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 key national security committee making the case for military

strikes against the is asad regime. chuck hagel and john kerry and martin dempsey facing the senate foreign relations committee in the first public hearing of the force in syria. we'll tap into the global resources of cnn to bring you the most complete coverage of the crisis in syria. we begin this morning with brianna keilar live at the white house. good morning, brianna. >> reporter: chris good morning to you. white house officials that i've spoken with feel positively about their prospects of hammering out an agreement with congress that would allow them to militarily strike syria but they admit there is still a lot of convincing to do. two key republicans voicing new optimism about president obama's plans in syria after a meeting in the oval office. senator john mccain, the president's former rival, 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 majority of the members of both houses can support. >> reporter: but it's not going to be an easy road. >> we still have significant concerns. >> we don't want endless more. >> reporter: congress has key demands, a limited strike and no boots on the ground. the white house will continue to make the case today, behind closed doors in two briefings and in public. secretary of state john kerry, chuck hagel and martin dempsey will testify before the senate foreign relations committee and president obama hosting a new round of face-to-face meetings with lawmakers. house speaker john boehner, democratic leader 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. >> the mood i respect is do not

do this. >> i think we'll need to take a good hard look at the wording. >> some of them may be lobbied from a different direction, russia, a friend of the syrian government, says it will send some of its representatives to meet with members of congress and russia is still questioning if chemical weapons were even used. foreign minister sergei laugh love saying "there's nothing concrete, no names and no proof." the white house this weekend sent a draft of the resolution that congress could use to authorize the use of force in syria, and as congress seeks changes, the white house officials say that's what they anticipated. we didn't expect congress to rubber stamp it. that's what one official told me, kate. >> we'll see if those changes can build consensus on capitol hill now. brianna keilar starting us off in the white house now, thanks. let's go to the region where syrian president bashar al assad is denying he used chemical

weapons on his people. senior international correspondent arwa damon is monitoring the latest developments live in beirut. good morning, arwa. >> reporter: good morning, kate, and those comments coming in a french newspaper, the syrian president as defiant as ever, almost mocking the notion that his regime was responsible for that alleged chemical attack. he directly is warning the french not to get involved, saying that there would be retaliation against french interests and when it comes to the broader geopolitical dynamics here he says any strike in syria would be akin to setting off a tinder box, that the repercussions would be felt throughout possibly even catapulting the region into a civil war, though some would argue that we are already there, and while there is this entire bait going on, intensifying

rhetoric on all sides the united nations marking a grim milestone, 2 million people are now refugees in neighboring countries and that's not counting those that have been internally displaced in all of this and the world is failing to be able to adequately finance the needs of those refugees and protect the most vulnerable amongst them, chris. >> arwa, thank you very much for the reporting this morning. continuing with our analysis, president obama is looking to lobby congress this morning to support a military strike in syria. let's figure out the big bush points and bring in john king, always great to have you. what are the main points of contention and where is the administration in terms of their ability to answer them in. >> as we speak this morning, chris, administration officials and key house leadership aides tell you the president would lose if the vote were today in the house, maybe within the senate. key pressure points the language of the resolution, they want to redefine it, define a limited mission. key one.

number two, the president has a case to make, still some people saying do you have beyond a reasonable doubt to prove the chemicals were used and b the assad regime used them. when you have the inside game and outside became, the public hearings on capitol hill critical not only to answering the question questions but to shaping public opinion because right now a lot of lawmakers tell you the safe vote, unlike the iraq war vote the safe vote is a no vote so the president has to sway and the most important people he'll meet with today are the house republicans. he doesn't have good relationships with them, very few personal relationships with them, they don't trust him or support his policy issues. he needs speaker boehner and the republican chair to lobby their members saying this is the right thing to do even if you don't agree with the president. >> the big word we hear is this is an urgent situation. did they come back to take care of aboutis in. >> they're starting to trickle back. the key members, the senate foreign relationless committee

will have a hearing today, a lot of the key house members from the national security committees are making their way back. the white house is it flooding the zone. you want to talk to the president, call the president. you want to talk to the national security adviser they'll schedule a call. lawmakers are trickling back in, not scheduled to be back until next week but some are ramping up their schedules. >> it's interesting they all haven't come back immediately with what we're facing as a country. john king we'll have you back. we'll talk with senator lindsey graham and senator john mccain, both met with president obama and we'll meet with van jones of "crossfire," and newt gingrich. stay with us for that. back here at home, labor day weekend, labor day holiday celebrations that gave way to heavy, heavy rain and flooding for many along the east coast. police and firefighters have their hands full rescuing stranded drivers in raleigh, north carolina. let's get to meteorologist indra

petersons here with more on this stormy labor day. what are we looking at? >> bad timing. we saw record breaking rain yesterday in philadelphia, about two inches of rain fell in providence, rhode island, about three inches of rain in a short period of time, unfortunately that means one thing, you end up with flash floods. >> my neighbor's door had blew off the hinges and was blocking the door. >> reporter: for these new england residents labor day was anything but fun in the sun. in cranston, rhode island, a fast moving flash flood flooded this entire neighborhood. >> i could barely get out. the water was rushing in this fast. >> the water was this high at my patio door and started coming in like a river. >> reporter: firefighters had to rescue 30 people by vote. the six-wall of water caused one uniit to collapse into the basement. in south florida a lightning

strike killed one man and injured two others. the men tried to hide underneath the tractor trailer when it was hit by lightning. >> we went outside and all three were on the ground. one of them is deceased. according to rescue, he was taking his last gasp, there was nothing i could do. >> reporter: in philadelphia the downpour drenched shoppers' dinner plans. water rescue units arrived at this bj's wholesale club where flash flood filled cars with water. >> got my groceries in but the shopping cart started floating away. right now my car won't start, it's dead. it was up to the seats, in my coffee cup holder it's still full of water. >> reporter: the wet weather didn't wash away the spirits of tennis fans after a five-hour delay at the u.s. open and at yankee stadium, die-hard fans stayed. we're still watching the same cold front, the only difference

here is it pushes through the northeast, it will move offshore. in the southeast it's expected to sag and last through the weekend. sound familiar at all? >> all right we'll check back in. we want a different forecast next time. >> i'll try. a lot of other news, as we talk about syria another flash point situation, egypt. >> making news this morning, mass protests are expected in egypt. backers of ousted in the mohamed morsi are calling for a million people to mark the streets of cairo. it's been two months since he was ousted. the rim fire burning yosemite national park at 0% containment. fire crews gained ground on the blaze which consumed more than 368 square miles and destroyed 11 homes. most mandatory evacuations were lifted. thousands of home remain

threatened by that fire. japan's government laying out its plan for dealing with toxic water dealing from the fukushima power plant. the country will spend half a billion dollars to freeze the ground so there's no more radioactive runoff and tainted water. massive leak sent some 300 tons of radioactive water into the ground. a bit of a scare there, southwest airlines flight makes an emergency landing after striking a bird during takeoff. one rattled passenger said it had a brutal takeoff and an enjoin started shooting out flames. after a few minutes everyone seemed to go into panic mode including the crew. all passengers were placed on other flights. saturday beth trammel's seem caught a 13'5" long gator, the heaviest captured in that state until two hours later when

dustin bachmann's party pulled in one over 13 feet long, 720 pounds. alligator hunting ends in mississippi september 9th, still a few more days to go so you never know. >> thanks to the reality show "swamp people." every time i see swamp people i hear a voice in the back of my head saying "shoot 'em, shoot 'em, shoot 'em." >> i watched an episode and it was like really in. >> 600 pounds but i'm just going to bend its head over the row boat and now all of it comes in. great show. >> it happens. thanks, michaela. let's take a break on "new day" when we come back, two words, diana nyad. she did stg amazing, so big we make her look like the president. the 64-year-old endurance swimmer finally making it from cuba to florida on her fifth try. she's been trying to do this since the '70s. sanjay guptaing there to greet her. >> she is amazing.

this will amaze you for a different reason. dennis rodman returns to north korea, he tried to negotiate the release of an american that's been held there captive. try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief! 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. i don't always have time to eat like i should. that's why i like glucerna shakes.

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for bringing us together. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. ♪ welcome back to "new day." need inspiration to push on with the challenges of the day, how about diana nyad, the first person to swim from cuba to florida without a shark cage. she went 53 hours in treacherous waters, 112 miles total swim. this morning, she is inspiring all of us. cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta is live in key west, florida, where he got a chance to speak with nyad.

good morning, sanjay. >> good morning, chris. this story is about this incredible swim. we've been following diana for several years and the story is more about not letting go of a dream. i think anybody listening, yourself included, chris, has probably had dreams at one point or another, had doubts along with those dreams. this is a story of how it can turn out. take a look. >> i won't get up, because i can't. hi, honey. >> reporter: how are you? >> you know what's so great about it, sanjay, is that it's all authentic, just it's a great story. you have a dream 35 years ago, doesn't come to fruition but you move on with life. >> reporter: sunburned and still swollen, that 64-year-old diana nyad speaking out about her incredible feat and it's just been hours after swimming across the treacherous waters between cuba and florida without a shark cage. it was a dream, decades in the

making. and it wasn't always a sure thing. >> i feel barely alive. >> reporter: that was diana's second attempt which was just a few years ago. >> i don't want to quit but i can barely make an hour right now. >> reporter: that time she did quit. in fact, she tried four separate times over three decades to do something that no human had done before, even each time she failed. jellyfish stings that nearly killed her, waves that this rashed her. the first time she tried the 29-year-old media darling looked like this. and it wasn't until her 60th birthday that an older, more determined even brazen diana nyad decided to try again. >> i was driving in my car telling myself you better seize the day, go forward and 60 isn't old. >> reporter: we have followed diana every step of the way and this past saturday, we were there again.

this time she wore a full body suit, gloves, booties and a new silicone mask to protect against the gelry fish stings. 53 hours and 112 miles of actual swimming and then this. >> we should never, ever give up. >> reporter: but it was no surprise to those of us that know her that she agreed to sit down and talk to us just hours after getting out of the water. >> i don't wake up gay or even female or 64. i just wake up like a, get me out of another day, you know? >> reporter: if you're ever wondering what goes on in the head of someone like diana -- >> my whole mantra this year was find a way. you don't like it, it's not doing well, find a way. >> reporter: i'll tell you, chris, maybe that's something you're going to incorporate into

your own life. i certainly will, when times get tough, when you got to dig deep, find a way. that's what diana says. i met a lot of extraordinary people, chris, as have you. she's one of the most inspiring people i've met. >> i love everything about this story, sanjay, sends all the right messages. from a medical perspective what do you find most impressive about what she was able to endure? >> reporter: when you're doing an event like this, these extreme medicine doctors we've been interviewing told us, you are in a race against your own body. you simply cannot keep up with your hydration and nutrition enough to sustain yourself. so this is tough to think about but she's in some ways digesting her own body in order to get through the swim. from a medical standpoint it's extraordinary. you can do a few hours of swimming but 53 hours she's starting to digest herself and also it's tough. she could not hold things down. she was throwing up the entire time. you see her at the end, you see

her at the beginning but there was a long, long road obviously in between for us. >> sanjay, you said you followed her and you followed her story and her for several years. how has she changed? it was probably quite a moment to sit down with her finally after she has reached this goal, few really thought she could pull it off. >> reporter: you know, it's a good question because i asked her the same thing and i don't think she changed. i think that she always believed it and i will tell you even the closest people around her doubted her. even the closest people around her refused to go on some of these swims at times and she would just get out there and go out there for 16, 20, 24-hour swim, just think, it's incredible. i asked her if she felt vindicated in some way, she's just not that kind of person. i didn't expect her to say yes but i think she feels more confident and wants to keep doing things to spread this message of anybody can do anything at any age. >> i think for at least a moment she's earned a day of rest

before she takes on the next epic challenge. >> and sanjay, i know you have the triathlon, want to see a personal best in the swim. >> reporter: i'll find a way. i'm going to find a way absolutely. >> sanjay, awesome story. thank you for bringing us the interview. we'll talk to you later on. is great. appreciate it, doc. >> reporter: any time. >> sorry, sanjay. coming up next hour we'll talk to diana nyad ref live about her historic swim. when we come back a big move by microsoft, the company announcing the purchase of nokia's cell phone business for $7 billion. what does it mean for them and what does it mean for you? plus dennis rodman returning to north korea to visit his, he calls him a friend, kim jong-un and engage in basketball diplomacy. live report on what this is all about just ahead. with new all natural lean cuisine honestly good. it's frozen like you've never seen. they've stripped down to only natural ingredients.

