nic, thanks very much. what due see there? how did it go? what surprised you? >> reporter: i think the complexity surprises me, wolf. we know syria is a very complex country with a lot of different sort of sectarian groups there. but also, you realize -- and damascus is an exact example of it as the conflict is reaching the capital, it is the poorer neighborhoods that have been bearing the brunt of the violence of the government shelling and bombing campaigns. why? because it's in those neighborhoods where the feeling to overthrow bashar al assad was stronger. that's where people rose up. you have this cycle now of rebellion, then repression, then reprisa reprisals. we went into a neighborhood where the government had just been bombing it for about two weeks, bombing, shelling it for about two weeks. we went back through government checkpoints. as soon as we got in, we found the free syrian army were still there. there's no decisive battle being fought. that's the picture that emerges. the bombing and shelling from the center of damascus. b this is going to be

nic robertson for us on the border. stay safe.ch. >>> we have been following the progress of a woman dropping weight. is she sticking to the plan? she'll join me for an update. >>> as children across the country head back to school behind closed doors, 1.3 million of them are caring for ill, disabled or ageing family members. nearly a third of them are under the age of 12. this week's cnn hero is bringing this hidden population and their labor of love out of the shadows, helping them stay in school and hold on to their childhood. >> are you okay? here, let me help you. my mom has been sick for as long as i can remember. you need more methadone. helping her out is a bigger priority than going to school because i don't know what i would do if something happened to her. i wouldn't be able to live. >> in the united states there are at least 1.3 million children caring for someone who is ill or injured or elderly or disabled. they can become isolated. there are physical effects. the stresses of it and the worry. >> thank you so much. >

. >>> hoy cientos de personas se han juntoado en el parque para hacer un pic-nic por el dÍa del trabajoentiv compra de artÍculo estadounidenses. >>> al evento han ido bomberos, maestros de la construcciÓn entro otros. >>> mÉdicos que atienden a un bombero que sufriÓ un ataque al corazÓn mientras atendÍa a un incendio y estÁn en el hospital y en condiciones crÍticas, dicen que sus familias tienen esperanzas que se recupere. >>> el arma con elliun sospecho apuntÓ a un oficial era una pistola de perdigones y este oficial ha muerto en el hospital y su compaÑero resulÓ herido. >>> personas han participado en una marcha para protestar por el incidente de una refinerÍa, tenemos la informaciÓn al respecto de esta noticia a continuaciÓn. >>> buenas tardes, las demandass que han presentado muestran el deseo que esta empresa tenga un hospital gratis para esta zona, dicen que van a seguir trabajando con la comunidad por las problemas que tengan. >>> han pasado semanas en donde las sirenas estÁn toma tocado, no ha pasado nada por el incendio en la refinerÍa. >>> hay que denunciar el poco mantenimien

nic has spent a lot of time in libya as all of our viewers know. nic, as you heard, initial reports indicated a mob got out of control. but now it's looking more like a pretty sophisticated assassination plot in the works for a long time whach. what are you hearing? >> reporter: wolf, we still can't say with certain knowledge precisely who was responsible. but we do know last year the head of al qaeda sent a top libyan jihadist trusted lieutenant from afghanistan to libya to set up an al qaeda camp. we know from libyan government officials whom i met with in june there that they've been monitoring those camps. but they don't have the power, they don't have the security structure to close those camps down. when the consulate was targeted and attacked on june 5th this year, the group left behind fliers saying that this was a revenge attack for the united states drone attack in the afghan/pakistan border region killing al qaeda's number two at the time, abu yahya al libi. al qaeda's leader issued a video statement saying that abut ya ya ali by was dea

nic robertson, cnn on the tu turkish-sir ya turkish-syrian border. >>> michelle obama in charlotte.e'll talk to wolf blitzer after this quick break. >>> before we move along and talk gas prices, this is a sneak peek. this is the first lady in charlotte. as soon as she steps on the that stage we'll bring you more live pictures and bring in wolf blitzer. she's speaking tomorrow night in primetime. >>> let's talk about those gas prices setting a record high this labor day making a tough situation for a lot of you travelers on this holiday, but is there good news ahead? let's hope so. alison kosik joins me. will we see a drop any time? >> relief should be on its way soon. the reason we've been seeing gas prices go up is we've had a lot of these short term problems. the biggie is hurricane isaac last week. most of the refineries had to shut down or cut back on production. the down time kept the process of making gasoline happening. it was more of a supply and demand issue. other factors pushed prices higher as well. one oil analyst says that prices could wind up dropping 20 cents over th

