rebels fighting the assad regime ask john mccain for help when the republican senator slips into the civil war-torn nation. >>> crane collapse. a piece of construction equipment toppled over in russia and caught on camera slicing through an apartment building. >>> workers save an infant trapped in a sewage pipe. this is the "cbs morning news" for tuesday, may 28th, 2013. >>> good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. this morning firefighters in southern california are battling a fast moving wildfire that forced up to 6,000 memorial day campers to evacuate. the fire broke out yesterday afternoon in the los padres national forest. about 50 homes are threatened, many of them vacation rentals. so far just one building has actually been damaged. >> it was a u.s. forest service building. the fire was put out so only a certain portion of the building was destroyed. we had two vehicles that were burned. one was a u.s. forest service whiteface mountain. the weather was so bad that part of the highway had to be closed. >>> and president obama takes a post-memorial day tour of th

assad. they're not asking him to step down before the talks. still this is not being welcomed by the regime, who is not talking about the possibility of bashar al-assad running for a third term next year. russian supporters of the regime are accusing the opposition of undermining the talks. >> 1 get the impression that the national coalition and its regional sponsors are doing everything they can to prevent a political process from starting. public aincludes pensio -- public opinion in the west. >> you cannot expect the opposition to say anything other than they want bashar al-assad out at a time when they are waging battles and they're losing credibility on the ground. the rebels have been accusing them of failing to truly resent the struggle of the syrian people. peopleother news, 19 including eight police officers have been killed during a series of attacks in iraq. in baghdad, at least one officer was killed when an improvised explosive device at a checkpoint was detonated. and elsewhere before your people were killed and a dozen injured. thee was an explosion in west of the city in a c

sirria secretary of state kerry warns russia today, that sending missiles to assad's regime threatens the entire region. >> we ask them again not to upset the balance within the region, with respect to israel and the weaponry that is being provided assad whether it's an old contract or not. it has a profoundly negative impact on the balance of interests and the stability of the region. >> bringing home the bacon -- more women are the family's top earner. what's behind the dramatic shift. >>> k-n-a-i-d-e-l. knaidel. >> you are the champion. >> and spellcheck, we have a winner. but he is not heading to disney world. >>> good day, i'm andrea mitchell live in washington, president obama is drawing a line against the republican house fix to prevent student financial aid from doubling. it boils down to a fight between fixed rates and floating rates so who's right? joining me now for our daily fix, chris cillizza, msnbc contributor and nbc's david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." david let's talk about this. this is an argument over capping the rates, letting the rates float or fixing the rate. not, preventing it

. >> warner: you don't take at face value, russia willing to press the assad regime, and, clearly, president obama is askingar, turkey, and saudi arabia, who also support the rebels, to put pressure on them to attend. >> i think there is a sense of urgencype wasngbout the importance of getting these negotiations launched. the u.s. is watching this conflict grow and expand, spill over beyond syria's borders, and lead to violence in every one of the neighboring countries. it's watching the humanitarian catastrophe in syria escalate at an enormous scale. and i think that is giving them a very compelling sense that they need to get a political process launched glerg steve heydemann and henri barkey, thank you. >> woodruff: now, we continue our examination of immigration reform as lawmakers consider legislation to overhaul the system in washington. ray suarez has our report from colorado, exploring how the evangelical community is advocating for changing how the country handles undocumented immigrants. ( singing ) >> reporter: it looks like a typical evangelical church service with modern songs of worship, guita

facts before acting on the assad regime's reported use of sarin gas against the opposition something he previously said would cross the red line. has the line moved? let's ask stevens and matt cominsky. interpret his remarks here. is he actually to act or delay having to act? >> the chain of evidence -- it's very hard. he has said you have to know who did it first. how it was done. it's hard enough to establish that court of law much less a war that we don't have access. i don't think -- he has definitely moved the line. initially remember the red line, if they even moved the chemical weapons around syria which they did last year and we didn't say they crossed a red line. >> it's worst than that, he said we need a u.n. investigation. we have a huge intelligence apparatus, the israel has one and french but we need from belarus and sudan and who else knows where whether the regime is using these weapons. >> paul: reportedly the evidence we comes from victims. there was evidence taken from the victims who had this. >> victims display certain kind of symptoms. we also have defected syrian generals who have said on the record that they were ordered to use sarin

news reports, russia has agreed to sell an advanced air defense system to the assad regime should lead us once again -- askus whether the path to peace in syria really runs through moscow. i know americans are war-weary, eager to focus on our domestic and economic problems and not foreign affairs. i also know the situation in syria is complex, and there are no ideal options. but the basic choice we face is not complicated. do the costs of inaction outweigh the costs of actions? i believe they do. no one should think that the united states has to act alone, put boots on the ground, or destroy every syrian air defense system to make a difference for the better in syria. we have more limited option optt our disposal, including limited military options that can make a positive impact on this crisis. we could, for example, organize an overt and large-scale operation to train and arm well-vetted syrian opposition forces. a course of action that was recommended last year by president obama's entire national security team. i'm encouraged that senator menendez, chairman of the foreign relations committee, has intro

news reports, russia has agreed to sell an advanced air defense system to the assad regime should lead us once again -- ask us whether the path to peace in syria really runs through moscow. i know americans are war-weary, eager to focus on our domestic and economic problems and not foreign affairs. i alsonow the situation in syria is complex, and there are no ideal options. but the basic choice we face is not complicated. do the costs of inaction outweigh the costs of actions? i believe they do. no one should think that the united states has to act alone, put boots on the ground, or destroy every syrian air defense system to make aifference for the better in syria. we have more limited option optt our disposal, including limited military options that can make a positive impact on this crisis. we could, for example, organize an overt and large-scale eration to train and arm well-vetted syrian opposition forces. a course of action that was recommended last year by president obama's entire national security team. i'm encouraged that senator menendez, chairman of the foreign relations committee, has introduced