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>> announcer: you're watching "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> welcome back to "new day." president obama is pushing congress for military action in syria. we'll talk with senator john mccain live and later a "new day" exclusive, senator lindsey graham. >> we'll also be talking about dennis rodman headed back to north korea this morning where he'll meet up with kim jong-un. can he help in freeing an american sentenced to 15 years in prison there? >> we're following a lot of news for you now. let's get to michaela.

>> an update on syria, some developments happening there, a full court press from the white house as it keeps making its case for military action, in about three hours' time, president obama makes his case to john boehner and minority leader np "newsnight." secretary of state john kerry and defense secretary chuck hagel will hit the hill asking the foreign relations committee for a report. bashar al assad warning any reaction would set off the powder keg that is the middle east. a soggy labor day along the east co, 30 people had to be rescued in cranston, rhode island, where an entire neighborhood flooded out. in miami, one man was killed, two others injured in a storm, seeking shelter underneath a tractor trailer when the vehicle was struck by lightning. security square grounded flights at israel's international airport, israeli police say two men stole a truck and broke through an outer security barrier at the airport.

police fired warning shots before taking the suspects into custody. thankfully no one was injured and the airport is now operating normally. here's a high-flying way to say will you marry me. adam prize surprised his girlfriend kenzie when they went sky diving in utah. he grabbed the ring so he could drop to one knee as she came down and guess what? kenzie of course said yes. they plan to marry in november. no word on whether it will be on the ground or in the air. i added that last part. >> the veil would be beautiful but a limited guest list. >> we're see them for the reception. >> on the ground. let's move to our political gut check, all the stories you need to know coming straight out of washington, the white house ramping up its campaign for military intervention in syria sending top cabinet members to face capitol hill hearings today. will they get the support they

need from congress and the american people? that's a key question. cnn's chief national correspondent john king is here with the answers. good morning, john. administration officials you said it once this morning already they've been taking this flooding the zone approach in terms of trying to sway opinion on military intervention. are you seeing signs they're swaying votes one way or the other at this point? >> very slight progress, very important, john mccain and lindsey graham walk out of the meeting with the president yesterday saying they were satisfied with more support of the president. they think the administration is starting to answer some of the key questions but remember there in the senate, the president's biggest challenge is in the house. that meeting today, speaker boehner, democratic leader pelosi, the key republicans and democrats in the national security committees, the people the president most needs to convince here are the key republicans in the house because he doesn't have a good relationship with them, a lot of them are coming back from the district saying the safe vote is no, the president probably can't personally sway them so he needs to get the republican leadership on board to help him in the house. that's the steep hill now.

>> what will the republican and democratic leadership do though? we heard over the weekend that they were not planning on whipping or twisting arms and lobbying for this vote. they often see the big votes like this as a vote of conscience so what can they do then? >> the question is if a rank and file lawmaker comes to their committee chairman, that would be a republican on the house side and says i'm torn. back home in my district people say no. you have to get republicans, a lot of them are saying we don't like this president, not sure he has a good plan, not sure this will be limited in scope so are you voting based on what you think of this president and this administration's team or voting on what you think is the right position for you and the republican party to take for next year and the years beyond. there's a big debate in the party. the hawks have dominated the republican party for some time but there's a growing isolationist movement that's overgeneralizing a bit. syria will be a platform for an interesting subplot about the future of the republican party. >> in the senate you have secretaries kerry and hagel going before a key committee.

what do you think the question is they'll face or more importantly the key question they need to answer? >> they need to be very definitive about the intelligence because there are still some questions, the iraq war hangover, is there proof beyond a reasonable doubt assad about z this and limited in scope, they say no boots on the ground what do they mean and here is the number three question, we're all for punishing bashar al assad but what is the point, what is the strategic objective. what will syria look like the day after, the week after and what are you going to do to help the opposition or is that not part of it. >> john mccain and lindsey graham had criticism but seem to have tentative support. is that their key to be his ally on the hill. >> without a doubt. you have splits in both parties. the president will have to deal with this in his private

meetings, splits in both parties whether this is the right thing to do. you need ambassadors. the president doesn't have great relationships with any republicans to be honest. the fact he has the new bonding with john mccain is one of the things that will help him. i argue john bainer is more important than john mccain, no offense to senator mccain. the hill is steeper for the president in the house. any help he can get from republicans is critical to argue the case that this isn't about the president, it's about u.s. national security policy. >> we have to make that case for sure. john king great to see you. we'll have much more coverage on the debate on syria, with john we'll talk exclusively with senator lindsey graham coming up and also talk to senator john mccain and we're going to be hearing from the hosts of "crossfire," van jones and newt gingrich. coming up on "new day," the worm has re-turned. dennis rodman back in north korea, the lowdown on why he says he's there. a strange mystery solved,

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welcome back. around the world in sao paulo, brazil, the nsa spied on the brazilian president and mexican president. shasta darlington has more. >> reporter: the presidents of brazil and mexico were directly targeted by the national security agency's spy program according to the american journalists who obtained secret documents from edward snowden. in the case of the next cab president it happened even before he was elected. reaction there has been fairly reserved but here in brazil the u.s. ambassador was called in for questioning, officials held a press conference demanding a full written explanation, but they refused to comment on

whether the brazilian president's trip to washington in october could be canceled. back to you, kate. >> thank you so much. a new sky scraper in london is acting like a huge magnifying glass reflecting beams of light so hot they're melting parts of cars. >> reporter: the walkie-talkie building has a dazzling effect on the passers-byes but the $300 million is reflecting dead lires of light onto the streets and has damaged the panels and the wing mirror of a jaguar. the car was only in the ray for about an hour. there was a smell of burning plastic and the panels were buckles. developers have suspended three parking bays a precaution whilst they investigate the matter. locals here are calling it the walkie-sporty. >> a walky-scorchy. thank you so much. a sea of red in the nexterlands, thousands of people set a world record at the annual red head festival. erin mclaughlin has more on

that. >> reporter: kate, over 5,000 vedheads from 80 countries gathered in the netherlands over the weekend. red heads are rare so to get this many in one place is kind of a big deal. the festival set the world record for the most red heads in one place and then there was the world's first red head only flight, planeful flew in from scotland. festivals opened to anyone with an interest in red hair, lucky for us, that includes blonds. maybe next year. back to you, kate. >> all right, thanks so much, erin. >> i wonder how many people are red heads, i'll google that in a break and get back to you. you have a smart phone, cable tv, you probably have both. we have two big story, first microsoft put itself in the middle of a smartphone battle between apple and google and time warner cable and cbs settled their month-long battle ending a blackout of cbs shows in several major markets across the country. what do these mean? what is going on?

zain asher is here to give us perspective. good morning. >> reporter: with microsoft, microsoft wants to be more than a software provider. they want to get into the mobile business. they only have 4% of the market share in terms of smartphones and so they really want to push that and they're doing that by acquiring nokia. i grew up in europe, nokia has seen sales dwindle. for them they need the financial backing from microsoft to push that forward. >> what does this mean for consumers? >> first, more choice which is always great news for consumers. also for microsoft to be able to compete with google and apple they have to offer something innovative, innovative features, better services but it could mean better prices as well. >> some competition and better pricing. >> on the cable front what was the download and how they got the deal. >> looks as though the winner might be cvs. with content providers they always come out on top. cvs number one in ratings and if

i'm not getting my favorite tv show i'm going to switch. and also cbs's ceo came out and said that they did sort of get fair compensation for this. time warner cable basically said they didn't really necessarily get everything they wanted. >> and the timing of course is right before football season, thankfully. >> exactly. yes. lot of key games being shown on cbs. >> is the pressure building because of that? >> yes. time warner cable had their back against the wall. they had no choice. you had this week a lot of key games being shown on cbs. >> we've seen some of the balances happen between distributors and content providers. are we going to see more or could we finally put this to bed? >> with walt disney and dish, their deal is up for renewal at the end of september. so it looks as though we are going to see more of these retransmission deals in the future. you have this example with cbs

you have, it just shows how important content is and how much power these content providers have. >> doesn't bode well for the cable provider. >> although what we'll see in the future that may balance the scales a little bit will be that, it's inevitable you'll choose what content you watch from providers. >> you'll also be able to choose your providers. i sat and watched a marathon on my ipad of netflix. there's more options for us now. >> absolutely. >> what were you watching? >> "orange is the new black," obsessed. >> one word. >> it's hilarious. zain thank you very much. >> thanks so much, zain. come up next on "new day" president obama facing a defining moment, can he convince a skeptical congress and a war-weary public that we need to use military force against syria? seems to have at least some in his corner, john mccain in his corner and we're going to be joined live by the arizona senator to talk about that next hour. later an exclusive with

senator lindsey graham who had a key meeting with the president yesterday. just when you thought you were rid of him, there is the picture, dennis rodman making a return visit to north korea. he says he just wants to visit his friend, mr. kim jong-un and has a little business venture to discuss with the north korean leader. details to follow. [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. at&t mobile share for business. one bucket of data for everyone on the plan, unlimited talk and text on smart phones. now, everyone's in the spirit of sharing. hey, can i borrow your boat this weekend? no. [ male announcer ] share more. save more. at&t mobile share for business. ♪ before mike could see his banking and investing accounts on one page... before he could easily transfer funds between the two in real time...

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welcome back to "new day." the worm is back in north korea,

dennis rodman visiting pyongyang today for what he calls a basketball diplomacy tour. david mckenzie is live in beijing with details. do we know what rodman hopes to accomplish this time? >> reporter: well, basketball diplomacy is what he says he wants to accomplish, kate, and the basketball bad boy is back in pyongyang, famously called the young dictator there an awesome kid. he's there and he may have a surprise up his sleeve. >> just want to go over there to meet with my kefriend kim. >> reporter: that's kim jong-un, north korean dictator. dennis rodman is returning to north korea for the second time this year, boarding a flight from beijing early tuesday morning. >> just wanted to fly to keep the communication gap going and try to help, try to start a new basketball league over there and stuff like that. >> reporter: rodman first met kim jong-un in february, arra e

arrangarrang arranged for an hbo documentary series. the former nba star was criticized for saying he loved kim jong-un despite his long record of human rights abuses. >> he's a good guy to me. guess what e's my friend. i don't condone what he does but as a person to person he's my friend. >> reporter: this time there's speculation he may use his basketball diplomacy skills to try and free american kenneth bayh, sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. >> i would definitely ask, i'll just ask it in a way where i say what is, why is this guy held hostage here? i could say that like that and try to soften it up that way and then if i actually got him loose, and i'm just saying this out of the blue, i would be the most powerful guy in the world.

