the problem is that getting help has to start with the soldier. >> jake tapper, cnn, washington. >> a moving story indeed. that's it for me. thanks for watching. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next. moves closer to war, u.s. officials telling cnn that navy destroyers could execute a mission in syria within hours of the president's orders. and an exclusive update on the three women held captive for a decade in cleveland's house of horrors and why the city is demolishing even more homes around the house today. and a massive wild fiern continues to burn out west. san francisco's water and power supply now being threatened. let's go outfront.

i'm jessica yelly in for erin burnett. breaking news, a u.s. official tells cnn that the u.s. is prepared to strike syria, quote, within hours. that is if an it's a big "if" the president orders military action. today, the obama administration laid out its case for retaliation because it says the syrian government did, in fact, use chemical weapons against its own people. >> anyone who could claiming that an attack of this staggering scale could be contrived or fabricated, needs to check their conscience and their own moral compass. what's before us today is real and it is compelling. president obama believes that there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapons against the world's most vulnerable people. >> so what's the reaction from

syria? cnn's fred had rare, inside access to damascus and cnn is the only western television network in damascus now. fred, tell us what's the reaction from the ground there? >> reporter: hi, jessica. the syrian government hadn't put out statements after kerry's speech but they are reacting and you can certainly see they're at least hearing the message. what's going on is the foreign minister of the country has called for awe press conference for tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. local time and generally you can see the syrian government reacting. president al assad came out with an interview in a russian up in saying it was ludicrous to assume his forces would use chemical weapons on the front line saying they would have gassed themselves if they would have done that. clearly, the u.s. isn't buying that. on the other hand, though, the syrian government is still trying to show a show of force. what we've seen as the u.n. weapons inspectors were on the

ground in sear ja and especially after they got back to their hotel in damascus was massive shelling of the outskirts of damascus which is where the chemical weapons attacks are purported to happen and the u.s. said for a very long time it believes that damascus is trying to shell the outskirts to tamper the soil samples that the weapons inspectors could find. they believe the more shelling there is, the more difficult it will become for the inspectors to find conclusive evidence about what sort of nerve agent was used. >> fred, thank you from damascus. a fast-moving story. we have all angles covered. cnn the only television network with reporter, fred, there in damascus. thank you, fred. "outfront" peter king sits on both the house homeland security and house as well jierns committees. the white house said president obama has not yet made a decision on how to respond to

the use of chemical weapons in syria. but secretary of state john kerry seemed to be sending a pretty clear signal that action could be on the horizon. take a moment to listen to how he painted the picture of december cal weapons use in syria. >> the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians and the large-skierl indiscriminate use of weapons and this indiscriminate use of chemical weapons. >> do you think it's time for the the u.s. to act? >> especially after what secretary kerry said we have to act. i'm not certain where this is going to lead but once that red line has been crossed and once chemical weapons have been used i believe the president has to take action, not just because of syria but because of the entire region. iran is going to look at how we respond as they go forward with their nuclear weapon program. allies in the region, adversaries in the region are going to look so we have to take action, i believe, that cruise missiles would be the best as far as destroying the chemical weapons locations and also, as

far as taking out command and control locations but having said that, i'm still not a big advocate for the rebels because i believe they've become largely controlled or significantly controlled by al qaeda elements. if the president had taken action two years ago we would be a lot better off. >> i want to be clear. what sort of action would you support. you said mimi sills. would you limit it to that? >> i would not put american lives at risk. if there's another way, the only other way i can see is cruise missiles other than sending in aircraft and syria has a very sophisticated anti-aircraft system. if we send in air power we have to assume americans will be shot down and that will involve us going in and taking further action. at this stage, i believe we should use -- have maximum use of cruise missiles going at the locations where the chemical weapons are stored. and also, at their command and control locations and also, if

