good evening, everyone. welcome to al jazeera. tonight, our special coverage of the congressional debate over syria. >> this is not the time forearmchair isolationism. this is not the time to be spectators to slaughter. neither our country nor our conscience can afford the cost of silence. we have spoken up against unspeakable horror many times in the past. now, we must stand up and act. [ music ]

the alabama administration went to capitol hill looking for support on an attack on syria. secretary of state john kerry made apationat plea and said the u.s. must respond to syria's use of chemical weapons. not everyone was convinced. libby casey has more on the story. libby >> reporter: thanks so much. the president, of course, is bringing some leaders on capitol hill to try to make a case for why the should take action in syria. however, key members of his top team are also heading to capitol hill, and they are trying to get their message across here in the halls of congress. >> the president's team making the pitch to congress includes two former senators at home in the halls of capital hill. >> ta lord to respond to the u.s. of chemical weapons. >> we want to come out stronger than we go into >> reporter: democrats generally expressed support for president obama's plan as long as the strikes on syria are

limited in scope. their repeated words, no boots on the ground. >> i think we are going to have to make our language that makes it clear that this is an overriding issue that i think that members as well as the american people want to know. >> secretary of state, john kerry is sure the committee -- assured the commit e chairman giving congress what they want without tying the hands of the president. >> i am absolutely confident, mr. chairman, that it is easy, not that complicated, to work out language that will satisfy the congress and the american people and there is no door open here through which someone can march in ways that congress doesn't want it to while still protecting the national security interests of the country. >> senators have concerns about more than the language of the resolution. democrat tom eudall asked, what happens after strikes on syria? >> by degrading him, you make these extremist forces stronger?

do you not? >> no. i don't believe you do. as a matter of fact, i think you -- you actually make the opposition stronger. the opposition is getting stronger by the day. >> reporter: republicans are subsequent cal that limited strike will accomplish what the obama administration wants. >> that's, holding the assad government accountable and keeping it from using it chemical weapons in the future. senator rand paul pushed back against taking any action halfway around the world. >> i haven't had one person come up for me and say they are for this war. not one pen. we get calls by the thousands. nobody's calling in favor of this war. >> so here is the question: will this message that we are hearing from some republicans like rand paul gain traction? this message, against, to the drum beat the obama a administration is pushing forth. the next, going to the house, the same team will take their message to the house committee

where it's bound to be an intense hearing. the house, as you know, john, is often known for being a little more rough and tumble than the senate. so we will see a lively hearing tomorrow. >> libby, was there a sense on capitol hill today that secretary of state really made some headway today for the administration or not >> we heard a fairly unified message from democrats in terms of trying to get a humanitarian concern across. democrats are giving the caveat of: we need to limit the strike. but they were using some of the same language that secretary kerry, himself was using, the same language that president obama has put forth. so we are seeing some votes line up. we get a better sense of who is in the yes camp and who is undecided. i say, more clarity, but the republicans are still a very tough sale. liberal democrats and these libertarians and conservative republicans are going to be a hard push for the white house. >> libby casey on the hill tonight. thank you. barack obama has convinced one of his most vonningal opponents to support a strike against

syria after a meeting with president, house speaker john boehner said america must act. randall kingston has our report. >> president obama's meeting with conventional leaders was a high-stakes gamble. but from the outset, he seems confident republicans and democrats would support military action against syria. >> i have made a decision that america should take action. but i also believe that we will be much more effective, we will be stronger if we take action together. >> once the cameras left the room, the president, vice president and secretary of state presented the case spelling out the goals and limits of the strike plan. >> the military plan that has been developed by our joint chiefs and that i believe is appropriate is proportional. it is limited. it does not involve boots on the ground. this is not iraq. and this is not afghanistan >> reporter: the result: a rare showing of bi-partisan cooperation. house minority leader nancy

pelosi, a democrat, supporting speaker boehner, a republican's decision to attack syrian president assad who the u.s. says has killed more than 1400 people with chemical weapons. >> the use of these weapons has to be responded to and only the united states has the ca capeability and the capacity to stop assad and to warn others around the world that this type of behavior is not going to be tolerated. >> people say, well, he killed 100,000 people. what's the difference with this 1400? but this 1400, he crossed a line with using chemical weapons. house majority leader eric cantor, a republican released a statement saying, i intend to vote to provide the president of the united states the option to use military force in syria. and the white house is continuing its full court purpose on the hill. vice president biden is postponing a previously

