new and important twists overseas this hour on syria. is john kerry convincing any other countries to join the u.s. in a military strike. making his case. president own with a new message today on syria. it comes just days before he makes a national appeal. will the public buy it? in florida, it's a coastlining crisis. a new report on how beaches may be disappearing as the sands of time slip away. the number one selling car in america probably won't

sprieds y surprise you but how fast they zoom off the lot might. hello, it's high noon in the east. 9:00 a.m. out west. new developments this hour in the crisis in syria. secretary of at a time john kerry arrived in paris this past hour. he's trying to drum up support for a military strike. the european union agreed the strike outside of damascus appeared to have been the work of bashar assad regime. any military action should wait for a u.n. inspector's report. that report may be submitted by the inspectors at the end of the next week. the paper says the inspectors collected almost 100 samples from the site of the strike. germany is joined in on blaming the attack. it had been the only european member of the g-20 not to sign a

joint statement issued friday. joining me now senior washington correspondent anna palmer and david nakamora. beyond what he is doing in europe, secretary kerry is coming back to lobby congress. what do you think he can say that hasn't been said already? >> we got a sense from the president yesterday when he entered into russia and laid out this two-prong case. on one hand the president is saying i understand the public is weary of war, but this is the right thing to do. we have to establish the international norms. it's another point that secretary kerry will continue to make. the president, as you heard yesterday, said several times it might not be popular around the world but a lot of the world looks to us. they're going to make clear this will be a limited set of strikes. they keep saying that. they need to convince lawmakers and the public this will not be a long drawn out engagement.

the question is what happen ifs it doesn't work. i think that is the concern that lawmakers have right now. >> okay. anna, your reaction, the same thing? >> absolutely. we've seen senator mccain saying congress would take action if there were boots on the ground. that seems to be a real issue that members of congress hitting on. there's a lot of people unsold in terms of these limited strikes, what would they do. there doesn't steam be a c consensus that this action would do something to take out the assad regime. >> you write about the lib ter y libertarians. obama still up against a growing caucus of no on either side of the political spectruspectrum. what kind of a position does

this put the president in and will he convince any of the lawmakers to come around to his side? >> i think he's in a difficult position. there's only about a dozen or so house republicans that will support them. some members have pulled back that support. the real is you have these kind of weird odd bedfellows, the liberals who are doves that are anti-war and you also have these conservative, libertarians who have been isolationist and don't want the u.s. to get into any other kind of foreign military strike, but at the same time i've been talking to some democratic strategists are making to make the case that this is a humanitarian issue. this is like rwanda and the u.s. needs to make action. it's unclear whether that talking point will make any headway. that seems to be the way they're trying to sell some of these libera liberals. >> i'm going to ask you both to stand by. andrea mitchell has joined us on

the phone. she's been traveling with secretary kerry. i just want to get to andrea now. ha what's the latest? anything you glean from that flight? can you tell me the latest on the situation in syria and the eu updates? andrea, it's alex. can you hear me? >> yes, i can. we have just arrived at the french foreign ministry. we've been running up steps and coming off the airplane. the french are at least supporting the idea of military action but not until the u.n. inspectors issue their preliminary report. that was the position of the're europeans. i apologize for the noise. we're just now arriving. what secretary kerry has now

achieved is a strong condemnation from the other european leaders but no consent of military action. that's a continuing problem as the u.s. faces public opinion and a decline in support in the house. >> andrea, i'm going to press on and try to ask you questions and if it gets too loud, you'll let us know. secretary kerry is going to have to face an uphill battle trying to lobby congress and bring many members around to his side. the side he shares with president obama. what dwroup thip he can say that h has not yet been said? >> they don't think they have adequately communicated the horror of why this happened and why this is different. why chemical weapons is different than the deaths with conventional weapons.

they haven't made that case. they also haven't made the case that people are hearing that congress members are hearing why spend money and american lives, most importantly, potentially if there's mission creep on another military mission abroad when we have so many problems here, when our kids aren't getting what they need in school. that's what members of congress have been hearing. what you've seen according to the head counts is they have lost support. the more they talk, the more they lose. they're not picking up the kind of universal support from european leaders that could give them any kind of additional boots. what they're getting is an acknowledgement this had to have been the syrian regime but not acknowledge that this is the way to go. >> you said secretary kerry, they need to make a case of what's happened and the horrors of it.

with regard to the eu wanting to wait to move forward until there's the result of the investigation by the united nations, that is merely the result of the investigation as to whether or not chemical weapons were used, not to ascribe blame or who shot them off. do you think there's anybody, do you hear whisper campaigns that anyone truly believes that chemical weapons were not used and if nobody believes that is this just a delay tactic hoping that public sentiment will turn? >> i think it is a delay tactic. i think it's to give them some political cover because the european union is strongly wedded to the united nations. since they knowledge the fact that russia is blocking any action from the security council which would be the organization that would take action and give this legal cover, the european

union wanted some kind of un political protection, if you will. saying let's wait for the un inspectors is a tactic. they said they believe that it was the assad regime that was the only possible explanation for this hideous chemical attack. they have not endorsed even though they are strongly supportive of military action. that's tomorrow here in paris. >> big picture question here. i know that secretary kerry is suppose ed to have a news conference coming up. do you think it was greater surprise that france backed off while previously standing shoulder to shoulder with the united states saying instead of approving any military action they want to wait for the united

nations result or was it a greater surprise they came out in front of everybody else and took to the side of the united states so early on? >> there were people surprised. they did not expect president hollande to back off. the timing is unclear. the u.n. inspectors might come up with their preliminary report even as congress is deliberating. this may not be technically a delay. we think the senate will have preliminary votes on wednesday and potentially a floor vote on thursday. the house is not expected to act until the following week. this may not be a major delay. this could have been a rather clever move by the french president to try to give the european some running room and also he's facing public opinion

which is going in the wrong direction if you believe in the military strike. 60% of the french public are strongly against it. >> all right. andrea mitchell traveling there with secretary kerry and immediately phoning in which we appreciate despite the technical difficulties at the top. >> thank you for your patience. >> give me your thoughts on this, david, what you're hearing and just her overall assessment of where things stand. >> absolutely. obviously the administration is continuing to work hard to try to build this international support. what you'll see now, yes, secretary kerry will do his part. this week you'll see a real shift into the domestic issue. that's what's important right now for the president. you have a lot of his top aids going out and making the case to libera liberals. they are making the case at lib wall think tanks.

