♪ >> welcome to al jazeera, i'm del walters in new york. here are your headlines. key administration leaders go to the house with diplomacy on their minds. france meanwhile says it will bring a resolution to the security council. the best colleges and universities in the country. we'll tell you who is topping the list. the push for a strike against syria now seems to be on hold as

the white house is talking diplomacy, but the military option is still on the table. john kerry and chuck hagel are back on capitol hill to authorize congress for the use of force, but they say a new russian proposal to hand over syria's chemical weapons will be explored. randall is it safe to say with regards to syria, the situation is now fluid? >> dale, it is definitely safe to say it is fluid. as matter of fact you can say it is also changing by the minute, and president obama's critics are saying it is confusing. but the administration is trying to stay on message. kerry, hagel, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff have been testifying before the house on services committee,

continuing to ask for congressional approval for a resolution authorizing the use of force against syria. >> president obama's first priority out there this process has been and is diplomacy. diplomacy is our first resort, and we have brought this issue to the united nations security council on many occasions. with have sent direct messages to syria, and have had syrias allies bring them direct messages. don't do this. don't use these weapons, all to date to no avail. >> reporter: and you hear secretary kerry expressing the skepticism about the intentions of russia and syria, or whether this is just a plea for time, but the president still faces

another challenge, and that is getting votes from the senate and house to authorize use of force, and this morning the senate minority leading, mitch mcconnell of kentucky, announced that he has never been in favor of the participate's foreign policy, and announced that he will not be voting to authorize force, several other senator have also moved into the no column. so the president prepares to address the nation tonight. dell? >> the president is going to address the nation at 9:00 this evening, are we still expecting a push for military strike or more diplomacy or what? >> i think that the president will continue to make the case of the fact of the use of chemical weapons, so i think he will continue to make the case while saying the window of

opportunity is open for a diplomatic solution. but there won't be a vote before next week at the earliest, so there's still some time for the administration to get the votes that he wants, and at the end of the day, it is still his decision as commander in chief. we know he can go ahead if they say no. >> randall take you very much. france is saying it will introduce a resolution requiring syria to hand over its chemical weapons to the international community. >> transator: it's on the acceptance of these precise conditions that we will judge the credibility of the intentioned expressed yesterday. the syrian people have suffered

too much. >> this as the syrian national council has responded to russia's proposal during a news conference in turkey. what did they say today? >> reporter: well as you can imagine, dell, the syrian oppositionco sligs not happy at all with the russian proposal. they are very spectacle. and they have reiterated very strong-worded statement that they issued today. they base said that quote crimes against humanity cannot be resolved through political concessions. they maintain that essentially this proposal does not address the key issue of accountability, that nobody is being punished for the use of chemical weapons, and take away the weapons is not

a punishment. they say the violation to basic human rights must be responded to do in in a proportional way. >> who responded to this news conference and did they present use of more chemical weapons >> the opposition introduced a chief forensic doctor from an embattled city. his defection or escape from syria has been talked about for several days now. and he addressed journalists about a specific talk earlier in march, which he said chemical weapons were used, not the same attack in damascus which trigger ed all of this talk, but another attack earlier this year.

he said in that attack, 14 people were killed, and that examining them had proven that chemical weapons were used or something similar to sarin according to him. but what he failed to provide was any conclusive evidence that this attack came from the syrian government side. because the syrian government had been saying the attack was carried out by rebels. he failed to connect it to the soldiers of the syrian government. >> thank you very much. as tensions rise over syria, israel has deployed missiles to its border and gas masks to its people. and jonathan betz found many israelis are worried and hoping for a diplomatic solution. >> i'm afraid of war.

