>> welcome to come al jazeera. i'm del walters in new york. these are your headlines at this hour. back on the hill facing a full court press in the white house congress ready to go on a strike against syria. the syrian president saying any attack by the u.s. would only help al-qaeda. and a surprising discovery of a master work of art hid no one a norwegian attic, and yes, there may be a you o utopia. where to find the happiest people in the world.

>> getting back to work today after a month long break at the top of their agenda, syria. president obama wrapping up his push for a strike both on capitol hill and the american people. president bashar al-assad said if the u.s. strikes syria, he would only be helping the terrorist. assad denying that his regime-- >> how can you talk about what happen when you don't have proof. we are the government. this war is against the interests of the united states. why? this is the war that will support al-qaeda and the same people that killed americans.

>> we are latest developments on syria. mike viqueira is at the white house following the preys, but first which go to paul. what do you hear on syria. >> congress coming back in session after their five-week summer recess, and this is the first time that many of those in congress will have a chance to go on record with their remarks on syria. we expect senator reid's office has confirmed that the resolution will be brought to the floor today, and we will hear speeches on syria all with the goal of a vote by the end of the week. >> now paul, the first vote could actually be wednesday in the senate. is that now on track to take place? >> there is procedural maneuve maneuvering going on to speed things up or to delay. senator reid's office has confirmed that he wants a vote by the end of the week. we could see it as early as

wednesday. >> thank you so much. we're looking at a huge push from the white house today and tomorrow. they're trying to win over those members of congress and the american people still sitting on the fence. president obama has granted six network tv interviews today, and tomorrow he goes to the hill where he will also deliver a speech in primetime later that evening. our white house correspondent mike viqueira is at the white house right now, and mike, the numbers aren't there for the white house. is there a sense that the white house work is going to pay off? >> the white house is going to stay optimistic. we've seen the unofficial vote counts from media organizations. you never know. they're back in session. they're milling on the floor of the house. they're trying to get a feel of where they are will be politically and in terms of other members of their respective caucuses. having said that, it does not

look loalook good for the presi, they will try to turn some of those votes and move some of those votes on capitol hill as we look at those series, a very vital procedural vote is expected. the president traveling up massachusetts avenue where joe biden was entertaining republican senators and lobbying behind the scenes. the president is doing no less than six interviews all of them taped for broadcast later today and into the evening. then tomorrow the president makes the trip up to capitol hill. he'll be behind closed doors with senate democrats. he'll have to count on democrats to put him over the finish line. there is not a lot of public support from republicans even though the top two republicans in the house are behind him. and then in prime like taking

his case directly to the american people. there will be speeches by a number of people. we've heard john kerry overseas, susan rice, the national security adviser here at the white house has a speech later this afternoon. she'll be meetin meeting with ky voting block with the congressional black caucus. and right now they're playing catch up. >> what if, and that is the question arising at this hour. what if the white house fails to get authorization from congress, will they go it alone? >> that's a speculative question, but i'll indulge you, there is historical precedence here. a lot of this depends on the procedure in the senate. will it be filibustered? will it get the required 60 votes? right now it looks like it will require 60 votes. will they have the votes then? if the senate passes it, and it does not pass in the house then when does the president do? there is precedence there as

well in 1998. the senate authorized strikes n.a.t.o. campaign over the skies of kosovo. the house failed and the bombing went ahead any way. the president has a lot on the line in terms of foreign policies, credibility. >> and there are developments taking place overseas. today russia saying it will now urge syria to put chemical weapons under additional control if that will avert military strikes. this comes after a meeting today between meetings. al jazeera'al jazeera is in-don. what else came out of this meeting? >> a number of things came out of that meeting, del. not least of which that russia would urge syria to put its chemical arsenal in the hands of the international community. in addition to that we heard

from the russians that they still doubt the evidence that the white house is putting forward, that the assad regime was behind the chemical weapons attack. furthermore saying there is plenty of evidence that shows that it was the rebels who were behind it on the syrian side of the equation, the syrian foreign minister arrived in moscow with a message from vladimir putin to bashar al-assad thanking the crimkremlin for its support durg the recent g20 summit. >> are there reports that the efforts of john kerry is falling on deaf ears? >> certainly the public opinion is not being swayed by secretary of state kerry's visit. the hawkish government david cameron here in london does

still support president obama's plan to strike at syria, even though they lost the vote in the house of commons. and secretary of state kerry here in london also taking the opportunity to apparently respond to comments made by bashar al-assad during that interview with charlie rose. the secretary of state saying basically given the assad regime's track record that the globe should not take him at his word. >> this is a man who just killed through his regime over a thousand of his own citizens. over 100,000 or about 100,000 have been murdered over the course of the last months. he sends scud missiles into schools. he sends missiles to napalm children. everyone has seen that.