we -- any other key targets in syria that we can hit we should. >> i want to ask you about american credibility. february 5th, 2003 we be secretary of state colin powell made the statement to go to wark in iraq and his proof was that vile which he said could contain anthrax, evidence of iraq's alleged weapons' programs. now today the u.s. said it has proof of chemical weapons in syria. are you at all concerned that we might be wrong here as we were then? >> there's always a possibility. but you have to act on what is available. there's more of a concern here that we lose our credibility if we don't act in view of how strongly president obama has warned syria in the past not the use chemical weapons. >> a year ago president obama set the red line on syria here. listen to this. >> a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being outlierzed. >> your fellow republican house

armed service committee chairman issued a statement saying, quote, drawing red lines before you know what you're willing to do to back them up is folly but now that american credibility is on the line, the president cannot fail to act decisively. do you think the president backed the u.s. into a corner here by setting that red line? >> first of all, i agree with buck. i think the president should not have set a red line unless he knew what he was going to do. we can't arbitrarily set red lines or lay out threats unless we know what we're doing and why we're going to do it but having drawn that red line, we have no choice, i feel, now, but to take firm and strong action and, again, syria and assad, he's an ooean evil person and a horrible tyrant and a menace to the entire region but my other concern is i'm not sold on the rebels either. they just have too muchal kwieshd influence. >> you mentioned iran earlier. syria is not the only country

where the president set red lines. he said a red line with iran developing a nuclear weapon. do you think the president's response here in syria could serve as a test case for u.s. intervention in iran and even in egypt and anywhere else? >> yeah, i strongly believe that. we've made it clear to the president time and again has basically said iran will not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. if we don't enforce it against syria iran will reenforced in their beliefs that they can go forward without real threat from the u.s. so this is as much a warning to iran as i see it, as it is action ghens syria iran has to know we're serious. >> have you been consulted by the white house? have you gotten any kind of call? >> i have not. let me make it clear. i believe the president can take the action without authorization from the congress.

i believe as commander-in-chief he can take action. it's in his interest to consult with the leader championship in the house and senate but he doesn't have to. >> while the congressman says he doesn't believe president obama needs congressional approval, other members disagree. now, still to come, the convicted ford hood shooter cannot be put to death without approval from the president. would president obama sign that order? and one of the largest dog fighting rings in american history has been shut down. what led authorities to the ring leaders? and then miley cyrus shocks viewers during last night's video music awards. did she really cross a line? and we're on panda watch again. we'll tell you where the next cub could be gorn. where the next cub could be born.

individualization that your body needs. this labor day, don't invest in a mattress until you visit a sleep number store. when we actually lower the sleep number setting to get the sleep number bed to conform to them, it's amazing the transition that you see with people. oh, that feels really good.it's hugging my body. they just look at you like you cured all the problems they've ever had. we hear it all the time: "i didn't know a bed could feel like this." oh yeah. at our biggest sale of the year, every sleep number bed is on sale. queen mattresses now start at just $599. and for one week only, save an incredible 50% on

the sleep number limited edition memory foam mattress sets-but only through labor day! the sleep number bed is more than just a mattress. you sleep on it, you'll understand. don't miss the biggest sale of the year on the bed that can change your life. the sleep number bed. special offer ends labor day. only at a sleep number store. sleep number. comfort individualized. the beach on your tv is much closer than it appears. dive into labor day with up to 50% off hotels at travelocity. >> that moment we came out with the car seat, fathers around the planet will be cursing it for doing it so easily.

>> how much of the lack of action in washington do you put on yourself? >> ultimately, the buck stops with me. our second story "outfront" will the convicted fort hood shooter be put to death. witnesses began testifying in the sentencing phase for major hasaan found guilty on friday of 1 koubts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. the death penalty is a rare sentence for the u.s. military and it would ultimately require approval from the president himself. cnn's senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin is out front to discuss this. hey, jeff. would the president, do you think, really approve this if it came to it? >> absolutely. when you consider the magnitude of this crime, 13 murders, absolutely no repentance or

