nation, a critically important address. we'll hear what the president has to say today. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. "newsroom" continues right now. wolf, thank you. thank you so much for being with e me. a major development. syria officially takes up russia's proposal to give up control of its chemical weapons stockpile. this is a move that offers a double edge to the united states' debate as to whether or not the u.s. should strike. you have here on the one hand there may not be a need for the u.s. to attack syria, period. on the other, well, that's the point the president's top staffers stressed today before the house armed services committee. they say if syria is going to hand over its stockpile to international control, the u.s. needs to keep the threat of a strike very real. >> a lot of people say nothing

focuses the mind like the prospect of a hanging. well, it's the credible threat of force that has been on the table for these last weeks that has for the first time brought this regime to even acknowledge that they have a chemical weapons arsenal. >> we must be very clear eyed and ensure it is not a stalling tactic by syria and its russian patrons. for this diplomatic option to have a chance of succeeding, the threat of a u.s. military action, the credible, real threat of u.s. military action, must continue. >> still, there is word that president obama is feeling less pressure to push for a strike as he's meeting with democrats and republicans today on capitol hill. here he was. and his address to the nation tonight will have a much different tone that was planned just two days ago. keep in mind, as wolf mentioned, cnn's special coverage begins at

7:00 p.m. eastern. joining me now, chief congressional correspondent dana bash and cnn international anchor. dana, let me begin with you in washington. you know, syria today, the headline is that it accepts this proposal from russia. less than 24 hours ago, senate majority leader harry reid postponed that vote for possible military intervention. in fact, let's listen in. >> any agreement must also ensure chemical weapons in the hands of syria must -- can be secured. and this can be done in an open process, even in the midst of the ongoing war. this is no classified information, but we know exactly where the chemical weapons are. any agreement must ensure that

syria is unable to transfer this poison to the hands of terrorists. hezbollah, for example. such intent would be met with a rapid response from this government, and it would be a robust response. i'm glad the administration's considering looking closely at what's taking play in the international community, russia, syria, france is involved. for russia, i hope this will mark a change away from confrontation and towards constructive engagement.

putin's saying, well, there's no proof they have chemical weapons, and i'm not sure. in fact, he said he didn't believe there had been a chemical attack. that might sell on state-run tv in russia but no place else. no one, no one discounts the fact or disbelieves that this attack took place, killing men, women, and children. so if something works out, that would be great. but as reagan said, trust but verify. so that's what we'll be doing as we move forward. >> does this resolution need to be tweaked at all to require more time for diplomacy and more time for the u.n. to act? >> we talked about that in the caucus. a number of senators expressed to the president that maybe it

does need some work on the caucus -- i mean, in the resolution before the caucus. i'm satisfied that's the right thing to do. i've spoken to senator mccain. democrats are working on this. i want to make sure -- and i think senator mccain understands this and others working with him, that anything that is done will go through menendez and corker, who have done an outstanding job of getting us where we are. >> let me pull back out and bring dana bash back in. it's important to provide the context. we showed the picture. we see you there standing by. we showed you the picture of the president on the hill today. we know that, in fact, senator reid just came out of lunching with the president. so as i was mentioning a moment ago, you know, he, being senator reid, hit pause on this vote. at the same time, you have the administration coming out today saying, we still need to have the pressure put on congress when it comes to a possible

strike. so which is it? where do things stand on the hill? >> reporter: what you're hearing from senator reid, and forgive me for keeping my voice down. he's right next to me. what you're hearing from senator reid is his description of the meeting that just happened moments ago, just ended moments ago with the president and the entire democratic caucus. excuse me. we have cords being tripped over here. the headline is that from my conversations with other democratic senators coming out and also what reid is saying is that the president made very clear that he wants to maintain what one senator called a credible threat. that in order to keep the pressure diplomatically going at the united nations specifically, that they need to understand that the united states congress and the president himself, the commander in chief, still very much maintain the option of a military strike if things don't move forward diplomatically. so what happens now, to answer your question. that's what senator reid was just referring to. what is happening now and has been happening all day, really,

are a series of discussions about tweaking the authorization resolution in order to deal with what's going on diplomatically. the gist of what a bipartisan group of senators are talking about is to say that, you know, to give a date certain for things to go forward at the u.n. and more specifically for syria to give up its chemical weapons to the international community. if not, then the threat of military action would still be there. >> and it sounds like we're getting some ground breaking news with regards to those chemical weapons. i was just getting information in my ear from my executive producer that senator reid says he knows where those chemical weapons are in syria. syria's reportedly ready to disclose the location of chemical weapons and halt production. this is huge. >> right. it's potentially huge. it's a question of whether or not what syria is saying will actually pan out on the ground. the organization that would be responsible for monitoring, for

moving, for monitoring and super vising the destruction of any of these chemical weapons is based in the netherlands. it would take a long time. it would require some cooperation from syrian officials. at the united nations, we're already hearing from the russian foreign ministry that a french proposal that would threatening force if syria did not comply with some of these demands was deemed unacceptable by russia. that's the diplomatic front. here's some breaking news. syria is saying, as quoted by the russian news agency interfax, that it is ready to disclose the location of its chemical weapons, to halt production, and show its facilities to representatives of russia, the united nations and other states that were not specified in this interfax news agency wire article. but of course, this is a verbal promise. this is not something that is going to be easy. as you know, brooke, this is a country at war. this means that any of these things that are hard enough in

times of peace will be made all that more complicated in the current situation. >> as you pointed out so perfectly, i mean, the skeptic in me also then wonders how realistic this is. as you point out, in the thick of things, in the midst of this bloody civil war, to have these weapons inspectors go to these places, 50, 60, 70 different locations where these chemical weapons are. then the next part comes to figure out if you keep them there. do you transfer that? how does that even work? >> those are all great questions. we don't have the answers to those because we're at the very beginning of a process that could take weeks if not months, if not longer. this is a country that has developed, according to many experts, these weapons for a very long period of time. they have them stocked across the country in locations, secure locations, and it's going to be very difficult. but diplomatically, i think it's also important to note we've

been talking now for 24 hours about a diplomatic solution. just about an hour ago, russia has already called a french proposal unacceptable. so it seems as though that track as well has stalled. how we're going to see the response to this verbal promise from syria as quoted by the russian news agency. but you said it. it's something complicated diplomatically and logistically on the ground in a country that's still at war. >> thank you very much for the breaking news. we're going to stay on this here because even with the lure of a possible diplomatic solution, it is hardly all roses between the obama administration and congress. i want you to witness this exchange today. this is between secretary kerry and a house republican who asked whether the house should pause on work on war legislation. >> should the house delay, or should the house move forward? >> i believe that the senate has made -- >> this is the house of representatives. >> i understand.

