we're talking about the immortal jellyfish. they have a remarkable ability to go from child to adult to child. they can live forever. on our broadcast tonight, what now? first the u.s. was poised to attack, now that's on hold. will diplomacy really work? and is there really any way to control those weapons in syria. and a surprise at the vatican. is this the start of a big shift for the catholic church. and dead calm. is it going to stay that way. and making waves, diana nyad who faces her critics. and a night we will always remember for how it changed everything. nightly news begins now. from nbc news world

headquarters in new york, this is nbc nightly news with brian williams. the next moving pieces on syria appear to be in place tonight. and the story changed again today after the american people witnessed a rare event last night, a prime time address to the nation by the president that wasn't what he intended to say originally. it was originally designed to make his case to attack syria for using chemical weapons, but that's on hold. so's the vote in congress. now we see if diplomacy works. the question tonight is how to possibly secure the weapons. prior to departing with kerry for the diplomatic talks in geneva, andrea mitchell starts off tonight. >> reporter: tough words from the president. >> let me make something can clear. the united states military doesn't do pinpricks.

>> reporter: but no call for action. >> i have therefore asked the leaders of congress to postpone a vote to authorize a use of force bhiel we pursue this diplomatic path. >> reporter: the diplomatic path? putin's plan to put weapons under control and destroy them. can it work? the syrian arsenal is scattered. this satellite photo shows a suspected depot, bunkers ring the periphery. >> it is a very bitter, difficult civil war is happening, and to do this sort of thing of destroying chemical weapons in place is going to difficult. >> reporter: the president is sending kerry to geneva to see if russia is serious. >> this cannot be a process of avoidance. >> reporter: what's in it for putin? protecting russia's naval base, keeping the chemical weapons

aplaa pla way from places like chechnya. the zigzags have given the u.s. a weak hand. >> i think we're going to have a crippled negotiating team where putin holds all the cards. >> reporter: and putin is already flexing his muscles where leaders met today. it would preserve the military option if the assad regime doesn't comply. and there's the challenge at home. most americans like these want to ah void military action. >> we continue having these wars, and another war after another. >> we need to spend the money in the united states and forget about the middle east. >> i just don't want to hear emotional arguments. i think it's too manipulative. >> reporter: the president has not answered what will he do if diplomacy fails. so that is where the diplomatic front stands, but

meanwhile, the civil war in syria continues. and a lot of questions have been raised about who exactly are the rebels and who the u.s. could be helping with a strike. our chief foreign correspondent with us tonight with a look at how al qaeda is increasingly in this fight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. the u.s. has decided it is not going to intervene in syria, at least for now. but al qaeda is. and every day we see its fighters in this city, in the streets, at the airports heading into syria. in southern turkey, along an ancient trade route. it's now a smugglers' town where fighters have crossed into syria by the thousands. >> translator: if muslims anywhere are oppressed we have to support them. >> reporter: this man dropped out of college tofight in syria. he agreed to be interviewed only

if he could hide his face. the u.s. is considering launching military strikes against syria. will that help you? >> translator: we have a prayer, oh, let them fight. >> reporter: in turkey, he showed us his safe house and his war supply. a uniform. this will be the first time you'll ever wear anything like a uniform. he says this is the happiest moment of his life. >> you're smiling. i can see even through the mask. >> i am happy. >> reporter: why are you so happy? >> translator: because this was a dream for me, to wage jihad. >> reporter: the smuggler who helped him told us he personally has moved 300 foreign fighters from turkey to syria in the last four months. and in this area now there are

many other smugglers doing exactly the same thing. parts of northern syria already look like an al qaeda state, with public executions. a man being whipped for marrying a woman too soon after her divorce. islamic justice that he is on his way to help enforce. he calls his mother to say good-bye. she tries to talk him out of going, but he refuses and makes his way into syria. an al qaeda fighter joining a rebellion with ambition beyond toppling assad. many people in turkey are not happy at all that these extremists are transiting through this city, worrying that one day it could be a danger for them. >> how this conflict is changing. thanks. for the generation before ours, december 7th was always a poignant day on the calendar.

