and we're going to bring it to you as soon as it happens. >> plus take a look at this video. a mudslide in nevada, the driver had, rescued an the forecast calling for more flash floods across the country today. we're going to be tracking some wet labor weather for you this morning. we also have breaking news out of syria. we've been tracking what's been happening here but we have two pieces of news internationally for you. the aircraft area, one of five ships moving into the area. also, word that the u.s. marines have had their website hacked. he's get to brianna keilar covering this out of the white house >> reporter: after a dramatic weekend was president obama and his top aides are flooding the zone as they put it trying to win over lawmakers and that's because this bet on congress is

not a sure thing. >> no comment, thank you. >> secrete briefings on capitol hill. the white house making its case to skeptical lawmakers. john kerry reveal new evidence to back claims that the assad regime killed hundreds with gas. >> blood and hair samples that have come to us have tested positive. >> the president's team move quickly after his surprise decision to put a syria strike on hold saying congress should approve. >> all of us should be accountable as we move forward. >> reporter: his aides insist he's planning on moving forward. friday he sends kerry out to argue for urgent action. >> what is the risk of doing

nothing. >> reporter: late he signals second thoughts. but aides say he didn't tell anyone until friday at 6 p.m. when he takes a 45-minute walk with chief of staff. at 7:00 he tells husband national security staff. sad morning he calls his top team to the situation room to finalize his plan. then heads to the rose garden to stun the world. >> i will see authorization for the use of force from the american people's representatives in congress. >> reporter: now, complicating matters this week, president obama has an international trip. he heads to sweden and russia tomorrow. a senior administration official insists he will be fully engaged while he is abroad. but still that's sort of a tough lift from so far away. >> and a very busy week ahead

for the president. the balm administration is facing an uphill battle as it tries to summon congress for a mig tear strike. dana bash live on capitol hill. the lawmakers had plenty to say. what are you hearing. >> reporter: the white house is going to have-to-do a lot more than flood the zone as they're calling it. people are saying that the votes simply are not there yet for congressional authorization. what they want to hear from the white house is more specifics about the military strategy and what exactly they want the do after the strikes. >> one after another lawmakers e meshlged from a classified briefing intended to convince them to thors force in syria. >> certainly the mood in the district that i represent is do not do this. and i honestly didn't hear anything that told me i thought

to have a different position. >> i'm a no based on the information that i have now. >> and many of the president's fellow demeanorics. >> i'm skeptical of the president's proposal. it's not clear what the results would be. >> vote taken today, yes or no. >> i honestly cannot say. >> we want there to be some consequences. what is that. is that just going to war? is that bombing? is this killing more people? i'm not there yet. i would not vote for it today. >> to be short, the president does have some support. >> where are you right now job with you a yes or a no? >> i'm a yes. >> but to get enough yeses to pass, one thing is clear. this must be changed. >> the biggest single concern among the members may very well have been a very broad request

for authority with a supposedly narrow intent to do anything. >> that concern is bipartisan. they want to limit the authority they give to the president, specify a time frame for the strikes and make crystal clear no boots on the ground. >> this is a partial blank check the way it's currently draft. >> reporter: i'm told the white house has made clur they understand this is going to have to be changed. i want to give you a wind dow into the police call arguments. inside the classified a meeting, people were thag what would the world think if we santa rosaed this down. >> a lot more convincing to do to say the last. thank you so much. >> we want to return to some breaking news this morning. we're learning about the

movement of the u.s. carriers and four other ships moving into the sea. what could this mean? >> reporter: well, good morning, kate. u.s. official now confirming that an aircraft carrier with four other war ships is entering the red sea this morning. this is the vital waterway between the central region up into the red sea and on to the mediterranean. but by being in the red sea, that puts these ships within striking range of syria. wob clear, u.s. officials are saying there's no plan to use the aircraft, the fighter jets on the deck of the u.s.s.nimitz. but this kind of fire power is what they call prudent planning

just in case. it puts a lot of extra fire power in the region if the u.s. sees where they need it, it puts it in place to respond if it comes to that. >> all right. thank you very much. appreciate the reporting this morning. let's get another perspective. thank yes for joining us. >> reporter: good morning to you both. >> well president obama is looking to congress for approval, drawing criticism at home and abroad. what is your take on why? >> well, look, it's all about what is the international community's response to the highest violation under international humanitarian law and that is the use of weapons of mass destruction. in england they are reeling in great britain from the defeat in parliament pmt here in the country the they're still in a state of shock about what happened to david cameron.

it's about england and great britain's position in foreign policy. plus it's always today shoulder to shoulder in the military operations. now in frans, french president and his ministers are all debating today and they're sharing the evidence. they say they're absolutely convinced when they show the evidence it will be a slam kung if you like, they have proof that assad used chemical weapons. there will be a public bedate in the french national assembly. but there will be no vote. now already though in france former prime from a conservative party is saying, hey, if the u.s. had a vote, britain had a vote, why can't we have a vote. right now the constitution does not require a vote in france and right now the president says there won't be a vote. >> christian, let's refocus in

terms of why president obama is getting criticism when you look at it in the context of who's closer to moving into syria. the u.n. is staying stop but no saipgss. uc r k is out, france is deciding, the arab league vague, so why the criticism of the united states president when nobody seems any closer than attacking syria than he. >> there really is only one super power, there's only one country that historically has done this kind of stuff, either u.n. approval or a small eer coalition of the willing. this time you're right, it's very limited. france and the united states seems to be those who will go in right now. certainly turkey wanted to go in. the u.s. hasn't asked turkey to

be a part of this. israel obviously could do it but it won't because it simply doesn't do these kinds of thing although it will strike whether its own interest is at stake and it has struck four times in syria and it has struck with impunity. in other words there was no retaliation. and israel feels very strongly -- i spoke to the former head of israeli intelligence. israel would like to see syria's government forces, its air cavity, air power were chemical weapons ability degraded. israel would like to see a really significant strike by the united states. that's probably not going to happen beyond the punitive measures that the president and the secretary of state have already outlined. >> israel being noted for their

deafening silence on this. weighing the potential ups and downs, where is your mind in terms of whether you think this happens? >> well, just on israel, israel would be silent in this regard. there's nothing in it for israel to talk publicly about this because people will start blaming it, there will be a conspiracy, it's all because of israel. that's why they're being quiet but their support is for the action. who knows? we'll see. you guys cover the politics. we know that barbara star has reported and all of the military seems to be in place. let's just remember having covered many of these actions in the past, these are very, very limited. we are not talking about a war. we're not even talking about an air campaign. we're talking about potentially cruise missiles, other kinds of fire power that they call you know standoff, you know, in

other words on ships and maybe even planes from far away. it's not a boots on the ground campaign such as the iraq war of 2003 or, you know, afghanistan were the first iraq war >> it's an interesting commentary when bombing is not seen as a major military action. >> it is, chris. >> go ahead. >> no. it's okay. it is. there's no doubt about about it. i'm not belittling what it is but it's not the kind of campaign we saw prepared and then activated in iraq in 2003. it's a very different limited use of fire power. now what actually happens, we'll see. >> thank you very much for refocusing. has happy labor day to you. >> and to you and all the viewers. >> thank you. this morning we're going to have

a lot more coverage and debate every side of this issue. is it about politics, humanitarian lead? we'll talk it out. we're going to be debate from chairman and several others. >>. there is a lot of news coming out this morning. >> tall ban fighters attacking a u.s. base and paying dearly for it near the border of pakistan. the coalition forces and afgan forces killed all of the attackers. no nato troops were reported killed progress on the fire lines

in yosemite national park. i's now 40% contained and the smoke is starting to dissipate. this is the fourth largest blaze in modern california history. it's charred more than 224,000 acres. 11 homes destroyed the operator of japan's heavily damaged fukushima nuclear plant say that radiation level are 18 times higher than previously thought. the plant's operator say they've found another leaking pipe at the plant. this plant was crippled in the 2011 earthquake ford issuing a major recall. the issue, potential steer shaft corrosion could lead to steering loss. no incident or injuries have been reported so far. count victoria, mercury grand

marquis and lincoln town cars from 2005 through 201137 now about this. clearing fans at a high school game in ohio suddenly plunge to the ground. look at that. that railing just gave way own those bleachers. a few people for sent to the hospital for treatment. but luckily amazing there were no major injuries. the home team, they beat their rival 41-7. some day there at that high school. >> that's like probably, what is that, maybe the opening game of the high school season. >> you would think. >> a lot of drama on that opening game. >> luckily they were so ampd up. >> on monday those guys were going to be like, i did it. i'm just that strong take a look at some of these amazing images of destruction

near las vegas. heavy rain lead to flash flooding. one woman and her baby had to be rescued. they're said to be okay. let's get to andrea peterson. >> yeah, it really doesn't take much rain in the swet. this is right around utah. if you're not familiar with this area, it could rain 50 to 100 miles away and you get a wall of mud as high as 30 feet come rushing into the area. this is right where the carpenter fire was. look at the damage from a small cell that kicked through the area. let me show you what it looks like on the radar. it's one cell that cruised right over the area. so unfortunately this is still going to be the story. we saw all of it over the weekend. all sit, dome of high pressure. typical monsoonal moisture.

this is something we see in the southwest this time of year. same thing today. you see the flooding concernings in that region. here comes the second cold front we were waiting for, this one more powerful than the first one, two to two inches if you're in new england. tough. >> all right. well, we'll get a chaeckback. >> coming up on "new day" we're going to show you some real hard work in action. this is the fifth time that diana ny ad has tried to swim from cuba to florida. we're going to fif you a live report plus it doesn't get much more frightening than this, when you're driving, a sudden landslide sends a bolder right on to the highway. we're going to show you what

