouted passengers to an alternative concourse at the hartsfield-jackson international airport in atlanta. a spoke person says all gates were back open and operational by 7:00 a.m. microsoft hopes that nokia will be key to making it become a bigger player in the fast-growing smartphone business. the software giant is buying the handset unit for $7 billion in an effort to play catch-up with apple and samsung. those two dominate the smartphone market, however jim rogers tells al jazeera america he's dubious that the microsoft nokia marriage will succeed. >> when you put two losing companies together, rarely in history -- in fact, i cannot

think of any time when you had a success. >> samsung hopes to make a splash wednesday with its latest tech offer. the company is going to unveil its newist galaxy note smartphone at a trade show in germany, but even more notable will be the debut of that long-awaited smartwatch called the galaxy gear. it's a traditional wristwatch worn on the wrist but acts as a wearable computer. dick tracy, where are you? the turmoil in egypt is making waves here in the u.s. there are nearly 180,000 egyptians living here. many of them are coptic christians, and they're concerned for their relatives back home. we have the report. ♪ o lamb of god have mercy on you ♪ >> reporter: the pews in queens, new york are growing more crowded these days. around half the people filling them came from egypt in the past two years. many seeking safety because as

members of the country's coptic christian minority, they were increasingly targets of extremists yusef george is visiting from cairo. >> of course, egypt isn't now the best place to work or it's not stable, okay. >> reporter: in the past two weeks dozens of churches and christian-owned properties across egypt have been destroyed and at least seven christians killed. the military government and some human rights groups blamed supporters of former president mohammed morsi and the muslim brotherhood. some of those supporters call for violence against christians and accuse them in having a role in the overthrow last month. the father is the priest at st. mary and st. antonio's. he said it's too early to know who is behind the violence. >> what i can assure you of is it is not christians and there are people that are reporting

that the christians are burning thirp own churches. we completely reject that idea. >> reporter: in bay ridge, brooklyn the amam at the biggest mosque in the area condemns the attacks. >> translator: the muslim brotherhood has never targeted a church. >> reporter: about 1,000 worship here and half are egyptian. many support the muslim brotherhood and want morsi back in office. around the corner from the mosque in the window of this restaurant is a very different picture. one of clear support for the general who now rules egypt. the owner is a coptic christian. his open support for the military government that replaced morsi has cost him customers. how much has it affected your business? >> 10% to 15%, but it's okay. we have to support him. >> reporter: his clients still include egyptian christians and muslims, and he hopes all egyptians can one day live side

by side in his homeland, a hope shared by people like yusef. >> i pray it's peaceful that it used to be and a place for muslims and christians and everyone. >> reporter: many people here admit they don't know how or when that will happen. for now they say all they can do is hope and pray. al jazeera, new york. somalia's president has survived an assassination attempt. the state radio reporting the convoy was ambushed, and those claiming responsibility for the attack have links to al qaeda. diplomatic sources say the president and his entourage reached the port of merca after that ambush. in iraq a series of car bombs have killed at least 18 and injured dozens more. five explosions taking place around 11:00 eastern time and five separate neighbors in the city of baghdad. many of locations are predominantly shia but the bomb went off in a mixed neighborhood

as well. turning to our weather, back to work after the long labor day weekend. the weather in a word is wet. here's dave warren. >> dealing with some rain out there, but that's followed by cooler temperatures. a look at the numbers coming up with the national forecast. the young folks. >> what are the laws going to begin to take effect? >> reporter: the laws do not go 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.

welcome back to al jazeera. i'm daily walters. two top republican leaders are pushing for a stronger stance against syria. secretary of state john kerry and chuck hagel set to testify later as public hearings get underway on capitol hill. earlier house speaker john boehner saying he is now on board. more than 2 million syrians have fled that country, most of them just over the last year. cash-strapped detroit is sells off its schools that it says it needed to close to save money. so far the sales have generated over $18 million, 81 schools there are still on the marketed. nelson mandela remains under close watch at his home in johannesburg. he remains in critical but stable condition under round of clock care. mandela spent almost three

months in the hospital under treatment for a lung infection. weather-wise, can you say rain and cold? here's dave warren. >> yeah, we are looking at cooler temperatures. that's followed by the rain, though. we did need the rain out west. got a little bit of that there. now we're looking at the rainfall here over the next 24 hours gone because the showers and storms have moved through new york and new england, and only a few have been developing there along long island. this is followed by cooler temperatures. so the rain is clearing out. the temperatures are trying to warm up today, but it's generally cooler behind all the rain. that's the cooler air moving in from the north and that will push south. today a thunderstorm and 83 and drops into the 70s and dry weather wednesday, thursday and friday and this next coming weekend. we have a break from the rain there. showers along the gulf coast. that line is slowly moving down through north and south carolina.

it's not reaching the area yet, so the temperatures will be warming up here. cool air is not here yet along with more showers and storms, especially south of that front, which is pretty much all of florida and the gulf coast states. temperatures are into the 80s and 90s, so still warm and humid there, but dropping by this weekend. you can see it's clear and comfortable across the middle of the country, getting the needed rain out west, just some light rain over california and another shower or thunderstorm could be developing in the southwestern states. dale. >> dave warren, that is the way the long labor day weekend ends. thank you so much for watching al jazeera. as always there is more news at the top of the hour. "inside story" is next. stay with us. we continue, by the way, to watch the situation that is unfolding in washington at this hour, and we want to remind you that al jazeera will have live coverage of the senate foreign relations committee hearing that is taking place in washington. our coverage of that hearing gets underway at 2:00 eastern time, and should anything happen that develops, we will come

right back to you live. i'm dale walters in new york. thanks for joining us. we'll see you then. students don't read books. instead they use ipads almost