>> reporter: today he told reuters freeing bayh is not on his agenda. just recently the u.s. special envoy to korea, north korea, was turned away by the regime when he tried to head there to negotiate ken i.t. boyh's release. his family says kenneth bayh is doing badly health wise. whether the worm can do any better? we'll have to wait and see. chris and kate? >> all right, david mckenzie, thank you so much for that update. the last time he went in and did that interview with george stephanopolous afterwards george handed him a report saying maybe next time you go you can talk about the horrific human rights record north korea has. >> it's the right question. the problem is who he was handing the report to. >> i think that's an excellent point, chris. >> we'd try to ignore this story if it weren't for it's in north korea and the place is so important for so many reasons notably who they're holding now. >> that's right. >> mick? >> we have a must see moment to lighten things up a little bit.

cautionary tale, don't you dare try to this at home. this is what an off-road vehicle thud yast did, drives a razr up the side of a steep cliff. it flips device before it lands in a pool of water. the razr beat up and the driver walks away not only unharmed but celebrates his daring feat. apparently this is a thing called rock crawling. >> i've heard of it. >> people purposely try to drive the vehicle up the side of a rock. >> did his helmet fall off in the middle of it in. >> you see that he was steering on the way down while falling. >> very calm. >> honestly i shows you want to make sure they -- i don't know. >> yes. >> i can't make sense of it. >> this weekend, you and me let's get after it. >> i don't have it in me today. >> i don't have it in me any

day. >> fortunately they're not including me in this. >> you can come. >> i'm moving on. coming up next on "new day," diana nyad joining us live, 64 years old, she just swam 11 miles. people think about that with your morning coffee, did it in 53 hours to be the first person to make it from cuba to florida without the protective shark cage and she's got a message she would like to share with all of us. we have a make or break moment developing for president owe ba marx he's determined to convince lawmakers and the american people military action is required in syria. we'll talk about the stakes in damascus and here at home. we have arizona senator john mccain and later exclusively senator lindsey graham, two men at the center of this debate.

a writer and a performer. ther, i'm also a survivor of ovarian and uterine cancers. i even wrote a play about that. my symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. if you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer, be brave, go to the doctor. ovarian and uterine cancers are gynecologic cancers. symptoms are not the same for everyone. i got sick... and then i got better.

the nfl season still a few days away. the college football took over. andy scholes is here with this morning's "bleacher report." tell me what you told me. >> good morning, guys. if you don't know the name jamis winston you soon will. he passed up playing pro baseball to go to florida state to play football and baseball and last night he was amazing in his college debut, 19-year-old quarterback, threw four touchdowns and ran for another,

winston completed a ridiculous 25 of his 27 passes, florida state won the game easily 41-13. winston a sleeper to win the heisman trophy. the greatest men's tennis player is now out at the u.s. open. roger federer was ousted by tommy robredo in straight sets. he was 10-0 but federer didn't look like the federer of old, committed 43 unforced errors, the first time in a decade federer failed to get past the round of 16 at the u.s. open. and number one in the line-up on bleacherreport.com is from the coleman walker high school football game in alabama. brawl breaks out after the game, get this, it was between two coaches. coleman defensive coordinator matt hopper and walker head coach john halladay had to be separated by their own players. hopper got the worst of the fight, won't be disciplined by coleman. walker has been put on

administrative leave by his school. i know football is serious business in alabama but this can't be the example in front of your players. >> just the worst. i don't care what's going on on the field, that is not the way to handle the end of the game. iable it. >> it's depressing actually. andy, you depress me. thanks for that. appreciate it. good thing you got that smile, andy, because you brought me south with that. >> thanks, andy. ♪ it's time for the rock block, a quick roundup of the stories you'll be talking about today. >> a lot of pressure to cheer you up. first from "the washington post" the u.s. government spending nearly $80,000 every year on a plane that it won't allow to fly. it's row maw called the aero ma and it's grounded in georgia. the u.s. taking extreme measures to protect a trout species. in "the daily news" an

alabama radio station sparked a frenzy when it rand promos about an alien invasion. some folks pulled hair kids out of school until police straightened things out. we're not being invaded by aliens. just letting you know that. that's from me to you. business news with zain asher. >> microsoft jumping into smartphones in a big way, buying nokia's phone business for $7.32 billion. apple and google, guys, take notice. we're going to get more details on verizon's deal to buy vodaphone's 45% stake in verizon wireless at k p.m. eastern time. lowell mcadam the ceo of verizon will give a web cast to flush out the deal with the mega deal with investors and analyst. money scented cannedle this morning, "the wall street journal" says yankee candle is close to be being sold for $1.75 million. jordan's owns sunbeam brands.

>> i'm thinking dirty subway, i don't want that in my house. we had a soggy holiday weekend. finally making its way offshore for the mid-atlantic and northeast. taking you down to the south, unfortunately once again that cold front is expected to sag. we're going to see it hanging around all the way even in through friday and here we go the atlantic still it is now in september, we do not have a hurricane yet but notice the areas we are watching, needless to say i've been packing the bags, getting everything ready, there are a lot of chabss out there for us to be heading out to wet weather. >> we'll be watching it close. thanks so much, indra. it's close to the top of the hour which means it's time for the top news. mr. president, clear the air. be decisive and firm about why it matters to us as a nation to get syria right. >> congressional leaders headed

to the white house while secretaries kerry and hagel set to be grilled on capitol hill. we talked to two of the president's toughest critics live. never give up, diana nyad's inspiring journey, a dream 35 years in the making now fulfilled. the 112-mile swim few thought she could pull up. she joins us live. blockbuster deal, microsoft makes a huge purchase gobbling up nokia, the smartphone wars now about to really heat up, what it means for you. your "new day" starts right now. >> announcer: what you need to know. >> within seconds the entire bottom floor was completely flooded. i could barely get out because the water was rushing in so fast. >> announcer: what you just have to see. >> ooh! >> boom! >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan, and michaela pereira.

>> good morning. welcome back to "new day," it's tuesday, september 3rd, 7:00 in the east. coming up at this hour, president obama is doing everything he can to sell congress on a military strike against syria. two powerhouse republicans could be key to getting it done and they're going to join us live, senator john mccain and next hour an exclusive interview with south carolina senator lindsey graham. and then it's cheney versus cheney it appears. the former vice presidents daughters engaging in a public feud, we'll tell you about the personal issue that has mary and liz cheney going toe to toe. >> you loved the book, now they're making of a movie, wait until you hear who is playing the two leading roles in the new "fifty shades of grey" movie. we might be giving a sneak peek by the people on the screen. we'll talk about whether they're the right choice or not. >> everyone will have an opinion othat. we'll begin with what's going on in washington the obama administration making a full

court press trying to convince lawmakers a military strike in syria over chemical weapons is necessary. today john kerry, chuck hagel and martin dempsey will testify before the foreign senate relations committee. bashar al assad warns a u.s. strike would launch a regional war sparking "chaos and extremism" and today secretary-general ban ki-moon will give a briefing to the u.n. security council on the situation in syria. lot going on. we'll take to you beirut in just a moment but let's begin in washington where brianna keilar is live at the white house. good morning, brianna. >> reporter: good morning to you, chris. with two of congress's most prominent hawks now at least tentatively on the side of president obama, i'll tell you, white house officials i've spoken with feel positively about the prospects of hammering out an agreement with congress that would allow a military strike on syria. they admit there's a lot of convincing to do.

tw senator john mccain, the president's former rival, now a key ally in the fight to get congress on board for military action zple >> we want to work to make that resolution something a majority of the members of both houses can support. >> reporter: but it's not going to be abeasy road. >> we still 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 today, behind closed doors with two briefings and in public. secretary of state john kerry, defense secretary chuck hagel and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff martin dempsey will testify before the senate foreign relations committee and president obama hosting a new round of face-to-face meetings

with lawmakers. house speaker john boehner, democratic leader 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. >> certainly the mood in the district i represent is do not do this. >> i think we're going to need to take a good, hard look at the wording. >> reporter: some of them may soon be lobbied from a different direction, russia, a friend of the syrian government, says it will send some of its representatives to meet with members of congress and russia is still questioning if chemical weapons were even used. foreign minister sergei lovrov saying there's nothing concrete no, names and no proof. this weekend the white house sent a draft of a resolution to congress that would authorize the use of force in syria but with congress anticipated to make those changes, the white house or officials i'm speaking with say that is what they

expected. one official said we didn't expect congress to rubber stamp this. >> brianna, thank you for starting us off this morning. syrian president bashar al assad is warning a regional war could break out if the u.s. launches an attack on his country. assad telling a french newspaper that the middle east is a powder keg. let's go live to cnn's arwa damon in beirut for us this morning. arwa, what else is assad saying this morning? >> reporter: well this is all coming out in a french newspa r newspaper. he said there would be retaliation against french interests if they were involved in a missile strike. when we speak about the broader geopolitics of the region they're warning the middle east is a powder keg, a missile launcher, a strike against syria would cause that to explode potentially causing an all-out civil war in the region but a lot of people will tell you that that is where we already are at

this stage. while we have this intensifying rhetoric on all sides the aun announcing today that 2 million syrians are now refugees, another 4.25 million internally displaced. these are families. these are people who have lost their homes and in many cases their loved ones and even more cases their dignity as well. the u.n. and other organizations do not have the funding to be able to provide for them, host countries are unable to handle the influx and so while on the one hand the global community has failed to unite when it comes to dealing with syria, there's really no justification for not being able to help those who are most vulnerable. >> makes you wonder what intervention would mean for the refugees. arwa, thank you so much. coming up, we'll have much more coverage tackling every angle of the syria issue. just ahead senator john mccain will be joining us and later we'll talk exclusive with senator lindsey graham, two key senators in this debate and we're also going to hear from

the hosts of "crossfire," van jones and newt gingrich. let's turn to the wild weather. mother nature wrecking holiday plans for many people up and down the east coast. labor day storms led to at least one death from a lightning strike. >> we saw two inches in philadelphia and providence, rhode island, three inches of rain and unfortunately when you get that much rain in a short period of time you have the concern for flooding. >> my neighbor's door had blew off the hinges and was blocking the door. >> reporter: for these new england residents labor day was anything but fun in the sun. in cranston, rhode island, a fast moving flash flood flooded this entire neighborhood. >> within seconds the entire bottom floor was completely flood. ed. i could barely get out. the water was rushing in this fast. >> the water was this high at my patio door and started coming in like a river. >> reporter: firefighters had to rescue at least 30 people by boat.

