we ran out of time for the ridiculist. that does it for us. thanks for watching. hope you have a great day. "early start" begins right now. striking syria. as president obama pushes congress to punish the country for allegedly poisoning its own people. syria's president goes on the record with a new warning. >> forget about giving up. get your feelings and somehow with your left hand push cuba back. >> it took five tries, but she never gave up. diana nyad, the first person to swim from cuba to florida without a shark cage. details about how she did it and

how she's doing. >> superwoman. you don't want to run into this in the water. a giant gator caught over the holiday weekend. the largest. oh, my goodness, looks like a toy. >> it's freaking huge. >> look at those jaws. >> welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> it's nice to have you with us. i'm zoraida sambolin. it is tuesday, september 3rd. >> the white house furiously lobbying members of congress today. they call it flooding the zone, trying to build support for the president's plan to strike syria. while they are counting votes in washington, in the middle east they are counting lives. the waves of humanity hurt by the chaos. the crisis reached 2 million people. it's a crisis that is only escalating. later today, the administration

sends heavy hitters to capitol hill. john kerry and chuck hagel will testify. all this as it appears the white house might have a persuasion breakthrough with two crucial lawmakers. brianna keeler reports. >> reporter: two key republicans voicing new optimism about president obama's plans in syria after a meeting in the oval office. senator john mccain now a key ally in the fight to get congress on board for military action. >> we want to work to make that resolution something that the majority of members of both houses can support. >> reporter: it's not going to be an easy road. >> we have significant concerns. we don't want endless war. >> reporter: congress has key demands, a limited strike and no boots on the ground. the white house will continue to make the case with them today

behind closed doors and in public. secretary of state, john kerry, defense secretary, chuck hagel and martin dempsey will testify before the senate foreign relations committee. president obama hosting a new round of face-to-face meetings with lawmakers. house speaker, john boehner, nancy pelosi and 12 other key members of congress. the white house hoping to articulate a clear strategy to avoid a defeat on capitol hill. >> do not do this. >> i think we need to take a good, hard look at the wording. >> reporter: some may be lobbied from a different direction. russia says it will send representatives to meet with congress. they are questioning if chemical weapons were used. foreign minister sergey saying there's nothing concrete, no

names and no proof. brianna keeler, cnn, washington. >> thanks. assad is making it clear he does not believe the united states or france has evidence they did a chemical attack. he's urging caution before a military strike. we are in beirut this morning. what is bashar al assad saying? >> reporter: the em battled president gave an interview to a newspaper where he said much of the same as in the past. he said the syrians never utilized chemical weapons. he said it would be a huge mistake to bomb syria or plan a military intervention. he said this region is a powder keg and that if anybody strikes out against syria right now, it's not just syria's response they have to worry about, but the response of syria's

neighbors. reinforced how volatile this region is and if the war in syria is con flated now, if there's military intervention there, it could become a region wide war. zoraida? >> let's talk about the people in syria. a staggering number of refugees, more than 2 million from the crisis there. the u.n. put out a statement yesterday saying syria is hemorrhaging women, children and men who cross borders often with little more than the clothes on their backs. can you talk to us about that situation? >> reporter: it's an absolutely staggering number. we are talking 2 million people who either registers or are going to register as refugees from syria. let's put it in perspective here. over 1 million of those are children. now, this time last year, there were 230,000 registered syrian refugees. we are talking 1.8 million more

people just in a year's time that have fled syria. now, in a country like lebanon that neighbors syria, talk about the influx of refugees isn't just a drag on them, but a problem for a country of lebanon of 4.5 million people who see refugees in every neighborhood. they don't have camps here. they have makeshift camps. at least one in five people here in lebanon are syrian refugees. antonio, the high commissioner said the crisis was the great tragedy of this century. it is a humanitarian disaster and only getting worse by the day. zoraida? >> how do you account for all those people and take care of them? it's a trickle down effect. thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. >> meanwhile, the marine corps website, marines.com is back up and running this morning a day after a group of hackers