look, do you want to play politics it here or get a policy in place? the policy that can be put in place is to try to get this particular option of getting control of chemical weapons in place. now, if you want to undermine that, then play the politics. >> so, yes, there may be some politics here. donna brazil is here to talk about that. she's a democratic stat gist and cnn political commentator. so is kevin madden, a republican strategist. welcome to both of you. my goodness. this story continues to evolve, does it not? kevin, let me begin with you. if syria gives up its chemical weapons without a single shot fired, can president obama claim credit? >> well, look, i think it is way too early to be talking about claiming credit. it's way too early to even talk about whether or not syria can actually do this. your anchor before, holly, had

mentioned just the enormous challenges that there are to finding out about these chemical weapons, where they are, securing them, and then building the facilities that you'd need to either house them or destroy them. we're talking about 1,000 tons of chemical weapons. the practicality of all that is still very much in question. >> so the practicality, the realistic nature of this. i absolutely agree. at the same time, donna, i'm going to ask you the same question. can the president ultimately get credit for this if this happens? big if. >> well, i think everyone is breathing a sigh of relief right now because, of course, a week ago we were talking about striking syria. so it's too early for a victory lap. i don't think we want a victory lap. i think what the american people want to know is they want to hear a clear, concise reason why we must act if the united states at some point -- if the discussions or whatever fails, why we must act. i still believe there's an important task for the president tonight. god forbid, i hope his speech

writer is still writing right now because the american people are very uneasy about this whole mission, whatever it is at this point. and so i think the president has a very important task tonight to really lay it out, especially because it's continuing to unfold as we appear on the air. >> as you mentioned, of course they are writing and rewriting and rewriting, apparently. what specifically, though, donna, do you think they are rewriting right now? what part of the speech? >> well, let's start with the fact that, you know, the american people are opposed to this, this enterprise, because quite honestly, another war in the middle east, limited strikes, assad still in power, atrocities continue, this is the worst humanitarian crisis. what are they writing right now? the president still needs to make a credible case to the american people of why we must act, why the united states must continue to be sheriff when the

american people are saying it's time to withdraw and not be so involved in these regions of the world where people simply don't want us involved. >> and they don't fully understand it. let me show you this poll. 53% of the public say they are at least somewhat aware of the obama administration's policy towards syria. so that suggests to me, you know, that the public is paying some attention here. how much -- i know you don't want to talk as much politics, but i have to ask. will syria play a role in the 2012 midterms? 2014, excluse me. >> again, it's still too early to know. i think national security policy always plays a role in elections. the big problem right now is for the president and his political capital. there has been a tremendous degradation of the president's confidence level with the american public. they don't feel that he has a clear -- he's providing a clear direction on national security.

that is going to complicate things for folks up on capitol hill. more importantly, it's complicating his ability to get anything done right now. regardless of the current developments that we've seen today with the russian proposal and the french proposal, there is a wide consensus that the president and his team have bungled this from the very beginning. he has to use tonight's address to somehow change that direction and provide a little bit more, give the american people a little more confidence that he's got a clear vision and he's got an integrated strategy here that's going to help america's national security interests. >> but with the clear vision -- i saw the eye roll, donna. i'll let you explain that. also, at the same time, i'm wondering how much skepticism should be part of this speech tonight. >> oh, i would just hope mr. putin and the rest of them with a lond-handled spoon. i don't trust them.

very if verify, verify. 2 million syrians displaced. it's a humanitarian crisis. this is life and death. i know we throw politics into everything. i don't think the president gives a hoot about his poll numbers. he cares about these chemical weapons being put in the hands of the wrong people and being, you know, delivered to the wrong location. so he has every right to make this a serious crisis, and he had every right to tell congress they should debate it. i know they're uncomfortable debating and having a conversation. god forbid if they have to vote. but this is a very serious issue. i'm glad the president has given the congress and the american people some time to weigh in on it. >> donna brazil and kevin madden, thanks very much for both your perspectives. you both mentioned, of course, the big speech tonight. special cnn coverage of the president's primetime address begins tonight here on cnn at 7:00 eastern. you have erin burnett "out front," anderson cooper "360" and wolf blitzer will anchor this speech 7:00 p.m. eastern

here on cnn. coming up, a defector from the syrian regime today coming out and insisting this russian proposal will absolutely not stop bashar al assad from killing. you'll hear from him. plus, just a short time ago apple news. unveiling a new iphone. we're going to tell you about the surprises. as you can see, the colors. and police say a newlywed pushed her husband off a cliff. folks, they were married one week. it is a tragic story that has all of you talking. stay right here. the day we rescued riley was a truly amazing day.

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back to our breaking news. we have learned through this russian news agency that syria's now saying, okay, we will tell you where our stockpile of chemical weapons are. keep in mind, they have the largest stockpile of anyone in the middle east. again, we have to approach this with a heavy dose of skepticism considering the source is, a, russia, b, syria. they're good friends and have not playing very nice with the united states. let's go to our senior international correspondent arwa damon. when you hear this news, that

russia says this about syria, and at the same time, the notion of going in in the midst of a civil war and controlling these weapons, how realistic is that? >> reporter: well, it's going to be a formidable task. this is basically syria saying, look, i'm going to play nice. at least publicly. i will show you the facilities. i will let you try to contain the stockpiles. and i will halt production. it's been quite a remarkable turn of events over the last 24 hours. if we look at syria's position yesterday, it was a country that was facing possibly an imminent strike by u.s. forces. now all of the sudden the syrians and their key allies, the russians and the iranians, now effectively have the upper hand. this is why the syrian opposition is so devastated by all of these events. they believe that this russian proposal is going to just simply buy the assad regime even more time. it is a logistical nightmare. you have the issue of getting inspectors in, of actually reaching the sites, the

potential sites in the midst of a very ferocious civil war and then securing and eventually destroying these various chemical weapons stockpiles. now, we also heard today from a defector, the chief medical officer from the city of aleppo finally making it to turkey. he had been compiling research on an attack, a suspected chemical attack, that took place in the province of aleppo back in march. listen to how he described what people went through then. >> translator: all had problems in breathing, foaming, eyes were in shock. a number had blurred vision. members of the medical team, me, myself, we suffered from -- we were affected.

>> reporter: and brooke, that's just one description from one medical doctor. one doesn't really need to remind our viewers about those horrific images we saw emerging from the august 21st attack on the outskirts of damascus. the opposition will also say in the midst of all of this, look, you're talking about chemical weapons right now. we've had over 100,000 people killed using conventional weapons. the debate also needs to be about finding an end to this ever increasingly brutal civil war, brooke. >> right. that is not to say that by controlling these chemical weapons that the bloodshed will stop. arwa damon for us in neighboring lebanon. we'll stay on the syria story momentarily. we're going to look at some big news from apple this afternoon as they have announced its latest version of the iphone. what does this mean for you? what should you expect? we have all the latest buzz on the features and cool stuff including a fingerprint sensor. that's next.

