leland vittert live in jerusalem. leland, thanks. >>> we are seeing mixed reaction in the u.s. the president's remarks yesterday triggering rallies across the country. hundreds of people showing up to the duelling protests in houston. expressing opinions both for and against military intervention. brian is in the new york city newsroom with the latest on that. >> heather, congress may an want to wait until they return on september 9th for the strike on syria approval. americans are not wasting anytime letting the president know where they stand. anti-war protests breaking out in washington, d.c. about 200 people protesting outside the white house holding signs and chanting. police separating the two groups. one young protester saying the u.s. needs to help innocent syrians. >> we have to tell assad that chemical weapons is ridiculous to use against innocent. we have to prevent bombs. >> reporter: in new york city, chanting no war on syria from the people. at pershing square, many were against it. in boston, over 100 syrian-americans gathered on boston common. >> i want to see t

correspondent leland vittert has that story from the middle east newsroom in jerusalem. >> reporter:eaders either didn't think of the implications or wanted to make a point when one of their jets launched a sky work, simulating a ballistic missile inbound against the jewish state. the same system tracking a dummy missile would be tested for real if the syrians made good on their promise to retaliate against israel for a u.s. strike. most likely in the form of russian or iranian skud missiles. israel and the united states invested billions into a defense system that includes the iron dome, now deployed to protect tel aviv. israel has remained on the sidelines of the syrian civil war, but today's test made clear the threat of the neighbors is top of mind. we will continue to develop and research and to equip the idf, said the country's defense minister, with the best systems in the world. while the u.s. supports and promises to defend israel, the russians are still firmly behind the syrian regime. in fact, the first indications we had of the test came from russian early warning systems

rich edson at the white house, leland vittert has latest developments from jerusalem. s start with leland. >> liz, very much israel remains in the cross-hairs. remember that syria or iran can't really retaliate against the united states if there were to be an attack. israel is the second best option. both have promised that israel will be the target in the event that the u.s. launches strikes against syria. today, israel launched a test of arrow missile defense system deep in the mediterranean. an israeli air force jet launched what they call a sparrow missile which simulates a ballistic missile attack. it was the russians who first picked up this missile in flight for a moment there. there was a talk about inbound weapons towards syria. going forward, it appears as though, president assad there in syria is moving forward his scud missiles. those are ballistic missiles used to be launched against tel aviv and other towns and cities throughout israel. that is one of the things complicating the planning for any kind of military strike against syria is trying to figure out

>> leland vittert, thank you very much.here is word one of syrians most powerful allies, russia, could send a delegates directly to the united states to try to convince congress not to approve a military strike. that's coming up inside "the fox report." first, word of a taliban strike on a u.s. base in afghanistan. it happened near the border with pakistan and here is what it looked like after militants detonated bombs and set several trucks on fired the taliban claiming responsibility for what you see here it shut down a supply road for nato troops for a bit. coalition commanders say at least three of the militants died. an update now on the failing health of former south african president nelson mandela. according to a local newspaper there. hospital officials discharged after three months of treatment because of quote is no s. now time for mandela to be moved home to see his final days. he spent 30 years behind bars for fighting against the government's discrimination known as apartheid. he was admitted to the hospital o

leland vittert. thank you. jenna: a topic for our next guest who says the attack by al qaeda linked shabaab network highlights the obama administration down playing threats against the united states and its allies. we have the director of atlantic center at the african send he ister. he finish ad book focusing around this particular group. peter, why is that a failure in policy what we're seeing today? >> jenna, good to be with you again unfortunate as the circumstances may be. for the last two years the administration and its many international partners of the somali government and east african government have been doing this victory lap saying shabaab has been defeated, we have won. there were senior administration officials spoke about a somali model about peacekeeping throughout africa. a number of us were concerned that the try all fallism was too soon and premature. that shabaab was shifting tactics from guerrilla insurgency to terrorist organization and the eyes of the authorities were really off the bal

let's go live on the ground to the middle east with fox news's leland vittert. leland what is the latest from where you are? >> melissa, it is like one of those old-fashioned cold war showdowns in geneva. secretary of state john kerry on one side and russian foreign minister lavrov on the other and their basic negotiating point extend from kerry saying that the united states still views force as a real option. on the other hand lavrov is still trying to get the very best deal he can about syria's chemical weapons from the americans. and also the one thing the russians have really laid out is that before there is any deal about the syrian chemical weapons that is going to be made the united states has to take force off the table. the united kingdom and france are backing up the american position that there really has to be some teeth in terms of consequences for president assad if he does not live up to his previously-made bargain of turning over all of his chemical weapons here. the other thing that you have to look at in the larger sense of these guys will be ta

