hello again, everyone. welcome to the third hour of "the newsroom." i'm fredericka whitfield. congress is taking a hard look at the chemical weapons allegations against syria. some members just fin initialled a closed door briefing at the capitol. congress isn't back to work until september 9th. when could we see a vote on this? we have more next from capitol hill. and not everyone's supporting taking action. protesters around the country are turning out in force to say, no to strikes. the u.s. military has gone from standing ready to standing down as the president's decision to ask congress for approval to strike syria. pentagon correspondent barbara

starr is with us now. barbara, there's a different dynamic now to the syria crisis. how's it playing out at the pentagon? >> reporter: well, fred, as i think you would expect, they're looking at where all the ships are. they may switch a few ships out. they won't leave everybody sitting there but have the same number, the same fire power. four to five destroyers. tom hawk missiles on them both. guided by precise gps satellite coordinates. so they will have to keep after this. if they see syria forces on the move, dispersing, they will be retargeting the missiles which they know how to do very readily and keep an eye on syria very closely over the coming days so if and when the president orders a strike, those precision-guided missiles with the 1,000-warheads will be ready to go. >> and then, barbara, what are military leaders saying about the extra time to hurt or help? >> well, you know, maybe it

turns out to be awash. i think we have to wait and see. they're concerned that syrian forces could start moving around and they will have to keep looking through u.s. spy satellites overhead to locate them, to be able to target them if that's what it comes to. as for helping, the u.s. military says it is ready to go, has been ready to go. it's an interesting thing. general martin dempsey made it very clear, the general of the joint chiefs, he told the president they would be ready today, tomorrow, a month from now if that came to it so that statement gave the president, perhaps, the military reassurance to tell congress, there was time to debate all this. they can still act with full capability whenever the order comes. >> all right. barbara starr at the pentagon, thank you. >> sure. >> members of congress just left a briefing on capitol hill with a team from the obama administration. dana bash was outside that briefing. dana, what are you hearing from the lawmakers and was it a

pretty sizable turnout concerning it's the holiday weekend? >> reporter: it has been. it appears that the briefing is still going on, likely just whereuponing up. lawmakers have come out. the reaction even among some of the president's generally most loyal supporters has been pretty mixed and even skeptical. for example, one democrat of connecticut came out and talked about the mood inside and then i'll tell you what he's going to do at the other side of this. listen to what he said. >> in that room, today, there was a lot of memories over another time when a president came and said or at least the president's people came and said that was a slam dunk evidence. i think that most members thinking more about the merits of the proposal here rather than the political consequences to the president. >> reporter: i asked if he had

to take the vote today, would he vote yes or no? he said, no, he would vote no. another democratic congresswoman took the red eye of california, went in to the meeting and said she feels the same way. they made the case on intelligence and but with regard to the military plans and what happens after, what they say would be the limited strikes, she doesn't feel comfortable right now. both said they're still persuadable and not there yet even after the hour and a half long briefing. now, the other thing i should tell you that's come up with the members of congress is several have said they believe that the way the legislative language that the president sent last night to congress for the authorization as written is too broad and wrote it about a page, little bit more than a page and wrote wit the intention of being narrow. it talks about authorizing force for anything dealing with wmd or weapons of mass destruction in and around syria but still there's no timeline and there

aren't enough specifics for some members so look for some, again, especially in the president's own party to get comfortable with this to ask for changes in the way that they're structuring the authorization. >> so again today's meeting was one to reveal classified information. however, there are some hearings likely scheduled this week before all of congress reconvenes next week, right? >> reporter: absolutely. look. the main reason why congress is still going to be effectively and officially on recess this coming week and that leaders and the white house are not asking congress to come back for a vote immediately because the votes aren't there. everybody who is in the position to know will admit that now so what the white house is doing effectively beginning with the briefing wrapping up and continuing through the week is full court press. they have john mccain, a key player, not there yet at the white house to meet with the president and public hearings in the senate foreign relations committee and then a slew i'm