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when apple plans an announcement, of course all eyes turn to california, hoping for

some of the excitement here that once meant the unveiling of ground-breaking products like the ipod, ipad, iphone. today's buzz surrounds a release of not just one phone, but two new iphone models. the iphone 5c is a cheaper version, comes in all kinds of colors and will begin at a mere $99. meanwhile, the iphone 5s, twice as fast as the previous generation. cnn's maggie late joins me from new york. i guess the colors are fun. tell me, really, what are they really offering here? >> reporter: yeah, you know, brooke, the colors are fun for the price tag. you're looking at a total game changer. we have to look at the 5s. there are some new things that are cool. i don't know if it will qualify as radical, but the two things are speed and security. they do matter, considering how much we use these phones for. it's going to be a heck of a lot

faster. it's got that fingerprint security touch i.d. that we had anticipated. as we know, crime surrounding stealing these iphones has been a big deal. they also have something called a motion chip now, an m-7 motion chip, which is going to enable a whole new batch of these health apps, fitness apps. we know how popular that is for those people who wear those bands. and the camera is going to be a lot better, again. that matters. people use cameras on their phones all the time. it's replacing regular. all those features together definitely for people who are increasingly unplugging and only using their smart phone. it's going to be great for those who are going to look to upgrade. this may convince them to go with apple again. this isn't something totally new, except when you think about the fact there's this new version, this cheaper version. >> okay. i'm sure that will appeal to some. i've been a victim. i'm a fan of the fingerprint. thank you, maggie. back to the breaking news out of syria. the regime will reportedly disclose the locations of its

chemical weapons but how the heck does that work? how do inspectors find and secure all these weapons in the midst of this civil war? chris can amanpour weighs in live, next. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] some things are designed to draw crowds. ♪ ♪ others are designed to leave them behind. ♪ the all-new 2014 lexus is.

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back to our breaking news. russia is reporting that syria is ready to disclose the location of its chemical weapons. again, this is a report from russia. we're awaiting some sort of official confirmation on that. let's go to capitol hill to senator ben carden, a member of the senate foreign relations committee. so senator, nice to see you, sir. welcome to the show. >> good to be with you. thank you. >> a lot happening. from what you are now hearing about this whole syria situation and what russia is saying syria

will explain where its chemical weapons are, does that report sound credible to meeting with the president. our objective is quite clear. we want to deter and basically degrade syria's ability to use chemical weapons in the future. if they turn these weapons over to the international community, we've achieved our objective. so i think the fact that the president's taken such a strong position, that there's a credible use of force here, that the international community and particularly russia and syria are looking much more seriously at the control of their weapons. whether it's a credible propoe sal or not, we'll have to wait and see. we need to make sure we have a way to hold it accountable, that's enforceable and timely, the control of their chemical weapons to the international. >> i understand you and hear you saying that the president, the administration wants you all to

help him keep the pressure on, but just as you mentioned, you just came out of that meeting. can you describe his tone, describe if there's any skepticism on the president's part? >> i think the president's realistic. we've heard commitments made in the past that have not been adhered to. we've seen the president of syria, president assad, make a lot of statements in the past that he didn't live up to. we've seen him turn on his own people. so obviously we're very suspicious. but we prefer to use diplomatic channels. i think we now have the attention of the international community. so we will explore this. we'll see whether it will work. but we will not let them use this as a way to delay an international response to make sure chemical weapons aren't used in the future. >> isn't that what this does, though, sir? delay, delay, delay. >> well, quite frankly, we'll see. the security council resolution could be passed in a matter of days. the transporting of chemical weapons can be done very, very

quickly. so we can judge whether this is proceeding in good faith or not. i think the president is committed to making sure that any agreement is credible and that there's accountability. >> did you get any kind of timeline from the president or the administration as far as how long we wait for diplomacy to happen and if not a vote happens? >> no, the only time-sensitive issue is that if syria were to try to use chemical weapons again, but absent that, i think the administration is confident that their options are not limited by time so that we can explore diplomacy without jeopardizing our mission. >> senator ben cardin, thank you so much. now that syria's prime minister says he supports russia's proposal for syria to hand over control of this chemical weapon arsenal, the question becomes, when, how? secretary kerry said earlier that the syrian regime, and i'm

quoting, has about 1,000 metric tons of numerous chemical agents. cnn's chief international correspondent christian amanpour joins us from new york. we have this new layer of the story in the last hour with the breaking news that syria's reportedly ready to tell the world or at least according to russia, here are or chemical weapons. how skeptical are you of that report? >> well, i think one has to really put it to the test. it's not about my skepticism. it's about whether this is actually going to work. it seems, though, these developments are coming fast and fur rous. this was attributed to the syrian foreign minister, who was the first one standing there at a press conference in moscow yesterday saying that he also backed russia's proposal to put chemical weapons under international control. remember, this also puts them on the record as admitting publicly that they actually have chemical weapons, which they never did

before. so i have just been speaking to the former british foreign secretary who's now head of the international rescue committee and deals with the humanitarian crisis and the refugees. he said knowing how these things work, knowing president putin and the g-20 summit, he believes that president obama probably convinced president putin that he was serious about using force. so this brings you right to the point of this sort of central plank in international diplomacy and that is diplomacy backed by the credible threat of force. i think everybody is beginning to now realize that if there is any movement on these chemical weapons and handing them over to some kind of international control, then it's because of the seriousness by which the international community, the united states was prepared to take action, limited action, but nonetheless action on syria. and i think everybody is now saying, certainly to me, that that threat cannot be lessened,

that pressure cannot be lightened. i spoke just now to congressman van hollen, a key obama ally, who broke a little news saying they're going to introduce a resolution that gives the president some 30 days grace once the resolution in congress is approved and presented if the president decides he wants to pursue a successful diplomatic route. then he'd be able to continue to do so. if not, then he would have -- if not, within a 30-day period, he could and would be authorized to use force. that's what his allies on capitol hill are trying to present so that he has some kind of backing from congress. >> that's news was just talking to the senator about, asking specifically about a timeline. next, logistically to you, christiane, how is it decided that if we find this credible, what then happens to the chemical weapons?

explain that process to me. would they stay in country? would they be guarded? would they be transferred? who keeps them? >> i have to have say, this is the most complicated part of it. i'm not an expert on that, but having listened to david kay, who's the american international weapons control expert, weapons investigator, having talked to a number of people, including fredrick hoff, who's a former obama administration official, it is a massive undertaking to try to do this, particularly in a hot war. there's a civil war going on inside syria. most people believe that absent a total sort of ak secceptance the syrian regime allowing people to come in, and not just inspectors, but inspectors who would need armed protection to got about their work, it's like sending in a little mini army to corral and find and confirm and secure these chemical weapons.