regrets, and that it was really, as he acknowledged, part of a terrorist attack on our troops, yoeng barack obama would have a moment's hesitation, if he has the chance, because appeals in this case will certainly drag on for years and it may outlast his presidency. >> if it goes on that long, and it's such a complicated case is it possible hasaan could avoid the lethal injection if he's technically give even the death penalty? >> absolutely. there's not a lot of legal history as i think you pointed out. there hadn't been a military execution in this country since 1961. the military is not set up, the legal system, for this. it is quite possible that a appeals court could find some problem with the case that would result in a life sentence. but he could also get the death penalty because he seems to be trying to get it. there doesn't seem to be much daughter that this trial is a kind of slow-motion suicide. >> it's interesting. most of the victim's families i've talked to don't want him to get the death penalty. >> which is such a perverse

element of this. do you want to give him the satisfaction of martyrdom or do you not care whether he gets martyrdom or give him the penalty and he can think what he wants. our third story, busted. federal authorities have shut down one of the biggest dog-fighting rings in u.s. history. near live 370 pit bulls were rescued this weekend in a massive raid that stretched across texas, mississippi, alabama and georgia. david matting i will ask outfront on this story. hi, david. what did investigators find? >> reporter: first of all they found 367 dogs. over 100 of them just in one single location. they've arrested ten men, seven of them came from the state of alabama. but this goes beyond just fighting dogs and the atrocities involved in that. they're looking at what they also seized here in terms of money. they seized a half million dollars in this raid on friday

that shows you what big money is being had at these dog-fighting operations. they believe some of these defendants may have been guam blank as much as five to $200,000 on a single dog fight. again, showing you what kind of money was involved in these operations. so going much further than just dog fighting. they're also looking at illegal gambling operations and what sort of organizations might be out there associated with this. >> that's big money. what will happen to these dogs? >> right now, they're in emergency shelters. they're being cared for and getting medical treatment and food. they're getting a safe place, a comfortable place to sleep for a change. they found some of these dogs tied up with very heavy chains out in the sun. clearly, not good conditions for them to be living in. and the treatment they were getting is highly, highly questionable right now. but, this their immediate

future, there's going to be dna testing. they're going to be starting to track the bloodlines of these dogs because if they believe that they're able to follow the bloodlines of these dogs to other parts of the country, possible, other busts down the future, they're going to be able to connect more people and possibly, more illegal activity as they go. >> all right, david, thanks for that report. and in our "money and power" segment, donald trump accused of running a phony school. fwhierk attorney joined eric schneiderman says trump detraded customers out of $40 million with a sham university. according to the ag, donald trump's trump university was supposed to have experts picked by trump teaching students how to get rich in the real estate market but according to the lawsuit that wasn't the case. the suit makeless several acquisitions for example they insinuated trump would appear at

the seminar but what happened? some participants had their picture taken with a life-size photo of donald trump. the suit also alleged that trump did not pick any of the instructors and had little to no role in developing the curriculum. the classes were not cheap either. students paid nearly $1500 to attend a three-day course and up to $35,000 for the trump elite course. now, for the record, trump completely denies the allegations saying students were happy and on twitter, he suggested that the case is politically motivated. still to come, the latest from the aerial castro investigate information cleveland. why more houses are being torn down in the neighborhood where three women were held. plus, an 8-year-old boy kills his grand more after playing a video game. and an amazing half-court shot that earned one lucky student full tuition. the entire video in tonight's

"shotout." in atlantis blue is mine! i was here first. it's mine. i called about that one. it's mine. customers: [ echoing ] it's mine, mine, mine. it's mine! no it's not! it's mine! better get going. it's the chevy labor day sale. [ male announcer ] the chevy labor day sale. just announced: $500 labor day cash now through september 3rd on most 2013 chevrolet vehicles!

just by talking to a helmet. it grabbed the patient's record before we even picked him up. it found out the doctor we needed was at st. anne's. wiggle your toes. [ driver ] and it got his okay on treatment from miles away. it even pulled strings with the stoplights. my ambulance talks with smoke alarms and pilots and stadiums. but, of course, it's a good listener too. [ female announcer ] today cisco is connecting the internet of everything. so everything works like never before.

