and i'm brooke baldwin. happy friday to you. thank you so much for joining me. let me tell you, huge, huge day of news. an even bigger hour of live events. see the two boxes over my shoulder. let me tell you about these two people we are watching for any minute now. hours after the nfl season kicked off last night, one of its former stars is right now appearing in a courtroom. this is near boston. on murder charges. you know i'm talking about

former new england patriot aaron hernandez. today, part of this arraignment, expected to plea, as we've heard him before, plead not guilty in the murder of his friend. we are watching and waiting for that. also we're watching this other picture in washington, d.c. because as reaction is pouring in to president obama's news conference from st. petersburg, russia, earlier today, particularly his words on the next step against syria, his ambassador to the united nations, she is new to the job. she is samantha power. she is speaking live. as we take it, we are guessing here -- this is a woman who is likely not to mince words. already she is accusing the united nations security council of letting russia hold them hostage. so she'll be talking today at this liberal think tank in washington. we are expecting her, basically, to lay out america's case against the bashar al assad regime. we will take that live in just a

moment here. but, first, i want to continue with syria. president obama will address the nation tuesday. we learned this today. so he'll be addressing the nation tuesday on the crisis in syria and what he hopes to do about it. he calls the task ahead of him, and i'm quoting, a heavy lift to get congress on board with his plans for a military strike. and we're about to get some behind the scenes insight on his careful response to a question about what he will do if and when congress says no. but, first, let me show you the aftermath of the surprise meeting between president obama and russian president vladimir putin. here you have these two adversaries with two very different opinions on syria. take a listen to how each man says this exchange went down. >> we understand each other. we listen to each other.

we understand arguments. we do not agree with those arguments, but still we can hear them. >> it was a candid and constructive conversation. which characterizes my relationship with him. i know, as i've said before, everybody's always trying to look for body language and all that. the truth of the matter is, is that my interactions with him tend to be very straightforward. on syria, i said, listen, i don't expect us to agree on this issue of chemical weapons use. although it is possible that after the u.n. inspectors' report, it may be more difficult for mr. putin to maintain his current position about the evidence. sf >> so you saw the president there. he's addressing members of the media. took an interesting turn. you see her back. this is our senior white house correspondent breeaianna keilar

asking the president this question. would you go it alone if congress voted against you? here is president obama's response. >> i did not put this before congress just as a political ploy. or as symbolism. i put it before congress because i could not honestly claim that the threat posed by assad's use of chemical weapons on innocent civilians and women and children posed a imminent, direct threat to the united states. in that situation, obviously, i don't worry about congress. we do what we have to do to keep the american people safe. >> great question. i didn't quite hear an answer. chief political analyst gloria borger listening along as well. no big surprise there. i know as you know, you're talking to sources in washington, there's a heck of a lot happening behind the scenes right now. i know publicly the president can't, you know, entertain the idea that congress may vote no. so talk to me about some possible scenarios here as we

move forward. >> what they have to do is they have to say, and they've been saying it since this last weekend when john kerry said it. they have to say that they have the authority to act alone. just to keep that there. but that it is their desire to go to congress and, of course, they say they believe that congress will go along with them. they don't want to get too far out over their skis. as the president might say. this morning on npr, the deputy national security adviser seemed to do a little bit of that when he said it's neither our desire nor our intention to use that authority absent congress. so there seemed to be a little -- >> that opens the door, doesn't it? >> so i went to a senior administration official asking exactly your question. and the answer came back to me, which was, here's a clarification. their clarification was, it's

podis's intention to act with congressional authorization. we believe they're going to give it to us. they're kind of talking in a bit of a circle right now. they have to keep saying they have the authority. because they don't want to create some kind of constitutional crisis if they then decide to act and say, okay, we don't -- we never had the authority. they have to be very, very firm on that. >> what about this in listening to the president's speaking in st. pieetersburg. one thing stood out to me. i want to juxtapose it with sound we have from california congressman janice hun which directly contradicts what the president said. take a listen. >> i dispute a little bit, breeaianna brianna, people come out of classic briefings and they're less in favor. >> i read the classified documents. i don't think there's anything at this point that will convince me to vote in favor of military force at this time. >> gloria borger, which is it? >> i think you talk to lots of

members of congress. and they are opposing it for different reasons. and she may not have any justification that the chain of custody of these tchemical weapons goes directory to assad. i will say there's going to be a super briefing in the white house for house -- i mean, up on the hill for house members on monday by, you know, the key people from the administration on the evidence. but i think a lot of people are coming at this really more in terms of just what's the mission here. say it's a pinprick. will a pinprick be enough? what do we need to do to keep our credibility? is a pinprick not enough? the president's trying to sort of thread the needle here between the hawks and the doves. and that's really hard to do. there may not be any way to thread that needle. it's very difficult. because you can't come up with a military plan that doesn't have a direct goal and a mission.

and is it to degrade and deter assad? well, if you do that, it has to be more than a pinprick within so -- some way. >> how persuadable will they be? >> very fluid. you can't count votes on this one yet. it's just too up in the air. >> gloria borger, thank you very much. let me switch gears and talk aaron hernandez. happening right now, former new england patriots star here is moments away from being arraigned on first-degree murder here. he is expected to formally plead not guilty to killing his friend, 27-year-old odin lloyd who was dating the sister of hernandez's girlfriend. police say hernandez orchestrated the shooting of lloyd at that industrial park. that was back in june. lloyd's body was found -- guys, are these live pictures? here we go. yeah. these are live pictures. so here he is being walked into court, presumably. handcuffs around his hands. as we watch this together, let

me just lay this out for you. among the evidence prosecutors plan to present, they have the home video surveillance showing hernandez going back to his home that very night back in june carrying what appears to be -- you see this? spotlighted for you on the right hand side of the screen. appears to be a gun. that gun, murder weapon here, still hasn't been found. let me bring in cnn legal analyst and former federal prosecutor sunny hostin. as we sit on these live pictures, just set the stage for me. because, you know, we know that aaron hernandez here, he has already pleaded not guilty in district court. but he has to do so here in superior court as well. >> that's right. because a jury, a grand jury, has already indicted him. and that really raised the stakes in this case. because i think we all knew he was likely looking at some sort of murder charge. perhaps a first-degree murder charge. it's when the indictment is filed by the grand jury and agreed upon by the grand jury

when the arraignment process starts. many people, brooke, believe the arraignment process is really when the criminal process starts because that is when you are formally informed of the charges against you. you enter your plea of guilty or not guilty. typically bail is discussed. we know aaron hernandez has been held without bail. which really must be a very difficult thing, you would imagine, for someone who was a former nfl superstar. right? but i suspect that perhaps bail is not going to be discussed again. he is likely to be held without bail until a trial in this matter unless, of course, there's a plea. >> ultimately, presumably, he will plead not guilty here in this arraignment. this could, then, lead to a concrete trial date, correct? >> that's correct. that's correct. usually the next step after this is some sort of pretrial conference. but we may even get trial date. >> let's just pause and take a listen here. this is superior court. >> charging unlawful possession

of a large capacity weapon. a large capacity feeding device. how do you plead? >> not guilty. >> indictment 2013. unlawful possession of ammunition. how do you plead? >> not guilty. >> indictment 2013-983-6. charges you with unlawful possession of ammunition without an id card. how do you plead? >> not guilty. >> all right. then, counsel, understanding that there's been an agreement there's not a necessity to go into the background or any statement of facts here. isn't that right? >> that's correct, your honor. >> counsel, i received from you and your colleagues, a motion to preclude statements at the department's arraignment. i don't think i need to take any action on that. >> you don't, your honor, given the final position. >> i also have a motion to preserve evidence. is there any objection to that? >> there is, your honor. i did briefly speak to mr.

