>> . more of what americans wants to know.

welcome to al jazeera. i'm in new york. these are the stories we are following. >> these are real children, parents affected to know one anywhere. >> secretary of state john kerry posting this video, announcing more support for u.s. efforts in syria. >> praying for peace, the pope asking for people to cry out against war in syria. >> nato - airstrikes causing casualties - nato being blamed. >> overseas and here at home the white house is building its case for international action on syria. secretary of state john kerry is in paris trying to convince a

skeptical international community there to support military intervention. he says momentum is building. meanwhile in washington congress is getting back to work tomorrow. president obama goes on a media blitz after a series of high-profile interviews he will address the nation in prime-time tuesday night. the president is pushing for more support for his plan to strike syria. we are following the story with live team coverage, we start in london, watching the diplomatic developments overseas, but first to washington, and paul, the white house chief is making the rounds in the sunday morning talks pressing the case for a military strike. what are the white house and members of congress saying today? >> as you say, white house chief of staff dennis mcdonough making the rounds, doing the sunday show sweep - pushing hard, pushing congress, trying to turn the tide of public opinion.

>> i've been talking to dozens of members of congress, not a something one rebutted or refused the intelligence which is to say everybody agrees that on 21 august assad used chemical weapons against his own people. the question for congress this week is simple - should there be consequences for him using gas, chemical weapons to kilmore than 1,000 of his people, including more than 400 children. >> mcdonough referring to the videos we have seen released by the senate intelligence committee. the white house says they have been vetted by the intelligence senate committee and vetted by the intelligence community, and they document what happened. mcdonough said members of congress should watch these before making a decision. let's hear from a congressman.

>> nobody rebuts the evidence presented at the briefings. the evidence is not as strong as the public statements that the president and his administration have been making. i have urged the administration in the most recent briefing, for example, to be more forward with the public about what the situation actually is. >> you are hearing from representative justin amage a republican. he's not convinced even after seeing the videos. everyone is counting the votes in advance of congress coming back into town tomorrow. the washington post counts the numbers in the senate has 27 voting against, 50 in the updecided, and 23 supporting military action. in the house the washington post counting 226 against, 182

undecided and just 25 saying they support it. the numbers in the house not looking good at all for the white house right now. the senate - still light of day there. >> the situation in syria, the numbers, and we are joined from washington by paul. >> for more now on the situation in syria, al jazeera sat down with former congressman ron paul. here is a sneak peak of what he had to say. >> what would be your red line in syria? is there a moment where the united states has a responsibility to protect, go abroad, help people in crisis being killed by their own government? >> yes, if any county, including syria, if they attacked the united states, under attack, threatened us, came and bombed us or sent a drone missile that may qualify as needing retaliation. under the circumstances, i can't imagine any moral justification

for us getting involved in another war, because it's been morally unjustified for the involvement that we have had already. it's not authorised under the constitution that we should be the policemen of the world, be involved in the fights, picking and choosing the civil wars going on. it makes no moral sense, no constitutional sense. >> you can see the interview by tuning into al jazeera tonight. beginning 10:30 eastern time. >> bashar al-assad told cbs news that he was not behind a chemical weapons attack in syria. it was his first interview with an american broadcaster in two years. >> meanwhile, secretary of state john kerry is currently in paris trying to build that international coalition. today me met with arab foreign ministers saying more countries

are on board with a number of countries agreeing to a strong international response in the double digits - his word. that list has not been made public >> today we discussed the possible measures the international community could take to deter assad from crossing that line again. a number of countries immediately signed on to the g20 agreement that was reached. by now 12 countries on the side of the g20 meeting, and they will make their own announcements in the next 24 hours about that. >> and for the latest we turn to fill -- phil itner in london. what numbers are we looking at? >> there are 12 signatures to the statement condemning the assad regime, calling for

punitive action that was signed in st petersburg. the germans were the last to sign on to that, becoming the 12th member. whether or not those are the countries that secretary kerry says will contribute militarily - that's unclear. but, certainly it is interesting to see more people signing on to that. the germans, as i say, because the germans were waiting for a unified message, which they got yesterday when 28 members of the eu signed a similar statement. there has been an awful lot of consensus building here during secretary kerry's visit. now, i have to also mention that secretary kerry, within the last hour actually travelled from paris to london. so he's here now on his last leg of this trip.

he's expected to meet with a high-ranking british government representatives but what exactly he hopes to gain is seen as the house of commons voted down participation, it's unclear. >> and, philip, i guess that raises the question about what can be accomplish in london, because the british parliament vetoed action against the assad regime. i guess that leaves the french. >> indeed. it does leave the french. the french, turks, a nato member state. what he hopes to gain - other things other than military action. the brits are hawkish. david cameron has been public about their support for a u.s.-led strike in syria, but don't have the votes in parliament. perhaps they'll get humanitarian aid or other assets, but not

military assistance. >> phil itner joining us live from london. >> pope francis asks the world to pray for peace, this is what he said during his address >> translation: is it really a war over problems, or is it a commercial war to sell these arms on the black market? >> the pope questioning the motives behind wars, asking for people to fight not for interest but peace in the common good. >> he held a vij il in st peters square. 1,000 people showed up. you can get the latest on our website. >> some alleged drug smugglers took quick action causing their boat to go up in flames. >> and we are looking at heat and humidity developing across parts of the nation.

i'll have the numbers and a look at the radar coming up.

