victor and suzanne. >> cnn's emily schmidt in washington. thank you. in front of the white house there. the cameras are there as well. you can always hear the protesters when they come out. it's not unlikely the president and first family would hear them as well. >>> a scary moment at a high school football game at a high school in ohio. just take a look at this. whoa. students cheering on their team, the bleachers collapsing there. dozens of young fans were slammed to the ground. five students were hurt but thankfully none of those injuries were serious. you can imagine a scary moment there. >>> so it is saturday morning. everybody is looking forward to a sunny sky this weekend, but not everybody is going to enjoy one. in oregon showers and thunderstorms brought down trees, power lines near portland. look at this. in idaho nasty rains caused flooding, mud slides, huge mess there. so what can you expect for the rest of the weekend where you are? there's all that rain that victor was talking about. by sunday, by tomorrow it moves eastward, and with show

our reporter emily schmidt is live in washington, d.c. now with the latest on the search for a motive. emily? >> reporter: dave, how do you get to information to find out more about what aaron alexis was thinking? well, some of the ways they do it, forensic evidence, looking at what's available. a senior law enforcement official says they use surveillance tape to be able to track alexis going in and out of the bathroom with a bag. they think in the bathroom is where he put together the shot gun that he used, as it came out intact. they talk to people who knew him. in fact, his mother is talking to the media any moment now. we're hoping what she says, along with the other pregnants of information -- fragments of information, help us piece together what happened. >> we have the report on the fourth floor, a male with a gun. multiple shots fired. multiple people down. >> reporter: when kathy gaarde's husband heard the first reports of shots, he thought surely she was okay. and then came hours of silence. >> the later it got, the more desperat

emily schmidt reports, investigators now believe that he acted alone. >> he came or around the cornernd he aimed his gun at us and fired about three shots. he kills people ages 40 to 70 years old. none of them were military personnel that all contractors. >> he had legitimate access to the navy yard as a result of the work that he did here. >> friends of alexis stated that he worked other places and was frustrated about the amount paid that he received. >> frustrated about your life is one thing but going out taking other people's lives is another thing. >> his friends stated that he was discharged from a the service for his conduct. he sought out one of persons tires and they stated that it was a anchored fuelled blacked out. he was arrested for firing a shot in his apartment. he was also arrested in georgia for disorderly conduct. >> as the investigation continues people are pausing to remember the victims. flags are flying half staff. not far from the latest mass shooting. about 3000 people worked at this navy yard and it is closed today unti. >> the time is 6:33 a.m.. happening no

emily schmidt in washington. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is very busy trying to convince the national community to take military action against syri syria. >> what we are seeking is to enforce the stad with respect to the use of chemical weapons. we are not seeking to become engaged to or party to or take over syria's civil war. >> he met with arab league foreign ministers today and the discussion on syria was on the agenda. foreign reporter alice is live traveling with secretary kerry. kerry will be meeting with who today? >> he'll be meeting with palestinian president mahmoud abbas. this trip was supposed to deal with the middle east peace process, as you know, secretary kerry has devoted a considerable amount of time but the crisis in syria has certainly eclipsed the middle east peace process. he's trying to do both at the same time. he met with the arab league. he seemed to get a lot of support in the meeting. he's looking to some of these countries to signton that j 20 statement that came out of that meeti

emily schmidt has this report from washington, dc >> catherine: >> pam: the mother of the navy yard shooter apologized to the families of the victims wednesday -- and in a statement to the press -- said even she doesn't know why he did what he did. >>i don't know why he did what he did and i will never be able to ask him why. aaron is now in a place where he can no longer do harm to anyone and for that i am glad. to the families of the victims i am so, so very sorry that this has happened. my heart is broken. >> reporter:the former navy reservist who had a pattern of misconduct -- left the navy secret clearance. looking at the offenses while he was in uniform, none of those give you an indication that he was capable of this sort of brutal, vicious violence. >> reporter:court records show run-ins with the law dating back nearly a decade, and a rhode island police report indicates just last month he told officers he heard voices in his head. officials say alexis came to washington in august -- staying in hotels, where one person says she saw his demeanor change last week. >> his countenance w

so, cnn's emily schmidt is joining us now. and emily, thanks for being with us.that count stands this morning? >> reporter: christi, i'm going to show you the latest count. it tells us the uphill battle that the obama administration's facing as it tries to convince members of congress to authorize strikes against syria. we have the tally. we'll start with the senate for you. that's going to be the first to vote and where opinions that have been expressed so far are the most evenly divided. take a look at this. 25 senators saying they will vote yes, 20 no, still 55 undecided. it takes 60 yes votes to pass the resolution. it could be as early as wednesday. take a look at the house. the numbers show a different emerging story, more clear disagreement. 24 members in the yes column, 123 in the no. more than half of the members saying they are still undecided. we're still waiting for an exact timeline of any kind of a house vote. also still to be seen is how that video that was first obtained by cnn that barbara starr was talking about and now posted by the senate inte

emily schmidt joins us live from just outside the navy yard in washington, dc with the very latest. >> police beat believe that there was just one of the men. they are trying to find out why he did thibelieve that s the reason for thi shooting. none of the people that he shot were a militarnot to military personne. that all civilians. >> friends of a lexus stated that he worked with others and he may have been frustrated about his pay but they never expected this. >> going out and taking other people's lives is another thing. >> u.s. officials stated that he was discharged because of a pattern of misconduct. he was arrested for shooting the tires out on a car. and they stated that he had a and dirk fuel black out. he was arrested because he fired a gun and one time from his apartment. the washington post stated that he was arrested in georgia for disorderly conduct. as the investigation continues people are pausing to remember the victims who lost their lives. >> 3000 people worked as navy yard and it is closed today unless you are emergency personnel. at 10:00 a.m. the secretary of d

protesters opposed to a military strike are gathering right now outside the white house and emily schmidt. what are the demonstrators telling you as they gather? >> they just began demonstrating here about half an hour ago. their message boils down to no war in syria. and they have brought that message as close to president obama as they can because you see them picketing right in front of the white house. it isn't the first time they've been here. this same group was here last week, but today, there's going to be a little bit of a difference because after they talk in front of the white house, they are going to march to capitol hill. the difference being of course, at this time last week, they didn't know that president obama was going to be asking congress to weigh in on this decision in syria. some of the people who have gathered here are president obama's supporters, like margaret morales, who came here from pennsylvania, a university professor. why are you here today? >> because i felt like i had to have my presence here. it's like a protest for me. this is a peace march, but i want

emily schmidt joining us from washington. emily, it seems symbolic. is all about. >> suzanne, we're talking about a very symbolic focus on syria. we know president obama is going to address the nation tuesday night to talk about what could happen in syria. this weekend, some gathering at the white house to send a message of their own, members of the answer coalition to end war to prevent racism. they're planning a rally outside the white house in just a few hours. they're going to gather there and then they will march to the u.s. capitol. the capitol is going to be getting busier as the house is returning from vacation on monday. the house could take up the issue of syria within the next couple of weeks. we know the white house is etch radioing out. a number of officials told cnn a top official contacted over 125 members over the past two weeks. they've been having conference calls. this is a full-court press. and the lawmakers are completely aware of the decision they're about to make. >> the town halls and lawmakers getting feedback saying they're n