she spoke yesterday. on monday you have susan rice will be another think tank. that's all setting the stage for more briefings of congress and the president's address tuesday night. it's right on the eve of the anniversary of 9/11 and he may not specifically mention that but obviously there's a lot of symbolism there. i think you're going to see that the president really trying to make the case this is different from iraq and different from some of the thing s he voted against. that's his own words. that's the burden he's got to try to overcome. >> this will be on september 10th. anna, do you think that plays into the equation. is that something he ought to invoke to get the american people on his side? >> it's something he's cautious about. just saying it's september 10th will draw that illusion. i doubt he will hammer that home. one of the things he's trying to make the case for is this is a

targeted attack. it's not about going into a protracted military engagement. i think what happens and whether he can turn that tide of the american public will be key because so many members of congress have said that 99% or more of the constituents they've heard from have been very opposed to any action in syria. >> of course the attack of 9/11 was directly on the homeland. okay. david, anna, good to see you both. thank you for weighing in. one tech giant is trying to stop the government from snooping on you. later on the rush to keep florida's beaches from running out of something you might never have imagined. [ male announcer ] at hebrew national,

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with the vote on syria looming in congress it's looking like an uphill battle to get approval for military action even among the president's strongest supporters. joining me now is congressman charles rangel. welcome back to the show. we appreciate your time. have you seen any evidence from the administration, sir, that says it will link the assad regime to what we have seen evidence of chemical weapon use in syria? >> i think there's sufficient evidence. i really think we're dealing with a monster that violates international code, if you can have one, for war. i don't know why genocide if it's by chemicals, 98% of our nation says that's where the line stops but i think something should be done. i don't see where it's a threat

to our international security. i think it's an international threat that demands an international solution. if i thought my country's national security was threatened, it may sound corny, but at 87 i'd be volunteering to do something. this country has been good to me. >> if the international actors are not doing anything, is it incumbent upon the united states to do something? >> there's nothing in our constitution that suggests we should put our men and women in harm's way in order to fulfill what we believe is international fault. if we're not powerful enough and have relationships with the whole world as good as we've been that they see this monster and they don't see fit to come up and do the right thing then i think another idea is to isolate this country, syria, and to make certain that the world joins

with us. there's no way in the world for assad to exist if people felt as strong as they say they did. >> but isolation, russia, in all likelihood, will not allow syria to be isolated to the point it feels the pain of having the entire world. >> they didn't say that. they said take a deep breath and thank god my president did. they said take it to the congress and debate it. that's what putin has said in russia. for the first time he makes sense to me. take it -- i thought for one moment the president was saying it was an emergency, but when he fulfilled his constitution responsibility and brought it back to the congress for a vote, then it seems to me if it's enough time there for us to vote on this then it's enough time for us to seek a political solution. >> you say that constitutionally speaking we're not obliged to

act -- >> who said that? exactly. i'm saying -- >> required. >> required, not obliged. even though presidents after presidents have violated the constitution with the indirect silent report of the congress. enough is enough. >> putting aside the constitution, can we just look at this humanitarily, from a moral perspective. isn't that a moral argument? >> if this was a moving thing to look at 400 innocent civilians that's been killed by gas, it is moving. it's painful and it hurts me. however, when i think of the 6700 americans that died in iraq when we were supposed to be

there and rose petals were supposed to greet us. when i think of the millions of americans jobless, hopeless, when i think of the national security, not educating our youth to be able to meet the technical competition we have in the future and i think about my national security and i think about my constituents, i know that the education system has been so lousy that most of them have no idea where syria is located. i know if i tell them it's a civil war where the dictator is killing people, they will remind me what is happening on our streets each and every day and every funeral that i have attended for people who volunteered in the army because they didn't have any other economic opportunity, you mention the hamptons, they don't recruit in the hamptons. they don't recruit in palm beach. they recruit in inner cities and rural areas where kids really

look at this as an economic opportunity. i am moved by this. that's why i'm so glad that the president went overseas. i'm so disappointed that he wasn't persuasive. i don't understand the role that france plays. they come out as a humanitarians then they change their mind. when it reaches the point that we're the only country in the universe that understands the nature of this problem, it's something we ought to take a deep breath and take another look at it. >> clearly you're out lining there's no shortage of troubling issues on the table and we say that hamptons come up between us in the commercials. people are saying what, hamptons. there's no official but there are a number of leading members of the congressional black caucus and have said they don't support a military strike.

chairwoman marsha fudge has asked members to limit public comment on syria. is this true? >> i've heard it from reporters. i haven't heard it from congresswoman fudge. i've been in congress for 43 years. i do have a moral and constitutional obligation to speak. i think the press is misinterpreting this. we're all elected by different groups of people. they feel the pains of sequestration and the pains of the us not educating the kids, not getting the jobs. that's all besides color that we have in common. nobody has suggested to me and

certainly not msnbc that i should not comment. you can't set aside your moral responsibility to the constitution. i am who i am because this country allowed me to be who i am. i have a responsibility to the country and i have never really felt more supportive of any president, not franklin roosevelt, not johnson, not kennedy. all of them couldn't collectively add up to the admiration i have for president obama. at the same token obama didn't get my elected. my constituents did. i have to be guided. maybe we'll see what happens on tuesday. i can't imagine him saying anything that i don't believe that he means. the only problem i have with the president is that this is a threat only to our national security and we should go it alone.