two separate apartment buildings were flooded by the water. the six-foot wall of water caused the floor of one unit to collapse into the basement. in south florida a lightning strike killed one man and injured two others. authorities say that the men tried to hide underneath the tractor trailer when it was hit by lightning. >> we went outside and all three were on the ground. one of them is deceased. according to rescue, he was taking his last gasp, there was nothing i could do. >> reporter: in philadelphia the downpour drenched shoppers' dinner plans. water rescue units arrived at the scene of this bj's wholesale club where flash flood waters had filled cars with a foot of water. >> got my groceries in but the shopping cart started floating away. right now my car won't start, it's dead. it was up to the seats because you can see in my coffee cup holder it's still full of water. >> we are currently under a rain delay -- >> reporter: the wet weather didn't wash away the spirits of tennis fans after a five-hour

rain delay at the u.s. open and at yankee stadium, die-hard fans huddled together to stay dry and wait out the game. there you can see the cold front responsible for this, finally making its way offshore into the northeast but unfortunately in the southeast once again it's expected to last day after day so all the way through friday, still rain in that forecast there. >> thanks so much, indra. we'll talk more about that in the coming hours. thank you very much. let's move to a little bit of cell phone news, very big news being made in the cell phone space. microsoft getting into the game, kind of taking on apple and google. zain asher is here to break this down. microsoft kind of getting into this fight but what are they doing? >> they desperately want to be more relevant in the mobile business. they only have 4% of the market share right now. and they don't just want to be considered as a software company. they want to be more than that. the most important thing here is how do they compete with google and apple. >> and in doing that they're purchasing part of nokia. >> exactly for $7.2 billion and

the key question is how do they compete? november offer better service, somehow more innovative products, possibly could be cheaper prices for consumers. i want to mention that one thing they have to be up against is people are very sort of brand loyal when it comes to their mobile phone. >> that's a good point. >> it's like how do they get people to switch? you already have 50% of all americans have smartphones so they have to have a good excuse to want to witch switch. >> people also want to pay less for their smartphones. >> exactly. >> competition could mean lower prices? >> people have more choice and it could even cheaper prices. >> it could be, all right, cheaper prices is a good thing to talk about. thank you so much, zain. >> just one of the stories we're covering this morning. lot of news at this hour. let's get to michaela for the latest. we could see massive protests in egypt today, group known as the national coalition for legitimacy has called for 1 million people to take over the streets.

backers of ousted in the mohamed morsi are calling for a million people to mark the streets of cairo. it's been two months since he was ousted. the wildfire burning yosemite national park is at 70% containment. the blaze has consumed more than 36 square miles. fire crews getting a helping hand from mother nature with cooler temperatures and rain in some areas. the white house may release new information about the scope of operations in an effort to prevent google and microsoft from releasing their own reports. the companies are going ahead with a lawsuit for the right to reveal the information themselves. and new revelations that at&t has a huge data base that collects billions of electronic details on telephone calls made by americans. the "new york times" says they can subpoena the information for

use during investigations. dozens of injuries reported in eastern japan after a tornado ripped through koshi goya. the twister damaged or destroyed 110 homes, brought down utility poles, overturned cars. warehouse was lifted off its foundation and sent flying into other buildings. seven girls were injured when the roof was torn off a middle school gymnasium, shattering its windows. australian trick show artists have broken their own record with a shot toss from 321 feet'5". don't think this is the first shot. it took them 90 minutes to pull it off. kyle neville nailed this bucket on his 62nd try. 62nd. so they sat there for 90 minutes over and over and over. they have confirmation from a local government official and that information will be submitted for verification at

guinness world records. >> was that off the glass? >> no, i don't believe it was. >> was it a swish? >> that's what it looked like. >> the one they finally nailed was a switch. >> i wonder if he called it. >> like a babe ruth moment. >> after 61 you're like i'm not calling it. this is it. >> you wind up on international news if you pull something like that off. another story for you this morning a political family feud is brewing over same-sex marriage. one of dick cheney's daughters is lashing out at her own sister. liz cheney is running for a senate seat in wyoming. her younger sister is saying she is dead wrong about same-sex marriage. let's bring in athena jones in washington with the latest. good morning, athena. >> good morning, chris. it's rare that you see a fight within a political family become so public and the cheney family has usually presented such a united front. not now. they're the daughters of one of the nation's most controversial political figures now engaged in

a public feud. liz cheney's known as a vocal critic of president obama. >> he's launched a war on our religious freedom. >> reporter: dick cheney's eldest daughter launched a challenge to republican mike enzi. she's now in a war of words with her own sister, mary, who is openly lesbian. "i am strongly pro life and i am not pro-gay marriage" said liz cheney friday in a campaign statement, responding to what her advisers called a deceptive poll asking voters if they were aware she supports abortion and promates gay marriage. over the weekend, mary cheney reportedly fired back on facebook. >> for the record i love my sister, but she is dead wrong on the issue of marriage. freedom means freedom for everyone, wrote cheney, who married her long time partner last year and has two children. the enzi campaign has denied it was behind the poll that's causing the furor, but the

daughter versus daughter episode puts their father back in the spotlight. he was at times reluctant to talk about same-sex marriage when he was vice president, but once out of office he said this. >> i think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. any kind of arrangement they wish. >> same-sex marriage is still a tricky issue for republicans, while the majority of american supports same-sex marriage, only a minority of republicans do. chris, kate? >> it seems that tricky situation is playing out within one family. thank you so much, we'll talk to you soon. coming up next on "new day," senator john mccain live, he says a vote against u.s. military strikes in syria would be catastrophic but can the republican hawk help the president convince congress and the american people to take the next step. the woman who has become an inspiration to millions, diana nyad swam without a cage between cuba and florida. you need the cage because of the

sharks. we'll talk to her live about her incredible feat next. [ male announcer ] if your kid can recognize your sneeze from a crowd... [ sneezes ] you're probably muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air.

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welcome back to "new day." a shocking arrest in california, a beloved elementary school principal suspected in the murder of her own husband, leslie chance is scheduled to be arraigned today after her husband was found dead this weekend. cnn's miguel marquez is in los angeles taking a look at this story. >> reporter: this morning, elementary school principal leslie chance, accused of murdering her husband, headed to court this afternoon. it is a crime shocking this community. >> it's very hard to believe. several of the people i talked to their first response was they got the wrong person this time.

it is out of character and very hard to believe. >> reporter: chance was arrested after her husband, todd chance, was found shot multiple times his poddy dumped in an almond orchard, his car found in a residential area 20 miles away. >> we believe she is the person who drove that vehicle to that neighborhood and left it in that neighborhood and walked away. >> reporter: she was principal at fairview elementary school and with the district since 1997, a murder charge the last thing parents, students and colleagues would ever have guessed. >> well-liked as far as i know, no complaints, hard-working, pretty quiet, well-respected, professional. >> reporter: with school just back in session last week, the school year starting off with tragedy and concern for parents. >> she's a principal of school kids and to commit murder, now

what are the kids going to thing? >> reporter: officials insist the school is safe and are urging parents to talk to their kids about the serious allegations made against someone they know and trust. miguel marquez, cnn, los angeles. >> wow. all right, miguel, thanks so much for bringing us that story. we'll take a quick break. when we come back senator john mccain says a vote against u.s. military strikes in syria would be catastrophic but can the republican help convince congress to take the next step? joining us live is diana nyad, the first person in the record books to swim without a cage between cuba and florida. we'll talk with her about her amazing accomplishment coming up. >> looking goed. or. when you do what i do, you think about risk. i don't like the ups and downs of the market, but i can't just sit on my cash. i want to be prepared for the long haul. ishares minimum volatility etfs. investments designed for a smoother ride. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors

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welcome back to "new day." diana die ynyad has become the person to swim from cuba to florida without any protective cage. it was her fifth and we'll see probably final attempt and it took her 53 hours to do it. diana nyad thankfully is here live in the flesh to join us talking to us from key west. diana i have to tell you, we were talking about it this morning, you must have slept like a baby last night. how are you feeling this morning? >> you know, i did. kate, i've been right here in key west as you all know four times before, once when i was young in my 20s, and three more times now in my 60s, not having made it, and you know, everybody likes to tell me or they did the last few years but it's the

journey. it's not the destination. it's all the self-discovery and the wonderful team and i agree, but i'll tell you something, this time, the journey, the destination really brought me into a state of euphoria, so yeah i'm a little beat up. my face i've got lacerations from the saltwater exposure, i sound real funny the inside of my mouth, other than that, the emotional high is wiping out any physical problem there is. >> the victory sure tastes, i can only imagine how sweet it 'tis tas tastes. how did you succeed this time? this is your fifth attempt, after so many setbacks what was the difference this time? >> well number one, i think anybody who goes out there, it's a treacherous stretch of water. you know, so much of my team the last couple years said to me, i know you can break this world record. you can do more than 100 miles, but not this stretch. this stretch is impossible.

swimmers have been trying since 1950 and no one's ever made it across. go do the maldives, go to guam, find another nicer stretch, but cuba was in my heart and when i look at the map, that's what spoke to my imagination so i didn't want to give up on it. this time i got lucky. i mean the waves were tough. the jellyfish mask that i'm lucky to have made me take in a lot of saltwater, i was very sick, but the gulf stream was my friend and usually it's not. usually you're out there going in circles, going east of the bahamas. this time the gulf stream went north, wright where i was going. >> the conditions were right but it takes more than just conditions for a human being to be able to make that trek, that is true grit and determination that you made it through. what are you thinking, what are you saying to yourself? what are you doing during these 53 hours that you're in the water trying to make it across? >> yeah, you know, it's a very

isolating experience, even though i have 35 people around me loving, working like a machine, the kayakers with their shark devices, the shark divers at night in with me in the water patrolling, the biggest jellyfish expert, the number one jellyfish expert in the world, dr. angel janigahara scooping up jellyfish, putting in cleans on my face. bonnie my head handler, my soul, getting me somehow through the tough moments, but i'm also isolated, alone, eyes covered, ears covered, with your own thoughts for a lot of hours so when you're feeling good and you're cruising through the daylight hours, you're singing neil young songs to yourself and counting in french and german and spanish and just passing the time and you know, sort of metronomic ways, but when you're suffering, and i have to say that through the nights, i had

two nights of full suffering this time with the mask, with the saltwater. now you're not thinking of anything. you're just coping and surviving and your team is somehow helping you make it through. every 15 minutes, every hour "let's not give up." >> your success and the journey even though we know that the result and the victory is so much sweeter has captivated a nation as people have been almost swimming right with you at every moment. so what is your message after all of this, after you've really hit the pinnacle, you've done it? >> you know, kate, i think the message i carry and the reason so many people are attracted to this story is that it has nothing to do with sport. it really doesn't. the people who follow me aren't sports hounds checking the e.r.a.s of babe pitchers every day. they're human beings who were dealing with their own heart aches and their own obstacles in life and they want to know how

to get through and i think i'm a person who represents, a, you never give up, you find a way, if something really is important to your heart, you look and see what's inside yourself and you find a way. i'm also 64 and a lot of this country are baby boomers and i think people are looking to me to say hell no, i'm not old. when i'm 90 i'll get in a rocking chair, look at the sunset, but look how my friends who are in their 60s are vibrant at their intellectual peak and i'm proving that you can even be at your physical peak at this age. so i carry a lot of messages with me that aren't about, hey, go out and break athletic world records, you know? >> they're all good messages that you carry, that's for sure. i know everyone's wondering this question, what's next for you? >> i am through with the ocean. never going to be seasick again. see how happy i look? >> exactly. >> i really didn't come back, i