our fourth story "outfront" remodelling the street of horrors. demolition crews tore down two more home nls cleveland today right next door to where arrest yell castro held three women captive for over a decade. the house was destred in early august, days before he was sentenced to life without parole, plus another thousand years. crews will return to the area tomorrow to begin planting grass and flowers. meanwhile, castro's victims continue with their recovery re-adjusting to their new lives and even making some public

appearances. scott taylor, an investigative reporter with cleveland's woio is out fronts. hi, scott. what's the latest. tell us, with michelle knight, amanda berly and dina jesus. >> we'll start with amanda berry. 27 year old old and a single mom and very protective of her 6-year-old daughter. she's come out publicly, she was at a large outdoor concert. a lot of people saw that. got up on stage and nelly sang her a song but still being very protective of what she says. she doesn't want to discuss anything that went on in the house in order to make sure that her 6-year-old doesn't hear anything at all about it. and then there's michelle knight. she made the passionate impact statement in front of aerial

castro. she also made sure that she was in front of his house moments before it was destroyed. she read one of her most favorite poems and she's had a little fun. she talked to andrew zimmer. the host of "bizarre foods" here about two weeks ago at the west side market, a big open-air market. farmers come here and trade vegetables and so forth. and michelle, you might not know, jessica, lovetis food and loves to cook so they traded ideas. and then gina, i've come close to her and her family, only 23 yankees old. she's very shy. probably the most shy of all the of them, doesn't say much but she got in a car and participated in a parade with her family and friends. drove through the city and waved at everybody. she was just spotted, jessica welcome at a roller rink roller

skating with family and friends and something she hadn't been able to do for the last ten years. >> it's so nice to hear of them emerging. i'm wondering if any of them have returned to the neighborhood where they were held captive and if they've gone, why did they go back? >> well, they all three have gone back before the house was destroyed about three weeks ago. they demolished it. michelle has been there twice. once before it was demolished and moments before. gina, i believe, stopped by as well and amanda, too. i think it's just one of the processes of their healing and, also, making sure that their lives continue. michelle made it very clear in that victim's impact statement in front of castro, that her life will continue. >> scott, really touching reporting and so sensitive to what they're going through. thank you very much for your updates. scott taylor reporting for us. and still to come, new

developments in the nsa investigation. warning signs in 1983 that were ignored. and switzerland's controversial plan to combat prostitution. why the swiss government thinks sex boxes are a good idea. and the latest from the massive wildfire out west. san francisco's water and power supply, in danger! ck on her fee. [ all gasp ] oj, veggies -- you're cool. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! 'cause i'm re-workin' the menu, keeping her healthy and you on your toes. [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. i see you, cupcake! uh-oh! [ bottle ] the number one doctor recommended brand. ensure®. nutrition in charge™.

[ bottle ] the number one doctor recommended brand. the math of retirement is different today.ek. money has to last longer. i don't want to pour over pie charts all day. i want to travel, and i want the income to do it. ishares incomes etfs. low cost and diversified. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

welcome back to the second half of "outfront." stories where we focus on our own reporting from the front lines. and "outfront" update on zachary rena affected with a brain-eating ameameba. his family said he was on a ventilator but passed away and they decided to donate his organs. in a laerpt post it appears the family had a change of heart and they said they respect the doctor's protocol but, quote, believe god will step in on his time regardless of what's being said. they ask others to believe with them. lawmakers on capitol hill must be digging their heels in the stand. treasury secretary says we will meet the debt ceiling by october unless congress raises the limit the u.s. could run out of money and default.

complicating matters, only nine legislative days in september. last time around you remember congress procrastinated for about seven months before making a deal on the day the government was set to run out of money. "outfront" has learned groups behind the coin met with government officials to talk about setting up some rules. bic coins are backed by high-profile investigators. but it's vulnerable to hacking and not insured and blamed for illegal activity like money laundering. and the general counsel for the foundation says they welcome talk wls the feds. >> and new drive-ins open in switzerland but not the kind you think. they are sex drive-ins. in an attempt to take opened prostitution off the street and keep the women safe, zurich is opening nine garage-style structureless less equipped wit and security guards to protect

prostitutes. as many as 40 women are expected to work each night which is opened from 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. and can only be accessed by car. according to one estimate, prostitution is legal in nearly 80 countries around the world. and breaking news now. an update on our top story. senior administration officials tell cnn that president obama will be presented with final optionless regarding actionless against syria in the next few days. if the president does decide to order military action, it could come as early as midweek. but the official did caution it could come later than that. another u.s. official also tells cnn that the u.s. is prepared if necessary, to strike syria, quote, within hours. we want to be clear. the president has not yet ordered any military action. and the white house has stressed today, that it is still evaluating all options. and now, our fifth story