sultan. we just received this. some provisions of the motion require the commonwealth to essentially preserve evidence that's beyond our jurisdiction and beyond our -- potentially our capability to do that. i'm asking that this motion, as i had indicated, we just received it, you put over for further date and hearing on that to the extent that what limitations or requirements that we'll be able to preserve evidence. that, again, is in the hands of third parties and outside of the borders of the commonwealth. >> well, i understand that. in order to stabilize the situation and to preserve the situation, it would seem to make sense for you to notify those other agencies of the existence of this request. and that they preserve what they have in hand to date. there should be some -- >> i'd be glad to do that, your honor. i'd be glad to give notice that at this time that the defendant has filed a motion and is requesting that these -- these

items or any evidence be preserved. but in terms of the ability to order somebody in a jurisdiction, i would suggest respectfully the procedure would be the defendant would file an order with the court who would then serve it on a justice in another -- in the other state. and then that would then be -- have the weight of law. i mean, right now i can make a request. i would anticipate compliance. but, again, part of this talks about if they're spoilation of evidence, to the extent we have the power to prevent evidence from being altered or destroyed, at this time things outside our borders, i don't see that we do. >> mr. sultan? >> i would have two requests. number one, i think the court is absolutely right. that any out of state agencies that have been involved in the investigation of this case should be put on notice as of today if they haven't been before that the commonwealth

requests that they not destroy or alter any physical evidence or any notes. and subject to further order of the court. so i think it should be more than the defendant has filed a motion. it should be a specific request. if not from -- frankly, i don't see why that request should not be made at this point with the court. if the court is not prepaured to go that far, it should certainly be -- the commonwealth should make that request. number two, your honor, there's a well established body of case law going back, commonwealth versus donahue, 30 years old, to the extent that there's joint effort between -- >> you're listening a little bit of back and forth between the prosecution and defense here inside the superior courthouse, fall river, massachusetts. if you can see on the right hand side of your screen, suit jacket, white button down shirt, is the person for which we show you the live pictures. this is aaron hernandez, former new england patriot, who we just heard the two words, "not

guilty," that he utter, facing weapons and murder charges. sunny hostin, walk me through what's happening here. >> it's interesting. they're arguing about the preservation of evidence. the defense here is saying, listen, we need access to this evidence. we want to make sure the prosecution and third parties do not get rid of this evidence. that means they're really gearing up to prepare for trial. this is the kind of case, i suspect, that does lead to a trial. you've got a former superstar nfl player facing a first-degree murder charge. that penalty is life -- a life sentence. and so absent some sort of plea deal, and i don't really know what kind of plea deal the government can offer someone like this, accused of this type of heinous crime, they're trying to make sure that they will be ready for trial. >> as i mentioned, because of this arraignment, and now officially this plea, we could have a trial date today, maybe tomorrow, as this thing moves forward in massachusetts.

sunny hostin, thank you very much. coming up next, president obama says he is listening to ideas, different ideas, on how to punish syria. sow wh so what are the alternatives to military action, to force? we're going to discuss that. plus this -- >> this is what i think of congress. they are a bunch of marshmallows. that's what they are. that's what they've become. why are you not listening to the people and staying out of syria? >> outrage is growing against u.s. lawmakers over a possible strike on syria. so to debate where this anger goes from here, let's bring these two guys back who are happy to disagree. that debate, next. a contractor before and didn't know where to start. at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. no company can pay to be on angie's list, so you can trust what you're reading. angie's list is like having thousands of close neighbors, where i can go ask for personal recommendations. that's the idea.

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but for all these symptoms, you also take kaopectate. new kaopectate caplets -- soothing relief for all those symptoms. kaopectate. one and done. senator john mccain, one of the earliest and loudest advocates of a u.s. military strike in syria got an earful from the people who should count the most to him in the job. i'm talking about the leaders in his party. not talking about that. i'm talking about the people who put him in office. the people of the state of arizona. some even brought props to make their point loud and clear. >> do you really realize what

you're getting our -- what you're getting our country into with this war in syria? you attack the syrians, who do you think they're going to take it out on? israel. why are you not supporting israel on this one? this is what i think of congress. they are a bunch of marshmallows. that's what they are! that's what they've become! why are you not listening to the people and staying out of syria? it's not our fight. back israel. >> for me to listen to you saying there's no good option, i refuse to believe that. the good option right now is to take saudi arabia and iran and force them to stop supporting the two sides in syria. and you could do it. you can do it by negotiating, by diplomacy and negotiation. not bombs, senator mccain.

>> hezbollah is a criminal organization. they supported him. iran supported him. we have to stop this madness. we have to stop bashar al assad. i'm syrian-american. i'm proud of it. my family in syria. if bashar stay there, he will kill half of the nation. he already did. 7 million people left their home. do you think when they go back home, he will leave them alone? he will kill them all. >> let's talk about this with conservative radio talk show host and cnn political commentator ben ferguson. and chris kofinis. i didn't get enough yesterday. it was just a couple days ago. leaders from both parties standing behind the president's move for military action. now we're having these marshmallow moments. this is backlash from, you know, constituents. chris, let me just begin with you. we know the president addresses

the nation tuesday. that came out today. it appears his momentum has stalled. how does he get it back? >> well, i mean, i'm not sure stalled is the right way to put it. i think to some extent it's gotten worse. at least with public opinion. i mean, i'll just give you one example. senator man chin's office right now, for and against, against it's 100-1. i don't think his office is any kind of rare example. there's a lot of concern in this country about this. i think you're seeing that in those town halls. there are going to be a lot of members that go back to their districts, their states this weekend, they're going to see it again. i think the president in that address on tuesday is going to have to make a very passionate case about why this is necessary, why it's in the national security interest of the condition tri and why we need to strike and strike now. to be honest, i think it's going to be a really difficult argument to make considering where we are today. >> ben, do you think it's too late? >> i think he's in serious,

