... welcome. these are the stories we are following at this hour. >> these are real human beings, real children, parents, being affected in ways that are unacceptable to anybody anywhere by any standards. >> secretary of state john kerry backs the posting of this gas attack video as he announces more international support for u.s. efforts in syria. praying for peace, the pope calling on people of all religions to cry out against war there. and the international olympic committee reversing itself on one of the oldest sports in history.

>> overseas and here at home, the white house is now building its case for international action against syria. in paris, secretary of state john kerry is trying to convince a skept tall community. he says momentum is building. meanwhile in washington, congress is going back to work tomorrow and president obama goes on a media blitz after a series of high-profile interviews, he will address the nation in prime time on tuesday night. the white house pushing for more support in his plan to strike syria. we are following this story with live team coverage. paul beban is in washington. and washington developments over -- watching details overseas we have phil london. overseas secretary of state john kerry is currently in paris trying to build an international coalition there.

how many countries support strikes against syria? >> reporter: secretary of state kerry said that there were 12 countries that were now prepared to take military action against syria. he said they would make their own statements within the next 24 hours or so. he met today in paris with members of dit taries from the arab league and they hashed out a statement in which they condemned the assad regime, called for some sort of action. secretary of state kerry saying there is no intention to wade into that civil war on one side or the other. it would simply be an action condemning and punishing the assad regime for its use of those banned weapons. so on saturday, he got the eu to sign on to something. today, he got the arab league to sign on to something.

it has been a whirlwind tour for secretary of state kerry but he is gaining some sort of consensus for this side of the atlantic for some sort of action. >> the secretary is in britain. what does he hope to achieve since the british parliament has vetoed any military action that would be taken against the assad regime? >> reporter: well, the house of commons did vote down contributing any military assets, but the government of david ram ron remains quite hawkish and supportive of some sort of military strike in syria. they may contribute other things on the periphery, perhaps humanitarian aid medicine to help anybody who does suffer chemical attack. it's also interesting to note that they do have assets in the eastern mediterranean, the brits do and the ministry of defense today admitted or announced really that they had scrambled

jets previously last week when some aircraft started to come out of syria into sipriate air spors -- cyprius air space. they had assets in the area but they will not contribute any offensive weaponry to a possible strike in syria. >> phil ittner. thank you very much. syrian president bashar al-assad tells cbs news he was not behind any chemical weapons attack in syria. it is his first interview with an american television network in two years. assad suggesting the rebels had used those weapons and there would be retamation for any international attacks on syria. paul beban, the white house chief of staff making the rounds, pressing the administration's case. what is the white house saying today? >> reporter: well, that's right. the white house chief of staff,

dennis m cd unna, really the tip of the spear of an all-out administration making reference to the videos we have been seeing, 13 videos released by the senate intelligence committee that the administration says were verified by the united states intelligence community. again, it's part of the white house push to sway congress and public opinion. >> i have been talking to dozens of members of congress over the last week. not a single one so far has rebutted or refused the intelligence, which is to say everybody agrees that on august 21st, assad used chemical weapons against his own people. the question for congress this week is a simple one: should there be consequences for his having used gasses, chemical weapons to kill more than a thousand of his own people, including more than 400 children? >> so, again, their white house chief of staff, dennis mcdonea sounding a familiar note that

there needed to be consequences for this chemical attack, but it's clear that lawmakers on both sides, not all of them, are convinced. >> i think ta military attack i a mistake. >> why? >> for two reasons. one because i think the administration is proceeding with the wrong objective and, two, because they have no viable plan for success. they are beginning from the wrong objective because this attack is not based on defending u.s. national security. it is not based on defending americans or our allies. rather, it is explicitly framed by president obama, by secretary kerry as a defense of what they call international norms. >> republican senator ted cruz there a member of the senate armed services committee, very vocal in his criticism of the administration, and his criticism really reflecting the entire republican line here. the washington post doing some

vote counting today in the house and the senate. let's start with the senate. the washington post counts 27 members. they vote against military action. 50 in the undecided column. so half of the senate there, 23 saying they will support military action. in the house, the numbers looking even less favorable for the white house. 226 saying they would vote against, 182 undecided, just 25 saying they support any further action in the syria. so clearly, del, the white house and the administration have a lot of work to do. they are going to be trying their very best tonight. vice president biden having five republican senators over for dinner. tomorrow when congress comes over, susan here in washington and the president as we have been hearing going to be interviewed on all of the major news broadcasts tomorrow evening, ahead of tuesday night's address to the nation from the white house.