"outfront" breaking news on the massive wildfire threatening yosemite national park and san francisco's key water power sources. the front lines our crew just shot these. 149,000 acres have been scorched so far. and that burned area equals the size of the city of chicago! 3,600 firefighters are working to reign in the blaze but so far the fire is only 15% contained. casey wine is on the grind in groveland, california, casey, hi. tell us how concerned are authorities there that this fire will spread further. >> reporter: you can see the smoke iernl at one end and the other end, we drove through and it's 13 miles of nothing but devastation, burned-out forest.

this is now the largest fire, according to california fire official nls the history of the sierra-nevada range. over 150,000 acres. here's what one fire official said about the impact on this area. >> really a tremendous impact. highway 124 into yosemite on the northgate is closed now. so the town of groveland, it's actually their biggest economical weekend of the year, there's no one there. it's like a ghost town. it's like i had some of my fire officers up at pine crest lake, real famous and usually on sunday there's 10,000 people there, zero yesterday. everywhere, smoke impact and we're losing so much economy it's unreal. >> reporter: now, despite the bleak assessment the fire officials feel like they're getting a good handle on things. you mentioned earlier 15%

containment figures and that's good news because it was 7% yesterday. the other good news? the humidity levels is 60% which is helping firefighters battle this blaze, jessica. >> casey, is there a real threat to the yosemite and san francisco water supply still? >> reporter: well, there is a real threat but it's brieshl lessening. the good news is the fire burned close to a key reservoir that supplies about 80% of san francisco's drinking water. the good news is it's surrounded by granite and the fire stopped before it got into the reservoir, according to fire officials. in terms of yosemite valley we drove through there earlier today and fire officials say they've got at least two more lines of defense beyond the current one that they're trying to set up before this fire actually reaches the yosemite valley which is the main tourist area. we drove through and the air quality is not too bad. e ees and officials say come on

up. >> casey, thanks so much for the report. our sixth story "outfront", can a video game lead to murder? an 8 year old boy shot and killed his grandmother after plays grand theft auto 4. they suggested the video game may have played a role because it's, quote, a realistic game that's been associated with encouraging violence and awards points to players for killing people. but can a video game really train someone to kill? "outfront", dr. drew, on call. dr. drew, a pleasure. >> thank you very much. >> police make the connection between the violent video game and murder. do you agree there's a link? >> there's a link between video games and aggression but a causational link is tough. so much going on in our culture that contributes to violence in

young people to point a finger at one aspect, meaning violent video games is misplaced. there's so much else to be concerned with. and by the way, the kids that get in trouble are kids who are already at risk and already in trouble. >> that makes sense. there have been about 25 million copies of grand theft auto sold since 2008. you wonder why all those people haven't gone out and committed crimeless if there were a link. so talk more about the people for whom this does lead to violence. >> jessica, a coat on what you're saying. or everyone in the military would return home and bomb violent offenders. it doesn't happen. you is say they had specialized training but the kinds of people at risk are the people that come from destroyed families, have aggression or violence in the home. that's somebody who is at risk and there's certain mental health issuesing that put people at risk for vienls but not if they're properly treated so, again, i wouldn't encourage somebody to watch a violent video game if they have these sorts of risky circumstances in their life but to blame it, we

have to be very carefulbility that. >> what does science show 123450 science shows there's an association between violent video games and violence. but causation, to say it's causing that i think is a little bit misplaced. i see people acting on soirnl media all the time. all the bullying and horrible things said to people on social media let alone cartoons. if you have a young male son out there he's playing a violent video game of one sort or the other. that does not mean he'll kill somebody unless there are other issues in his life. >> isn't this the same thing we've heard for decades. comic books at one point were thought to lead to violence. so if you have a troubled kid in a troubled home and you gave them a comic book they would get in trouble 1234. >> when the novel arrived that was supposed to have a horrible influence on people and

