diplomat hello and welcome to al jazeera, i'm tony harris in new york. our top stories at this hour. secretary of state john kerry is set to meet with his russian counterpart. and the american public waits for the president's speech on syria. some missouri state lawmakers take on federal gun fla laws in special session. and apple unvails the new iphone 5s. ♪ military strikes against

syria are on hold. three hours from now, president obama will speak to the nation. his speech was originally meant to lay out his case for military intervention but there have been many developments, and we have learned that secretary of state john kerry will be meeting his russian counterpart on thursday in geneva, and they will discuss a diplomatic solution. white house correspondent mike viqueira joins us live now, and mike, everything in washington seems to be on hold for the moment. what do we know? >>? >> it's interesting the more speed this diplomatic effort picks up, the slower things go in washington and this initiative that started between president obama and president putin while they were still in st. petersburg last friday, president obama made the trip to capitol hill today.

his mission to lobby members of congress, both senate and house, but today in particular the senate. democrats and republicans behind closed doors, a luncheon there. he made his case yet again. the democratic luncheon started with that gasly video that we have all become way too familiar with. we do have a statement press release the white house about the meeting that hand today. the president will spend the days ahead pursuing the diplomatic option and other allies at the united nations, the president asking all of the activity, and voting that was going to happen this week to be put on hold because of this new initiative. the white house believes that the very threat of military strikes is what brought the syrians and russians to the table to begin with, and the syrian foreign minister was in moscow meet with his russian counterpart. and here is what he had to say

about these developments. >> translator: we are ready to announce the location of the chemical weapons, to stop production of chemical weapons, and show these to russians and others. >> one thing you are hearing a lot comes from the reagan era, trust but a verify. john kerry, the secretary of state who started all of this monday with a seemingly offhand comment in london about the fact that the american government and the obama administration would settle for collecting these weapons and destroying them, he was on capitol hill

[ technical difficulties ] he has seen support sliding among the congress. the numbers opposing it are growing as opposed to shrinking. the president, they call at it roadblock across all american news channels, and the networks, the president is going to be making his case. the violation of international norms cannot go unchecked or unpunished. it's a shot across the bow that he proposes using against syria, and to deter and degrade syria's chemical capabilities and leaving open the possibility of the new push with russia. >> mike, appreciate. president obama went to capitol hill earlier today. libby casey is also on the hill, and libby how are members of congress reacting to a possible diplomatic deal? >> certainly with a lot of favorable reaction, but with a

healthy dose of scepticism. there are two questions members are asking, is the intention of the u.s. to punish assad of syria because he has broken international norms, or is it to deter chemical weapons strikes from happening in the future. a democratic from washington said diplomatsy would work. members are wondering how serious russia and syria are. and the leader, harry reid of nevada really had skepticism and introduced some reservations today. >> it's really important to remember that syria has been extremely, extremely low level of credibility. he has denied even having these

poisonous gases, these chemical weapons. so for such a diplomatic solution to be possible, the assad regime must act, and act quickly to prove their offer is real and not merely a ploy to delay military action. >> the senate has a new draft resolution. a bipartisan group has come together and put out a proposal theys that u.s. action would only happen if diplomatic means failed, and if they did not turn over the chemical weapons, then the u.s. could act. >> libby another question for you, the president's top advisors who had been pushing for military action, talked today, diplomatsy, how did that go over? >> we heard a lot of the same comments from secretary kerry for example, but members were

pushing back a little bit more about a couple of things, and one question members had was how intentional was this diplomatic pivot point we have reached anywhere. secretary kerry put this on the table publicly a few days ago. at the time he sort of down played it as a rhetorical comment, but now this has become a major issue. so members wanted to know how did we get here? something else they are asking is whether or not if diplomatic means are the course, whether or not the white house really still needs an authorized use of force, and we heard the chairman, buck mckeeian ask secretary kerry that same thing today. >> has the administration's position on aumf changed?

is the aumf necessary? and will the president still seek a congressional vote on the aumf? >> chairman, as i said in my testimony, the president believes we need to keep this threat, the reality absolutely on the table. he wants the congress to act. >> and that aumf that's washington speak for authorized use of military force. the pressure is off of capitol hill for the moment and back on the white house as we await president obama's talk tonight. >> all right. libby appreciate it. here to speak about the president's speech tonight is the executive director of the national network and served as a speech writer for the clinton administration. heather pleasure to have you on the program.

