thanks for watching. it's a pleasure to be with you today. >> likewise, enjoyed it. stay here. there's much more ahead in the next hour of cnn "newsroom." we turn it over to fredricka whitfie whitfield. good to see you this morning. >> president obama's heavy lift on syria puts his top diplomat on the move. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is in europe seeking more support for a military strike against the syrian regime. and back home, thousands of people are taking to the streets and voicing a much different message. they're telling congress stay out of syria. and in just a few hours, we'll know who will host the 2020 summer olympic games. find out what cities are the finalists and what could make or break their bid.

president barack obama isn't wasting any time trying to convince the american people, congress, and the u.s. congress that a strike against syria is justified. he sent john kerry to meet with european leaders in lithuania today. afterwards eu ministers insisted there is strong evidence the syrian regime used chemical weapons. they said, quote, a clear and strong response is crucial to make clear that such crimes are unacceptable and that there can be no impunity. but they stopped short of supporting u.s. military action. back at home, president obama is working the phones trying to convince congress to authorize use of force in syria, and he's also preparing to deliver a major speech to the medication tuesday night. brian todd joins us live from washington. so, brian, this is very much a working weekend for the president. he'll be making his case to members of congress who are on

the fence particularly, but so far how is the vote looking? >> not so good for the president right now, fredricka. this is a weekend when he and his national security team are making a full-court press trying to convince members of congress and the nation that they are making the case to strike syria. this morning in his weekly radio address, the president hit on a point he's been making on national security. this is his bottom line argument for punishing syria for that chemical weapons attack. >> we cannot turn a blind eye to images like the ones we've seen out of syria. failing to respond to this outrageous attack would increase the risk that chemical weapons could be used again. that they would fall into the hands of terrorists who might use them against us. and it would send a horrible signal to other nations that there would be no consequences for their use of these weapons. all of which would pose a serious threat to our national security. >> the president will take to

the airwaves again on tuesday evening with an address to the nation on syria. now, that is a critical moment on the world stage but also politically because the president is in a real battle to convince congress to support him. you look at the numbers in the senate, a little deceiving there. 25 senators have said they'll support a resolution authorizing the use of force. 19 say they'll vote no. but you've got 56 undecided senators, so the senate very much right now in the balance. in the house, the president flat out does not have the votes, and it's unlikely he'll get them. right now 24 house members say they will vote -- excuse me, 119 say they will not support a strike. 270 are undecided. 20 are unknown. now, that dynamic may change after monday when the top members of president obama's security team give a closed intelligence briefing to all house and senate members. but right now, fredricka, this is an uphill climb to say the least for the president. >> and we've heard from some congress people this morning who

said as soon as they get that kind of information, perhaps they will no longer be on the fence and they will be more definitive in their action. thanks so much, brian todd. so the president has his work cut out for him. the latest national poll shows nearly 60% of americans don't support military intervention in syria. and today thousands of people are taking that message to the streets. protesters are gathering right now outside the white house, and our em ily schmidt is there. what are the demonstrators planning for today? >> reporter: good morning to you. as we have people who are gathering here, they are in front of the white house. president obama back in washington hoping to make his case to the american people. well, here right in front of the white house there are people who are hoping to make their case to him. they're part of a group called answer coalition.org. their message, you see it, tell congress vote no war against syria. they're going to be gathering here over the next hour or so. then they will take their message just up the street as they will take their message to

capitol hill. we are also hearing from a number of members of congress that these aren't the only people who are telling them what they think should happen about syria. members of congress, like jerry conley, a democrat from northern virginia, are facing a tough decision. tell me what you're hearing from your constituents. do they want this to happen? do they want the u.s. to take action in syria? >> there are disparate voices. the dominant voice is we really don't want to get involved in syria. >> reporter: at all? >> well, it's hard to say that because if you get a chance to talk to people, then that opinion in some cases gets more sophisticated and some others it's just nothing, no how, i don't need to hear it. >> reporter: now, when he goes to events like this one -- >> what's the concern level in congress of actually putting into power somebody more dangerous or just as bad as assad? >> reporter: with a county bar association, he spends most of his time talking about syria. >> history suggests when we do

nothing in the face of this kind of evil, it leads to worse evil. >> reporter: where do you stand today on this vote? >> i will not support the resolution submitted to congress by the white house lawyers. it's overly broad and it's open-ended. no one in the house f repof representatives has any appetite for that, including this member. >> reporter: he's working with fellow democrats to find language they can vote for fearing what happens if congress can't agree. how tough of a decision is this for you right now? >> for me this is a decision of conscience. so if i can find a way to really limit it but to uphold the international convention on chemical weapons, i will support that because i believe this is a profoundly moral decision with huge implications if we do nothing. >> reporter: congressman connelly says he is definitely hearing from constituents, hearing from people. that's what they're hoping to do back here in front of the white

house as people will be gathering. they'll be here for the next couple of hours. we will keep you posted with live reports as we see what they are saying about syria. >> all right. emily sha mchmidschmidt, thanks. as congress makes up its mind on whether to take action against syria, anti-war groups are getting ready to stage protests in times square in new york today, and even many syrian-americans are against a military action. our rosa flores has more. >> reporter: the unrest in syria is thousands of miles away, but the fear of war is felt right here in the u.s. by syrian-americans like dr. mussa. he skypes with his family in syria every day. >> she's a physician in a hospital in damascus. >> reporter: and says american military action in syria is personal. >> i feel that every second of

my day, when i sleep i'm closing my eyes and i'm saying tomorrow how many am i going to lose? it's not politics. it's human beings on the line. >> reporter: that's why he and thousands of other americans are demonstrating across the country. they skype to organize. >> a lot of effort is being put into it. >> thank you. anything for syria. >> reporter: dr. muossa is on the board of the syrian-american forum, a group 2,000 strong. when president obama started talking involvement in syria, they started speaking against it. >> we're not there to cause any trouble. we're just going to say firmly and peacefully what's our position and where are we going? >> reporter: their biggest national e ventvent is a march washington. they're busing thousands of syrian-american families from states as far as florida and michigan. >> 7:30, 8:00 at night. i'm guessing it's like -- i don't know by car it's like seven owe eight hour drive. >> reporter: other groups are

joining in, too, like the international action center. they're making signs to gear up. >> when i hold up a sign, the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my government, hands off syria, i think i will be reflecting the popular will of this country. >> reporter: they say thousands of groups from around the country are uniting with one common message. hands off syria. >> and rosa joining me live now from new york. so, rosa, tell us more about the protests that are planned this weekend there. >> reporter: well, hundreds of protesters are expected to be here in new york today and hundreds of other protesters are expected in dozens of other cities around the country. now, that group that we mentioned in this piece, syrian-american forum, they're getting together for their biggest national event, and, fred, that's scheduled for monday. it's a march on washington. fredricka. >> rosa flores, thanks so much in new york.