connected to the assad regime and took the site down. the syrian electronic army is blamed for doing it. a marine corps official says the site is primarily for recruitment and no military intelligence was compromised they say. brazil and mexico are furious with the united states wanting to know why the u.s. spied on them. that information comes from documents leaked by former nsa contractor, edward snowden. brazil is threatening to call off a visit by its president and wants a written explanation by the end of the weak. also leaked by snowden, top secret intelligence files according to "the washington post," the cia expanded intelligence gathering inside pakistan with concerns about

chemical and biological sites within that country. the cia is assessing the loyalty of counterterrorism sources in pakistan. russia issuing an unusual travel warning for citizens. be careful where you go or the united states might have you extradited. those wanted by the united states should avoid going to south american countries and spain or the u.s. might use shaky evidence to kidnap russian citizens and bring them here for trial. >> snarky diplomacy. the massive fire burning is 70% contained. that is a tremendous improvement from the 45% contained yesterday. the blaze continues to grow in some places, up to 235,000 acres. dry brush and timber are feeding the flames.

crews say attacking the fire by air has been critical to slowing the progress. >> yesterday, we said it was the fourth largest fire. it's so huge, right? we can't believe that. indra petersons is tracking the weather for us. how is it going? >> right. it's a dry season. in california you see huge brush fires in california. we are looking at a lot of moisture cruising in today. the humidity levels are going to be up 40% to 50% chance we could see the afternoon thunderstorms. by tomorrow, we start to see the chances go down and temperatures start to go up. a little bit better today than we are expecting for the end of the week. otherwise, let's talk about the rain. here is what the radar looked like yesterday evening. we saw heavy showers. we knew it was coming. the cold front kicked through the area. we are seeing spotty showers. it looks like it was all gone. as long as the cold front is in place, we have the threat of

showers. in the northeast, the mid-atlantic, it's making its way offshore. it should look better. once you go to the southeast, a typical story. it likes to hang on to the cold front, day by day. here is tomorrow. thursday and friday, we are looking at the cold front in place. they are used to it. how many times have i said this, rain in the southeast. >> clouds over the southeast for the entire summer. >> we want them to go away. thank you. >> thanks so much. ten minutes after the hour now. mass protests planned in egypt by backers of ousted president, morsi. the group is calling them the national coalition for legitimacy. they asked for a million people to take to the streets. this is two months after morsi was taken from power. japan is unveiling a plan for dealing with radiation leaks at the fukushima nuclear plant

including freezing the soil around the building to keep it from carrying radioactive liquid from the plant. the cost will be upwards, a half billion dollars. radioactive water has been leaking from storage tanks there for weeks now. also in japan, a massive tornado causing destruction in an area north of tokyo. more than 100 homes destroyed. dozens of people injured when the twister ripped through the region. it was blamed on unstable weather conditions. grab a cup of coffee, sit down, take a look at this. it's a giant gator. a record setting gator caught in the mississippi river near jackson. this was over the weekend. it looks fake. it weighed more than 700 pounds, measures more than 13 feet long. >> it's got a double chin. >> a little porky. it's not the longest ever caught in the state of mississippi, but

it is the heaviest. >> that's a fat alligator. how does an alligator get so fat? >> i don't know. i worry about what he's been eating. >> do you think metabolism? he's a big boned alligator. he's hefty. >> yes, yes. you are trying to compare them. coming up -- >> for 49 hours, the wind blew like heck. it was rough. >> that was superwoman. she is the first person to swim from cuba to florida without a shark cage. at 64 years old, how did she do it? the inspiring story, coming up. just want to go over to meet my friend. >> he's back. dennis rodman back in north korea meeting with the leader

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[ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™. welcome back to "early start," everyone. it took five tries, but diana nyad did it. doing what many said she couldn't do. i was one of them. i said it wasn't possible. she did it, all alone, just with her body, no shark cage or nothing. we have the story. >> reporter: neither fatigue or jellyfish could stop her from accomplishing her dream. she stepped on the shores of key west after swimming 103 miles from cuba to florida. she was exhausted, but in high spirits. >> my man tra was to find a way. find a way. i just said forget about the