sure of phone calls, classified briefings and likely some negotiations over the lang wang of this authorization until you get a week from monday and that week is the week we'll see the vote in both the senate and the house on this authorization. >> all right. dana bash on capitol hill, thank you. turkey can't escape its involvement in the syrian situation. it is geographically very close. syrian refugees flood over the border and it is politically in step with the u.s. but the president's decision to ask congress to approve a military strike is raising questions in turkey. here's more now from ivan watson. >> reporter: fredericka, mixed results here in turkey to obama's announcement that he was going to delay any type of military action against syria. the turk irk government has been very hawkish about any possible military operation led by the u.s. against the syrian regime. the turkish government clearly wants it and calling for regime change in damascus and after

obama's announcement one turkish official wrote me, quote, we are not thrilled with the delay and uncertainty obama's announcement will bring. however, he also indicated that the turkish government does respect the democratic decision-making processes inside the u.s. when it comes to the use of military force. now, the syrian policy here in turkey, a majority muz lick country, also a close ally of the u.s., is very divisive. while the government wants a u.s.-led military operation, many turks are uncomfortable with this and that was repeated at peace day, so-called peace day rallies that were held in cities around the country. this is an annual rally and demonstration that takes place but it probably had more importance amid this talk of war in neighboring syria. in istanbul, throughout the afternoon, demonstrators blew bubbles, held up peace signs and

said they didn't want a war. here near the turkish border with syria, it is much more divisive and cults across ethnic and sectarian lines. we saw several hundred people in what's supposed to be peace day chanting president bashar al assad and basically cursing the syrian rebels accusing them of being members of al qaeda. just showing you how complicated this is in syria and how it's also complicated the way it spills over in to turkey, a country that's hosted hundreds of thousands of syrian refugees. back to you. >> thank you. how did the president come to change his mind on congressional approval in syria? cnn's jim akosta looks at the chain of events. >> reporter: just as the president seemed to be ready to go it alone, he called on congress to go with him. in a city that feasts on political theater, it was hydra

ma just past high noon as president obama told the world he had pulled back from the brink of a military strike against syria. >> i will seek authorization for the use of force from the american people's representatives in congress. >> reporter: aids to the president say mr. obama decided to go in a different direction at almost the last minute at approximately 6:00 p.m. friday, the president made the stunning change in plans to seek congressional authorization and then went for a walk. a 45-minute walk with the chief of staff denis mcdonough. approximately 7:00 p.m., the president announced the decision to the national security staff sparking a heated debate and then pred the word called vice president biden, secretary of state john kerry and defense secretary chuck hagel. saturday morning, he convened a principles meeting to finally the decision. >> the question is when do we collectively in the world going to do about it? >> reporter: hours before the

president's abrupt move, secretary kerry had made a passionate case for urgent action. >> instead of being tucked safely in their beds at home, we saw rows of children lying side by side sprawled on a hospital floor, all of them dead from assad's gas. >> reporter: but aides say what kerry and the rest of the president's team did not know is that mr. obama is privately kicking around the idea of seeking approval of congress for days as kerry was turning up the heat, the president seemed to be turning it down. >> i am very clear that the world generally is war weary. certainly, the united states has gone through over a decade of war. the american people understandably want us to be focused on the business of rebuilding our economy here and putting people back to work. and i assure you nobody ends up

being more war weary than me. >> reporter: as it turns out, administration officials say, the president was listening to members of congress who wanted in on the 0 process. >> it's incumbent to obey the constitution. the rule of law is manager our country is set on. >> the 64 members want to make sure congress is called back in the session, debate and then vote on whether we should engage militarily. >> reporter: on saturday, the president got back on the phone calling house speaker john boehner. here's my question for every member of congress and the global community, what message will we send in a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price? >> reporter: just minutes later, the president departed the white house with biden to play a round of golf leaving administration officials scrambling to show a united front despite that fierce discussion inside the west wing, aids say, the president's team is fully on board. as for the defense secretary,