scheduled visit to florida in order to play a larger role whipping up congressional support. >> tonight, president obama is heading to russia for an economic summit where he is expecting a chilly reception from is vladimir putin, one of syria's strongest defenders who has criticized president obama's plans for a military strike. but he will continue to get as many votes as possible, preparing a resolution he hopes will be approved quickly when congress returns from their summer bank. >> randall, thank you. according to the latest poll, president obama is facing an uphill battle trying to convince americans to support military strikes in syria. the pew research cents are surveyed a thousand people and ask ask in they support a military strike in response to the chemicaluous of weapons. 29% said they support military action. nearly half, 48% say they are against it. 23% said they are not sure. now, the survey also asked

americans if they fear a long commitment in syria should there be a u.s.-led military response. about two-thirds of those questions, 61%, said yes. 26%, no. and 13% didn't know. finally, the pew research centers asks do they think it will discourage future chemical weapons? 31%. 51% said it will not deter chemical wear fair. 16% didn't know. a high-ranking sirrialian official is speaking out from the president's proposal. the u.n. ambassador challenged the u.s. to justify any military action. >> who appointed the administration to anticipate on the outcome and the findings, final findings of the mission of the investigation? how could the united states of america actun lat rally speaking from outside the context of the united nations?

who asked mr. obama to be the bully of the world? why not waiting until the investigative team is finalized and completed its mission of investigation? >> that response from the syrians today. so joining me now from washington, d.c. is former secretary of defense, william cohen. mr. secretary, it's good to see you. thank you for being with us. >> good to be with you. >> was the secretary of state convincing today in your opinion? >> well, i think he is making the best case that he can. there are -- there is some skepticism in terms of why now when this slaughter has been going on for some two years now. and there is copped skepticism in terms of the president being willing to go it along until he found out that the arab league and british were not with him. he decided to go to congress and say i want you with me. i was surprised because i thought the president would consult with congress and take

into account their either apprehension or qualifications to the mission. i was surprised that once a full vote by both houses. i would anticipate it may not be by support of the american people but by the support of the countries in the region such as the united arab emirates, saudi arabia and israel. israel has a strong lobby in this country, very strong support of the state of israel, and i think their voices will carry a lot of weight with members of congress even though it's going to be an uphill fight. >> john kerry talked about boots on the ground today. let's listen. >> a chemical weapons cache falling into the hands of alnusra or someone else and it was clearly in the interest of our allies and all of us, the british, the french, and others to present those weapons of mass

desconstruction falling into the hands of the worst elements. i don't want to take off the table an option that might or might not be available to a president of the united states to secure our country. so, secretary, do you get the sense -- what's the hesitation here on the part of some members of congress? >> well, the hesitation is that you will see mission creep. there are two problems at both ends of the spectrum. the president has said i want to hit syria hard but not too hard. in other words, what i call the goldy lockets solution. but secondly, you have people like mccain and lindsey graham. both of those gentlemen are critical to getting support from the senate. without them, i think they will not get support. they are saying: don't just have a minimal attack on 56789 ssad do something that's really going to make a difference, and apparently, they have been satisfied from listening to the president that there their goal will be met.

now, i suspect what's involved there is that they have been eager to have the president arm the syrian rebels, the ones that we support and give them much more support than we have to date. so, it may be that they are prepared to take less of a kinnetic attack on the syrian forces as long as we are upping the support for the syrian rebels. that may be some kind of deal that's being worked out. but the appear prethey knew is that once you start this war -- and it is an act of war -- there are many untoward things that take place. launching tomahawk missiles, they are as accurate as they can be but they have failures and some result in killing lots of innocent civilians. you can see the bodies being dragged out and the syrian officials pointing to what the western world and hopefully it will be more than the united states would be involved but the western world has done to the arab population, the arab people. >> in your opinion -- >> lots of complications. >> was it really a good idea, though, for the president of the

united states to ask for authorization from congress >> i don't think so. i think he should have consultedgconsulted congress to talk to the speaker, the majority leader in both houses, the top committees, armed services, intelligence committees, and then gather them around him in saying this is imports that we do this as quickly as possible. i think he was calculating that, look. you have been criticizing me and criticizing me. let me put you on the spot now and see what you are going to do. the only difficulty with that is i am also reading that perhaps even if congress should reject and not give him authority to go forward, he might go forward anyway, and i think that would be the worst of all worlds. once you turn to the congress and say, i need you to authorize this action and if they should say, no, you take action, it seems to me you are clouding the law at that particular point. >> is that what you think he would do? he would take action if congress says no >> he has not ruled that out. and one of the consequences of

