earlier al jazeera served with william cohen. >> i think he was calculateing, he's been criticizing me. let me put you on the spot now and see what you're going to do. the only difficulty with that is i'm also reading that perhaps even if congress should reject and not give him authority to go forward he might go forward anyway. i think that will be the worst of all words. once you turn 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. the president is facing a tough road ahead to secure support for

action in syria. tom is a blogger and writer for the "guardian" and his focus is foreign policy. thanks so much for being with us. you written it was bad idea for the president oh to seek the approval before taking military action in syria. given the most vently developments that the president has supports of key leaders. do you think he was wrong to take this route? >> i do. i think for a number of reasons that i outlineed in my piece. when you think of the extif exee to use military force and i think all parties will suggest if they do take place. the precedence is such that the president has that awe o that a. to weaken it is a dangerous thing because it potentially deterse future presidents from taking action beyond the confines of a partisan scope.

more than that, i think what we saw in congress yesterday with various politicians on all sides from senator mccain to various democrats that tend to spread in their opinion. various politicians are using this situation as an opportunity to project their own political agendas beyond the strategic scope of what the u.s. should be or should not be doin doing in . i think that's a bad thing. i think when we conduct foreign policy i think what we need to have is a situation when the president, and certain situations iraq and afghanistan were major oh operations have been planned, acting concept but in the best interest of the country rather than best interest of that particular party politics. >> never theless, he has gone to congress. tomorrow we are expecting the committee will vote on a measure

that will back military action barring military troops on the ground. what is the next step in procedure? >> well, i think if that part is which i expect it will, what we'll see is the senate beginning to debate on the terms of that provisional motion and then as the senate goes forward problem next week. i think the democratic senate ma skwror i the leader will probably schedule a vote early next week and the house will begin to debate issue and see if they can get something passed. i think actually the house is going to be the key. republicans control the house. the republican party is not the republican party of the bush years which was, of course, more intervention-minded. there's a lot of skepticism there about the merits of authorizing the president to take this action. i think it's going to be a tough sell. i suspect that it will get

through. i think yesterday's announcement that speaker bohener and have some specific steps. this is by no means a done deal it's going to be a tough fight for the administration. >> tom, thanks so much for your insights. be sure to stay with us on the latest in syria. al jazeera will have live developments in washington. coverage starts at noon eastern today. a 6.5 magnitude earthquake has hit 400 oh mile miles off te shore of toke you. according to the energy officials, japan's fukushima nuclear plant did not suffer damage. nuclear regulators say that radiation raersd holding con dominateing water have spiked to their highest levels.

most of yosemite national park is open. a relatively cool and humid labor day allowed fire crews to make major progress along the edge of the park. several roads are still closed. full containment of the fire is not expected until septembe september 20th. >> what a difference a day makes for the north the east. on monday night we saw some flooding as well as thunderstorms pushing through much of this region. we had few showers on tuesday evening going through parts oh of cape cod. that's going to to offer the cold front off to the eastern sea board. because of the cold front that means colder air is going to be coming through behind it and that means your temperatures are going to be quite low in the morning. those are higher and also going

down 40 or even lower than that. we talk about northern ham shire. rain wise we don't expect see anything. maybe some light showers across the state and also across northern parts of maine. the rest of you, we're looking quite nice. boston at 80, new york at 83 degrees and we will see at 66 degrees there. your five-day forecast for new york looks like this. all the way down for the high temperature on friday and 74 degrees and we are popping up to 84 degrees there. this is that same cold front i was talking about making its way down the gulf coast. the cold front has come through you. pit's not going to be mean colder air. it will haoepb some drier conditions. it will mean some drier conditions. the rain is light across most of the region so no accumulation is expected. new orleans at 90 and the 5-day

forecast for atlanta will come down to 84 degrees on saturday up to 87 on sunday. well, were looking at nice conditions for northern texas the texas. that same front is going to stay to the south of dallas. we are going to be seeing the rain along the coast. a temperature of dallas, a high of 98. >> an exclusive a al jazeera investigation reveals the state department knew of problems including be benghazi but faileo correct them. al jazeera's special cent t correspondent has more. >> reporter: a van packed with excloses broke through a gate if beirut. 63 people, mostly embassy staff

died. six months later, in beirut, a hijacked truck crashed through a five-foot high barrier surrounding a u.s. marine corps barracks. 251 american servicemen died. he discovered a culture where security was low pry kwr-rty. -- priority. >> large number of the career were just thankful. agents will serve as similar

role of the secret service. it also demanded a substantial building program. some diplomatic were to be relocated to secure sites. initially several embassies had their securit security bolstere. >> the stic>> the secretary of d administration were slow to call. >> reporter: when truck bombs struck u.s. embassys in 1998 killing more than 200 people, those in east africa had not. a review board under admiral was set up to examine the attack. the board was struck by house similar to those drawn up by the commission over 14 years earli earlier. it's a failure of the u.s. government to take the necessary steps to prevent such

strategies. >> i mean those are remarkable words. >> they were. and i suspect the same ideas can come on benghazi. >> if you have a facility in the dangerous area and haven't spent the resources to upgrade it you're inviting tragedy. >> given the inaction of the state department following earlier review boards, the document detained of al jazeera reveals a shake up rather than faceful reforms. the report notes that the present security environment requires a new paradine and a cultural shift in the department was needed. 30 years after the inman report the bengha stk*eu found that my ear the the u.s. embassy in beirut nor u.s. diplomatic facilitys in high threat areas meet standards.