is this speech from the president, given what has hand over the last 36 hours, is this speech even necessary? >> possibly it's even more important than it was when the white house scheduled it, because the narrative has gotten so muddled. what the president is trying to do with this block of time to speak directly to the nation, to jump over you the media and me the commentator is to establish a coherent single narrative that the rest of us have to respond to afterwards. and folks like the media and me, who have been scratching their heads about what has happened, in many ways he needs tonight reset the conversation, and explain where we are, where we're going and how we'll will get. >> how difficult is it to make a speech with seemingly two different messages? >> well, the challenges are,

first, that you are speaking both to an audience that hasn't been following closely, that doesn't know what the acronyms are, that maybe, maybe not can place syria on a map. and then at the same time you are speaking to the audience of reporters, producers, comment taittors who will interpret it, and speaking to international audiences and trying to convey to both sides in syria and people all around the world that you have firmness of purpose and you are listening to american public opinion and world public opinion. one last thing that is worth mentioning is while on issues of security in particular americans like to be listened to. at the same time, nobody likes leaders who make decisions based on polls on our security. they want leaders to use the knowledge they have and we don't

to make decisions in their best interest, so that's a tough line. >> it seems when i mentioned two messages, the president on one hand is arguing for the credible use of force in this speech, and also what the country and his administration really wants is a diplomatic solution to this situation. how difficult of a speech is that for a speech writer to craft? >> well, i fearlessly predict that there will be a line that is very close to nobody in america wants war. i don't want war. the way to avoid war, is first and foremost to get this diplomatic solution, and the way we got as close as we got is the russians and syrians seriously believing there were threats to their interests and their forces, and that's why the threat of force is necessary, and that actually a double-barrelled message that americans are used to hearing,

but understand. your previous report mentioned trust but verify. >> yeah. does the president have to present to the american people tonight more of the intelligence case against syria? . >> you know, i'm not sure that he has to present more of the case. i do think he needs to resummarize it. because it has been so intensively litigated and argued. >> weatherer great to talk to you, appreciate your time. >> thanks for having me. >> al jazeera will carry the president's address live tonight beginning at 9:00 pm eastern time. and al jazeera have a live townhall meeting after the speech hosted by joie chen. i'm kevin corriveau in the atlantic we have two topical

storms to talk about. this one we're not too concerned about. it is gabrielle as it makes its way closer to bermuda. this is the bermuda weather service radar, you can see the island, this is the storm right down here to the south. right now we have clear air ahead of the storm, but the storm is making its way up here towards the north. but in a couple of hours all of this rain will be coming in. flights will be canceled or interupted tonight and tomorrow. we do expect to see quite a bit of rain and winds with it, so this will be major problem. the other thing happening tonight are the warm temperatures across the central

plains. i'll bring you more details of the heat when i return at the end of the show. >> kevin thank you. the city opera has been entertaining new york for several years, but we'll tell you why the famed production company could be closing its doors forever. stay with us.

♪ welcome back to al jazeera, i'm tony harris in new york. small businesses are planning to hire more workers at levels not seen since the recession started according to new numbers on tuesday. ali velshi will be talking about this in more detail in his program, "real money," but here is here now. ali what does this say about the

economy in >> when small businesses think that things are going to be better, that should make us all happy. they think their sales are going to increase, and they are more likely to hire in the coming months. it's a survey that is done every month and we have seen these two indicators the hiring and spending at the highest level since before the recession, so that sounds good. >> yeah, will it be sustained is the question? what are small businesses most concerned about? >> obviously they are concerned about the uncertainties that their clients and customers have. we have this idea of the fed possibly increasing interest rates. we have seen interest rates on mortgages go up, so there's a good deal of uncertainty on the horizon and obviously small businesses in america, mostly sell their products or services to people in america. so if american consumers are

uncertain, small businesses are still uncertain, but still there's a good amount of optimism. >> yeah. that and more at 7:00? >> absolutely. i have a great show coming up. >> all right. "real money with ali velshi" at the top of the hour on al jazeera. apple has unveiled two new iphones. the iphone s does come with a fingerprint scanner. the 5c is $100 cheaper than the 5s. both phones will go on sales later this month. the cheaper phone is widely seen as an even fort to get into the massive chinese market. scott has more now from beijing. >> reporter: welcome to the global smartphone gold mine, china. 500 million people have smart phones. this year it overtook the u.s. as the largest market in the