this is a man without credibility. i will happily stand anywhere in the world with the evidence that we have against his words and his deception and his acts. >> del, this is secretary of state kerry's last stop on his whirlwind tour of europe to try to drum up support for a white house-led strike on syria. now he returns to d.c. with a strongly worded statement from all the 28 members of the e.u. in calling for some sort of international response. he returns to d.c. with not as strong support but some support from the arab league, whom he met in paris, but he does not return to d.c. del, with any kind of swaying of the court of public opinion. europeans still very skeptical of an u.s.-led strike. >> phil joining us line from london. thank you very much. as you heard secretary kerry not

mincing his words, the good guys and bad guys, words he used to dried the opposition group into those two camps. we have more. >> these are the men that the obama administration doesn't want to see in power, and they know it. that is why al-qaeda-linked groups in syria are maintaining a low profile. it seems they feel they could be just as much a target as the syrian regime if the u.s. decide to take military action. >> it seems that the western powers have also decided to take advantage of this unique opportunity to destroy some of the rebel groups against whom they have a certain ambivalence. they don't trust them. >> so far the u.s. has not said any of those groups will be targeted by their presence worrisome in congress who believe they might be in position to take advantage of

any u.s.-led military action. u.s. secretary of state john kerry has put syria's fractured opposition into two camps: the good guys and the bad guys. that means groups linked toal quite and the supreme military council but it's more complicated than that. >> heading the moderate opposition the obama administration argues military intervention would help put its forces in a position of forces. that may not be easy. numerous attempts to restructure brigades into a national army has filled. groups not aligned with them or al-qaeda feel skepticism and feel it's aim is to serve a western political agenda. and allies say they won't fight with who the u.s. calls the bad guys. >> any attacks by al-qaeda or other groups will be considered

as an attack against us. they came to syria to help us. it is up to us to deal with any group that comes to our country. >> some blame the international community for failing to give them the support they needed early on. >> the reality is these bad guys were allowed to take route because largely foreign countries did not move fast enough. >> clearly there are those who were "r" suspicious of the obama administration's intentions especially since the they say the objective of the military action is not to bring down the regime or tip the balance enough for the bad guys to fail. al jazeera beirut. >> nerd alert. apple is getting ready to show off its latest iphone. and we go to gentlemen men where a dagger is much more than just

a knife. victory against england, scoring his first tonne. england were bowled out for 227 in pursuit of australia score of 315/7. >> and now take a look at this young man who has more than a few expectations to live up to. this is argen tendulkar son of sachi, in his father the highest run scorer.

>> welcome back to al jazeera. i'm del walters. two people were killed and 17 injured after a tricycle of all things exploded outside of a school in china. ten students from injured in blastness and one of them now is in critical condition. witnesses say a tricycle caught fire as it passed the school and then explode setting other vehicles on fire and blowing out windows and cars and buildings. reports from the scene initially described the explosion as an accident. the police are investigating. china's inflation figures is good for the country's economy. we have reports from the shndong province. >> china just released it's latest inflation figures. so why are we talking about this at one of the largest industrial pig naturals i farms in china?

something called porkflation. it's such a concern for the government that they've created a reserve because there is a direct connection between spike in food prices and social unrest. >> the pork prices have a big influence on inflation. the higher the pork price the higher the cpi number because pork is the main many meat, and the primary choice of meat for most chinese people. >> there is a transition going on in the industry moving away from smaller family-run pig farms to big industrial complexes like this one where there are 60,000 pigs here. china's largest meat producer is in the works to buy smith field, an american company, the world's largest pork company for

$4.4 million. >> time warner said it's planning to move it's retired workers off it's health plan to private insurance exchanges. they will subsidize some of the cost. ibm is making a similar move for its pensioners. another luxury retailer is up for sale. neiman marcus reportedly close to selling for $6 billion. the potential buyers are aris management and a canadian pension plan. the sale of niemann will be the second sale in recent months. back in july saks was sold for more than $2 billion. the nerd alearning, the buzz for the release of apple's newest iphone.

it will be iphone 5s. in china they'll reveal a phone that will be lucrative for the chinese market. and they will sell to 7.5 million potential customers in that country. that is a pretty big bite for apple. visitors to yemen may be surprised to see how many residents wear curved knives. the daggers are not for fighting or even for self defense. a report on why the blades from the past are such a popular trend now. >> this may be one of the first things that attracts the attention of visitors to yemen. the curved knives in the waistbands. daggers have existed for centuries in yemen. they've outlived dynasties and despite urban indication

daggers, known as janbiya, refuse to disappear. coming from a family that has been making daggers for more than 1,000 years. he does not see it as a business but a passion passed on from one generation to the next. this isn't just a symbol of the old days when yemenis used daggers for self defense. now it is a social status. it doesn't matter the type of car or house you live in, but the type of knife you carry. show me your dagger, i'll tell you who you are. the carvings on the sheath reveal a religious or social rank the person belongs to. >> it's a symbol of manhood, it shows that you're a genuine yemen. with out a janbiya, i don't know who you are. >> it can be expensive. costing more than a million dollars. the handle is made mostly of