one senior u.s. official said as a former senator whose views are well-known, it is not hard for chuck hagel to agree with the president. another official said of kerry, no concerns, he was in the senate for 29 years and has made consultation with congress a huge priority since he became secretary of state. the debate that counts is the one to come in congress where lawmakers from both parties still have questions. >> in my view, u.s. military force is justified only to protect the vital national security interest of the united states and to date the administration has not focused on those interests. >> i don't see where america is threatened. i don't see where our national security is threatened. and perhaps between now and the time we get back in september 9th the president will have information that would allow the congress to effectively see where this danger is. >> reporter: administration officials say the president

still reserves the right to take military action as one top official put it, the commander in chief still has the authority to act even if congress says, no. fredericka? >> thank you so much, jim. president obama didn't mince words when he announced he wants the strike against syria but he does want to get that congressional support. so what happens if lawmakers say no? beyond what jim was telling us? answers from gloria borger. [ male announcer ] when you have sinus pressure and pain,

you feel...squeezed. congested. beat down. crushed. as if the weight of the world is resting on your face. but sudafed gives you maximum strength sinus pressure and pain relief. so you feel free. liberated. released. decongested. open for business. [ inhales, exhales ] [ male announcer ] powerful sinus relief from the #1 pharmacist recommended brand. sudafed. open up. from the #1 pharmacist recommended brand. building animatronics is all about getting things to work together. the timing, the actions, the reactions. everything has to synch up. my expenses are no different. receipt match from american express synchronizes your business expenses. just shoot your business card receipts and they're automatically matched up with the charges on your online statement. i'm john kaplan and i'm a member of a synchronized world. this is what membership is. this is what membership does.

and the walmart's super savings event is here! like this xbox 360. on rollback: you save $20. and this huffy cranbrook cruiser. on rollback: you save over $9! get more for your money at walmart's super savings event. the next powerful storm is going to hit... but it will... that's why there's a new duracell battery. introducing duracell quantum. with its high density core, it's a quantum leap in battery power. the next storm is out there. but so are the heroes. so we're giving a million duracell quantum to first responders everywhere. power. in the hands of the most powerful. duracell. trusted everywhere.

and this information just in. according to reuters news service, the arab league is now calling for the u.n. and international measures, no further response coming from the u.n. or any other countries, but this information we're just now getting from reuters that arab league is calling for u.n. and international measures against syria over that gas attack or the series of gas attacks that have now been proven by the weapons inspectors who are just now returning from that country. all right. we'll get more on that later. so, here's a question. why did president obama decide to ask for u.s. congressional authorization to strike syria when he says he doesn't really need it? earlier i spoke with gloria borger about that. >> it is a bit of a risky

strategy, isn't it, fred? i think after david cameron lost the vote in britain and the white house had to do rethinking because they had lost a chief ally, when you don't have a chief ally like great britain on board, the president is looking for some other air cover, if you will, and i think this is a president, by the way, who was always supported congressional authorization for the use of force. when you look at the people in the administration, president obama, biden, hagel, kerry, all former senators, all have spoken on the floor of the senate about congressional authorization for the use of force. i think in the end they decided that it was the most prudent thing to do even at the same time it kind of makes him look like they were vacillating. i asked secretary kerry this question this morning. let's take a look at his answer. >> the president made his decision first. and he announced his decision.

his decision is that he believes the united states of america should take military action to deter assad from using these weapons and to degrade his capacity from doing so. now, that's the president's decision. but he -- >> no matter what congress does? no matter what congress does, the president -- >> he has the right to do that no matter what congress does. that's his right and asserted that in his comments yesterday. >> and so, gloria, you also asked the secretary, secretary kerry, what if congress says no? would the president act anyway? >> it sure seems to me from listening to kerry right there that he believes the president does have the authority to do this. and they believe as they've been saying over and over again that this is a matter of national security. that american interests are at stake. and that, therefore, they could do this by themselves. they say, however, they would now prefer to go to congress.

