>> but i also believe the will of this. it is very clear tonight. >> it is clear to me that reflecting the views of the british people does not want to see military action. i get that and the government will act accordingly. >> and paul is live for us in london tonight. a stunning defeat. lap >> and david cameron, who is coming under a lot of scrutiny for misjudging this entire thing, repeated yes, i understand, the people have spoken, there's house has spoken. i will not move them to any kind of action. >> paul, thank you very much. and joining me here in the studio, is the diplomatic editor. and former chief u.n. weapons inspector. gentlemen, thank you. james let me start with you. >> the u.n. there is shock, that the loyal britts who stood by the americans in iraq and afghanistan will not be involved in this military campaign. it is interesting at the beginning of the week, i spoke to british m.p. by phone. said to me -- i don't like the party or apartmen parliament aro support this. at the time, it looked as though there was a plan. a short path to short attacks. it looks like that is unraveling now. >> what does it mean for the possibility of an attack? especially at the u.n.? >> i think there's a big question. certainly they won't get this to resolution. the british tried that again. they sat down with the other members of the security council. it looks like there's no way that russia is going to budge. the other problem facing the obama administration, yes, they are going to leave. but what we are hearing is their scientific work is going to take days possibly weeks. so what we are clear of that team for some time. >> ambassador, welcome back. we are talking about the inspectors now. seems like there is tremendous pressure on them. >> yes, there is. the time that it can take. they will leave tomorrow. they will leave on saturday. in their time zone. they leave on saturday. now the earliest i would expect that would complete the examination. the small quantity of the materials they have been able to collect. now, that seems well outside the timeframe of the administration seemed to be employing for a possible strike on syria. and then, what will the question arises what will their analysis show? their ability to collect samples of soil, blood, urine. has been quite restricted. they wanted to exhume some bodies. they were denied that. so i'm not sure how comprehensive the results will be. and what the quality of the analysis that would take four or five days would then be. and by the way, what they are analyzes is the presence of chemicals, not who did it. >> so ambassador, with the britts out, do you think that it is possible that obama may decide to go sooner rather than later. >> i am speculated that i think it is possible. i can't imagine the difficulty that is -- the exaggerate, i don't think any of us can overstate the difficulty that is being encountered in washington now. this is a clear result in london, and leaves united states high and drive. on the other hand, look at how the drums have been beating this week. even absent the crucial pieces of informing require which had is who did this thing. we may not know what happened but we may not know who authorized it. let me just pause our rea. paul is on capitol hill. first let's go to the white house, what are you hearing? >> the administration is doubling down. it has been crossed once before by the administration own estimation, earlier this year. but the images that we saw coming across television screens over the course of the last several days really changed the tone here in washington. talk about this before. the president most recently in an interview with pbs that aired last night, called for a clear and decisive way to send a shock across the bow of the regime. clearly, the president is talking in the context of punishment, to set an example of the asaad regime. an example for iran and north korea and other regimes that possess weapons or in the process of developing those. now, a surprise certainly. and the shock that has been experienced in domestic circles within the u.k. i think they are just processing this. top officials just concluded a video conference call with congressional leadership, both house and senate, and the leaders in ranking members on all the relevant committees. no reaction, no read out yet on that. although i'm sure that will be streaming in in the late night hours. here is the key sentence here. the white house doubling down a reaction from a national security council spokeswoman. the response to the british vote. i will read it. president obama's decision make willing be guided by what is in the best interest of the united states. he believes there are interests at stake for the united states, and that countries that violate international laws need to be held accountable. the president has used that term time and time den. for national interests now the question is, can the president credibly back away from the posture that he has taken. these limited strikes that he almost quite obviously referred to in that interview, if america's core national interests are at stake? >> let me go to paul, who is in capitol hill, and paul, of course, many members of congress back home on recess that's why they have this conference call, have you heard anything tonight? >> well, that's right. there is mounting frustration what we are hearing. mounting bipartisan frustration, they are worried that any attack can draw the u.s. further into