leland vittert is live in our middle east bureau with more on that. s the reaction you're seeing on capitol hill right now all the way from the french, the united kingdom, u.s. is on one side of this, who want a very strong resolution in the united nations against president assad with some real teeth to make sure he is not stalling here and real consequence if he does not live up to the bar gain of giving away all his chemical weapons. on the other side, you have russians, lesser extent chinese who are pushing for much more lenient measure. russians for that part, the united states has to give up any threat of u.s. military force before this deal can be made. and remember, we still haven't gotten to the discussions that are going to happen tomorrow between secretary kerry, secretary of state of the united states, and the russian foreign minister that might start to get into the nitty-gritty details of this. you have thousands of tons of chemical weapons supplies inside of syria right now that will have to be dealt with. all that still needs to be figur

in engineer reese saum lem -- jerusalem leland vittert. >> the "washington post" is reporting kenya's foreign minister say two or three of the gunmen were americans and another is british. they believe the americans were 18-19 years old and may have lived in minnesota. >> today marks one week since the shooting at the washington navy yard. navy officials want to close gaps in security clearance. in the process they're recommending all police reports must be included during a background check. the gunman never disclosed his run-ins with the law. they allowed the gunman access to the navy yard and missed many red flags. >> a memorial was held today for gerald reid. he worked at the navy yard as a project manager. he leaves behind a wife, daughter and three grandchildren. >> tomorrow family and friends will say good-bye to victim roger johnson. johnson was from der wood maryland. he was a contractor -- he leaves behind a wife, four children and four grandchildren. his funeral will be held in gaithersburg. >> d.c. firefighters used a ladder truck to take a sick toddler to the hospital aft

leland vittert live in jerusalem on this with a lot to cover today. negotiate a solution following these talks, leland? >> reporter: seems like they are the last, best chance, bill. remember it was john kerry who said that the syrians could avoid a military strike by giving up their chemical weapons. if there is anyone who can convince them to do it is the russians. we don't know what was talked about inside the meeting with the russian foreign minister, syrian foreign minister. it goes one of two ways. russians are the main protectors of syria and one much their main weapons suppliers. they could say, all right, continue on, we'll keep supplying you with weapons and protect you in a u.s. strike among other things. there is also time now to give up something to prevent a strike it would be rush shuns. you have to think over the next couple days as the united states is deciding what it is going to do it is also the syrians and russians sitting in their war council trying to figure out what their next moves are, whether a military option or diplomatic on

fox news's leland vittert is in jerusalem with the latest details. leland. >> reporter: melissa, the russian president says he thinks but he is not exactly 100% sure that his syrian ally will end up giving up all of their chemical weapons as promised. remember it was the united states and russia that brokered that grand deal. still president putin of russia is defending the syrians and saying he has evidence that it was not the syrian government behind that deadly august 21st chemical weapons attack. the world has largely blamed the syrian government because of the type of nerve gas that was used. sarin gas was highly military grade quality making it much more likely it was the syrian government. putin says that is just not true. he believes it was the rebels there inside of syria. speaking of the rebels inside of syria, more bad news in terms of the infighting between them. just today one of the al qaeda-inspired jihadist groups took over a key town there right on the turkish border. it was held by the largely secular rebels. now it is the jihadists

. >> leland vittert live, thank you. >>> two missing airmen after a u.s.he sea. three crew members were found in stable condition. the night hawk helicopter went down on the william p. lawrence. it was trying to land or takeoff from the here helicopter deck. that incident is under investigation. >> it could be weeks before we know what caused a star high school basketball player to collapse and die. evidences dogs conditioning drills when he said he wasn't feeling well and he collapsed. he passed away on saturday. >> humble, humble kid. >> we are going to stay at each other's side and pray for the best. >> the results will not be released until all of the test results come back. >>> a small plane makes an emergency landing on one of chicago's busiest roads. the pilot was forced to land the single engine aircraft on lakeshore drive. he was flying over lake michigan sunday morning when the experimental plane suffered mechanical issues. >> all of a sudden the plane just shook and vibrated violently the plane was shaking and i thought it was going to break up