surface up. get your hands in, somehow. with your left hand say push cuba back and push florida toward you. >> reporter: witnesses to the big finale were in awe. >> definitely she's in another world. it was amazing. >> it was her fifth attempt at it done without a cage or flippers. she had a crew to monitor her progress and clear the path of jellyfish and other dangers. she said this would be her final attempt to complete the swim, which turned out to be the cherry on top. >> you are never too old to chase your dreams. >> what is on your bucket list if you are 65 years old. unbelievable. i love her. superwoman. 17 minutes past the hour. temperature is expected to wrap

up today in the preliminary hearing for three former navy football players all accused of sexual assault. a female mid shipman claims they had sex with her while she was drunk at an off campus party. she became aware of it when she heard gossip afterwards. party goers were asked how much the woman had to drink and whether she was intoxicated when the alleged assault occurred. a southwest airlines plane returning safely to raleigh, north carolina after a bird strike. this happens just after the boeing 737 took off monday night. the plane has 124 passengers on board, a five-person crew. no injuries reported. the plane has been taken out of service for repairs. you want good news this morning? the month long blackout of cbs is over. both sides reached a deal monday to put cbs and show time programming back on. terms have not been announced.

the dispute dates back to august 2nd when the time warner dropped the cbs owned networks and local channels from cable. time warner is not affiliated with time warner, the owner of cnn. >> murder she wrote, some of my favorite shows are on cbs. >> some said too little too late. >> it's just in time for football. >> that's all that matters? >> that's why they signed the deal. there's a lot of money involved with that. another basketball diplomacy to tell you about for former nba all-star dennis rodman. he is back in north korea for his second visit this year. could he discuss the case of an american missionary held on charges that tried to bring down the government. he says that's not the reason for the visit but earlier said he might bring the issue up. let's hope he does.

he hopes to see kim jong-un who he calls a friend. he says he will talk about basketball. the trip is sponsored by an irish bookmaker. >> a mediator. >> there's an american being held prison there and his health is in jeopardy. coming up, microsoft making a massive play in the mobile phone market. money time coming your way next. [ male announcer ] campbell's angus beef & dumplings. hearty cheeseburger. creamy thai style chicken with rice. mexican-style chicken tortilla. if you think campbell's 26 new soups sound good, imagine how they taste. m'm! m'm! good! [ sneezing ] she may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec®. powerful allergy relief for adults and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air.

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is this the money music? is this the money time dance? we can do it all show. we are going to dance for money time. >> i like it when we add a little something, flavor to the show. >> we all like it. everyone likes it. >> it is money time. zain asher had all the money news this morning. nice to see you. >> good morning. we have huge business deals to talk about. microsoft is buying for $7.2 billion. the move puts microsoft squarely in a battle waged by apple and google in a market. they spoke about the deal in a news conference in finland, nokia's home country. >> we so look forward to welcoming the strong contingent that will join us here in finland and in many other countries around the world. finland will become the hub in the center for our phone rnd and

we're counting very much on the incredible talent of nokia employees to be a key part of driving and propelling microsoft forward. >> the sales deal brings a familiar face back. the ceo who used to be a microsoft veteran. he will retire within a year. we are going to find out about another tech deal in a few hours. verizon's ceo will speak about the deal to buy out vodafone. the chairman and ceo will speak on web cast at 8:00 a.m. eastern. it's the biggest in history, $10 billion. yankee candle may have a new scent, money. it's in discussions to be bought by jarden corp. the price tag on

the deal is $1.75 billion. he owns baseball equipment and home appliances. yankee candles operates in over 500 stores in the u.s. and canada. the deal could be announced today. >> when did these things become such a big deal? they are everywhere. >> you have the bacon scented one in your house. >> i don't know how it got there. i appeared one day. >> i had man candles sent to me and i gave them to you. >> when did they start popping up? i don't know. >> light it. >> fascinating. coming up here, shocking accusations against an elementary school principal. could she have murdered her husband? the evidence against her, next. ♪ ♪