the syrian conflict. and they are also frustrated about the lack of an end game. about a clear policy for a way out. >> paul, do we know anything about the briefing at the white house that they had with congress? have you hear anything about that. >> they have heard there are problems with that video conference. a problem securing enough video conference lines so the conference had to be declassified on ur classified report. president obama said it wouldn't be regime change or even changes the civil war. they are trying to keep it out of the hands of terrorists. >> we know the ashad regime maintains stock piles. we have indicated over the course of the last two years that the regime would be held accountable for the security of the chemical weapons. >> experts say it is a stretch for the president to say attacking syria is somehow about keeping america safe. >> the only way that the president can legally strike syria is somehow relate to america's defense. quite frankly, i think he is making a tenuous case. >> the other big question concerns precedent, never before have they attacked another country for using chemical weapons against its own people. when sudan hussein gases thousands of curds the the u.s. and the rest of the world took little action. even the state department admits there is no blueprint. >> no. not to that degree. >> so there is no precedent. >> not that i am aware of, no. >> closest comparison may be operation dessert fox, in 1998. that's when the u.s. led a four day bombing campaign against iraq's illusive weapons of mass destruction. and in april 1993, when they launched tom hawks into iraq. the former president george h w bush, defense secretary sounded a lot like president obama. in an interview with the post, aspen said what we are doing is sending a message against the people who were responsible for planning this operation. if anybody asks the same people to do it again, they will remember this message. and experts say this isn't about sending a message to syria at all. but to another american enemy right next door. >> it really is about the president's credibility when dealing with other countries. specifically iran. he has told iran that all options are on the table, including military options. to prevent them from gaining a nuclear weapon. if he lets it go in syria, the threat in iran is weakened. experts kept coming back with why now, when president obam ha has so clearly stated this is a red line. paul, thank you very much. it would seem after listening to those reports that if there was a plan, it has gone terribly wrong. what change was done before the sort of turn tide and began to talk about an attack. >> i think that spoke to their closest allies and i think perhaps they may feel that the british didn't deliver on what they were hoping to do. i think they felt that he had the votes in his parliament, and he is coming along on this. but it is quite clear that he hasn't been able to deliver. russia has been in the same position throughout this on completely the other side of the argument, and china is sticking very close. >> a couple of days ago in the program, we deliver add warning to the united states, essentially saying you need to have hard and tags evidence. >> and now we still don't have hard and fast evidence that we know of, and there are indications that the united states is moving forward. what is your reaction? >> i take the same position. i think it is crucial within the united states within the united nations to -- and indeed, for the general population. for the truthful reason given. and that's not being done. the united states, if it doesn't do that, yet goes ahead. run as propound risk in terms of standing in the world. in temples of the possible failure of the operation. those are the reasons that haven't made it. i would vow to no one in insisting that there is a norm. against the use of the position for the chemical weapons. and if that norm has been violated it seems to me we have those consequences. but we have not been given enough information about that violation of the norm. the culprit has not yet been identified. all we have is conviction, that will not convince the world of the rightness of this action. other countries are taking a more wait and see approach. jackie is in paris, with a desided public. >> shoulder to shoulder. with the leader of the syrian opposition. but they are launched then two days ago when he spoke with punishing the regime. >> everything must be done for a political solution, but this will only happen in opposition appear to alan terntive with the necessary strength, note my with its army. we will only achieve that to put a stop to this ebbing collation and violence, to which the chemical attack is just one example. >> a new opinion polled on the international response in syria, suggests the french are deeply divided. when asked about a u.n. military intervention, 55% agreed. but when they were asked if france should intervene, 59% disagreed. >> well, if something did happen to the regime, it is a very serious problem. because it is a man killing his own people. and we can't just stand by and do nothing. >> i am not in favor, we have intervened in many countries. we are still in many, but unfortunately, it doesn't make much of a difference. >> leaders across europe seem to be pulling back from the strong statements they were making a few days ago. be uh the military build up around syria is continuing. that needs to happen for the