even implying that if not stating that, implying that he might take action even if he does he want get authority is you let congress off of the hook. if i am a member of congress and say, look. if my vote doesn't matter, if you may take action whether i am with you or against you, why put me through this and put my vote on the line when you are going to ignore it anyway. i think there had to be a commitment on his part that if this is what he wants, a vote with congress having an equal say in whether we go to war or not, then he ought to be bound by it. >> that's why i think it was a mistake to bring congress in and as a full partner as such and asking them to go on record. i think the implication should be, i will abide by that, much as prime minister cameron did in london most recently. >> let me get your reaction. i'm sorry. go ahead. >> no. i think that's a danger here if the president were to lose this even by a close vote, the country would have spoken through their elected officials.

at that particular point, the president may feel so strong tlashing not with standing congress failing to give him authority, although i think they will, it's going to go forward anyway, i think he would be in a very difficult position politically in this country. >> let me get your reaction -- >> i am hoping he will give a reassurance is the reason he is calling congress in is he believes them. he believes they have co-equal authority even though most presidents have always maintained, notwithstanding the war powers act, that it's the president of the united states as commander in chief who makes that decision, notwithstanding congress saying we have the power to declare war. it's only been one declaration since world war ii. all others have been carried out through the executive without necessarily the full support of the congress. >> mr. secretary, let's listen to secretary of defense chuck hagle and what he had to say today. >> a refusal to act would undermine the credibility of america's other security commitments, including the president's commitment to prevent iran from acquiring a

nuclear weapon. the word of the united states must mean something. it is vital currency inphon relations and international and allied commitments. >> it must mean something. what does it mean? >> well, the president is in the business of throwing red lines and saying if you cross this line, you will be held accountable. we will react to that. if they cross a line and you do nothing, then, obviously, you have lost credibility, not only with that particular adverse satisfactory. you have lost credibility with the iranians who are now marching, on their way to marching to a nuclear weapons capability, credibility with other parts of the world, pivoting to the asia pacific region. other areas are looking to the united states to keep that region stabilized by their fear of the rise of chinese power. so what we do here does have implications globally in terms of what role the united states is going to continue to play in

providing for a stable environment globally. so what happens here does have consequences. a failure to take action has consequences but taking action also has consequences in terms of what's the reaction going to be? what will the russian ships do off of the coast of syria? will they try to interfere with the u.s. operations? will they try to forewarn syria that missiles are on the way so that they can move some of the targets that might otherwise be in the kill zone, so to speak? there are a lot of moving parts to this. i think members of congress have an obligation to get as much detailed information, war planning, as such, as they can, and then make an informed judgment: is this in america's interest to take action? and what are the consequences if we fail to do so? the president having put us on the line saying, this is a red line that cannot be crossed and we will take action. a failure to take action carries some pretty serious consequences. >> former secretary of defense,

william cohen. good to see you. thank you very much. coming up, more of our special coverage of the crisis in syria. we will take a closer look at the hardships facing 2 million syrian refugees. stay with us.

but should you be made aware if you are consuming them. that's next on "consider this." >> the civil war raging in syria started as a push to oust bashar al-assad but as the fighting dragged on, the politics and religious divides have become more complex. david shuster is here to guide us through all of it. david? >> john, syria is about the size of washington state with a population three times as large, about 22 million people. let's look at a map. to the northwest of syria, the

mediterranean sea. to the north, turkey. to the east, iraq. to the south, jordan. to the southwest, you have israel and due west, you've got lebanon. the syrian population is extremely diverse, but most syrians are ethnic arab and the majority of arab syrians, about 70% are sunni muslims. most are sunni. president bashar al-assad and most of the leadership are mostly allowism tes who re precept about 12 percent of the population. so they became a minority controlling the majority and they rule with an iron fist. in terms, the allowism tes could be slaughtered if they win the syria war and assad loses power. as you can see from the map, the reynolds they control, mostly northern syria, red, the syrian