for everyone alive today, the attacks of 9/11. a day that changed how we fly, how we look up into the sky. and it was the end of the world for the victims and their loved ones. there were remembrances just as there will always be, a memorial. at the white house, a moment of silence at 8:46. at the pentagon, a wreath laying today. many of those in attendance wore ribbons of their own. in pennsylvania, bells tolled for those who died on flight 93. of course today also marks the anniversary of the attack in benghazi, libya. back in this country, the fight over guns has taken a dramatic turn in the state of

colorado after the newtown shooting. last night in recall elections there voters forced out two lawmakers who backed those gun laws. a victory for gun rights advocates that could make other states think twice before enacting similar new laws. our report tonight. >> reporter: it was gun control that lost. two democratic state senators losing to gun rights advocates, including a retired police chief. >> coloradans are jealous of their second amendment rights and they don't want them infringed upon. >> reporter: in the aftermath of the aurora theater shootings, they supported a new colorado law requiring expanded background checks for gun buyers and limits on ammunition clips. but local gun rights groups forced the first recall

elections in nearly a century. and with backing from the national rifle association won a victory to turn a state trending blue upside down. >> passing gun control legislation can be dangerous for your political career. >> reporter: colorado's governor said today we are certainly disappointed by the outcome. so, too, are the parents of aurora victim jessica. >> we cannot allow special interests to take over our democracy. >> reporter: and more vowed to fight on. >> you are not judged by how you got knocked down but rather how you got back up. >> reporter: but the nra said colorado voters sent a clear message that their second amendment rights are not for sale, a message surely heard beyond the state's borders.

new yorkers went to the polls in primary elections yesterday in the race for mayor. and as the returns came in last night, most of the news had to do with the two men who were turned away by voters in new york. anthony weiner and eliot spitzer, both famous for sex scandals got defeated. wiener got just 5%. spitzer lost his race for city comptroller. after some startling words on the issue of celibacy, there's an issue getting a lot of attention. is the catholic church ready to make a big change when it comes to one of the most sacred vows made by priests. the very question shows that the vatican is under new management these days. >> reporter: in st. peter's square, a huge and enthusiastic welcome for pope francis.

crowds have quadrupled draunl by his warm and welcoming style and a new openness. case in point, the suggestion from his new number two that the idea of married priests is open to discussion. it's already got people talking. >> hey, we've got a gem here. am i open to listening to people talk about it? you bet. >> reporter: nobody expects to see married priests anytime soon, but for this pope, subjects like this aren't off the table. pope francis has changed the tone in a church plagued by a sex abuse scandal. his weekend peace vigil against the war in syria drew more than 100,000 people, while thousands more across the world prayed. pope francis extended a hand to agnostics and atheists. it's what he does, getting close

to people, kissing babies, enjoying the crowds that flock to him. and many of the trappings are gone. he droves a 20 year old car. he calls the faithful out of the blue to respond to their letters. >> i think we're seeing so far a pope who is less interested in closing doors than he is in opening windows. >> reporter: but what about married priests? there are actually a few already who married first and then converted to ca thol sichl. this priest has a wife and two kids. >> some people will say things like oh, they let you keep your wife? >> reporter: a different take on the priesthood as pope francis shapes a new catholic church. and still ahead for us on this wednesday night, her side of the story. diana nyad speaking out after some swimmers question how she pulled off her amazing achie

achievement. and later on this day of remembrance, a powerful day of service for many americans, many of whom weren't born yet on that day 12 years ago.

as we mentioned before the break. we're hearing tonight from diana nyad for the first time since those questions that have been raised by some doubters about her epic swim from cuba to key west. she was suspected, in effect, of cheating. and last night, for hours, she defended her honor and her achievement. our report tonight from mark potter in miami. >> i did this swim with my own body and my own mind, fair and square, squeaky-clean. >> reporter: when diana nyad

finally responded to the skeptics who questioned the validity of her swim from cuba to key west, she was firm and to the point, saying she did not cheat. >> never did i grab hold of a boat. never did i exit the water to sit on the edge of a boat. >> at the age of 64, diana nyad got into the water in havana cuba and swam through jellyfish and shark infested waters. and after 53 hours she got to shore. >> you should never, ever give up. >> reporter: but a small group of skeptics raised questions about the swim, why did she make such good time? might she have had help? she held an individual joe conference call offering proof to other swimming experts that nyad's try ump was by the book. >> we've been assaulted from

every different direction. >> i don't think she should let it bother her. >> when people succeed and do something great, there's always someone who will try to knock it down. >> reporter: trip logs are being released showing why she was pushed so quickly toward key west by favorable currents. >> the current at one point was running as fast as 3.5 or 3.6 naug knots. >> reporter: mark potter, nbc new, miami. tough world out there. and speaking of which, we're back in a moment with what could be the calm before the storms. al roker will be back here with us when we continue.