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welcome back. very impressed that you're up here on labor day. cant think of many stories that capture the effort of labor than what we're seeing with olympic swimmer diana nyad. her fifth attempt to swim from cuba to florida. he's now closer to key west than anyone has ever swam without a shark cage. our john za rel lo is racing to get to her location because she's swimming so fast. >> reporter: we're actually crossing the seven-mile bridge.

less than ten miles ago, that's the last report we've gotten, it's gotten a little more difficult for her what the folks on her team are telling us, making frequent stops now, swallowing salt water. she's three miles out the reef, and then seven more miles to key west. clearly the last leg is going to have her toughest. >> seems nothing could keep diana nyad from returning to the water. he's determined to become the first in the world to swim from cuba to florida. last night she broke the word for distance swimming farther than anyone without a shark cage or protection from the elements. she's been swimming for more than 45 hours now and says this fifth attempt will be her last >> there's a fine line between having the grace to see that

things are bigger than you are and to let your ego go and there's another edge over that fine line where you don't want to ever, ever give up. and i'm still at that place. >> here's what she's up against. a growling 103-mile swim estimated to take 80 hours in shark infested waters. and then there's these, box jelly fish. their venom is among the deadliest in the world attacking the heart, nervous system and skin cells. it's the jelly fish that thwarted her early attempts. this year she's using a mask to protect herself mays from jelly fish swims. she first attempted this swim in 1978 when she was 28 years old. she attempted twice in 201 and again last year. she kept up her strength eating

and drinking while floating on her back. she says this is her last chance to achieve her dream. >> the celebration may be strokes away. >> reporter: so now she's really fighting that exhaustion these last ten miles. swallowing the salt water, that's never going to be a good thing. this is clearly going to be a test of whether there's any adrenaline left in her to kick in. if there is, she's expected to arrive at a public beach in key west between 4:00 and 6:00. this evening. >> thaw adjusted the time schedule back obviously because of the decrease in the rate. we get that the fatigue is obvious. we get that swallowing the salt water is bad. but what do we know about what else happens in this leg of the swim that makes it more difficult? it is currents?

is it temperature, jelly fish? >> reporter: right now they haven't had any issues with the jelly fish. the current was a big benefit to them and once they get inside the reef it's not an issue of what they're fighting in the water other than just the sheer exhaustion after she's already gone more than 90 miles you know swimming. so this is really just a test test of if she's got any gas left in the tank. >> thank you so much for look forward to the updates on this one. >> no kidding. how far she's swam already is already an amazing feat. we wish her well. coming up next on "new day," we're following breaking news out of syria this morning. u.s. ships moving into the area as president obama tries to convince congress to approve a military strike. we will look at all of the

angles in the movement. >> a pitcher tried to the rest room. how does that happen? good thing the stadium had a crowbar because that's what you need to open a door. story coming up. ] a classic macaroni & cheese from stouffer's starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese. but what makes stouffer's mac n' cheese best of all. that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. made with care for you or your family.

hopefully this is one of the best days of your life. welcome back to "new day," labor day, monday, september 2nd. coming up in the show, amazing video. check this out. landslide comes down at his car and then huge fred flintstone

size bolder barely missing his car. >> quarterback tim tebow is no longer with the new england patriots. now he's looking to another team. >> the new york jets had the humanity to give tebow a chance. a lot of news. let's get to john berman. >> there is a lot of news out there. breaking news out of syria. aircraft carrier the u.s.s. nimitz has entered the red sea. this as syrian hackers has taken over the marine website. they've replaced their site with a letter asking u.s. marines not to attack syria. today president obama will meet with john mccain and lindsey

graham. they're key people. they've uncovered signatures of the gas on the attack outside of damascus nult. explosions are reported followed by gun fire in air aia was nay that supply trucks were park. several of them caught fire. no u.s. or nato casualties have been reported. david frost being remembered this morning as an interviewer who knew how to get his subjects to open up. frost spent decades on television talking to the famous and powerful, including the 1977 conversation with richard nixon when the former president admitted to letting the american people down. he died of a heart attack. he was 74 florida a and m's marching

band back on the football field for the first time in two years. they were suspended in 2011 after a drum major died in a hazing ritual. the band director and university president, they both resigned afterwards. the band has fewer members now and much tougher rules. and lucky for the tampa bay rays they didn't need their closer friday night. it was the pitcher who needed a save after getting stuck inside a dugout bathroom at the coliseum. it took a team of stadium personnel using the crowbar to finally rescue rodney and he was greeted by embarrassing high fives. they had to shut down the cl clubhouses for a while.

>> all right. john, thanks so much. let's move down, talking about a messy sport, let's talk to our political gut check. the president turns to congress in what will likely be a tough sell for military intervention in syria. here to break it all down for us, cnn political analyst and director for the dale think beast, john after long and brianna keilar. we get a double dose because we need so much help. john, the president says the u.s. needs to take action. if he really believes we need to take ax and he believes the congress should have a say, why not call congress back now to have that vote? >> because you would be breaking congress's vacation on labor day. it's a matter of war and peace. it's a very important question. because if this is such an urgent matter why not call them back. but what part of what he's doing

is looking to david cameron's precedent in the uk. so as he makes this historic case for war, he's taking his time to make the broader case. he says strikes are going to come. >> and he needs probably time for him and his team to do some arm twisting on their own and convince them to support military action. >> brianna, there are tough politics regardless when it comes to such a serious issue like the u.s. taking military action but there are some interesting alliances forming when you talk about the polit s politics. >> we call them strong bed fellows. it's not often you find an issue that will unite liberal democrats and conserve tif republican. why isn't he calling back congress early? i think right now and certainly this is something that our chief

congress depression nal correspondent has found, they feel if there was vote right now it would fail. me needs to time, having and has to do the convincing. >> here is the hardest question of the morning, job. what does the president need to do? what do they need to do in the week ahead to do just that, to convince lawmakers that the move is the right move? >> and the turn the american people. they need to make the point that we've had a ban on the use of chemical weapons since 1995. and to ignore that precedent would be giving others a green light to use it. it's up to the u.s. to lead. the president is passing a fine line here, instead of doing the constitutional thing to make that case. it's a path fraught with danger. >> president is about on heading

overseas. that's very interesting time for him to be dealing with this fight at home as well as needing to do some convincing abroad. >> that's right. first he'll be heading to sweden, he'll head there tomorrow evening and you could argue that point of the trip that got talked on, that's sort of the more social part of the visit. you look at the g 20 later in the week and you could argue he's going to be talking with allies so he could maybe make some head way there. how does he twist arms from that far away. >> a lot of people, say, that they need to hear directly from the president on issues like this. do you think the president needs to take his case directly to american people like he started to on saturday? but that saturday adrez really took a lot of people by surprise because many people thought he was going to be announcing that

the u.s was going into military action? >> i would expect one more prime time address to lay out his case but presidents are never more effective than when they go to american people. we're going to be looking to an interesting coalition across lines. this is going to be tough to pass in the house of representatives in particular. but part of what the president is hoping that he can help reset relations with the congress with all of the important items that they are. this outreach could be key to resetting the relationship with congress in the fall. >> at this point we're not focusing at all or neither are lawmaker tons budget battle or immigration. this is the priority at the moment and will continue to be. thank you so much. now, this is good discussion, we're going to have a lot more of it this morning because syria demands it to be honest. we're going to look at every side of the issue. we're going to look to congress

members. they're going to talk to us about it and we're going to debate with former white house secretary flieser and howard dean, republican stratus anna navarro. we'll give you a break here on "new day." we're going to tell you the tim tebow story when you come back. he's looking for another team. is he going to make anytime the nfl? we'll discuss plus a giant boulder comes with inches of a car. but first cnn's "cross fire" is returning september 9th. let's take a look back at one of of its classic clips. >> one of the most intense episodes of "cross fire" was in november of 1985. the philadelphia's police department's attempt to evict a

group started a fire that killed 11 people and destroyed 61 homes. watch what happened when two members of move joined the krvegs. >> you said and i quote there is no doubt that move through garbage in the streets and their neighbors. now i assume that you knew garbage in the street? >> pardon me we cannot all derive or knowledge -- hundreds of able news men. >> we can't talk together. may i finish please?