didn't swim for 30 years and i didn't come back to become a marathon swimmer again. i just had this dream of cuba, and so it's done. the dream has been realized, but as a swimmer, i had made a pool, i shouldn't say i made it, the company that builds the olympic pools these days are called mersa and they built a pool for me we're going to install in new york city in october, october 8th through the 10th. i 'm going to swim for 48 hours in a lane and next to me will be all kinds of notable new yorkers, the public at large, and we're going to raise money for those poor people who lost their homes to hurricane sandy. then we're going to take that pool to the boston marathon at the anniversary of that, that terror attack and we're going to swim there to help those people recover for what they're going through, and then go to moore, oklahoma, and dot same thing for those people who will be decades rebuilding their lives. you know, kate, we all watch

natural and terrorist tragedies and want to help, we feel compassion and sit down and write a check, whatever we can to the red cross but forget about it. we're on to our twitter universe lives. you know what? these people who suffered through these things, they're suffering the rest of their lives through it. so my message now is, we won't forget you. we are all citizens of the world and we're going to come to you and see if we can help you out, so the next one is october 8th through the 10th, in a nice pool with no waves, no jellyfish. >> exactly. >> no seasickness and those 48 hours should be an escape. >> a piece of cake compared to what you have gone through. congratulations from everyone here at "new day" and cnn. great to speak with you and hear your message that should be carried on for a long time. thank you. >> do me a favor, say hello to my old friend chris. >> oh, yes, he's sitting there smiling at you, he's been talking in my ear throughout the

entire interview. he says hello as well. >> thank you. >> see you, diana. >> i don't feel so old now, thanks to diana nyad. she's making us all look great. i love the pool idea, some good stuff alert coming your way, diana, when do you that we'll be with you, that's for sure. we'll take a break on "new day." president obama trying to convince congress to strike syria. we'll start with that when we come back, he has a top republican on his side, senator john mccain will join us live and make his case. it's one of the most buzzed about story, the highly anticipated casting for the "fifty shades of grey" has been announced. are they the right pick? i don't know, i'll have to think about it and we'll discuss. this was the hardest decision i've ever had to make.

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welcome back to "new day." it is tuesday, september 3rd, coming up in the show we have a lot to go. the crisis in syria, front and center on capitol hill. the president pulling out all the stops trying to convince congress to authorize military

strikes against the assad regime. we're going to ask senator john mccain how all of this will play out when he joins us live in just a few moments. dennis rodman back in "new day," back in the news, he says he's going to meet up with his "friend" kim jong-un. can he help free an american sentenced to 15 years in prison there? that's the big question for him there. lot of news this morning, let's get to michaela. president obama in syria making his case for a military strike against syria. he'll meet with john boehner and nancy pelosi as well as top ranking members of several national security committees. this afternoon the senate foreign relations committee holds the first public meeting with secretary of state kerry, defense secretary hagel and joint chiefs chairman dempsey all scheduled to testify. we'll speak with senator john mccain in a few moments' time. the israeli ministry of defense is confirming the launch of an anchor target missile, reports the launch over the

eastern mediterranean sea was successful and it was observed by radar. earlier a u.s. official said it did not involve u.s. forces. new this morning, passengers now being moved to other terminals following an escalator fire at america's busiest airport, the fire at atlanta's hartsfield-jackson international airport filled concourse "t" with heavy smoke. the fire was under control by 6:00 this morning. we're told two firefighters suffered minor injuries after they slipped on some water. in new mexico the search continuing for a missing firefighter separated from his team during a routine call last friday. token adams didn't come back to a meeting place or communicate on his radio. dozens of search and rescue groups are desperately trying to find him in the santa fe national forest. police in lauderdale county, mississippi, searching for an armed robber who tried to hold up the wrong mini mart. look at this surveillance video. instead of handing over the cash the clerk grabbed the end of the suspect's shot gun, the two men

wound up in a scuffle in a parking lot. the employee suffered a bruise to his head and that gunman got away. we don't see this often, check it out t is a walking shark. discovered off the coast of indonesia, it uses its fins to crawl along the ocean floor and forage for small fish and crustation. shark experts say this is the third walking species they found in eastern indonesia in the last six years. the shark grows to around 30 inches long and we believe it poses no threat to humans. interesting discovery. over to you, chris. >> thank you very much, mick. let's get back to the crisis in syria. most of the concern among lawmakers and a divided public is about whether going in at all is the right move. our guest now is on the record saying he's not ready to vote yes on the president's plan but because the attack doesn't go far enough. joining us now, republican senator john mccain, he met with

the president yesterday, thank you for joining us today, senator, always a pleasure. appreciate your perspective. >> thanks, chris and let me just correct a little bit what you said. i'm encouraged by the conversation that senator graham and i had with the president and his commitment to degrade bashar assad's capabilities to deliver chemical weapons which would mean degrade his assets and increase the assistance to the free syrian army so they would have a more level playing field and reverse the momentum on the battlefield, but i worry a lot about a resolution that really would have no real effect, in fact would even damage our credibility even more, but have no doubt, a no vote on this resolution would have very damaging effect to the united states credibility in the world without it. >> what is your message to your fellow lawmakers that haven't come back yet, that aren't

dealing apparently with the urgency of this situation? is your message to get back to the capitol right now and take care of this situation? >> well, i would like to and i would have appreciated the president calling us back or our leaders calling us back, but of course that's not going to happen so we're going to deal with what it is. we're going to have a hearing in the foreign relations committee, a briefing for senator armed services committee members tomorrow, both of which i am a member, so there is some movement but obviously there's going to be a further delay and to think that the syrians aren't making accommodations to the likelihood of a strike by moving their assets around, including military assets into civilian areas is foolishness, this kind of telegraphing punches could make our mission much more difficult and much more damaging to the civilian population. it's frankly crazy. >> let me ask you a question, one about tactics and timing. in your meeting with the president, did he give you a

promise that he would arm the rebels, that he would make that happen? as you know that's been a big issue. >> as you know not one weapon has been from the united states been put in the hands of the rebels. we discussed, in the discussion about increasing the capabilities and that means providing them not only weapons but the kind of weapons they need, anti-armor and anti-air. ak-47s don't do very well against tanks, so we discussed that and that that would be a course of action that the president would seriously consider i guess is the best way to describe it. >> seriously consider. in terms of timing -- >> i think favorablebally. >> why get out in front of the u.n., why get out in front of nato? why not wait for the reports to come in on the intelligence to get some momentum behind this plan? >> because neither organization is going to act. to start with, so you'd be

waiting forever. look the credibility of the united states is at stake here, not just the president. the president announced two years ago that bashar assad had to go. year ago he said that it would be a red line if they use chemical weapons. they already did several times and now this big use of it has put american credibility on the line. that's why i'd like to very much want to vote for a resolution which is meaningful, impactful and can shift the balance of power on the battleground in syria, and this is turning into a regional conflict, but the u.n. is not going to act as long as russia and china are behaving the way they are. nato is not going to, and we know the setback that this effort just took in the british parliament. >> but senator -- >> the united states must lead. go ahead, chris. >> but senator, the idea of the red line as the reason that the word of the u.s. isn't as strong in the middle east that's a point you make but there's also the history of how the united states entered the iraq war and

the feelings about our development of intelligence. that causes a perception of concern in the region as you well know. why not wait on that basis and not make the same mistake twice, have the plan of intelligence in place, having the u.n. saying we have the proof of chemical weapon, we're all on the same page. why risk repeating a mistake of the past? >> first of all we need no further proof. i mean, those bodies you saw stacked up without visible wounds, i mean, it's clear that he has used chemical weapons. he's already used them it's been proven, but then you should not -- the president should not have said he was going to strike and then said we to get a resolution from the congress of the united states. he didn't say that when he said he was going to strike. so our credibility is at stake here if this resolution is voted down, and i don't want the resolution to be voted down but it's got to be a meaningful

resolution that i believe will have a long-term effect and ultimately that's reversal on the battlefield. chris, this say regional conflict and syria is a client of iran. this encourages the iranians and north koreans and others that the united states' word is not good and that leads to a dangerous world. >> given what you just said, it becomes very important who comes to power if the regime is taken out, and are you concerned about which rebel faction comes to power? we've heard there are al qaeda elements involved, the lebanese newspaper reported that some potential kidnaper of pilgrims managed to get a picture of you when you visited in syria. do we know who takes over? >> first i hope you don't believe in al qaeda sponsored lebanese newspaper to start with, but second of all, i know general adriese. i know these people. i was in syria and the institute for the study of war and other

experts who are in all the time the most viable and powerful force is the free syrian army. al qaeda and al nushra are spending their time trying to impose sharia law. we know who they are and how we can get the weapons to them. they're still the major fighting force in syria and anybody who tells you they're not doesn't know who they are, come with me to syria. i'll introduce you to them. i know and we know who they are and there are people fighting and dying as we speak as we dither around on a resolution and they are dying by the thousands -- hundreds and 100,000 have already been massacred and there's 1 million children who are refugees and this conflict is spreading. iraq is dissolving as we speak and returning to a base for al qaeda in both syria and iraq, and remember, iran is the sponsor of all this as they proceed as the centrifuges spin and they proceed toward nuclear weapons.

>> there's no question, senator, that's why your voice is important in this debate. what is your take on the fact that the russians are coming? do you think they're going to help when they come to washington, d.c., and have members of their parliament in this situation? will you want to join them in. >> i'd be glad to talk to them but i hope they bring mr. kraft's super bowl ring with him to give him it back. i was thinking this morning the worst thing you could do in the old west was to steal another man's horse. i would think in new england the worst thing you can do is steal another man's super bowl ring. >> make some kind of deal, you get snowden and they get to keep the ring t is the patriots after all, it's neither of our teams. >> there's a place for new the diplomatic court, chris. >> senator john mccain thank you for the perspective as always. >> thank you. >> we heard from senator john mccain there. we'll have more coverage at the top of the hour, we'll talk exclusively with senator lindsey graham. and we'll hear from the housts f

"crossfire," van jones and newt gingrich. coming up next on "new day" everyone is talking about the new stars of the film version of "fifty shades of grey" and gotten the thumbs up from the author of the wildly popular book series. we'll have details on that ahead. also this, the worm is heading back to north korea, can dennis rodman's basketball diplomacy help free an american who is supposedly serving 15 years hard labor there. mine was earned in djibouti, africa. 2004. 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. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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they're saying they don't like the "fiflty shades of grey"? >> you came up with a great solution snowden for a football ring. brown: on my third day as principal, i met with the state. students had fallen behind, and morale was low. my first job was getting everyone to believe... that we could turn this around.