>> all right. another thing we were talking about on the commercial break is i believe there's a representative rangle room. you've spent so much time here. we thank you for the time. the curious episode of the g-20 meeting between president obama and president putin, ahead. nascar is ab.out excitement but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp's technology helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into real-time business insights that help nascar win with our fans. and didn't know where to start. a contractor before at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. no company can pay to be on angie's list,

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[ japanese accent ] aflac. love it. [ under his breath ] hate it. helps you focus on getting back to normal? [ as a southern belle ] aflac. [ as a cowboy ] aflac. [ sassily ] aflac. uh huh. [ under his breath ] i am so fired. you're on in 5, duck. [ male announcer ] when you're sick or hurt, aflac pays you cash. find out more at aflac.com. welcome back. no rest for president obama today. fresh off his return from the g-20 summit, we'll spend the next two days swaying skeptical members of congress. peter alexander is at be white house for us. what is the white house's game plan this weekend? >> reporter: the president didn't waste any time executing this new game plan which is a bit of the same from before. they are trying to convince congress they have to get on board from yesterday's calls. even yesterday as he was heading

home, administration officials tell us the president placed calls to members of congress trying to persuade them toward military action in syria returning to washington overnight president obama faces what is a hard sell with congress on syria. his weekly address this morning previewing the case he'll make to the nation tuesday night. >> failing to respond to this outrageous attack would increase the risk that chemical weapons could be used again. they would fall into the hands of terrorists who might use them against us and it would send a horrible signal to other nations there would be no consequences. >> reporter: still the president's window is closing. even nancy pelosi insisted president obama needs to make a stronger case. they are accelerating its lobbying blitz. vice president biden will host key republican senators.

monday, a classified briefing for all house members. tuesday president obama's chief of staff will pitch democrats. >> he's out there on a limb. he's out there all by himself. >> reporter: can congress be convinced? >> how high does the pile of children have to be before we do something about it. >> the american people are fot with the president on this one. >> reporter: the president faces stiff opposition on both sides. liberal democrats are pushing for no intervention and hawkish republicans don't trust the president to carry out the policy they believe is most effective. >> if congress votes against him, he's badly weakened. if congress votes for him he's beholding to the republicans for

that yes vote. >> reporter: probably a football field away from us in front of the white house we'll hear the calls of another protest. people are saying hands off syria. they do not want to see any u.s. intervention. it's a voice of voices that have been echoed by members of congress within the last hour hearing from senator mark pryor of arkansas. he's saying he not support the resolution. >> we hear your voice and that of the protester as well. thank you so much. the ongoing crisis in syria is also nmayor threat to israel. good evening your time. critics will argue a limited strike on syria will have little or no effect. what about israel? what's israel's position on that? >> reporter: good afternoon there.

just like america, there's different points of view here in israel. there's the side of more conservative side where officials say that the fact that president obama did not strike right away, the fact he's going to congress is a sign of weakness and shows america would be perceived as a paper tiger by the iranians because israel is more concerned by iran. what will happen in the future if they continue with their nuclear program? if israel wants to strike, will america be by their side or will america hesitate. in an op-ed piece unisraeli said netanyahu must realize the president will never approve any israeli attack on iran and will be not support or undertake the major operation to stop iran's nuclear weapon program. there's another side of israelis

say this will have no affect when it comes to the israeli-american relationship. if they decide to strike that america will standby israel's side. right now they're also saying that there is no right side when it comes to the syrian civil war. you have the assad regime or the rebels being helped by militants linked to al qaeda. split israelis. they don't know who to side with at the moment. whether it's to take assad and his regime or to not attack. the powerful proisrael lobby in washington will go in full force this week to persuade capitol hill to vote to attack syria because they're worried about what it means for iran. alex. >> a very come p comeprehensive. 4 cell phones 7 socks and 6 weeks of sleep

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new reports today that the u.s. military is preparing for an even bigger strike against syrian president assad. what is the opinion inside the pentagon? gentlemen, good to have you both. >> thank you. >> colonel, as we have seen the polls show the majority of americans are against u.s. action. how about the military? what is the opinion you're hearing from inside the pentagon? >> military officers are supposed to tell the boss what they think. whether the opinion gets solicited or not they have an obligation. they are telling them there's no strategic imperative here. there's no strategic objective that's been set. i think they are absolutely right. it's a punitive strike. it may or may not degrade the ability and there's a lot of bad

things that could happen as a result of degrading it. they didn't start at the enand work back ward. start with a military objective they'd like to achieve and work backwar backwards. this is a political exercise. there's lots of ancillary things that could go wrong including causing the thing you'd like to stop including his use of chemical gas on people. >> because of retribution. >> he may perceive his back is against the wall. he may perceive he is being degraded and the only way to go out and so launch gas. it's a bad situation. >> if there are strike, the u.s. is given syria plenty of warning to move around all of its assets. what are the u.s. capabilities for tracking where they are moving facilities or equipment right now? >> one thing we learned the last

week is we know a lot about what's going on. i was struck by the fact our intelligence agencies were able to watch chemical weapons officers in syria prepare their weapons for three days before we knew there was going to be an attack. i think there's no shortage of good information of what's going on. if they move the material, weapons, planes whatever, we'll be able to see that happening. the bigger question is whether they will be moved out of reach and perhaps in bunkers or more disturbingly into schools or residentials or places where we'll not want to attack because of the risk of collateral damage. >> how does the military feel about us just telescoping the plans and laying them throughout? >> there are nine principles of war. among the more important is the principle of surprise. don't tell the enemy what you're doing to do. have them react. telegraphing in advance what we'll doe leaves, gives the

enemy an opportunity to do twaktly what he's talking about. this is bad news. it doesn't mean necessarily that because we have limited objectives, it doesn't mean we're not going to achieve these limited objectives. mobile missile launches and so on. whatever targets we were going to hit we can't now hit because he's moved them to inaccessible places. this makes it it will. now we're talking about using not just sea launch cruise poli missiles but other weapons as well because we've lost the weapon of surprise. conducting a military strike in public is not a good idea. >> you've looked at any threat. what have you found on bilogical weapons? >> if you're thinking about possible options for syria, it's one that has to come to the table because we know that

decades ago when syria was starting out on its wmd programs it spent a lot of times on weapons. it's got big stockpiles of sarin. as we found out a decade ago it doesn't take a lot of material, it doesn't take a great program to create pretty interesting terrorism weapon. you can move it easily. it's small. kit be spread easily. it's also element anonymous. you can let it loose and people have a hard time knowing for a fact where the attack came from. we had a hard time establishing internationally where the chemical weapon attack came from. can you imagine trying to trace the roots of an em epidemic that shows up. a fascinating story of a meeting between president obama and putin. it's merging this morning and made everyone stop and stare.