it's not a simple undertaking. that's a big issue. another thing that's not a simple undertaking is getting the legal authority from the u.n. on this. now, you know, the world seems to have said, yes, this is a good idea. france is right now trying to present a resolution that would call for this international inspection on syria's chemical weapons, but that would also be backed by a credible threat of force if it didn't happen. russia apparently is now going wobbly on that. will russia actually sign on to a resolution regarding its own proposal? we'll see. >> that's right. russia doesn't like that. christi christiane amanpour, thank you. do not miss our full coverage of the president's address. >> cnn tonight, will democratic senator joe mansion change his mind on syria? at 8:00 on "ac 360," what does the president hope to accomplish now with his speech? at 8:30, wolf blitzer joins

anderson to preview obama's address. at 9:00, watch the speech with live coverage by wolf blitzer. at 9:30, piers morgan and wolf bring you reaction to the speech in washington, around the nation, and the world. at 10:00 on "ac 360," anderson and the panel break down the night's key moments. special live coverage all on cnn tonight, starting at 7:00 eastern with "erin burnett out front." three weeks ago, more than 1,000 people were killed in syria, victims of this horrendous chemical attack. some survived, and some doctors who treated these victims are afraid to even talk about it. why? our doctor sanjay gupta has been talking with these doctors in lebanon. he'll join me live after this quick break. [ male announcer ] when you have sinus pressure and pain,

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you've seen it, the choking faces, the contorting bodies. you've seen these graphic images continue to come out of syria that show what we are all but certain of, this chemical attack that killed more than 1,000 people a couple weeks ago. as you see here, a lot of the victims are children and women. we are now hearing about the survivors of that attack who have been treated and are recovering from the effects of sarin gas. dr. sanjay gupta joins me next door to syria in beirut, lebanon. sanjay, you have been in contact with a lot of people. you've been talking to medical workers who say they treated these children, these victims. they don't really want to talk. what's worrying them? >> reporter: it's hard to say for sure, brooke. i think there's a lot of anxiety, a lot of nervousness, fear of retaliation. i'm not sure why. it doesn't make a lot of sense. they're fearful not only for themselves but also the hospitals where they work. so, you know, from a journalist's perspective, what happens in situations like this

is you're talking to your sources, getting this information, and then suddenly they go dark. you don't hear from them anymore. they're talking to you via skype, but you can no longer contact them. it's a fluid and app bit nerve racking situation, i think, for them. exactly what's driving it, brooke, it's hard to say. it's complex in many ways. >> what kind of drugs, sanjay, can be used to treat these people who were victims of this gas? >> reporter: well, you know, there are good anecdotes available for something like sarin, for example, but you have to have it available, obviously. you have to make sure you can administer it. you have to do it quickly. you may have seen this already, but most big hospitals, any hospital around the world, will have a medication like this. it's typically used as a cardiac or heart medication. it can also stop some of the most devastating effects of sarin.

sarin is a type of pesticide, actually. it works by sort of turning everything in your body on. your lungs start secreting fluids. your muscles start to convulse. ultimately your diaphragm goes into a state of convulsive activity as well. medication like this can quickly countermand a lot of those effects. again, you have to have it available and know you're treating someone who's been exposed to sarin. >> as a doctor and as a journalist and a dad, i know covering this and seeing this first hand is tough, but sanjay, we appreciate you and your crew for being there and talking to these victims and doctors. thank you so much. and coming up, this montana couple married for little more than a week had some sort of argument of all places at the top of a mountain, at the edge of a cliff. we're going to tell you what happened next and what happened to this wife afterwards. [ male announcer ] this is jim,

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xarelto® is not for patients with artificial heart valves. jim changed his routine. ask your doctor about xarelto®. once a day xarelto® means no regular blood monitoring -- no known dietary restrictions. for more information and savings options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. an argument at the edge of a cliff comes to a tragic end. now this newlywed wife, who's charged with the murder of her husband. have you heard of this story yet? authorities say this woman jordan lynn graham was arguing with her husband back in july at montana's glacier national park. they were hiking. the two apparently got into some kind of heated exchange. prosecutors say she pushed her husband face first off that cliff. his body was found days later. lynn berry joining me from hln

to talk about this. this is awful every way around, but to read the story and hear they got married eight days -- >> and you know what's so bizarre? she told a friend she was having second thoughts about the marriage. she actually texted her the night he died and said to her friend, in a text, oh, well, i'm about to talk to him. so the friend text her back and says, i'll pray for you guys. here's the kicker. she writes back, but dead serious, if you don't hear from me at all again tonight, something happened. police say something did happen on that cliff. apparently they got into some sort of an argument. she admitted eventually to police he grabbed her arm. she swatted it away. instead of turning away in anger and walking off, she pushed his back face first off a cliff. >> so this happens one day. it took, what, four days for her or her whole story to come clean. >> actually, she didn't even report him missing. the day after this all apparently happened, police say it was his employer that called and said we don't know, he didn't show up for work.

so police go and talk to ms. graham. she said she had a text message from her husband that he was going out with a friend from out of town. she said she deleted that messa message. police are saying it never happens. days ensue. it becomes more and more suspicious. she leads park rangers to an area where she has found the body. she said it's a place he wanted to see before he died. eventually, in a second police interview, she admits to the argument and pushing him off a cliff. she now faces second-degree murder. she could face life in prison. >> now instead of being a happy newlywed, she's in jail. lynn berry, thank you very much. i so appreciate it. want to take you back to our breaking news out of syria. we're just now learning not only is the regime, according to this russian report, ready to disclose the locations of its chemical weapons, we're now getting word that syria is ready

to sign the international ban on these weapons, but again, skepticism. should the world be skeptical from this? this is a huge development. that's next.

back to our breaking news on syria. in the last hour, these two different developments we've learned regarding whether the u.s. will strike syria.

the first comes from the meeting president obama had with lawmakers when he visited capitol hill today. he's asking for senators to delay a vote to authorize a strike to give the latest diplomatic option a chance. we have also learned now that reportedly syria is ready to sign the chemical weapons convention that basically is this international treaty that bans the use, the stockpiling, and the production of chemical weapons. elise has the latest on that report. who are you hearing this from? >> well, basically, brooke, we're hearing that, you know, now the administration is talking with all of the allies about moving this towards the u.n. security council. there are meetings at the security council now about working towards this chapter 7 resolution, which basically puts the russians and the syrians on the hook to declare all these chemical weapons and authorizes the use of force if it doesn't.

the question now is, the administration is saying that this credible threat of the use of force was really what brought us to this point, which made the russians ask this proposal to go to the united nations. if the president delays this vote, asks congress to delay the vote, is this threat of force now still there in the air and will it get the russians and the syrians to move as quickly? >> we want to get reaction to this news from capitol hill and from the united nations. we have correspondents standing by. that's next. i'm beth... and i'm michelle. and we own the paper cottage. it's a stationery and gifts store. anything we purchase for the paper cottage goes on our ink card. so you can manage your business expenses and access them online instantly with the game changing app from ink. we didn't get into business to spend time managing receipts, that's why we have ink. we like being in business because we like being creative, we like interacting with people. so you have time to focus on the things you love. ink from chase. so you can.