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we're bringing sexy right to the film screen. welcome back to "new day." it's time now for the pop four. that means our nischelle turner is here. little different, we have the pop one, because there's so much controversy about this. >> yeah, there's controversy, there's discussion. we're going to see how involved chris cuomo is. we have one story, one big top pop story that has everyone buzzing. we have our leads for the "fifty shades of grey" movie. yes, charlie hunnam of "sons of anarchy" and he also played in "pacific rim." he'll play christian grey, while dakota johnson will play anastasia steele. now that we have that out of the way, reaction! that's what we're talking about. >> what has been the reaction? >> there's been a lot of reaction, because first of all, there were so many names batted around, no one knew, emma watson, emma roberts, then

people in my mind's eye, ian summerholder would have played christian grey, robert pattinson, ryan gosling, but we have two virtually unknowns, which could be a good thing. you like that? >> i have two thoughts, the idea is to cast relative unknowns so that it's a clean slate. my second thought is this, if you get three women in a room, their idea of their fantasy man, even from a book based on it, will be three different people. there's no way everybody's going to agree on how this guy should look or how she should look, because our mind's eye creates our own version. >> i have read all three books, couldn't put them down. i was walking around, didn't have them on my ipad, i wanted everybody to see i was reading "fifty shades of grey." no shame in my game, honey. i embraced it all. but the thing that was interesting, i definitely had a mind's eye immediately when i started reading, because there's

such a good description in the book, his eyes, his hair. you definitely get a look in there. anastasia steele, on the other hand, kind of the girl next door, so there's a couple people that could play her. this movie, if it stays true to the book, i don't know how they are going to make it without a big fight from the mpaa on their hand. >> what is going to be the rating? a lot of women don't want it to be watered down. >> i don't. >> is this going to be a straight chick flick? >> i don't know if you need guys. >> do we know anything about the guys reading the book? >> date night, that's what it's going to be. if you need a little spice in your relationship. >> you're hoping it has some kind of rub-off effect? >> have you not read the book? >> what are the chances that i've read the book? >> no, he has not. >> are you kidding? i thought it was about ties. i love grey. >> grey is a good color for me.

thanks so much, nischelle. >> i have all three of them, you can borrow them. >> great, when we come back, here's our question for you, is dennis rodman playing basketball diplomat? why the former nba star is back in north korea. and a face-off in washington over how to handle syria. the white house keeps laying out its case for military action, but will lawmakers on capitol hill bite? we'll talk exclusively with lindsey graham to have his take. coming up. these chevys are moving fast. i'll take that malibu. yeah excuse me. the equinox in atlantis blue is mine! i was here first. it's mine. i called about that one. it's mine. customers: [ echoing ] it's mine, mine, mine. it's mine! no it's not! it's mine! better get going. it's the chevy labor day sale. [ male announcer ] the chevy labor day sale. just announced: $500 labor day cash now through september 3rd on most 2013 chevrolet vehicles!

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that music means it is time for the rock block, everyone, a quick roundup of the stories you'll be talking about today.

first up, michaela. >> in the papers of the post, a network designed for police officers. it's called blueline, scheduled to go live the end of next month. actress scarlet johansson backing hillary clinton. time now for your business news. >> investors are back from their long labor day weekend and think to be in a buying mood. hopefully, that will help erase the memory of a tough august where the dow was down more than 600 points. just in time for football season. time warner cable and cbs now have a deal after one-month cable blackout that affected 3 million customers. finally to indra petersons. finally we're seeing the cold front making its way offshore, but if you're heading to the southeast, same old story, this guy is going to be lingering. it's hanging out all the way

through friday. at least we have a storm go away. >> all right, indra, thank you so much for that. we're now at the top of the hour, which means it's time for hour, which means it's time for the top news. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com this is a regional conflict. this is not a conflict that's confined to just syria. >> face-to-face, the president meeting with congressional leaders just hours from now as his national security team faces questioning in the senate. is he any closer to making a deal to strike syria? >> never too old, the inspiring words from diana nyad, her dream finally realized, making that brutal 112-mile swim 35 years after her first attempt. we hear from her this morning. breaking overnight, dennis rodman back in north korea. his controversial friendship with kim jong-un put to the test. will he try to free the american held captive there?

your "new day" continues right now. >> announcer: what you need to know -- >> water was this high at my door, my patio door, and it just started coming in like a river. >> announcer: what you just have to see. >> if something really is important to your heart, you look and see what's inside yourself and you find a way. >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan, and michaela pereira. good morning and welcome back to "new day," everyone. it's tuesday, september 3rd, 8:00 in the east. a lot coming up this hour. the white house continues flooding the zone, as they say, pushing for a strike in syria. the president meeting with key congressional leaders to make his case today. we're speaking with senator lindsey graham, who met with president obama yesterday. >> meantime, israel launching

experimental missile into the mediterranean sea. here's the question, did the u.s. know about it, were they involved? late developments on that. plus, it is the slap felt around the sport's world. wow, driver's girlfriend smacks his opponent and it's all caught on camera. new this morning, israel's defense ministry confirming it launched an anchor target missile over the mediterranean sea, the region on edge this morning. we're covering the story as only cnn can. first to barbara starr joining us with what this all means. good morning, barbara. >> good morning, kate, it was the israeli defense ministry that made the announcement it conducted a joint missile test with the u.s. department of defense, part of their antiballistic missiles system from a base in central israel, firing a target missile, a test missile if you will, out into the mediterranean, all picked up by russian radar and really causing the world to take a deep

breath, wondering if hostilities had broken out. the u.s. military responding very quickly saying, there was no offensive or defensive action by the u.s. military, that this was a test. but look, this is an area where you have the russian military, the u.s. military, the syrians, the turks, and the israelis in the eastern med, everyone's teeth are on edge. chris? >> barbara, it's interesting how will this play now for the president as he goes to this relur reluctant congress. the president will brief john boehner and nancy pelosi at the white house today. he's also going to meet with key house and senate kmaet leaders, all in the spirit of trying to come to some consensus here. on capitol hill, secretary of state john kerry, hagel, and dempster will testify on authorization in the senate. also today, the u.n. security council gets briefed on chemical

weapons inspections in syria. that is a key discussion to be had. let's start off with brianna keilar at the white house. good morning, brianna. >> good morning, chris. with two of congress's most prominent hawks now apparently on the side of president obama, white house officials i have spoken with are feeling positive of hammering out an agreement that would authorize the use of force when it comes to syria. they do admit, though, there's still a whole lot of convincing to do. two key republicans voicing new optimism about president obama's plans in syria. after a meeting in the oval office. senator john mccain, the president's former rival, 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 the members of both houses can support. >> reporter: but it's not going to be an easy road. >> we still have significant

concerns. >> we don't want endless war. >> reporter: congress has key demands, a a limited strike and no boots on the ground. the white house will continue to make the case with them today. behind closed doors with two briefings and in public. secretary of state, hagel, and martin dempsey, and president obama holding a new round of face-to-face meetings with lawmakers, john boehner, nancy pelosi, and 12 other key members of congress, the white house hoping to avoid a defeat on capitol hill. >> certainly the mood in the district i represent is, do not do this. >> i think we're going to need to take a good hard look at the wording. >> reporter: some of them may soon be lobbied from a much different direction. russia, a friend of the syrian government, will send some of

its representatives to meet with members of congress and some are questioning if chemical weapons were even used. sergei lavrov saying, there's nothing concrete, no names, and no proof. the white house this past weekend sent to congress a draft of a resolution that would authorize force in syria, and with lawmakers seeking to make changes, white house officials said that's what we anticipated. one said we didn't expect congress to just rubber stamp it. kate? >> thank you so much for that. one person that's received a preview of the administration's argument is lindsey graham, senator from south carolina and key member of the armed services committee. senator, it is great to see you. busy travel schedule for you up to washington and back down to south carolina. you went into the meeting with president obama yesterday skeptical and critical of the plan that he was laying out. you wanted to see a larger

strategy from him. how did the president respond to your criticisms, and in the simplest terms possible, how did he convince you? >> well, at the end of the day, the american people are just really don't know what we're doing, and i went into the meeting, mr. president, what am i supposed to tell people in south carolina? a military strike with a purpose. i'm not asking for an open-ended military engagement to replace the regime. i know he's not going to do that, but here's where we left it, the past is the past. we got to go forward. to me, there is the beginning of a strategy that might work. the idea of a military strike to degrade assad's delivery systems when it comes to chemical weapons would have a beneficial effect on the overall battlefield situation. a real effort to upgrade the modern opposition in terms of weapons and training, getting the regional players more involved like jordan, saudi

arabia, the gulf arab states, and particularly turkey by moving the al qaeda groups in syria is a strategy that might sell to congress, a military strike to degrade assad's overall capability and upgrading of the moderate opposition in a regional approach, where the regional players start providing assets, including money and training and support for the opposition. >> now let's game this out. john mccain in the last hour, he made the case that this is already a larger, a bigger regional conflict, not just about syria. so if the u.s. goes in, what does the u.s. do if assad digs in, if iran or hezbollah retaliates and this becomes a whole lot more than the american people bargain for? >> well, i think the american people have to understand if this war goes another year, here's what's likely to happen. there will be tens of thousands of al qaeda in syria, there will

be a toppling of the king of jordan, the last moderate voice in the region, a close ally to us and israel. he'll be gone in a year because of the refugee problem. the chemical weapons will be loose and in the hands of hezbollah and may come our way, so the idea that iran is watching every move we make in syria, if we get syria wrong, if we show a weakness here regarding assad's chemical weapons utelization, you're almost ensuring a war between israel and iran over their nuclear program and we'll surely get drawn into that. american people, if you're worried about the iranians getting a nuclear weapon, as i am, the last card to play to stop that is how we handle syria. >> the u.s. getting arms to the rebels, one of the concerns all along is who are we actually going to be giving these arms to when they make it into syria. do we really know who we're dealing with? do we really know who we'd be dealing with if assad is

toppled? how do you deal with that question on a very real level? >> well, number one, we know this, the vacuum created by this war going on for two years has allowed al qaeda affiliates to come into syria and do battle against the alex rodrigu white. most syrians aren't interested in replacing a dictator named assad by al qaeda. i find it astonishing for anybody to suggest that the syrian people are al qaeda sympathizers, but you have two wars now. if you did what mccain and i said two years ago, assad would have been gone a long time ago and we'd be moving forward. if this war goes on a year from now, you'll have tens of thousands of al qaeda.