government but there are some areas near the cities where there is some rebel support, particularly, for example, to the south and east of damascus. this is where the chemical attack happened a few weeks ago killing more than 1400 civilians. >> david, can we go back and look at the steps of history that the built up to syria's civil war >> in the 1920ses, syrian borders were drawn up with no regards to the various ethnic groups. for the next 50 years there was political instability in syria. in 1970, assad's father had a military coup. he firmly aligned with the soviet union. and in 19 gray 2, there was a muslim uprising and crushed it by leveling entire neighbors, killing thousands of civilians. in 2000, hafez al assad, and his

son who was an eye doctor who was not supposed to leave syria but his father had chosen him in the late 1990s because an older brother died in a car accident. so second choice, bashar al-assad, took power, pledged to modern eyes syria but instead maintained his father's ideolo y ideology, brutal tactics and russian connections. two years ago bashar al-assad's government responded harshly in syria. first, they comment killed and kidnapped family members of protesters including children and troops began opening fire and civilians started fighting back. the fighting escalated from there and became a civil war. >> talk a little bit about these rebel groups. why has it been so difficult and so tricky for the united states to support it >> the rebels in syria have been joined by jih a dists who see an

opportunity to get rid of the secular government and replace it with sharia law. many are affiliated with al-qaeda, the group responsible for 9-11. >> secretary of state john kerry said sarin gas used by assad's forces. why does president obama want to get involved now >> the obama administration points back to the 1925 geneva convention which outlawed chemical weapons. the argument for decades has been that chemical weapons are only effective in killing civilians. they don't usually change military outcomes. chemical weapons are considered particularly heinous. the obama administration believes striking syria would deter that country and others from using chemical weapons again in the future. >> i know you have been talking to experts. give us the expert's point of view about the evened game. how does it turn out. >> diplomats and analysts saying a political resolution but there are so many compelling and so

many competing rebel groups, there is really nobody who can negotiate or even represent the rebels as a whole. experts believe syria will most likely follow the same path as neighboring lebanon which fought a brutal civil war which lasted from 1975 to 1990, 15 years and lebanon has been recovering slowly ever since. >> david shuster, thanks very much. that recovery in syria came to a violent end when the civil war started two years ago. the united nations says two million people have fled their home land. we have spoken to to a few of those ref jopling ease about possible military action. >> we wish a strike would happen today right now. we need to remove >> ashlee baracy: ash, the cancer in syria. >> if they want to strike syria, maybe the prisoners and the innocent are the ones who will be wiped out. it's not the officials or president who will go. it's the innocent civilians living in syria who will get

killed. >> i expect the number of syrian refugees to reach 5 million every day. because of the daily killings, people will esc aape to neighboring countries. we call on obama to carry out an attack, to get rid of the regime. we don't need promises. we need him to act in order to return to our homes. >> hundreds of thousands of refugees are living in overcrowded camps across the boarders. we have three reports from those who have traveled to camps in the middle east >> the refugee camp, let's look. when i arrived here two weeks ago, this camp was about a third full. take a look now. it stretches all the way as far as the eye can see with tents. some 42,000 have arrived since the border crossing was opened nearly two weeks ago. now, with all of the aid agencies and the kurdstan government told us they simply don't have the resources to cope with another influx refugees as

a result of any potential military strike. the mayor told us that the u.n. are only giving them 10% of what they need to be able to supply all of the refugees so there is a massive funding crisis here and if there is any potential military strike, those refugees will continue to stream across the border leading to even more pressure here in north iraq. >> hear in the camp along the turkish border, there are more than 32,000 syrian refugees when the camp was i have been usuallyly being build two years ago, it was meant to house only 15,000 people. it's indicative of how the situation has gotten out of control. there was a time when turkey would say it would only take up to 100,000 syrian refugees. now, it's grappling with half a million. the government here says it will spend up to $2,000,000,000 u.s. dollars in time for other members of the international community, it's time for them to step up. >> over 1 million sirians live

in this country. >> that's a high number for a tiny nation like lebanon, one-in every five people is a syrian. it has caused tensions in this country because as you can see behind me, syrians live among the local population. the lebanese are complaining syrians are taking their jobs. they are also complaining that the apartment rent has skyrocketed. people, some people really exploiting the situation. so there is tension and there is also the security aspect of this crisis. lebanon hasn't been able to stay out of the syrian conflict. we have seen security incidents, bombing, kidnappings and they do blame the syrians, their presence for this instability. the syrians in lebanon are either supporters of the government or support issues of the opposition. now, lebanon is worried if the west does decide to strike against the syrian regime, we are going do see a new waive of refugees and this country is unable cope especially without the help. international community. ç]