now he explains these terms to our own nic robertson in a cnn exclusive interview. watch this. >> reporter: if the man next to me looks familiar, it's because he is. he's the brother of al qaeda leader, ayman al zawahiri. we are meeting mohammed al za weary because he has a plan to end al qaeda's jihad against the west. i only speak as a mediator for the islamic movement. i don't remember certain groups. my role is a mediator between the west and them, he says. our people like death the same way others like life. but we don't want to get into this endless cycle of violence. we like for others and us to live peacefully. mohammed al zawahiri was released from egyptian jail barely five months ago after serving 14 years on charges including terrorism, charges he denies. before jail, he and his brother were fellow jihadists, still share the same ideology, he says. there is no difference between my brother's thinking and mine. the portrayal of my brother's ideologies and mine, that it's bloodthirsty, barbaric or terrorists not true at all, he says. his six-page proposal o

. >> so nic, all of this begs the question, the libyan government too weak to deal with armed insurgents? >> absolutely. and government officials i talked to, they said we don't have a national police force, we don't have a national army. there are armed militias throughout the country. the government cannot unify them. isn't able to project their influence or power even outside the capital tripoli. they say they have left tribes in charge of the area around the al qaeda training camps. they were not able to shut them down. they did tell me back in june, even then, the united states was flying surveillance drone missions over and above those camps in the east of libya. >> nic robertson, thank you very much. this crisis was just unfolding when mitt romney released this statement. it's disgraceful that the obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged ate tacks. the campaign started drawing fire from democrats and republicans. dana bash joins us from capitol hill. dana, this is getting nasty, but the ques

. >> jon: now he is considered if i am not mistaken, and i am using just a nic nickname, the brainiac. >> he is the intel beck chul soul of the republican party. >> there is a lot of gravitation to him, his boldness to put a plan in writing on the table which he knew would be, you know, advice rated and taken apart, and interestingly must have not just by the left but also by the right, because folks forget -- newt gingrich showed it right wing social engineering. >> you have that and before that you have the leadership when confronted with the plan and asked about it say that is not our plan. so he knew full well what the risk would be but he was willing to take it and so my argument to him was do it now let's talk about it. >> jon: were you surprised last night when he gave a speech that was devoid of those kinds of policies and boldness and included for a guy with a reputation of being from what everybody says a straight shooter, a guy of hard truths that played so fast and loose with context and facts? did that surprise you and was that something that comes from the campaign? if y

here is nic robertson. >> reporter: violence and anger were tearing northern ireland apart. >> we werenks, robbing post offices, robbing trains. >> reporter: and men like former ira commander brenden hhes were to blame. >> planting bombs, shooting brits, trying to stay alive ourselves, trying to stay from getting arrested. >> reporter: explosive ref layings on audio tape. hughes' memories and those of more than 50 other former combat ants in northern ireland's trouble are held here at boston college. they contain secret and sensitive information about the troubles and what happened and who was involved and why. helen mckendry believes the tapes contain incriminating clues that could point to her mother's murderers. have you asked the police to pursue the tapes? >> yes, we have. >> reporter: after almost a lifetime of disappointment, the mckendrys are beginning to believe truth and justice may be within reach. >> we didn't really care for the foot soldiers that were tasked with killing her mother perhaps, disposing of her body. it was the generals that told them to do it. and those gene

. >>> ayman al-zawahiri spoke exclusively to cnn's nic robertson and submitted a six-page plan callingyear truce with islamists, promising to stop provoking and attacking the u.s. if the u.s. ends war on islam and releases all islamist prisoners. as nic points out, those demands are similar to a 2004 proposal by osama bin laden. >> it wasn't accepted and after 2004, came the attack in london in 2005. is your proposal like this? if it isn't accepted, then there's more attacks? >> translator: i am sorry to say that those who caused the london attacks were the west, because the oppression continues. either you stop the oppression or accept the reconciliation. or then how are we supposed to convince the people? how do i convince others to stop? if the oppression and violence continues? >> muhammad al zawahiri says his brother will listen to him but says they have not talked in a deck indicate. >>> it's been 404 days since the united states lost its top credit rating. what are we doing to get it back? sadly, not much today, which brings us to our third story. moody's warned today it could f