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the very latest on the crisis in syria. new developments in big meetings at the white house in just hours as the president pushes for a strike against the regime he says slaughtered its own people. >> she's a principal of school kids. to commit murder, what are the kids going to think? >> an elementary school in shock. the principal in court today, accused of killing her husband. and making all the rest of the men around the world look bad. the marriage proposal that

really, truly tops audiotape others. taking marriage proposals to new heights. >> how sweet. brings tears to my eyes. welcome back to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman. the latest with the crisis in syria. what the u.n. is calling a disgraceful humanitarian calamity. the obama administration is pushing to win congressional support to take military action against the assad regime. the president meeting with house speaker john boehner and nancy pelosi. john kerry and chuck hagel head to the senate to make their case before the foreign relations committee. that, a day after the president met with senators john mccain and lindsey graham. mccain saying he supports a limited strike on syria, but only if more is done to arm the rebels there. increasing calls in france for the parliament there to vote on approving military action in

syria. now france declassified intelligence showing the regime was behind the deadly attacks. assad told a newspaper they have no real proof they did it. he called the middle east a powder keg and warned if they attack syria, it could lead to a regional war. the military has begun moving soldiers near damascus. the u.n. says more than 2 million people have been displaced by the fighting in syria an eight-fold increase over the last eight months. they are calling what's happening in syria a great tragedy of this century. as dana bash tells us, the administration may face an up hill battle getting lawmakers to realize a military strike is the

right thing to do. >> reporter: on a series of calls john kerry is most passion about military action. kerry knows how dicey authorizing war is for lawmakers. >> i voted for the use before i voted against it. then senator kerry's vote for the iraq war and later its funding complicated his 2004 presidential run. he's not the only cautionary tale. >> if left unchecked, saddam hussein will continue to increase his capacity for biological and chemical warfare. >> reporter: hillary clinton's support was her undoing in 2008 against antiwar, barack obama. the lawmakers insist their decisions will not be political. they serve as haunting that may look wrong in hindsight. >> a lot of memories over another time when a president

came and said or the president of the people said this was intelligence. most members would ever want to repeat. >> reporter: cnn is told on an administration conference call, a house democrat accused them of historical amnesia forgetting lessons of iraq and vietnam. kerry said he has a case for attacking syria beyond a reasonable doubt. there are other reasons lawmakers are skeptical about authorizing force in syria. >> all we know, the weapons have been used in other instances and we did not take military action. i am hoping to find an answer to the question, is there another way to hold asaid accountable? >> reporter: some don't see the need to defie opposition. >> the district i represent is do not do this. >> reporter: to get enough yes' to pass, this is clear, this

legislation sent saturday night is too broad. >> i think we need to take a good, hard look at the wording to make sure it's limited. >> reporter: plans are under way to make changes, limit time for military strikes and make clear, no boots on the ground. i'm told on that conference call with house democrats, democratic leader, nancy pelosi made a strong case for military action in syria. still, sources say they have no intention of overtly twisting arms to get support. they will be counting heads, trying to help the white house figure out who is a yes, a no and maybe so they know exactly where the critical vote stands, heading into it next week. dana bash, cnn, capitol hill. a huge operation under way. check in with cnn.com. we have the latest vote counts posted there. 35 minutes after the hour. a shocking story from bakersfield, california where a popular elementary school principal is facing charges she

killed her husband. she's due in court today. her husband's body was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds. the school says the principal was thought highly of. >> well liked, as far as i know. no complaints. hard working. pretty quiet. well respected. profession professional. it's very hard to believe. several of the people i talked to, their first response was they have the wrong person. it is out of character and very hard to believe. >> police say they believe chance abandoned her husband's car 20 miles away. his body was found dumped in an orchard. the results of an independent autopsy will be released by the family of kendrick johnson. his body was found inside a rolled up wrestling mat in january at his high school in georgia. the first autopsy conducted by

the georgia bureau of investigation found he died of asphyxiation and his death was an accident. his family believes he was murdered. police in new york city say they aren't getting as much help as they hoped finding the killer of a 1-year-old boy. he was shot in a stroller as their parents crossed the street in brooklyn. now the boy's father is not answering questions. he has a long rap sheet and the bullets may have been meant for him. >> wow. >> local activists are trying to identify the gunman and get him to police. near miami, there are questions about a lightning strike that killed one man, left two others injured. it happened in a semirural part of dade county. the three men were pressure washing a tractor trailer when a major storm rolled through. they tried to hide under a truck but the energy from the storm got to them. >> they don't know what happened. to them, they have no idea what