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top of the hour. i'm brooke baldwin. huge breaking developments regarding whether the u.s. will strike syria. first comes from the meeting president obama has just had with lawmakers as he was on capitol hill today. live pictures, here he is walking through the halls on capitol hill. he's talking to a lot of folks. he is asking, essentially, the senators to delay a vote to authorize a strike to give the latest diplomatic option this chance. that option leads us to the second headline here. this comes from this russian news service agency interfax. it reports that syria is ready to reveal the location of its chemical weapons. keep in mind bashar al assad has thus denied even having them. that's knew. also, agreed to halt production and show their facilities to representatives of russia and the united nations. still, the president's top

officials insist syria's agreement to hand over control of its massive stockpile of these weapons is even more reason to keep the threat of u.s. force real. they spoke to the house armed services committee earlier. >> a lot of people say that nothing focuses the mind like the prospect of a hanging. well, it's the credible threat of force that has been on the table for these last weeks that has for the first time brought this regime to even acknowledge that they have a chemical weapons arsenal. >> we must be very clear eyed and ensure it is not a stalling tactic by syria and its russian patrons. and for this diplomatic option to have a chance at succeeding, the threat of a u.s. military action, the credible, real threat of u.s. military action must continue. >> joining me now, chief

congressional correspondent dana bash and our senior international correspondent nick peyton walsh. dana, i have seen your flurry of e-mails. there are a lot of moving parts on this story. what else do you know about the president wanting to delay the vote? >> well, i should tell you that he did just leave his second and final meeting here at the capitol. he met in total with pretty much all the senators, democrats first and then republicans. the gist of his message, i'm told by several democratic senators in the first lunch, was give me more time. that effectively means delay this vote. we should say that that's already been happening. that already was done, and we reported that yesterday, by the senate majority leader in consultation with the president. still, the fact that the president made clear he wants to give this diplomatic move more time is certainly noteworthy. the other thing i'm told by several senators who were in that room and other sources in the room, the president in the same breath said don't pull that

rug out from under me, meaning keep the threat of military action alive, because that's the only way we're going to push forward on any diplomatic action. effec effectively what that means is there's a pause button here. but let's give you a reality check. the votes aren't there at this point for military action. you've seen more and more senators come out throughout even today leading up to tonight's speech by the president, even some of the most loyal democrats. that is the reality he's up against. he's up against the fact congress probably wouldn't authorize it. it's easier for him to say hit the pause button because nobody's in a rush to take a vote. >> with all of that, i'm so mindful of these presidential speech writers who are writing and erasing based upon all these moving parts today. i'm just curious, with with the lawmakers you talked to on both sides of the aisle, did they get any kind of detail or even just the tone from the president as

far as the message he's going to drive home tonight? >> some senators said his tone, at least in these private meetings, was somber. another source e-mailed me who was in the room saying this whole thing clearly weighs on him. it just seems to me that is the kind of message he's going to put forward this evening. you're right, there's no question the speech writers are probably redoing things big time. my sense is also that big picture, his message to the senators is probably not going to be much different to what he is going to say tonight, which is still the moral cause, this needs to be dealt with. if we can do it diplomatically, great, but we need to make sure what is happening is real and that from his perspective the only reason things might be moving diplomatically is because of the threat of force here. >> okay. nick, to you with the united nations. we have these two huge bit of news today. according to this russian news

agency, syria will announce where their chemical weapons are. and they would sign this chemical weapons convention, this treaty banning the use, the production, the stockpiling of chemical weapons. again, i use this word skeptical. should the world not be skeptical when it comes to this news? >> well, certainly. we have yet to hear it directly from them. it would sound like they're going to adhere to the rules of the organization, which is pretty much what everyone here has been trying to push them towards. it's been a very complex day here at the u.n. it started out with with the french pushing their version of the resolution and meeting with members of the security council. that contained a lot of things the regime wasn't going to like, like an open condemnation of the regime for the attacks. also, the threat of, quote, serious consequences, if syria didn't move fast enough to give

its chemical weapons over to international control. it's got really confusing today. the russians called at 4:00 today an emergency consultation with the u.n. security council. most people thinking that was to discuss their version of a text for a resolution. according to u.n. diplomats, they've canceled that meeting. no signs it's coming again. what we may be seeing here, if this is not sustained brinksmanship and russian chess, what we may be seeing is the russians thinking, well, we didn't like the french resolution, we don't like the threats implicit in the west, so let's just go ahead unilaterally and get the syrians to say they'll surrender their chemical weapons, to join these various international treaties can and perhaps there's a win/win and we haven't got the threat of force hanging over them if it doesn't go at the speed the west would like. >> nick peyton walsh, thank you very much. i want to go back to washington and turn to a member of congress. here he s tom rooney, a republican from florida. he serves on the house

intelligence committee. congressman, great to see you. thank you so much for joining me. if i may, i just want to get you out of the gate on the record commenting on this breaking news here out of russia that syria says it is ready to disclose its chemical weapons sites and apparently sign this ban of chemical weapons. >> yeah, you know, obviously anything that keeps us from sending potential lly our men a women into a third war in the middle east, even though secretary kerry says that's not the plan, i fear as a former military officer and somebody who sits on these committees, like intelligence and been on armed services, that once you do that, the retaliation is going to be such that it will become an international event very quickly, whether it's israel, jordan, or turkey, that it will turn into a third major war in the middle east. so anything like this that obviously we have to verify,

obviously we have to get by in from the u.n. and people can verify that what they're saying they're going to do is really going to happen. i think it should be explored. >> i'm also curious, as you mentioned, as a former military officer, are you talking to any of our great men and women, servicemen and women about, you know, the possibility -- again, we're hearing from the administration, you know, that they may be hitting pause on a vote but still the administration wants the pressure on the possibility of a strike could still be viable. what are your colleagues telling you? >> you know, you're the first person to ask me that question. i've given about 100 interviews on this issue. to answer your question, yes, i personally e-mailed or texted probably about 50 of my friends that are still wearing the uniform just to sort of see, like, hey, guys, i'm not going to give your names or say what your thoughts are, but how do you feel about this? it was literally 50-0. nobody wants to engage in this civil war in syria. certainly if it went outside the

borders, that would be a different story with, you know, our allies being involved if that ever came to be. strictly within the borders of syria, sunni/shia civil war is not something any of them want. now they're getting to be colonels and the likes. i thought it was very telling. i'm glad you asked me that question. >> all right. thank you. i thought it was pertinent to your position. let me sort of also ask this. i know you have not met with the president. he was meeting with senators on both sides of the aisle today, just left that second meeting. if you had the president in front of you and if you are skeptical, what would your number one question be to him? >> again, he said in an interview yesterday in one of his many interviews that there's not a direct imminent threat to the united states. he said that. you know, he has said, and secretary kerry said that this is in our national interests. i'm having a difficult time divorcing the two. it's not a direct imminent

threat, but it is a national security interest. those two things are too far apart for me to reconcile where with kerry and the president they seem to be one in the same. i think what he has to do tonight, and i think what he has to do with people like me -- i wish he would have come and talked to it the house today, by the way -- is to say, look, this is not only in our national security interest, but it gets to an imminent threat to the united states by connecting this dot to this dot, so now you can see why it's so important. he hasn't done that for me. >> congressman tom rooney, thank you so much for joining me from the hill. i appreciate it. we'll all be watching the president tonight. appreciate you. cnn's special coverage of the president's primetime address begins tonight at 7:00 eastern starting with erin burnett "outfront" and anderson cooper followed by wolf blitzer. he'll be the one anchoring the president's speech. so tune in at 7:00 eastern here on cnn. when it comes to this plan, is russia bluffing?

is this a stall tactic? we're going to talk to a former cia officer who says this is an attempt to keep bashar al assad in power. much more on our breaking news this afternoon as the world gets ready to hear directly from the president of the united states.