i think the big question here is, how will this congressional debate play out, fred? i mean, you have members of the president's own party who are very skeptical about this mission. people aren't so much skeptical about the evidence of assad using chemical weapons. i think the real problem in the congress is really a difference of opinion on whether this kind of a so-called surgical strike would actually be effect ifr in deterring assad from using chemical weapons and whether it would be an effective signal, in fact, to send to iran or north korea. and so, you know, you have john mccain out there saying this is a slap on the wrist that's not going to make much of a difference. so, the president right now has a little bit of time to make his case and he and his lieutenants and you saw secretary kerry this morning will all be there out there forcefully saying that members of congress have no

choice but to back this president. >> at the same time, you have got congressional leaders, senators who are worried about the constituency and america is very war weary. >> right. absolutely. and, you know, the irony here, of course, fred, this is a president who rose to prominence of being an anti-war spokesman, if you will. and now the skepticism and the cynicism about military action that has been built up over the last years is, in fact, a problem now for this president. so it's one of sort of a great irony of this story which is that the war weary country is in large part of a group of democrats led by the president and republicans who are saying, you know what? enough. we don't want to fight anymore wars. and i think nobody understands that better than president obama. >> all right. gloria borger, thanks so much for joining us from washington. >> sure. thanks, fred. so could a military strike

against the assad regime spark an all-out cyber war? why some think syrian hackers have already launched their first attacks. ♪ ♪

so you can get out of your element. so you can explore a new frontier and a different discipline. get two times the points on travel and dining at restaurants from chase sapphire preferred. so you can be inspired by great food once again. chase sapphire preferred. so you can. folks have suffered from frequent heartburn. but getting heartburn and then treating day after day is a thing of the past. block the acid with prilosec otc, and don't get heartburn in the first place. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

the president says he's holding off on military action until congress has its say but have syrian groups already attacked u.s. targets? some say they have and the attacks are taking place in cyberspace. it could lead to an all-out cyber war. >> reporter: server not found. a screen designation that many "the new york times" website customers had to deal with for about 20 hours. the website of one of the nagts's largest newspapers taken down. a group called the syrian

electronic army claimed responsibility. >> they're a pro-assad hacking group. it appears to be a loose collective of a few individuals. there's been some information put out on the internet that it could be even as young as 19-year-olds. >> reporter: mark, a former hacker now with the cyber security firm called beyond trust, followed this group's attacks. this spring, the syrian electronic army hacked the associated press twitter feed, put in a fake message. a u.s. official tells us, this is a murky, underground group that makes the name plastering on pro-regime propaganda. they say this was an escalation. previously, erks perts say, they would go after the direct managers of the websites they were hacking. using a phishing e-mail.

this time they went after the domain name system and connects you when you type in a website like cnn.com or nytimes.com to the specific computer addresses where that content is found. well, this time the hackers went after the managers of those connections. in this case, a firm that works with the company called melbourne i.t. they tricked them in to giving up the passwords. some people trying to go to "the times" peb site were steered to servers congressmaned by the syrian electronic army. will the hacks get worse as the pentagon once warned a cyber pearl harbor? homeland security expert says the syrian hackers will likely strike again. >> if they did work with some of their allies, with iran, if they were to get some support from china and russia, then, yes, then the game changes quickly.

>> reporter: the targets for america's cyber enemies, the u.s. electrical grid, government computer systems, experts say the syrian electronic army isn't sophisticated enough to do a lot of damage right now but with iran's help, certainly with china's or russia's they could get there. brian todd, cnn, washington. u.s. secretary of state says signatures of saran gas has been found in syrian. what is this? what affects does it have on victims? we have an explanation straight ahead.

usual please. thank you very much. ok guys, i'm back. i need a template of a template. oh my gosh. i've never even seen this record, i've only read about it in books. yeah we can get some peanut...that is huge. please don't judge the amount of peanut butter we are getting. from prepaid to platinum, cashback and more membership has a card for every character. i'm carrie brownstein and i get to be whoever i want.

this is what membership is. this is what membership does. all right. bottom of the hour now. welcome back. i'm fredericka whitfield. five things on the cnn news desk right now. the arab states according to reuters news service is reporting that the arab states are now calling on the international community to take action against the syrian government over that chemical gas attack that president obama says killed hundreds of civilians. the arab league, foreign ministers also saying that those responsible for the attack should face trial as other war criminals have. we're talking about 22 members of the arab league. including the united arab emirates, e jit, qatar, jordan and saudi arabia all weighing in on that according to reuters.

