From nbc news, this is today with lester holt and erica hill live from rockefeller plaza. And welcome to today on this sunday morning. Im erica hill. And im kraig lammas. Lesterin e enjoying a much needed time off. Can you believe those people in that video could not believe their eyes. And also ahead, hes one of the nfls most popular players, but now tim tebows future is in jeopardy. Once again hes out of a job this morning a day after the new England Patriots cut him from the team. They are the third team in about a year and a half to say goodbye to the quarterback. So where does tebow go from here. If anywhere is the question. And also this morning, one of our favorite examples, you may remember the homeless man a few months back found a cherished Engagement Ring in his change cup, returned it to the owner. Weve been following Billy Ray Harris story pretty closely. And this morning we are going to have an update for you. We want to begin with the latest on the president s surprising move to hold off on military action against syria until Congress Takes a vote. Kristen well kers at the white house. Good morning. Not what people were expecting yesterday. Not at all. Good morning to you, erica. The white house sent this resolution over to congress requesting authorization for military action against syria. Its short, only about a page and a paragraph long, but it represents a huge political gamble for president obama. If Congress Votes no, he risks looking weak on the world stage. After he spent a week building his case for a military strike against syria, a striking reversal from the commander in chief. I will seek authorization for the use of force from the american peoples representatives in congress. Hours later the white house released the formal resolution asking congress for approval saying it would send a clear message of resolve. But some say president obama and future president s could pay a price for the political 180. Were already hearing from some members of congress that hes weakened the power of the presidency. Just a day earlier the president and secretary of state john kerry indicated military action against syria was imminent. Navy warships were in place. And they took their case to the nation. This is the indiscriminate, inconceivable horror of chemical weapons. This is what assad did to his own people. But aides say after all the lobbying, the president decided to put it to a congressional vote, following a walk with his chief of staff friday night. Swayed in part by the novote in the british parliament. All leading up to a flurry of meetings with top advisors and phone calls to congressional leaders before a startling announcement. And im prepared to give that order. While some lawmakers are praising the decision. I am very glad that president obama has listened to the bipartisan calls. Others are sharply critical with new york congressman peter king saying the president is abdicating his responsibility as commander in chief. And some democrats had encouraged the president to go it alone. I think the war powers act clearly gives the president the ability to launch whatever he needs to do. Analysts say the sudden call for a vote is a risky move. If Congress Tells him no, its going to be very difficult for him to go forward politically. Administration Officials Say they were stunned by the president s decision friday night. And many of them were opposed to it. After all, he had walked the military to the edge of action, but they say by saturday they were onboard. Congress will officially take up the measure the week of september 9th when they return from recess. And by the way, after president obama made that announcement in the rose garden, he played a round of golf. Erica. Kristen, thanks. In the rose garden comments president obama said this is not a time sensitive issue. So what does that mean for People Living inside syria . Chief Foreign CorrespondentRichard Engel is live. Richard, whats been the reaction to the president s comments yesterday. Whats been the reaction in that part of the world . It has been extraordinarily negative from the syrians weve been speaking to. They say this is a matter of life and death, that this cannot wait weeks, that it cant be postponed until a decision from congress, a decision they dont think will necessarily will get passed. They say there was a pattern of promises from the United States for help, promises that have not been delivered. Just a few months ago the United States said it would give the Syrian Opposition lethal means to defend themselves against attacks from Bashar Al Assads regime. Those weapons never came. Then after a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 1,400 people, again, strong statements, strong speeches from the u. S. Administration and now delays. They say that every time they hear Something Like this coming out of washington, they hope that perhaps the refugees who are living in countries like turkey and lebanon and jordan can go home after two and a half years. And then the refugees weve spoken to today think were going to have to be living outside of our border for perhaps a lot longer. Richard engel for us this morning. Richard, thank you. David gregory is moderator of meet the press. He joins us this morning. David, good morning. Good morning. Lets stick with the international record. We just heard from richard, the president says this isnt time sensitive. What does this do to the president in terms of International Clout . Well, i think the undeniable reality is there was an abrupt shift here. The president almost appeared as if he was debating this in his own head as the way he spoke about it in the last few days. There was no question he was ramping up for imminent military strikes as early as this weekend, sending out his secretary of state, putting all the assets in place. And then had a change of heart and wanted to get congress