serious trouble. because rarely do you see issues like this where republicans and democrats from congress are both taking heat at the same amount with the same momentum from the american people. it's usually either one congressman saying, well, all my constituents are in favor of it. the other side saying, all mine are against it. >> not this time. >> this seems to be going overwhelming for both parties in a bad way. i think that's one of the reasons why barack obama should have never gone to congress on this one if he felt it was in the interest of national security. because the polls were overwhelming. and he knows this because he ran on it and won on it, which was to be the guy that was going to get us out of wars. now he's trying to put us in a war. it also doesn't help when your top leaders like john kerry are now trying to tell people, we wouldn't even classify this as war. when you bomb someone, the american people, republican and democrat, both know that that is exactly what it is. it's war. you can try to rename it. that's not going to help your case with the american people. we're seeing both sides hearing

that right now. >> let's talk about these members of congress, though. i think to quote gloria borger, she just called this murky when you try to put your head around a vote count. we tried here. take a look at this graphic. you're going to see all of the gray. there's a lot of gray. that means undecided. you have six more house members now saying no to a strike. that brings the total you see to 115. on the flip side, in the senate, democratic senator has joined the no side. the total there is 19. you know, i know some of this changes after classified briefings. ben, what about, you know, you think about american voters put these guys and gals in office. do you think this is a sign of they're listening to and responding to constituents or is this weakness, this back and forth? >> i think they're listening. i think a lot of these people are going to be up for re-election very soon. and they're sitting there thinking, do i really want to have all of these people call me and then i just -- my best response is, well, i'm smarter

than you are because i've been in briefings. even though the president specifically went to congress to get their approval, which is listening to the american people. it's a really hard defense. whether you're republican or you're democrat. the other issue that's come up today is, i've never seen so many people look into the money side of this. the average senator that was voted in favor of using military in syria received 80% more in campaign donations from contractors that deal with military contracts. and when you see republicans and democrats using that argument of that type of influence, it's something, as i've been watching politics, i can't name another issue where i've seen this much of a compromise from both extremes of two parties saying no to this war. >> what about this example, chris? i'm sure you've seen the interview. michael grimm, congressman, new york. republican. first said on monday the president of the united states committed us when he drew the red line. the idea we should or shouldn't strike, i think that ship sailed a long time ago if we want to

keep the credibility of the united states. ben, i hear you laugh ing. you know what i'm about to say. yesterday, quote, i am no longer convinced a u.s. strike on syria will yield a benefit to the u.s. that will not be greatly outweighed by the extreme cost of war. ben, i hear you on politics. chris, not everyone is up for re-election. there is a possibility that even after these members of congress, you know, come out of these classified briefings, they still don't know what to think. >> well, i mean, i think this is obviously a very complex issue. i think we've all kind of accepted that reality. i think what makes this more difficult is with respect to people look at this and they say, well, do we really want another middle east war? and this notion of who is the opposition. is there an opposition that we can get behind. those, i think, make it very difficult for these members of congress, i think, to come to some kind of clear, defining position. when you add in the element, i can tell you having worked up on the hill, and sat there every day waiting and wondering what the phone count was on a

particular issue, you do not get these kind of phone call counts. you just don't. they're never this lopsided. these are organic. this is not a call campaign. when you're a member of congress or senator and you're getting this kind of a barrage, it really -- whether you're up for re-election or not, you have to pause. it becomes a very critical factor in your calculation. that's i think you're seeing a lot of hesitation. >> go ahead, ben. >> i also think one other thing that's got to be brought up in this, as the obama administration and as senator kerry gave their testimony, i theng a lot of members of congress looked at this and said what is even the goal here? we're not even sure what your goal is. one minute it's war. then it's not even called war. one minute you're saying it's limited. then you're telling me there's no way boots are going to be on the ground. but when you go to war, you can't guarantee those things. so then we hear, well, this isn't about overthrowing assad, but we don't want assad. we just want to punish him for using chemical weapons. when you put all that out there, i think a lot of people are scratching their heads going,

what is the even objective here? because it's been so diluted with you taking back things that you said 24 and 48 hours ago. is this really worth it? is it going to have any impact at all in syria? a lot of people i think now think it will have no impact on assad at all. >> point well taken. chris, jump in. i want you to have the final word here. >> i would say, listen, in fairness to the president on this one, you know, republicans and ben and others can sit there and criticize for bringing to congress. that was, i think, the right thing to do. in terms of how getting members of congress on board, the public on board, he's going to have his opportunity on tuesday. i think the president as i said is going to have to make a very impassioned, clear case as to why this is in the national security interest of the country. if that doesn't happen on tuesday, i'll tell you, i don't think this vote is going to be a good one for the president. >> chris kofinis and ben ferguson, thank you both. we'll see you back here. coming up, samantha power, u.s. ambassador to the united nations is speaking. here she is speaking live in washington on syria this afternoon. she is not one to mince words.

we will dip in in just a moment here. also, this -- >> i ended up going the wrong way down the directly into oncoming traffic. and i struck a car. i killed a man. >> this is stunning. this man says he was driving drunk. hasn't been charged. so why do this? what's his motive here to go public? that's coming up.

this is cnn's special coverage of the crisis in syria. it's a country that has a population of just over 22 million people. and more than 6 million of them have been displaced from their homes by this two-plus year old civil war. the united nations says now more than 2 million mostly women and children have fled to neighboring countries as refugees. that has put an enormous strain on those countries. and our chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta, visited a mosque in lebanon that's been converted now into a clinic to treat these wounded

refugees. sanjay? >> reporter: we're in mecca valley, literally walking distance from the border between lebanon and syria. and we've been to some of the reffy camps trying to figure out how people are being cared for and what they're seeing here specifically. we're in sort of this secretive clinic. this makeshift clinic. was actually a mosque. i want to show you something here. victims of gunshot wounds or explosions. they are getting their care now here in this makeshift clinic. the entire staff including the doctors, the nurses, all part of that coalition from the free syria army as well. operating in this particular area, again, just minutes away from the border. now, the concern is for so many people here, especially the medical staff, what to do if the numbers grow. if they have dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of more people. they don't have enough resources. they don't have enough room. not enough supplies to be able to take care of everyone. they're trying to come up with emergency plans. again, behind me, this is what it looks like. these are some of the

consequences that we see of what's happening here. so many people having suffered these gunshot wounds and now trying to get the best care that they can. back to you. >> sanjay gupta for us, thank you. coming up, never before heard tapes of ariel castro. the man convicted of kidnapping and torturing three women for ten years. took his own life this week. he has been seen talking openly to the fbi about the time he was nearly caught by police. don't miss this video. [ man ] look how beautiful it is.