so if you live on the east coast and you were looking up at the sky perhaps last night, you may have seen a nasa rocket on its way to the moon. the unmanned rocket was launched from virginia at 11:27 p.m. eastern time. it's expected to reach the moon on october 6th to study the lunar atmosphere and environment. so launching a spacecraft relies a lot on weather. alexandra steele is live for us in the weather center. >> what's ground breaking about this is that in the past the way we've gotten images from space is through radio waves. but when you send radio waves, they could be sent through rain or shine. there's a limited amount of info kind of you can send at a time. but what's groundbreaking about now and what the nasa space is doing is now the communications will be sent through laser. so think of like a laser beam when you point it. it's so small and narrow, right? so that's what's happening. but the problem is that narrow

band can't be sent through rain. it actually has trouble even going through clouds. it really needs clear skies. so what's had to have happened here on earth from space is that they have to put in three different detectors on the ground here. so from space to the ground, what you need are clear skies, a clear signal so the three places they have chosen are new mexico, california, and spain where they have a 90% shot of getting a clear signal, because of the weather clear signal and so it can get there without any weather problems. so we could see a clear image. so it's groundbreaking in the way we're going to get images and maybe eventually even get 3-d video from it. that's kind of like what this has been all about, what happened last night. a lot of you saw it because there were a lot of clear skies as that entered the atmosphere. you can see today sunny skies here in the southeast. tonight we're going to see a front move from western new york eastward. a few showers, albany, scayracu,

northern new england. you can see where this maroon color is is this bulge of high pressure. we've seen it for days. the last two days in denver, colorado, we had records. today potentially -- today the record is 95. we're calling for 94 but it easily can get there. monday you can see we get to 80, but then tuesday we get into the 60s. so in denver they couldn't go to school yesterday. a couple of the elementary schools because it was so hot. on tuesday we will see temperatures in the 60s. that's what happens this time of year. these undulations of temperatures, a front moves through and cools them down pretty dramatically. a beautiful weekend in boston, new york city, washington in the 80s. so pretty nice there. pittsburgh as well. a front will move through here even and cool things off for sunday. you will notice tomorrow, fred, you will be a little colder in the northeast and certainly wetter in the intermountain west. >> i guess fall just kind of creeping in. >> it's coming.

we had patchy frost the last couple nights in new england. saranac lake, it was in the 20s in new york. >> do they wear coats in 60 degrees? >> depends where you come from. in atlanta perhaps, in maine i don't think so. >> all right. thanks so much. a montana judge who sparked national outrage when he sentenced a teacher to just 30 days on a rape charge was back in court to talk about the case. you'll see exactly what happened next. u.s. congress must decide should the u.s. strike syria. congressman charles rangel joins me to talk about the politics behind his decision. man: sometimes it's like we're still in college. but with a mortgage. and the furniture's a lot nicer. and suddenly, the most important person in my life is someone i haven't even met yet. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners,

and they matter most to us. as you plan your next step, we'll help you get there. and now, there's a plan that lets you experience that "new" phone thrill again and again. and again. can you close your new phone box? we're picking up some feedback. introducing verizon edge. the plan that lets you upgrade to a new verizon 4glte phone when you want to. having what you want on the network you rely on. that's powerful. verizon. upgrade to the new moto x by motorola with zero down payment. britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta. not tonight."

[ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. humans. we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back, offering exclusive products like optional better car replacement, where if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call... and ask an insurance expert about all our benefits today, like our 24/7 support and service, because at liberty mutual insurance, we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, so we do everything we can to be there for them when they need us. plus, you could save hundreds when you switch, up to $423. call...

today. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? this is hard, and i was under no illusions when i embarked on this path. but i think it's the right thing to do. i think it's good for our democracy. we will be more effective if we are unified going forward. >> all right. the president while overseas. now, come monday house and

senate members will get another private intelligence briefing from the president's national security team. and then tuesday president barack obama takes his case straight to the american people with a national address. but one democratic lawmaker the president normally can count on is not on board. a long-time new york congressman charlie rangel is against taking military action in syria. congressman rangle, good to see you. >> good to see you. >> all right. you have quite the history with your own military experience. you've received the purple heart and the bronze star for valor in the korean conflict. so you know the realities of war. but why is it you believe the u.s. should not get involved militarily in syria? >> this country has been so good to me that if i thought for one hot minute that our national security was in danger, not only will i volunteer to do whatever an 83-year-old veteran could do, but i would insist on having a

draft so that all americans will have an opportunity to defend this great country. but the threat to national security, the last time i heard language like this and we have to stop these evil people was saddam hussein. now, that's been over ten years ago. 6,700 americans, americans, have been killed. we've spent a trillion dollars, and i have been elected to represent the people in my congressional district. i could not possibly go before them and say that what i have heard from the president and the secretary of state warrants going to war. >> so a couple things here. you're drawing direct parallels between iraq and syria. so are you saying that the intelligence leading up to the war in iraq is very similar to the intelligence now leading up to these limited missile strikes or limited strikes to syria?

and then, second of all, you say that the u.s. is not in danger here, this is not a threat to national security, and you heard the president and the secretary out laying that u.s. interests abroad would be potentially targeted if, say, this dictator or others like him were able to continue on with impunity. >> let me take the second part of your question first, and that is this is a dangerous man. he is a threat to the international community. i don't know why the community of nations just believe that you can kill people anytime you want with anything you want in a civil war except don't use chemicals. okay. so there is an agreement, we are a world power, we should enforce these agreements, but why america alone? this is absolutely ridiculous. in the whole world, 98% of the countries have solved this international agreement. we don't have the united nations, we don't have the security council, we don't have

the arab league, we don't have great britain, we don't have the european union. give me a break. we're not the only -- >> if turkey or even if there was another vote in parliament with great britain, if there were resounding yeses to be involved militarily alongside the u.s., then that might change your mind? >> i think not because -- you know, we're going through sequestration. if you want a war it should be against those people who are not even thinking about the pain of sequestration. we've got millions of people that are living in poverty, old folks that won't be able to get their meals on wheels, clinics that are not able to take care of our children, jails that are filled with young people that should have been in school learning how to do high-tech so we'll be competitive. i know what is a threat to our national security, and if internationally this criminal, and he is one, he should be dealt with by the international community. even the communists in russia said let's hold on before we get

into a war. let's see what more we can do diplomatically. when i first heard that the president intended to do this, i prayed that he would bring it to the congress and he did. when i heard from secretary kerry, i thought if we didn't do it overnight that our nation would be in trouble. now the president is taking a deep breath. now the congress will be meeting and the president will be going to the american people, and -- >> what are you hoping the president will say? what does he need to say to convince the american people, to convince you and other lawmakers who are already saying no to strikes, convince them otherwise? >> that because he's been able to talk with the international community, they have found a way to isolate this monster, to cut off all sources to his income, to convince russia and china that this is not just a threat to our nation, it's a threat to the world, and all of the people in the world, i hope they have a

respect for not killing anyone. that chemical gases should not be used even during a war and collectively our country will resume trying to get back to fight the people in congress that have the sequestration that won't let our country go back to jobs, back to education, and back to those things that will allow us to become everything that we hope and dream that we can be. >> congressman charles rangel, thank you so much, appreciate your time and for joining us on this saturday afternoon from new york. appreciate it. >> thank you. straight ahead, a man confesses he killed someone while driving drunk. why did he do that? and you'll hear a montana judge try to explain what happened when he sentenced a convicted rapist to just 30 days in jail.