intervention to appear credible, and for the pressure to be maintained and the authorities. >> cautious approach in berlin too, where people are sensitive to germany's military history. >> usually one wouldn't be in favor of military intervention, but there are certain circumstances where human rights are massively hurt. and then it is time for a clear response. >> i don't think germany should get involved. it is difficult to say which side to take, and you don't have the full picture of what is going on between state and citizens. >> back in paris, military commanders say all preparations are taking place. they are now waiting for the press release. al jazeera. >> ambassadors this skepticism that we are hearing in germany, and france. about what happened in iraq. >> yes. >> and it was reflected in what happened in the british parliament too. i must say i found it astonishes today, to hear donald rumsfeld to hear what i'm saying tonight, we must have the truly factual information before it can occur. remember wayhe did. at that time, he was the main architect of how should i put it politely, the mistakes. the misinformation. the justified the invasion. >> they talked about in the parliament today. he say the well is being poisons. everyone knows. the skepticism that is arecord today, that yet another attack, and the reasons being given for it. have driven pi their awful experience a dozen years ago. >> i can tell you that the u.n., there are many that believe that it is possible that now because of the way this is unraveling it may happen quite quickly. then some say -- what is happening in the long view delay, it is bet tore get on with this, i can tell you right now that the u.n. is thinking about reducing. this is a good time to take a leave, why don't you ebb tend your leave, they are trying to reduce it, and i was told by a reliable source that they fear that the attacks could start this weekend. >> let's take a look at more international reaction. now, russian president has been -- but today, russia says it is sending two of its own warships to the eastern mediterranean. on why russia is so determined to defend its middle east ally. >> it was in the height of the cold war that the deal was struck. in 1980, sign add treaty of cooperation and friendship. with the then syrian president. it was a master stroke of soviet strategy, that immediately turned the soviet union and later russia into a major player in that tinderbox in the middle east. where the sowf cents have been selling weapons since the 1973 war. zero years ago. so what does russia get from the deal today? it has access to a naval maintenance and supply base, syrian port, russia's only military base, outside the former soviet union. also unparalleled access. a little surprise in the security council that russia has consistently voted down resolutions calling for sanctions on syria. but one voice has remained silent. vladimir putin in a calculated display to the threat of the u.s. intervention in syria, was 6,000-kilometers from thursday independenting flight in the east. i don't think that putin has something to say, just now. to come up and to say that this attack would be wrong and a mistake, and a crime, and don't do it. while i think everybody knows that it will happen anyway. it doesn't make any sense. i'm sure he will appear after, and feel strongly for them. >> as for the russian people a poll on wednesday revealed a 39% had never even heard of the war. >> no. >> at the moment i'm occupied with other things. i don't follow the news. they will use this as an excuse to launch an attack. >> what is most important is not to be seen the people as bending to u.s. pressure, and maintaining its roll to protector of syria. and to that end, two russian warships were deployed on thursday. as tensions continue to rise. a reminder gathering in the area, that this is not somalian american bond. have enough clout with president asaad to encouraging him to go to the tables after any strikes on his country. remains fundamentally opposed to the military action that could bring about these new talks in the first place. let me ask you this, james. what does it mean for russia to send warships. >> it is certainly very worrying. simply of deep concern to the white house, and i think there's another thing concerning them on the diplomatic calendar ahead. in the next few days in the next week. to the g 20 summit, that's very bad times. >> we just heard from the white house that during that call just a while ago, president is still not made the final decision. does that mean he is rethinking this? >> i strongly doubt it. this has a very bad feeling about it. i repeat again, whatever you do do it for the right reasons. and the world wants to know what the reasons for this would be. i don't think we are going to get them. we can only speculate on highway the quite now seems so committed to this course. in addition to wanted to defend the world against chemical weapons. that's the bit from moscow, france, the bit that people are finding it difficult to believe. they have to do better than that. >> interesting discussion. richard butler, thank you very much for your incite. well, the main highway between damascus and beirut has been jammed with syrians trying to leave the war torn nation. those along this rout are supporterred of the shower real asaad. most of them are angry at the u.s. and ready to fight. from the boarder seen syria and lebanon. >> syrian lebanese boarder means