approval. So he pursues this delay. I think theres a feeling in the middle east among arab allies and other allies, like israel, that the u. S. Is undermined some credibility, undermined some of its leverage. The question of what happens if Bashar Al Assad uses conventional or chemical weapons in the next few weeks . What happens then in the course of this delay . I think these are some of the issues the u. S. Is going to face. And i will suspect secretary kerry will make the point the president did, the decision has been made to strike syria, its just a question of when. And thats where we proceed. And i know secretary kerry is going to be joining you later this morning on meet the press, but he went out and made this impassioned plea. A lot of people talking about clearly his former life as an attorney, you could see it coming through on friday, and this morning some of the accounts that the secretary of state was hung out to dry by the president. Is that accurate . Well, its certainly an issue that well discuss with him. My reporting indicates that almost everybody on the National Security team, including secretary kerry, did not think that the president should seek Congressional Authority. The president and his Legal Council felt otherwise and that view prevailed. This jarring shift from kerry making the case to the president changing his miennd. But this is also important. Kerry making that case on friday is still important and will only ratchet it up as they go to congress and say, look, this is the evidence that the assad regime used chemical weapons and therefore you have got to give the president the authority that he seeks. But there is the very real really about preventing kwem kal weapons. But theres the very real possibility, david, that they will not grant that authority. And the president has intimated hes still going to go through with this. Does he have to no matter what . I think the president made it clear he feels he has the authority now and hes made the decision to strike syria. I dont think whether Congress Says yay or nay it will affect the battle plan, but i think the president wants the debate. David, well check back with you in a little bit. Thanks again. Thanks. Now to the news that former South African president Nelson Mandela is back home this morning after spending nearly three months in the hospital. Were live outside mandelas home in the johannesburg suburbs. Good morning to you. Good morning to you, craig. Nelson mandela is back home discharged from the hospital early this morning, transferred safely from a medical facility in pretoria from one hour here to his mansion in the suburbs of johannesburg. There have been rumors for about the last 24 hours he was about to be discharged. At one point yesterday members of his family were incorrectly told he had already come back home. But today that happened for real. But he wasnt on his own. His entire medical team, including military doctors and private medics, have been transferred to his home too. Parts of his home have been reconfigured to in effect give him the same level of intensive care that he was able to receive while he was inside the hospital. Hes being treated for three months now for this recuring lung infection he became susceptible. But members of his family have been pushing to have him released, to have him discharged and have him brought how e home. Today thats happened but he remains critically ill but in stable condition. Thank you. Want to get to now a check of some of the other stories were following this morning including some of the effects of the Massive Wildfire in california that continues to burn. Tom llamas for us. Good morning everyone. Campers are grappling with thick smoke and the smell of burning brush this morning as the wildfire rages on. This is the First Time Since flames broke out two weeks ago that the smoke is actually blanketing parts of yosemite valley. Visitors are being asked to scaleback Outdoor Activities and even stay inside if they can. The teachings of a tell advantage list people familiar with Kenneth Copeland ministries say theres a Belief Church goers should rely on god and not modern medicine to keep them healthy. Of the 21 people who contracted measles, 16 were unvaccinated. Radioactive water from japans Nuclear Plant may be headed to the u. S. A new study shows the toxic water released at the fukushima disaster in 2011 will likely reach u. S. Coastal waters in 2014. Although it is expected to be diluted by the time it gets there. The veteran journalist famed for interviewing u. S. President richard nixon, has died. Sir david frost passed away at the age of 74. He was best known for his series of interviews with nixon in 1977 in which the president conceded some fault over watergate. British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron put it best when he tweeted frost was a friend and fearsome interviewer. And a new picture this morning of a story we told you about yesterday. Just as Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the first member of the Supreme Court saturday to conduct a samesex wedding ceremony, she officiated the marriage of her longtime friend, the president of the Kennedy Center for the performing arts and economist john roberts. And you wont believe this dramatic video out of taiwan. We showed it to you at the top of the broadcast. A camera mounted on the dashboard of a car traveling behind the one you see here, capturing a landslide. Thats not it. Check this out. A massive boulder trips down several times. The car comes down crashing down and stops within inches of the car. The driver and a passenger walked away with minor injuries. Talk about not only that, the driver throws on his hazards, walks out of the car and inspects the scene like no big deal. Can you imagine . Talk about lucky to be alive. I would have taken off running. I was going to say, gone