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welcome walk to "new day." he's go around the world.

former south african president, nelson mandela back home this morning after spending three months in the hospital. but he remains in very fragile health. we have the latest from johannesburg. >> they've wanted him discharged from the hospital for a number of weeks not because she's getting better but because they want him in the comfort and privacy of his own home. we know he's on a vent later and receiving dial sis for failed kidney ps. his long struggle continues back here at home. kate, back to you. >> thank you so much for that update. heavy rains have aet off landslides. a giant boulder nearly crushed a car and hi was all caught on a dashboard camera. >> reporter: heavy rains battered taiwan over the weekend. landslides and flooding reeked

havoc particularly in the north where this staggering dashboard video was captured. the video shows one lucky driver cheating death. a giant boulder rolling close to crushing the car. the driver escaped unharmed. several building were destroyed. back to you, kait. >> thank you so much. that boulder looks like the size of a house. >> so unfortunate that didn't touch him. back here at home we're talking tim tebow. cut from the new england patriots five days before the new season. this is the third time she's been dumped. three years ago he was a first round draft pick, international sensation. let's bring in andy shoels with the bleacher report.

why is this happening? >> tebow can't seem to catch a break. his nfl career now on life support. patriots for thought of of tebow's best shot. but now after being cut over the weekend, tebow is running out of options leaving many to wonder is this the end of his nfl career. famed football player tim tebow got the action on saturday. they cut the 26-year-old from their roster 12 weeks after signing him, five days before the start of the reason. tebow's nfl career has been questioned. >> do you think it's your last opportunity to be a start near the nfl? >> i'm focused on getting better today, not anything that's going to happen down the road but today. >> his release comes after a year after the height of tebow

mania where fans copied his pregame pose while his face filled up magazine racks. he was even parodied on saturday night live. >> that's great but you need to read the regular play book. seriously i'm going all the work here. >> tebow's sats once spoke for himself. he won the hies man while playing for the florida gators then came the broncos and winning fame after throwing an overtime game winning touch down pass. but now he can't seem to catch a break. >> if he's going to stay in the nfl he has to play another position. he can't play quarterback. he's lost the little ability he had to play quarterback. >> but tebow says his faith and future remain steadfast. on saturday he tweeted i will remain in pour suit of my lifelong team of being an nfl

quarterback. >> i feel like in every situation is a learning opportunity in life, not only football but in everything you do in life. >> tebow cleared waivers over the weekend. he's now a free agent once again looking for someone to take a chance on him. but with everyone's rossterred finalized before week one, his chances are finalized. >> i don't like it. >> do you have thought sns. >> he was on the jets. my team is the jets. they let him go. we have some of the worst quarterbacks i've seen. so i don't know. i mean, j.b. and i talk football a lot. i get that he's not a great quarterback but he's not the worst. >> but rex ryan is a great coach, two great coaches have taken a good look at him and decided he doesn't fit on their teams. >> you know who's not a bad quarterback? andrew luck. >> he's good. bad team, though. >> hey, easy.

the fight will continue in the commercial break. coming up next, the white house in full campaign mode the morning trying to push members of congress to approve a strike against syria has the u.s. military moves extra fire power into the region in the event it's needed. plus we have for you your worst safari nightmare. an elephant in a surlily mood. it's our "new day" must see moment. we're playing, what's the name of the band, "toto "? but this is no joke. i'm a careful investor.

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thank you so much. welcome back to "new day." today's must see moment. really. watch as this scene unfolds in africa. when a herd of elephants notice they're being watched. several of them come in for a closer inspection and one female goes another step. she used her head and trunk to ram the jeep carrying the viewers. luckily no one was injured. i am sure those people were terrified but at the same time you go on safari to see the animals up close. >> i've been there. >> have you been rammed by an

elephant. >> vi not been rammed by an elephant. you know what may have been happening? her baby could have bonn the other side of the truck. you get in between the momma and the baby -- >> bad place to be. >> what is that guy in the thing? >> he's whistling at the elephant. >> are you nuts? >> it's time to drive away >> how much can you do? >> drive away. >> what i would do. you can always panic. >> you stuff it. >> you two stop it. >> that's like social darwinism. >> the elephant will win. >> you're going to be a statistic. >> take a break here on "new day." when we come back, serious news coming out of the syria situation. aircraft carriers moving into the red sea, five u.s. ships going there. what is this a sign of? a sign of a strike or just

preparation? also ahead, endurance swimmer diana nyad closer than she's ever been to reaching her goal. will her fifth attempt from the cuba to florida swim be the charm? the secret is out. hydration is in.

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that's why i got a subaru. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. it's time for the rock block. a quick roundup of the story you'll be talking about today. >> in the papers, drug agents have their own version of nsa phone logs going back longer times. the "new york times" they have have huge databases for at least

six years. d.c. parents are demanding change after recess was cut to 15 minutes a day. and in the "new york daily news" it was spiderman to the reese cue. his copy of the issue number one sold for $7900. time now for alison kosik with your business news. >> one of the biggest deals ever could be announced later to today. verz is ready to pay $13 billi n billion. >> and the unemployment rate holding steady at 7.4%. this is an iphone shopper alert. the wall smart is slashing prices to 98 dollars to the

iphone 5. also cutting the prices on ipads. >> it's no longer speculation. we're still not seeing a hurricane into the atlantic. we are watching. but of course it is labor day weekend so let's get to the forecast and unif the nately it means rain for so many, the northeast to the southeast. a cold front sweeping through the area. southeast spotted showers are going nb the forecast today. once you head higher and go to the mid the atlantic, one to two inches. but i wanted to end on a good note. we have some 70s and 80s. at least it's barm and rainy. >> thank you so much. we're now at the top of the hour which means it's time for the top news. after careful deliberation i

have decided that the united states should take military action against syrian regime targets. >> pushing for action. president obama making a full court press trying to convince congress to approve a strike on syria. we hear from those members of congress. as he made the case? epic achievement, diana nyad, her fifth attempt to swim from cuba to the u.s. is almost complete. a landslide nearly takes out his car but then a giant boulder almost collides with it. where did it come from? >> your "new day" starts right now. >> what you need to know --. >> the mood in the district that i represent is do not do that. >> what you just have to see.

>> good morning to you. welcome back to "new day." monday, september 2nd, labor day. we're going to be following that amazing feet. diana nyad, she could make history today. this is her fifth attempt to swim the 103 miles from cuba to florida. she's about ten miles out from her goal. the question is can she make it? we have a reporter racing to the scene to follow. then this. it's a court case that has people outraged a country. a judge sentenced a teacher to 30 days in jail and that judge made some very controversial kpents comments about the victim during the sentence but could the sentence be overturned? let's start with syria and

breaking news. several ships have entered the red sea and are ready to launch an attack against syria. hay ear waiting to see what the u.s. will do. and president obama making an urgent sales pitch for a military strike. he will meet with john mccain and lindsey graham. meanwhile, a cyber war afoot. hackers, loyal to president assad, apparently took over the u.s. marine's website and urged the corps not to attack. a lot of angles here. we're covering all of them but we're going to start at the white house with brianna keilar. >> reporter: good morning to you. flooding the zone that is the catch phrase you're hearing white house aides use a lot for reaching out to congress. president obama, vice president biden, white house chief of star were on the phone with many

members of congress. that will continue today and that's because this bet on congress is anything but a sure thing. >> no comment. thank you. >> reporter: secret briefings on capitol hill. the white house making its case to skeptical lawmakers secretary of state john kerry revealing new evidence to back the claims that the aassad regime has used the gas. the president's team moving quickly after his surprise decision to put a syria strike on hold saying congress could approve. >> all of us should be accountable as we move forward. >> his aides assist that he had been thinking about reversing course even before the british parliament embarrassed the --

fridays he sends kerry out to surge for action. later that day he signals second thoughts. >> nobody ends up being more war weary than me. >> but aides she he didn't tell anyone until friday. at 7:00 he tells his national security staff sparking a huge deba debate. saturday morning, he phones congressional leaders from the oval office then heads toe the rose garden to stun the world. >> i will seek authorization for the use of force from the american people's representatives in congress. >> reporter: now complicating matters, president obama has an international trip this week. he heeds to sweden then on the rue sha. a senior official insists he mr. be fully engaged but as yaw know

proximity helms when you're twisting arms. nothing like an invite to the oval office by the president when you're trying to get your point across. >> brianna keilar, thanks. >> so what can we expect on capitol hill today? dozens of lawmakers back a week early to get briefed on the matter. let's check in with dana bash for more on that. >> reporter: what they're doing is fields calls from. president himself which is unusual. but those face-to-face meetings are going to continue. but i can tell you based on countless conversations i had with lawmaker office that briefing the votes are not there. one after another lawmakers emerged from a classified briefing intended to convince them to authorize force in

syria, unconvinced. >> the mood in the district i represent is do not do this and i honestly didn't hear anything that told me i ought to have a different position. >> i'm a no based on the information i have now. >> and many of the president's fellow democrats. >> i'm very skept tall about the proposal. it's not clear to me that we know what the results of this attack will be. >> vote were taken today would you be yes or no? >> i honestly can't say. >> this democrat took the red eye seeking answers but left with questions. >> we want there to be consequences. what is this? is that going to war, is that bombing, is that killing more people? i'm not there yet. >> toob sure the president does have some support. >> where are you right now? are you a yes or a no? >> i'm a yes. >> but to get enough yes, sir to pass, one thing is clear. this 24 version of authorization the courthouse sent congress

saturday night must be changed. >> the biggest single concern among the member mays very well have been a very broad request for authority with a supposedly very narrow intent to do anything. >> that concern is bipartisan. lawmakers say they want to limit the authority they give the president, specify a time frame for military strikes and make crystal clear no boots on the ground. >> this is a blank check that they sent in. >> this is a partial blank check the way it's currently drafted. >> reporter: and because of that i'm told the white house has made clear that they understand the language has to be changed and that is going to start immediately. now i want to give you a window into the political arguments. i'm told in the classified briefing yesterday they said what would be world think of us if we vote this down. now the answer lawmakers told us is what will the world think if

military strike goes awry? >> we're also following breaking news from the pentagon. aircraft airier u.s.s. nem mits and four other ships move into the red sea. >> the nimitz and the other war ships are moving into the red sea west. they've been headed west from where they were in the gulf region. this is a show of force as you say. u.s. military officials indicating the to us it's prudent planning to be in position to respond if it came to that clearly the seyria is oe scenario on their mind. separately from this there' been another development, as you mentioned this morning, hacking. syrian assad backed hacking group called the syrian electronic army is claiming that it hacked this u.s. marine corps

website and is urging marines not to fight. this is a claim that they hacked it. they are engaged in other hacking operations. we haven't heard from the marines officially yet. their responses exactly what to they think happened here. >> all right. covering from the pentagon this morning. thank you so much. so the big question, will congress vote to approve the use of military force in syria. joining me now the, the top democrat in the house foreign affairs committee. congressmen, you're both in that classified briefing last night in washington. from what you heard in that briefing could congress be called back to have this vote? why wait, i think a lot of people are asking. >> i think we waited a couple of years too long to act in the middle eat so i think time is

absolutely of the essence. we've got to move quickly. i think we'll have an important debate over the next days about the appropriate response, the power we ought to give the president or not to intervene. we'll be fully engaged this week. >> now congress engel, i want to brink you in on this. you for the classified briefing last night as well. many members of congress came out very skeptical of what they heard, very skeptical of military action in syria. what did you hear in that brief sng are these challenges insurmountable in terms of getting to a vote yes which i know you want? >> well, i think it's very early for a lot of people and i think people are successful call because they're hearing questions at home and they are surprised that the president

decided to come to congress. i think when all of the facts are known and legislators in both parties see what is best for the united states, i think the vote will be overwhelmingly yes. it might be close. i said overwhelmingly, perhaps mott. but i do think a majority will vote yes. i think to vote no would be a catastrophe. it's the first time that many members had evidence presented in front of them. i think they've got to study it, digest it and see what hps. i'm not surprised that people have successful tall. i think the president has to make his case to congress and the american people and i think he will. >> congressman, i know you're a yes right now. but you're also critical of how the president handled this at this point. why are you a yes?