happened. they recognized it before they were taken. they don't know what happened. >> we are investigating on whether the individuals were directly struck by the lightning or the lightning struck the ground nearby. >> wow. so the two survivors are said to have suffered severe burns. they are expected to recover. a big step forward in the fight against the massive sub born blaze. officials say the fire is 70% contained, that is 25% more than where it was this time yesterday. it continues to grow. now up to, wow, 368 square miles. crews warn there is plenty of dry timber and high winds that continue to feed the blaze there. >> are they going to get a break, indra? >> yeah. this is the one place we have good news. more moisture going into the area. it's a good thing when you want the humidity values up. the moisture is feeding into the region. the fire creates its own wind. we are watching for that as

well. every time you have the thunderstorm threat, you have the threat for more dry lightning. that will be concern there. otherwise, you want the moisture. it will be warming up and drying out. a little bit of that mixed bag, again. we are looking at the rain to the northeast. here is what it looked like yesterday. a hard labor day for so many people. several inches of rain fell, causing flooding. this is the current radar out there. it looks like it's gone but not exactly the case just yet. as long as you have the cold front in place, you are still going to have pop-up showers. yes, it's only going to get better as the day continues on. either way, you have to get through the rest of the morning. the tail end of the cold front is sagging to the south. here we go again. exits to the mid-atlantic and northeast. more rain expected. really, all the way to the end of the week. that is friday. the cold front is still in place. can you imagine the allergy season in the southeast with all

the rain? >> thank you, indra. >> more than a decade after construction started, the new san francisco oakland bay bridge is finally open. a live look at the bridge. ooh. early. this tuesday morning, that's beautiful. work began back in 2002 to replace part of the existing bridge because of worries it would not with stand a major earthquake. part of it did collapse after a quake in 1989. this bridge is designed to last at least 150 years. it should hold up against a major earthquake. >> nice to hear. in utah, one man found a unique way to pop the question. he did it while sky diving. adam had his family put a big banner on the ground below the drop zone for his girlfriend to see it. as she was landing, he was ready, coming down first to grab a ring from his father and be on

one knee as she arrived. she was surprised. she was hoping it would happen this way. >> i hoped with everything i had, it would. he said his family wasn't going to be here. they wouldn't miss this. >> i have always wanted to go sky diving since i was a kid and saw pictures and videos of it. i have always wanted to propose sky diving. >> lucky he found a woman to sky dive with. a nice event there. >> i'm confused she was expecting for him to propose the day they went sky diving? >> they are always expecting. >> who is they? >> you tell me. >> no, they are not always expecting it. >> always expecting it's going to happen. they have been together since may. they plan to get married in november. best of luck to you. we are happy for you. coming up here -- >> i was in this.

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wearing hearing this morning from a nascar driver, the victim of the smack heard around the world as the entire racing world is abuzz. it happened saturday. there you see it. max papis the recipient of that open palm slap. can't see it enough. the perpetrator, the one behind that hand there, the girlfriend of another driver. papis and the other driver had words and angry gestures on the track. that led to the testy confrontation on pit row. >> i'm kind of turning away and

bang! it was like a -- i was in disbelief. she hit me as hard as she could. i couldn't really understand what she wanted. i don't hit back a lady. i don't do that. a situation like that, a situation like that was to turn back and leave. >> what she wanted was to hit him, apparently. >> she was standing up for her man. >> with that slap. the hit was so hard, he can't eat properly now. the other driver says it was ap papis' fault. he grabbed her and escalated the situation. for now, the driver says he has no plans to press charges. >> that was one heck of a slap. she really meant it. >> open palm as if slapping is somehow better than punching? >> it's better? >> i don't know. it's a big deal that it was a slap, not a punch.