leland vittert is live for us from our middle east bureau. leland? >> reporter: jon, american diplomats have described this meeting in geneva as doable but complicated in terms of coming up with a deal. you have a old-fashioned cold war showdown on our hand. we have the united states versus the russians at the negotiating table. the united states wants some real teeth in any kind of deal here that would prevent not only another attack bit syrians using chemical weapons, they want verification that these chemical weapons have been moved into stockpiles under international control and it would then be dismantled. conceivably some part after deal would have some kind of threat in there of military force or sanctions against syria if they don't comply with the terms of the deal and do so quickly. on the other side you have the russians who really want to try to protect their interests inside syria. they will go for as lien ant of a deal as possible. already we're seeing both side draw their lines very publicly. obviously president putin's op-ed piece in

fox news's leland vittert on the ground in the middle east with the very latest. leland, what is happening there today? >> melissa, we may not have a real war yet but we have a war of words and the syrian civil war still waging on. president assad said in the an interview that the middle east is a powder keg and said that regional war was a possibility if he was attacked. of course he has the ability to do that. scud missiles there inside syria, capable of hitting israel. also capable of hitting turkey to the north which is a nato ally. meantime on the ground in syria, we continue to hear president assad is trying to move his foes, specifically the air force, helicopters, missile bases those kinds of things out away from areas of the u.s. could target and trying to ke those assets on the move to complicate things for u.s. military planners. on the oth side, there is also continuing to push hard against the rebels in the syrian civil war. wants to make as much headway as he can through the summer offensive before any type of us air strikes degrade his ability to con

jenna: leland vittert has details from jerusalem. leland? >> reporter: jenna, president assad did offer some major concessions in that interview including for the first time publicly admitting that his country does have vast stockpiles of chemical weapons and is saying he is willing to live up to his promises to destroy them. as we've been reporting for a long time, destroying those chemical weapons during peacetime is difficult. during the raging civil war going on inside syria right now even harder. >> say that it needs a lot of money. needs about one billion. it is very detrimental to the environment. if american administration is ready to pay both money and take responsibility of bringing toxic materials to the united states, why don't they do it? >> reporter: president assad also talked a lot about what he calls, terrorists. and that is the foreign fighters, namely hardcore jihad its who are coming into syria to fight. they say they want an islamic state inside syria. to his point just today, turkey shut down one of the main border cros

>> leland vittert, live for us. thank you, leland. >>> gregg? >> the syria uprising and crisis can be traced back to february 2011. 15 teenagers inspired by the uprising in tunisia and egypt. and then wrote anti-regime graffiti on the walls of a small town in southern syria. they were arrested. they were thrown in prison. well, about a month later, syrian troops reportedly fired into a peaceful demonstration over the teenagers' arrests. several people killed. august of 2012, one year ago, president obama said that the syrian regime's use of chemical weapons would be a red line. really? and just this past june, the obama administration announced it would send small arms and ammunition to syrian rebels. >> the president saying that any possible attack against syria would be limited. now as the white house appeals to congress for authorization to punish the assad regime, let's take a look at past administration's use of the limited strike, and what happened in the aftermath. elizabeth prann has that story are s from washington. waiting to see if co

jenna: leland vittert deliver in jerusalem, thank you -- live in jerusalem, thank you.upposed to be committed to the well being of men and women in uniform under fire, and lawmakers demanding answers after tragic deaths at va hospitals. we'll tell you about it. >>> and the pope's remarks on abortion and gay marriage sending shock waves throughout the world. the reaction and the debate. >>> and a challenge that millions of americans face having to feed yourself on $4.50 a day. well, the ceo of a major company who did just that for a week talks to us about the experience. [ male announcer ] progresso's so passionate about its new tomato florentine soup, it took a little time to get it just right. [ ding ] ♪ but finally, it happened. perfection. at progresso, we've got a passion for quality, because you've got a passion for taste. gregg: the agency that's supposed to be committed to the well being of men and women in uniform be now under fire. haw makers are demanding answers amid allegationses of widespread mismanagement and and of inadequate care that led to the tragic d