you seem to be in the minority at the moment. >> you've got the exactly right and i understand as represent engel said, i understand folks' skeptism, especially by the way the president handled this. he said we're going to fire a shot across the bow. you don't intentionally miss. i'm not only going to argue that the congress should provide the authority but i'm going to make a case that the president's response needs tore more vigorous, and actually consider america's strategic interest in the middle east than some simple missiles being lobbed into syria. >> are you more in line with john mccain and lindsay graham? they want to see how to get assad out of power? >> it does it no good to lob a few missiles into syria.

you have al qaeda having the ability to move on the ground and perhaps get chemical weapons. we have interest that are much more broad than what a short strike could accomplish. we need a strategic vision with definable achievable goals. >> and congressman engel when you hear what pompeo says, i've also heard you say you don't want to tie the hands of the president. how can you have both when you're talking about congress approving some specific military action for the president? >> i think you can have both. i think that the president must be given latitude but i agree with my colleague. i think we have a long standing interest. it's not simply about a strike for the moment. you have iran watching with, you have elements that are watching. you have hezbollah?

syria. assad has become iran's proxy and i think we have strategic interests. i think the president is sta standing up for what he believes. nobody wants boots on the ground and nobody wants a war. but i do think when you see those poor children that are foaming at the mouth and gasping for breath, these war crimes that have being committed against the civilian population, i don't think we can look the over way and say who cares. we do care. we have a strategic interest there because our adversaries are not stopping. so i'm hoping that colleagues in both parties -- nobody the gleeful about this. but i then when you look on balance i think we have to support the president on this

one. >> congressmen, looks like the president may be leaning on both pof you to twist some arms in congress to get a yes vote. thank you so much. this morning i want to ade we're going to have much more coverage and debate every side of this issue. we're going to talk with congress mckeen and we're going to debate with former white house secretary fleischer and ana that var vo. much more ahead a lot of other news developing this hour. let's get over to john per man with the latest. you're starting off with a reminder of the military situation we're already involved in. >> that's right. troops involved all over the world. overnight, the border of pakistan coming under taliban attack. a two-hour fire fight in which ul of the attackers were killed. several nay that trucks caught fire during the violence.

the attack led to the closure of a road. progress is closer. the two-week old fire burning in and around yosemite national park had has grown to 225,000 acres. containment has grown to 45% some some 5,000 firefighters are battling the blaze which has destroyed 11 homes it is being called a successful search this weekend for a missing seven-year-old in portland, oregon. more than 100 volunteers and ten dog teams scanned the region. he's been missing since 2010 when his stepmother says she dropped him off at school. his mother said volunteers found possible evidence which is being turned over to police she's blooed to be the first supreme court justice to officiate a same-sex wedding sere moan any.

he did the honors of the weekend wedding of her friends, miking kieszer and john roberts. ginsburg was part of the ones that struck down the defense of marriage act they're telling the local media that the patrol boat were making a u-turn but it's unclear if the police team were responding to a call at the time. >> that's wild. thank you very much for that. flooding in the southwest son this labor day. tough heline but that's the reality. rescuer were busy sunday saving stranded motorists. indra peterson, look at the video behind you. >> you just showed us nevada.

this is utah. what a difference when you go from the northeast to the swet. this will continue to be the story today. that was buckskin gorge where they didn't get that much rain. what we're watching is monsoonal moisture. you get moisture coming around the dome of high pressure and you get the spotty thunderstorms. but a heavy amount of rain, short period of time. you're going to getting the flooding. that's their labor day forecast in the southwest. but what about us in the northeast all the way down to the southeast? i think you know by now. it is going to be rain and more rain. we're going to be following the cold front as it makes its way into tomorrow. we're talking two to four inches in the heavier thunderstorms out in maine. >> hot dogs yesterday, that was

the key. >> there you go. >> thanks. coming up next on "new day," endurance swimmer diana nyad just miles from a goal she's been chasing for 35 years completing the epic swim from cue a ba to florida without a shark cabling. it's her fifth attempt. we're going to have a live report. meet who may be the luckiest driver of the world. a landslide dumps a huge boulder into the road. just one more rotation and this would have been a very different story. we'll show it to you. did you know, your eyes can lose vital nutrients as you age? [ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. ocuvite. help protect your eye health.

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welcome back to "new day." diana nyad is at it again and this time the 64-year-old endurance swimmer just might make it. she's making her fifth attempt to swim the 103 miles from cuba to florida without a shark cage. but this morning she's already brock enher record and she's moving so fast a reporter is racing to the scene. cnn's john zarrella is joining us with the very latest. how are thing looking at this moment? >> reporter: i can fell you we are just now pulling into key west and the water is a little bit choppy, not too bad. that shouldn't be much of an obstacle. we are hearing the latest that they are, 11:00 a.m. should be crossing reef marker 32 and then from there it's about five miles to the beach here in key west on the atlantic side. by all accounts, kate, this has been a remarkable journey.

seems nothing could keep diana nyad from returning to the open waters. at age 64 she's determined to become the first in the world to swim from cuba to florida. last night she broke the record for distance swimming farther than anyone without a shark cage or protection from the elements. she's been swimming for more than 45 hours now and says this fifth attempt will be her last. >> there's a fine line between having the grace to see that things are bigger than you are and to let your ego go and there's another edge other that fine line where you don't want to ever, ever give up. and i'm still at that place. >> reporter: here's what she's up against, a grueling 103-mile swim estimated to take 80 hours in shark invested waters between cuba and key west.

and then there's these, box jelly fish. their venom is among the deadliest in the world. it's the jelly fish that thwarted her previous attempts. this time she's using a custom face mask to protect her face and mask. she first attempted the treacherous swim in 1978 when she was 28 years old. 31 years passed before she atemed it again, twice in 2011 and again last year. she kept up her strength eating and drinking while floating on her back. she shez is this her last chance to achieve her >> dream. >> i hope the next time it will be to celebrate? >> reporter: that celebration may be just strokes away. now her team has told us that she has been making frequent stops and she's swallowed a lot of salt water. so that's making the going a

little bit rougher these last than less then ten miles. if she completes it she will have covered 112 miles. remarkable. she's 64. but remarkable at any age. >> that is exactly right, john. thank you so much. we'll be checking back in for updates. you had said this earlier. when you get 0 the point where you're saeg saying she only has ten miles left to swim you know she's been swimming for a long time. >> she looks amazing. she must be suffering. but 64 years young. she looks great. >> coming up next on "new day," a very scary close call. terrifying video of a driver almost crushed during a landslide by a boulder. you have to see this. we'll talk more about it. while discussions are ongoing in d.c. military hardware is moving, bearing down on syria.

u.s.s. nimitz entering the red sea along with four other troyers. will the president get the authorization from congress to use that fire power. the latest for the case for an attack straight ahead. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life. warning signs are not the same for everyone. if you think something's wrong... see your doctor. ask about gynecologic cancer. and get the inside knowledge. i'm here to get the lady of the house back on her feet. [ 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.

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welcome back to "new day" everyone. it's half past the hour. hope you're having a good morning. coming up in the show we're going to get you caught up with the latest developments out of syria. a busy morning so far with the u.s. navy ships in the red sea

waiting for the word from washington. president obama wants to move ahead but he also wants to get congress on board first. plus imagine going to a nascar race and a jerry springer episode breaks out. a woman got mad at the driver who crashed into her boyfriend's car and her hand crashed into his face. but wait until you hear what the victim says after it happened. >> i love the low mo. >> let's get to john berman with the top news right now. makes news, the u.s.s. nimitz is moving into the red sea along with the war ships. and it looks like the military

marine corps website has been taye tacked. this has president obama makes his case to members of congress to approve the strike. today the president will meet with republican senators john mccain and lindsey graham. they are key players on the armed services committee. coming up this morning, fleischer and howard dean, they will debate the syrian issue. new this morning, several explosions and machine gun fire reported. that's near the border of pakistan. all of the attacker were killed after a fire fight that lastsed several hours. no nato troops were reported kiltd this is a tragedy. making you sick. the coupling was pushing their one-year-old son in their stroller near their home in brooklyn when the boy was shot in the head and killed. no arrests have been made and an investigation is ongoing

talk about lucky, a spectacular landslide followed by a huge boulder. it almost crushes the car. you can see the boulder teater anfalls a few feet from the car. the driver and the passenger were they were luckily able to walk away from that. big, big news if you're a fan of the royal family and its rel tis or just a dude on earth. pippa may be engaged. celebrity tabloid says her stockbroker boyfriend popped the question in june just before wimbledon but they're keeping it quiet until after pippa's 30th birthday which is this friday. the two have within together for more than six months. who knew? >> who did know.

now we all do. thank you very much for the information. let's talk more about a possible intervention in syria or the politics of it directly. we are ari fleischer and howard keen, the former chairman of the national democrat committee and former presidential candidate himself. good morning, gentlemen. thanks for weighing in. let's start off with this. would either of you like to own the idea that decisions like bombing a sovereign nation should include the congress necessarily? ari, what do you think of that? isn't that the way it's supposed to work? >> i praise the president for doing this. i think it is the right thing. he has the authority to do this on his own. he's not advocating that spnt. the nation is stronger in a democracy when it has the people mind it. that's why it's important to go to congress.