welcome back to al jazeera. i am john seggenthaller. here are our top stories, john kerry and chuck hagle answered

questions for members of the senate about possible u.s. military action in syria. they both warped if congress votes against intervention in syria, there could be dire consequences worldwide. the resolution now before the senate expressly bars u.se of u.s. ground forces for combat operations in syria. president obama has been meeting with congressional leaders at the whitehouse. after the meeting, republican john boehner and eric can't occur of the house said they support the president's plan. this was the reaction today from syria's ambassador: >> the united states of america, from outside this, who asked mr. obama to be the bully of the worl world? >> some of the toughest questioning during the senate foreign relations hearing came from senator rand paul questioning whether the white house had weighed the risks and

uncertainties of attacking syria. >> you have three people who have been to war. john mccain who has been to war. not one of us who doesn't understand what going to war mea means, and we don't want to go to war. we don't believe we are going to war in the classic sense of taking american troops and america to war. the president is asking for the authority to do a limited action that will degrade the capacity of a tyrant who has been using chemical weapons to kill his own people. >> i think by doing so, you announce -- >> it's limited. >> you announce in advance your goal is not winning. i think the last 50 years of secretaries of defense would say -- >> senator people ask if you want to go to war in syria? of course not. 100% of americans will say no. we say no. we don't want to go to war in syria either. >> the united nations warned barack obama that strikes against syria could unleash even

more turmoil in the region. sglufrn secretary ban kee moon says political action is needed. >> i take the argument for action to prevent future uses of chemical weapons. at the same time, we must consider the impact of any measure to prevent further blood shed and facility tate political resolution of the country. the turmoil in syria and across the region serves nobody. >> so, has the push for u.s. strikes, as the push continues here in america, there is reports syria has started to hide military equipment and is moving troops away from military basis and into civilian areas. al jazeera david jackson joins us from beirut, lebanon. what do we know about bashar al-assad going on the offensive? >> reporter: we have heard a little bit about it over the last couple of days, john. and there are indications that a

lot of equipment and personnel are being moved away from any of the military facilities there. we heard a comment from the syrian national committee, the rebels fighting against assad who said, if and when a strike comes, there may not be any casualties simply because everybody will have had such time to get out of the way, including a lot of sensitive equipment out of the way that the result in that instance might be minor. we certainly don't know, but i mean there has been shirk y of time for them to do these kind of maneuvers. >> that's what is indicated is going on right now. >> david, how is assad responding from what he is hearing from around the world on possible military strikes from the u.s.? >> reporter: well, most of the official statements have come from u.n. am babassado bass dar affari. there has been no official word coming from the so-called administration of assad in damascus. we haven't heard anything since the hearings have been held. mr. jaffari saying, you know, we

have heard that line before. he is saying that they are not responsible for the chemical attacks, that they are not the war mongers and, in fact, victims in all of this and that thus far has been what the administration in damascus is presenting to the world. we expect they will do the same a few hours from now. it's 3:30 in the morning here they will be up and around, not too long from now. they will probably have a response, an official response to what took place in washington, d.c. >> david jackson uplate with us in beirut tonight. david, thank you very much. we have some breaking news at this hour. al jazeera has obtained a copy of a u.s. government report detailing failures in security at diplomatic posts around the world. these include benghazi which was attacked almost a year ago. al jazeera's investigative correspondent josh bernstein joins us with details from washington, d.c. josh? >> reporter: the 29-page report points out critical shortfalls within the department of state. it highlights systematic security flaws at u.s.

diplomatic posts all around the world. the report was put together by a 5-member pam, a former high-ranking intelligence officials. it stopped short of focusing blame on any one individual but indicates that the department of state has known about many of these security flaws for decades. now, when it comes to benghazi, the department failed to identify worsening conditions in libya. they point out that there is a lack of accountability and no clear lines of authority or communication. there was a lot of confusion within the department. their overarching concern is that there is no one individual, no -- the department lacks an under secretary of security, and that is their number 1 recommendation. >> so there are criticisms, but are there recommendations as well, josh? reporter >> reporter: there are 40 recess but the overarching recommendation is that the department create an under s secretary of security. right now, security is handled