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right now in south florida there's an overwhelming sense of urgency in communities along the atlanta coastline. the beaches are running out of sand. there's almost nothing left to replenish them. joini joining me now is the mayor of broward county. it doesn't seem to make sense. we were talking about it in the news area. talk about how alarming this is and why it's happening. >> there's a lot of factors that are happening. some of them include breaks in the coastline whether it's from jetties or inlets that interrupt the southern migration of the sand as it moves along our coast and replenishes down in its

path. there's other issues with storms and rising sea levels that are eating away at our shoreline and as the easy access digs that we can do offshore to bring up sand and replenish the beaches has started to become problematic in we're going out farther and farther for sand. it has a different particulate to it. we need to start looking around for other alternatives. we're doing some interesting things here in broward county to look at the future and find way to be more self-sustaining. >> okay. clearly, you're concerned about it right up front. when you talk about the storms and the erosion, we've had storms and sanding up and down the eastern seaboard. what makes florida so different than the rest of the coastline communities. >> first of all, florida has the longest coastline in the

continental united states. when we have erosion, we have a lot of it. the issue isn't it's so different for the state of florida versus any other coastal community. the issue is that finding sand to replenish our beaches is an ongoing process. it's expensive and the army corps of engineers and our state that have cost shared on these projects has increasingly been backing out of that picture. the way we find sand where we can get future sources of sand has become an issue. some have referred to it as sand wars. you may not know that the federal government doesn't allow us to use foreign sand right now if there are domestic sources of sand available. you have certain beaches that have sand. they want to keep their sand. there's southern beaches that could like to have the sand. you have a bit of a wrestling going onto try to figure out where we go next. >> have you seen anything of some acts in the middle of the

night? bulldozers trying to rip one community from the next or not yet? >> no. i think what's really exciting in broward is this idea we have been exploring through two phases so far that we have just been stellar in the studies. that is to take recycled glass and turn it into sand and apply it on our beach. we've made it through phases one and two. the sea turtles nested in it. the shape of the sand is such that it's not glass. it doesn't cut your feet. we had really good experiences with it. the next phase is to go out and do inwater testing to see how it relates with the three tier corral reef system. we believe we're going to fly through that. the next phase is what companies out there will make the opportunity to create these kinds of green jobs and make this sand available.

it would not be enough sand, we don't envision it, probably around 3,000 cubic yards a month. we believe it would be enough sand for sand dunes and replacing hot spots which would cause the need for larger renourishment projects to be further apart from one another. >> absolutely a crazy concept. running out of sand in florida. fascinating talk. >> isn't it? >> thanks so much. good luck. >> you're welcome. thank you. new details about a private conversation between president obama and vladmir putin. but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp's technology helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into real-time business insights

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new details merging about a private conversation between president obama and russian president vladmir putin. the russian leader prompted the conversation when he approached president obama.

after making small talk they pulled up chairs and talked in the corner of the room while everybody watched. a new book is providing fascinating insight into what makes the russian leader tick. fiona, welcome. i know that you have met vladmir putin several times. you wouldn't call yourself friendly but the description of that meeting going off script what we all expected. is that surprising to you based on the man you've met? >> not at all. putin is the person who prides himself being able to go off script at all times. he's well briefed. he likes to be able to think on his feet, talk on his feet, make remarks off the cuff. he's the master of these great big staged events that go on for

hours. he is think on his feet for hours on end and he likes the element of surprise to capture someone like president obama, take them off to the side and put them in his frame work so that he is the lead on the issue. i'm sure that's exactly what he wanted to do. >> it seems he has the upper hand. do you think that's fair assessment? how did that happen? >> i think that is exactly the case that we're seeing now. right now at this particular juncture putin does have the upper hand. that's surprising because at the very end of august it wasn't really the case that putin looked like he was in charge. he had been sticking out firmly against any intervention. he's been pretty much alone.

the week's vents with all of the decisions to put the issue before congress, with the uk, parliament voting against uk participation, military action and the french saying they're not going to do anything without the u.n., putin finds himself at a advantage. now he wants to press the issue as much as possible and gain high ground. if not to head off a u.s. action, to make sure it's a u.s. unilateral action that everybody else is criticizing and he's made the point where this is a mistake. >> we all know the president described him as the bored kid at the back of the classroom at that news conference last month. some have said putin bristled at the description, you have said he cultivated that. >> he likes to be

underestimated. you may say why, he's the leader of one of the powerful countries in the world. he likes to have the element of surprise. he likes people to think he's going to do one thing and do another. this is part of the training he's had throughout his career. first as one as a really proficient where judo is a sport where you have to put your opponent off balancing also somebody who was an operative in the kgb. they wait around watching carefully for someone to screw up and take advantage of that and turn the situation into something they can capitalize upon and to turn into a real opportunity. that's really what putin does at home. he likes to surprise his opposition. that's what he really has tried to transform on to the political stage the same kind of skill set

internationally to be able to take advantage of the mistakes of other world leaders. that's what he's doing. >> my producers told me to wrap but quickly can you describe the relationship between these two men? >> it's very frosty and cool. it's also very notable that you said this wasn't acrimonious. he doesn't like to get into these heated debates where he or the other person will look bad. he will make himself come across as cool. he will take advantage of the fact that's the preference of obama as well. >> on behalf of my producer. thank you for your brevity with that last answer. >> thank you. we are awaiting a news conference with secretary of state john kerry in paris as he tries to build up support. we'll bring you his comments live. om capital one... boris earns unlimited rewards for his small business. can i get the smith contract, please? thank you.

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european leaders tell the u.s. to hold off air strikes for now. president obama appeals to congress and the nation for action against the nation. >> we should not be continuing to make war. we should be looking for peace. >> america reacts. the debate from coast to coast on the cost of another military mission. welcome to weekends with alex witt. here is what's happening right now. we have new developments this hour in the syria crisis. we are bringing you live pictures where secretary john kerry will give remarks stressing the need to take military action. this is the latest attempt by the obama administration to bolster support for a strike against syria.

secretary kerry will meet with the french foreign minister. france now wants to wait for the u.n. report. >> in the face of the cynical use of chemical weapons, the international community cannot remain idle. a clear and strong response is crucial to make clear that such crimes are unacceptable and that there can be no impunity. >> meantime a growing humanitarian crisis of unknown proportions, syrians are fleeing to neighboring turkey in droves adding to the more than 450,000 syrian refugees already there. while secretary kerry is ov overseas. obama will spend will entire weekend trying to get support.