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>> welcome back to al jazeera. i'm dell walters in new yorks. as many as 16 are dead after a nato drone strike in afghanistan. several women and children are among the victims. nato denies any civilians were killed. in a statement they said the operation killed up to 10. the strike happened saturday afternoon in the wardak district. it is a mountain ace terrain. >> classrooms with no roofs and no protection from the elements.

thousands of children in afghanistan - that is their reality. >> this is one of the afghanistan's model schools in kabul. here girls study diverse subjects and virtually all about graduate the 12th grade. it's not how it is everywhere. in a village of pastun, school is a held in a tent. half the schools have buildings, and less than a third of teachers have official qualifications. in gars ni, in eastern afghanistan, there's a lock on the door. >> the taliban closed the school three years ago, because girls should not be in school. >> 34 schools are closed across the province - students and staff are under threat. >> translation: there has been incidents where teachers were affected by bombings, explosions. some children have been killed

in the crossfire between the government and opposition forces. >> that's a problem over the country. >> more than 400 injured. more than 100 killed by the enmy of education >> it's not just security that hinders education here - there are budget problems and corruption. >> here in kabul there are schools in terrible condition. these are supposed to be funded by the world bank. the private company supposed to build them ran away with the money. 2,000 children study in classrooms with no windows or roofs. when it rains teaching stops, and there's no protection from heat or cold. the ministry of education says the contracted company should come back and finish what it was supposed to years ago. >> it is hoped by 2020 all afghan children will be able to complete school. there's a lot to be done to make that happen.

up in smoke - off the coast of italy. police prepared to board a suspicious ship and saw smoke rising out of it. the crew intentionally set its cargo on fire. the cargo, it turned out, 30 dons of hash is. smugglers jumped and were plucked from the sea and arrested. >> there is major flooding taking place in utah. let's go to dave warren for the latest on the forecast. >> we'll start there. that happened yesterday. the flooding is moving to the northern plains. this was the last 12 hours with the radar. see how the rain is coming in from the south, moving to the north - going over the same area south of utah. the problem was that there was a fire last year, so this is what you get when you get three-quarters of an inch of rain in 15 minutes on burnt ground. scarred by the burning, not much to hold the water and mud in

place. it was heavy rain south of salt lake city causing major flooding in alpine utah, and yesterday the rain moved through. the flooding potential is moving up and around the area of high pressure, which is heating up things in the midwest there. it looks like the temperatures are continuing to climb here, and it could be be over 100 degrees, and it's moving to north and south dakota - there's heavy showers, storms and flash flooding. flash flooding watches are in in effect and one or two warning. quick flooding that comes up and goes down quickly - not large rivers, but small creeks and streams could flood in that area, as the rain moves to the east. different in the north-east. no rain here, just a few showers. temperatures are getting cooler. look for the numbers to drop. these are frost advisories in

new york and new england. temperatures do not have to be down to freezing to drop to the 40s and upper 30s. frost develops. low temperatures tomorrow morning. 30s could see frost developing by tomorrow. that's the coldest day of the week. it gets warmer by the middle of the week. >> we call it football weather. iowa is granting gun permits to people who are legally or completely blind. state law says they can't deny someone the right to carry a weapon based on physical abilities, advocates say forbidding the blind having a gun vilates the act. practice time is over, it's time to

. secretary of state john kerry met with world leaders in paris. he rallied for more support of u.s. military action in syria. kerry says the number of countries in favour of the

strikes is growing. meanwhile president obama will try to make his case again to the american public and is set to address the people on tuesday night. >> are you ready for some football? today marks the first sunday of the nfl season. 26 teams going head to head with new safety measures in place that follows the $765 million settlement by the league over concussion law suits with former players. >> there is another twist to the race for new york city's mayor. current mayor michael bloomberg accuses candidate bill de blasio of running a campaign blazed on war fare and face. bill de blasio is married to a black woman and many ads features his biracial family. it is said that he is using his family to gain support. bill de blasio and his daughter responded during a campaign stop on saturday. >> 20 years ago my dad did not know he was running for mayor and did not seek to marry a