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means hungry soldiers so i have made an executive decision to join the french troops for a little polio nic breakfast. to mormons. it's no frills fair but there's plenty of it and quantity was always much more important than quality of three or four with the green one could say that there was no cuisine at all of that time soldiers ate what they could get hold of or sometimes even steal soup it was quite common in bread were very popular for breakfast and if they could get hold of onions and sour cream they ate that too and soldiers were extremely low maintenance and they managed to conquer the whole of europe eating just bread and drinking coffee. and if it's good enough for the ground our may try some of the best french food they see in twelve. tuna salad. and topped off with a ruler and. i could see how the breasts of the old soldiers might have been an effective weapon by itself. but there were also plenty of traditional arms it was time to bring out the big guns but that. played a vital role and brought in with the french guns in particular taking a heavy toll on the russian infantry b

nic. >> reporter: diane, we're sailing on the nuclear powered uss eisenhower, and we're only about 50 miles from iran. never before has the u.s. flexed so much muscle so close to iran. more jets, ships and nations taking part than ever before. the u.s. has sent two aircraft carriers into this region and each one has more than 40 of these -- these are f-18 fighter jets that could reach thousands of miles into iranian air space. to give you a sense of how big this buildup is, each of these carriers has more firepower than the entire iranian air force. it's a blunt warning to iran, don't follow through on a threat to close the strait of hormuz, where one-fifth of all the world's oil passes. if israel attacks iran's nuclear sites, iran promises to fill these waters with boats packed with explosives and mine the seabed. the u.s. hopes tensions calm but desirable thinks iran is six months what a from a nuclear weapon. this international show of force is meant to reassure israel and convince iran not to try anything even if it is attacked. >> as you can see, i can do a lot of damage with the

federation celebrated their twenty year anniversary this week for the lovers award ceremony here in moscow nic live on whoever was the host of the event while the legendary event or holyfield also made a star turn us nick charles reports. it was if the russians booked those past and present it could be really surreal respond to his trains and promoting. books in russia to have the sixes it has today while the biggest treated will know it was the speech of the. world champion evander holyfield. he's made his push to the most going to join the celebration i'm honored to be here and i. realize a lot of great fighters came out of russia and you know it you know at one point in time they wasn't like it wasn't playing professional now they playing professional and you can see that kind of make what the make the world box bigger. there over the past two decades the federation has produced eighteen champions city name and five women the first come in just three months to villages in isolation up the coming days away game was among those present for the evening's host to john w b a heavyweight champion

. >> thank you, nic. >> okay, as journalists were always taught to look for the local angle, so before we go to the grand themes of your book, which is going to do that. tell us about this guy, pulitzer, who founded the school. >> well, pulitzer is a fascinating character and a great place to start, because he was one of the people at probably one of the greatest impacts on the field. as some of you may know, he came to this country under very trying circumstances. he came as a recruit to the union army in the middle of the civil war. the army was at that point so desperate for new recruits that they were taking just about anybody, and they took this very unpromising soldier with poor eyesight, but he managed to get through, survived the civil war and found himself after the war in a german-speaking part of the country in st. louis. and through a combination of tremendous effort, energy, luck and happy circumstances he ended up a part owner of a newspaper in st. louis your parlay that into the ownership of a fading newspaper here in new york city, and started remaking the world of jour

nic robertson is in damascus right now. i want to get to that meeting, nic, in a moment.s access, a visa to get into syria, damascus, what are you seeing on the ground? >> reporter: wolf, it's not easy access here on the ground. the government gives us very, very limited dispensation to film here. if we bump into the edges of that, as we did today, we can find ourselves pretty quickly taken in for questioning, transported back to the center of damascus even to an intelligence headquarters today for questioning. but what we're seeing on the ground here is a city that is an island in this city of about a couple of square miles that are untouched by war. but go just a few miles away from where we are here and it's like a war zone, a battleground. there are areas where it's a scorched earth policy. whole and blocks of houses have been demolished. other areas you go into, some building pockmarked by shelling, by bombs, you see people on the move getting out of neighborhoods, the neighborhoods we saw from where i'm standing right now just a few hours ago smoke billowing out of