the white house, what's on their agenda? what do you think is their first move? >> reporter: the president initiated his first move this weekend even before he left here at the white house. he was flying back aboard air force one from that summit in russia when he made calls to member of congresss on both sides. both republicans and democrats trying to convince them of the need to support u.action in syr. there have been a lot of administration officials, some of the president's top team members that will be fanning out tomorrow his chief of staff will be doing the morning shows. joe biden will be hosting several critical republican senators that this white house recognizes the need to get on board for any success going forward. on monday, susan rice will speak at a think tank.

she's the national security advisor. perhaps more importantly on monday the entire house, alex, the entire congress will be back in session but all members of the house will be given an opportunity to hear a classified briefing and see the intelligence first hand. this white house is confident that may help turn the tide of the conversation taking place right now. >> okay. peter, do you get a sense of the pressure the president is feeling as leads up to this speech on tuesday. he's getting it from all sides, congress, the international community and his own citizens? >> reporter: i think what's been most striking is if you take a close look at the photographs that have been released, many of them released by this white house in rooms that we as reporters don't have access to but even those this the situation room over the last week plus where he's been seen there, you can read the expressions on faces not just of the president but of his advisors. there was that meeting.

one friday where he told his advisors he was going to say he wants congress to get involved before going forward. the president and his advisors all sort of beligerred by what's been taking place. the most identifiable image was him speaking before the reporters yesterday in st. petersbu petersburg, russia before heading home. we'll have to see what president we see tuesday night. >> thank you. emotions are running high at town halls across the country as president obama works to convince a skeptical public for a syria strike. residents in kansas city showed up. >> if we shoot a shot over the bow and aren't willing to finish the battle, we're worse off than we started. >> i say we bail out of everybody and say you're on your own. >> as a moral and just people, we should not be continuing to make war. we should be looking for peace.

>> not everyone at the town hall is against the strike. some syrian americans attended expressing their support for military action. >> this is not just the first red line that we have drawn and he's crossed. he's been crossing red lines for two and a half years. >> congress heads back to washington, d.c. monday after a five week summer vacation. joining me now washington bureau chief for usa today susan page and political reporter for the washington post, aaron blake. we'll go ladies first with you susan. we heard some pretty strong opinions from these town halls. is the president's tuesday night speech a make or break moment, and if so what do you think he needs to turn the tide in his favor? >> don't you love seeing those town halls. a lot of members of congress stopped having them because they get fierce comments.

big stake fs for the president tuesday. that's his opportunity to reach a lot of americans. make his argument about why we need to undertake a strike. if he's going to win in congress he will have to get stronger support. >> aaron, what about the situation right now? the house and the senate? how does it look for supporting a strike in syria? >> we're still waiting to see in the senate. things are looking bad for the administration when it comes to the house. we've been keeping a whip count all week long of how many members are leaning against this or opposed. right now that's more than half of the house. 225 members. they need 217 to kill it or pass it. that's the dividing line between pass and fail. right now most of the house by a slight majority is either firmly against this or leaning no. at this point it's very difficult math and the obama administration needs to start

convincing people who are out wardly skeptical about this mission. >> susan, if congress ultimat y ly says no to striking syria, is it game over or will the president act any way? are there things we're seeing from him that would suggest he'll go? >> he's been very careful not to answer that question. he's been asked it every time he's come before reporters. i think the indications are if congress does not approve this action, he is not likely to go forward with the strike. he says he has legal authority to do so. he could do so, but having talked about the importance of a democracy of getting the support of the congress behind you and seeing that our closest allies including great britain in a similar situation decided to abide by the wishes of the parliament, i think it's unlikely, not impossible, but unlikely he will go ahead. >> wouldn't it be interesting to listen to the conversation when

david cameron would make the phone call to the president. does the president face lame duck status? >> we like to throw around that term a lot any time a president is in his or her second term. we're in a situation where congress is in state of gridlock. it's not looking like it's passing immigration reform. we don't know what will happen with the debt ceiling debate. it will be difficult for him to pass anything. when you're talking about war it becomes that much difficult because we're so war weary in this country. it suggests he doesn't have a whole lot of persuasion power especially with the republicans in congress. i think it's not exactly a great moment for him. i don't think that it was a winnable situation to begin with. >> susan, since it seems like our lawmakers never put politics out of calculus in anything. how many lawmakers want to be on

record with a vote like this considering the midterm is next year and these subsequent 2016 general election. >> the fact you see so many say they lean this is a sign it's a vote they don't want to have. we know from the lead up to the iraq war that the political calculations you might make on a vote looked entirely different for people like hillary clinton a couple of years later. i don't think members of congress really want to vote on this. the safer vote is probably to vote against it. americans have a lot of concern about whether we'll be involved in a longer conflict and what good will it do. haven't we made this big effort to get out of two wars. why would we get into another one? the votes haven't taken place yet. the big lobbying hasn't taken place yet. the president's speech hasn't taken place yet.

>> if he does that successfully, it may be in part to secretary kerry who will go and lobby congress. is there anything he can say that's not been said already? >> it's really hard to see what he could say. secretary kerry was very forceful on this issue when he spoke about it last week. the president himself gave a middle of the day on saturday, a address on this issue. he did a press concerns last week. i think in american politics right now people are so polarized. they decide on something early and stick to it. you have the fact that the opposition seems to be much more enthusiastic. i don't see a lot of opposition being persuaded now. we'll have to see. >> good to see you both. what are one congressman's con stimp wents telling him about syria? we'll ask him next. my mother made the best toffee in the world.