new developments in that montana rape case that has shocked the country. a hearing yesterday was canceled and the case is now headed to the montana supreme court. the case sparked outrage after a judge sentenced a school teacher to only 30 days in prison for raping a 14-year-old student. >> reporter: reporters packed the short hallway to the judge's courtroom. minutes before the start of the hearing the state supreme court stepped in ordering the judge to cancel, calling it clearly unlawful. >> all rise, please. >> reporter: but that didn't

stop the judge from holding court, even if the seats were empty. >> as many of you may have heard, we're not actually going to have a hearing today. >> reporter: it was a highly anticipated hearing. a do-over for judge baugh who touched off a firestorm last week. cherise was 14 when she was raped by her teacher. she committed suicide before the teacher went to trial. at the sentencing the judge gave him just 30 days in jail saying cherise seemed older than her chronological age. protests sprang up across montana and judge baugh was portrayed in social media as a victim blamer. days after the controversial sentence, the judge said he made a mistake and should have sentenced the teacher to at least two years for child rape. he called the hearing and while it was canceled, the judge seemed to want to still set the record straight. and then handed it over to the

state supreme court where the case has been appealed ending the judge's connection to this case. >> that's about all i got to say. >> thank god to have to deal with him anymore because i don't think he's really in touch. >> reporter: auliae hanlon is relieved the judge is out of her life. she says justice may finally be in sight. your daughter isn't here today, but is this for her? >> yes. i think she's looking down smiling. she felt real guilt. >> reporter: the ball is now with the state supreme court where that appeal does sit. the legal minimum sentence is two years here in the state of montana f montana. the prosecution has arguing he deserves much more, 10 to 20 years behind bars.

and this stunning confession posted online this week. a 22-year-old man says, quote, i killed a man while driving drunk. >> my name is matthew cordle, and on june 22nd, 2013, i hit and killed vincent. this video will act as my confession. >> the man says he wanted to come clean about what he has done and face the consequences that come with the crime. he has not been charged, but the franklin county prosecutor says matthew cordle is a suspect in the deadly crash, and a grand jury will be asked to indict him for aggravated vehicular homicide. dennis rodman, well, he's wrapped up his second trip this year to north korea. we'll tell you what he said about helping to free an american prisoner held there. and who will host the 2020 summer olympic games? the announcement is out today. we'll tell you which city is the favorite.

hint, it hosted the games back in 1964. start googling. this was the hardest decision i've ever had to make. jim, i adore the pool at your hotel. anna, your hotels have wondrous waffle bars. ryan, your hotels' robes are fabulous. i have twelve of them. twelve? shhhh, i'm worth it& what i'm trying to say is, it's so hard to pick just one of you, so i'm choosing all of you with hotels.com. a loyalty program that requires no loyalty. plus members can win a free night every day only at hotels.com ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below... to the finest comforts above.

we're not simply saluting history... we're making it. !

bottom of the hour. welcome back. i'm fredricka whitfield. five things crossing the news deck right now. number one, john kerry is in europe seeking international support for military action in syria. kerry met with european union leaders in lithuania today. afterwards eu ministers insisted there is strong evidence the syrian regime used chemical weapons. they also called for a, quote, clear and strong response, but

they stopped short of supporting a u.s. military strike. number two, former pro basketball star dennis rodman has left north korea. he wormed his way out. or did he worm his way in? he arrived in beijing today after spending five days in the communist state. he hasn't said much about his second trip to visit reclusive dictator and basketball fan kim jong-un. there was some speculation rodman would help secure the release of kenneth bey, an american being held in a north korean prison, but rodman left empty-handed and told reporters it was not his job to discuss the u.s. prisoner. and number three, missouri police say two more men are seeking to press charges against a man who confessed that he may have exposed more than 300 men to hiv. david magnum is already charged with exposing his former partner to the virus that causes aids. magnum told police that he didn't tell his sexual partners about his status because of his, quote, fear of rejection.

and number four, johnson & johnson is voluntarily recalling 200,000 bottles of motrin for babies. the company is worried tiny specks of something may be inside. the specific product is labeled concentrated motrin infant drops original berry flavor. johnson & johnson says the plastic likely came from one of its suppliers. so bits and pieces of plastic. oh, my goodness. so the cheers turned to cries as you saw right there of a section of the bleachers simply collapsing in ohio. wcmh reports five students were hurt at a high school football game just outside of columbus. the injuries were not serious but reportedly at least two teens did suffer some broken bones. and it is an event so big even though it is seven years away now, the excitement is already building. i'm talking about the olympics,

of course. way far away. but today it's going to be kind of made present. the world will learn who will host, which city will host the 2020 summer olympic games. cnn's shasta darlington telling us which of these three cities is the front-runner. >> reporter: the final countdown. we'll soon discover the next city to put on the greatest show on earth. the host for the 2020 olympic games will be announced on saturday with madrid, istanbul, and tokyo all fighting it out. the japanese capital is seen as a slight favorite to win the vote with a bid built around reliable infrastructure and security, a safe choice. the 1964 hosts have promised a games that would share the power of sports with the world. but fears surrounding the few tu s -- fukushima nuclear power plant continue to threaten the

campaign. madrid is running for the third successive occasion and has based its bid around austerity. with an unemployment rate of 27%, some have questioned spain's capacity to host an olympics. but bid leaders insist an outlay of only $1.9 billion around a fifth the cost of the 2012 games in london, represents value for money. not to mention that 80% of the venues are already in place. but if delegates want to take a new direction, they could decide to endorse instan bul's bid. the city promises a magical games and the ioc could decide taking the olympics to a largely muslim country for the first time represents a positive move. but istanbul is fighting to recover from the negative publicity of anti-government protests in june and a recent doping scandal involving dozens of high-profile athletes. istanbul is still in this three-way race, but it's seen as the dark horse.

the favorites tag can often be a curse. paris was tipped to win the 2012 games only to see london snatch it away with a strong last-minute pitch. it still appears the battle for votes here in argentina is too close to call. shasta darlington, cnn, buenos aires. >> join me at 3:00 eastern time because i will have some olympians right here to talk about that olympic pick and other things. i'm talking about gold medalist da gail devers and jackie joiner kersee. and we want to talk about the sochi games, too, because there's a lot on the plate. hey, joe, good to see you. it's nice to have you in the house. we have some baseball to talk about. >> yes. wow. i mean, here is the thing, you got a pitcher last night for the giants who most people have never heard of, and he is literally on the front porch to

entering baseball's history books. so close. pitching a perfect game as we know is so rare in baseball. only happened 23 times, and, well, giants pitcher petite came excruciatingly close to making that history. bottom nine, two outs, full count. really just needs one more strike or at least one more out, and you want to have your guy catch it here and you want him but he just can't get to it. afterwards, that's hunter pence who couldn't come up with the camp, he said he felt like he was in a dream where he couldn't run fast enough to get to the ball. he's only pitched 30 innings in the big leagues. your heart breaks for the guy, but he joins a list of 11 pitchers to fall just one out short of a perfect game. >> he's feeling bad. it's the gape, that's how things go. >> i feel bad for the u.s. men's soccer team. thanks light their long win streak, the longest in the sport's history, came to an end

last night. they got beat by costa rica and it was a world cup qualifying game. they were on a roll, 12-game win streak going into this. you have a new coach, a lot of new faces, but still the heart and soul still around. but the loss means that tuesday's game against mexico, sort of a must-win game for team u.s. to have a sure in in the world cup coming up next year. if they were to lose against mexico, there's some chances for them to get a world cup spot, but it gets complicated with that. but brought some great video for you. >> okay. >> i love this kind of quirky sports stuff. unicycling meets flag football. somebody somewhere in a tavern out there in texas came up with this crazy idea. it's a real league that's been around for nine years. and these two activities you would think were never intended to go together, much like chicken and waffles but how it works. >> i wonder, you have to be most

proficient in football or most proficient in unicycling? >> or just try not to get hurt. >> it seems like your chances are very high. >> bodies colliding, and they play on asphalt. they have helmets so i have to tip my hat to them for that. definitely an insurance waiver is signed. >> not for me. >> a great video that you would enjoy. >> good to know. for nine years, too. where have i been? >> you weren't in san marcos, texas, because that's where they play. >> thanks for bringing all that to us. appreciate that. straight ahead, let's talk syria again. what are the u.s. military's options in that country? i'll ask our military analyst if he thinks russia would actually retaliate if the u.s. were to strike the assad regime.