all right. number two. ford just announced it's recalling 370,000 cars. the company says the steering shaft may corrode which can cause loss of steering affecting 2005 to 2011 models of the mercury grand marquis, lincoln town car and crown victoria. number three, former president mandela left the hospital today but he is in critical andal times unstable condition. the 95-year-old anti-apartheid leader now at home. the south african government says he will get the same kind of intensive care that he has been receiving at the hospital. only this time at home. he was admitted in june with a lung infection. and number four, a sharp spike in radiation levels in japan is reported in pipes and containers holding water at the nuclear plant. tokyo electric power company

says a single drop escaped the holding tank. they're confident that the crews can deal with the problems safely. the fukushima plant was severely damaged in the tsunami that hit japan. david frost has died. he was a fixture on american and british television. but he was perhaps best known for the interviews with president richard nixon. david frost was 74. and now we take a closer look at the nerve gas that the u.s. is accusing syria of using. saran gas. it is one of the most toxic chemical weapons that exist. even a fraction of an ounce can kill a person. elizabeth cohen tells us how dangerous it can be. >> a reason why saran gas is so

lethal is that you don't know it's coming. it is odorless, it is tasteless. you usually don't know that y you've been affected until you get sick. the pew tills come to a pinpoint. they get headaches, excessive sweating, convulsions and respiratory failure. nerve gas can kill within minutes. some people survive and probably means that they didn't get as big of a dose when they breathe it or not or touched it or get to a place where there is no gas. here's exactly what nerve gas does to your body. the glands and the muscles have off switches so they're not working all the time and a nerve gas turns off that off switch so your muscles and glands are working all the time. you actually can become exhausted, collapse, become paralyzed and eventually die. now, there is an antidote to nerve gases like sarin. it's an injection. and it's best to get it as soon as possible. fredericka? >> all right. thanks so much, elizabeth cohen. many americans are weary

about launching a strike on syria and some are taking the concerns to the streets. the growing protest movement next. [ male announcer ] when you have sinus pressure and pain, you feel...squeezed. congested. beat down. crushed. as if the weight of the world is resting on your face. but sudafed gives you maximum strength sinus pressure and pain relief. so you feel free. liberated. released. decongested. open for business. [ inhales, exhales ] [ male announcer ] powerful sinus relief from the #1 pharmacist recommended brand. sudafed. open up. bounce keeps my clothes fresh for weeks,

even when they've been sitting in the drawer a long time. like those jeans you can't fit into anymore. uh...by that, i mean... [ male announcer ] how do you get your bounce? long-lasting freshness.

talk of military action ignited protests around the country. the white house was a target right as the president addressed the nation from the rose garden yesterday. nick valencia is here. how size rbl the protests? >> they're big and across the country and matters. they're making noise. you have the demonstrations outside of the rose garden today. there's those against the action, possible military action against syria. but there were those also that supported this. the large contingent of those outside of the white house yesterday were saying that we

need to keep our hands off syria and the protests across the u.s. aenl not just in washington but places like boston. here in atlanta and los angeles, california, where our cnn crew was and they caught up with a demonstrator who couldn't help but get emotional about her reasoning why we should stay out of syria. >> i want to let the american friends that i know that we want peace. we don't want war. to leave us alone. to take care of this government. because people are dying every day. and he's just making everything in syria worse. >> you see raw emotions there. gloria borger was talking about the nation being war weary and that's what i think we're seeing. >> the president's words about now seeking the approval of congress and any way changed the tone of the demonstrations? >> you have one side that's been very opposed to it and vocal about the opposition and not

