one of the must just be smoking life with you have no idea what is in that. coming up bono aren't see in new york the u.n. general assembly continues diplomatic talks today circled around thawing u.s. iranian relations in a resolution dealing with syria's chemical weapons the latest updates ahead. then the u.s. war on terror has been waged for over a decade now but how does the u.s. government define terrorists the answer may surprise you that's coming up. and synthetic marijuana is slowly becoming an alternative to the real stuff here in the u.s. but it's an alternative that could have deadly consequences and now local governments are battling to regulate it we'll tell you more in a special party investigation. it's

thursday september twenty sixth eight pm in washington d.c. i'm sam sachs and you're watching our team and we begin with the latest news coming out of the united nations general assembly in new york city first there appears to be a breakthrough when it comes to controlling syria's nuclear weapons today it was announced that the united states and russia have agreed to a draft resolution that will be submitted to the u.n. security council tonight secretary of state john kerry and russian foreign minister sergey lavrov have been working closely on the strap resolution compelling syria to give up its chemical weapons and this serious situation has been at the top of the un's agenda all week also today john kerry met with iran's foreign minister and top diplomats from four other countries to talk about iran's nuclear program and even earlier in the day iran's president hassan rouhani called for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons all around the world. no nation of all u.s.

should possess nuclear weapon. sure since there are no right hands for these wrong weapons as you mr secretary general have rightly put it. determined. to make every effort to really vision. within. world without further delays also on this very busy day at the u.n. the general assembly heard from palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas regarding palestine's efforts toward permanent membership at the u.n. and the prospects of peace with israel joining me now from our new york studios for the latest on all of this our cheese on a saucer churkin up on a source you've been at the u.n.

all day covering these stories first let's start with syria a draft resolution has been agreed to we heard from russian foreign minister said a great surgeon lever off a few hours ago what do you have to say in one of the details of this rose resolution well sam what we witnessed today when it comes to the syrian resolution is really a diplomatic breakthrough we have been expecting some kind of agreement to be reached on this resolution between russia and the united states after they had agreed in principle that syria would put its chemical weapons under international control they were working out the text of what would be in this resolution and the main argument continued to be whether or not to include a clause on the use of force if syria doesn't comply the united states as we know of course has been insisting on this russia has said this would be out of the question and this latest text that was agreed on by leaders earlier today was basically that there would be no use of force in this text and this is certainly

a very big deal and what this resolution that is going to be we're actually expecting the security council to meet within the next few hours to discuss it possibly vote on it we'll see if that happens later today and importantly this resolution is basically not going to mention the use of force that was for a long time stipulated by the u.s. this is how the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov explained it. there's that was this idea of the resolution includes an agreement that was reached in geneva stating that the security council can go back to reviewing the resolution only in the case of a breach of the agreement by any of the sides including the opposition in the case of chemical weapons used by any side if that happens the council can act on those cases under chapter seven as well but only depending on the degree of that by alecia matures and if it is one hundred percent proven it's still for us and so out of what would basically sam we heard there as what was going to happen now the

security council is going to vote on this tax when they pass this tax we're assuming they all agreed on on it since it's going to be negotiated and voted on in the hours to come syria will have to move its chemical weapons under international control to be destroyed and in terms of the crisis in the more general sense of that the syrian crisis a political transition that leaders agreed upon back in geneva will now be something that they will work on next a political transition that would ensure all parties negotiating and hopes of moving forward out of this crisis dutch it sounds like it's going to be a late night over there at the u.n. security council moving on to the iranian president rouhani addressed the general simply session on nuclear disarmament he called for a nuclear weapon free world what can we take from his speech to give us insights into how many iranians nuclear deal can be reached as kerry today meets with the iranian foreign minister and other diplomats right well sam you know generally the tone that we've been hearing from iran has been strikingly different from what we

have been hearing in the previous eight years that mahmoud ahmadinejad would come here to the united nations general assembly where definitely hearing a much more conversational tone a much more obvious preparedness for dialogue we did hear earlier this week from the iranian president that not only does iran see prefer to see a nuclear free world but also they would like to see a lower temp. between the united states they would like to make sure the concerns that the international community in the u.s. have when it comes to its uranium enrichment program are lessened and they're willing to work on this we did experience a meeting earlier today between the reigning foreign minister john kerry and so basically the five permanent members of the security council plus germany press iran those were said to be good good negotiations we didn't really get much details in terms of nobody really expected a breakthrough from this first meeting between the foreign ministers in years and we do know that the next one will be happening in geneva next month so hopefully