world, but not many chinese own iphones. apple's slice of the market is well behind global leader samsung, and the home grown brand comes in at 5%. and to close who closely watch the industry, it's not surprising as am still has limited access on china's limited networks. >> the combination between apple and the local carriers, frankly speaking, they were not quite successful. apple from our, level looks a little bit arrogant. and chinese markets used to be ignored. >> reporter: the iphone itself is hundreds of dollars more expensive than its competitors. the growing success of the local brand are beating apple at its own game right here in china,

generating a buzz around its new product and creating community for its users. just last week it held a huge product unveiling and introduced an executive they scooped up from google last month. >> translator: they tradition a tribe first and then starts to develop its products. it makes their users believe their phone is cheap, but still has a relatively high profit margin. >> reporter: apple still has work ahead. >> translator: i won't consider an iphone, even the low-end product. it is still very expensive, almost $500, i can't afford it. >> reporter: it might be time for a bit of reinvention. ♪

the oklahoma state football team is in trouble these days. ross is here with highlights. >> yeah. giving money to players, academic fraud and using sex and drugs to allegedly recruit players. it started with the former head coach les myers, and has continued with van gundy. oklahoma state's athletic director said these allegations are very disturbing and that the university is investigating the matter. when you have the reputation for being a dirty player, the nfl is

watching your every move. sue got a $100,000 penalty, the largest single fine for an on-the-field incident. brandon jacobs will be wearing a giant's uniform again. he appears to be in great shape. right now a lot of giant fans are singing ♪ reunited and it feels so good ♪ >> and wilson is walking warned a football, going bed with the football -- >> the head coach says he still has a lot of confidence in him. >> is he? he just need to hold on to the blow. a legal blow for google.

google inadvertently selected data such as emails, user names and passwords. it hand while the company drove around neighborhoods taking photos. google says it is disappointed and is considering its next step. and the national security agency violated the rights of millions of americans because they don't know how their program worked. the phone program did not meet privacy rules. and quote, nobody at the nsa has a full understanding of how the program works. details of the program initially came to light through leaks from nsa contractor, edward snowden. one of new york's best-known

opera production houses is facing shutting its doors. city opera has been in trouble for almost a decade now, and the arts community is making a desperate public appeal for help. ♪ [ opera music ] ♪ >> when new york city opera was launched seven years ago the mayor dubbed it the people's opera. tickets were cheap, but now the company needs the public more than ever, a severe money shortfall threatens its very exi existence. george steele was brought in two years ago and has managed to balance the company's last two annual budgets, but it's not enough. ♪ >> it needs $7 million by the end of this month, if that goal is not achieved, three productions planned for the rest

of this season will be canceled, and if it can't raise $20 million by the end of this year, its entire 2014/2015 sln be wiped out. >> we make annual appeals and maybe we get $25,000 or maybe we don't. but in many european countries there are significant federal subsidies that companies can count on year after year to help weather the charitable giving. >> reporter: the company has turned to online social media. it is accepting donations starting from $1. but what the company really needs is a few generous donors to sign some big checks. it doesn't have permanent home. it performs at different stages around the city, and that know mattic existence would be part of the problem.

fred has been living and breathing opera almost his entire life. he believes city opera sacrificed his regular fans when it moves out of his own theater. >> fans come out of tradition, but if you have to find your opera company in four different theaters throughout the season, they are not going to do that. they want to go where they know. ♪ >> new york city has launched the names of some of the biggest careers in opera. but opportunities appear to be fading, unless the public can save it from a final curtain call. missouri state lawmakers are trying to block a federal law, the battle over the right to bare arms in the show-me state just ahead. and tomorrow is 9/11

anniversary, marked with a new monument. ç]

welcome back everyone. president obama is scheduled to address the nation tonight. he will talk about syria's war and america's war in that conflict. john kerry is scheduled to meet his russian counterpart. he says he will meet in geneva on thursday. let's go back to the white house, and mike viqueira. mike, the obama administration's message has changed rather dramatically in the last 24 hours. what can we expect to hear from the president tonight? >> it has changed and it hasn't changed.