so what now for president obama on syria? on tuesday he will address the country on his proposal to attack syria in response to last month's alleged chemical weapons attack. this week the president failed to get international support at the g-20 summit. and now iran is threatening retaliation over a possible strike. let's bring in general james "spider" marx a cnn military analyst and a commander at the u.s. army intelligence center. >> good morning. >> va loladimir putin says he h plan in place in case of a military strike against syria. now we're hearing others do, too.

what potentially could these countries do? >> specifically russia has been supporting iran in its efforts. i would not suggest for a moment that russia would do anything directly against the united states militarily were the united states to strike into syria. clearly any response from russia will be asymmetric as they say. it will be to disrupt our efforts either to galvanize additional international support. it will continue its support to iran and syria certainly. so the point is that iran's threat against the united states really kind of gets into medieval weirdness, if you ask me. >> and it was reportedly targeting u.s. interests like embassie embassies. >> very specifically u.s. interests in the region, the embassy in baghdad and also some personal threats against the president. just really odd, very different kind of a response that you don't even want to pay attention to. >> so you don't really believe

it? >> not that -- no, i would imagine that iran very seriously would try to take some efforts against the united states at a very low level, but our ability, number one to detect those efforts and to do something about them is pretty profound. >> you know, as it pertains to this argument, congress trying to evaluate everything that the president is presenting, that the u.s. secretary of state is presenting, you heard congressman charles rangel, who was with me earlier who said he's not on board, and he drew the parallels between syria and iraq. and he says this nation doesn't want another situation like iraq. do you see these as potentially very similar military commitments? >> no, fred, no the at all. number one, to draw any kind of a comparison between what we tried to achieve in iraq, what we have achieved in iraq, and the intelligence leading up to the decisions to go to war in iraq are completely dissimilar from what you're seeing here in syria. in iraq there were a lot of inferential type of conclusion

that is had to be drawn. all of our intelligence against iraq before decision to go to war was gathered through technical means. we didn't have human intelligence really to speak of that gave us a good sense, a feel for what was going on inside the regime of saddam hussein. vis-a-vis what's happening in syria, this is all dispositive. this is factual. we know that chemical use was in place. we can attribute that to the regime. now, whether the united states should do something about that in light of the civil war that's taking place in syria is an entirely different discussion, but there's no comparison between the factors for going to war. >> general, thanks so much for your time. appreciate that. >> thanks, fred. all right. guess what? we're in for some pretty wild weather this weekend in different parts, heavy rain, high temperatures all over the place. we'll have some details right after this. ♪ constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps.

but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. [ female announcer ] only aveeno daily moisturizing lotion has an active naturals oat formula that creates a moisture reserve so skin can replenish itself. aveeno® naturally beautiful results.

aveeno® !

it's gearing up to be a hot and rainy weekend. >> you know, where we're really seeing the rain has been in the west. we've seen so much it's led to flooding and mudslides. out west, strong showers and thunderstorms brought down trees and powerlines in the portland area. up to 3 inches of rain flooded salem. some 50,000 lightning strikes were counted across washington and oregon, including the one that brought down this tree and split it in half. >> so, it's literally like a place in between, just blew up. >> meanwhile, clean up resumes this morning in idaho after

nasty weather caused flooding and mudslides. >> i looked over there, my wife sitting on top of the car with water all around her. >> and record heat in denver was just too much to handle for some students, especially without air-conditioning. this elementary school was just one of six that closed early because of the high temperatures in the upper 90s. >> too hot for them to be in there and teachers, too, it's very hot. in denver, it will be about 20 degrees colder. here's where the heat is from dallas to minneapolis. rain moves through western and upstate new york and new england tonight. it cools them off tomorrow, and then the rain moves in from the pas fim northwest into the inter mountain west and we see showers and storms there. >> we'll take it as it comes. we have no choice. thanks so much. zblnc

zblncht. as fighting in syria continues, the wounded are trickling into secret hospitals along the syrian border. it's coming up, next. anna, your hotels have wondrous waffle bars. ryan, your hotels' robes are fabulous. i have twelve of them. twelve? shhhh, i'm worth it& what i'm trying to say is, it's so hard to pick just one of you, so i'm choosing all of you with hotels.com. a loyalty program that requires no loyalty. plus members can win a free night every day only at hotels.com ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ female announcer ] only aveeno daily moisturizing lotion has an active naturals oat formula

that creates a moisture reserve so skin can replenish itself. aveeno® naturally beautiful results. at humana, our medicare agents sit down with you and ask. hanging out with this guy. he's just the love of my life. [ male announcer ] getting to know you is how we help you choose the humana medicare plan that works best for you. mi familia. ♪ [ male announcer ] we want to help you achieve your best health, so you can keep doing the things that are important to you. keeping up with them. i love it! [ male announcer ] helping you -- now that's what's important to us. and now, there's a plan that lets you experience that "new" phone thrill again and again. and again. can you close your new phone box? we're picking up some feedback. introducing verizon edge. the plan that lets you upgrade to a new verizon 4glte phone when you want to.

having what you want on the network you rely on. that's powerful. verizon. upgrade to the new droid ultra by motorola with zero down payment.

a secret hospital along the syria lebanon border treats people wounded in a civil war, but as the fighting drags on, medical supplies are running very low. sanjay gupta has the details. >> hard to believe, but these are the lucky ones. most refugees end up scattered in camps like this with little medical care able, so four

months ago, members of the free syrian army took over this mo mosque in the free border town. they turned it into a very basic hospital. >> types of injury, gun shot wounds, amputations, spinal cord injuries, you see all of those. >> yeah. >> we are just walking distance to syria. look over there. just to those mountain passes. dr. nor is syrian, as are all the medical staff here. they left their country to take care of rebels. to keep them safe, the hospital is secret. no signs outside. they only alloweded us to take pictures on the patient floors and we agreed to limit what we would show that would identify people there. you don't want us to show your face. how worried are you about your own safety? >> dangerous to do. >> there are many floors filled with patients. and inside this room, every man you see is a rebel fighter.

every one of them shot or injured in combat. a sniper shot this man in the leg. this man's arm peppered with sharp nell. they are all afraid. none wants to be identified. including this 24-year-old who says he was walking to work in damascus when a quote, rain of missiles came down. he says he felt heat on his back and soon found he could not move his legs. he did get a ct scan which showed the fractures and ultimately made it to this clinic. he did get an operation, you can see the screws in the bones here to do the fusion. the problem was this whole process took way too long. three months. the operation was unsuccessful. can i try and examine your leg, would you mind? can i examine? >> yeah, you can. >> can you try and kick up at all? nothing? it is not likely he will be able to walk again.