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a gallup poll comparison may suggest the american public's weariness. compare that to polling before the last iraq war. 59 before it. 37% against. in 2001, 82% favored military action in afghanistan. just 14% opposed. making the case for military strikes, president obama argued that the world must intervene to uphold the international norms that have made chemical weapons taboo. >> failing to respond would send a signal to rogue nations, authoritarian regimes that they can develop and use weapons of mass destruction and not pay a

consequence. that's not the world that we want to live in. >> joining me now is democratic congressman from kentucky. may i put you on the spot here, sir. how would you vote ? >> if it were today i would vote no. i have a concern about us acting alone except kind of cheering us on. i think for the vast majority of my constituents, they're not convinced this is in our direct national security interest. the connection of what's going on as how the average american perceives it is not there. >> is there anything the president can say to congress directly or to the nation on tuesday which you will hear that will change your mind? >> i doubt there's anything he

can say. unless he's able to convince an international group to participate with us. i've been really disturbed by some things the president said and also secretary kerry from which i inif he were it's our role to be the police force of the world acting independently. i strongly reject that and hope that's not the way they proceed. not just like the joint statement with the eight or nine countries who think there ought to be repercussions, i agree with that as do most americans but the military strike i can't support. >> sit a tough sell but what about as a human tearon objective. nicholas kristoff makes this

argument this week that being against intervention does not make one pro-peace but pro-war and pro-assad. how do you respond to that? >> i don't know. that's an interesting argument. in terms of having concern about atrocities like this, we all do. i'm still outraged about what happened at sandy hook and we've forgotten about that tragedtrag. they killed over 100,000 people over the past three years in syria. whether you engage in mass murder of civilians with tanks or missiles or chemical weapons is irrelevant. i know the world decided to make that a world line almost a hundred years ago but to me an atrocity is an atrocity. i think there are ways that the international community needs to

get together to put incredible pressure on assad to negotiate an end to both his chemical weapons program and his regime. >> what about the role of the united states in foreign crisis? should it only intervene when its own security is at stake? >> i think the president did the right thing in calling on congress to make the decision. i think he made the right decision. i think there are instances going back to the original invasion of afghanistan where i think we were perfectly justified to go in bring ourselves at that point. i think you could make the case that our national security was not directly threatened because that was where they trained terrorists. the afghan nation didn't attack us. it was justifiable at that time given the context. i don't think there's a uniform rule that you can apply in every

situation. >> senator john mccain held a town hall on thursday. let's take a listen to this together. >> i'm not saying we'll never go to war with syria, but it needs to be at the right time, the right place and we don't feel this is it right now. >> how much is the life of an american servicemen worth? >> none of the neighbors around syria seem to be willing to lift a finger. i don't see how we can do this all alone. >> how do these comments compare to what you're hearing? >> they're identical. i'm hearing that all around my district. our calls were 455 against, 10 for an attack. it's pretty lopsided. one of the things that's interesting is he said none of the neighbors have lifted a finger. israel has bombed syria three times in the last two and a half years. they did it twice to stop

shipment of arms and on a nuclear reactor. while syria didn't retaliate against israel, they also didn't stop accepting weapons have russia. the russias are in route to syria now, at least that's one of the reports. it doesn't seem to change his behavior when he struck. >> as a member of the budget committee, in light of the sequester, has the monetary cost of military action been factor at all. secretary kerry said gulf states have offered to pick up the whole tab for the u.s. should we go in with strikes. >> i've not heard one of my colleagues mention the budgetary factor and certainly none of my constituen constituents. this is all about the war fatigue and the fear that there's never such thing as a clean strike and that there will be repercussions that will drag up deeper into a conflict.

the budgets never come up. >> you leave with an open invitation to come back any time. >> thank you. why this debate over syria is making for strange pill bed physical lows. ♪ ...when the world called for stealth... ♪ ...intelligence... endurance... affordability... adaptability... and when the world asked for the future. staying ahead in a constantly evolving world. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning.

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here are your fast five headlines. while pope francis opposes air strikes in syria, he's holding a peace vigil. he declared today a day of fasting and prayer. in australia, conservative leader ten leader tony abbot won ending six years of labor party rule. part of the bleachers at a high school football game in ohio collapsed. five people were hurt. what caused that accident still unknown. wreckless driving is among charges filed against a new york man for a wild joyride caught on tape. this video shows him speeding

around manhattan. nasa's spacecraft is rocketing toward the moon. it will reach the moon early next month. it will spend a hundred days orbiting the moon. those are your fast five headlines. iran is threatening retaliation if the u.s. strikes syria. a live report and analysis, next. nascar is ab.out excitement but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media

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produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? [ crows ] now where's the snooze button? welcome back. the u.s. weighs military action in syria, some countries in be region are bracing for fall out were others like iran are threatening retaliation when and if the u.s. launches a strike in syria. good evening. what is the latest on these threats of retaliation we're hearing about? >> reporter: well, there's been no secrets about it. the iranian government and syria's close ally, hezbollah

has come out and say they stand behind the regime. they have warned the u.s. of consequences if they did carry out any strikes. there's been some local media reports that influx of hezbollah fighters have gone into syria in case of an attack. the u.s. will suffer another vietnam like catastrophe if the u.s. does strike inside syria. there's been no explicit things but a lot of vailed warnings that have people on edge of a possible retaliation should syria come under u.s. or international attacks. >> what about iran itself? if something were to happen, if hezbollah were to strike, now that they have made these statements so if something were to happen, do thaw worry about retaliation in any way?

>> reporter: that's the question that a lot of countries here have which is what happens the day after. if the u.s. does carry out a strike on syria, iran and hezbollah may find themselves retaliating. who do they retaliate against? do they retaliate against u.s. allies like turkey or jordan. the cascading effect of the violence is what has everybody on edge. within countries like iraq there are a lot of malitias or groups that support iran and would find this a time to carry out some type of attack against u.s. interests. the state department has downgraded the nbc staff in countries like lebanon. they are asking americans to avoid travel to lebanon and turkey. there are growing concerns among american officials about what a military strike will do not only in expanding the violence beyond

syria but also what it would mean in terms of retaliation against american interests, citizens, businesses here in the region. >> okay. thank you. for more on this i'm joined by ambassador dennis ross and special advisor on iran. am bobassador ross, my colleagu chris hayes interviewed secretary kerry this week. let's take a listen to part of that. >> we're not remotely talking about getting america involved directly in between any of those forces. the president is not talking about assuming responsibility for syria's civil war. >> does that work in the real world? isn't the historical precedent you broke it, you bought it? >> i think there's a big difference between launching a few strikes into a country and

launching an invasion. when colin powell was talking about iraq in 2003 with bush he knew we were going to put 140,000 troops on the ground and we were going to have a campaign of shock and awe. this is more like what the united states did in 1998 in iraq with a series of intensive air strikes. i don't think it's the equivalent of putting boots on the ground. i think this is a different kind of story. i think one has to do contingency planning and assume the worst but the idea that iran wants to get into a shooting war with the united states over syria is quite unlikely. might they attack indirectly, might they want to have deniable terrorist attack, that's one thing.