possibly, they do. maybe it's a cumulative affect but there's so many more important issues that come to bear on the behavior of youth that spending a lot of energy worrying about this may be misplaced. >> thank you, dr. drew. always great. be sure to catch his show tonight on hln. dr. drew and his behavior bureau will look at what's going on with jody arias and with miley cyrus. that and more at 9:00 eastern on hln. check it out this story. the national security agency scandal just got a little weirder. according to reports, nechlt a sechlt a officers admitted eyesing the e inging a agency's eavesdropping to spy on twlooimpb partners. this created a storm on twitter. users are tweeting their own jokes and lines and the blooerns common pierk-up lines are song wlooimpb ricks that should be very familiar. at least to some of us who are

old enough to remember. hundreds of users have been posting the lyrics to the police song "every breath you take." that brings us to tonight's number 1983. on this day in 1983, the song "every breath you take" was the number one song in america. and in a lot of ways the. seeds of the current scandal were planted that year. 1983 is when the world's first commercial mobile phone went on the market and that's when we started using the cell phones the nsa loves so much. and in 1983, "the new york times" published this column by david burnum tierpted "the silent power of the nsa" warning this virtually unknown federal agency has repeatedly sought to enlarge its power without consulting with civilian officials who theoretically direct the government. that was written 30 years ago.

yes, we know, 1984 has long been considered the year of big brother but it looks like that may have been a year late. still to come, miley cyrus' ranchy routine at the vmas sparktispar sparks controversy. and another cub on the way? . and colorado state university freshman andrew has won a year's worth of tuition after sinking a half-court shot during a pep rally. he was selected randomly and given three opportunities to make the shot and he only needed one. a very similar shot to the one we saw from a ball state freshman last week! amazing! he won a semester's worth of free tuition. the shout out to four colorado state university coaches.

the men's and women's coaches and the football and volleyball coach were the ones that donated the money to pay for his prize. unbelievable! [ male announcer ] what's important to you? at humana, our medicare agents sit down with you and ask. being active. and being with this guy. [ male announcer ] getting to know you is how we help you choose the humana medicare plan that works best for you. mi familia. ♪ [ male announcer ] we want to help you achieve your best health, so you can keep doing the things that are important to you. taking care of our customers. taking care of her. and the next thing on our list is bungee jumping. [ male announcer ] helping you -- now that's what's important to us. ...and a great deal. .] thanks to dad. ng you -- nope eeeeh... oh, guys let's leave the deals to hotels.com.

nice bear. ooh that one! nice. got it! oh my gosh this is so cool... awesome! perfect! save up to 30% plus an extra 12% off with coupon... now until labor day. only at hotels.com ingeniously uses radar to alert you to possible collision threats. and in certain situations it can apply the brakes. introducing the all-new 2014 chevrolet impala with available crash imminent braking. always looking forward. while watching your back. that's american ingenuity to find new roads. and recently the 2013 chevrolet impala received the j.d. power award for highest ranked large car in initial quality.

[ male announcer ] staying warm and dry has never been our priority. our priority is, was and always will be serving you, the american people. so we improved priority mail flat rate to give you a more reliable way to ship. now with tracking up to eleven scans, specified delivery dates, and free insurance up to $50 all for the same low rate. [ woman ] we are the united states postal service. [ man ] we are the united states postal service. [ male announcer ] and our priority is you. go to usps.com® and try it today.