this is a sign that things are moving along with the iranian situation as well also today the president the palestinian authority mahmoud abbas he addressed the general assembly where has this u.n. g.a. moved the middle east peace process well you know sam i don't think it's that we can say that this particular u.n.g.a. has really moved the middle east peace process the israeli palestinian question much for there are we certainly know that it remains on leaders agenda most certainly by top because syria and mostly syria really have been stealing the headlines here at the when this is not really been something that has been talked about much we do know however that obviously the obama administration has been trying to really plow through and move forward the middle east peace talks the palestinian leader today did say that the palestinian people are very thankful but they were granted observer mission at the u.n. last year and that the talks have been resumed several weeks ago and hopefully will continue to lead to a solution parties on the stasi the church to thank you. they're stuck in the

middle of the more than two year long syrian civil wars the small town of maluco home to just over three thousand residents mostly christians are bringing continuing coverage from the town as it became a battleground between extremist rebel fighters affiliated with al nusra and the assad government the fighting continues around the loop and the town is dealing with a chair of destruction and recently archie spoke with an archbishop of the syrian church for the eastern us who told the story of moola in the hardships brought on by the syrian civil war. very ancient town northeast of the mask is and it is on the list of the heritage. centers the u.s. coalesced. is made of mainly christian and some muslim families who have lived together for many centuries peacefully. is one of the very few towns

and cities in syria where make is still spoken. of course the habitants of my rule originally come from the aramaic people of syria which was the dominant race in syria before islam now many are around malula become arab ised through language and through other things but my really kept its make. identity malula is no different than other christian and claves and population of christians in the large cities they have always felt that what's happening in syria right now is against their own interest as citizens of syria especially as christians as it's well known and documented christians and the as a rule. have lived relatively very peaceful. conditions and the government and the syrian population have been really nice to

the christians because the christian after all these inhabitants of syria the original inhabitants of syria therefore keeping the christian prison in the middle east especially in syria is a richness and is. in reaching the syrian society therefore they always stood with the country i cannot say with the government because they love the country and that's why they think the current regime is good for christians ates a secular regime and they are very much afraid of what comes after. ballou is on the unesco list of tentative world heritage sites famous for two of the oldest monasteries surviving the country in the same talkalakh convent residents are urging the international committee of the red cross and other government and non-governmental organizations to provide aid to the village as well as the convent and residents who have taken refuge within it. the movie on amid all the bluster on

capitol hill about government shutdowns debt limits and green eggs and ham very quietly efforts to reform the national security agency are moving forward in sort of a big way and since june edward snowden's revelations about how the n.s.a. goes about spying on american citizens have led to more than a dozen pieces of legislation being introduced to rein in the n.s.a. and bring light to the top secret foreign intelligence surveillance court this week all those bills were fused together into one built the most comprehensive and most aggressive n.s.a. reform bill introduced yet. the bill was unveiled wednesday by a bipartisan group of senators including ron wyden mark udall richard blumenthal and rand paul it will restrict the n.s.a.'s ability to continue the mass collection of americans phone data under section two fifteen of the patriot act it also limits collection of certain internet communications under section a seven zero two of the amendments act and it closes the backdoor that allows analysts to search through

americans data that may have been swept up into the n.s.a. data bases the law also reforms advise the court by putting in place a constitutional advocate attacked as an adversary against government requests for information today and say chief keith alexander was called to testify in front of the senate intelligence committee alongside the director of national intelligence james clapper who defended once again his spying programs. all of us in the intel's community are very much aware that the recent unauthorized disclosures of raise serious concerns both here in congress and across the nation about our intelligence activities we know that the public wants both to understand how its until disputed uses its special tools in the thora these and to judge whether we can be trusted to use them appropriately we believe we have been lawful and that the rigorous oversight we've operated under has been effective now says in

congress may take action the n.s.a. is making appeals to the american people keith alexander spoke at the national press club yesterday saying quote the american people have to weigh in and help us get the tools we need to defend this country of course since the leaks polling has routinely showed their merit the american people are uncomfortable with the n.s.a.'s activities. later this year congress will have to pass a new version of the defense authorization act and in previous years this bill has included new power for the military to indefinitely detain those who are suspected of affiliating with terrorists it's also limited the transfer of suspected terrorists out of guantanamo bed this year those skeptical of the more than a decade old authorization for use of military force that underpins the global war on terror want to have this authorization narrowed along with narrowing the definition of who exactly is considered an enemy of the united states the problem

is even our own government seems to have a difficult time defining who is and who is not a terrorist artie's perry and boring has more on the ever changing definition of the word. terrorism is in the headlines every day with the people carrying out the attacks described as everything from freedom fighters to focus on terrorist but even the official line is less than concise you can see the many government agencies and the u.s. don't have a cohesive definition according to the state department no one definition of terrorism has gained universal acceptance within our government this could have an impact on why the media has been to find the difference between regime states and rebels in varying countries around the world at harvest stayed home and security f.b.i. fema they all use different definitions and this could also play a part into why senator rand paul is concerned about who could be considered a terrorist. at this debate with john mccain on the floor and i said you could send