by the under secretary of management. their concern is that the under secretary of management has 11 other critical functions and doesn't have the time or the resources to focus solely on security at diplomatic facilities around the world. >> josh, does this indicate other difficulty at other overseas facilities >> it does. they visited 10 diplomatic facilities around the world and at several of those facilities, they found out the facilities lacked an intelligence officer or had an immediate need for an intelligence analyst. they uncovered that there was no mos or a mode, model of security and they visited all of these facilities, five and high-threat areas similar to benghazi. >> josh bernstein from washington, d.c. you believe hear more about the story on america tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern time with joey chen. in egypt, thousands of

anti-coup protesters have taken to the streets. they turned out in eda, just outside of cairo. the dpro demonstrators are marking two months since the ouster of movsi and they are calling for the former leader to be reinstated. he knew calf ators will wrap up their sight at the dozier school in florida. they found evidence of 98 burials at the boys' reform terri schools, many unmarked graves. they will examine the graves to determine the causes of death and identities. former inmates have described decades of abuse there. they said the school grounds may hold another cemetery with unmarked inmate graves. it may sound a little like science fiction and technology aimed at letting law enforcement predict crimes before they happen. but that sort of future policing could be here. stephanie stanton reports from los angeles >> reporter: this computer program may hold a crucial key

to fighting crime. >> community police station. >> the los angeles department is using technology that predicts where criminals may strike. >> they can zero in on the hot spots and everything and get it cleaned up. it's great. >> fredpol is a computer program that finds those hot spots through a mathematical al gorism that an lies more than 30,000 crimes. the data can zero in on where crimes may happen. ucla anthropology geoff brantingham helped create the software. >> there is a lot of patterning to crime. it's patterning we can studwy mathematics. some of the patterns have to do with the fact that, you know, they like to commit crimes where they live and victmize targets that are relatively easy to get to and easy to victimize, and the math that we use actually captures some of those characteristics of how offend it will behave. we use that for forecasting

future crime. >> los angeles was one of the first to test fredpol. they are given target maps with red boxes showing where crimes will most likely occur. each box represents a 500 skiver foot area that officers are expected to patrol during down time or between arrests. >> sur in the right place at the right time. so, i think that sometimes, we catch the bad guy in action. >> since the program was started in late 2011, burglaries in the foothill division have dropped 12%. the practice of predictive policing is being utilized in other major u.s. cities like seattle, portland and san diego. it was also rolled out earlier this year in the u.k. but civil rights experts have raised serious questions about privacy and profiling specifically whether predictive policing and other crime analysis technology may violate fourth amendment rights that protect against unreasonable search and seizure.

>> with any kind of saturation policing program, there is a risk for constitutional violations. when police are told to target particularly areas because they are high crime, there is a risk that they are going to stop people, search people, do parole sweeps much more aggressively than they would otherwise do. >> officers insist it takes away any personal bias >> it's not based on any specific, you know, gender or race or age. it's just this is where a crime happens. >> aclu attorney bibring cautions underlying police data may already have built-in biases that could skew results. >> some crimes are over reported in rich neighborhoods like burglaries and thefts. some crimes are over recorded in pour neighborhoods like drug dealing. >> law enforcement officers acknowledge these concerns. but they stress that for their personnel, predictive policing is a proven tool now helping them stop cremnals in their

tracks. stephanie stanton, al jazeera, los angeles. still ahead on al jazeera, a meltdown in london, the odd danger posed by this unusual skyscraper. in sports, new york giants defensive etched, mathias goes one on one to talk about his 20s 13 season. ross shabuku has that and more coming up in sports.

al jazeera america - a new voice in american journalism - >>introduces america tonight. >>in egypt, police fired teargas at supporters of the ... >>a fresh take on the stories that connect to you. [[voiceover]] they risk never returning to the united states. >>grounded. >>real. >>unconventional. [[voiceover]] we spent time with some members of the gangster disciples. >>an escape from the expected. >>i'm a cancer survivor. not only cancer, but brain cancer. protestors. i'm morgan radford, you can see us again at 7:00 eastern. [ music ] we have some pictures now of president obama arriving at andrews air force base headed to sweeden for the g20 summit after a busy day in washington where he was consulting with members of congress to try to talk them

into authorizing military force against syria. again, president obama at andrews air force base getting ready to make the trip across the atlantic to sweeden for the g20 meeting. in other news tonight, german investigators are recommending charges against suspected former guards at auschwitz concentration camps, suspects over 85 that could face charges of accessories to murder. a victim of violence in pakistan was on hand today for the opening of europe's biggest public library. she lives in britain now after being nearly killed by the taliban for promoting women's education and women's rights. simon mcgregor wood attended the opening. >> it's striking design dominates england's second city once it's firi manufacturing hartland. it's filled with the digital

technology of the future. it may be a 21st sent try library but it's filled with books. >> young people are born digital. they want to gather inform it is from electronic sources, read books to kindles and ipads and devices. that doesn't mean the book doesn't have a roll in the library of the future. >> opening the library, whose love of books almost cost her life. >> without books, it's like a body without soul. i think a city without books in a city without libraries is like a graveyard. >> the library's heart, there are inter connected rotundas linked by escalators. they are expecting 3 million visitors a year. >> this new library cost over $280 million, all of it public money. it was involved approved in