[ male announcer ] and our priority is you. peace of mind is important when so we provide it services you bucan rely on. with centurylink as your trusted it partner, you'll experience reliable uptime for the network and services you depend on. multi-layered security solutions keep your information safe, and secure. and responsive dedicated support meets your needs, and eases your mind. centurylink. your link to what's next.

and we're back with tonight's "outer circle" where we reach out to our sources around the world. panda monium. a panda cub born at a zoo in vienna. a much-sell barack obamaed birth because the panda was conceived naturally and that's, apparently, very rare. this was only the third successful attempt to breed pandas naturally in europe. on friday, a panda born at the national zoo in washington and so far the cub appears to be in excellent health. that brings us to scottland where a panda at the zoo might be pregnant. i asked erin mclaughlin what zoo coopers are watching out for. >> reporter: zoo keepers are

watching the panda 24/7. hormone tests points to the possibility that she might be pregnant after being artificially insem nated in april. being watched for signs of labor such as restless behavior. this is an extremely sensitive time for a panda pregnancy, still not certain she will actually give birth. they say it's possible for the fetus to be reabsorbed or rejacketed and the birth itself could last a matter of minutes because baby cubs are so small. zookeepers say they are keeping their fingers crossed. jessica? >> thanks, erin. so cute. let's check in with anderson cooper with a look at what's ahead on "ac 360." >> did you call me cute? >> i did. you're adorable. what are options on syria and which ones are being considered by president obama? are we on the virge of a military strike. >> we have a live report from damascus and we'll talk it over with our panel. and chasing down a charity collecting millions of dollars

to grant wishes for dying kids. sounds great. why does it spend less than 3 cents of every dollar it raises? a whistle believer injure and the road battle to control one of the worst fires in california history. it's entering yosemite national park. gary tuckman went behind the fire lines. and plenty of cute, anderson. thank you. we'll watch coming up. our seventh story, "outfront." miley cyrus stuns. she left jaws hanging after last night's risque performance at the vma music awards. she struts around the starch with giant teddy bears and then strips down to a nude, apparently latex bikini and starts dancing or -- a

performance many call offensive. did miley cyrus actually accomplish exactly what she set out to do? "outfront" radio show host stephanie miller, cnn opinion contributor and media, joe. joe, i'm going to, first, start with you and play some of the reaction to her kbrooinchs from this morning and we can talk about it. listen to this. >> where have you gone, hannah montana? last night it was miley mtv style. the 20-year-old twerking her way on stage and out of her clothing. >> the paper said it included plenty of lewdness and molestation of robin thick. >> many people on twitter were saying, where are her parents? >> twerking is a dance sometime. are those folks overreacting? is it really that bad? >> where's the line? remember in 1984 when madonna

did "like a virgin" rolling around on the stage? and then in 2013 you see miley doing this. in 2033 we'll look back at 2013 it seems like the mtv music video awards is all about expecting the unexpected. doing something more provocative than the person did last year. >> he's really saying this is a way for her to make money. is that a problem? >> it's not -- it's her choice. this is her career, she's succeeds at making lindsay lohan look better. she makes katy perry look like a nun. she wants us to talk about her. the woman's worth $120 million. her soul is number three on the charts. she does not need to do this to get better known. her talent can do it, she's a child star, trying to be an adult star now. it's desperate. i feel bad.

daze like a saturday night live sketch. it's not funny. >> stephanie. let me ask you, ma don dma's video, justify my love, the music video was banned from mtv when it came out in 1990, she ended up making out on that controversy, listen to what she told "nightline" after it was announced her video was banned. >> what next? what should we do? we decided, let's sell it, let's sell like a video single, it's never been done before, the controversy just happened, it wasn't planned, but, you know -- >> in the end you're going to wind up making more money than you would have? >> yeah, so lucky me. >> lucky me. what's wrong with cyrus taking a page from madonna's playbook, owning her sexuality? >> your other guests make good points, i wonder what i have to do top ourselves. i'm wondering what i have to do for this segment to get attention. i was not able to get a giant

foam finger. i'm going to allow that maybe i'm a crotch etty old woman at this point. you can't define porn, but you know it when you see it, to me, this crossed the line into porn, this was simulating a sex act in front of kids. if you saw the looks on will smith's family, it was a hilarious springtime for hitler moment. >> if we're talking about simulating a sex act, that's what people accused madonna of doing back in the day too. >> come on, stephanie. >> this is pretty graphic is all i'm saying, not that dean wouldn't like me to do that with him right now, i'm not going to, i don't care about the ratings, but i'm done twerking, i'm too old. i don't know if it's a generational thing, or it's a people trying to top themselves. it's the difference between watching a sexy movie with good actors and porn. >> i'm going to be blunt, p she