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president obama says he's not exactly itching for military action in syria. that he would rather have an international coalition backing him up. but, he says, the united states must stand up and act. this coming tuesday the president will address the nation and tell you, the american people, again why and how he reached this decision. i want to take a look back at some of the times he spoke publicly about syria in recent weeks. beginning with the president speaking with our own chris cuomo after syria's chemical weapons attack. >> first of all, i have not made a decision. i have gotten options from our military. had extensive discussions with my national security team. >> now, i have not made a final decision about various actions that might be taken. >> after careful deliberation, i have decided that the united states should take military

action against syrian regime targets. i will seek authorization for the use of force from the american people's representatives in congress. >> i didn't set a red line. the world set a red line. >> i want to bring in princeton university political historian, julian zelazer. professor, welcome. let's begin with tuesday. it's a big, big day for the president. we've heard the arguments. we have heard some of the evidence in some of these hearings on the hill. what more, in your opinion, that is not classified, can the president say to convince a skeptical nation? >> i think he has to provide a bigger argument about why this intervention is essential to the national interest. he has to connect the dots. he's made a lot of different arguments about humanitarian issues, red lines, regional interests. ultimately he's failed to persuade a lot of americans on both sides of the aisle. he needs to frame this war and

explain where he plans to go and what the mission is before, i think, members of congress are going to vote in favor of it. >> we've been hearing from these constituents, though, in some of these town halls. one ongoing in alabama as i speak. is tuesday too late? >> well, it's not too late. i mean, the president does have the power to shape public opinion. it's limited. but he does have that power, and a lot of people will be watching. but clearly the first few weeks of this did not go well for the president. he lost the public to a certain extent. and he failed to make this argument early on. so now he's in a bit of a defensive position in trying to win back support rather than to shape public opinion from the start. >> what about, professor, just taking this beyond syria. let's just hypothetical here. if the president doesn't get congressional approval for a strike, how might that, thinking domestically, they've got to talk budget.

the congress has a lot else on their hands. how might that affect anything domestically for the president to try to get through? >> well, i think it's already having an effect. obviously the big bill everyone was waiting for was immigration. in addition to that is the battle over the budget. and what happens is that the l calendar changes because of this debate. everything's getting pushed further and further down. we get closer and closer to midterm elections. there's a real fear that if this debate goes on too long, if the military operation itself consumes a lot of attention, if it goes forward, a bill like immigration, which is really central to his agenda, will die. and so there could be a high cost to him on the domestic front if he does not handle this foreign policy issue well and swiftly. >> julian zelizer, princeton university. thank you so much. this, of course, syria. congress coming back. the big vote. huge, huge hot topic. next week when cnn's "crossfire"

is back beginning monday. here's one of the new hosts with a clip from a classic "crossfire" episode. >> one of the great things about "crossfire" is not just about politics. back in 1986, frank zappa came on the show all cleaned up in a suit and tie to talk about dirty lyrics in music. check this out. >> do you think it's a good idea to write lyrics that say incest is good for you? does that make any sense? >> well, it might make sense to prince. that's his business. because that's mainly the song that they're talking about. >> don't you have an opinion on it? >> my opinion is he's got to right to sing it. he's got a right to say it. i got a right to not buy it. >> where does the right to advocate incest come from. >> that song does not advocate incest. >> there are songs that advocate incest. >> i haven't heard them. >> you ought to get out more. you said there's a right to do this. where does the right come calle

mothers of invention. you're a very inventive guy. like a lot of stuff. what was in the mind of the founding fathers. would you look in the camera and tell them -- >> which camera? >> any camera. >> are you directing the show now? >> you certainly need direction, mr. zappa. >> spank me here? >> you're into that, too? >> i love it when you fluff like that. i'm angela, and i didn't think i could quit smoking but chantix helped me do it. i told my doctor i think i'm... i'm ready. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. i knew that i could smoke for the first 7 days. i knew that i wasn't putting nicotine back into my body to try to quit. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these,

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slow, controlled decescent. the close calls that could have led to his capture much earlier. that's after the break. mom, dad told me that cheerios is good for your heart, is that true? says here that cheerios has whole grain oats that can help remove some cholesterol, and that's heart healthy. ♪ [ dad ] jan?

just three days after cleveland kidnapper ariel castro committed suicide in his prison

cell, chilling police interrogation tapes have now been released. and what they show is a stunning confession from ariel castro hours after his arrest back in may. you know the story here. he was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and raping those three women for about a decade. and on the tape, first shown on nbc, castro says police could have caught him. but that they missed some obvious signs. castro mentioned one close call after he invited a girlfriend over one night. here he was. >> if police had broke the case right then and there. >> because they had surveillance cameras. >> she seen that i had a tv on in the upstairs room. >> okay. >> and she says, what is that? you have a tv on up there? and my heart started beating and i was like, okay, she's probably catching on to something. >> it was a close call? >> yeah. >> in one instance in the call,

he tells police he called amanda berry's mother? >> yes. that was, to me, the most shocking revelation that came of these tapes. that interrogation that day, there were several, that one lasted four hours with the cleveland police department. and you realize he was very open right away. i mean, he didn't couch anything. he at no tididn't hold it back. he told them everything. one of the most shocking was he claims after he had taken amanda berry and held her, her story, amanda's was huge in cleveland. of all the girls, hers was the largest. he sort of got thinking about her mother, apparently. felt, oh, my gosh. she's probably thinking her daughter's dead. so what he does is he takes amanda berry's own cell phone and he claims he used it to call her mother. basically to say she's alive. but there was more. listen. >> what did you say to her mom? >> i think i said something -- that i have her daughter and that she's okay.

and that she's my wife now. something like that, you know. probably not the exact words. >> what was her mom's response? >> i hung up. so we didn't have a conversation. >> he talking about how he called her, told her -- >> my wife? >> my wife. yeah. how awful is that? on top of that, doesn't even listen to what the mother has to say. >> hangs up the phone. >> yeah. just completely. as far as reaction, i've reached out to amanda berry's family. reached out to the attorney. they said they were not aware of this. as of yet, there is no comment. whether they knew that, i don't know. really, relly shocking. the other thing he talked about, missed opportunities here. there's another one he talks about to the authorities when he says he took gina dejesus, she was at school. he had been waiting outside that school. there was surveillance cameras. he figures that about 15 minutes before he took her, the cameras

saw him. he always thought that would be his undoing. never was. >> now that he is gone, i just hope these women and these families can just move forward. >> exactly. >> martin savidge, thank you very much. coming up, this -- >> i ended up going the wrong way down the highway. directly into oncoming traffic. i struck a car. i killed a man. >> this chilling confession. we're going to tell you who this man is and why he's making this confession online, next. with diabetes, it's tough to keep life balanced. i don't always have time to eat like i should. that's why i like glucerna shakes. they have slowly digestible carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna. helping people with diabetes find balance.

this summer in ohio, a 61-year-old man was killed by a drunk driver going the wrong way on the interstate. the man responsible for that crash has yet to be charged. that didn't stop him from releasing this gut wrenching confession on the internet. >> my name is matthew cordle. on june 22nd, 2013, i hit and killed vincent canzani. this video will act as my confession. when i get charged, i will plead guilty and take full responsibility for everything i've done to vincent and his family.