>> this is seen as weakness. make the case for why it is weak that president obama is going to congress. >> well the argument who say that is because they want a powerful executive who can move the military with dispatch and in this instance the president made the threat, promised enormous consequences, if he doesn't act he's giving up the word. i think this strengthen's his hand in the long run but he has to prevail on the vote. >> where the past that we have in iraq and how we acted there and the nation of the information we acted on, how can this be seen as weakness? what's your take? >> it's not weakness. the reason that the president has to do this is we need a national debate on this. right now the public is not in favor of this kind of intervention and in order to get the public to be in favor of this kind of intervention you got to have a national debate.

there's not a better place to begin that than in congress. second of all, this is a different situation than iraq. nobody is talking about a massive invasion or boots on the ground or any of this kind of business. it's rally a mess because the opposition to assad who clearly is a butcher, sh also unfortunately alied with some really bad people, which is al-qaeda and funded by the sowdy government which has caused more problems. so you know, we're face was a problem here of dealing with chemical weapons which is horrendous weapon without necessarily wanting to get involved in this contest which is increasingly becoming a contest between the lesser of two looefl ef evils. >> clear that the president's red line comment got him in trouble on this? >> not if you take him at his

word and i do. the guy is a principled guy, the president of the united states. he truly believes these are awful weapons and thould not be used. there are all sorts of conventions that say that. it really is a violation of international law and somebody has to enforce the law. it's not going to be the russians or the chinese whose policy is let them do whan they want. clear think the united states can't do that in every instance. the question is this one of those instances and i think a congressional vote and debate is worth having. >> why does the congress need to be coaxed into this? isn't this their job? why does the president have to call them back. shouldn't they just come back themselves? they're supposed to waik in on this. >> well the constitution says congress should declare war. this is not war. this is the use of the militar

militariry's use of weaponry. the hype is going to be war, the coverage will suggest war but president clinton for example used similar attacks against iraq. there was no congressional vote for it. president clinton did not go to war with iraq. he did launch missile at iraq. >> the war powers act of 1973 says that in all possible na scenarios that the president is supposed to consult with congress. >> the consult is not vote. the president decided to put this at a vote. this is a voluntary exercise where the executive said to the legislature i want you to act. you can guess why he's doing that. i still think it's essentially right because democracy should support through the congress any determination we even use the military in an instance like this.

we don't have troops on the line that are under attack and we have to fight back. >> i hear the mitt at a timers but let me frame it as a question for both pof you to answer. both of you made a of saying this is going to be limited, president clinton did it early on with iraq. let me know the last time that the u.s. military was able to have some limited surgical strikes and be done wit and do nothing more. >> libya, a couple months ago. >> do we believe that that's over, that that was strikes and we'll never be back? >> it is for our military. >> do you feel confident with that? >> that's exactly right. i do think so. loo look, this president having gotten us out of iraq adhering to the agreement that was signed with the bush administration and about to get us out of afghanistan is not going to have us in another war in middle east. this is a much more complicated

situation where while there are some elements in the syrian free army which are good and we wish would prevail, there are elements that would result in something worse than assad. this is an ideal discussion for the american people. do we want to use our weapon because children have been murdered by a dictator using chemical weapons. we've got to draw a line on chemical weapons but i clearly do not want to get involved in another middle east war. i think the public deserves this debate >> libya you wound up having the leader toppled, to say the least. >> here we don't want to topple the regime, we want to stop the weapons. >> welcome to the world. >> listen, gentlemen, thank you for the perspective on this. thanks to both of you. we've got some political

sages here weighing in on the politics of this discussion. we're going to have more coverage of this talk. we're going to have congressman mckeon at the top of the hour and we're going to debate with ana navarro. that's all coming up coming up next on "new day," the prison sentence that sparked outrage across the country a judge gives a teacher just 30 days for admitting to rapes a teenage girl. now it's looking that the outrage may be changing the sentence. >> the lap happy nascar girlfriend. she crashed her hand into another driver's face. now what is she facing? it starts with something little, like taking a first step.

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welcome back to "new day." we begin this segment with a new push to overturn a controversial 30-day sentence for rape in montana. a former teacher plead guilty to raping a 14-year-old student who later committed suicide. the case sparked national outrage for the light sentence and for the offensive comments made by the judge during the sentencing. we're in los angeles with the very latest on this sad sorry. >> this all comes down to whether or not the judge in this case misapplied the law, says the yellow stone county attorney. he now says he believe he did and is making a push, the extraordinary push to overturn it. this morning new details about how the shockingly light sentence of a rapist just 30 days in jail might be reversed. >> the dream scenario for us

that he would do 20 years with ten of those years suspended. >> that dream nair yo expected to take a step toward reial fi this week. >> there may be a misapplication of the sentencing authority here and that's where i focused my attention at this point. >> reporter: if the state's attorney general agrees, then montana supreme court would be asked to reverse the light sentence the judge handed up in the case against this man, former high school teacher. the judge sentenced him to just 30 days in jail after he broke the terms of his patrol for the 2007 rape of then 14-year-old sha reese more ras les. during sentencing, the judge said the 14-year-old was in as much control as her then 49-year-old rapist and that she acted older than her chronological age. she wasn't there to speak on her

own life. she took her own life before trial in 2010. >> what i said was demeaning to all women, not what i believe in and irrelevant to the sentencing. i owe all of our fellow citizens an apology. >> despite the apology for is sentence stands. protests in billings and butte, and one petition asking him to resign. >> now for this to all get going, there's one thing that has to happen. the judge has to sign into law basically his own decision that is so controversial by montana law that has to happen before the county attorney and the state's attorney general can try to overturn this. once he signs that, chit's on his desk now, they sped this thing up because of all of the attention on this case.

once he does that, they will have 20 days in order to try to overturn the sentence. >> we'll come following this very closely. thank you so much for that update. all right. coming up next on "new day," u.s. war ships down many the red sea as president obama begins a full court press to convince members of congress to vote in favor of military action against syria. we're going to talk to a key house republican about where he stands on this debate. >> plus, dare i say it, another bieber brawl. there's word that justin bieber got in a fight at the club. details coming up. with the spark miles card from capital one,

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all right. welcome back to "new day," everyone. time for the pop four as i try to finish this mint. apologies. >> it's labor day, we're all here. we're laboring. it's one of those things. >> just trying not to stink you off the stage with my breath. >> what does it say about me that i like this song. fully admitting that i'm loving the one direction this morning. pop four, shall we. someone wants david schwimmer to get the message. ross is not cool appeared. schwimmer tour down a historic building in 2011 he's rebuilding on that site.

could have something to do with it, i'm just saying. did justin bieber get into yet another club brawl? that's what i'm asking, chris cuomo. witnesses saw justin bieber get attacked in a toronto nightclub on friday night and the attacker may have gotten one of his gold chains in the scuffle. his representative did not comment to us when commented. >> i have a suggestion, stop going to the clubs. it seems to not end well. >> don't go to the clubs. >> or don't wear your chains. >> i don't wear chains. >> well, actually, good point, he could be 21 before he went to the club. >> there you go. our number two story popping this labor day. former 'n sync star lance bass got engaged over the weekend. aapparently he popped the question in new orleans. announced it and put a picture up on twitter. they're handsome. number one story, the one direction documentary "this is

us" beat "the butler" this weekend by just over $2 million. those were followed by "we're the millers" "planes" and "instructions not included." the full numbers will be released tomorrow. what that 2 million accounts for. >> so, i heard. there is a certain person who makes a cameo. >> i am taking that $2 million. >> yeah, exactly. so, how much did you make for your appearance. >> morgan spurlock said to take it up with ted turner. where is the cut? >> it does money up your love of one direction. now that i know that you have an economic interest in their success. >> i didn't know that i was in there. apparently, apparently they just borrowed me for a second. >> as nischelle's --

>> even though you're lying to us, we love you. >> the whole, i had no idea i was in the movie. >> exactly what i said, by the way. >> john berman makes an appearance in a movie he'll come in with a sign, is a sandwich board, i was in the movie. >> there should be a movie on you. >> full doumentry. three minutes long. >> what do you think? tweet me. the u.s. is sending more fire power towards syria moving aircraft carriers into the red sea ready to strike at a moment's notice. it's clear we can strike. the question is, will we? we'll give you the latest on the debate. the update on diana nyad. will her fifth attempt in the cuba to florida swim be the charm? take you to florida, live. [ male announcer ] this is jim,