in the last several weeks, dr. nor and his team have cared for more than 300 patients and the good news, he tells me all of them survived. the basics supplies are now running low. dr. nor said these shelves were once filled with antibiotics and pain medications. now, he says there's just enough to last until the end of the month. dr. sanjay gupta, lebanon. >> we'll be checking in with dr. gupta throughout the day for updates on that story and other frs this region. we have much more straight ahead and it starts right now. ahead and it starts right now. the next hour. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com welcome to the second hour of the news room. here are the top stories we're following. president obama puts on a full-court press to convince americans and the world that a military strike on syria is the

right response for a suspected chemical weapons attack, but this is what he is seeing outside his door. demonstrators, angry that the u.s. is even considering attacking syria. we'll take you to two major protests happening right now. and a shocking confession online. a man admits to killing someone while drunk driving. hear how it could affect his trial and possible sentence. it's a critical weekend for president barack obama. he is hoping to make major gains in convincing congress and u.s. allies that a military strike against syria is justified. he has sent john kerry to europe to secure international support for a limited air strike in response to syria's alleged chemical weapons attacks and kerry met with european union

leaders in lithuania today. after wards, eu ministers ins t insisteded there is strong evidence the syrian regime used chemical weapons. they said quote, a clear and strong response is clear to make clear that such crimes are unacceptable. but they stopped short of supporting u.s. military action. at home, president obama is working the phones, trying to convince congress to authorize use of force in syria and he's preparing to deliver a major speech to the nation tuesday night. brian todd joins us from washington. this is very much a working weekend for the president. he'll be making his case to members of congress who are on the fence, but what is the strategy? >> this weekend, the president, very likely tapping into every ounce of his political skill. he is having his top national security team do this as well. working the phone, angling in, trying to get as many members of congress as they can to support a strike on syria. it's a case he's been making for the past week with mixed

success. >> the united states should take military action against syrian regime targets. >> but not right away. the president would first ask congress. sunday, the administration begins to make its case that the syrian regime launched a poisoned gas attack and that it's in america's interest to respond. monday, the president makes a pitch the senator mccain. mccain sounds supportive. >> we have to bring bashar al assad down. >> then on tuesday at a white house meeting, the president presses top lawmakers to endorse the strike. house leaders. >> we're not going to tolerate this type of behavior. >> crossed a line with using chemical weapons. >> but when administration officials face a senate panel, there is a mixture of support and skepticism. >> i don't know that we can say that by attacking them, he's not going to launch another chemical attack. >> by wednesday, the first test vote in a senate panel.

ten senators support a strike on syria. seven oppose it. in the house, the president's team faces another day of questioning by lawmakers. >> people shouldn't be allowed to gas their citizens with impunity. >> there should be no american boots op the ground in syria. >> the president heads overseas, taking his case abroad. >> i didn't set a red line. the world set a red line. >> thursday, the president arrives in russia to press foreign leaders at the g20 summit, wu but the u.k., china and russia oppose military intervention. back home, polls are showing public opinion leaning against a military strike and some law mackers are getting an earful. >> why are you not listening to the people and staying out of syria? it's not our fight. >> we have to stop bashar al assad at any price. >> on friday after the summit, the president says he is ready to strike syria with or not an international consensus. >> 1400 people were gassed.

if we're not acting, what does that say? >> but he declines to say what he will do if congress voted no. >> i think the week started off very well for the president with support from the congressional leadership, but it's really underscored the challenge he faces. >> and the challenges are no better illustrated than with the numbers in congress, regarding a resolution. in the senate, a desaceived lea in favor of the president. 20 senators now say they are going to vote no. we just updated that for you, so, 25, yes, 20 no. but there are 55 undecided senators, so the white house has its work cut out there, but in the house, this is a much more difficult battle. 24 house members say they will support the president, but 119 are opposed to a strike. 270 are undecided, 20 unknown and you've got house democratic

leaders nancy pelosi and steny hoyer indicating they will have a very difficult time convincing the vast majority of their rank and file to support this. >> thanks so much in washington. so, the president doesn't have to look very far. you see how many americans feel about his plan on syria. protesters opposed to a military strike are gathering right now outside the white house and emily schmidt is there. what are the demonstrators telling you as they gather? >> they just began demonstrating here about half an hour ago. their message boils down to no war in syria. and they have brought that message as close to president obama as they can because you see them picketing right in front of the white house. it isn't the first time they've been here. this same group was here last week, but today, there's going to be a little bit of a difference because after they talk in front of the white house, they are going to march to capitol hill. the difference being of course, at this time last week, they didn't know that president obama

was going to be asking congress to weigh in on this decision in syria. some of the people who have gathered here are president obama's supporters, like margaret morales, who came here from pennsylvania, a university professor. why are you here today? >> because i felt like i had to have my presence here. it's like a protest for me. this is a peace march, but i want my congressmen and john kerry and president obama to understand that the people don't go want war and if john kerry said who's going to be the last man to die in vietnam and now, you watch him on cnn or any of the news channels, he's arrogant. when he was trying to convince those senators that they should vote for this, it's like he didn't want to hear the other answer. >> margaret, you're going from the white house to capitol hill. do you think that there is still room in congress for them to hear your -- >> i hope so.

i hope bill shuster, my congressman, realizes that people are against this. i don't know anybody who really is for the bombing. not one. >> margaret, thank you so much for joining us. this group will be going to capitol hill. they'll be spending a couple of hours here and if president obama returned from the summit thinking about people he was trying to convince overseas, all he has to do is look out his front door and see some of the people he still has to convince here in washington. >> thanks so much. so, as congress makes up its mind on whether to take military action on syria, antiwar groups are getting ready to stage protests in new york, in times square. rosa is joining us now from new york with more on that. >> hundreds if not thousands of protesters are expected here in times square in about 45 minutes. but the organization that is organizing this tells me it's the international action center

tells me that this is happening in dozens of cities around the country and that they're getting responses from thousands of organizations asking them to join in and of course, syria is the topic of conversation all around here. a man from south dakota has been so nice to talk to us today and of course, the conversation is syria. everybody's talking about what's going to happen. what is your take on u.s. insolvement in syria? >> well, i trust the administration and the intelligence. i don't think believe the hyped up conspiracy theorys, there wasn't a chemical attack, but i'm leery of putting boots on the ground in syria just because of potential for american casualties. >> i know there's been a lot of talk about that intelligence. you trust that intelligence and you're comfortable with what we've been hearing and you're saying you trust it. your biggest concern at this point. >> if we were to put soldiers on

the ground in syria, that there would be american casualties and i'd hate to see american casualties and i'd hate to see the united states get bogged down in another middle east quagmire. >> again, hundreds, if not thousands of protesters are expected here in times square in about 45 minutes and we will stay here and bring you the latest as it becomes available. >> thanks so much. so, later, we're going to be talking about a man who confesses to the world he killed someone while driving drunk. and next, what will it take for president obama to get international support for a strike on syria? william cohen joins me next. ♪ [ male announcer ] staying warm and dry has never been our priority. our priority is, was and always will be serving you, the american people.

so we improved priority mail flat rate to give you a more reliable way to ship. now with tracking up to eleven scans, specified delivery dates, and free insurance up to $50 all for the same low rate. [ woman ] we are the united states postal service. [ man ] we are the united states postal service. [ male announcer ] and our priority is you. go to usps.com® and try it today. ♪ [ male announcer ] the parking lot helps by letting us know who's coming. the carts keep everyone on the right track.

the power tools introduce themselves. all the bits and bulbs keep themselves stocked. and the doors even handle the checkout so we can work on that thing that's stuck in the thing. [ female announcer ] today, cisco is connecting the internet of everything. so everyone goes home happy.

president obama is going to take his case for military strikes on syria to the american pe people. the president will deliver an address on tuesday, but he has to still convince congress it's the right move. the white house is under a lot of pressure right now and my next guest know what is that's like. william cohen was secretary of defense from 1997 to 2001. he is now the chairman and ceo of the cohen group, an international consulting firm that represents defense contractors and others. mr. secretary, great to see you.