at first for what did i must go defend that nic i thought stick. has been elected president of the russian football union the fifty six year old defeated premier league chief said gave him a close run off in the presidential vote will oversee fabio capello's first competitive matches as russia coach the national side are due to host northern ireland on friday before travelling to israel four days later for their first world cup qualifiers while russia are themselves preparing to stage the next showpiece tournament in twenty eighteen more prior to his election polls that was the over the top official to speak out against the new order the spring football calendar in russia. as they were football in the wrong publishing they came off the bench to score the winner as came back from a goal down to beat sponsor two one in the moscow dobby the visitors went ahead after just six minutes thanks to the me take a model for butts dumb and levelled on the hour. and then publishing co come on for the second half netted the winner against his former club just a

. >>> cnn's nic robertson also doing good work.ely with the brother of the top man in al qaeda and he says there is a path to reconciliation and peace. but will any western leader ever agree to the terms? doesn't h. i'm done. i'm gonna read one of these. i'm gonna read one of these! [ female announcer ] unlike sprays and dust rags, swiffer 360 duster's extender gets into hard-to-reach places without the hassle. so you can get unbelievable dust pickup in less time without missing a thing. i love that book. can you believe the twin did it? ♪ swiffer. great clean in less time. or your money back. ♪swiffer. great clean in less time. ♪ ♪ ♪ there's another way to help erase litter box odor. purina tidy cats. ly tidy cats has odor erasers. making it easy to keep things at home... just the way you want them. tidy cats with odor erasers. [ male announcer ] how could switchgrass in argentina, change engineering in dubai, aluminuproduction in south africa, and the aerospace industry in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections

our nic robertson is in damascus. it. >> reporter: driving back into damascus, ter an absence of eight months, clouds of black smoke signal conflict is closing in on syria's capital. but first impressions are deceptive. at the city's heart, its fabled mosque, all appears tranquil, no one flinches when artillery shells explode just a few miles away. nearby, the ancient bazaar is teeming, stores all open, shelves well stocked, supplies are plenty. we have tried talking to several store keepers here, but they all tell us they're too afraid to talk on camera, worried about what the government might say, worried about what the rebels might do to them. they all tell us that despite the abundance of people here, business is down. when i asked them about the shelling that we can hear in the worried, afrd,fraid cause they think the war is getting closer. and they are right. ten minutes' drive away, destruction. government forces chase the free syrian army. on many days, the death toll around the capital far higher than for oth

[cheers] should have been on nic at night. >> the question: will this new stump speech message resonate with american voters? here now the republic leader of the new jersey assembly, john brahmnic and from charlotte, north carolina, executive director of the young democrats of america. welcome, guys. thank you for being here. emily. >> thank you. >> let me start with you, because i am looking at the speaker's run down for the dnc, i see a president from 35 years ago jimmy carter. i see a president from 20 years ago, bill clinton. i also see biden, pelosi, and reid who have been in washington since the dinosaurs roamed the earth. so are you guys really going to argue that the republicans are the party of the past? >> well, i think if you look further down that list, you will also see rising star san antonino mayor castro, newark mayor cory booker and the president of the college democrats. but i think even just jawnd the speakers' list we are absolutely, strong message for us the democratic party is absolutely the party of the future. the republic party with the rhetoric they are going t

that is why it was so nic. for people who saw the show, i did a lot of crying. at first i was crying because i was scared. i thought i bit off more than i can chew and i can't do this. but then i started crying because either that broke my heart were they made my heart soar. it was either one or the other. they do that to you. but i thought okay, i wanted to write the book to tell the story of the rest of it and also to talk about what i saw and spam issues. it's not a book that preachers, but it listens to people in the book and i kept very good records and the journal. issa video, my lesson plans. so i'm pretty close to what really happened and we discussed a lot of the issues in the book. a lot has changed, though since i was here in two years. i was the commencement speaker that was so cool. but she is, call the philadelphia schools are dealing with budget cuts. i know she mentioned a fundraiser he did. she did a teacher verse student talent show, which was great. the reason that it worked was because they have laid off one of the school nurses because of bu