del? >> paul beban joining us. syria by the numbers. for more on syria's war, al jazeera sat down with former congressman ron paul. here is a sneak peek 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, to go abroad to help people who are in crisis and being killed by their own government? >> yes. if any country, including syria, if they attack the united states, you know, under attack, you know, threatened us and came and bombed us or sent a drone missile over here or something, that might, you know, qualify as a requirement to retaliate. but, under today's 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 certainly i want signature resides under the constitution that we should be the policemen of the world, that we should be involved in these internal fights and picking and choosing

in these civil wars going on. it makes no moral sense. it makes no constitutional sense. >> to see the complete interview, we invite you to tune in to talk to al jazeera tonight. if begins at 10:30 p.m. eastern time. meanwhile, pope francis is asking the world to pray for peace in the middle east. this is what he said today during his weekly address. >> 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 people to fight for no -- but rather for peace and the common good. the pope holding a four-hour village ill for peace. the vatican saying around 100,000 people were in attendance. as always, get the latest on the situation in syria by going to our website, aljazeera.com.

one of the world's oldest forts is set to return -- sports is set to return to the olympics. >> 49 votes, wrestling has been elected. >> after a seven-month hiatus, wrestling was voted back into the summer olympics program. baseball, softball and squash. the sport was unexpectedly cut in february, which led to international wrestling governing body asking to make changes to the sport just so that it might be a little easier to understand in the olympics. still to come, abandoned buildings get a makeover. one artist finding a way to make vacant homes look pretty good. and we have hot and stormy weather in parts of the country, a look at the radar. see where flash flood watches are in effect. that's coming up on the national forecast. 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. 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.

,to al jazeera. i am del walters. in lebanon, syria's next door neighborhood, it has been 25 years since that country ended its bloody drawn-out civil war. today, muslims and christians co exist but the capitol, beirut deeply divided along sectarian lines. in recent months, clark have become more frequent as the conflict in syria spills over. al jazeerats robert ray reports >> reporter: on the surface, beirut seems to be booming. it's a city where construction cranes dot the deposition skyline. people relax on the mediterranean sea and every direction has ruins alongside churches and mosques. it looks like a paradise. but it's a city on edge. sectarian tensions are

simmering. suspicion and fear is in the area. the conflict in syria is only making things worse. >> it's schizophrenic. we have many will lebanons insi lebanon. every community thinks of itself as a nation. those nations fighting each other >> reporter: across the capitol, various neighborhoods have sharp divisions. flags and signs show who is in control and who is not welcome. lebanon's 15 year civil war ended in 1990 and syria was left in charge. but, syria withdrew its military occupation in 2005. and since then, lebanon sectarian lines have become much clearer >> reporter: during the long civil war for lebanon that ended in 1990, this was the frontline of battle. the muslims on the west side, the christians on the east, both fighting for control of the country. >> since then, downtown beirut went through a sort of rebirth but many of the country's other

deeply reported problems have gone unresolved. today, dozens of rival complicparties compete with one another. each has itsina gentry a. at any moment, tensions can return to the surface and violence can erupt. >> in the country, everybody is waiting to get rid of the other. >> in receipt months, car bombings have been on the rise, along with kidnappings and street battles. that leaves some here blaming the violence on sectarian spillover from the war in syria. >> the people are divided >> reporter: jahad has beeni has been a taxi rider for 20 years. he believes the war in syria and any u.s. strike will deepen the conflict turning the entire region a battlefield with years of war ahead. >> the shiia and the sunni. this conflict is spilling over into lebanon >> reporter: differences in hostilities that began decades ago are simply old habits that

seem nearly impossible to break. >> this era, i think, is the return of the civil war in lebanon, but not between christians and muslims. it will be between sunni and shiia. >> beirut is the home to many cultures and different beliefs. the people in this city of contradictions live with the anxiety and uncertainty of a potential american-led strike on syria. they are well aware lebanon has never been immune full-time from the from the fighting next door, the city once known as the paris of the middle east is bracing itself for what might come next. robert ray, al jazeera beirut. >> pakistan, president is stepping down today completing his five-year term in. his sussexor, hussein will be sworn in on monday. he is the firstdrancally elected president in pakistan to finish an entire term. he rose to power after the assassination of his wife, milep prime minister benizir bhutto.