an american citizen to guantanamo bay without a trial with without a jury without a lawyer without anybody says jennifer if there are dangers he says this could happen because the national defense authorization act gives the government the power to indefinitely detain american citizens who are accused of just having an association with terrorism and congressional statement he warned when the government can arrest suspects without a warrant hold them without trial deny them access to counsel or admission of bail we have shorn the bill of rights of its sanctity but a spokesman from senator john mccain's office who was a leap sponsor of the bill refuted paul's statements saying there is a faction that preserves not just the right behaviors corpus but all constitutional rights enjoyed by every person before court of the united states so not having a clear definition of terrorism is problematic because americans might not have equal protections if they're considered a terrorist and what constitutes a terrorist is rather expansive. having more than seven days worth of food is one

of the criteria for being in terrorist having multiple weapons at home any bill we want to ask you to ranger and. likes to pay in cash has changed. color of your hair recently we're not going to get too personal here. stains on your clothing means you might be making bombs missing fingers anybody ever met a farmer who might be missing a finger president obama's a former teacher of staff rahm emanuel lost the finger after accidentally cutting it off at a meet life there but how is this criteria for a terrorist suspect according to a document obtained by public intelligence a training program for law enforcement that's funded by the department of justice included the following potential terrorist and the caterers keep records on computers near identified potential target carrying video cameras person of the herd with maps rental of self storage space presents a pamphlet having herodias in your home so i thought to the streets to see if i

could find anyone who met this criteria. hey i just noticed you guys had a map you have any points of interest highlighted on that map everything have you at any point in time ever had more than seven days where the food in your home soon days if a movie where that's too short a time publish them in p.d.f. so how do you ever keep more than seven days with the food in your home yes no you know keeping a week's worth of food in your house we do yeah we do yes yeah yeah do you like to keep records on your computer. will keep records are computer don't you guys prefer to paying cash yeah usually we do small items you why don't you have some flyers on your way what do you got back there. man more mad that you have a camera with you oh sure i mean take a picture of you our government says if you meet these criteria such as having a camera near point adventurous like to paying cash has more than seven days where

the food you have you are a terrorist suspect. that's pretty scary do you think we should look like there's. i mean i think yes but the criteria that sound like we should be concerned being a terrorist suspect right is the criteria that. we should be concerned about here and should be concerned does it make sense not about the government a clinician a government that makes sense isn't that ridiculous i mean maybe it's time to review your criteria evan they have other criteria birth affected people pretty much everyone that could be considered a terrorist and according to rand paul this is how american thought at the end could be and definitely detained and washington perry and boring r.t. on to the monsanto protection act you remember that act right it's the provision that was quietly inserted into a spending bill last spring then signed into law and it basically allows monsanto and other biotech corporations to continue distributing their genetically modified

seeds even after a court has ruled that those seeds may not meet certain environmental tests and it basically makes the g.m.o. seed industry exempt from the court system well since that provision was inserted into a short term spending bill earlier this year it expires when that short term spending bill expires to which is at the end of the week you know when the government shuts down now the house is spending bill passed last week the one that defunded obamacare also included an extension of the month santo protection act but the senate which is currently working on its own spending bill now will not include an extension of the monsanto protection act that's at least according to senate appropriations chairwoman barbara mikulski and senator mark pryor so as if there weren't enough differences between the house in the senate when it comes to averting a government shutdown the monsanto protection act could be a sticking point too. on wednesday the senate caucus on international narcotics

control held a hearing on the rise of the synthetic scuse me a hearing on the rise of synthetic drugs testifying at the hearing was michael bought of charlie the deputy director of the office of national drug control policy and the hearing discussed the difficulty of cracking down on these synthetic drugs since their producers often change the chemical make up of them so that they are not technically illegal here was senator dianne feinstein speaking at the hearing and it's very hard because it's not at all clear cut and i don't know how you keep making can make cases if the chemicals keep changing but the intent of the south of the producer is what i would go for it because clearly the intent of the producer is for human consumption and they guys it. this way and was not intended for human consumption and by name you know bass feiss or candy or whatever

it might be right and i think this is what makes it so diabolical arch is making lopez has been looking into the dangers of synthetic marijuana here's part two of her investigation. it's a wonderful town i love it i love this place where we've got great character about great people the quiet little city of frederick maryland is perhaps best known as the final resting place of francis scott key author of the star-spangled banner. and while this little city no longer has to worry about bombs bursting in air or frederick is now a battleground of a different sort we got to the point where we realized we had do something something about a drug problem taking over the city synthetic marijuana it's a designer drug where nail polish remover mixed with chemicals is sprayed on dried herbs sold and smoked to get