were more talents, if it had been a better performance, would she be criticized? >> this is a bridge to miley's next career, that is taking a page from the kardashian playbook. the kardashians have a reality show. what makes up a reality show, you have to be a little crazy. miley appears to be. you have billy ray cyrus, i guarantee you, e! bravo, mtv, all their people are talking to miley's people, she'll have a reality show within one to two years. >> thanks, guys. still to come, president obama honors a true american hero. [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. at&t mobile share for business. one bucket of data for everyone on the plan, unlimited talk and text on smart phones. now, everyone's in the spirit of sharing. hey, can i borrow your boat this weekend?

no. [ male announcer ] share more. save more. at&t mobile share for business. ♪ these chevys are moving fast. i'll take that malibu. yeah excuse me. the equinox in atlantis blue is mine! i was here first. it's mine. i called about that one. it's mine. customers: [ echoing ] it's mine, mine, mine. it's mine! no it's not! it's mine! better get going. it's the chevy labor day sale. [ male announcer ] the chevy labor day sale. just announced: $500 labor day cash now through september 3rd on most 2013 chevrolet vehicles! they're the days to take care of business.. when possibilities become reality. with centurylink as your trusted partner, our visionary cloud infrastructure and global broadband network free you to focus on what matters. with custom communications solutions and responsive, dedicated support, we constantly evolve to meet your needs.

every day of the week. centurylink® your link to what's next. ♪ [ male announcer ] the parking lot helps by letting us know who's coming. the carts keep everyone on the right track. the power tools introduce themselves. all the bits and bulbs keep themselves stocked. and the doors even handle the checkout so we can work on that thing that's stuck in the thing. [ female announcer ] today, cisco is connecting the internet of everything. so everyone goes home happy.

this afternoon, president obama awardeded medal of honor, the nation's highest decoration to ty m. carter. jake tapper had the opportunity to speak with this true american hero. when president obama presented the medal of honor to ty carter, he not only heralded carter's heroism -- >> it was chaos, the blizzard of bullets and steel into which ty ran not once or twice, or even a few times, but perhaps ten times. and in doing so, he explained

the essence of true heroism. >> carter has made it his mission to destigmatize the posttraumatic stress that thousands of troops are dealing with. carter was once a skeptic of what he calls pts. he doesn't want the d, he says it's not a disorder. >> i didn't believe it was real until i experienced it. i thought it was just an excuse to get out of duty or get out of a job. once i realized it, i was blown away. how could i be so ignore an the. >> an enemy rpg explosion caused carter to lose some hearing. >> ever since that day, i've had this high pitched ringing in my ears. >> the constant ringing in his head brings him back to battle. carter has been receiving regular treatment for posttraumatic stress. someone not so fortunate was one of carter's battle buddies who

suffered from both posttraumatic stress and a drug problem, and was discharged from the army a few months after the battle at keating. when he returned to his parents home in north carolina, his posttraumatic stress got severe, he would stay up late watching videos of the attack that insurgents had posted online. not even a year after the attack, he overdosed on methodone and xanax. there was no evidence of suicide, but friends felt it was as a result of his time in horror. >> he won't be the last victim. >> to any of our troops who are watching and struggling, look at this man, look at this soldier, look at this warrior, he's as tough as they come. if he can find the courage and strength to not only seek help but also to speak out about it, to take care of himself and stay strong, then so can you. >> jake tapper, cnn, washington. >> thanks so much for joining

us. "ac 360" starts right now. jessica, thanks, good evening, everyone. breaking news, american war ships able to strike at a moment's notice, and president obama vowed to make a big decision. the latest from washington tonight we're also live in damascus. also tonight, why is this woman avoiding our cameras, you might too if your charity were raising millions as hers is for children with cancer and other deadly illnesses, spending 97% of it on everything but those children. tonight a whistle-blower explains how the operation spends your money, keeping them honest. stopping the epic fire that's stopping america's scenic treasures and the water supply. we begin tonight with breaking news. the growing military action against syria with strike options going to the president within the next few