that's more like a push. >> you have no idea we are sitting here watching you. chris said i have been slapped much harder than that. >> do tell, chris. do tell. >> when we come back -- >> that's nighttime tv, not morning tv. >> kate and mickey slap me around harder than that to wake me up in the morning. >> you need to do a lot to get this big blob going. >> i'm happy he backed off the dislocated thing. yesterday, i was having fun with this on the show. a lot of people were saying, hey, you know, if a man did this to a woman, you wouldn't be joking about it. i say right, i wouldn't. i don't see it as a sexist thing. she obviously didn't hurt him. other than his comment about the jaw. it's wrong to hit, but really, is that like the pc police. i'm supposed to treat all smacks the same? >> i do not take kindly when

anyone -- >> when i smack you in the face? >> when you smack me in the face or sexist remarks are made. >> you should hit me as often as possible. >> thank you for the invitation. >> we are talking about various things on the show. we know what's going on with syria and the president is pressing his case. what is it coming down to and what do we know about the merits of this situation? we are going to have two senators on with big ideas about what should happen and why. they could influence the outcome of an approval vote in congress. we are going to talk to them and get their ideas this morning. >> we are going to talk to the woman of the hour. i will say the woman of the day, the week and maybe the year. diana nyad achieved her lifelong dream. the first person to swim from cuba to florida without a cage. it was her fifth attempt.

some say would you not give up before then? we are going to talk to her live about that and her good night sleep last night. >> swimming 100 miles in two days. >> she was only in the hospital for a few hours for a check up. that's a story that it's nice to focus on the fact a swimmer did this and a woman did this. >> you are trying to make up ground. >> no, she had been trying to own this since the '70s. >> thank you so much. back to you in a bit. we will be right back here, potentially. hearty cheeseburger. creamy thai style chicken with rice. mexican-style chicken tortilla. if you think campbell's 26 new soups sound good, imagine how they taste. m'm! m'm! good! these chevys are moving fast. i'll take that malibu. yeah excuse me. the equinox in atlantis blue is mine! i was here first. it's mine. i called about that one. it's mine. customers: [ echoing ] it's mine, mine, mine. it's mine! no it's not! it's mine!

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the nfl still two days now, that's the official count. two days left before the official start of the season while we wait for the pros. college kids, they took center stage monday night. florida state and pittsburgh squared off. winston stole the show. >> andy is here with the

bleacher report. good morning. >> good morning, guys. if you don't know the name, winston you will. he was the number one proin high school. last night, in his college debut, he was amazing. 18-year-old quarterback through four touchdowns and ran for another. he completed a ridiculous 25 of 27 passes. florida state won the game easily, 41-13. if he keeps this up, he will find himself in heisman trophy conversation. the greatest men's tennis player is out. roger federer is out. he was 10-0 against him comelinging into the match. he committed 43 inforced errors. this was the first time in a decade federer failed at the

u.s. open. tiger woods got to spend time with his daughter. 6-year-old sam followed dad wearing a matching outfit. tiger had another rough day on the course. he ended up tied for 65th. number one in the bleacherreport.com is from a high school football game in alabama. a brawl breaking out after the game. it's between two coaches. matt hopper and the walker head coach got into it. they had to be separated by their own players and police. hopper, who got the worst of the night will not be disciplined. the other is on administrative leave by the school investigates the fight. now, guys, these two are supposed to be leaders of young men. that's the best example to be setting. >> i hate to see that. that's awful to see.

let's go to the winston thing. 25 for 27 you said. what a game. >> almost perfect. unbelievable. >> i have a feeling you are going to hear more about him. >> no kidding. we'll be right back. ♪ [ crashing ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums!

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we have a great deal more to tell you, but you have to follow us on twitter to find out what it is because -- >> we are done. >> that's all for "early start." ain't no more. >> take it away chris and kate. >> what more should we say other than thanks. see you later. >> it's almost the top of the hour. on "new day," it's time for the

top news. we don't want endless war. syria is a cancer that is growing in the region. >> the big push, is congress any closer to approving a plan to attack syria? today the president's national security team faces a grilling on capitol hill. we talk live to senators who may influence the outcome. talk about determination, diana nyad completing a swim. she joins us live this morning. dennis rodman back in north korea. will he try to convince kim jong-un to release the american held captive there? >> your new day begins now. announcer: this is

good morning, welcome to "new day," it's tuesday, september 3rd, 6:00 in the east and we're following all the developments as the president continues to try to sell congress on his plan for a military strike against syria. we're going to talk live to two key senators who may determine whether the president's plan lives or dies. senator john mccain and then in an exclusive interview senator lindsey graham. >> lots to talk about there. later this morning the president meets with john boehner and nancy pelosi as well as the chairs and ranking members of virtually every