now today leland vittert live in jerusalem reacting to news out of damascus. that, leland, this list of chemical sock piles? >> reporter: well, bill, this is certainly the first step to divvy up the chemical weapons, and the russians and syrians would tell you to look forward. they say largely the debate is somewhat academic. the u.s. has pulled off the military option from the table and syria so far moving forward with their promise. they maintain they did not use chemical weapons against their people. this all happened as the fighting rages on inside syria. 150-plus people die every day in the civil war. we just heard from a deputy prime minister of syria who said in a shockingly candid interview to the guardian newspaper that he felt as though the fighting had reached a stalemate, the rebels can't really gain any major ground, take cities. at the same time, the syrian army can't clear the rebels out and take back a lot of the frontier land that they have lost. that deputy prime minister also offered a word that we have not heard yet in the discussion which

bill: leland vittert. you're in our middle east bureau in jerusalem. what is putin trying to accomplish here, leland? >> reporter: seems he is trying to restage, russia, bill, framing it as a superpower. remember president obama went to egypt where he gave a speech to the muslim world and wanted to speak directly to the muslim people. came to israel and talking about a his view of peace. germany at brandenburg gate talking about nuclear weapons. he was strident in his conversation, lecturing the world. president putin sees how it plays back in peoria with this op-ed piece. president putin and obama often had icy even hostile relationship. this editorial warns that u.s. military action if done unilaterally could have grave consequences. collapse of the united nations. could unleash waves of terrorism around the world. goes after u.s. policy could put in jeopardy including the israeli-palestinian peace talks, iranian nuclear action. it headlines a plea of caution from russia. forget the united states. this is much broader statement by vladmir putin that o

leland vittert, thank you very much. >>> remembering legendary broadcaster and journalist, david frost has died. his fame grew when he sat down with former president nixon right after watergate. and piecing together just what sparked the beast burning out west in yosemite national park. homes, buildings destroyed, lives changed forever. a live report on why investigators may be looking south of the border for answers. stay close. >> i say it every night, the firemen are saving our butts, saving our butts, and there's a lot of them out there. have i got a treat for you. new clean whipped creme. clean fresh foundation, a dash of hydration, whipped to smooth matte perfection. what a treat! new clean whipped creme. from easy breezy beautiful covergirl. american express credit card, every purchase earns you 2% cash back, which is deposited in your fidelity account. is that it? actually... there's no annual fee and no limits on rewards. and with the fidelity cash management account debit card, you get reimbursed for all atm fees. is that it? oh, this guy, too. turn more of the money you spen

>> leland vittert, thank you very much. there is word one of syria's most powerful allies, russia, could send a delegation directly to the united states to try to convince congress not to approve a military strike. that's coming up inside "the fox report." >>> first, word of a taliban strike on a u.s. base in afghanistan. it happened near the border with pakistan, and here is what it looked like after militants detonated bombs and set several trucks on fire. the taliban claiming responsibility for what you see here. it shut down a key supply road for nato troops for a bit. coalition commanders say at least three of the militants died. >>> an update now on the failing health of former south african president nelson mandela. according to a local newspaper there, hospital officials discharged mandela yesterday after three months of treatment because "it is now time for mandela to be moved home to see out his final days." mandela spent 38 years behind bars for fighting against the government's discrimination known as apartheid.

and leland vittert has more. d. >> this all comes down to limiting the number of targets syria or iran could retaliate against. beirut could be on the top of that list. the u.s. has a bloody history inside beirut. back in the 1980s, the man wo would go on to be one of the leaders of hezbollah was in charge of the bombs in beirut and large thought iranians could order retaliation and syrians could use expertise to order a retaliatory strike because of their u.s. interests and hezbollah the iranian financed military group heavily on the side of bashar al assad and also has the capability of retalia retaliating down in the south against israel, a key u.s. ally here. this all comes as everyday that goes by the u.s. doesn't strike one more day the iranians and syrians how they would want to retaliate. at the same time, we're learning more and more about the syrian rebels we may end up helping with an air strike against president assad. this video came out. we can only show you a still picture. it is just that graphic.