2007, just months before the financial crisis and all of the cuts that have followed it. so another, the people of birmingham got their money for this new library just in time. >> elsewhere, up to 400 public libraries face closure. changing technology is just one of the reasons. the people in birmingham hope their gleaming new one will inspire a knowledge-led regeneration. they have high-youth unemployment with a post-industrial hangover. they want the library to celebrate the future while celebrating the past. al jazeera, birmingham in this country, most of yosemite national park is now open now that the stubborn wildfire has been almost contained. a relatively cool and human labor day allowed fire crews to make major progress. around the edge of the park and several loads leading into yosemite are closed. full containment of the fire is not expected until september 20th. the temperature seems to be

rising around a new unfinished skyscraper in downtown london. in fact, the heat is so intense, it's being blamed for dlaj to a luxury car parked down below. it's metal parts were melted when it was hit by light reflected off what they call the walkie-talkie building in london. it is blocked off until developer can figure out how to fix the problem. sc . >> ross is here with sports. he is here to talk a little bit about the n.f.l. week >> is it sunday yet? i can't wait. thursday night. the new york giants head to dallas to take on the cowboys. again, eli manning & company own the cowboys and big d. they are in perfect form. the house that jerry built. do i hear 5? giants feeling pretty good about themselves heading to the season opener because their big playmaker, cruz is back from a foot injury. he is expected to start on

sunday night. the 26-year-old cruz signed a $43 million contract. i imagine he is really to salsa. >> so good. it's so weird because last time i was out there, you know, training camp and i was quiet. it was good. it felt good to be out there. it was good. >> i got to watch films, a few, you know, a few routes to them. but, you know, i didn't see anything different. they looked sharp and if you will speed. >> right now, everything continues to feel good. wake you in the morning and doesn't swell up on me or anything crazy like that, i will be good to go. >> the giants, our n.f.l. kickoff series with mathias, the two-time super bowl champion isnd pressure like his teammates because management has said, it's time to man up. we explain >> reporter: after missing the

playoffs three of the last four season, every new york giants player is, in the words of jerry reece on notice this season. >> that's nothing new. >> this is the n.f.l. there is always another man in line. we are always on notice about our jobs, about our reputation, about our security in this league because, to be honest with you, there is not a lot of t when your general manager says something like that, everybody's ears poke up a little bit and you make sure, that i mean, you know, matter what happens, we are not going to have another letdown like we did last year. >> late season swoons have become their signature. in the finally three games they have gone a combined 5 and 7. bad luck or something worse? >> at this a position that we create for ourselves, whether it's through lack of focus or lack of passion, whatever, whatever it is, and each individual season we can point back to a certain point where, okay, we had this game won but we didn't finish, play with the same intensity or we came out flat. there was something going on obviously there.

i think the key for us is to make sure that that doesn't happen again. >> this year, of course, the super bowl will go down at the home of the giants, met life stadium. i asked mathias if any of the joint's nfc rivals could stop them for playing a home game for the lombardi trophy? >> with the redskins where the big question is can robert griffin iii be as domnant on a surgically repaired knee. >> he is a tremendous agent lee, so a little bit of speed off of him would still put him at the top in terms of ability and speed in the league. i think he can still be as good. now, in my opinion, should they continue to run him as much as th they? no. it's a dangerous play. eventually,ing it will be another injury. >> as for the eagles, they they have hired chip kelly. michael vick will run his obvious but how much will kelly bring with him to the eagles' attack >> we leave a lot of that up to the coaches. they have done a lot of studies,