like a shot out of there. Glad theyre all right. And it was good video. Tom, thanks. Dylan dreyer is here. I look up, 50 50 shot it doesnt start to rain well, its blue in the sky. When its nice, its going to be really nice. But when its raining, its going to be downpouring because its so humid in the northeast. Anywhere from new england right into new york city and parts of new jersey and pennsylvania too we are going to see the potential of some heavier downpours today. Again, when its nice, its real nice. The best threat of strong storms today will be mostly across illinois where we could see some damaging wind gusts and some large hail. Its out ahead of this cold front that right now is producing some heavy downpours like were going to see here in the midwest. But out ahead of the front its very warm and very humid with your feels like temperature well above 100 degrees. Back behind that front it will drop back into the 70s with lower humi and thats your latest forecast. Craig. Dylan, thank you. Now to a sibling rivalry thats turned out publicly for a very famous family. Dick cheneys daughters disagree on the hot button issue on gay marriage with one saying the other is dead wrong in her beliefs. Luk russell has more. Two sisters from one of the countrys most notable political families at odds, for all to see. Responding to what she says is a misleading poll, wyoming Senate Candidate liz cheney has made it clear in recent days shes not progay marriage. I believe the issue of marriage must be decided by the state and by the people in the state. That is not sitting well with younger sister mary cheney, who is gay. And married her longtime partner last year. She wasted little time firing back writing on facebook, for the record, i love my sister, but she is dead wrong on the issue of marriage. Adding, freedom means freedom for everyone and that means all families regardless of how they look or how they are made. As for the sisters famous father, the usually conservative dick cheney, hes advocated for equal rights on abcs the view in 2011. I think freedom means freedom for everybody. And you ought to have the right to make whatever choice you want to make with respect to your own personal situation. The infighting is another twist in the Senate Primary race thats already garnered national attention. Whats really fascinating about this family dynamic is that it sort of symbolizes the broader rift thats playing out right now in the Republican Party between those who support gay marriage and those who dont support gay marriage. Two outspoken women on different sides of a hotly contested issue. For today, luke russert, nbc news, los angeles. Up next here on today, the little boy and double amputee who went from watching his favorite dolphin in a movie to swimming with him in real life. That after this. [ female announcer ] when you have a picky eater. Wont touch this. Breakfast together can be a. Bit of a dance. Wont touch stop. Eggo time. [ female announcer ] but eggo waffles can win over the pickiest of eaters. Cant touch this. [ girl ] leggo my eggo™. Just a little warning for you, it is going to be pretty tough for you to not fall in love with a little boy in our next story. He lost both of had his legs when he was just 13 months old. He now walks in prosthetic legs, as you can see. He loves to swim. For that, he has some very special flippers. And a lot of same leyritz with a dolphin in a kids movie. What if the two had a chance to meet . Now with a dolphin tale that will make you smile. Reporter what should be obvious is cieran kelso will stand up and conquer challenges. The 8yearold traveled from england with his dad, mom and sister to visit clear waters Marine Aquarium in pursuit after dream, to swim with winter, star of the movie dolphin tales. In the same year that i lost my legs. Reporter cieran was 3 months old, just learning to walk when stricken with meningitis forcing doctors to amputate both legs. He doesnt seem disabled, does he . He puts his legs on and goes out and does it or puts his flippers on. Reporter a year and a half ago the kelsos watched the movie dolphin tales. Winters struggles of being saved. For cieran it was instant kinship. That she had a prosthetic tale and i have prosthetic legs. Cieran said to me, shes disabled just like me, we knew it was a special movie. That there is her blow hole. Reporter once in the water the connection is undenial. The faster i swam, the faster winter swam. Reporter they swim and flash. She has longed for this moment and as it happened she could barely watch. You had to step away a couple times. Yeah. It just means so much to us. Just to be given the opportunity in life because hes had so much taken away. Reporter this experience took a year to plan out but it was kept top secret from the kids. Their parents didnt tell them a thing n. Fact, when they went to the airport in the uk, they thought they were dropping daddy off because he was heading to work. We are going to see florida to see dolphins. Reporter this is the kelsos own recording of the moment cieran learned of the trip. Crazy. Did you bring the flippers . Reporter one of many memories theyll remember for years just like when cieran hit the pool. Freezing water, heartwarming story. If a dolphin can inspire a child, perhaps riera had n can inspire others. I hope one of the guys from are the military see this is after losing a limb and goes, you know what, if that 8yearold kid can do it, then we can do it, too. Reporter for today good girl. Reporter clear water, florida. What an inspiration. Fantastic. Still ahead, popular quarterback tim tebow has been still ahead, popular quar[ lane ] do you ever feeln like youre growing old waiting for your wrinkle cream to work . Clinically proven neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. It targets fine lines and wrinkles with the fastest retinol formula available. Youl