because i understand now -- i understand better what war is. >> reporter: she and others here have seen the horrors of battle firsthand. he was held for three years in a damascus prison in the early '80s. >> even if it sounds crazy, sometimes you miss the interrogation, just someone to talk to, andthe sol -- solitude is unthinkable. there is something i don't like is conflict. >> reporter: after weeks of concern and fear among some israelis, there's the news today which is front page news in israel, and that's talks of a diplomatic solution. >> if it possible to remove the

chemical whe fronts syria, a that is what should be done. >> reporter: the government assured people to continue with their travel plans. >> i think it's very good, because first of all, we don't need war here. war is not good. >> reporter: many argue an attack on assad is critical, but some israelis worry about the perception that it appears they are the ones that are medaling. >> we don't want to be perceived as those who are trying to direct the united states into another war in the middle east. >> words, that's all. i think that if you want to shoot, shoot. >> reporter: that is he says if shooting is still necessary. >> at this hour, secretary john

kerry, chuck hagel, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff are still on capitol hill. they are testifying as the administration continues to push for action against syria. and al jazeera will carry the president's address to the nation tonight at 9:00 pm eastern time. following his speech, al jazeera will have a live townhall meeting from washington, d.c. still to come, toyota issuing a recall if you want a rav iv or lexus, you might want to get out a pen and pencil, and we'll tell you about apple's plan to a take down samsung in the far east.

♪ u.s. news and world report has released his annual list of best colleges, and the ivy league schools are once again at the top of the list. the top public school is the university of california at berkeley. this year the magazine revised its methods to emphasize graduation rates, and with those changes in mind, penn state made the biggest year to year gains. apple was expected to unveil two new versions of the iphone 5. the decision to release an more economic phone is an attempt to infiltrate the chinese market.

>> reporter: welcome to the global smartphone gold mine. china, 500 million people have smartphones. it over took the u.s. as the largest market in the world. but not many chinese own ipho s iphones. apple is behind some sung. and for those two closely watch the industry, it's not surprising as apple still has limited access on china's networks. >> the combination between am and the local carriers were not that special. apple from our, you know, people, looks a little bit arrogant, and chinese markets used to be ignored in their

whole global perspective. >> reporter: the iphone itself is hundreds of dollars more expensive than its competitors. the growing success of the local store is beating am at its own game right here in china. just last week it held a huge product unveiling, and introduced an executive that scooped up from google last month. >> translator: it creates tribe culture among its fans. it makes its users belief their phone is cheap, but it still has a relatively high profit margin. >> reporter: apple still has work ahead to beat its competition. >> translator: samsung has the biggest screen, and i prefer the android system which is more open. >> sit still very expensive,

almost $500, i can't afford it. >> reporter: it might be time for a bit of ren -- reinvention for am. -- apple. rising mortgage rates are costing jobs at another big bank. banc of america confirming it is laying off 2100 employees and closing 16 of its branches because of falling demand. 30-year fixed rate loans are up more than a percentage point since early may and that has lead to a sharp reduction in refinancing. banc of america itself is being let go in a shake up of the dow jones. replacing them, visa, nike, and

goldman sachs. this is the first major change to the index since 2004. th changes will become effecttive on september 23rdrd. toyota is recalling some 800,000 of its vehicles to fix a suspension problem. national highway traffic safety administration says at least nine crashes and three injuries have been reported. this is the second time that toyota has recalled the vehicles for the very same problem. we're learning now more about the stark differences between store-bought and fresh-made baby food. there is a report out that finds companies are promoting store-bought baby food for infants as young as four months.

the store-bought stuff contains loads of sugar, and they recommending breast or formula feeding until at least six months. women are urged to wait until they are 50 to be screen for breast cancer, but they may be waiting too long. researchers say that raises questions about the current guidelines for getting mammograms. the organization that makes the gideline says that the risk of screening outweighs the risk of getting cancer. four men convicted of a brutal gang rape in india, will find out if they will pay for that crime with their lives. the family of the victim has demanded death for all of them, and much of the public seems to

aggress. the rape victim died last december, the case sparking national debate about the treatment of women in india. there's a troubling new study from the united nations that finds that sexual assaults is rampant across asia. nearly one out of four men admitting raping a woman or girl. men surveyed reported a sense of sexual entitlement as the reason for rape. . in the philippines a standoff has turned a coastal community into a war zone. government officials say a faction of the group attacked several villages in the south. they say they have also taken hundreds of hostages and some are being used as human shields. today the group has been reported to have set homes on fire using snipers to prevent the military from coming in to