assad regime used chemical weapons. a just released cbs/new york times poll says americans are reluctant to see u.s. get involved in the syrian civil war. 62% of those asked says the u.s. does not have a responsibility to intervene. susan mcginnis is in washington this morning. susan? >> and . >> anne-marie, despite those poll numbers, the white house is considering greater involvement in syria. they say the international community must be fully confident. president obama is said to be considering a plan to ship weapons to rebel groups fighting the syrian army. the president has ordered his national security team to identify what the u.s. can do to help topple syrian dictator bashir al assad. >> we've got do everything we can to protect the syrian people. >> the president said he likely used chemical weapons against his own people, but he said more evidence is needed. >> i've got to be sure i have got the facts. that's what americans expect. >> the president said he likely used chemical weapons against hiss own people, but more evidence is needed. he called the use of chemical weapon games-changer. >> that means there are some options we might not otherwi

news reports, russia has agreed to sell an advanced air defense system to the assad regime should lead us once again -- askus whether the path to peace in syria really runs through moscow. i know americans are war-weary, eager to focus on our domestic and economic problems and not foreign affairs. i also know the situation in syria is complex, and there are no ideal options. but the basic choice we face is not complicated. do the costs of inaction outweigh the costs of actions? i believe they do. no one should think that the united states has to act alone, put boots on the ground, or destroy every syrian air defense system to make a difference for the better in syria. we have more limited option optt our disposal, including limited military options that can make a positive impact on this crisis. we could, for example, organize an overt and large-scale operation to train and arm well-vetted syrian opposition forces. a course of action that was recommended last year by president obama's entire national security team. i'm encouraged that senator menendez, chairman of the foreign relations committee, has intro

ask you about syria lost military power. what are we talking about, what forces does the assad regime have?since 2010, we had the best ref estimate in terms of capabilities. they are very secretive. you had in the thought military focused against missouri for 30 years. the law affects the civil war and insurgency and counterinsurgency warfare, and erosion of eric capabilities, and erosion of armor. 2012, and erosion of manpower. effortu have now is an by the assad forces to reverse some of those. they have continued focus on armored mobility in major cities like damascus and areas that defend the city. they still haven't active pool of attack helicopters -- they still haveve pl of attack helicopters. they still have a fairly dense air defense network despite some talk of its aging status. you have a military that, even , havetwo years of losses some capability, on paper anyway. host: their military includes an army, and navy, air and air defense forces, service agents, 18 years old. compulsory for men, but you mentioned of the affections. what are we seeing terms of men and even women servi

asking about the words the president didn't use. >> what do you make of this, vali? >> the president is very deliberate thinking about whether or not he is going to punish the assad regimeor use of chemical weapons. there's a lot on the line. if it is proved chemical weapons were used, they would have to act militarily to punish the regime, if they don't, the international credibility is at stake. it is also important what the president didn't say. he did not show a road map how the united states would get involved diplomatically in terms of a no fly zone, economically to address the myriad of problems arising in syria from the spread of al qaeda influence, extremism, humanitarian crisis. basically he says the united states only will get involved if it is to punish the regime for use of chemical weapons. >> when you say get involved, no one really believes the u.s. is going to get involved with so-called boots on the ground. do you think a no fly zone, air strikes, what the u.s. did in libya, do you think that's realistic? >> well, in response to use of chemical weapons, could use cruise missiles, targeted bombing of a site to punish the regime for this use of chemical

. >> can i ask both of you, how confident are you that the assad regime is in control of its chemicaleapons? at how confident are you that the u.s. and the ua can knows where those weapons are? and a second part. if you red line is determined to have been crossed, will any military action be targeted against chemical weapons sites and proportional? or is it more likely to be a broader attempt to change the strategic equation in syria and overthrow the assad regime? >> thank you for that. i think the evidence that we have is that the regime is largely in control of its chemical weapons, principal chemical weapons sites. that is not the same as saying that we are able to account for every last unit of chemical stocks, but there is no evidence that the regime has lost control of significant chemical weapons sites yet. in terms of the location of weapons, i think we have a great deal of knowledge of the location of chemical weapons. that is not the same as saying that i can put my hand on my heart and say we know where every last item is. in terms of any possible response, i wouldn't want

ask is why. >> and the prime minister of turkey tells nbc's ann curry syria president assad has used chemical weapons. >> has syrian president assad used chemical weapons? >> translator: it is clear the regime has used chemical weapons, missiles. they use about 200 missiles according to our intelligence. it can be even more, but not less. >> you can tell we have a packed show. erdogan, a key player in syria. i'm chuck todd in for andrea mitchell. it is what some are calling the face of evil, accused cleveland kidnapping suspect ariel castro appears in court for first time since a daring escape for those three women who said they were held captive in his home for nearly a decade. >> the situation has turned, your honor, mr. castro stands before you a captive, the women are free to resume their lives that were interrupted. and also with the promise and the hope that justice will be served. >> the details of the alleged crime are too graphic even for cable television. from the women's own account, we are hearing harrowing stories of beating, starvation, forced miscarriages, five of them with michelle knight. two of the women spent the night at home with their families for first time in a decad

rebels fighting the assad regime ask john mccain for help when the republican senator slips into thenation. >>> crane collapse. a piece of construction equipment toppled over in russia and caught on camera slicing through an apartment building. >>> workers save an infant trapped in a sewage pipe. this is the "cbs morning news" for tuesday, may 28th, 2013. >>> good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green.