the president emphasized behind closed doors that he wants to keep that pedal to the metal. he wants that threat of potential military strikes, that's what he is pushing for, and asking congress to do, but you are right, in the meantime these developments have changed the dynamic here, obviously the administration very interested in pursuing this opening that happened as something of a surprise began in london with those comments from john kerry pursued by the russian foreign minister. as far as what we can expect to hear from the president tonight, it will be about a ten to 15 minute address in the east room, perhaps the grandest stage in the white house. you'll see the president make that familiar long walk through the cross halls.

they set this settings in order to convey a message of the grand your and seriousness of what the president is trying to convey. the last time we saw him give a speech that spot is when commandos killed osama bin laden. he is likely to say he has high confidence the assad regime was responsible for that chemical attack on august 21st; that it is in the core national security interest, that key phrase we have heard the president use since shortly after the attacks, core national security interests to make sure these weapons do not proliferate and are not used, it will be a limited target strike, and there will be no american boots on the ground. >> mike appreciate it. thank you. joining me now from washington to discuss the diplomatic

situation between the united states and russia is thomas pinkering, a former u.s. ambassador to the united nations. ambassador pinkering good to talk to you. >> good to talk to you too, tony. >> yeah, it is really a pleasure. what do you think of the russia proposal to have syria turn overits chemical weapons, stockpiles and the flurry of diplomatic active that has set off here? >> i think it's an important proposal follow up as the president said. i think it has a significancation that on the other side of the ledger, the russias are not looking at this as a situation that is evolving to their benefit. my own sense is that the president is right in continuing to seek authority from the congress. i think he needs to have the capability to move. there are only two options here, either the russians and syrians

come through. it will be difficult, but in my view not impossible to do that, and we'll want to have the option to use military force in the event they fail. if they do fail, it may well take us back to the situation beforehand and he will have the option to use the military force that he planned. i'm hopeful the parties will keep in mind the opportunity also to open up the geneva conference, which, of course, has been dragging now for sometime. but this next step in the political sphere will open up an opportunity to move in that direction as well. my sense is that kind of a set of developments could over a period of time, as difficult as it may be, lead to some kind of political workout in syria, which i think is the only real option that is before us as hard as it is to contemplate that happening soon. >> amazing. all right. ambassador, what is your view

jbased on what you just said a moment ago, of how the russians have handled this situation? are they in fact on the hook to see this deal through? >> i believe from what they said they have put themselves on that hook. they -- kerry's proposal was a week. his proposal was destruction, and that also seems to be in the cards. the syrian foreign minister was sitting there at the time the proposal was made. and later indicated he was positive about the russian proposal. i don't think he acted without the support of putin, and the syrian foreign minister acted without checking with his home base. we have yet to see how this is going to work out. kerry will see the counterpart

in geneva on thursday. and that will be the first determination of whether this is real or this is a stall. my own sense is the russians would gain nothing from entering into a stall, particularly, the u.s. has expressed its interest in moving this against a time certain, and that's a serious effort, and i certainly think that that gives us the option. but i would be also strongly in favor of the congress giving the president the backing he needs on the military side. to some extent it was the intent to use military force here that may have well provoked the move in this direction. >> what do you expect to hear from the president tonight? >> well, i expect to hear that he will support his efforts to get the congress to approve the direction he wants to take in a positive vote. my sense is that it will be

incumbent upon him to the greatest degree he can to present the evidence that people are still questioning around the world about assad having used these horrible weapons against his own people. so far the other side has presented no evidence for their theory, and indeed seems now to have pivoted away from that particular theory. the difficulty here is the use of force at this particular time has raised really serious concerns in the american public. are we headed in to yet another war in the middle east, and it will be up to the president to be clear that he has limits on where he intends to go. but this is an opportunity to use force for strategic purposes. >> thomas pickering is a former

ambassador. great to talk to you. thanks for your time. it has been 12 years since the worse attack on u.s. soil. a day americans will remember forever. the world watched in horror as two plane flew into the world trade center, minutes later another hit the pentagon, an attack aimed squarely at the u.s. government and a plane crashed in the small town in pennsylvania. in shanksville, a long-awaited memorial has toeopened to the public. john, it's an important day to be sure, and i would imagine it's an emotional day for the families of the victims of flight 93. >> tony you are absolutely right. this has been a real emotional

roller coaster just today for the victims began at 10:00 this morning with the final meeting of the flight advisory commission. this body has within meeting over a ten-year period with the soul intent of getting a really appropriate memorial here on the site. today was the last time they will meet, and it was extremely tearful for a lot of them. and then the families and supporters came to a hill overlooking the sight, and ground was broken on a new visiting center and memorial center. tonight we are waiting for the families and their friends to come here, and they will have a l luminary watch. all lights will be turned out, and the families will sit here and meditate on their lost loved ones from 7:00 until 10:00 this