they are not going to want to put themselves into a position where they run a much greater risk at this stanl when they still may have a different set of conversatisiderations down t. >> how do they look at this? the ones that suffered the brunt of this war want american boots on the ground? >> they've been calling for that. that's one of the major things that the free syrian army as was asking for is to intervene. not only intervene and be part of the process of transition. i don't understand what is the point in making the strikes. what are we going to achieve with that. israelis have been doing these kind of strikes. they didn't tip the balance of power toward the rebels or the other side. if it's only to puni isis isish will not change anything.

both sides saudi, katar and turkey want the u.s. to fly this war. once we will engage in this war, it will not be anymore syrian civil war. it will become another american middle east intervention and war. we have to own it. one of the reasons why president obama went back to congress because he understands that the dynamic and hom complicates it is. you have to intervenn in a mump more aggressive way. >> what about employing other actions. >> i've been in fair of us

providing legal assistance but managing the overall effort. there's a price to be paid or is the objective here to implement the red line but effect the balance of power on the ground. no one has been talking about putting american boots on the ground. no one is talking about sending in what we're doing in iraq in 2003. it is a question is the objective one designed to show that you're going -- when you have a red line it's real and to enhance it an part of that to grade assad's capabilities to use the weapons to employ that implemented and employ chemical weapons or is it to degrade the

capabilities so you change the balance of power on the ground between the opposition and the regime and within the opposition itself between those we could favor because they believe in a non sectarian syria. >> is there any indication that hezbollah or aran has the desire to attack inside the united states? >> i don't think so. they don't have the capability or the desire. one they do that, they will be hammered the day after. not only by america itself but by the international community, u.n. security council and i'm not sure after what's happening inside syria that the acc, the

international criminal court is not investigating over and over these war crimes inside of syria. one of the issues we have to agree on sb ois our allies thate been engaged in the civil war. what is their end game? it's to have an islamist country or have close of syria. i think we should ask this question before we go in with them because i'm not sure that saudis who are monarchies, very, very brutal monarchies want d democracy elsewhere. >> thank you for the conversation. switching gears to today's office politics. my conversation with rhoades scholar and west moore. for those of you not familiar with the book i asked west to

share the story of triumph and tragedy. >> the other west moore is a book. around the same time i received a rhoades scholarship, be baltimore sun paper was writing a peace about my life. the same time they were writing a series of articles who robbed a jewelry store and in the process they shot and killed a very decorated off duty police officer. around the same time i found out that one of the people that the police were looking for that was captured and triy eied and convd what as guy's whose name was west moore. the more i learned about him the more i realized we had in common than our names. we were from the same area, we grew up in single parent households. i knew there were questions i wanted to ask and west was the only one to answer them.

shefed life in prison without the possibility of parole. that one letter turned into dozens of letters. dozens turns into dozens of visits. it's about this journey of these two kids and what ends up happening that causes this split amongst these two kids. this change in destiny. >> what does he think of the book? >> he's been touched about how i feel like his life and his story is making a real difference in the lives of other students and teachers and community members. >> i know for fact the incoming freshman class at smu were all assigned to read your book. what does that mean to you? >> it's so humbling. first, mustangs you are awesome. the other wes moore has been the most popular book for freshman year reads. it's being used as curriculums in high schools. it means so much to me because

for a couple of reasons. this was the intent. i wanted people to understand how thin that line is between one life and another life. the life that we can congratulate an celebrate and the life we can castigate. that line between them is extraordinarily thin. the other thing i wanted people to understand is we can do something about it. the great thing of going to smu or college campus is these are people that can do something about it. >> talk about education, what was your time like over there at oxford, did you love it? >> i was studying international relations, there were six americans in our entire class. i'm studying with iranians and germans and south africans and brazilians and russians. that's how you want to learn because it forces you to see the world and see decisions outside of your own lens. i came back from there a stronger person. i came back from there a more

thoughtful person. >> tomorrow at this time wes takes us inside his time at the white house working with secretary rice and telling the us about his new show on "own." what's worse, the architects criticizing the president or john mccain playing poker on his phone. sec! i found our colors. we've made a decision. great, let's go get you set up... you need brushes... you should check out our workshops... push your color boundaries while staying well within your budget walls. i want to paint something else. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. glidden premium interior paint starts at a new lower price at $18.94 a gallon.

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at&t mobile share for business. ♪ at&t mobile share for business. how can i help you? oh, you're real? you know i'm real! at discover, we're always here to talk. good, 'cause i don't have time for machines. some companies just don't appreciate the power of conversation! you know, i like you! i like you too! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card and talk to a real person. the big three is up next. let's take you right now to france. that's where andrea mitchell is asking a question. let's listen. >> 60% of the french public opposes this action. why wait for the u.n. inspectors and would you feel strongly about joining the united states if the united states congress says no? >> well, andrea, i just first of

all, this case is not yet been made to the american people for more than a few days. we will continue to make the case to the american people. you asked the question why should an american think that this is valuable? i'll tell you why. we're talking about it as we walked out doors because this concerns every american's security. this is not remote. this is not some far off place where something happened that's just one arab sect killing another on some internal fight. these are chemical weapons, which for almost a hundred years the world has banned from usage. in time of war the only people that have used them are adolph hitler and hussein until bashar

a al-assad. we know there are terrorists who grow in that part of the world and their focus on the west, on europe and the united states and elsewhere. if these weapons fall into their hands every american and everybody in europe should be concerned. sarin gas was used in the tokyo subway. as extremists grow in their power, which is what will happen if we don't take action, we will have licensed iran and hezbollah to do what they want. that's the sequenconsequence of walking away. the principle one is the u.n. hasn't been able to respond because one nation keeps vetoing

its ability or two nations to be able to act. we supposed to turn away because the u.n. itself has become a tool of idealogy or individual nations and not say that the principle we put in place or fought for is going to be thrown way. i don't think so. when you look at those videos of those children heaving for breath, unable to move, spasming, their lives stolen from them or their parents lives stolen from them by gas in the middle of the night when they should have been sleeping comfort bli, instead they are wiped out by a man with no conscious of what he does to his own people, are we supposed to walk away from that? president clinton says the greatest regret he has about his administration is he didn't move on rwanda.