leland vittert is live in jerusalem with more on all of this. ny chance that this is an actual plan, that this could somehow work, achieve the goal of not having a military strike if that is the goal? >> reporter: well, if there's anyone who can pull it off in this case, it's the russians. whether or not secretary kerry meant to open the door, he certainly did to a diplomatic solution here. remember, it's the russians that have been president assad's big supporters and big suppliers of weapons. today in moscow the syrian foreign min temporary and the russian -- minister and the russian foreign minister sat down for a long conversation. what they talked about behind closed doors, we don't know. but if the russians are able to twist president assad's arm enough to make this happen, it would certainly make the case for a u.s. strike almost disappear. that's something the russians may want to do in order to solidify their position on the world stage of being a major power broker when it comes to the middle east. whether or not it will be given enough

leland vittert is keeping an eye on it live from the middle east bureau. leland?on, the grimmest task ahead is try to get an exact number how many people died in this attack that will take a while because the mall has to be cleared first, room by room. even though the kenyan government says it is over and they captured or killed all the gunmen, there was sporadic weapons fire as security forces went room to room, making sure nobody was there. also trying to find booby-traps. they said they found at least one improvised explosive device and a couple of grenades. there is a forensic team from the fbi helping them try to answer the questions who exactly were the gun men, what were their tactics? did they have any inside help? what kind of weapons did they use, all questions that need to be answered. they were working a mall for four days the sight of an epic gunbattle, huge explosions and gunfire and. the al shabaab group that carried out the attack that up to 130 hostages were killed when all the floors were collapsed or buried when all the floors were collapsed. it

leland vittert joins us with more. gunshots still being heard. what's going on. >> best we can tell this is protected and clearing fire. every time the kenyan security forces enter another store to insure there is nothing there, they fire into the store. that's what they say this fire is. our source on the ground says there has not been any gunfire heard from the gunmen any time in the past 24 hours or so, confirming what the kenyan president said, that this is indeed over. it is slow going inside that mall. you not only have the potential victims, but also the potential of booby traps . there is a crime scene investigation team from the united states. it's a step by step methodical process. and the mall has been compromised. because of the big fire they have to make sure the mall is structurally sound so they can gather evidence to find out how this all went down. martha: that's why they are fearful the death toll will rise. >> that number is specced to go up considerably higher. the al-shabab militant group said there were 137 bodies left insid

leland vittert is live from jerusalem. >> reporter: this is about building a case of whether chemicale used, not who used them. they got retasked because of the chemical weapons attack. they come back late september, early october to do more research about the original attacks in march, it will be very difficult to find evidence as the evidence tend to degrade over time. look at how the world has changed since they were originally tasked. the united states has largely taken air strikes off the table in terms of punishing president assad. the u.n. up spectors say there were chemical weapons used. hard to know how that changes things in the world view going forward. martha: the rebels who are vetted and supported by the cia and others, are they making headway? >> reporter: the on gains seem to be coming from the jihadist-backed rebels. they are the ones with the better fire power, better intelligence and better fighters. sometimes they are fighting the moderate rebels in addition to the assad regime. the assad regime is happy to let everybody fight it out between themselves on the groun

leland vittert is live in our mideast news bureau with more on all of this. s., as we know, leland, has a bloody history in lebanon. >> reporter: absolutely, jon, very bloody, dating back to the 1980s when you had the bombing of the u.s. embassy and marine barracks. hezbollah is a very serious ally in terms of the syrian civil war fighting on side of president assad and, of course, financed to control by the iranians. as we look at this, it appears as both the iranians and syrians are looking at way to try and counterattack in the event of a u.s. strike. obviously, that could come in the form of an attack on israel, also it could come in the form of an attack on u.s. interests, and as this intelligence is looking now it is becoming increasingly dangerous inside lebanon that hezbollah could carry out an attack against a u.s. target, conceivably the u.s. embassy there. it shows you, though, just how fragile the system is here and how every day that goes by there's more of a delay in washington in terms of a decision and then a strike, it's one more day for syria

leland vittert on that story in jerusalem. what's the situation in this christian village, leland?er: right now not very good, bill, for the christians who are left. the village is 3300 christians there, home to two of the oldest monasteries inside of syria. the rebels have fully overrun that village, are in control of it. there are now reports that some of the christians who remained in the village were threatened with beheadings if they did not convert to islam. at the same time, the rebels are now threatening on videotape to blow up some of the churches there. bill? bill: leland, thank you. apologize for the interruption, secretary of state john kerry on the hill, house armed services committee. here we go. >> this particular issue. so this is good. it's good that we're here, and we look forward to the conversation. and as we convene at this hearing, it is no exaggeration at all to say to you that the world is watching. of and they're watching not just to see what we decide, they're watching to see how we did -- how we decide it and whether or not we have the ability at critical