safety for those trying to escape the dangers. the capitol city is only 20 miles away and seen as a certain target if a u.s. led coalition decides to strike as punishment as the use of chemical weapons. but many of those are strongly supporting the rah jet stream, saying they would give their lives to defeat america. >> and you think asaad is the right side. >> absolutely. >> totally support mr. asaad? >> to the end. to the death. >> these women and children are coming out of syria for their own safety, but many of the them crossing here with them, will be headed back, today, to support syrian military regime. you are going to turn right around and do back in? >> sure. >> today? >> yes. >> today you turn around and go back into syria. >> our family in a safe place. so we need to -- sort out something, to make them invasion. >> this is the main border crossing from damascus to beirut. the exit where legal papers are presented. but on dozens and back roads it is believed that the syrian rebel supporters are also making their way out. people opposed to the regime, those refugees have left syria illegally, never to return while asaad remains in power. still others here are crossing this border reluctantly, quickly visiting relatives only to do back into damascus, to witness the coming events. and pray for people's safety. >> so you can't leave the family, you don't want to leave the family? >> yeah. whatever it is. we hear that it's very dangerous, but we can't do anything. >> nervous, absolutely. but resigned to a life in a war torn city, certainly faces more battled ahead. david jackson, al jazeera, on the lebanon syria border. >> we will have more on the crisis after this. measles outbreak. that's the headlines "consider this" is up next on al jazeera. ♪ last week al jazeera america launched a new and needed voice] ♪ . >> welcome back to al jazeera. president obama has not made a decision on syria. the administration broked lawmakers tonight. some say the president has not yet made a final decision. despite the conclusion that the government carries out a chemical weapons attack. members of britain's parliament say no to action many syria. david cameron has tried to persuade them. but he says he won't override the will of parliament. and as question just mentioned there is a mass exodus out of syria right now. the u.n. refugee agency says there is now over 1.9 million refugees of concern. and 108,000 of which are awaiting registration. 515,000 have fled to jordan. 110,000 to egypt, and 460,000 refugees to turkey, and 160,000 to iraq. some are already joining tens of thousands of refugees. emily has spent the last three years in iraq with the international rescue committee, and she joins us now, emily, welcome, good to see you tonight. >> thank you so much. >> give me a sense of -- well, obviously those numbers are scary. what can be done? >> what can be done, is ensuring that governments are providing the kind of financial and material assistance, to help organizations like the international committee, the u.n. refugee agency. to properly respond to the critical needs of these newly arrived refugees have. for example, refugees arriving in iraq in the past two weeks have totaled over 47,000. we are trying desperately to respond to the needs of shelter. making sure there's enough water and food. making sure they have basic provisions such as blankets, clothes, immediate mel call care. for those that palm el during the flight. and what we need is more resources. and more attention to this crisis. so this very extreme humanitarian crisis that is occurring every day. >> what is the situation in those camps? >> the situation is very difficult. because in iraq there was very little warning that the regional government was going to reopen the boarder after having been closed for almost three months. agencies are really scrambling to set up the infrastructure that is necessary. such as basic infrastructure. again, making sure there's enough water in the camp. it is very very difficult, and the u.n. agencies as well as organizations like the international rescue committee, are working together to try and build as quickly as possible. a huge humanitarian crisis and there must be concern this will drag on. >> absolutely. everybody's biggest concern is not knowing how long this will last. and really trying to make sure that the resources that are being provided now, are on going. and that there's solutions and plans in place, to really allow for if this becomes a much more contracted refugee crisis. the ability for the international community, the support to the regional government, and other governments that are hosting refugees are able to continue to respond and provide the basic services. who have sought safe haven. >> thank you very much for joining us tonight. >> fast food workers today took part in a nationwide strike, in demand of higher pay. two protests started in new york this morning and spread across to cities like chicago, charlotte north carolina, and detroit. workers say they want to earn $15 an hour, nearly double the current minimum wage. lois is the history professor at cornell university, and she joins us now from ihnica new york. can you hear me now. >> obviously we are having a little difficult with our life feed there. question will try to come back to them later. the justice department says it will not sue the state's of colorado and washington to block them from legalized recreational marijuana use. instead, the