>> that, to me is appalling. if you were ever at a place where you are putting people who are representing us in that country have risks it's beirut. >> reporter: it's the restructuring of the state department does not take place. the lives of more u.s. diplomates will be at risk. al jazeera, washington. a blackout leaves most of venezuela in the dark. why some people sa sabotage is leading today kwros. thousands oh of wal-mart workers across the country are doing the same but demanding what the nation's private employer. the 16-year-old girl shot by the taliban after campaigning for girls rights to an education is speaking out about the fight against terrorism. the non- violent weapon she says can be used to defeat it.

the venezuelan government is claiming sabotage after they were left without power. venezuela's debt thety minister said several transit lines are down from the blackout. they suggested opposition politicians sabotageed the electrical grid causing the blackout. wal-mart workers across the country tomorrow will protest the company's labor practices. they are asking wal-mart, the nation's largest employer, to increase salaries and reinstate workers who were fired after a

walk tphout june. the group has filed charge es against the retailer with national labor relations board. the protest after wal-mart failed to meet workers demand by labor day. wal-mart is the largest employer in the u.s. syrian americans are keeping a close eye on what's going on in washington. many are worried about safety of friends and family back in their homeland. al jazeera spoke with members of the syrian community here in new york city. >> reporter: the heat is on in the kitchen just like it is in the congress. he's conflicted because he love ohs syria an he loves the u.s. but he is seeing if congress weighs in before any home attack on his homeland. >> he wants everybody to participate in the debate. we know obama's values. >> reporter: the syrian national salad he keeps one eye firmly on the tv. in the restaurant, he has helped

to run this place for 18 years. she's seeped in syrian culture. when bashar al say sad came if to pow ter, syrian were optimistic for his few which are. >> i don't like to see bombing of any country. i don't think that's a solution to anything but it's almost the only solution if the u.s. is going to be involved at all because i think the assad government is totally uninterested in any kind of negotiation and any liberalsation. >> reporter: back if in the kitchen, he's mulling the senate hearing over and over in his mind. after much thought he comes out in favor of a limited strike on syria. >> hopefully nobody gets hurt and it will be just us eliminating the weapons that are unfortunate innocent people. i think people should support that because it's just for a

good reason. >> reporter: and with that it's back to the khopg board and the box in the corner to work out what the congress might decide to do about syria. al jazeera, new york. 300,000 syrian-americans are living in the u.s. with large communities in new york city, los angeles and detroit. the teenager activist is writing a new page in her courageous story. she spoke at the opening of the public's public library. she was flown there for surgery after being shot in the head in october. she had been campaigning in pakistan for the right for girls to go to school. she will receive the international national children's peace prize this week. >> the glare is so strong it's literally melting cars. sonia gayagos reports.

>> reporter: this is london's hot spot. in the middle of the city, a bizarre beam of light radiates on to the street. powerful, dazzling and hot. the cause of this tp phenomenon, this tower. the building's kufrd construction has had an unfortunate effect. >> you can see it's curved. so that's a vast area up there and it's collecting a lot of solar energy. if that were or the go out in all directions it would be massive but it's focusing down to this point. pit's focus down here so that is all solar energy getting pushed down here and the temperatures down there are getting really high. >> reporter: so high it managed to record a tell which are of a 198 degrees fahrenheit. >> the sun started to come out and it's already hitting the building behind me and you can see it's quite an intention heat here.

>> reporter: anything in the direct glare of the reflection can literally go up in spoke it damaged this car parked nearby. it's caused carpets to smolder, tiles to smash, it's so hot you fry an egg and shinge your hair trying. >> it is the supposed to come through. it's quite hot here, yes. the design is the current elevation of the sun over the next two to three weeks weather permittinging it will shine directly on to the building. while they say they are working on the problem the worst of it lasts for just two hours during one of the busiest times oh of the day, lunchtime it' too much as london is used to murkyer climates. it's time to keep cam and keep developers. the developers have plans to put up street level screens to protect pedestrians, property

and wayward jaguars. >> how these animals are creating hope for saving an inspire species. >> andy warhol turns celebritys in to an art form that gives people a unique glimpse in to his life with never-before-seen photos.

if you were one of his show business friends, chances are, andy wahol snapped a photo of you. now to get a glimpse of this visionary pop artist, brittney brings us the story. >> reporter: these photographs taken by andy warhol are reminders of a era. >> this is a perfect example of stolen intimate moments. his own and warhol's assistant. this is a great photo. it's mick jaggar serving tea.

he was visiting out in the hamptons. >> reporter: the life of warhol and his subjects in black and white from drag queens to nancy reagan from low brow to high highbrow. >> he ente he introduceed the if celebrity and art. produced from the 60s through this death. some are now worth millions. >> i think he would be in instagram and using all the social media out there. >> his work seemed quaint by today's standards put he believes if warhol is still alive he would be as current as today's social media. al jazeera, new york. >> there's new hope for the mexican gray wolf.

an endangered species. the first oh of the animals to be warn at 16 years. that'll do it.