we take our share of lumps

around here for covering storms with gusto. it is a television staple. it usually means watching reporters get tossed around in hurricanes. but if this storm season has seemed different, it's because it has been. a remarkably quiet and peaceful hurricane season so far. earlier hurricane um berto was named. will the rest of the season behave just like this? as you might have seen, al is in the studio with us tonight. >> it's like the old saying goes. prior performance does not predict future earnings. we've got humberto. right now it's got winds

sustained at about 85 miles per hour. we've got gabriele moving away from bermuda. we're watching an area right now to the west of the cape verde islands. what we are concerned about is that we're basically at halftime right now in the hurricane season. so even though we've only had eight named storms, that doesn't mean we're not going to see more. >> all right. al with an unsure prediction because it's an uncertain business. as we go into the third and fourth quarter of hurricane season. the business of getting around is making news tonight. >> the fees we all pay the a airlines to fly has added up to a startling amount. they brought in $27 billion in fees. that's up 20% this year alone. among the american carriers,

united led the way. some of the people trying to turn this painful day on our calendar into a day of service for others.

it is still so difficult 12 years later as we look at the ways some americans mark this day, september 11th. it's become a day of service to others. in a way it rekindles the spirit of that day 12 years ago. yes, it was borne of tragedy, but people were moved to care for one another. >> reporter: memorial ceremonies across the country, remembering lives lost, families forever broken. >> i love you, daddy. >> reporter: and connections never made. >> uncle teddy, even though i never met you, i know you're looking down on me today. >> reporter: now americans are turning this day, rooted in

grief and sadness into a day of giving back. in new york city, dozens chipped in to hand out donated produce to hundreds of low income families. >> it's not only important to commemorate the lives that were lost but to kind of reach out into the community. >> reporter: david payne launched the effort to turn this day of remembrance into a day of service as well. >> we thought that volunteering and doing good deeds reflected the way the country responded to the atacts itself. >> reporter: about 35 million are volunteering nationwide. stuffing packages for troops overseas. in phoenix, renovating a community center in honor of 9/11 victims and troops who died in the war that followed. and at ft. bragg, a mobile 9/11 museum is making its way across the country. >> i learned more about firefighters. >> reporter: turning 9/11 into a

history lesson for those too young to remember. this sixth grader is among the 46 million americans born since the attack. her mother says it was a teaching moment for mckinzie whose father was severely injured in the war. >> she said now i get it. i understand why daddy had to go. and it means the world to me that she finally gets it. >> reporter: reaching generations with powerful information and in the shadow of a terrible tragedy doing something good. nbc news, new york. and that is our broadcast on this wednesday night, september 11th of 2013. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. >> jeremy logan glick.

>> steven glick. >> jonathan m conners. >> kevin patrick conners. good evening. thanks for joining us on this wednesday. >> we begin with an nbc bay area exclusive. a sunday homicide at the south campus of san jose state university being investigated as a possible case of vigilante justice. a story you'll only see on nbc bay area. >> reporter: well, jessica, because this case is under seal, it's difficult to find out exactly what happened here on humboldt street, right next to the university tennis courts. but sources tell me the victim

may have been trying to burglarize cars in the parking lot when the alleged shooter confronted him. >> broken glass remains at the scene of the sunday morning homicide on university property. this woman lives across the street from the shooting and dependent want to give her name. her son dialled 911 saying the bod hi he saw at the scene was very difficult. >> this is a very complex investigation. >> the sergeant of the university police department says the case is under seal, but sources tell me the alleged shooter, 62-year-old craig uhara caught the victim in the act of either stealing or burglarizing a car. sergeant john laws says he can neither confirm or deny the report. >> we hear there may be some vigilanteism involved. >> i don't have any details on that. if that is part of the investigation, the investigators will be able to put that together for the district attorney's office.