if i take a different route, maybe i would get a reduced sentence and maybe i would get off. but i won't dishonor vincent's family by lying about what happened. by releasing this video, i know exactly what it means. i'm giving the prosecution everything they need to put me away for a very long time. but i'm willing to take that sentence for just one reason. that reason is so i can pass this message on to you. i beg you, and i say the word "beg" specifically, i'm begging you, please don't drink and drive. don't make the same excuses that i did. don't say it's only a few miles or you've only had a few beers or you do it all the time. it will never happen to you. because it happened to me. all those are just excuses to make yourself feel better about a decision that you know is wrong and could cost lives.

i can't bring mr. canzani back. and i can't erase what i've done. but you can still be saved. your victims can still be saved. >> i just got the chills. prosecutors say cordle's confession will likely accelerate bringing formal charges in his case. we're going to talk about this with our legal panel next hour. coming up, special coverage of the escalating crisis in syria. iran now reportedly lining up a terror attack if the u.s. strikes. strikes. find out where and how, next. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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what's your policy? hour two, you're watching cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. special coverage of the crisis in syria beginning here with the president. we now know he will be addressing the nation tuesday on the crisis in syria and what he hopes to do about it. today from the g-20 from st. petersburg, russia, the president spoke, acknowledging that he faces an uphill battle if he is going to convince the public and congress that striking syria is the best plan of action. back here in the united states, s samantha power spoke in her new position as ambassador to the united nations. not mincing words when it comes to syria and what she believes the u.s. congress should do here. >> i'm here today because i believe and president obama believes that those of us who are arguing for the limited use

of force must justify our position, accepting responsibility for the risks and potential consequences of action. when one considers pursuing nonmilitary measures, we must similarly address the risks inherent in those approaches. at this stage, the diplomatic process stalled because one side has just been gassed on a massive scale and the other side so far feels it has gotten away with it. what would words in the form of belated diplomatic condemnation achieve? >> i want to talk about the president really having his feet held to the fire about what he plans to do in the event that congress votes down any sort of use of military force in syria. let me play this exchange. this is between president barack obama and our own senior white house correspondent, brianna keilar, in russia. >> on the resolution to authorize the use of force, one of the big challenges right now

isn't just republicans, but it's from some of your loyal democrats. it seems that the more they hear from classified briefings, that the less likely they are to support you. if the full congress doesn't pass this, will you go ahead with the strike? also, senator susan collins, one of the few republicans who breaks with her party to give you support at times, she says what if we execute the strike and then assad decides to use chemical weapons again? do we strike again? many democrats are asking that as well. how do you answer her question? >> well, first of all, in terms of the votes and the process in congress, i knew this was going to be a heavy lift. i said that on saturday when i said we're going to take it to congress. you know, our polling operations are pretty good. i tend to have a pretty good

sense of what current popular opinion is. for the american people who have been through over a tedecade of war now with enormous sacrifice and blood and treasure, any hint of further military entanglements in the middle east are going to be viewed with suspicion. and that suspicion will probably be even stronger in my party than in the republican party. you know, since a lot of the people who supported me remembered that i opposed the war in iraq. what's also true is that that experience with the war in iraq colors how people view this situation. not just back home in america, but also here in europe and around the world. you know, that's the prism through which a lot of people are analyzing the situation. so i understand skepticism. i think it is very important,

therefore, for us to work through systemically making the case to every senator and every member of congress. and that's what we're doing. i dispute a little bit, brianna, the notion that people come out of classified briefings and they're less in favor of it. i think when they go through the classified briefings, they feel pretty confident that, in fact, chemical weapons were used and that the assad regime used them. where you will see resistance is people being worried about a slippery slope in how effective a limited action might be. and our response, based on my discussions with our military, is that we can have a response that is limited, that is proportional. when i say "limited," is both in time and in scope. but that is meaningful. and that degrades assad's

capacity to deliver chemical weapons. not just this time, but also in the future. and serves as a strong deterrent. now, is it possible that assad doubles down in the face of our action and uses chemical weapons more widely? i suppose anything's possible. but it wouldn't be wise. i think at that point mobilizing the international community would be easier. not harder. i think it would be pretty hard for the u.n. security council at that point to continue to resist the requirement for action. and we would gladly join with an international coalition to make sure that it stops. so, you know, one of the biggest

concerns of the american people, you know, certain members of congress may have different concerns. there may be certain members of congress who say we've got to do even more or claim to have previously criticized me for not hitting assad and now are saying they're going to vote no and you'll have to ask them exactly how they square that circle. but for the american people, at least, the concern really has to do with understanding that what we're describing here would be limited. and proportionate. and designed to address this problem of chemical weapons use and upholding a norm that helps keep all of us safe. and that is going to be the case that i try to make, not just to congress, but to the american people over the coming days. okay?

[ inaudible question [ inaudible question [ inaudible question [ inaudible question ] >> -- would you go ahead with the strike? >> i think it would be a mistake for me to jump the gun and speculate. because right now i'm working to get as much support as possible out of congress. but i'll repeat something that i said in sweden. when i was asked a similar question. i did not put this before congress just as a political ploy. or as symbolism. i put it before congress because i could not honestly claim that the threat posed by assad's use of chemical weapons on innocent civilians and women and children posed a imminent, direct threat to the united states. in that situation, obviously, i don't worry about congress. we do what we have to do to keep

the american people safe. >> great question from brianna. candy crowley, cnn political -- forgive me. chief political correspondent and anchor of "state of the union." also cnn political analyst john avalon. earlier this week john boehner shocked a lot of people when he said, yes, he supports the president. since then the tide seems to be turning. candy crowley, i'll throw this to you. whether you want to call this stalled momentum, slowed, stopped. how does the american president get it back when he talks to americans on tuesday? >> he may have hit on something in that response. it was, i need to convince people this is short term. he might also need to convince them it is low risk. because i have to tell you, i spent the last ten days or so as sort of a casual tv news watcher while i was out doing some family things. no one i talked to thought this was a good idea. >> wow. >> across the board. i think there is an

underestimation of how strong the negativity is about this. not in congress, you know, but elsewhere, where it's sometimes hard to really, really poll this. but i hear nothing but a negative about this idea. and what have you got, but you have a congress that's been in recess. what are they hearing? the same kind of things i heard. i think it makes it difficult. he has to show them, it's not iraq, it's not afghanistan. and make that his selling point. because certainly by saying, well, you know, i can't really convince people it's an imminent threat to us or our allies is not a great selling point. >> so tuesday is a big day. john avalon, npr. big interview this morning. morning edition. tony lincoln, obama's deputy national security adviser, said this. >> after the events of august 21st, we reached out to congress. we had conversations with members of congress across the country. the one thing we heard from nearlily all of them was they wanted their voices heard and votes counted. >> just a couple seconds here.

will he strike? >> the president, of course, has the authority to act. it's neither his desire nor his intention to use that authority absent congress backing him. >> has the authority to act. john, what does this tell us? what's going on behind the scenes? >> what it tells us is the white house is ready to act if they need to, but they can't say publicly that they'll act without a congressional vote because that will take the momentum that's already moving against them in congress and compound it even further. this is a delicate line the president needs to walk. that's why that tuesday speech is so important. this is about the power of the bully pulpit. the responsibility of the president to go to a war weary nation and a deeply divided congress and to make the case that this is about principle. >> we were listening to the president speaking from russia. he said -- i believe he said he feels pretty confident once these members of congress go in these classified briefings that they will know that it is assad who committed these atrocities. yet -- let me play that sound. let me compare it to what one congresswoman out of california had to say. roll it.