heavy heat and storms running through the midwest. dave warren is here with our national forecast. >> we are watching storms across the midwest and the northern plains but here in the northeast, it looks pretty quiet as far as the radar goes. this is the cooler tears we are seeing the only part of the country. sooner air. look for temperatures to drop down to about 40. it will stay above freeze, but you can get frost forming on surfaces with the frost advisory in effect for tomorrow morning. temperatures could easily drop down into the mid to low 40s or upper 30s. not quite to the freezing mark but cold enough for frost to form on surfaces here in new york and up through new england. >> the temperatures will be cooler on monday but then a big warm-up, quick warm-up, rebound into the 80s closer to 90, tuesday, wednesday, so the heat returns. there was a problem in utah,

moving up from the south, rain went up from the same area. went over an area burned by a fire last year. so, it caused some flash flooding south of salt lake city. as the rain moves up to the upper midwest, we are seeing showers and storms in north and south dakota. below that is hot weather, heat and humidity to make that heat index over 100 degrees in the midwest and the southern plains. there are those strong storms moving through north and south dakota. we have flash flood washes and we will continue to wash this e aethroughout the rest of the afternoon and evening because of flooding problems there, rain in a short time could lead to a flash flooding. del? >> dave warren, thank you. iowa is granting gun permits to people who are legally or completely blind. the state law says it cannot deny someone the right to carry a weapon based upon any physical abilities. advocates saying for benefbiddia time blind from having a gun say

it would violate the americans with disabilities idea. a 107-year-old man has been killed in a stand-off with police in the time of pine bluff said the man had a gun and refused mes by officers to stand do down. after several hours of negotiations, police fired back. the team was september to the house for a domestic disturbance call. the man was 107. more coming up, including the n.f.l. kicking off in full gear today. stay with us. why some critics say the school is setting the kids up for failure.

(vo) every sunday night

secretary of state john kerry meeting with world leaders in paris. he rallies for more support of military action in syria. kerry says the number of countries in favor of those strikes is growing. meanwhile, president obama is going to try to make his case again to the american people. mr. obama set to address the public on tuesday. as home foreclosure rates continue to decline, thousands of homes are empty. vacant houses and lots can attract gangs, drugs and criminal activity. there is a program in chicago that aims to transform the

run-down properties into works of art. ashar quershi explains. >> with the stroke of a brush, elbow grease and an artistic eye, this burnt out home is getting a makeover. >> yeah. that's no problem. we are going to be doing the front, too. >> 18 years ago, chris topfor dreamed up an artistic alternative to dem olish sound structures >> buildings are being torn down because they looked unsafe and were unsafe. people were breaking in. i thought why not make the buildings look better and find a better way to secure them. >> toepfer's organization focuses on revitalizing community spirit by providing basic maintenance and using decoratively painted panels to improve the appearance of empty homes like this one. they very from faux window

passengers to bright art installations. >> hopefully it will encourage people to want to see that house in a different light and hopefully be able to save the home and be able to purchase it and rehab it with the various incentives that we have to offer. >> it's relatively cheap, too. the cost of injecting a little color into a place like this is about five or $600. a demolition could cost more than 10 times that. something to think about, consid considering that there are currently an stepped 18,000 vacant or abandoned homes and buildings in the city of chicago. some have been fast tracked for demolition because they fit on so-called safe passage routes used to shuttle chicago public school students to and from schools safely. not everyone thinks demolition is the best option. >> you can go through these blocks and all you see is xs on these vacant homes. whatever they reason for tearing them down instead of fixing them