what happens when assad goes, and it's important he does, because if he stays in power, that's a huge blow to our national security interests. you have to fight the al qaeda groups in syria. the syrians will take care of al qaeda with our help. that's the good news. you don't need any boots on the ground. >> the most immediate question at hand, senator, should the president go without the approval of congress? >> well, this is about the most mismanaged situation i've ever seen since world war ii when they were trying to control the na nazis. this is bizarre, we're going, we're not going, need congress, no, we don't. the public doesn't understand our strategy, so i'm trying, along with senator mccain, to make sure we get syria as right as possible, given the really bad options. i hope the president will address the american people, not just lindsey and john, and talk about does it matter if assad is in power a year from now and would it matter if they got a

nuclear weapon. if we lose the king of jordan, does it matter at all, there's a lot at stake in syria and the president, above all others, needs to up his game. this vote is going to be too close to call right now, and if we lost this vote, oh, my god, i can only imagine how it would make us look throughout the world, but if we have a week response, that's just as bad. so the president needs to up his game. i'm willing to help if i can see a strategy that will protect our nation to stop this war from spreading in the mideast and let iran know we're not going to let them get a chemical weapon without a struggle or fight. if we get syria right, maybe we can avoid a war between israel and iran, which we would surely get drug into. >> no matter if a no-vote from congress how that would make the united states look abroad. should the president, then, go in anyway without the

authorization from congress? what do you think? >> i think any commander in chief has to -- well, i don't know what he will do. i don't know why we're doing it the way we are, but here's what i would say to the american people, the commander in chief has the responsibility unlike any member of congress. if the commander in chief decided that after drawing a red line on chemical weapons that he had to act and that this war has a regional consequence, it could take down the king of jordan, and it really is a test run for stopping the iranian nuclear program, he has to make that decision as commander in chief, and i could understand why he would go forward without congress, but to my fellow members of congress, i know this is a tough vote and we've got plenty of differences with the president on the republican side. let's see if we can come up with a strategy that has a chance of working, a military strike to degrade assad, upgrading the rebel opposition forces, regional players help carrying some of the burden makes sense to me. this is all bad options, but

that option, to me, has a chance of working. and if we fail in syria, if we fail to stand up for the right thing and to send the right messages, the whole region's going to go down in flames and i've been saying that for two years. the worst is yet to come. if we don't get this right, kate, the worst is yet to come. >> that is an ominous warning. senator, i know you and the president have had many a difference in the years past, but looks like he's going to need you this time around. talk to you very soon. thank you so much for your time this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. we're going to have much more coverage and debate coming up with two of the hosts of "cross fire," van jones and newt gingrich. you don't want to miss it. chris? let's take a look at the weather here. a whole new meaning to labor day for millions along the east coast, getting through the holiday weekend unscathed proved to be a labor for many as rains battered the eastern seaboard. let's get to meteorologist indra

peterso petersons. >> nobody wants to see the heavy rain, especially on labor day. we actually saw record-breaking rain in philadelphia, two inches of rain. providence, rhode island, three inches of rainfall. that much rain in a short period of time, unfortunately, it means flash flooding. >> my neighbor's door had blew off the hinges and was blocking the door right here. >> for these new england residents, labor day was anything but fun in the sun. in kranston, rhode island, a flash flood went into the entire neighborhood. >> i could barely get out, the water was rushing in so fast. >> the water was this high at my door, my patio door, started coming in like a river. >> firefighters had to rescue at least 30 people by boat. two separate apartment buildings were flooded by the water, the floor of one unit collapsing into the basement. in south florida, a lightning strike killed one man and injured two others.

authorities say the men tried to hide underneath a tractor trailer when it was hit by lightning. >> went outside and all three of them were on the ground. one of them is deceased. according to rescue, he was taking his last gasp, there's nothing i could do. >> water rescue units arrived at the scene of this b.j.'s whole sale club where flash flood waters filled cars with a foot of water. >> got my groceries in, but the shopping cart started rolling away. my car won't start, it's dead. it was up to the seats. my coffee cup holder is filled with water. >> the wet weather didn't wash away the spirit of tennis fans at the us open. and at yankee stadium, die hard fans huddled together to stay dry and wait out the rain. that same cold responsible for wet weather is on the movie, especially in the northeast and midatlantic making its way

offshore, bad news for the southeast, it's moving, but ever so slowly. we'll be talking about rain through the end of the week, chris and kate? >> thanks so much, indra. we have the weather, a lot of other news going on, right to michaela. >> good morning to everyone at home. mohamed morsi calling for mass protesting in cairo. it's been two months since the army seized control of egypt and removed the democracy elected leader. japan plans to spend upwards of half a billion dollars to try to stop the radioactive leaks at the fukushima nuclear plant. much of the money will go towards freezing the ground so that contaminated water cannot flow out of the plant. thousands of gallons of radioactive liquid has already escaped a storage tank there. firefighters are reporting progress in california, the rim

fire now 70% contained. just yesterday, it was less than half under control. but the blaze does continue to grow. it is feeding on dry timber and brush in the area. the fire is so far consumed more than 235,000 acres. all right, alligator hunters, saturday this team caught a 13'5" long gator, heaviest captured in the state. wait, two hours later, though, another gator was pulled in, this one over 13 feet, weighed 727 pounds. they just keep upping the alligator ante. alligator season ends in mississippi on september 9th, so they have a few more days to catch some of the big ones. >> doesn't even look real. >> i know, prehistoric proportions. >> swamp dragon. >> do you fear them? >> i do. very much. >> taking that one seriously.

from gators to worms, shall we? that was the stupidest transition i've ever made. the worm returns, dennis rodman is back in the news. he's back in korea this morning. he's just visiting his old pal, kim jong un on a basketball diplomacy tour. what's really going on? straight to david mckenzie in beijing this morning. what is dennis rodman expecting with this trip? >> he's calling it basketball diplomacy. raised more than a few eyebrows earlier this year when he called the dictator there an "awesome kid." he's over there now and we'll have to see whether or not he has a surprise up his sleeve. >> just want to go over there to meet my friend kim. >> that's kim jong un, north korean dictator. former nba star dennis rodman is returning to north korea for the second time this year, boarding a flight from beijing early

tuesday morning. >> going there to fly to keep the communication gap going and try to help, you know, try to start a new basketball league over there and stuff like that. >> rodman first met kim jong un in february. the former nba star was criticized back then for saying he loved kim jong un, despite his long record of human rights abuses. >> he's a good guy to me. he's my friend. i don't condone what he does, but as a person-to-person, he's my friend. >> this time there's speculation he may use his basketball diplomacy skills to try and free american kenneth bay, a missionary who's been imprisoned in north korea since late last year, sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. this was rodman just last week. >> i would definitely -- you know, i'll just ask in a way where i say, what is -- why is

this guy held hostage here? i could say that like that, then try to soften it up that way. if i actually got him loose, and i'm just saying this out of the blue, i'd be the most powerful guy in the world. >> today he told reuters freeing bay is not on his agenda. so the u.s. special envoy tried to get into north korea just last week, he was turned away by authorities. kenneth bay is very sick, according to his family. whether dennis rodman will achieve anything, we'll have to wait and see. when he's concerned, you can't really predict what's going to happen. kate and chris? >> to say the least when it comes to dennis rodman and kim jong un, you cannot predict what will happen next. coming up on "new day," diana nyad does it, the 64 years young endurance swimmer made it from cuba to florida, her fifth try a success. you're going to hear from her

and dr. sanjay gupta about what she overcame coming up. and coming up, the slap nascar fans are still buzzing about as the driver speaking out saying his jaw was dislocated. why the girlfriend of one driver approached the other driver and slapped him straight across the face on camera. ♪ ♪ hey! ♪ ♪ let's go! ♪ [ male announcer ] you can choose to blend in. ♪ ♪ yeah! yeah! yeah! or you can choose to blend out. ♪ oh, yeah-eah! ♪ the all-new 2014 lexus is. it's your move.

welcome back to "new day." such an amazing story, diana nyad has made history, becoming the first person to swim from cuba to florida without any protective shark cage. we spoke to her about her incredible feat earlier this morning. >> kate, i've been right here in key west, as you all know, four

times before. once when i was young in my 20s, and three more times now in my 60s not having made it. you know, everyone likes to tell me, or they did the last few years, it's the journey, it's not the destination, it's the self discovery and the wonderful team. i agree, but i'll tell you something, this time, the destination really brought me into a state of euphoria. yeah, i'm a little beat up. my face -- i've got lacerations from the salt water exposure, i sound a little funny, the inside of my mouth, but other than that, all of the emotional high is wiping out any physical problem there is. >> the victory sure tastes, i can only imagine how sweet it tastes. why, how did you succeed this team? this is your fifth attempt, after so many setbacks, what was the difference this time? >> well, number one, i think anybody that goes out there, it's a treacherous stretch of

water. you know, so much of my team the last couple years said to me, i know you can break this world record. you can do more than 100 miles, but not this stretch. this stretch is impossible. swimmers have been trying since 1950 and no one's ever made it across. go do the maldives, guam, find another nicer stretch, but cuba was in my heart. >> what is your message after all of this, after you've really hit the pinnacle, you've done it. >> you know, kate, i think the message i carry, and the reason so many people are attracted to this story is that it has nothing to do with sport. it really doesn't. the people who follow me aren't sports hounds, you know, checking the e.r.a.s of baseball pitchers every day, they are human beings who are dealing with their own heart aches and obstacles in life and they want to know how to get through, and i think i'm a person that represents, a, you never give up, you find a way.

if something really is important to your heart, you look and see what's inside yourself and you find a way. i'm also 64, and a lot of this country are baby boomers, and i think people look to me to say, hell no, i'm not old. when i'm 90 i'll get in a rocking chair, look at the sunset. look how my friends who are in their 60s are vibrant, at their intellectual peak, and i'm proving you can be at your physical peak at this age. i carry a lot of messages, don't go out and break athletic world records. >> they are all good messages, that's for sure. i know everyone's wondering this question, what's next for you? >> i am through with the ocean. never going to be seasick again. see how happy i look? >> but she said she's still going to be out there swimming. she is more fish than human sometimes you think. let's go now to cnn's chief

medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. you've been following nyad's story all the way, you're in key west, spoke with her last night. what do you make of the physical feat and challenges she's faced and finally hitting it this time? >> you know, the physical challenges are just remarkable. i mean, anyone can see that. at 64 years old, she swam nearly 55 hours. one doctor put it to me, essentially she's in a race against her own body, because she has to take in enough hydration, nutrition, just enough to complete the swim, so she's almost in a way digesting her own body to get this done. you sort of hit on this and see it when speaking to her, this is about a dream 35 years in the making. we all have dreams maybe we've let go at some point in our lives, maybe we didn't realize we let go, then you meet someone like diana nyad and all these

long lost dreams are reinvigorated and maybe it inspires people to do things they thought no longerer were a possibility for them. 64 years old, my mom was calling me yesterday, my kids were calling me, she's inspiring to all generations. >> she absolutely is. after her fourth attempt, she had said maybe it can't be done, but you followed her all along the way, what is it about her? she just had that ability to keep the hope alive, did anyone around her think maybe she really couldn't do it? >> yeah. the people around her that was the closest to her thought she couldn't do it. one of the people that's really been with her since the beginning, thought the last attempt was something she wasn't going to participate in, so there was a lot of doubt. i'd go so far to say the only person who really kept the vigil on this was diana herself. four attempts is a lot. remember the first was when she was in her late 20s, so now

she's in her mid 60s, how could this be possible, how could she do this, and then she does it. it's really remarkable. as she said to you, kate, she had things in her favor, water temperature, currents, wasn't a big storm coming through, protective gear against jellyfish, which hindered her in the past, despite all that, push cuba back, reach for florida, push cuba back, reach for florida. >> conditions couldn't have been more than perfect. i could have an entire body mask and there's no way you or i could have made this swim. that woman is just remarkable in her determination and true grit to pull this off. >> yeah, that mental stamina. there's something to be learned. you're right, i couldn't do it, most people could not do it, but the mental stamina, there is a lesson for all of us. >> thank you so much, sanjay, we'll talk to you soon. reminder to our viewers, do not forget to tune in to sanjay

gupta m.d. airing weekends, saturday 4:30 eastern and sunday 7:30 eastern. >> i want to say that notion of fourth time, most people would have packed it in after the first time, on anything, maybe it wasn't in the cards for me. she did it five times. >> jumping in that water every time. she's awesome. coming up next on "new day," the white house going all out to get congress to support military action against syria. we're going to debate it with two of the stars of "cross fire," van jones and newt gingrich. coming up. they say rubbing is racing, but what about slapping? the girlfriend of a nascar driver unloading on a rival, we'll hear from him post-slap.