black woman to put her on display. >> bill de blasio is leading in the polls, the prime ris are set to take place this tuesday. >> it is called the toughest team event in the world. nearly 500 athletes showed up for the annual dolomite race in the mountains. teams faced steep paths but had perfect wetherill day. competition includes running, paragliding and cycling. nfl week one is under way with big match ups. they are not all we have to look forward to. the nfl is enacting a tough policy this season. mike is standing by. tell us about the security measures people are going to be facing? >> i'll be glad to. here in east rutherford, new

jersey, the jets and buccaneers will kick off. all the fans will be affected by the security and bag check policy. this will do two things - make stadiums safer and ex-peediate the fans entering the stadium and get in faster. no bag larger than the size of your hand, unless they are transparent will be allowed into the stadium. we show you some jets' fans streaming in. many are already aware of the new policy, with the exception of medical devices - no bags, larger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches will be allowed inside any stadium. the league policy prohints coolers, brief -- prohibits coolers, briefcases, bags - we spoke to them to get thoughts on the policy. >> it's good.

it saves time. you can see everything is nice and clear. it prevents anybody from bringing anything else in. that's all it's about - having a good time and rooting on the jets and having safety. >> i'm disappointed i can't bring in my seat cushion. they are not the most comfortable seats for those of us who don't have the club level or luxury luxury seats. >> you saw fans enter with the jets' bags. not all fans have them. the nfl encouraging fans to bring a freezer bag from home to put their belongings in. >> the jets face tampa bay - a little more than an hour from now. what is the mood like there? >> well, the understood is festive. jets' fans are hopeful, and

always disappointed. several story lines. the jets outstanding cornerer back darrelle revis was transferred. he's back to face his former team. that's story line number two, number two - the never ending quarter back controversy with the jets. mark sanchez injured, and the rookie will make a debut against the buccaneers. jets officials and the coaching staff say despite geno smith being a rookie, that the quarter back competition is still ongoing. it will be interesting to see what happens with geno smith as he makes his nfl debut against the buck's. >> there's a possibility. namath suiting up. break down the other big games around the league. >> well, there are several other match ups around the league. buffalo, the bills, high on the

rooke quarter back ej manual making a debut against the patriots. tom brady spent the pre-season trying to find offensive weapons, no hernandez and others. they are looking for play makers. they designed danny amandoa. that game is worth watching. an emotional afternoon in new orleans, shaun peyton returning to the nfl after a one year suspension for bounty-gate. it's a big game. erin rogers of the green bay packers taking on the san francisco 49ers, falling short of going all the way. losing to the ravens in the super bowl. the giants travelling to face the cowboys. the giants winning all four of the games played between the two teams in that stadium.

jerry jones is not happy, the franchise is not happy. that's the big night. we'll see if the giants can make it 5 in a row. >> mark morgan joining us live from the jets game. buy a hot dog for me. tiny machines, small enough to fit in a water bubble, and parts small enough - sounds like science fiction. it's not. the science of little things becomes a big business. we put nanotechnology under the microscope. >> these scientists may look ready to walk on the moon. they are exploring another front ear at the atomic level. the university of albany's college of nanoscale science and engineering is at the forefront of nanotechnology research and development - a science not just about exploring nature, but challenging it. >> once you make matter small enough, it changes properties. we have just begun to explore

what we can do with particles that are so small that now properties appear. >> here the world's top semiconductor makers are going small to develop faster and more energy-efficient computers. a you -- you neek thing about the facility is you have companies working side by side with competitors. not only are they sharing equipment, but they are also sharing ideas. >> the practical uses of nanotechnology are endless. students are studying pharmaceutical applications, from treating glaucoma to preventing tooth decay. smaller solar panels are in the works here. >> you can imagine these on the roof of your car as they become smaller and smaller, they are flexible, lighter. but the performance is good or better than what you get from the old-fashioned big glass

panels. >> design firm eyp is one of the college's 300 corporate partners. they are incorporating nanotechnology into their buildings. >> if we don't know what will be on the market in three years, we might not be designing the building to accommodate that. so for us to be here, we understand what might be coming two, three, four years from now, and we can begin to anticipate those things as we design those buildings. >> new york state officials referred to the center as a model for economic development, a vote as it pushes the boundaries of the world's tiniest technology. >> and something to think about when you think cool. there is word of a rather cool rescue mission coming out of alas ka. the pictures show how cool, cool can be and that picture says it all. on wednesday you see a team of

geologists went and got stranded on an alaskan vol cano when the helicopter blades iced over. they spent two night sitting, waiting for help. all three are doing fine. let's just say it was a chilly experience and it left them bone cold. thanks for watching al jazeera. there's more at the top of the hour. but first we want to remind you that the secretary of state is overseas right now trying to generate support for the coalition of willing in the syrian situation. secretary kerry saying he has more countries on board. the number of countries agreeing to strong international response now said to be in the double digits. that list has not been made public. the white house will go public with a series of one on one interviews. the president will address the nation tuesday night. and we, like everyone else, will bring you that address live on al jazeera.