up, i don't know. but i hope something change sometime soon. >> reporter: it's that hope and change that convinced 24-year-old asisia drake to volume you know tear. a college graduate with a minor in art. she designed the street mo tiff. the shapes and colors are incorporated into the plywood at the front of the house. >> abandoned building is a perfect place to bring color to because it's like the opposite. but you wouldn't think that you would have designs and color on something that's just so dismal. >> toepfer says of the 750 buildings he has worked on around the country, 90% have been saved from demolition. it may seem a little bit like putting lipstick on a pig, but it appears to work. usher quereshi, al jazeera chicago. >> something to think about. tink machines small enough to put into a water bubble sounds like science fiction. it's not. the science of little things has become big business. al jazeera christian saloomey

puts nanotechnology under the microscope. >> these scientists may look ready to walk on the moon. but they are exploring another frontier at the atomic level. the university of albany's college of nano scale science and engineering is at the forefront of nanotechnology research and development, a science that's not just about exploring nature, but, also, changing it. >> once you make matter small enough, it changes properties. and we have just begun to explore what we can do with particles that are so small that all of the sudden new properties appear. >> here, the world's top semiconductor makers are going small to develop faster and more energy efficient computers. >> one of the unique things about this facility is that you have leading companies in the computer chip industry, fierce competitors in the global marketplace, working side-by-side. not only are they sharing equipment, but they are also sharing ideas. >> the practical uses of

nanotechnology are endless. students at the college are studying pharmaceutical applications, from treating glaucoma to preventing tooth dec decay. other more efficient solar panels are in the works here. >> you can imagine these on the roof of your car. >> yeah. >> these things become smaller and smaller, they become more flexible. they become lighter. >> uh-huh. >> but the performance is as good or better than what you get from the old-fashioned big glass panels. >> design firm eyp is one of the college's more than 300 corporate partners. they are already incorporating nanotechnology into their buildings. >> if we don't know what's going to 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 our

buildi buildings. >> reporter: new york state officials have referred to the center as a model for economic development. a big boast as it pushes the boundaries of the world's technology. chris saloomey, al jazeera, new yo york. >> the toughest teach event in the world. 5, 4, 3. nearly 500 athletes showing up for the dolamitan race. the team is facing steep paths but they had picture-perfect weather. running, para gliding, kayaking and cycling. the first nfl sunday has started. several big games are going on as we speak. the patri-i don't think so have taken the field against buffalo. atlanta and new orleans are going head to head in a match-up. saints coach john peyton back

after being sus spented for bounty-gate scandal. on the new n.f.l. security measures gleating fans. >> the n.f.l. is implementing a new bag check system. they say it will help stadiums get into stands quicker. all bags larger than the size of your hand, unless they are transparent, will not be allowed inside. now, with the exception of medical devices, no bags large en 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches will be allowed inside. the policy prohibits coolers, briefcases, backpacks, fanny packs, computer bags and camera bags. we spoke to several fans entering met life stadium today to get their thoughts on the new policy. >> i think it's good. it saves time. you know, you can see everything is nice and clear, you know, it prevents anybody from bringing anything else in and that's all it's about. having a good time and rooting on the jets and having safety.

>> i am a little disappointed i can't bring my seat cushion in. they are not the most comfortable for us who don't have those club level or the luxury boxes. so that's a little disappointing. >> the n.f.l. is encouraging fans if they need to, they can bring one galvin plastic freezer bags from home to place their belongings in. a team of geologist did safe and sound today thanks to a rescue mission out of alaska. on wednesday, they got stranded on an alaskan voluca volcan-0 w their helicopter's blades iced over. they spent two nights just waiting for help. all three now safe and sound. thanks for watching al jazeera. we have much more news coming up at the top of the hour. but first, china, controversiam one-child policy is under review. 101 east on natural election in china is next. and a reminder that we continue to watch the event did unfolding overseas. you can keep track of all of the developments 24 hours a day on aljazeera.com where the news

never stops. i am del walters in new york. we will see you at the top of the hour. china's one child policy has quoted controversy, from accusations of the state confiscating children, to forced abortions. today it is being blamed for a declining fertility rate and a major gender imbalance, with more than 30 million men, to women by 2020. i'm steve chow on this edition of 101 east, we ask if the days of china's one child polices is coming to an e