government outlines its priorities for enforcing the laws including keeping pot out of the hands of minors and keeping the drug cart tells out. this leaves many trying to figure out how to make money off this newly legal industry. in abatement room, he gives us a small whiff of the future of big weed. >> we won some awards for this, if you smell it you will get -- blueberry cheesecake. >> this is a 500 square feet growing room, but his company is permitted for nearly 20 times that. we help provide over 10,000 patients with the medicine they need. >> recreational pot industry, the future looks even brighter. >> we have six part time, and six full time employees. >> where do you see that going. >> massive expansion. >> the washington liquor control board, is still calculating how many growers processers and retailers will be licensed. but. the vote, the state estimated more than 600,000 customers every year would need pot. a former microsoft corporate strategy manager wants to reach just some of those, preferably the older richer ones. >> we don't even want anyone in their 20's. >> he and his partners are still figuring out packaging but he already has a brand name, possibly product lines, growers lined up and plenty of investor interest. a very smart stoners business plan. >> was evolved under the influence of a very good sativa. and there's. >> so you were high when you had this vision. >> that is correct average. >> and before a single store is open, that vision includes expansion. >> yeah, we are thinking internationally. >> but the potential major players in this infant industry have a warning about get rich quick dreams. >> can a person get on the drowned floor? >> the ground floor happened years ago. that's the truth of it. >> al jazeera, seattle washington. >> we want to turn back to our minimum wage story. louis is labor relations law. and he joins us now from itself canew york. professor, welcome, i think we have our technical problems. can you hear me? >> thank you for having me. >> terrific. give me your reaction to these, and will they make a difference? >> i think they are exciting. we haven't seen anything like this before. they straddle between a strike, and a protest. something between the two of them. something we haven't seen since the 1960's, and martin luther king's last m in memphis. >> but will congress raise the minimum wage? i know they are trying to do it out in washington state. is there real political support for this in. >> millions of people work the minimum wage jobs. so i think if they want to get those people behind them, there could be an opportunity here. and what we have seen today, and this is why it is important to realize it isn't just a strike, but a protest. that's a demonstration of a political will. so many americans. you probably heard critics say, if they get a $15 minimum wage that essentially the fast food restaurants will not hire more people and justifying jury out technological ways to do the work that's done by people now. >> maybe in the long run that will happen. it happens to most jobs that eventually can get automated. but the truth is, most of these operations are already running pretty lean. and if the price of the wage goes up, well, it still needs people to fry the fries, still needs people to cook the burgers. and the truth is, the prices won't go up that much. >> how is that in we are talking about raising the minimum wage from $9 to $15. >> that's right. it seems crazy that you can double the wage, yet labor costs are only a small part of the overall cost. >> how much is the labor cost. >> yeah, estimates have ranged for instance the prize of the big mac, would go up somewhere between 10 cents, and 60 cents. so it is actually not that much. i don't think people would stop to pick up a dime on the street, and that's what we are talking about. in return we are talking about helping many millions of americans to pay their debts, pay their bills and live their lives with dignity. for me at least, this is something that is worth an additional dime on my big mac. >> an interesting debate. and i'm sure it will continue. the makers of tylenol will put a warning. a red liable on tylenol bottles will warn them against taking too much. it becomes amido lawsuits and pressures from the government. chances are you have seen clips of the martin luther king speech. that's pause the most iconic speech of the civil rights movement is also one of the most protected. al jazeera david explains why. >> i have a dream. that one day. this nation will rise up. >> it is one of the most famous speeches in u.s. history. >> we hold these truths to be self-evidence. >> a defining moment in the struggle for civil rights. but if you want to watch martin luther king's speech in its entirety for free, good luck. it is not legally on youtube or any news site, the reason, dr. king's speech is protected by copyright laws. >> authors do not give their copyright worked away for free. nor did dr. king. there was nothing in the united states copyright law that says that if a work happened to become very successful, or extremely significant, that it somehow loses its copyright protection. >> it was just over a month after the 1963 march on washington when dr. king filed documents to copyright his speak. he then sued a record company forcing it to stop. through the years the king family has taken legal action against individuals companies and even news organizations like u.s.a. today and cbs