>> good to see you. >> so, if this is indeed a world member as you hear, a number of lawmakers, particularly those on fence put it, and it is something that the world should be responding to. is it your view that the u.n. still has an opportunity to respond to the problem in syria? >> i think they have an obligation. one of the reasons i recommend president obama take the evidence we have, if it's so clear and convincing as secretary kerry and those have said, lay it out to the security counsel. if then president putin says no, then we at least showed he's never going to be supportive of taking action, even when international laws are violated, but at least he'll be isolated and seen as a man and a country that represents suppressing civilians with gas and other weapons. secondly, i think the president

and his state of the union address so to speak or speaking from the oval office, he has to persuade the members of congress he's talking about an action not like what's happened in iraq or afghanistan, but what we were able to do with president clinton and going after saddam on a four day attack called desert fox, which was very successful. no lives were lost, no boots on the ground. also in kosovo, a 78-day campaign, no personnel lost. these are the kinds of arguments he has to make to say a limited action can take place with limited casualties and no casualties on the part of the u.s., but there is a risk that when ever you initiate a military action, that innocent people will die. >> but hasn't the president done that? you mentioned the president has to convince the american people it's not like iraq, not like afghanistan. he said that. no boots on the ground. he said that. but it seems like those words are not enough, so what more needs to enhance that, you know,

layout of the plan? >> some of the evidence is there. the president has to make the case of saying having drawn this line and having to enforce it, the credibility of the united states is going to be diminished, not only in that region, but globally. secondly, it's not only about syria. it's about iran. iran, we have also drawn red lines in terms of whether the iranian cross that line and build a nuclear weapons capability. israel is watching closely because they have been depending upon us to enforce those red lines should they be crossed. in the event the united states fails to take action in the face of overwhelming evidence that assad has used chemical weapon, the israelis will never trust us. they will feel compelled to go it alone and we've seen from history, when they're faced with a threat, they will go it alone, so that is another issue we have to contend with and finally, in the asia pacific region, the countries in that part of the

world are looking at the united states in terms of what role do we intend to continue to play to secure their security interests as well as our own. >> and if the united states were to go it alone, it doesn't give the u.n. backing, et cetera. you heard from john mccain and lindsey graham saying they want more than a limited strike. what does that mean? >> they want more support for the rebel groups that we're currently supporting. in other words, they don't want just a pinprick or what the president described as a shot across the bough. they want -- >> arming the rebels for example? do you think that's a good idea? >> we are going to arm the rebels. the president has promised us six months ago, a year ago, and has done nothing to do it, so i think that is part of agreement. that if he's going to have the support of senator mccain and other, he's going to have to couple the limited strikes with additional support for the

rebels that we're currently supporting. >> okay, you mentioned arming the rebels. we have heard the administration say it was entertaining it, it hasn't happened and now, we hear the administration talk about a strike. if this doesn't happen, what does this say about this administration who continues to say if you do this, then we'll do that, but it doesn't happen. what's at stake? >> what's at stake is the presidency itself. i think the president's not in a good position. this is more of a lose lose proposition from his point of view because if he takes action and is seen as unsuccessful, he'll be seen as weak, so this is thot not something he's going to win politically on. the real issue for president obama is one of leadership. is he as a leader of the free world taking action on behalf of international law which has been in effect since the end of world war i. if he is unable or unwilling to do that, that will affect his future as the president of the united states and the legacy that he will leave for whoever

succeeds him. >> always good to see you. thanks very much. >> thank you. he taped a confession for the internet. coming up, we'll tell you why this man did that. but first, it's challenging for some students to focus in school. imagine doing it when everything is is a blur. after breaking his glasses, in this week's 17-year-old cnn hero found himself in that position. now, he wants to help others around the world who face the same obstacles. >> i was only 5 years old when i got my first pair of glasses. when i was a freshman in high school, i broke my glasses. i just couldn't see anything and so, i really realized just how much glass meant to me. without them, i really couldn't do anything normally. i know there are millions of students around the world who need glasses. i had this problem for one week. these kids have these problems for their whole lives. i'm trying to help students

around the world see better. >> hi. perfect. there are millions of glasses discarded annually in north america alone, so why not put them to good use. when i was 14, i started reaching out to local optometrists and putting collection boxes in their offices, so when a patient came to get a new pair of glasses, they could drop off their old pair. we work with other organizations and they distribute the glass. the away is by going on clinic trips. we're in mexico today and we'll be distributing these to kids in orphanages. it's a personal interaction and that's what i really love. being able to see the people. watching someone get glasses for the first time, the it's really inspiring. to date, we've collected and distributed over $425,000 worth

of glasses, equivalent to 8500 pairs. i'm 17 years old and although many people believe kids can't make a difference. i have. i think anyone can to that. it's just about being motivated and going out there and just doing it. [ nurse ] i'm a hospice nurse. britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta. not tonight." [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. [ crashing ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight,

fight back fast with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums! heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yep, everybody knows that. well, did you know some owls aren't that wise? don't forget i'm having brunch with meghan tomorrow. who? meghan, my coworker. who? seriously? you've met her like three times. who? (sighs) geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know.

shaq 1, pain 0. [ male announcer ] new icy hot advanced patch with 50% more medicine. pain over. with 50% more medicine. because what you dont know can hurt you.urance, what if you didn't know that it's smart to replace washing-machine hoses every five years? what if you didn't know that you might need extra coverage for more expensive items? and what if you didn't know that teen drivers are four times more likely to get into an accident? 'sup the more you know, the better you can plan for what's ahead. talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum -bum ♪

a 61-year-old man was killed by a drunk driver going the wrong way on an interstate. the man allegedly responsible for that crash has not yet been charged, but that didn't stop the 22-year-old suspect from releasing a stunning confession

on the internet. >> i killed a man. >> it begins with the man conce concealed, speaking sobering words. >> i was trying to have a good time and i lost control. >> then, his face and a chilling confession are revealed. >> my name is matthew cordle. on june 22nd, 2013, i hit and killed vincent canzani. i will plead guilty and take full responsibility for everything i've gone to vincent and his family. >> the video came as a shock to canzani's family. >> it brings up a lot of emotion. it's hard, you know, vincent's gone. he'll never be back and this video's just kind of a reminder that you know, and then this man's going to have to live with that for the rest of his life. >> if i took a different route, maybe i would get a reduced sentence and maybe i would get off, but i won't dishonor vincent's honor by lying about

what happened. >> it is a compelling piece of evidence as well as i think a compelling statement by the offender. >> franklin county prosecutor ron o'brien viewed the video several times. o'brien says despite this apparently consciousous confession, his office will consult with canzani's family and recommend a lengthy sentence. >> obviously, a prison sentence and based on the facts apart from the video, probably be on the high-end. >> what does the victim's family say about what sort of punishment is due? >> it's a tough question because he made a decision that took a man's life. i honestly can't answer that. i don't know how to feel. >> the prosecution and everything they need to put me away for a very long time. >> the person cordle first contacted about wanting to publicly confess is alex sheen.