>> i dispute a little bit, brianna, the notion that people come out of classified briefings and they're less in favor of it. >> i've seen all the evidence. i've read the classified documents. and i don't believe there's anything at this point that will convince me to vote in favor of military force at this time. >> to both of you, candy first, which is it? >> could be both. i don't know what -- what her feeling was going into it. but congresswoman hahn is a democrat from california. she may be -- she didn't say i'm not convinced he doesn't have chemical weapons. she said i just didn't seem to think it would convince me to go ahead and strike into syria at this point. so i think there's kind of two different things. i think there are a lot of people who think, i think he did use chemical weapons. i think the evidence is clear on the tv set, much less what they're hearing in these intelligence briefings. but i just don't think a strike is the way to go. >> john, what do you think? these members of congress

persuadable? >> that's right. but i think this is yet another symptom of the profound iraq hangover. >> iraqitis. >> yeah. iraqitis. last time the case was made about wmd under a different presidency it ended up being a disaster. there is a credibility gap the president will need to address. there's some folks who aren't going to buy in. some republicans are obsessed with opposition to obama. some democrats are obsessed with opposition to u.s. militarism. those two impulses exist at the base of both parties. he's got to make that case clearly and publicly and appeal to something beyond these sort of divisions that really divide both parties at the base. >> john avlon and candy crowley, thank you both very much. quick programs note. you just heard his voice. tony blinken will live on "the situation room" today 5:00 p.m. eastern. watch candy on sunday. "state of the union." she's going to talk with the white house chief of staff,

mcdonough. that's sunday morning 9:00 eastern right here on cnn. thank you, thank you. many experts say a strike against syria really is all about a bigger message to iran and its ambitions to get a nuclear weapon. but a report indicates if the u.s. hits syria, iran has ordered a terror attack in the region. we will tell you where and we'll tell you how the u.s. heard about this. plus -- >> this is what i think of congress. they are a bunch of marshmallows. that's what they are. that's what they've become. why are you not listening to the people and staying out of syria? >> frustrated constituents talking to their senator, john mccain, in a town hall moments ago. it also got heated for yet another senator, another republican at his town hall. we'll play it for you, coming up.

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it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away. we're going to wake the world up. and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here. got another huge development on syria today coming from syria's neighbor. some nonessential u.s.

diplomatic personnel and their family members ordered to leave the u.s. embassies in both lebanon and in turkey. the official reason? unspecified potential threats. but the biggest concern here, iran's supreme leader with warning, saying the u.s. will, quote, definitely suffer is president obama orders a military strike against syria. joining me now, assistant professor of government at georgetown university. good to see you back here, matt. let me just get straight to the reporting. this is from the "wall street journal." reporting that if the u.s. strikes, there may be retaliation from iran. specifically that iran has apparently ordered iraqi militants to attack the u.s. embassy in iraq. you're the expert in this neck of the woods. is that a likely scenario? >> well, the united states definitely needs to take any threat like this very seriously. so it makes sense to protect the nonessential personnel in the region. on the other hand, the iranians often make threats like this

that they don't follow through on. the reason is quite simple. at the end of the day iran doesn't want to pick a fight with the united states, with the greatest super power on earth. they often bluff like this to try to deter the united states. we have to take it seriously, but i think in the end it's likely that they're bluffing. >> huh. how much of this really is about the u.s.? or we heard the president say it's really the world's red line when it comes to chemical weapons usage in syria versus, perhaps, the bigger threat, israel's red line? i can still see benjamin netanyahu with his diagram, right, when it comes to nuclear weapons in iran. which red line is it? >> you're absolutely right that however we deal with the syrian challenge is going to have implications for our policy in iran. but we need to strike a delicate balance here. on one hand, at this point, given all the buildup, if the united states doesn't act in syria i think that will have consequences for the president's credibility, for the nation's credibility. it'll be much harder for iranian leaders and israeli leaders to believe us when we make similar threats in iran. on the other hand, we might

still need to use military force to solve the iranian nuclear issue. so i think we need to be very hesitant about getting involved in an open ended military conflict in syria that would prevent us from acting in iran if necessary. >> i read this interesting analogy "new york times" in the this morning. let me quote this. they were talking about israel backing a limited strike in syria. this is a former israeli council general. this is a play off situation in which you need both teams to lose. at least you don't want one to win. we'll settle for a tie. let them both bleed. hemorrhage to death. that's the strategic thinking here. as long as this lingers, there's no real threat from syria. is that what you're hearing? >> it's a grim way of putting it, i guess. if there's a decisive victory in syria in either direction, it could be very bad for u.s. interest and for israeli interest. if assad wins, that would be bad for u.s. interest. president obama said very clearly a year or so ago that assad must go.

on the other hand, if assad falls, there's no telling what kind of government would fill the vacuum. we know that there are radical groups that are affiliated with al qaeda. it could become a safe haven for al qaeda to launch attacks against the united states or its allies. so if you do have this stalemate, it does mean neither side is prevailing and our interests aren't threatened in that way. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. senator john mccain gets an earful from his constituents about syria. tears. bags of marshmallows. >> sides in syria. you could do it. you can do it by negotiate -- by diplomacy and negotiation. not bombs, senator mccain! >> well, today another republican got an earful. you will hear that exchange, next.

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senator john mccain, one of the earliest and loudest advocates of the u.s. military strike in syria got an earful from the people who put him in office back in arizona. some people even brought props

to make their points. >> do you really realize what you're getting our -- what you're getting our country into with this war in syria? if you attack the syrians, who do you think they're going to take it out on? israel. why are you not supporting israel on this one? we should be backing israel. not turning away from them. and, second of all, this is what i think of congress. they are a bunch of marshmallows. that's what they are. >> well, sir, i'll be glad to get you information about the exact position of israel on this issue. you may be surprised. >> from arizona, let me show you pictures in alabama, where mccain's fellow republican senator jeff sessions had a much friendlier reception at a q & a last hour with some alabama tea party members. perhaps the big difference here, senator sessions is undecided about whether to back a u.s. strike in syria. and it's still not clear how he's leaning after all this talk

with his constituents today. >> i'm reading a book by colin powell. it's his autobiography. one of the things he says is war should be last resort. we should have a purpose people understand and support and should go in to win. with that in mind, you opened the door, syria. where are we at? what are we going to do? >> the president drew a red line. you only have one president. he's asked us to support him, which i'm glad he asked the congress. and he asked us to support him in that. and rejecting that request is a very serious matter for the united states of america. to turn down the president's request is not a matter to be lightly done. i also said, number three, i don't think the united states foreign policy will be destroyed