a lot of research. they have talked to individuals from, you know, all over the country. so i think that they are developing game plans to aid us in stopping it no matter how much or how little he brings in. >> then there is the cowboys who didn't make many significant changes this off season. >> the fact they didn't do a lot means they are trying to make a push right now. they are going to stay with what they have and try to make a push. i mean, for all of the teams in our division, it's not just about winning our division. we are trying to get to the super bowl and win. so i understand where they are coming from. i feel like here, we have a much better chance of getting that done. >> john henry smith,ays, east rutherford, new jersey. >> our n.f.l. kickoff series will continue tomorrow with some mj.d. as in jacksville maurice drew. big question in college ball, can alabama pull off a repeat? so far, no good. bama in the top spot, village tech, or gone traded places with ohio state and move over, georgia, because clemson is

moving on up in the rankings. the tigers jumped up from number 8 to number 4 after beating georgia last time that clemson was ranked this high, 1988. we had a shocker last night at the u.s. open after robert federer got bounced by brado. another upse today? novack jockkovich. this wasn't even close. djokovic, number 1 seed because he would go to win it in straight sets, with about an hour and 20 minutes at the quarterfinals hardly broke a sweat where he would square off. the starts were out and about leonardo di caprio, your number 1 seed, serena williams taking on carlos suares nevara. she was secelebrating her 25th birthday with serena not having any part of it. she crashed the party. defending champion dominated

birthday girl as serena would win in straight sets, 6-love, 53 minutes. moving on to the semifinals where she will meet deena. no. 2 seed, asarenka. syringe tory i can't said she felt like she was slipping. first set, 6 to 4. that was her wake-up call. azaranke would rally to win in 3 sets with the quarterfinals where she will face danella. in prime time, andy murray. >> a lot of celebs out there >> leonardo di caprio. >> dennis rodman, speaking of sports, dennis rodman is going back inside north korea to visit his friend, kim jung ong. cameras caught up with him at the beijing airport. the former star's visit comes as the u.s. is trying to neg other than ate the release of kenneth

bay. bay is a u.s. missionary who was given a life sentence at a north korean labor camp. rodman told reporters there has been no assurance for bay's release. the communist leader is said to be a basketball fan. in february, he visited north korea on his promisal tour. thousands of prehistoric fossils have turned into rock stars. they have been rescued from museums and are now available as 3-d models. there are plans to also digitally scan dinosaur fossils. researchers and the public have access to the virtual fossils and can print a 3d replica. the british says it's online collection of scans is the first of its kind. kevin korvo is here with your national forecast next, and we will see you nelater.

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if you were with me last night, we were talking about flooding and seve severe thunderstorms in the northeastern part of the country. the problem was a cold front that moved through. >> that's now in the atlantsic.

we are looking much better from many locations. take a look at the satellite and the radar. showers pushingly off cape cod but that's really it for most of the region. a few showers coming off of the great lakes. temperatures a little bit or a lot cooler depending upon where you are than where we are last night 77 in new york. albany, 67. compared to where we are last night, it's about one degree cooler in philadelphia, nine degrees cooler in pittsburgh and three degrees cooler in albany. that will be the trend. we have that cold front going through. some of you are going to be seeing temperatures in the overnight hours, early morning to about 40 degrees, some of you at 35. >> that's going to be in the northern part of new england. temperatures in new york, we will see the cooldown on friday, beautiful conditions, 74 degrees overnight lows of 60, coming back up by the time we get towards sunday. now, to the northwest, we are looking at flooding going on right now. rescue workers -- rescuers are out there trying to rescue

people in the flood waters here in idaho see showers pushing through. flash flood warnings and advisories in effect but just over here toward the we hst is e opposite. very stdry kfrnz, red flag warnings are in effect for parts of oregon as well as parts of washington. toward dallas, clear up the same boundaries affecting parts of, pushing down toward the south, dissipating and we will see temperatures for you starting to rise into the high 90s, 98 degrees by the time we get towards tomorrow, really staying that way all the way through the week. lots of sunshine in your forecast. >> that's a look at your national weather. we are going to take a look here towards the southwest very quickly. we are looking at a lot of heavy rain for parts of arizona as well as utah. have a great night, everyone.

. welcome to axis. i am john sigenthaler. al jazeera has obtained a copy of the u.s. government report detailing failures in security at diplomatic posts around the world including benghazi attacked almost a year ago. a full report is ahead on america tonight. secretary of state john kerriry and defense secretary john hagle answer questions for the un7nate foreign relationships. they say they have reached an agreement for use of military force. that would ban aniuous u.s. use of u.s. armed forces on the ground. president obama has been meeting with congressional leaders in the white house. after the meeting, republicans