news that use any part of the speech without paying licensing fees. all of the cases settled out of court. floyd ale bras represented cbs. >> dr. king's family said, look, we own it. he didn't make a lot of money when he was alive. the only thing he had were his properties, his literary in effect properties. so get a license, pay us. >> critics say the family has gone too far. noting his relatives have received millions of dollars licensing out part of the speech to companies that wanted to leverage it for commercial advertising. one deal included singular wireless, which used the tag line "free at last." >> the ironny of dr. king's family using his legacy to maximize their income is a very sad and painful contradiction of how dr. king led his own life. and what he would want his legacy to be. dr. king registered his rights so that his heirs would have potential financial security from the use of his copyrights. and the heirs and the licensing access to his work are acting as any other copyright owner would. >> the king family does make the speech available to schools at a discount. so is king's family being greedy or just protective of his words? either way, all of this may continue for a while. you see thanks to u.s. law, king's copyright is valid for 70 years. after his death. that means until the year 2038, viewing one of the most remarkable speeches in u.s. history will come with a price tag. al jazeera. >> and we have some breaking news on the story from syria tonight. in washington, d.c., according the the wire services the obama administration has told lawmakers in their phone call tonight, that they have obtained syrian officials communications that they said proved president be shower asaad government used chemical weapons and that comes from congressman elliot ingram in washington tonight. we of course will have more on this story in the news hour tonight, and later on at 11:00 p.m. eastern time. in the meantime, america tonight is coming up with joey chen, at the top of the hour. and she joins us from washington, d.c. hi. >> good evening. on america tonight, we will take a having different look at new orleans. eight years after katrina, it is no long ear city that time forgot, in fact, the city is quickly found a new character, but there now there's a it foo over who really longs there. i would like to see them come home. but they have to come home and get a job. >> we will have a katrina recovery report card, from the head of the task force. that and more coming up at the top of the hour. plus we will follow all the events coming up. >> we will see crow then. thank you very much. sports is ahead, and there was a ground breaking settlement reached today between the in fact and its former players. don't escape them. >> every day a storm of views. how can you fully understand the impact unless you heard angles you hadn't considered. consider this, antonio mora brings you smart conversation that challenges the status quo. stories that matter to you. . can you say stocktopussy? al jazeera america - a new voice in american journalism - >>introduces america tonight. >>in egypt, police fired teargas at supporters of the ... >>a fresh take on the stories that connect to you. [[voiceover]] they risk never returning to the united states. >>grounded. >>real. >>unconventional. [[voiceover]] we spent time with some members of the gangster disciples. >>an escape from the expected. >>i'm a cancer survivor. ♪ . >> . >> this is a fascinating announcement today. i don't think it ends here, does it. >> no, not potentially. the variables that are still in play. but instead of potentially facing several years of litigation, and 4500 retired players have decided on a settlement in the largest sports lawsuit in history, with the league prepared to shell out $750 million. the players claim that the league intentionally with held information about concussions. the claim the league has denied even after the settlement. executive vice president said in a statement today. rewill continue our work to continue the long terms help of nfl players. the district judge who mediated this case called today's settlement historic, and said it was a win win for both sides. i asked him how significant it was that the nfl was able to settle this lawsuit, without admitting any guilt. >> sure, outside of the monoit would have been a huge nightmare. this is just the preliminary steps so it still needs to have approval pi judge brody in philadelphia. in the eastern district of pennsylvania. but even thereafter, there is no guarantee that every single player plaintiff is doing to accept this settlement. there may be certain players that were in these gap years where there was no collective bargain agreement in place, that decide hey, i think i can make some extra money outside of this settlement agreement, and i want to push forward with my claims. also it is important to us that that this is only a settlement with nfl. there is also a claim against helmet manufacturer, where there can be additional consequences and benefits for those players that have suffered. >> i spoke to a couple of former players earlier today, once this settlement became news, these players i spoke to were no involved directly with the lawsuit, and they mained something you alluded to, they feel as though the players made out okay, but they could have made a lot more money. how many of these players will likely spumier that own lawsuits with hopes of getting even more