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syria reportedly says it's ready to disclose the location of its chemical weapons, ready to stop production and show facilities to russia, united nations representatives. this is according to interfax, a russian news agency, news that's just breaking this hour. now all this comes after syria accepted russia's proposal for assad's regime to place its chemical weapons under international control. the obama administration says it is willing to listen to the russian proposal but has no desire to have this thing dragged out. here is secretary of state john kerry from today. >> assad's chief benefactor, the

russians, have responded by saying that they would come up with a proposal to do exactly that, and we have made it clear to them, i have in several conversations with foreign minister lavrov, that this cannot be a process of delay, this cannot be a process of avoidance, it has to be real, has to be measurable, tangible, and it is exceedingly difficult, i want everybody here to know, to fulfill those conditions. but we're waiting for that proposal. but we're not waiting for long. >> i want to talk about russia's role in all of this with art keller. he's a former cia officer and terrorism analyst. art, welcome. you're the expert. you know all about putin, the man, the leader. what's the likelihood with all of the news today that russia's bluffing? >> well, i think it is -- in some respects, it's a genuine proposal in that they've been

looking for some way to put the brakes on any proposed u.s. action. i don't think vladimir putin has been particularly happy about the fact that, you know, they've been saying there will be repercussions for u.s. action and we have basically been ignoring them. so, you know, they immediately seized on this proposal as a way to kind of become a power broker and another player in the game again. >> when i think russia and russia/u.s. relations most recently, i think ed snowden. we have this wanted man in the united states. here russia and putin say, you can hang here for a while in russia. give me another example of the u.s. saying one thing and russia doing the other. >> well, the list is fairly endless. there's a reason why president obama declined to meet with vladimir putin at the g-20 summit, because there was so little that can be agreed between the u.s. and russia anymore. something that i've been

covering recently was one of the biggest hacking scandals in the world, hackers who stole tens of millions of dollars. the russian police would not cooperate with helping the fbi and others arrest the hackers. so we just kind of have gotten used to russia doing its best to foil u.s. foreign policy at every turn. >> you were, circumstancsir, wi survey group back in 2003 designed to track down, at the time, weapons of mass destruction. suppose the united states ever, you know, agrees to this proposal from syria in surrendering these chemical weapons. we know it won't be easy. you're the expert on this as well. how would that even happen, practically? >> well, the devil is really in the details when it comes to doing arms inspections and policing and getting rid of

something as dangerous as this. in the u.s.' own history, it took decades to get rid of our stockpile of lethal agents. that wasn't in the midst of a civil war. our history of trying to do arms inspections under hostile conditions is very, very tricky. the devil in the details in particular is would the syrians grant access to international inspectors to talk to all of their military personnel, all their scientists to help verify a complete inventory has been obtained. you know, that was one of the problems the first go around at the first gulf war. saddam more or less said to his scientists, you know, anyone who shares the real details, you know, that's it for you. so bashar al assad still has power. he can still do that threat implicitly. >> right. your point being bashar al assad may say one thing but tell his

scientists, hey, chemical weapons over there and over there, don't tell them about it. who knows if the world really wants to take syria and assad at his word. finally, if and when this process begins, what's in it long term for russia and for putin? >> well, you know, he's been seeking to revive russia's image as a world power. so any time you can participate in making that kind of thing happen, that counts as a plus in their column. they haven't really been instrumental in making too many large agreements happen. their influence on, for instance, north korea has been so marginal, they haven't really done anything in terms of helping the u.s. and regional allies deal with north korea. so i think they're just looking to revive their status as a great power. if they can make this happen and it doesn't fall apart into something that just can't be

executed because of the complexity of the details that we've talked about, then that will count as a win for russia. >> art keller, thank you very much. coming up, a defector out of the syrian regime out today insisting this russian proposal will not stop bashar al assad from killing. you will hear from him.

breaking news here on syria as we have learned that according to this russian news agency, this interfax news agency, that syria, a, has agreed to essentially tell the world where its massive chemical weapons stockpile is, and, b, they would be willing to sign the chemical weapons convention. that's the trey banning the use, the stockpile, the production of chemical weapons. let's to cnn's arwa damon, who's covering this story. on top of the breaking news we're learning today, we've also heard from this detector coming out and saying despite all of that, that doesn't mean assad will stop his killing. >> reporter: and that's been exactly what we've been hearing, brooke, from just about all

members of the opposition, saying it's one thing to be talking about the regime giving up its stockpiles of chemical weapons with, if, in fact, it does fully comply and allow full access and all the other challenges that come with even trying to recover one of the world's largest chemical stockpiles in the world in the middle of a fierce battle zone. you also have the reality that syrians have been dealing with for the last 2 1/2 years, and that is the 100,000-plus people, including children, who have been killed using chemical weapons. now, this particular defector, we've been waiting for him to show up in turkey for a few days now, actually. he is the former chief medical officer in aleppo. he had been compiling intelligence, medical analysis. he said on an alleged chemical attack that took place in that province back in march. this is also one of the areas the u.n. inspections team was supposed to be visiting when they were in syria back in august. listen to how he described that

attack back in march. >> translator: all had problems in breathing, foaming. eyes were in shock. a number had blurred vision. members of the medical team, me, myself, we suffered from -- we were affected. >> reporter: you have that testimony, brooke. you have the numerous testimonies and those absolutely heart wrenching videos that emerged from syria following that august 21st alleged chemical attack. let's also not forget the videos that we continuously see every single day of the killing and the suffering of the syrian people. >> arwa damon for us in neighboring lebanon. thank you very much. coming up here, as the situation and all these moving parts and pieces in syria continue to percolate today and change, the president's speech writers must be in scramble mode before tonight's address. we'll take a look at the