he runs a website called, because i said i would. a site where people make public commitments. >> i believe he should be treated fairly like everybody would in the legal system. i can say he feels guilty. intent of this video is never to get him a lighter sentence. >> ultimately, sheen says cordle's goal is to help stop others from drinking and driving. >> your victims can still be saved. so, please -- >> the prosecution plans to charge cordle with aggravated ve hick lar homicide as well as driving under the influence, which carries a maximum sentence of up to eight and a half years in prison and now that the prosecution has this confession in hand, they could present their case to the grand jury as early as next week. >> thanks so much. dennis rodman is back from another trip to north korea. we'll tell you what he said

about working to free an american prisoner held there. ♪ [ male announcer ] the distances aren't getting shorter. ♪ the trucks are going farther. the 2013 ram 1500 with best-in-class fuel economy. engineered to move heaven and earth. guts. glory. ram. the new ram 1500. motor trend's 2013 truck of the year.

getting the right nutrition during your busy day can be a challenge. take control of your nutrition with each delicious bar provides boost bars are perfect with a meal or as a nutritious snack. plus, they are available in chocolate and peanut butter chocolate flavors. a great-tasting way to get the nutrition you need. brand power. helping you buy better. but i feel skinnier, you know? not really. aaah! jessica! whoa! your friend's a rate sucker. her bad driving makes car insurance more expensive for the rest of us. try snapshot from progressive. snap it in and get a discount based on your good driving. [pop!] stop paying for rate suckers!

try snapshot free at progressive.com. welcome back. five things crossing the news desk right now. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is in europe seeking international support for military action in syria. he met with european leaders in lithuania today.

afterwards, e.u. ministers insisted there is strong evidence the syrian regime useded chemical weapons and also called for a quote, clear and strong response, but they stopped short of supporting a u.s. military strike. dennis rodman has left north korea. he arrived in beijing today after spending five days in the communist state. he hasn't said much about the trip to visit kim jong-un. there was some speculation he would help release ken it bay, an american being held in a north korean prison, but rodman left empty handed and told reporters it was not his job to discuss the u.s. prisoner. missouri police say two more men are seeking to press charges against a man who confessed that he may have exposed more than 300 men to hiv. david magnum is already charged with exposing his former partner to the virus that causes aids.

he told police he didn't tell his sexual partners about his status because quote, his fear of rejection. and colorado health officials say three deaths may have been caused by people smoking synthetic marijuana. 75 others may have gotten sick from using the fake pot. the cases are in the denver metro area and colorado springs. the drug is a blend of plant and h herbal chemicals that have been sprayed with chemicals. within an instant, cheers turned the cries after a railing along the section of bleach ers collapsed in ohio. our affiliate wcmh reports five were hurt at a high school football game outside of columbus. reportingly, two teens did suffer broken bones. to strike syria or not.

americans are debating it and the president is in the cross fire. up next, two of the hosts of cross fire debate syria, live in the news room, next. hey love. [off screen] there you are. [speaking german] hi, grandpa! [off screen] give me a kiss! [speaking mandarin] what do you think? do you like it? [off screen] happy birthday! can you see that? [speaking polish] [off screen] did he apologize? [off screen] thanks, micah! [off screen] bye, guys. bye. see ya.

oh my god! every day, more people connect face to face on the iphone than any other phone. i miss you. ♪ (woman) this place has got really good chocolate shakes. (growls) (man) that's a good look for you. (woman) that was fun. (man) yeah. (man) let me help you out with the.. (woman)...oh no, i got it. (man) you sure? (woman) just pop the trunk. (man vo) i may not know where the road will lead, but... i'm sure my subaru will get me there. (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

nec week, all the action shifts from the white house to capitol hill. will the president get the votes he needs to get the okay from congress to strike syria? let's talk about it with two heavy hitters in washington. van jones and s.e. cupp. good to see you. "crossfire" premiering monday night, but first, van jones, you worked for president obama in his first term and s.e. cupp, you're a conservative columnist for the new york daily news.

just want to reintroduce you to so many people out there. overall, does this pass the house and senate or not? should it? is it too little too late? van, first, when you look at the preliminary numbers with 25 senators voting yes, 19 say now. in the house, 119 saying no, what does the president need to do to sell his idea? >> yeah, well, first of all, i don't think it's going to pass. i don't think it should pass. i don't think we've done enough to exhaust opportunities. i don't think we've built a global competition. i think the president has to make a decision. right now, he's not hawkish enough for the hawks who want to go in and go in for real. he's not dubbish enough for the dubs. he's kind of fallen between the cracks. being a moderate in this is hurting him. if he wants us to engage, he's got to make a strong case for that and lay out a strategy to how we have this work out well

fors and the syrian people. he does not do that tuesday night, everybody goes to the hawkish side and he's left by himself. >> s.e., something tells me they need agreement here. >> i agree that the president has not effectively sold the case for syria and it's too bad because everything we know now about syria, we knew two years ago within the first week of the conflict. we knew president bashar al assad had chemical weapons. we knew he was killing his own people. we knew he had pipelines to hezbollah and iran and we knew al qaeda was circling the wagon, waiting to exploit the chaos, as they do, so, there was time to gradual gradually sell a case for syria. by disowning red lines this he set. he needs to go out and tuesday night an say this isn't my red line. it's the world's. he needs to say, you're damn, right, i've got a red line

against a dictator gassing kids in the street and you're damn right i'm not going to allow another rowanda on my watch. he needs to be passionate about this. >> just stating that, does it mean we need to hear and see from this president that if congress is not on board, he needs to go about it any way. >> he's already said that. >> but saying and doing it are two different things. >> he's got to put his money where his mouth is and say, i want an international coalition. i want congress to be on board. i want the american people to understand why i'm doing this, but i'm doing it without them. >> van? >> s.e. and i disagree on a couple of things. first of all, i don't think you can say this president has abandoned the red line. he's going around the world trying to explain it, trying to build a coalition. i don't agree with him on it, but the other thing is that i don't think that he should go in the face of congress. i think he is a courageous president. he has a will the of integrity

to go to congress and to engage the american people, but if congress says no, i don't see how he then says, well, never mind, this was just a focus group. i think he was right to go to the american people. >> but that's leadership, van. if he believes in this conflict, if he believes tit's a marta of national security, in stabilizing the region, that's leadership. >> but there are other things that be be done besides going in the face of congress and starting a war that nobody wants. part of the problem, this president never said you cross a red line and i go to war the next week. he said i change my calculation. there are so many other things we could be doing and we're not. we can't let dictators gas babies, but the idea we go to were tomorrow, we do nothing, if congress says no, he should be leading us to other solutions, building a coalition. >> all right, so guess what? this is the prelude to more to

come. "crossfire" getting under waugh along with newt gingrich and stephanie cutter monday night. tune in and see more of the cross fire. thanks so much. appreciate it. i know you're excited about it and we are, too. coming up, 145 million years old and its proportions are out of this world. we'll show you where to find the largest volcano ever discovered. too big. too small. too soft. too tasty. [ both laugh ] [ male announcer ] introducing progresso's new creamy alfredo soup. inspired by perfection.

just by talking to a helmet. it grabbed the patient's record before we even picked him up. it found out the doctor we needed was at st. anne's. wiggle your toes. [ driver ] and it got his okay on treatment from miles away. it even pulled strings with the stoplights. my ambulance talks with smoke alarms and pilots and stadiums. but, of course, it's a good listener too. [ female announcer ] today cisco is connecting the internet of everything. so everything works like never before.