money. >> well, it's tough to tell. and one thing that is very very important to point out, you said on average players will get less than $200,000. part of the settlement, actually contemplates about $75 million dedicated for base line testing. so it's not only the 4500 plaintiffs or so, that will with able to get this testing but it is really the 18,000 former players somewhere along that line that can go to independent and be tested to see what kind of damages they incurred. depending on the diagnosis, it will be determined thereafter how much each player receives. ten a player that has suffered alzheimerss will get a different amount that someone suffered dementia, which will be much different than someone suffered minor yours injuries. >> so baseball now. the tiger entered the day 5 1/2 games ahead of the central division. putting them in a great push for the playoffs. but after today's game, the tigers and the fans should be concerned about the health of reigning mvp, who hurt his abdomen after an awkward slide where he tried to stretch a single into a double. he would leave the game, but afterwards he insisted he will be back friday, when they face the indians. he has been hobbled this month. also dealing with a sore left leg. for the tiger fans it did end on a more uplifting note. cap add huge come back and it snapped a three game losing streak. >> for this year's tournament, he was seated 7th. whether that is serving for extra motivation for the grand slam winner is yet to be seen, because today he made short work of great carlos. in straight six, federer improved his record to 66 and eight it is u.s. open. tied for fifth all time. and 37 winners. on the women's side, serena williams overcame a slow start. williams lost a total only four games as she seeks a repeat at the u.s. open. a lot of play was suspended because of rain. all right, thank you very much. we have some breaking news to tell you about tonight. and we want to go backto it, president obama's administration officials told lawmakers tonight on the telephone, that they had -- obtained intercepts of syrian official communications that they said proved asaad's government in syria used chemical weapons against its own people. congressman elliot uncle is effort aredly saying that tonight on the wire services. and of course, earlier today, the u. k. parliament voted against intervention, and u.n. inspectors are still on the drowned, we don't know when they will come up with their report. we will have more on this story, all these stories and developments a fast moving story tonight. when we come pack at 11:00 eastern time. 8:00 pacific, in the meantime weather is up next, with ryba stephenson. al jazeera america - a new voice inç] >> i'm meteorologist rebecca stephenson. today we have. monooring hot humid weather. and we will see heat advisories continue through tomorrow. before we start to cool off. off to the west, we are seeing a number of showers and thunderstorms move up. we have been watching these storms pretty closely, because some of them have become severe. that's where we have a severe thunderstorm watch at this point. question have warnings to watch out for golf ball size hail. i this i the pictures on twitter that had car lots damaged across the spire lot. well, expect a heat advisory. how hot the weather is, we were in the 90's today. high temperature in minneapolis is 96, then you put the humidity is it felt more like 105 degrees. here is the severe weather we had earlier. now beginning to push off to wisconsin, but tomorrow brings another chance of severe thunderstorms from north dakota over to minnesota. through the afternoon, on our friday. the big reason is high pressure sitting in the central portions of the united states. high pressure. well, basically sits and the air sinks. and as the air sits it gets warmer and hotter, and those temperatures really sizzle. anywhere from oklahoma up to minnesota, and we are getting our weather, the moisture riding up along the storm track. so that's where we will see the primary points of severe weather. right along the storm track, or even getting it to the west, well, the west has a storm down falling apart around the baha peninsula. but some of this moisture has been easing its way back to the west, allowing drought to creep back into iowa. we have farmers very concerned about drought returning and they are concerned if their crop of soy and also the corn this year. now, if we look at our highs tomorrow, you can see the heat is back. but a little bit of cooling off to the west. now, here we have the tropical storm -- well, it was a tropical storm, now tropical depression. we had a lot of thunderstorms earlier, now those are sticking to mexico, and coming right up into new mexico and arizona. and that's doing to bring us a problem many the way of flash flooding. for a large portion of etch southern california and up in nevada. because of the amount of rain coming down. otherwise we are talking about snow in peru. here are the headlines. the white house just wrapped up its briefing on syria. according to wire reports representative elliot engle says the administration obtained intercepts of officials that proves that the rah jet stream used chemical weapons. uncle said the obama administration also said it saw personnel moving around, indicating something being like a chemical attack. british lawmakers -- that means the u.s. won't get help from its closest ally. leaders on both sides have been debating a