if we say no. >> so it's not clear how he's leaning. and a lot of people, it's not clear. take a look at all the gray on your screen. all the gray, these are the votes. that means undecided. since this morning, six more house members are now saying no to a strike. bringing the total to 115. look at the senate with me. democratic nosenator has joined the no side. the total there, 19. to our chief congressional correspondent, dana bash. you got word, dana, not just one, two briefings that will be happening next week from house democratic leader nancy pelosi. what's the goal with those? >> those are going to be very big, very important briefings because expect really most members of congress to come back and go to those. but even as we speak, those briefings are going on. they've been happening all week long. people have been coming in and out of town because, of course, congress isn't officially in session right now. but i spoke with one republican lawmaker who i think was very

interesting. because he sums up a lot of those people in that gray area, those undecided lawmakers. and he talked about what he's hearing back home and what he may or may not do. >> my constituents are adamantly opposed to any action in syria. i think principally because we haven't heard from the president. the president hasn't made the case to the american people. i think it shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the process by him to wait until the night before the senate vote to address the american people. i think for many members, that's going to be too late. >> reporter: and if he did come out and made a case that was compelling to your constituents, would it help you in voting to give him the authorization he wants? >> i'm going to make my decision based on my best judgment based on what's in the best interest of the united states. >> reporter: even if it means going against your constituents? >> yes. they elected me to make my best judgments. i'm not going to -- you know, i'm going to do what i think is right. and if -- and whatever my case may be, i'm going to go back to

my constituents and explain it to them. >> that lawmaker is, as we speak, inside one of the many, many classified briefings that have been going on all week long, brooke. even though we do on our count have a lot in the gray or undecided area, sometimes you can sort of feel and taste things here on capitol hill. things are palpable. at this moment in time, the momentum for sure feels like it's going away from the president, not towards the president. a very different feel from, say, two or three days ago when we saw in a bipartisan way, congressional leaders come out and say that they support the president. they're just hearing from their constituents. they're not in many cases as brianna put to the president himself, they're not getting the answers that they're looking for. some necessarily on chemical weapons, but on what exactly the military objectives are and what the broader u.s. policy will be towards syria in dealing with it in the long term. they're simply not getting -- many of them saying they're not getting the answers that are satisfactory to them. >> looks like they're listening to the constituents. they've been on vacation. they're trying to listen to classified hearings. which is it? we'll see. a lot of votes to count next

week. dana bash, thank you so much in washington. coming up next, i want to talk about comparisons that are being made between what's happening in syria and what happened in the '90s in kosovo. my next guest was the special envoy to kosovo during america's successful military intervention there. and he says there is no comparison. former ambassador will join me. plus, hours after the nfl season kicked off, one of its former stars, here he was, appearing in court in massachusetts. makes a plea on those murder charges. see what happened in this courtroom, coming up. vo: two years of grad school.

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and a 30-tablet free trial. the successful military intervention in kosovo might be a blueprint for strikes on syria just in one key area. the u.s. abandoned efforts to get a u.n. -- after that the syria/kosovo comparison gets a little more complicated. even today as president obama made his latest pitch for strikes on syria, he spent more time talking about libya and rwanda. even world war ii than kosovo. >> this wasn't even a situation like libya where you've got troops rolling towards benghazi and you have a concern about time in terms of saving somebody right away. i'm not drawing an analogy to world war ii.

other than to say, when london was getting bombed, it was profoundly unpopular. both in congress and around the country, to help the british. doesn't mean it wasn't the right thing to do. when people say that it is a terrible stain on all of us that hundreds and thousands of people were slaughtered in rwanda, well, imagine in rwanda was going on right now. and we asked, should we intervene in rwanda? i think it's fair to say that it probably wouldn't poll real well. like the intervention in kosovo. very unpopular. but ultimately, i think, it was the right thing to do. and the international community

should be glad that it came together to do it. >> i want to focus on that 1999 intervention in kosovo. and bring in former u.s. ambassador christopher hill who was a special envoy in kosovo, part of the u.s. negotiating team in the peace settlement in bosnia. mr. ambassador, welcome. i know that we often look at history in looking toward how we may intervene in possible conflicts. so some similarities that i found. took more than three years for the international community to step in and stop. in that case it was ethnic cleansing. president clinton worked hard to make the case to the republican congress. it was an air campaign. no boots on the ground as we're hearing from syria. 1 million refugees. death toll is similar. yet despite all of that, what is the biggest difference in your opinion? >> well, first of all, i don't think there was war weariness in the 1990s. there was certainly concern about being involved in these places. but it's not like it is today. secondly, to me, the major difference is that when you talk

about the air action in kosovo in '99, you also have to talk about all the diplomatic action in '98. i mean, i was the american envoy, european union had an envoy, wolfgang petrich. the russians had an envoy, boris miasvfi. at tend of the day after going through months and months of this, finally going to an international conference in a french chateau, ultimately the a ail banyans said yes. serbs said no. when we did come to air action everyone understood it for what it was, which was a last resort. >> let me read you a quote. the kosovo campaign was less tidily packaged at the time than it appears in retrospect. when the bombing began nato had

not yet formulated its political conditions for halting the bombing. when we look at syria now, we hear from let's say general martin dempsey saying this is about degrading the use of potential chemical weapons in the future. not necessarily about getting assad out. is that -- the fact that there was no real end game in kosovo either when the bombing began, fair comparison? >> well, there was certainly a political end game in kosovo. it was to get the serbs to accept the autonomy plan and allow nato peace keepers in. the problem in kosovo is we were bombing the serbs in order to degrade their capabilities for ethnic cleansing. but, in fact, ethnic cleansing is basically being carried out on the ground by militias at knife point. it's not necessarily you can do from a strategic air campaign. secondly, as we bombed and bombed, there was an expectation among some people that mill

lohse vich would give up after a couple days. he's a tough customer. it took 77 days. >> you got him. >> i might add, one of the things that happened was the russians came to him on about that 76th day and said, look, you know, we've been working with the americans. we think they've got a fair deal. and we're more interested in our relationship with the americans than we are in our relationship with you. and so this has to be conveyed to the syrians and, in short, we need a heck of a lot more diplomacy on this one. >> do you think pigs will fly before we see vladimir putin do anything like that with bashar al assad? >> well, no question that dealing with putin's russia is a lot more difficult than dealing with yeltsin's russia. we ought to work the russian angle a lot harder than we have. i do believe at the end of the day russia does not want to be a country standing up for a dictatorship that's used poison gas killing children. i just don't think at the end of

the day that's where russian wants to be. so i think we ought to continue to work that russia angle as hard as possible. because if the upshot of this whole syria crisis is a crisis in u.s./russian relations, that's not a very good outcome for us. >> ambassador chris hill, thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up, a shocking confession. >> i ended up going the wrong way down the highway, directly into oncoming traffic. i struck a car. i killed a man. >> this man here admits to driving drunk. has yet to be charged. but what is his motive? why go public online? that's coming up.