[ female announcer ] today cisco is connecting the internet of everything. [announcer] there's no hiding the beneful baked delights.from new heartfuls are made with real bacon... ...and oven-baked to crisp perfection. new heartfuls from beneful baked delights. and didn't know where to start. a contractor before 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. before you have any work done, check angie's list. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. i love you, angie. sorry, honey.

now look at the top stories trending. australia has a new leader. tony abbott. the incumbent kevin rudd, the official vote count is out, but polls show abbott win by a large majority. will the new prime minister support a strike in syria? and instead of looking up, you'll have to dive down. way down. to see one of the largest volcanos in the solar system firsthand. a team of scientists found it four miles underwater and say it's as big at new mexico. 125,000 square miles. the researchers announced the discovery in the current issue of nature geo science. and move over miley cyrus. this may be the worst twerking video of all time. viewed more than 4 million times

on youtube and you'll understand why. you're kidding. so, for the record, cnn has not verified this video. the woman posted that she is just fine. just a little embarrassed. >> straight ahead. he led the american military during the iraq war. donald rumsfeld weighs in on whether the u.s. should strike in syria and much more.

donald rumsfeld has been a strong critic of president obama's approach to syria, and on new day, chris cuomo asked rumsfeld for a reaction to the

president's statement that the world set that red line. >> well, it's a stunning comment. it conjures up the thought of the uncertain trumpet, or the trumpet that provides an uncertain sound. it's exactly the reason there is not a large coalition wanting to support the president. it's the reason that the congress is confused because he has spent so much time saying what he would not do and what it would not amount to that i think people are confused and the essence of leadership is clarity. and providing a vision. and he has not done that. and i think as a result, it's perfectly understandable that people in the congress are getting arrange to oppose what he's proposing because they find that it's uncertain and lacks clarity. >> don't you think a big obstacle, especially abroad, is the legacy of how we got

involved in the iraq war? the suspicion, that we had it wrong there, obviously and that we may be wrong again. don't you think that's a big probl problem? >> i pose it's part of the problem. if intelligence were a fact, it would be called a fact and not intelligence and i think when colin powell went before the united nations with george tennent, the drirector of intelligence, talked about the intelligence they had in great detail and then it turned out that stockpiles were not found. that people were cautious and began to recognize that intelligence is intelligence and not necessarily a fact. but i don't think that's what's going on here. i think what's going on here is almost any president in my adult life would have provided stronger leadership and greater clarity. and as a result, generated broader support in the international community and in the country and in the congress.

>> is it fair criticism to put it all on the president when as you know, the united kingdom and russia, they talk about not that the intelligence was wrong going into iraq, but manipulated and there was politics and spin that make them suspicious of the u.s. motives when they say they have proof? or is that just a fact? >> i think not. i've not heard people say that responsibly. if you'll recall, the congress look eed at the same intelligen and came to the same conclusions and there were democrats who supported it including very prominent democrats who enthusiastically supported it. president clinton signed a resolution supporting regime change in iraq and the united nations had 17 resolutions against saddam hussein, so i think that there may be people on the fringe who say the kind of thing you're saying, but i don't think anyone responsible has said anything like that. >> so, just to be clear, you

believe it's a fringe notion that the perception of how the u.s. handled intelligence getting into the iraq war, you think that's a fringe notion, that there's suspicion, concern and we had it wrong for the wrong reasons? >> you don't listen carefully. i didn't say that. i said there are people on the fringe who say what you said, but i conceded the fact that that experience unquestionably has affected some people's judgment and attitude and impressions during this situation. >> good. thank you for clarifying that. appreciate it, mr. rumsfeld. let's move on to something else. you know better than most the toll that military action can take on the country. we're still dealing with fallout in iraq, right? we all know that. given that, do you think it is the better course right now to use military action in these circumstances or would you advise the administration to think about going heavier on arming the rebel, letting them fight for themselves, heavier on humanitarian aid and wait in this situation? >> well, it seemed to me that the time to have helped the

rebels would have been a year or two before, before 100,000 people were killed and the effective it might have been greater. where we are today, my personal view is what he has proposed is not something that will have a sufficient effect that it's worth doing and i would, i would personally not be in favor of supporting what he's proposing. >> and that's an interesting per spec specktive in terms of what the effect will be. what about the notion of how do we get out? obviously, another part of the legacy of the iraq war. we haven't heard a lot about how we get out of this situation. do you have concerns that if the plan goes forward the way we're hearing it in the senate right now, that the u.s. may be too optimistic about how easy it will be to stop this type of action? >> oh, i don't know that i agree with that. i think that dean acheson said

that all the easy stigss are made down below and the tough decisions are always reflect and represent uncertain outcomes and war is the use of military force is a terrible thing. it does result in uncertain outcomes. you can't be certain because the enemy has a brain and adjusts and adapts and plans have to adjust with first contact with the enemy. you can't predict what's going to come. the question is, what's the right thing to do and absent resolute leadership it seems to me, the right thing to do is to not get engaged. >> all right, that interview on "new day." rumsfeld left the defense department in 2006 in a cloud of criticism that he mismanaged a iraq war. was syria's bashar al assad born to be a dictator? we'll take a look at his family roots and it is very revealing. ♪

you're not made of money, so don't overpay for boat insurance. geico, see how much you could save. [ crashing ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight,

fight back fast with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums! ingeniously uses radar to alert you to possible collision threats. and in certain situations it can apply the brakes. introducing the all-new 2014 chevrolet impala with available crash imminent braking. always looking forward. while watching your back. that's american ingenuity to find new roads. and recently the 2013 chevrolet impala received the j.d. power award for highest ranked large car in initial quality.

was bashar al assad raised to create a dynasty? those who study him say his father set him on the pfotenhauer of dictatorship from the type he was a young boy. brian todd chases the roots of the syrian leader. >> recognize the boy on the swing? it's bashar al assad. as he looked on, his father, many believed, envisioned a dynasty, but he likely wouldn't have imagined it taking the turn

it has. is this a dynasty and is is it crumbling right now? >> it's a mafia designty and it's definitely crumbling. >> experts say to understand what's happening in syria now, it helps to know about the strange regime built by the current dictator's late father. >> the most machiavellian leader in a region full of brutal dictators. >> from the poor background, he rose through the ranks of the syrian air force. the man thrived in the back rooms of syrian palace entry, where according to most accounts, betraying friends, killing and banishing enemies put you on the fast track. in syria, there were more than 20 successful and unsuccessful coups between 1949 and 1970 when he took power. he himself was involved in three of them through the '70s, '80s and '90s, he played the middle east power game like a fiddle, fighting and negotiating peace

with israel, while keeping america from being a full fledged enemy. that was the contradiction. he stayed in power by torturing and killing his enemies from within, by making friends with terrorist groups like hezbollah, but in 1991 and '91 when president bush needed to build a coalition against saddam hussein, look who was on his side. >> bush even got with syria's president assad. >> how did the dynasty unravel after his death in 2000? analysts say it was partly because they ruled so brutally as a minority over sunnis and bashar al assad's had other difficulties changing the old ways of his father. >> he stabilized syria through a closed system. people couldn't travel or communicate very well. international news was very limited. when bashar came into power, he

lifted the restrictions on travel, allowed people to read international newspapers and internet and it opened syrian's minds, but how do you control this system and basically perpetuate authoritarian and tie rannic rule. >> bashar al assad was apparently warned he couldn't do that. analysts say when he brought the internet into syria, it was against the advice of the security staff. they told him it would be dangerous, they'd have trouble controlling it. they were right. >> and of course, we have much more in the news room. more in the news room. it all starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com welcome to the third hour this afternoon. a look at our top stories. president obama is working the phones this weekend hoping to persuade members of congress they should vote yes on military action in syria. and a new twist in the bizarre death of a georgia teenager. a second autopsy