evening. a really difficult day on the anniversa anniversary of 9/11. >> what happens tomorrow? >> tomorrow it all gets underway at 9:45, where the family- come and the names will be read out. there is a bell down there that will toll as well, and that will be part of the national remembrance as well. but the familiies are looking forward to the exciting new visitor center which is going to be built on the hill and the learning center. they want people to come here to learn what happened here in shanksville to flight 93, and the aftermath, and they have raised the $40 million they needed to complete and design the new center. 110,000 donations came in from

individuals, from foundations, and from corporations, but you know what pleases the families most of all, those donations were mostly from individuals who just wanted to help. >> john appreciated it. gun control takes center stage in today's colorado recall elections. two lawmakers face a recall over their support of gun control legislation. now the laws require universal background checks on gun guys and limit ammunition clips. there is a growing trend across the country, state lawmakers passing legislation to nullify federal law. 20 states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. and since 2010, 20 states have

challenged mandatory parts of the affordable care act, and 25 states have set challenges for real id laws. and 37 states have introduced legislation that opposes gun legislation. jonathan? >> hey, tony, the reason this gun bill is getting a bit more attention here in missouri is because it is perhaps the most far reaching limit we have seen coming into a state. it's one of the most gun-friendly measures ever passed by a state legislature. the second amendment preservation act is aimed at blocking gun flaws the so-me

state. >> as a law-abiding citizen, i don't want my rights taken away from me, because a small number of people choose to use firearms in an inlegal way. >> reporter: he says recent national tragedies have triggered unnecessary calls in congress for more gun control. his bill would make it illegal to enforce federal gun laws in missouri. >> in missouri we will determine when your constitutional rights are being violated. >> reporter: the state's democratic governor vetoed the legislation, but lawmakers are set to override him wednesday. critics say the bill is extreme and unconstitutional, because local police would be responsible for arresting federal officials attempting to enforce federal laws in missouri. >> if you are a police officer and the fbi show up and they are arresting somebody for violating a federal gun law, are yao going to actually place a federal

agent under arrest? local law enforcement are in my opinion probably not going to rush to do that. >> reporter: some call it flawed public policy. >> jeffery died of injuries that he suffered. >> reporter: the police chief says the danger is the bill might prevent violent criminals from being prosecuted at the federal level. >> and federal sentences are sometimes much greater than state sentences. so it will put a big sign on missouri to say okay, criminals, it's okay to commit crimes no missouri. >> reporter: more than 20 states have defied federal rules, allowing medical marijuana, but missouri's gun measure is

different since it attempt federal enforcement. he says lawmakers have a two-thirds majority to override the governor's veto and enact the law. and again, lawmakers make for that veto session in jefferson city tomorrow afternoon. we don't know when this particular bill will come up, in fact it's one of 20 vie toes that the legislatures will be considering. >> if they override this veto, when can we expect a legal challenge? >> laws take effect 30 days after a veto override, so it is likely to come within those 30 days. several groups say they will file suit. so we'll see. >> jonathan thank you. the united states and mexico

renew their rivalry on the soccer pitch tonight, and it is one thing to have a car, but what about a car that divers under water? up next, the bond submarine car from "the spy who loved me" goes up for auction.

♪ welcome back to al jazeera, i'm tony harris in new york. germany's thomas balk has been named the new president of the international olympic committee, his first job will be to oversee the 2014 winter games in russia, and he is already laying out his vision for the future.

>> reporter: there were no surprises as the new president of the international olympic committee was elected. he is very close to the president of the olympic committee. he is also a european. the olympic committee has been called a european club. he is a man that said that in order to be the president of the olympic committee, it has to be like an orchestra director, that it is able to bring in the talent within the organization, and this is jack's last day. he is widely respected within the international olympic community. he came to replace a scandal of corruption that took place during the winter olympics in the united states, he posted zero tolerance on doping and corruption. for many he saved the olympic

movement. many people are saying at thissing point is about evolution and not revolution because he will continue with many of the same policies. big, big night on the soccer pitch in columbus. >> columbus, ohio. that's the place to be. and mexico is there and there is a lot riding on that match. the americans this close to dancing in the world cup in brazil, while mexico is currently on the outside looking in. i got to speak to martin of yahoo sports to break it down. >> overtime they come here especially against mexico, they have a lot of success. and the reason they come here is fierce home support.