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>> blood and hair samples has tested positive for sig nuatures of sarin. president bush to push congress for the need to strike syria. john mccain invited to the white house today. is the president changing minds? we have all angles covered. american swimmer diane nyad close to the american coast. her dream from swimming from cuba to the u.s. about to be realized. we're live with the latest. bump and run. what drove this racer's girlfriend to slap the

competitor. the slap caught on tape and the claims that his jaw is now dislocated. your "new day" continues right now. what you need to know -- >> i'm a no. what you just have to see -- this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> good morning, welcome back to "new day." it's monday, september 2nd, happy labor day. 8:00 in the east. we could see history made today. we mentioned that diana nyad is getting closer and closer to her goal swimming from cuba to florida without a cage. she's ahead of schedule at this moment. expected to make it there this afternoon. her fifth attempt and this time it's already one for the record

books. we'll take you live to florida with the very latest. a very serious story for you out of japan. potentially lethal threat. we're discovering that radiation levels coming from that crippled nuclear plant are 18 higher than originally thought. now, growing fears is that our shores are in danger. we'll tell you what we know. first, our big story this morning. president obama may be waiting on a final decision to strike syria, but this morning the u.s. is displaying the pretty strong show of force. in the meantime five navy warships including "nimts" are in the red sea. meantime, the president is pushing congress for a green light to attack. the president meets with two key lawmakers, senators john mccain and senator lindsey graham about this at the white house. a syrian group hacked a marine corps website urging folks not to attack syria. we're covering this story with cnn reporters at the white

house, capitol hill and at the pentagon. let's start with briana keeler at the white house. good morning. >> the catch phrase white house officials are using. president obama, vice president biden and dennis mcdonough making one-on-one phone calls up to members of congress. they did that yesterday. we'll see that today. meetings at the white house with members of congress today. more meetings tomorrow and their message is this. if congress doesn't join the white house in acting, it sends a message not just to assad but hezboll hezbollah, go ahead and try it. secret briefings on capitol hill. >> zip the lips. >> reporter: white house making its case to skeptical lawmakers. on cnn secretary of state john kerry revealing new evidence to back claims that the assad regime killed hundreds with nerve gas. >> blood and hair samples that have come to us has tested

positive for signatures of sarin. >> reporter: the president's team moving quickly. after his surprise decision to put a serious strike on hold, saying congress should approve. >> all of us should be accountable as we move forward. >> reporter: his aides think he move about moving forward and embarrass david cameron on thursday. friday, though, he sends kerry out to argue for urgent action. >> what is the risk of doing nothing? >> reporter: later that day, he signals second thoughts. >> nobody ends up being more war wary than me. >> reporter: he didn't tell anyone until friday at 6:00 p.m. when he takes a walk with dennis mcdonough. at 7:00 he tells his national security staff sparking a heated debate. saturday morning he calls his top team to the situation room to finalize his plan. phones congressional leaders

from the oval office to get them on board and then heads to the rose garden to stun the world. >> i will seek authorization for the use of force from the american people's representatives in congress. >> reporter: now, complicating matters, president obama has an international trip this week. he heads to sweden tomorrow night then on to russia for the g-20 and not back until the end of the week. the president will be fully engaged while he's away, but, chris, you know the proximity can really help if you're a president trying to twist arms of members of congress. >> absolutely, brianna. thank you for that this morning. most in congress do recognize that they should weigh in on the decision to attack syria. but what remains unclear is whether the president's plan will be approved. some serious questions in the lawmakers' minds. dana bash following developments on capitol hill. good morning, dana. what is the latest? >> this is still an unpredictable and partisan

congress and that certainly is going to play into the president rolling the dice and relying on congress to give them this authorization after conversations with countless lawmakers it is clear that flooding the zone is not getting there yet. they still have a lot of convincing to do because the votes are not there yet. one after another, lawmakers emerge from a classified briefing intended to cup vince them to authorize force in syria, supremely unconvinced. republicans -- >> the district that i represent is do not do this and i honestly didn't hear anything that told me i ought to have a different position. >> i'm a no based on the information that i have onow. >> reporter: many of the president's fellow democrats. >> i'm still skeptical about the president's proposal. it's not clear that we know what the results of this attack will be. >> if it were taken today, would it be yes or no? >> i could not say. >> reporter: took the red eye

from california seeking answers, but left with lots of questions. >> we want there to be some consequences. what is that? is that just going to war? is that bombing? is that killing more people? i'm not there yet. i will not vote for it today. >> reporter: to be sure, the president does have some support. where are you right now? >> i'm a yes. >> reporter: to get enough yeses to pass, one thing is clear. this version of authorization, the white house said congress saturday night must be changed. >> the single biggest concern among the members may be a broad request for authority with a supposedly very narrow intent to do anything. >> reporter: that concern is bipartisan. lawmakers say they want to limit the authority they'd give the president, specify a time frame for military strikes that make crystal clear no boots on the ground. >> blank checks or even partial blank checks. >> reporter: the sis a blank check that they sent. >> this is a partial blank check

that was sent. >> reporter: over all the meetings the president will have, the one with john mccain is the most critical. john mccain is saying he effectively wants to use this vote as leverage to get the white house to articulate better the military plans in syria after these limited strikes, especially when you're talking about helping the rebels which he is calling for for a long time. if he gets mccain onboard publy, it could help the president, especially with talking to lawmakers. the president needs all the help he could get here. >> could be a very key ally on winning that vote in the coming week. dana, thank you so much. now, from capitol hill to the pentagon now. the u.s. navy has five ships in the red sea. bolstering the u.s. presence in the region. cnn's barbara starr is at the pentagon with more on this. so, what does it all mean, barbara? >> well, moving into the red sea, indeed, kate, led by the

"uss nim "ussnimitz" sending the message that they're in the region. they are in the red sea. that waterway that leads to the suez canal that leads to the eastern mediterranean off syria. they are within range of striking syria, if it came to that. this is about presence. this is about sending a message. five warships coming into the red sea and several more already in the eastern mediterranean. a fleet of about nine, ten warships now assembled. in related news on syria, the syria electronic army, which is said to be a pro-assad cyberhacking group is claiming this morning that it hacked a u.s. marine corps recruiting website posting messages urging members of the u.s. military, especially marines, not to fight in syria. this is a claim by this pro-assad group. we're waiting to hear from the marine corps officially what

they believe happened here. chris? >> all right, barbara, thank you very much. let's deal with one of the main questions here. will congress vote to support a military strike against syria? joining us now is the chairman of the house committee. congressman. thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. >> thank you, chris. thank you for having me. >> the president is taking some criticism for going to congress. let me ask you, do you believe this is the right move? >> i definitely do. i think that i have been calling for that. many members of congress have been calling for that. i also think he needs to go to the american people. he needs to explain to them, look them in the eye and tell them how he went through the decision process, how he came to this point in his decisionmaking. i think it's very important. he's the one that is selected by the whole country. he's the one that has all the information. he needs to tell the american

public and get their support before he moves forward. >> just talking to somebody on the show and they said, well, libya is a good example of how the u.s. military went in with surgical strikes. do you believe libya is a good analogy for what you would like to see with u.s. involvement in syria? >> you know, over the last couple of years the president has surged the troops in afghanistan while he cut the military budget. he flew missions over libya while he cut the military's budget. he changed the strategy to focus on the pacific while he cut the military budget. our military has had over $1 trillion cut out of their budget in the last couple years and going forward. the chairman of the joint chiefs and the chiefs that served with him have not had any kind of certainty in how they plan or what they can look forward to from year-to-year over the last couple of years. this surge, this sequesteration,

the president needs to fix. this would be a great time to fix that to show the military that while we're asking them to continue on with mission after mission after mission, instead of cutting back like he told them the day before he announced this decision that they weren't going to receive the pay next year that they were planning on. instead of doing that kind of thing to our military, we ought to look out for them just as we're looking out for those people in syria. >> strong point. everybody supports the troops. let me ask you, congressman. is that your way of saying you're worried about how long and how committed the u.s. military will have to be if anything begins in syria? >> you know, we're still at war in afghanistan. we have been fighting now for 12 years. these troops have done everything that's been asked of them. what we ought to do is look after them a little bit, too. and i think it's important that we fix and give them certainty, give our military leaders the

ability to plan so that when they get called to perform missions like this, they'll be there and be prepared. and have the where withal and resources to do it instead of time and time again cutting the military back when they've had more cuts than any other department in government and yet they account for only about 17% of the spending of government. it's time to really look after and take care of our military. >> where are you right now in terms of your thinking about whether or not you would vote for a military attack on syria? >> i'm still open. i think that when the president said he shouldn't cross a red line, he should have put a little more thought into it before he said it. that's why we're in this position now. it's because of his statement and, frankly, i think that this secu scurrying around trying to reach congress now is a little bit late. it would have been good to do

this before he ever made the comment across the red line. but he's done it. we are where we are. it's something that we're going to have to look at very carefully. but i think that we cannot keep asking the military to perform mission after mission with a sequestration and military cuts hanging over their head. we have to take care of our own people first. >> do you have concerns the u.s. military is capable of doing this kind of attack in syria? >> no, i have no concerns of their capability. they're the strongest, best equipped, best trained military. what i'm looking at is what they've been hit with the last couple years. where will they be the next time they're asked? the world has not gotten any safer. we look at, we look at korea and they have large quantities of chemical weapons and we look at the whole middle east that seems to be exploding overnight. we look at china and they're

increasing their military budget. the world has not gotten safer and yet we're cutting back $1 trillion out of our military. asking them to do more with less. that has to come to a stop. >> all right, chairman mckeon, thank you for your perspective this morning. appreciate it on "new day." >> thank you, chris. >> you see this discussion gets broader and broader. if you're going to do something, is the military probably equipped, especially if you have to sustain it. it gets complicated. we'll debate the consequences with anna navarra marc lamont hill. the taliban attacking a u.s. base near afghanistan's border with pakistan. insurgents detonated explosives before engaging in a two-hour fight with nato troops. all taliban attackers killed. several nato supply trucks

caught fire during this violence. looked at the closure of a supply route leading into and out of torkham. that fire near yosemite national park is closer to containment this morning. good containment of the mraz which has reported 350 square miles destroying 11 homes and 45% contained and crews are using bull dozers to build up the lines on the fire's edge. more witnesses are expected to take the stand today in a hearing over a rape case at the naval academy. three former navy football players stand accused. the alleged victim has been testifying for days about what she experienced. she says she had little recollection of what happened and only found out about it when the players bragged to friends. so, this isn't much for hospitality. a chicago taxi driver accused of scamming a college student who just arrived at o'hare airport from china. the cabby agreed to a $1,000

fare for the two-hour trip to the university of illinois campus in champaign. when they arrived, the driver told him the price went up to $4,200. by the way, the actual fare for that trip, about 300 bucks. not nice. the girlfriend of rookie nascar driver mike wasn't happy after he got into a wreck. she slapped him, slapping him hard. papis says his jaw was dislocated and he might press charges. later he tweeted this. the deal was only between me and the number 6 driver, we could have solved it alone, but i guess he needed some, pause, help. max's wife jumped to his defense. she tweeted it was kind of comical. hey, other nascar wives be careful or i'll slap your hubby.