help, and attempting to derail peace talks between the government and the rebels. an ohio man who confessed to killing a man has now been charged with a crime. >> on june 22nd, 2013, i hit and killed [ inaudible ]. >> he'll be arraigned in court on charges including aggravated vehicular homicide. the video had more than 1 million hits. he says his lawyer advised him about posting the confession. if convicted he faces 8.5 years in prison. still to come using robotic technology to help the disabled and the challenge of making it affordable. plus we'll tell you how this machine is teaching scientists

how hurricnes develop and grow. we have tropical storms developing in the atlanta, i'll have the latest coming up.

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welcome back to al jazeera, watch the situation on capitol - hill. we are also watching the situation at the united nations where france says it is going to introduce a resolution before the un security council. france's foreign minister who you saw moments ago says there could be very serious consequences if syria violated the resolution. as i pointed out, john kerry says he is waiting for a concrete plan from rush sma, regarding syria's use of chemical weapons, but he said the option of a strike must remain on the table. mitch mcconnell says he will vote against the resolution authorizing any strike against syia. princeton, harvard and yale taking top honors on the list of best colleges and universities. one of america's closest

mideast allies, turkey is stepping up its military presence along the border with syria. >> reporter: turkey is the only natomember that shares a border with syria. that border stretches for more than 900 kilometers. since the start of the war in syria, two and a half years ago, the turkish military has increased its presence along the border, but after the suspected chemical attack last month and talk of possible militay intervention lead by the united states, the government is preparing to engage. it's now sending more reinforcements to the borders, and relocating its f-16 fighter jets to bases closer to syria. but some analysts say turkey remains vulnerable. >> translator: turkish forces are very strong on line.

taking precaution measure against chemical weapons is never enough. it is very costly and not easily applicable. the military is ready for it, but chemical attacks are used against civilians. we all know there is not enough gas masks or protective gear. >> reporter: the agency has sent several gas detectors to its frontier, and sent inspectors to check for traces of toxins. turkey says it is ready for all scenarios. even if such weapons only used just across the border in syria, th gas could drift toward turkey.% syria says it will retaliate that could hurt turkey dearly.

the destructive power of hurricanes is well noun, but how fast they grow is still a mystery. there is a device that mimics a category 3 hurricane. it gives researchers inform about storms. the next step will involve building a tank six times as wide. ♪ and we are tracking two storms that are brewing in the tropics and flooding in the southwest. here is dave warren. >> we have two storms we're watching. ne could actually intensify to a hurricane. this is abagree -- gabrielle, and we have tropical storm

humberto, but that should stay over the atlantic. it's gabrielle that is our concern. it should turn east away from the coast of the united states. now today is the day where the peak of the hurricane season -- peaks actually. today is the day where we have best potential to see the most storms. peak of the temperatures there in the midwest climbing to near 100 degrees again in chicago. the rain falling apart, the temperatures will continue to climb up to 91 tomorrow, shower% and storms in new york before cooler temperatures come in this weekend. dell? people in the united states are living longer than ever beore. mark snyder reports that robots

could be part of the solution to care for older people. >> our goal is to get these robots out of the laboratory and into homes. >> reporter: homes of folks who have lost some of their independence. scientists at utari spend their days trying to get this robot to become among other things a better kitchen companion. take a simple mundane task like folding laundry. something impossible if you can't use your arms. this is one of the tasks they are programming the personal robot to do. he uses video-game controls and a 3-d map of the room to keep the robot on task.

>> we can avoid collisions, recognize objects and navigate the room. >> reporter: once the robot can do all of the things they say it can do, who can affordable? remember, $400,000. >> we can solve all of the world's problems, but if nobody can afford it we just wasted all of our time. so we focus on those things that can be produced a -- and afforded in the home. if you are looking for rosy the robot like on the jetssons, that's not going to happen soon, but eventually.

as always there is more news at the top of the hour. we will see you ten.