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breaking news here out of seav syria, specifically from this russian news agency. syria is saying, okay, world, we'll let you know where our chemical weapons stockpiles are

located. until this, bashar al assad has denied even having these chemical weapons. according to this report, they've reportedly agreed to sign this chemical weapons convention, basically banning all use, production, stockpiling of chemical weapons. and we heard from capitol hill as the president has just left his second meeting with members of congress, specifically senators. here's the video from a short time ago. the president meeting with both republicans and democrats, special essentially saying to them, we're going to give diplomacy a chance. we're going to delay the vote on a possible u.s. strike and just wait and see if diplomacy can actually happen. let's go to the white house to jim acosta, our senior white house correspondent. jim, this all started, what was it, yesterday morning in london with this, you know, so-called goof from this official from john kerry. but there was apparently so much more going on behind the scenes. >> reporter: that's right. not so goofy anymore, brooke. as it turns out, u.s. and russian officials, according to a senior administration

official, have been talking about this for months, that this is something presidents obama and putin have been talking about, that both leaders appointed their diplomatic point persons to deal with this. john kerry for the u.s. sergei lavrov for the russians. those two diplomatic leaders have been talking about this for several weeks. it came up again at the g-20. according to a senior administration official, when john kerry was asked this question yesterday, brooke, he answered the question honestly and basically said, yeah, if assad wants to giveup his weapons, we'll wait and see. as soon as that comment was made, i'm told by senior administration official, kerry had a prearranged phone call with lavrov that was supposed to take place. he gets on the phone with lavrov. lavrov says those are interesting comments. kerry says, come back to us with something credible. hours later, the russians come back with that proposal. this was then batted back and forth between the white house and state department and basically the white house decided to go ahead and give

this a chance. now to flash forward to today, what we're hearing from administration officials, is that this is going to back the president's speech to the nation tonight. he is going to be talking about giving diplomacy a chance. apparently he was just on capitol hill in the last couple of hours. our dana bash has been saying that he basically is calling for a delay in a vote to authorize military force. that's something we were hearing earlier in the day, that the pressure is really now off of that kind of vote because they have to take this next step here and let the diplomatic course, you know, basically play itself out and see what happens after that. so a fascinating 24 hours. as one senior administration official pout it to me, this is diplomacy in realtime as you're watching it unfold, brooke. >> unfolding here through the news cycle. jim acosta, thank you so much for getting everyone caught up. let me bring in two more voices, chief political analyst gloria borger.

gloria, talk about diplomacy in realtime. think of those speech writers for the president. what specifically do you think, given everything that's happened in the last 24 hours, do you think they're rewriting for him today? >> well, i think they're trying to make this very focused and clear. look, the president's trying to thread the needle here. he's got to say, look, give diplomacy a chance, but back it up with threat of the use of force. now t they're putting off this vote, as jim says. i spoke with a senior administration official who called it a pause, if you will. and they're putting it off to see what happens in the u.n. security council and to adjust a vote accordingly, but also a little reality check here, brooke. they're putting it off because they continue don't have the von the congress. so it works for them in a lot of ways, to put this vote off. the president has to clarify to the american public what exactly

has occurred here and what he's trying to do. over the last 2, 2 1/2 weeks, it's been kind of confusing. >> julian, similar question to you. what do you think is the message, what do you think is specifically the rewriting for this massive speech tonight? >> well, i think it shifted from a speech about the need for military force to the possibility of peace and specifically what reagan used to talk about, peace through strength, meaning that ultimately the threat of military force is what compels adversaries like syria to come to the table. but he has to address the question of why trust the regime who he has spoken very badly about, and what are the grounds for knowing whether syria's actually following through. >> and how does he do that, gloria? according to administration officials, you know, the president has been talking to putin about the chemical weapons that have been in syria. but listen, we all know what their relationship has been

like. i'm curious how he addresses the tone and skepticism. >> well, he has to sort of deal with it head on. he has to make it very clear what we would want from the security council, what kind of benchmarks, what kind of timetable, what kind of verification we would want. americans recall searching for weapons of mass destruction in iraq, and nobody wants to go through that all over again. there are lots of questions about how we could verify where their weapons are, whether they've been moving them around, whether the satellite images are, in fact, accurate now given the fact they've had so much time to move things around. so the president has to lay out a plan for the american people. he has to say, give peace a chance. let diplomacy work, but back it up by force because that's the only reason we got to this point in time. >> you know something, julian, i had thought about with a producer of mine was had the

president not gone to congress in the first place, theoretically the u.s. could be striking syria as we speak. so yesterday, despite, you know, maybe some of the messiness in the message, is it possible that the president really could come out the winner here? >> well, he could. obviously the president would prefer not to use military force at this point because public opposition is so strong and it was unclear what the united states was even going to do, what its objectives were. so a delay does work in his favor. now it puts it in some ways back to syria rather than on obama. everyone's watching, what will syria do? what will putin do? not how is obama going to handle this. there's a lot of dangers. if this goes poorly, it could look like the president was stumbling and look like this whole foreign policy venture was messily handled. i think the president remains very worried about what happens in the next few days, both strategically and politically.

>> julian and gloria, thank you both very much. do not miss tonight. of course, our full coverage here on cnn of president obama's primetime address. here's what's coming up. >> cnn tonight, at 7:00 on erin burnett, after meeting the president, will democratic senator joe mansion change his mind on syria? at 8:00 on "ac 360," after russia's syria offer, what does the president hope to accomplish now with his speech? at 8:30, wolf blitzer joins anderson to preview the president's address. get reaction to the speech from washington, the nation, and around the world. anderson an the panel break down the night's key moments. special live converage all on cn tonight starting at 7:00 eastern with erin burnett "out front." ahead here, a crime so brazen witnesses still can't

believe what they saw and heard. >> the next white person that walks by, i'm going to [ bleep ]. >> that was just the beginning of this vicious attack. the tragic details, next. ?hña @8@x

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a black man in new york was arrested after allegedly attacking a white man, and now the suspect may face hate crime charges. the man he's accused of punching is dead after he slipped into a coma and went brain dead last week. cnn cease susan candiotti is following this out of new york. susan, what happened? >> brooke, this beating death an apparent random attack is so awful, taking place in the middle of a very busy square in new york, right in the middle of the day. now a grand jury is deciding whether it's a hate crime.

witnesses say jeffrey babbott was minding his own business in new york's busy union square last wednesday when in broad daylight someone decked him. was it because of the color of his skin? >> he said, the next white person that walks by, i'm going to [ bleep ]. his fist went and the man's head bobbed. he hit the ground, and you could hear his skull hitting the ground. >> authorities say babbott was hit so hard he never regained consciousness. when bystanders trying to help, the suspect allegedly attacked them too. >> he stood back there and hit two more people and asked for the police to come. >> the suspect lesean martin is the target of a grand jury, deciding whether to charge him with a hate crime. neighbors of babbott are devastated. >> he's too young to die. >> at age 62, babbott was known for lending a hand to fin who needed it. most of all, caring for his

96-year-old mother lucille, who refused to budge from her son's hospital bed sine. >> i said, lou, come home. she said, i'm not leaving my son. >> neighbors now promise to watch over her as police zero in on the suspect's motives. >> susan, what do we know about the suspect here? >> well, brooke, first of all, he appeared in court today and got a new lawyer. i did speak with him. he doesn't know much because he hasn't had a chance to talk with his client yet. he tells me martin has not yet received a psychiatric evaluation. as for now, he has no reason to ask for one. as for a hate crime investigation, the lawyer says he only knows about his client's alleged comment to punch a white person. martin has prior arrests but for assault, harassment, and drugs. we'll have to see what the grand jury does. >> susan candiotti, thank you. just ahead, a big announcement from apple today as it unveils not just one but two new iphones. what the company isn't saying has some investors worried about