everyone sees it as a bad move. earlier i spoke to a member of the syrian american council and he laid out the reasoning of why we should strike sir why right now. >> most recently we saw the chemical weapons that was used against women and children. if we -- the u.s. and international community do not take action, the assad regime will use chemical weapons on other parts of syria. we are not asking to start a war. the syrian opposition, me, myself, not asking for war, to start a war but end the war. >> and he went on to say it's important for the regional interests, very important for the allies in the region, no one else is bombed with the chemical weapons and they aren't used on anybody else and a moral obligation to strike now. >> some of the breaking news in the last hour that the arab league is now voting in favor of a u.n. intervention or at least the international community

stepping in in some capacity and interesting to see if the dynamic will change the course of action. >> how it develops. people are passionate of whether or not to be in syria or out and only time will tell in this case and, you know, president obama has made a very strong claim for why we should be there. you will hear the duelling voices and duelling protests, fred. >> thank you so much. it is the beginning. nick, appreciate that. all right. the potential strike on syria has been delayed but if the president of the united states makes the decision to go, what happens then? we'll explain how the military action would be planned and executed. [ male announcer ] this one goes out to all the allergy muddlers. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word... if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts... well muddlers, muddle no more.

try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour one on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour three. zyrtec®. love the air.

all right. this breaking news now, former egyptian president morsi will stand trial in criminal court. related to clashes in december of last year. he was ousted in july by the military. there have been a series of deadly clashes in the country between morsi supporters and opponents. a date for the trial has not been set. strong words today from the arab league. it has called for, quote, action against the syrian government. let's bring in reza sayeh from cairo on the phone. a few things happening and we

should talk to you from your vantage point but begin with the arab league and how significant this is that these arab league nations are 22 and including syria, the majority of the nations saying there needs to be some u.n. intervention or some intervention from the international community? >> reporter: but the key is they don't mention the word military action, fred. the words are not as strong as the obama administration would have liked. after a meeting, the arab league has delivered a message and that message is they do not explit sitly approve military action against syria but saying that the league calls on the international community that represented by the security council to assume its responsibility and take deterrent and needed measures against this crime referring to the chemical attacks in syria and all crimes of genocide. if you break down the implications here, the arab

league is an organization of arab governments so if they would have come out and given direct support of military action by the u.s., it would have certainly bolstered the case president obama will have to make to the u.s. congress in the coming days that the u.s. should carry out some kind of limited attacks against syria, the head of syria's opposition group today in cairo, the syrian national government asked them to pass a tough resolution in support of military action. the arab league condemned the use of chemical weapons. they have put the blame squarely on the assad regime. but so far, their position has been and it remains with the message today that they want the u.n. security council to take charge when it comes to approving military action. obviously that's not happening so that explains why the arab league did not give the green light for a military

explicitly but if washington does go ahead with a strike, it would not be in violation of the arab league's position but i think when's paramount here, fred, and a bigger point is that the arab league's position is probably not going to be a difference maker for the vote that will take place in the u.s. congress. that's the vote that will decide if the u.s. attacks syria or not, despite what the arab league delivered with its message today. >> all right. thank you so much from cairo, egypt. we appreciate that. coming up next, a close member of president al assad's family. his wife is called syria's princess diana for the hum humanitarian efforts. how much influence does she have over her husband as the death toll in the country rises? more than 40% released from california's juvenile justice system end up back behind bars within a year. our cnn hero witnessed the

revolving door firsthand and decided to give the kids some new options. >> i used to get in to trouble. i was selling drugs. >> there was domestic violence in my home. i didn't see a future for myself. >> once i got a record, i can't get a job, i'll do what i used to do. >> you know better than anybody. you're the ones that have to change. >> i worked as a juvenile corrections officer. young people get out ready. we put them back in the same environment and they would come back to jail. witnessing that over and over, i could not do something about it. i'm teresa. i started the old-school cafe to give them the skills and the opportunity to change their lives. >> everybody needs to be paying attention. >> our program provides four months of hands-on training. >> excuse my reach. >> jump in and learn.

if they complete that successfully, they get a chance to apply for an employee position. we're excited to have you on the team and really proud of you. >> we do the hiring, we do firing. we do reviews. you know what it means to have a sense of urgency for your team players. >> i want them to keep rising up in leadership and management. the theme of the restaurant is $20s, '40s harlem renaissance. >> i used to just make grilled cheese but now i cook everything on the menu. >> it's a lot of opportunity. this will help me stay out of trouble. >> the core of it is giving them hope. >> i'm going to be my own boss. >> i'm going to be an entrepreneur. >> i'm going to be successful. >> once that light goes on, whatever they do, they're on their way to fly. ♪