welcome back to "new day," it is tuesday, september 3rd. michaela pereira has the five things that you need to know for your new day. tell us. >> i do. let's start at number one, israeli minister of defense confirming the launch of an antimissile system over the eastern mediterranean sea. it was successful. the test was detected by russia radar system, causing ripples of confirm. heavy rain and flooding. at least 30 people had to be rescued in cranston, rhode island. shoppers in philadelphia were trapped in this parking lot. two months since president mohamed morsi was ousted from power. so far at least 900 people have died from the violence since he was deposed. number four, new span of the long-delayed san francisco bay bridge now open more than a

decade after construction began. it's designed to withstand a major earthquake. and at number five, roger federer out of the us open, he was beaten last night in the fourth round. meanwhile, serena williams playing tonight. we're always updating those five things to know, go to newday.cnn.com for the latest. >> if there's one thing up for debate, what to do about syria. president obama is making his big push today, trying to get congressional leaders behind a streak on the assad regime. is the policy adrift, are we on the right target, is this the right move? joining me right now, two of the hosts of cnn's new "cross fire," mr. newt gingrich and mr. van jones. thank you for being here today. >> good morning. >> good to be here. >> so we heard from senators mccain and graham, and they do care one supposition that i want you two to take on, this is the president's fault. between the red line and the process, he has put us in a bad

position where we now have all bad choices. gentlemen, let's start with you. mr. gingrich, is this about the president making mistakes, or is this about a lot of concern in the world over how we perceive, given what happened in iraq? >> well, i think -- i hope the members of congress will take it seriously as what america should be about. this isn't about president obama. this is about america. and what should america be doing, what risks should america be running, what are our goals, and i thought it was very interesting to watch senator mccain and graham, who are both very strong hawks, who came out of the white house and said, you know, now we're reassured this is the beginning of a really big effort. meanwhile, you have senator leahy, who's a dove, who's drafting a resolution in the senate saying he's going to make it as limited as possible. now, we're a long way over the next week or two weeks what is it they are going to vote on and is it a public relations strike of a few missiles or a serious

threat to get rid of assad. there's a huge gap between the american people on those goals. >> the perception right now, they are upset because obama didn't do anything with the red line, mccain said was it written in disappearing ink. do you think the international community is concerned about the red line and consistencies, or making sure the united states has the best case to move forward because of what happened with the iraq war? >> i think the world's watching. i think we have a couple challenges here. if we do something that's too little, costs less to the regime to make a difference. if it's too big, it's too costly to the american people. we're not stuck because of president obama, we're stuck because there's a mess in the middle east and we had a role of creating that mess the last time we rushed into war. my concern is it's deja vu all over again. i don't think we're in a position right now as the united states to rush over there. we would go in right now with a smaller coalition than george w. bush did when he went into war with iraq.

i think we're clear a red line has been crossed. not because obama said it, but because it's a red line in human consciousness and morality, you don't gas children. but what you do, it's not you do something or do something reckless and stupid, the president was smart to have a break in the action to consider we have not exhausted our diplomatic opportunities here. we've not talked about an arms embargo, not built the global coalition, we should not be going to war. >> are there steps we're skipping? >> first of all, the society of an international community doesn't hold up if you look in detail. the russians are deeply opposed to us doing this. the chinese are deeply opposed to us doing this. the british parliament directly rebuked the prime minister and said, no, we're not going to do it. so i think this question of what is, you know, what is an international community, and frankly when the saudis are counted as a part of the international community, that is a monarchy run with a secret

police, not because it shares western values and is eager for the rule of law. i think that would be clear. we should think through what we're going to try to accomplish, and i agree with van, we have no clear strategy right now. we have no end state outcome. the president has opened the door for the congress. it doesn't just have to vote yes or no, it can actually think or ask questions. >> that's the most important thing right now, for the members of the u.s. congress to look at this. we cannot just write a blank check and go in open ended. the united states could be in a situation where we think we're going to do a strike and go home. if we do something, they are going to do something. then you're jumping around on a pogo stick and the voices of peace always get drummed out and five years later, oh, those peace guys had something to offer here. i think we have a diplomatic offensive that needs to be unleashed. we can do this, but i don't think at this point the case has been made to rush into war by ourselves in that part of the

world. >> how about arming the rebels? how about arming the rebels, van? senator mccain says he believes the president will arm the rebels. do you feel confident you end up getting the right group ruling? >> listen, we are already in a posture where we said we're going to arm rebels. we upgrade the humanitarian relief and keep forgetting there's about 1 million people sleeping outdoors because we aren't doing enough for the existing refugees. you start dropping bombs, you create more refugees. i'm glad this president was smart enough to create a break in the action, but congress needs to constrain what we do. no boots on the ground, up humanitarian relief and exhaust all peaceful options before any bombs start falling. once you start going to war, nobody can control what happens. >> and, chris, let me add to that, the congress ought to take this as an opportunity to ask, what are our goals in the region? is the number one threat in the u.s. an iranian nuclear weapon or assad? is the number two concern in the region the growth of radical

islamism, which is part of the anti-assad movement in syria? where do you rank syria among the problems we're faced with, and are we really convinced that firing off a handful of missiles is going to decisively change anything? the administration has already said publicly they don't want to use this to defeat the assad regime. then what's the point? if you're not going to defeat assad, this is a dictator. he's not impressed by the fact you can fire a handful of missiles from navy ships. >> chris, one last thing. chris, you've done a lot of work in urban communities, and so have i. we always tell kids in the neighborhood, it's a big man that can figure out a way to deescalate. don't do something out of pride now that may bring you shame later. why do we tell kids one thing in a conflict, then as adults we act totally differently? this guy's a bully, a thug, he's

done something despicable, but make sure we do the right thing in response. a smart thing, something that will deescalate this conflict and not put us on a slippery slope to more body bag, more funerals, more war. i'm tired of war, i think america is tired of war. we need to be creative in figuring out nonviolent solutions. >> van jones, newt gingrich, thank you very much for the perspective today. look forward to "cross fire." always great having you on "new day." >> thank you. all right. just in case you're watching, their "cross fire" returns to cnn monday, september 9th, at 6:30 p.m. eastern. that's 6:30 p.m. eastern. michaela, over to you. now to "impact your world." roger daltry thrilled audiences in the who, but behind the scenes he's dedicated to helping teenagers, and not just with his music. decades in the spotlight has given roger daltry a lot of

opportunities to work with charities, but after talking to his own doctor, daltry found a unique need. >> recognized that teenagers with cancer, there's kind of no provision for them. this is nothing to do with medicine, this is to do with the environment. there's fabulous children in hospitals. there's fabulous, you know, things for adults, but when you actually look at what a teenager is, which is neither a child nor an adult, there's nothing. >> daltrey and bandmate pete townsend created teen cancer america, based on a program they've been involved with for years in the uk, creating teens-only cancer awards in hospitals. >> just being a teenager without having that lumped on top of you, so we provide specialized environment where they can be comfortable being teenagers. how about a life of privilege? it was supplied by teenagers supporting.

>> good stuff. love your music and love what you're doing, especially with kids. coming up on "new day," the nascar driver slapped across the face by an opponent's girlfriend. he said his jaw was dislocated, now it's better, but his feelings are still hurt. he's going to talk about the smack everyone is talking about, as well. you have time to shop for car insurance today? yeah. i heard about progressive's "name your price" tool? i guess you can tell them how much you want to pay and it gives you a range of options to choose from. huh? i'm looking at it right now. oh, yeah? yeah. what's the... guest room situation? the "name your price" tool,

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nascar fans had front-row seats when the girlfriend of one driver slapped another driver. according to that driver, the

slap was so hard, the impact dislocated his jaw. john berman is on the case. john? >> we are still talking about this, why? because that video you saw is so amazing. it makes you want to conduct a frame-by-frame analysis to see how the whole thing went down and who started it. we have new information about the events surrounding the incident. of course, the big cosmic question here is, when someone gets slapped after a nascar crash, does anyone really win? >> think nascar racing isn't a contact sport? tell that to nascar driver max papis, this open-handed slap took place right after sunday's camping world truck series race in ontario, canada. the woman delivering the smack heard round the world is the girlfriend of another driver, mike skeen. papis said the hit left his earring. >> i'm kind of turning away and, bang!

it was like -- i was in disbelief. she hit me as hard as she could. >> it all started when papis and skeen were battling in the race. papis said skeen pulled an amateur move, pushing him into the wall and ultimately wrecking both trucks. >> you don't pull a move on someone who has 20 years of experience like me. >> the cooldown lap was anything but. papis and skeen exchanged words and hand gestures, a member of skeen's crew even reaching in papis's truck after the race, then skeen's girlfriend confronts him and, smack. >> i don't hit back a lady. i don't do stuff like that. i think a situation like that was better just to turn back and leave. >> papis later tweeted that the hit had dislocated his jaw and he had to get it fixed. now he says it was strained. >> she hit me so hard, even now i can't eat properly.

>> mike skeen told cnn, max further escalated the situation by coming in our trailer and grabbing kelly aggressively. >> was a polite? no. did i move her out of the way? yes. that, you know, goes a long way from hurting someone or something like that. >> papis calls the entire incident an embarrassment for the sport. >> now at this point, papis does say he is not going to press charges. he said he would like to put all this behind him. good luck with that, mr. papis, i'm sure no one will ever talk about this again. >> i mean, i don't know, i don't know. i don't actually know where i land on this one. >> i don't understand why she slapped him. >> a lot of slapping. >> a lot of passion in nascar, to say the least. fans and spouses or girlfriends. coming up on "new day," what would you do if you had next to nothing and someone accidently handed you a $4,000 diamond ring, what would you do?

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about yoplait's fall favorites. so we brought pumpkin pie and apple crisp back for a limited time. see? you really do call the shots. ♪ yoplait. it is so good. we love it, we need it, and here it is. time for the good stuff. billy ray harris was a fixture on a kansas city street corner begging for change, that was until a woman accidently dropped her $4,000 diamond engagement ring into her cup. yes, it was an accident, no marital discord. he could have sold it and changed his life, many would have, but he didn't.

>> she said, well, i might have gave you something very valuable. i said was it a ring? i said, yeah, i have it. my grandfather was a reverend, raised me from the time i was 6 months old. thank the good lord, it's a blessing, i still do have some character. >> when you judge someone for being homeless, you make a mistake. the woman and her husband were so moved by the kindness, they started an online donations page. they were hoping to raise $1,000. at the end of the 90-day campaign, $190,000 poured in from all over the world once this went viral. now we have the latest. billy ray with this help, just purchased his own car, has offers for speaking engagements, about to launch his own painting business, and, yes, even put down a payment on a home. >> you cannot believe how good it feels to me right now to be able to stick my own key in the door and open the door and go in. and lock it when i leave. that is a great feeling.

i probably be standing around out here one day going to shop at urban outfitters, someone come up and hand me a dollar. they are so used to seeing me out here doing this. >> oh, my goodness. >> and he has a sense of humor about it. that's why it's the good stuff. >> so much to say but no words. >> he gave, it was returned many fold. let's take a break.

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-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for being with me. we begin with the crisis in syria. this hour, the shadow of syria hangs over the white house. minutes from now, president obama meets with house speaker john boehner and minority leader nancy pelosi. the president's mission, chip away