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when you hear about these apple announcements, you think, this is really just the worst-kept secret in the tech industry. today, no different. apple has unveiled these two new iphone models. they have new iphone colors and cases, voila. you're looking at one of them here. it's got this new operating system, a new feature that uses a fingerprint scanner for security. cnn's dan simon is in cupertino, california, where that big announcement was made. dan, give me the dirt. how are these new phones? >> reporter: well, brooke, first of all, you know, tim cook has said in the past the company was

going to be doubling down on secrecy. hasn't quite worked out. we knew exactly what was going to be announced. we have two new iphone models. the 5c and the 5s. let's talk about the 5c. this is like the current iphone 5 that's on sale, but it comes in a plastic housing. that makes the phone cheaper. it also comes in five different colors. the real thing to know about this is that it is cheaper and the company hopes that it will appeal to emerging smart phone markets like china, like india, like south america. now you have the iphone 5s. this is the high-end model. faster processer, better camera. for the first time, brooke, you talked about it, it's got this fingerprint feature where you can use it to unlock your iphone or pay for itunes purchases. let's see how that feature works. take a look. >> the team has worked so hard on a brand new technology to make this easy and fun to do. it's called touch i.d.

touch i.d. uses a key you have with you everywhere you go, your finger. more specifically, your fingerprint, which is unique to each of us. it reads your fingerprint at an incredibly detailed level. that's because of a brand new sensor called the touch i.d. sensor. >> reporter: i got to play with the touch i.d. sensor for a little bit. seems to work reasonably well. this was not, though, brooke, a big leap forward in terms of innovation, but it was an important step for the company, particularly with the iphone 5c, to try to make end roads globally, not necessarily in the united states, but globally to try to get their market share up. they've been getting crushed by the google android operating system, which now has 90% market share worldwide. brooke? >> yeah, so i guess that's part of the reason why those investors are still a little nervous. dan simon, thank you very much. coming up, the man who confessed in that online video to killing

a man in a drunk driving accident. here he is. he was in court today, and the judge, not happy. >> now, this court does not hold these proceedings unless it's what i just explained. sorry you all came. >> that was just the beginning. wait until you see what happened. that's next. on tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen,

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today, the man who confessed online to killing someone while driving drunk was in court, but he has yet to plead guilty as he said he would. matthew cordle faces aggravated vehicular homicide charges and the court expected him to plead guilty and to be sentenced today. but when that didn't happen, the judge was furious. >> now, this court does not hold these proceedings unless it's what i just explained, information that someone is going to plead guilty. so i want you to know that this case is continued until tomorrow, when mr. cordle will be arraigned in the regular arraignment court tomorrow. so i'm sorry you all came.

>> cordle took responsibility for the crime in this confession video that was online, absolutely went viral, got more than a million hits. here's the man cordle admitted to killing. cnn's pamela brown is outside that courthouse in columbus, ohio. pamela, so there was the curveball today in this courtroom. what's the story? will he plead guilty or not? >> reporter: it was a curveball, brooke. that's a good way to sum it up. essentially, had he pleaded guilty today, everything would have gone as planned and the judge, judge lynch, would have been his sentencing judge at a later date. however, that didn't happen. in fact, the judge said she was blindsided today, essentially as we heard her say in that sound bite there, arraignment is where a defendant enters a not guilty plea, only happens on monday, wednesday and friday in this court. she thought, though, that matthew cordle would enter a guilty plea today. his attorneys, however, had a different plan. they wanted him to enter a not

guilty plea today so that another judge could perhaps be randomly selected for him, which is usually standard operating procedure with these arraignment type of cases. however, the judge said look, even though matthew cordle's case has garnered all this attention with that youtube confession, already has more than a million views, this is not a special matter. don't make a special matter out of something that's not. he does not deserve any special exception here. however, his defense attorney said after that they wanted to expedite the process. that's why they asked to have the arraignment today rather than tomorrow, and they said in fact, that this all comes down to the victim's family. this is what's best for the victim's family. in fact, they say matthew cordle wants to meet with the victim's family in person and apologize. here's what he had to say. >> i know matt would look forward to an opportunity to sit down one-on-one without any attorneys present, any prosecutors present, any media present, and speak with the family and apologize to them. he understands that they're going to be mad at him.

matt under stands he deserves to be punpunished. none of that uf is it is up for debate but i think he would appreciate an opportunity to tell them personally outside of a courtroom how he feels about the whole situation because i know he's still riddled with guilt. >> now, brooke, i did ask his attorneys would they have handled the situation differently had matthew cordle not garnered all of this media attention, and his attorneys did concede that yes, perhaps this would have been handled a little differently, perhaps he would have gone through the ordinary arraignment process tomorrow rather than asking for the special exception today. he will be here tomorrow, he is expected to enter that not guilty plea. a judge will be randomly selected for him and at a later date, his attorneys say he will enter a guilty plea to those two charges that he's facing. back to you. >> we will follow up and see what happens tomorrow. pamela brown, thank you very much. we appreciate you. coming up, we're staying on breaking news out of syria. moments ago, russian president

vladimir putin weighing in on this quote, unquote breakthrough offer for syria to put its chemical weapons under international control. hear what putin has just said about the u.s.

here we go. russian leader vladimir putin now weighing in on this possible deal on the table with syria. here he is.

>> translator: of course, all this will only mean anything if the united states and other nations supporting it tell us that they're giving up their plan to use force against syria. you can't really ask syria or any other country to disarm unilaterally while military action against it is being contemplated. >> jake tapper on "the lead" going to be all over this in 60 seconds. first, here is a look at what's going on tonight on cnn. >> cnn tonight, as 7:00 on erin burnett, after meeting the president, will democratic senator joe manchin change his mind on syria. at 8:00 on "360" after russia's syria offer, what does the president hope to accomplish with his speech. at 8:30, wolf blitzer joins anderson to preview obama's address. at 9:00, watch the speech with live coverage by wolf blitzer. at 9:30, piers morgan and wolf bring you reaction to the speech in washington, around the nation and the world. at 10:00 on "ac 360" later, anderson and the panel break down the night's key moments. special live coverage all on cnn tonight starting at 7:00 eastern with "outfront."

>> thank you so much for being with me on this incredibly busy news day. let's go to washington. "the lead" starts right now. you get the feeling that the president's speech writers must be on like draft number 400? i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead, it was on, now it's off. an emergency meeting of the united nations security council to debate this 11th hour proposal that could avoid a u.s. strike on syria. why did they cancel that meeting? the national lead. in a matter of hours, president obama will take the podium, stare into the camera and ask the american people for -- for something. it was going to be a case for attacking syria but now the message is not so clear. and the money lead. it's that time of year again when apple announces that you no longer have the hottest phone on the market. not one, but two new iphones coming soon to make whatever you ha f