a high similar to that of actual marijuana with sometimes serious side effects if you smoke and chemicals you're smoking something that is laced with your even know what you might just be smoking lighter fluid what started off as just a community nuisance quickly turned into a public health emergency we started noticing it more with some reports from our own from the physical world hospital and we were realizing something was happening in our town as well the u.s. as a whole put a ban on twenty six types of synthetic drugs in two thousand and twelve but the chemical makeup can be so easily manipulated that drug makers quickly found ways to skirt the law we had to figure out how to ban it and what was banned and every combination and it it wasn't that easy fredrick came up with a stricter law of its own last year banning any synthetics up. senses that mimics the effects of drugs that are illegal under federal law yet just a short drive up the road where towns don't have laws of their own the products

still stocks store shelves so i wanted to find out for myself how easy it really is to get your hands on these synthetic cannabinoids so i went right outside of frederick city limits still within the county of frederick but in the city of jefferson and sure enough right off the highway is this b.p. gas station where i was able to get my hands on this bag this is a four a gram bag that cost me about thirty two bucks it's just as easily accessible in much of the us and is sometimes wrongly described as a marijuana alternative in order to truly understand the complexity of it we need a quick chemistry lesson it looks like marijuana in that they are both kind of a green brown plant material but to friends that chemists these look very different and it all comes down to science now in the beginning there were only a few classes of the chemical most notably the j w h series named after the scientist who discovered it john w. huffman it's formula is c twenty four h.

twenty three in oh well let's just say that i add an extra oxygen molecule over here and i made all of these nitrogen well then i have a whole new chemical or what happens if i took a couple of those nitrogen molecules away again i created an entirely new drug this is how many of those drugs are actually slipping past regulations drug dealers have come up with over two hundred compounds and counting and it's tough for authorities to identify them with you know like heroin and cocaine the stuff we have these little kids that you can drop something in the change in the culture we had no kit like that so how do we say. this is illegal we have no way of testing to make sure it was illegal so by the time the lab has the results the drug deal. lawyers have already come up with a new chemical structure more and more local governments are trying to make laws

that are not only stricter than the federal law but more and forcible so far forty three states have taken it on the state of maryland will join that list october first it's a daunting hurdle facing the drug enforcement agency this is the new frontier of drugs and drug trafficking and drug abuse we were dealing with this five years ago over the past two years the da has conducted two major operations operation logjam resulted in ninety arrests four point eight million packets seized and material to create another thirteen point six million packages they are making progress but this public health emergency doesn't only rest on the d.e.a.'s shoulders this is like any drug issue in the united states we're never going to arrest or enforce our way out of drug problems what we need are for parents to be better we need kids to be better in washington meghan lopez r.t. with the expansion of the internet getting access to news has become easier and

faster but there's concern that some online news outlets are not telling us the full story and then instead the news world is catering to short attention spans for more on that the residents a large harvest. this report is a little more than two minutes. into the soundbite worlds that's practically a leisure time so i hope you can make it all the way to the end because it's about how the news reports just cat even shorter now this new. this is an organization that according to their website craft digital news for a social mobile generation and apparently that generation has

a very short attention span because now this news just announced that their newest reporter will be submitting these reports only through the video app vine so he will be delivering six second news stories according to now this news reporter can talk about college football in one vine and. about syria in another now this news reporter julie acard already submitted a buy report on syria to keep you an example of how much you can actually fit into a think second report the exact transcript of her report is obama arrives in new york today and will address the u.n. in his speech tomorrow how much should he push the u.n. to turn up the pressure on syria. to get that in six seconds can dissipate really fast not only is that report completely unnecessary since thousands of reporters

will be reporting that one fact along with more information in the more thorough reports but that report is completely dairy buying to me at least because it indicates that are already short attention spans for new lives are getting even shorter twitter is training us to get our news in one hundred forty characters web sites like medium part actually listing how long it should take you to read something in case you can't handle anything over three minutes we use the term long read to define reports that take more than a few minutes to read the internet abbreviation t.l. semi-colon t r is ubiquitous and now you're starting to get. second news reports. the bottom line is the shorter our attention spans and our news reports get the last truthful information we're actually absorbing and all we're left with is that half truths created by a hive mind the devolution of our news is getting pretty old so that you make

it through those two minutes good for you tonight let's talk about that in one hundred forty characters soundbites on twitter you can follow me there as the resident. that'll do it for tomorrow. sam sachs take it is it. you know wake up call america former labor secretary robert reich takes his lifelong fight for economic fairness to the big screen in the documentary inequality for all he believes the growing income gap threatens the american way of life unless citizens take to get a lay out the problems the potential solutions enjoy and why the stuff as things are still optimistic about the united states robert reich on politicking with larry .

spice k two scooby snacks the insulting thing is that they actually have the nerve to call if. you smoke and chemicals you're smoking something that is laced with your own even though one there are many many different than me. and i think there are no real clues for. the regulations on. the must just be smoking light with no idea what is in that. city.