you can guarantee a racous crowd and it will be that again tonight. >> if the united states can beat mexico tonight what is the scenario for team usa in terms of qualifying for the world cup. >> in the united states beat mexico tonight all eyes turn into a match taking place between honduras and panama. if honduras avoid defeat, combined with the u.s. victory, then the u.s. will be punching their ticket to brazil. >> mexico in desperation role. what is going on there? >> all kinds of turmoil. mexico was a dominant team in the region. they were the overwhelming favorite to book an easy passage to the world cup. they haven't won any of their home games and if they lose to the united states tonight, they are in even deeper trouble, and

unthinkably could miss out on the world cup. >> when you mention mexico and the united states, it's a great rivalry. explain the history of this rivalry. >> it's a rivalry that has come from nowhere. 20 years ago, it was a completely one-sided competition. but over the last couple of decades, it has really changed and the united states has become perhaps a dominant force in this region. it's a unique opportunity for the americans tonight. not only can they punch their own ticket but they can make things very, very difficult for their fiercest rival. >> team usa is shorthanded tonight, though. give us an update. >> yeah, michael bradley will not be taking part.

he missed out against coast are rica last weekend. and he really does have a huge influence for this side. he is like the glue that holds the midfield together. he scored both goals when the united states beat mexico four years ago and also in columbus. three other players will be missing due to suspensions for collecting too many yellow cards. but it's one of the mark of the reign that he has created an atmosphere where players can step up, come in to the side and fill in those roles quite effectively. how about those pittsburgh pirates? the last time they had a winning record, at&t released its first video telephone for $1,500, while mcdonald's opened up its first restaurant in china. the year, 1992, but happy times

are here again. the pirates have picked up victory number 82 last night against the rangers. pedro alvarez channelling his inner dave parker, because he would drive in the one and only run of the ball game. the pirates finally have a winning record. next up, hopefully, the playoffs. things also heating up in the al wild-card race. the yapping wasn't between the players. it was between the managers. joe girardi claimed they were stealing signs, and started yelling at the bench. and the buck stopped there. in the nfl the cowboys finally beat the giants on sunday night in the house that jerry built. but jerry jones still not happy

because he claims it was so obvious that the giants were faking injuries to delay the cowboy's no-huddle offense. they say that is absolutely not true, and apparently the nfl agree. >> major issues. >> major. >> ross appreciate. thank you. a piece of movie history now has a new owner. the lotus submarine that james bond used in "the spy who loved me" sold for $800,000 at an auction in london. we have much more news coming right up, including your national weather. >> and we are looking at temperatures above 90 degrees in the northeast a well as flooding in the southwest. >> and coming up at the top of the hour at 7:00 pm on "real

money." >> coming up on "real money," small businesses -- employ a lot of americans, and they are feeling good about the future. and a hot new iphone was unveiled today. but i'm waiting for a really big leap before committing. and a bunch of people my age are moving back to rural montana. i'll tell you why on "real money." ç]

♪ well good evening. the thunderstorms continue across the southwest. take a look at the activity going on right now. anywhere from parts of arizona, nevada, and new mexico, as well as states to the north. this is a shot from parts of vegas last night. but it did end quite well. but we expect to see quite a bit of rain especially for new mexico tomorrow. the dark green areas could receive anywhere from six to eight inches of rain.

and of course that means flash flooding for many areas. we're looking at very warm temperatures into the 90s. look at the cool-down that chicago is going to be seeing over the next day. wednesday 89 degrees. by the time we get to friday all the way down to about 70 for your high. overnight lows down to about 50 degrees there. for the northeast, we are going to be seeing temperatures really starting to go up. remember the cold wave we had just a few days ago. look at albany, 92 degrees. new york will be seeing about 92 degrees, and a big cool down in new york as well, a high temperature on saturday of 69 degrees. that's a look at your national weather. your headlines with tony are coming up right now.

welcome to al jazeera, i'm tony harris here are tonight's top stories. syria says it has accepted a russian deal to give up its chemical weapons. but russia and the u.s. are not in total agreement. putin says the plan can success but only if washington and its allies rule out military action as part of a push for a diplomatic end to the crisis. france says it will introduce a resolution before the un security council to s