history is full of when countries walked away from responsibility and worst things have happened, including war. if we don't confront this now, we'll see this issue grow and it will be required that we confront it in some other place at some other time where they may be a greater miscalculation. what will iran say if the united states backs down? what are the implications for each country in the region who are just downwind from the weapons depending on which way the wind blows that assad has chosen to use. this matters to americans as a matter of security. this stability of the middle east matters to americans. it matters to americans whether or not syria implodes and breaks

apart. it matters to all of us. i think we need to stand up and be counted and so does my good friend. we'll keep talking about why this is important to and as he said to me, from the people of france -- [ speaking foreign language ]. i'll let laurent -- >> there you're listening to john kerry and he is responding to our own andrea mitchell's question. he's speaking along the french foreign minister. i'm going to bring in our big 3 panel. you guys, we're going to blow this up a little bit and not have a traditional big 3. i want to have you all respond to what you heard secretary

kerry say. first thing to you, morris reid, he said that syrians -- the possibility of their implosion, that americans care about that. given what we have heard from town hall meetings across this country, particularly in this last week, do you agree with that? do americans care enough to do something about it? >> well, it's two parts. yes, americans care when people are being wiped out and treated badly. so they do care about that. the second part of that is that explaining to the american people why they should care about getting involved in this particular situation. that's what the administration hasn't done well up to this point. and that's what you're hearing at these town hall meetings. yes, americans care about this from a macro sense. but in this micro sense, we haven't explained the urgency of the situation to them. >> susan, john kerry says, if we don't act now, what kind of a message does that send? and that he guaranteed that it would allow for an escalation of the use of chemical weapons down

the road, a different time, a different place, perhaps an even greater force. is that a compelling enough argument? is that what you heard? is that something that the president could then capitalize upon in his speech to the nation on tuesday night? >> the bigger problem is this should have happened about ten days ago. as secretary of state kerry said. this concerns all americans because it is a matter of national security. you cannot let nations use chemical weapons. and i think it would have been fine if the president would have done the military strikes and then reported to the american public. now people don't understand. there's a lot of information out there. i think morris was right. the president has to now address the country and tell them this should a moral issue, they should be outraged at it. the president was really conflicted as the academic of wanting to bring it to congress and the commander in chief and seeing what happened to these people -- i think is probably somewhat surprised the american people haven't fallen in line. and most of all that the other

world leaders weren't right behind him. >> and the reason why is because they are waiting for the u.n. weapons inspector's report. that may happen later this week. but is that a copout? are they just buying time? is there really any question really as to whether chemical weapons were used? >> i don't think at this point -- there are doubts about the intelligence from the margins. but i think the majority of people believe something happened here that involved assad's authorization. the problem is many world leaders who have been our allies in the past are weary from the past from having been led down the path by the bush administration. the other problem is they don't really see a strategic and meaningful game plan about what happens after this missile attack, what is the next step? how do they anticipate that assad will respond? and i think they're wary of getting into a long-term quagmire like the ones we've seen in recent history. >> the world leaders are holding back. there is a cancer growing in

this situation and it's iran. and until we step up and deal with this, our allies, all of them around the world in that part of the region want our help. we don't want to wait until there's a hitler situation. the leadership, they need to step up. >> morris, do you think iran really fears some sort of u.s. retaliation if they, as suggested with hezbollah placed inside syria to launch strikes should the u.s. launch these tomahawk missiles -- >> we are the only country that can refute and put these guys in check. they are bluffing ander that bluffers. until we step up and deal with them, we will continue to hear them talk this type of language. >> until we step up and deal with them. if we do not, we have talked about this red line being crossed in the sand. if we do not do something, how do you think our credibility is viewed by iran and its leaders? >> i think -- >> out the window. >> if we don't step up and deal with these guys, it will be a

slippery slope and spiral out of control and embolden them to do other things. they're already acting in beirut and iraq. >> susan? >> i completely agree with morris on this one. the interesting thing about iran is they like to raise their head and scream that they'll do this or this. but right now, they're being strangled by the rest of the world because they're not getting their commerce through, they're not getting their oil at the same level as they were before. and iran is important. but more importantly right now, it is up to the president to make this moral argument and gain support among the american public. once that happens, i think you'll see the other world leaders fall in line. >> do you think he's going to be able to do that? >> i think unfortunately he's left the most recent summit with very little additional support. domestically, he's having a lot of trouble both in his own party from people who are already suspicious of war from the emerging right wing, suspicion

of war. unfortunately the obama administration has now been reduced to touting that they have the support of bush administration officials who are the very ones that they said that they were going to replace and bring back credibility to the world stage. i'm not terribly optimistic that obama is going to be able to make the case, much as i think he is sincerely upset and does want to act. >> if you want to bring credibility back to the world stage, it's about decisive leadership. whether you like george bush or not, this is the right thing to do. if obama wants to show credible leadership, lead the world now. >> morris, that may well be the case. but to do that, he has appealed to congress to back him up on this. to all three of you, will he get the votes to do so? >> no, he won't get the votes. he still has to go ahead. >> susan? >> at the end, i think he'll get them. i think it will be very narrow but once the congress comes back and sees all the videos and such and gets properly briefed, i think there's enough undecided out there that it will go that

way. >> erin? >> yes, absolutely on the senate. the house, looks like a stretch. >> my fabulous big 3 today, thank you so much. i appreciate it. that's a wrap, everyone, of "weekends with alex witt." up next, craig melvin. ♪ to somebody out there who i didn't know ♪ ♪ would they laugh after i'd gone? ♪ ♪ or would they pass that wonder on? ♪ ♪ i wonder how it'd change your point of view ♪ ♪ if i gave one to you? ♪ ♪ now you can give yourself a kick in the rear! v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle.

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(announcer) take their taste buds for a little spinn. with more than 50 delicious flavors. friskies. feed the senses. good saturday afternoon. i'm craig melvin. here's what's happening right now. >> we can't ignore chemical weapons attacks like this one. even if they happened halfway around the world. >> convincing the country. president obama is back in d.c. today. he's preparing to take his case straight to the american people. we are live as protesters gather outside the white house right now. also today, a new dawn for labor? the major plan from the aflcio to add millions of nonunion workers. we'll preview the plan ahead of tomorrow's big vote. and cleaning up the city, from a smartphone.