>> it sound nasty there. >> my suggestion is stay off twitter. when these fights bleed over to twitter. >> if you're going to slap someone who your husband raced against -- >> just make the slap and stay off twitter. >> as we often tell our children, use your words. use your words, use your words in these situations. use your words. that would be my thoughts. never got a dislocated jaw from a slap in the face. >> tweet that. words to live by. so, let's move to some weather now. really crazy weather out there right now. two women and one baby saved from violent rushing water near las vegas. look at this water. they were inside this suv when water pushed them into the tree but thankfully they're said to be okay. let's get to indra petersons keeping track of this flash flooding and the rest of your flash forecast this evening. >> utah right here. looking at buckskin bulge here

and we can see the steep cliffs. could rain 50 or 100 miles away and about 30 feet of water can go through the steep canyon and surprise the huckers out there. what we're looking at right here is more flooding across the southwest. thanks to a dome of high pressure. you see the pressure come out of the gulf and get pop-up thunderstorms. what is hard to believe, you don't see much rain. doesn't take a lot to get that kind of flooding in the southwest. so, today that threat will still remain in the southwest for their labor day. more bad news from labor day. anywhere from the northeast all the way down to the southeast. there's that cold front, again, expected to be stronger than the one we saw over the weekend. spotty showers across the area. as far as how much we're expecting one to two from the mid-atlantic and the northeast and the higher up you go, two to four inches of rain is possible in that forecast. you know what, i'm fine. comfy sweatshirt, tv, relax. see, yay, labor day.

>> all right, indra, fine. fine. put a smily face on it. we'll take it. >> we're fortunate if it's just rain in your life, it's just rain. we'll take a break here on "new day" when we come back breaking news from japan. radiation levels at that damaged nuclear plant 18 times higher than previously thought. there are new questions about a possible threat to the u.s., as well. we'll tell you about it. diana nyad is so close right now to realizing her dream. cuba to florida without a shark cage. a live report on her progress, just ahead. >> look how strong her back is.

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welcome back to "new day." diana nyad could be hours away from making history. the swimmer is swimming from cuba to the florida keys. her fifth attempt at the 103-mile swim. trying to become the first person to make it from that coast to the other without a shark cage. this morning she is closer than she has ever been before. john zarrella is in key west live and in the flesh this time with the very latest. hey, john. >> we're on smathers beach and this is where diana nyad is expected to arrive if and when she gets here later this troon. you can see the water behind me here, that's not going to be a problem. beautiful out there. if you look real close, i think we can see her out there. i'm just kidding. she is about nine miles out. at 11:00 this morning she is going to hit the reef line and from there it is about five more

miles until she gets here. but by anyone's standards, this has been a remarkable accomplishment. seems nothing could keep diana nyad from returning to the open waters. at age 64 she is determined to become the first in the world to swim from cuba to florida. last night she broke the record for distance. swimming farther than anyone without a shark cage or protection from the elements. she's been swimming for more than 45 hours now and says this fifth attempt will be her last. >> there is a fine line between having the grace to see the things that are bigger than you are and to let your ego go and there is another edge over that fine line where you don't want to ever, ever give up. i'm still at that place. >> reporter: here's what she's up against. a grueling 103-mile swim, estimated to take 80 hours in

shark infested walters between havana, cuba and key west. then there are these. box jelly fish. their venom is among the deadliest in the world attacking the heart, nervous system and skin cells. it is the jelly fish that thwarted her attempts. this time she is wearing a silicone mask to protect her face and lips from jelly fish stings, but makes it tougher to breathe. she first attempted at 28 years old. 31 years passed before she attempted it, again. twice in 2011 and last year. kept up her strength eating and drinking while floating on her back. this is her last chance to achieve her extreme dream. >> i hope next time i see you it will be to celebrate to say, oh, here we go, again. >> reporter: that celebration may be just strokes away. now, she's been swallowing some salt water and she slowed down

quite a bit in the last few hours and that what made the projection time of when she'll get here much more difficult. her team is saying between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. and if she makes it here, she will have traveled 112 miles from cuba here to key west. chris, kate? >> just an amazing feat already. thank you so much, john. >> yeah. >> john, you need to throw on a t-shirt and get a little sun screen working. you're hanging out on the beach. you have a blazer on. this is cnn, but you can take it easy. >> you're not an appropriate beach wearer. >> enjoy yourself. this is a good story you're covering. >> next hour. >> deal. thank you so much. coming up on "new day," the u.s. moves arbl s aircraft carr into the red sea. both sides making moves. is this what happens ahead of a possible strike? also ahead, a landslide is

scary enough, obviously. but this one is followed by a bolder, if you can believe it. just fell inches from this car. way too close for comfort for the people inside. ok, i am coming.

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welcome back to "new day." monday, september 2nd, labor day. a cnn documentary explores an american mystery. an american flag, remember this, raised by firefighters at ground zero. remember how it became a symbol of hope after 9/11? what happened to it.

that's what the documentary is about. we'll give you a preview. a homeless man becomes a hero. rescuing a police officer from a potentially deadly situation. details coming up in "the good stuff." lots of news this morning. let's get to john berman in for michaela. >> let's start with syria. five u.s. navy ships in the red sea right now ready to fire on syrian targets, if and when washington gives the green light. president obama trying to make that happen. he is spending the day this labor day selling congress on a military strike. he'll meet with senators. now, congress will not actually vote until all members return from a recess. hope they're enjoying their recess. that's one week from today. we'll have our own debate here in just a few minutes. former south african president nelson mandela is back home this morning. the first time in 12 weeks the 95-year-old was released from the hospital on sunday as he continues to recover from a lung

infection. mandela's condition remains critical and he still does require medical help. a very lucky escape for a driver in northern tiwnd. then you see this, the bolder comes rolling down and teeters and almost rolls on top and then backs off. the man walked away with only minor injuries. that region has been hit for days now leading to the flooding in those manslide. florida a&m university named marching back on the field this weekend. this is the first time since a deadly hazing incident nearly two years ago. drum major robert champion was beaten to death on a bus after a game. the band director and university president resigned afterwards. may the force be with you and your furry friend. petco partnering with lucas films to launch a new line of "star wars" head gear and toys for cats.

the big question, what took so long? chubaca anything begs for pet gear. >> star wars gear for your doggies. >> i think they probably have light sabers for your parakeets. i'm speculating. >> land speeders for your gerbil. all things possible. over to you, kate. make a transition back to the big story we have been talking about all morning. the possible intervention with ana navarra and marc hill. we have been debating it all this morning and, ana, first to you. after the announcement by the president in the rose garden on saturday many lawmakers were surprised by the president's announcement.

that he wanted to get the approval of congress before moving ahead. was the president's decision to seek approval from congress first, was it the right one, do you think? >> look, whether it's the right one or not is, yes, i do think it's the right one. now, was the timing right? and was the process getting to that decision the right one? that, to me, is the bigger question. he's just looked a little bit as a hesitant vacillation. when you are going to lead others, you know, you want others to follow, you need to lead-in order to lead, you need to have resolve and you need to have determination and a clear goal and a clear strategy and that's been lacking. this has been going on for two years, kate. we didn't wake up yesterday with assad doing this stuff. there just seems to be a lack of coherence in what he's doing. i think it did take some in congress. i think it took some of his national security advisors by surprise, too.