(woman) this place has got really good chocolate shakes. (growls) (man) that's a good look for you. (woman) that was fun. (man) yeah. (man) let me help you out with the.. (woman)...oh no, i got it. (man) you sure? (woman) just pop the trunk. (man vo) i may not know where the road will lead, but... i'm sure my subaru will get me there. (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

that your mouth is under attack, from food particles and bacteria. try fixodent. it helps create a food seal defense for a clean mouth and kills bacteria for fresh breath. ♪ fixodent, and forget it.

the first lady of syria has spent many years helping victims of the civil war but as the death toll rises how much influence does she have with her husband? here's brian todd. >> reporter: fredericka, she is called sir why's princess diana. she lent a touch to the syrian regime and right now her chief role seems to be to put spin on a horrific situation, photographed consoling the families of deceased soldiers. the pictures on the president's facebook page. she visits victims of the war her husband fights. in a glowing provile, "vogue" called her a "rose in the

desert" and then pulled the article. married for a dozen years to syria's embattled dictator. how does she rationalize this? >> i think she is standing by her man. she threw her lot in with bashar a long time ago. >> reporter: this analyst knows her, worked with her as a charity in syria and believes the syrian first lady clearly understands the gravity of what's going on there. in an interview with cnn two years before the syrian uprising, she spoke about the condition of palestinians in gaza. >> i think about when you put your children at bed at night. this is something i think about on a daily basis. you expect to see them in the morning. that's a luxury that people in gaza just do not have. so what would it be like for you having, living under those circumstances? >> reporter: before syrian children found themselves under those circumstances, she was all about helping them.

she established charities, worked on literacy programs, since the war started she's not been seen as much in public. how much influence does she have over him? >> i think she has some influence in terms of pointing out some of the basic problems in the country and particularly these issues about reform but politically she's not accepted by the people around the regime's core. >> reporter: she is sunni. the daughter of a syrian cardiologist. born in london and raised in this home, educated at the best schools in england, her trajectory was impressive. she worked for two investment banks after graduating, closed lucrative deals but since marriage, her knack for sense of style led to pushback. some photos were obtained by cnn, "the guardian" and others. e-mails revealed one point as her country was being torn apart by civil war, she ordered

$16,000 worth of candle sticks, tables and chandeliers from paris. in an e-mail she boosted that she was the quote real dick aor the in the marriage. i asked what may be going through her mind right now. >> i think that she is torn and made a decision. the fact is that that she has made her life around the assad regime itself. she's i think a divided person very much like her husband between wanting to reform and carry out good works in the country and being the first lady of syria and those two things particularly with this regime are incompatible. >> reporter: there's speculation that she might at some point leave syria but andrew thinks she will stay to the bitter end. fleeing the country would mean leaving her husband and possibly her three young children behind. fredericka?

next hour of cnn "newsroom" begins right now with don lemon in new york. >> how are you? happy sunday. when's going on, anything good? >> very -- well, yeah, you know, rainy and stormy but it all continues. we have a lot of news straight ahead. i pass the baton to you. >> i want to show you this before the news. camera one, look how sunny it is in new york city. >> you got to rub it in, is that you're saying? >> with the panoramic view! with the new studio.

where are my windows around here? >> you have a window that the tourists can see in. >> that's true. i get to see faces but you get to see the sunshine. >> have a great day. evening. good to see you. >> all right. take care. >> all right. hello, everyone. top of the hour. i'm don lemon. we're continuing our special coverage of the syria crisis. boy, do we have a lot to tell you about following the president's decision to hit pause so congress could vote. we start with the parade of leaders from both parties hitting the sunday talk shows. >> the president really felt very strongly that the congress of the united states weighing in makes our nation stronger in whatever action we take. >> this is a clear