just a short time ago in a

massachusetts courtroom, ex-nfl star aaron hernandez pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. >> how do you plead? >> not guilty. >> hernandez is accused of orchestrating the shooting of his friend, odin lloyd, at an industrial park in june. lloyd's body was found just a mile away from hernandez's home. hernandez also faces a number of weapons charges. he'll be held without bail until his next court appearance october 9th. earlier this summer in ohio, this 61-year-old man was killed by a drunk driver who was going the wrong way on the interstate. that man responsible hasn't been charged. but that didn't stop him from releasing this chilling confession on the internet. >> my name is matthew cordle. on june 22nd, 2013, i hit and killed vincent canzani. this video will act as my confession. when i get charged, i will plead

guilty and take full responsibility for everything i've done to vincent and his family. if i take a different route, maybe i would get a reduced sentence, and maybe i would get off. but i won't dishonor vincent's family by lying about what happened. by releasing this video, i know exactly what it means. i'm handing the prosecution everything they need to put me away for a very long time. >> let me bring in cnn legal analyst sunny hostin. you know, he says he's willing to take any sentence. it gave me chills the first time i saw it. have you ever seen anything like this? >> i've never seen anything like this. i mean, certainly when i was prosecuting cases, brooke, while you did have certain people that took pleas and, perhaps, even confessed, i didn't see anything like this. and i think many people are going to question, was this a smart move? did this, you know, is this going to help him? and i think it could. we're talking about aggravated

vehicular homicide in ohio. he effacfaces up to eight years. i'll tell you, those penalties, especially when you're involved in a drunk driving homicide are typically mandatory. no judge is really going to let you off the hook for something like that. to suggest that because he made this video that he's not going to serve any prison time, of course i'm not suggesting that. but, i do think it could help. because what do we ask for when people take responsibility in drunk driving cases, right? we ask them to speak at high schools. we ask them to speak at colleges. we ask them to help the community somehow. >> learn from me. >> and learn from, you know, have other people learn from them. well, he's done that in such a big way. i think we'll likely see more of this kind of thing. it's sort of the law catching up with social media. he's done a service, i think, to himself. but also to -- to the community, to the world, perhaps. and it could help him ultimately in terms of sentencing. >> sunny hostin, thank you. >> thanks.

back in a moment.

i know that you have been following the political fallout from the president's plan to possibly strike syria. you know that earlier this week the word from a lot of political types was that obama was looking good to get congress on board to authorize this plan. some of the republican party's heaviest hitter, house speaker john boehner, majority leader eric cantor had offered up support for the president. but it appears now momentum is

shifting against the president. jake tapper, chief washington correspondent, anchor of "the lead," tuesday is a big day. how does that momentum swing back for the president? >> well, it's -- according to one house democrat with whom i spoke, the plan has been, in his words, a smart plan of multiple touches that build up over time. individuals reaching out to a number of key undecided members of the house and senate. vice president biden, ambassador rice, ambassador power, reaching out to these individual members. the issue right now, this house democrat said, is that members are still in their districts and proximity is key. proximity to the white house. proximity to each other. proximity to leaders. the clock actually starts ticking, this democrat said, 6:30 p.m. monday. that's when congress reconvenes. and that is when the real hard sell will begin. but i agree with you, brooke.

the momentum has completely shifted against action in syria. >> take tapper. we'll be watching you, top of the hour on "the lead." lots to talk about here as next week is a big, big week for congress and the president. coming up here, ashton kutcher. pretty excited about this video you're about to see next. you are watching a test flight for a commercial spacecraft. kutcher has signed up for the flight. many others are as well. the flights could be ready to take paying customers, if you've got the change, into space next year. that's coming up.

. all right, my fellow space nerds. if you were in the mojave desert and you heard the galactic boom, here is why -- it's virgin's space ship two practice space trip. >> so they shot this thing off at 46,000 feet from the plane, the white knight ii. there are two pilots in this thing. it went all the way from 69,000 feet high and floated back down to the ground all safely, just like they wanted it to do.

this is the second flight. the first one only went 55, only launched the rocket for 10 seconds. this went much farther, much faster, my higher and they're on the way to getting ashton kutcher to space. >> do we know when? there really is no timeline as far as when the real deal will go up. >> they hoped december of '13 but now they're thinking '14. the pilots said it was absolutely perfect. go online and listen to the pilots breathe. i don't know what kind of gs they were pulling but it was something pretty cool. >> i don't think i need to anymore because that was awesome. thank you very much. and be sure to watch tonight. here is a preview of cnn's primetime. >> erin burnett's "out front."

are manufacturing selling a material that will blow up on impact? and can president obama convince lawmakers to strike against syria? and if congress approves an attack on syria, what happens next? is there an end game for the u.s.? these stories all ahead on cnn tonight. erin burnett "out front," "anderson cooper" and "piers morgan live" tonight. >> coming up, this teen-ager takes item people throw away and uses them to help people see better. [ male announcer ] ok, here's the way the system works.

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visually impaired kids world wide, lack of sight is a big problem. a 17-year-old hero is on a mission to change that. >> i was 5 years old when i got my first pair of glasses. when i was a freshman in high school, i broke my glasses and i couldn't see anything. without them i really couldn't do anything normally. i started doing some research and i learned that there are millions of students around the world who need glasses but could not afford them. i had this problem for one week but these kids have their problems for their whole lives. my name is yash gupta and i'm trying to help people see better. i learned there are millions of glasses discarded each year so why not put them to use. when i was 14, i started reaching out to local

optometrists to put up donation boxes. we work with organizations and they distribute the glasses. we also go on clinic trips. >> we went to tijuana mexico today and we'll be shipping these to kids in orphanages. >> i really love being able to see the people that we're actually helping. watching someone get glasses for the first time, it's really inspiring. today we've collected and distributed over $425,000 worth of eyeglasses. i think anyone can do that. it's about being motivated and going out there and doing it. >> and if you'd like to learn more about this particular cnn hero, just go to our hero's web site, cnnheros.com. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you so much for being with

me. i will be back here at work tomorrow 4:30 p.m. filling out for sanjay gupta, who is in neighboring lebanon. we'll talk to sanjay as far as what he's seeing with all these refugees in neighboring nations. here is jake tapper with "the lead" right now. the president was asked several times but still no direct answer as to whether he might order a strike if congress says no. i'm jake tapper and this is "the lead." the world lead and yet by any other name, they came, saw, agreed to disagree. president obama leaves a meeting with vladimir putin with the same deep divisions over syria. and our politics leave the senate set to vote right as the president plans to address a skeptical nation. and some are facing everything but pitch forks in angry town halls. >> and in our bd