>> now, marc, i want to get to you. to ana's point. we had congressman buck mckeon on earlier and he got to the similar point that the president should have put more thought into his red line comments before making it. john mccain said something similar saying that he should have been consulting congress all along the way rather than kind of in his view this surprise move of consulting congress now. do you think, do they have a point? >> there is some legitimacy to that point. i mean, john kerry is in the awkward position now of having to defend a president who he has been challenging for two and a half years to make a move on syria. but multiple moves could have been made on syria. not just about boots on the ground and military strikes. funding proxy wars and moderate groups. things the president could have done to get us in a better place in syria. that's the case. drawing a hard red line saying chemical weapons is off the table. thets a reasonable place to land

at and i don't think it's a strategy that lacks resolve. we're going to wait until chemical weapons are on the table before we risk or jeopardize any type of american life. i think that's a reasonable plan. i just wish the president would have arrived at it sooner and by different means. >> let me ask you this, members of congress coming out of classified briefings were very skeptical and the american people were very skeptical going in with military action. if lawmakers are unable to reach an agreement and if they vote no on military action and then the president is then faced with the question of, do i go, do i go against congressional approval? do i go it alone even though congress told me not to. what does he do then? >> he really painted himself -- >> this is not something he can do. you know, he needs to win this. there is nothing like the bully pulpit of a president. he needs to use it in the coming eight days because he needs to win this vote. it would be devastating for

president obama if he doesn't win it. devastating for the u.s. and how we're perceived international if we can't come to some unity on this. >> go ahead, marc. >> i hope republicans are listening to that because the bully pulpit of the presidency has been anything but persuasive to the republicans in the house and senate. fiscal stability due to the debt ceiling. it didn't matter. we made arguments before, it didn't matter. commitment to obstructing the president. i'm not sure if the syria situation will be different. but the president put himself in a very problematic decision. john kerry stood up and said the president doesn't need congressional support, but he's still going to seek it. he may mimic the george bush posture of six years ago, look, i have to protect america's interest even if congress and the american people don't agree with me. i think it could happen. the house is a very, very

questionable vote. >> ana -- >> this is not a right and left issue. he has it convince as many democrats as he has to convince them in the american party. but in order to do so, he needs to make the sale. if there's one thing we all know president obama can do is campaign. he needs to put down the golf clubs and he needs to look at the american people. he needs to make calls to the members of the u.s. congress and explain and articulate a clear strategy. he can't be sitting there looking like he's plucking petals off of daisies saying one day, i think i will, i think i will. he needs to look like a leader. >> go ahead, marc, respond. >> well, that's not the issue. the president hasn't been sitting on his hands. the president has been very aggressively making his case. everybody at the security briefing said we believe the chemical weapons. we've seen the hair samples and the chemical sampals and we know what is going on there. this is not a question of the president having a strategy or the president making a

compelling argument. this is not like iraq with wmds. whether members of congress believe that the best way to stop these abuses and stop a regime is limited targeted strikes. a lot of us don't believe that and that isn't a matter of the president making a campaign push. lastly, this is a left/right issue. we can say we will rise above partisan politics but the bubbling up on the ground said the senate is locked down because the democrats control it and the house is a questionable vote because there are many people because of ideology and because they want to obstruct the president's success on this. they're not going to go to the president's way. >> a left/right issue and an issue that matters to every american at this point. >> i have heard just as many democrats as republicans saying there are no votes right now but they're open to it. i think it's up to the president to make that sale. >> many wonder if the president will take his case to the american public, again, in the coming week.

always great to have you both. thank you so much. coming up on "new day" the good stuff. a homeless man goes above and beyond and may become a life saver. wait until you hear this story. could a symbol of hope and freedom after 9/11 be gone. a new cnn documentary asks what happened to that famous flag raised over ground zero. we all remember this picture. we'll tell you the story behind it.

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it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain. to hear more of phyllis's story, visit lyrica.com. welcome back to "new day." we're tracking history. diana nyad is just hours from reaching her goal. this is her fifth attempt. she started back in the '70s. but we're all about today and what's happening right now. joining us by phone is bonnie, head handler of extreme dream swim. she's on the boat that is traveling alongside nyad right now. bonnie, can you hear us? >> i can hear you. >> oh, boy. i'm a really big fan of yours and certainly diana nyad's right now. tell us, how is she doing? >> she is, she is doing amazingly, amazingly, amazingly well. we're in about 102 miles now and i think we're about 106. we're looking at shore. she has about another six miles

to go and be on shore in a couple of hours and her stroke count is exactly the way it was the day we left. that being said, right now her mouth is so swollen that she can't take anything down except sucking on ice cubes. we just keep giving her electrolytes. other than that, she's as strong as she could be. >> the reason her throat is swollen is because of the salt water. what can you do to help with that? >> the reason her throat is swollen is because of the salt water and on top of that, the mask that she wore the first night which is a prosthetic mask which did prevent her from getting stung from any jelly fish cuts up her mouth a little bit. so on and so forth. >> so, other than just the physical fatigue, which should be enough, is there any other obstacle for her? is there a current issue or anything she's going to have to

look out for? >> zero. zero. it is a beautiful day. it's a flat, calm and all we are, the whel team is ecstatic and we're watching her go. she's had her jelly fish outfit on, which is just a piece from top to bottom from dusk to dawn and she's going to feel so free and she's going to feel warm from the sun for the first time in 12 hours. so, she is just going to cruise right in. >> so, you really think she's going to do it? this is it? >> are you kidding? this is a no brainer now. i'll be the first to tell you that i think diana nyad is the only person who knew she could do it. this is it, this is history and she is the only one who knew she was capable. we are here because we love her and we love working with her.

she's proving us all wrong and the greatest wrong we have ever been. >> see any change in her demeanor as she gets closer? >> yes, gets a little cranky right now. she wants to get the suit off. the crankiness is good. she's feeling strong. she's coherent and it's unbelievable the shape she's in. this is the right time to do it and that's what she's proving. >> wow, bonnie, this is awesome. >> this is awesome to hear this from you, this update. a real surprise to all of us here. great to hear she's looking so strong and, hey, big shout out to you. you had to make this trip with the whole extreme dream swim team. make sure she calls us first when she gets over there. >> you got it. thanks so much. really appreciate it. see you guys. bye-bye. >> good luck. >> you can hear the excitement in her voice. that's really, really cool. we'll be watching it all today. very exciting for this labor day. this is very, this is an

amazing american mystery we're going to tell you about. look at this photo. you know this photo. a photo of an american flag being raised by firefighters at ground zero. a symbol of hope and patriotism after the september 11th terrorist attacks. what happened to it? the new cnn film looks at the journey of the flag and the 1 in a million picture taken by photo journalist tom franklin. >> tom's photo comes in and i remember the photo editor brings me over and he said, you have to see this, you have to see this. we huddled around the computer and he brings up this photo. >> and that popped out because of the flag. all the pictures, whoever sent them, everything had this grayish blue tint to it and there you saw the red, white and blue and you double click it and it opened up and i sat there and i said, that's an incredible picture and danielle was standing behind me and she said, that's not a picture, that's an

icon. >> such an iconic photo. joining us now to talk more about this is the director of the flag, michael tucker. great it meet you. thanks for coming in. >> thanks for having me this. >> this documentary based on an upcoming book by david friend. what drew you to the project? >> i think what drew us to the project was, of course, the mystery of the flag. but, more than anything, trying to also get back to that feeling. and that's what the flag represents. that sense of unity. that sense of how we felt in those days and weeks after 9/11. that's really something that we also lost. so, the search for the flag was kind of a vehicle to recapture that emotion. >> how was that -- there is a mystery surrounding where the flag went. don't give everything away because everyone wants to watch the film, but where did the flag go? >> well, what everyone thought was that the flag was raised and a few days before the prayer for america, which was on september

23rd, 2001 at navy stadium the navy had asked for the flag. the mayor's office sent the fire department down to ground zero and retrieved the flag and brought it to the navy and the navy put it under lock and key and flew it out to the "uss roosevelt" and flew throughout the battle group, 189 days and came back and matt lauer flew out to the fleet, the speaker of the house was with him. huge ceremony, was delivered back to the city. raised at city hall and everyone always thought that the city had it. >> but not. >> yankee stadium other places, there was this flag, was it some kind of imposture. >> definitely an imposture. >> interesting watch you watch your own clip. you say it was about getting back to the emotion of that moment. it certainly brought you there. what was this like for you to relive the imagery and the significance? >> all of us over the last decade as we see ourselves going to potentially war in syria, this country has been through a

lot. to go back to that, that moment where most of us who never felt so american before, never felt so together, that was incredible to hear all these stories and really to see kind of the best of america and the worst moments. >> remember, it was such a moment of that famous image now made into a statue of the world war ii soldiers pushing up the flag and that it had recaptured some of that because after the guys put the flag up, there was just like a big collapse there of guys, who just realized the gravity of the moment and the hope that they would be able to keep going. remember the first responders were there so long and this was a random moment that they came upon but meant so much for so many. >> captured the thought of we are going to rebuild and then you want to get back to that moment. you're absolutely right. seems like a fascinating film. we'll all be watching it. sounds like an amazing project. >> thanks for having me. >> time well spent. something that really matters in

terms of remembering what it is about. you're going to want to hear the rest of the story of "the flag," of course, and its journey. this wednesday 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. coming up next on "new day." an everyday citizen saves a police officer's life. he may be the one that needs some saving. we'll tell you why, in just a moment. classic macaroni & cheese from stouffer's starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese. but what makes stouffer's mac n' cheese best of all. that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. made with care for you or your family. vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote.

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he jumped in to save the officer. just as the suspect was going for the cop's gun. >> law enforcement officer saying help me, help me. officer being beat up and i did what was right. >> he did do what was right and what was rare because nobody was helping. he held her until other cops could arrive. later police looked into his background and realized he was down on his luck. >> he has been homeless. he has had a rough time of it in recent months. we wanted to reach out to him and let him know he has friends. >> that's right. ryan rasso is a homeless man. was there all the time and astepped up and cops chipped in to buy him new headphones that were broken in the scuffle. his dad was a former new york city detective. his love for police is literally ingrained from birth. but he's a homeless man stepping

up to help a police officer. and we're going to put information on the website if you want to help ryan. that's the good stuff. >> good, good stuff. we'll be right back after a break. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] nothing gets you going quite like the power of quaker oats. today is going to be epic. quaker up.

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that's it. carol, take it away. >> that was short and sweet. have a great labor day. i appreciate it. >> you, too. happening in the "newsroom" cyberattack. a marine recruitment site hacked by the syrian electronic army. one photo saying i did not join the military to get involved in other country's civil wars. plus, breaking this morning, swimming into history. diana nyad 100 miles from havana to the florida keys. just a few miles away from key west. this is what she morning. it's a dream 35 years in the making. will she finally make it