rhinoceros horn. a handle can go up to a $250,000 in yemen. >> the horn is special. it has miraculous healing power. it protects you from poison. >> in desperate need of cash he wants to sell his handle for $4,000. it is decorated with rare gold pieces. he feels that a part of him is being taken away but he has no option but to sell his janbiya to pay his debts. most yemenis prefer to keep their daggers in their robes, paying tribute to an ancient tradition. >> and the most sought after

dagger are made with cow and giraffe bone but most these days are made out of plastic. a find for the art world. what collectors say they found in an attic. >> we found the heat. it is building up across parts of the country. i'll tell what you to expect in your area with the national forecast coming up. millions who need assistance now. we appreciate you spending time with us tonight. up next is the golden age of hollywood going golden but elsewhere. why l.a.'s mayor has declared a state of emergency for the entertainment industry there. next.

>> congress is back on capitol hill. the white house is expected to hold briefings with members of the press, pressing for military action in syria. syrian president bashar al-assad is warning of retall nation if the u.s. attacks the country, stating that it would only help al-qaeda. a priceless work of art hidden in an attic for years ye. that is a van gogh. it's been stored away because it was once thought to be painted by somebody else, a fake. a swim that won a 64-year-old woman worldwide praise is facing criticism. diana nyad made headlines after

swimming from cuba to florida. yes, she does like that van gogh, but now members of the swimming community are debating whether she got help from the boat that was follower her, and if she violated the english channel rules by using a suit to protect her from jelly fish stings. she said she did not use a boat to help her and she never claimed she would follow the english channel rules. a goal to photograph all endangered species in the state of illinois. she's been at it for ten years and still she's not halfway through. >> i'm carol free man a nature photographer, and my quest is to photograph all 483 threatened and endangered species in illinois.

the habitat is surprised of all these flowers and hedges and grasses and you can't have one without the other. so that's why it's important to photograph them all. we had a very hard time finding good quality images of those species, and i realized i didn't have pictures of them, and the really good photographers in the area didn't have pictures of them. and i realized there was a need for somebody to go out there and document beautifully these images. >> i would like to get the" if i canthe--toget the eye if i can. i'm over 140. it has taken years to get that far. the most difficult story is the rarest dragonfly in the united states. i would go out every other week during it's flight season looking for this dragonfly. it took me three years, and i finally tracked it down and got

some photos of it. she was beautiful. she flew right in front of me, landed on some cocktails. it was really thrilling. it was so exciting to finally see it and photograph it and have it have such good shots of it. my goal is never to go out and get the picture first. it's always about my appreciation of nature, and if i get a good picture, that's a bonus. the fact that these species are so rare, i'm one of maybe a handful of people who have actually gotten to see them, and they're in my own backyard. i didn't have to travel thousands of miles. i think so many people have lost touch with that, and take it for granted. they say, o i've seen that. there is no point. but i go to the same little prairie five minutes from my house, and every day i see something that i haven't seen before. it truly amazes me.

>> well, dave is here to tell us that when she took those pictures she was lucky she wasn't in california. >> meteorologist: yes, we look at the radar and we see exactly what's happening. there is moisture in the southwest, but california is dry, not around yosemite but around san francisco this is the diablo fire. this has burned over 800 acres here and certainly not seeing the rain there. you can see from this video a very hilly terrain creating problems for the firefighters trying to fight the fire. it's very intense. but that is in california, and it is threatening homes there of over 800 acres. not getting the rain there, but too much rain across phoenix, and this plume of moisture going up the southwest and then to the

midwest. not helping the heat situation there the temperatures are climbing into the 90s again. heat advisories around minneapolis. schools close because of the heat and humidity and temperatures climbing in the mid to upper 90s. in minneapolis, 71. 84 in only haw, and the temperatures will climb in the mid 90s with strange storms. 95 setting a record in minneapolis, but after the showers move out it will get cooler and the temperatures will drop just a bit. the heat will spread to the northeast, and look at the new york temperatures climbing into the 90s by wednesday and followed by a shower and thunderstorm on friday and back to 74. one or two days where we have that 90-degree heat. >> well, europe just in case you're wondering is home to the world's happiest countries. this is a found through a report

from columbia university. denmark is the happiest. followed by another way, switzerland and the netherlands and sweden. >> we didn't make it. the least happy of the nation are located in togo, burundi and taking a look at the middle east where political unrest is rampant, egypt and syria can be found in the bottom 17%. and an european museum has uncovered that priceless painting hidden in an attic of a home for years. the vincent van gogh museum unveiled the painting. it was thought to be painted by someone else. due to techniques and a letter are reference to the painting to

van gogh's brother authenticates it.