now he sneaks between turkey and syria. i wanted to help the families crossing, he says, and the wounded, and just to help the people that are on the border to make a small difference. at the syrian side of the border is a small makeshift camp close to an unofficial crossing. mohammed films people as they take their final steps to safety. capturing moments like this. a woman wailing, my children, my children. all the people are my children. before imploring god to save them. he shows us the dismal life inside the camp. people living in group tents. washing in the small river. most of these people choose not to cross into turkey because they were separated from family members and the chaos as they fled. they feel forced to stay there, muhammad explains to, keep getting news about syria. they're afraid if they cross into turkey they'll be cut off, not knowing the their loved ones were killed or detained. there are wounded here too after clashes in a nearby town. this man came last saturday, muhammad tells us. he was wounded i

now syria is a much, much different picture. tonight, i'll take a close look at where the arab spring went wrong as the threat of outright war hangs over a region, that at least for a moment thought change was coming. more in just a moment. but, first, a look at the other stories that we're covering tonight. mitt romney made it official. he's running for president but with sarah palin's bus tour in new hampshire, will anybody notice? and today the only muslim in congress made a vow. >> the world will not forget for liberty and justice and for the people of syria. >> earlier he had urged the world to go into libya. where do we draw the line. then moammar gadhafi and goldman sachs, a marriage made in heaven or in hell? i'll ask matt what happened when libya's dictator mate the deal kings of wall street. >>> syria and the story that we've been closely following over the past few nights. the 13-year-old boy who was tortured and murdered. his brutal death has em bol denned anti-government protesters and has become a rallying cry. now

it's as if syria were two countries. arwa damon, cnn, damascus. >> arwa getting a firsthand look at the syrian capital damascus. ef every time she and the crew were shooting everything, there was always a government minder present. >>> more than a million indonesians work in saudi arabia. now jakarta says it won't give anymore visas to go there until saudis agree to changes. it's over a huge you of the treatment given out to an indonesian maid. we'll tell you that brutal story in a minute. that can go the distance. that's why we gave the chevy equinox an epa estimated 32 miles per gallon highway. but do passengers appreciate all of the comfort features we put in the equinox? hey. want me to drive? we'll take that as a yes. the count on chevy event is going on strong with a full selection of chevys to choose from. come claim yours today. visit your local chevy dealer. can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can

will syria be next? joining me now is andrew tabler, where he just came from meetings where he briefed officials on syria. he is also author of the upcoming book "in the lion's den." mr. tabler, thanks for joining us. >> not at all. >> as the chaos and horrific stories of torture and beatings and shootings get worse and worse from syria, what should the united states be doing that we're not doing right now? >> the united states needs to plan for the eventuality of the assad regime simply not being there. while it's not clear exactly what the tipping point of the assad regime is in terms of the fall of the regime like in egypt or in tunisia, it's very clear that the regime's increasingly brutal crackdown is not working. protesters continue to come out. and that the regime itself is on a downward trajectory. although when exactly it will collapse is anyone's guess. >> well, let me ask you the question i think many of us have been asking. we see the assad regime day by day increasingly violent, using increa

this offers sanctions against syria. as far as we're aware, the draft calls for an end to the violence, it calls for political prisoners to be released. it calls for syria to allow united nations' human rights inspectors into the country. they, too, have been barred. but even though the rhetoric in this resolution is not expected to be that harsh, there are concerns that russia and china may veto and other countries have expressed concerns that this resolution would be the first step in a path towards military intervention and syria is aware of the rift within the international community. they have close ties with russia and the syrian vice foreign minister last week was on a trip to china where he was underscoring just how close the two countries' alliance was. and where he said quite clearly that syria was going to be relying on countries like china as a counterweight to other western nations who are trying to influence what is happening inside syria. all of this comes as residents in the northwestern part of the count

it is together with iran that syria supported hezbollah and hamas, and i think loss of syria to iran would be a major set back to the iranians. >> what would happen on your border? the egyptian crisis played out in a way i assume israel is happy with so far, knowing stanlt of the mubarak government so far. do you worry if another regime fell on another border with israel, there could be chaos in the region? >> i think right now there is chaos in syria, i think there are desperate threats to states throughout the region from iran, and there are as i mentioned earlier 60,000 syrian supplied rockets aimed at israeli neighborhoods. hard to imagine a situation worse than that. i think we can look forward to a better future if what happened in egypt would transpire in syria as well. >> mike obviously oren, u.s. ak bass door from israel. thanks for your time. very important subject. we will stay on top of it. >>> up next, what one congressman says is the real reason behind president obama's quick trip to puerto rico today. ♪ ♪ well, you know i love it too ♪ ♪ you love money ♪ well

but up first tonight, major new developments in syria and libya. tonight, forces loyal to moammar gadhafi are trying to fight their way into rebel-held city of misrata from two directions. today's casualty toll, the highest of the month. at least 31 dead. the shows the regime has plenty of fight left, despite more than 10,000 sorties by nato. robert gates blasted nato as a, quote, two tiered alliance poorly equipped, he said, to deal with challenges. >> every alliance member voted for the libya mission. less than half have participated at all. and fewer than a third have been willing to participate in the strike mission. frankly, many of those allies sitting on the sidelines do so not because they do not want to participate but simply because they cannot. the military capabilities simply aren't there. and yet another bizarre twit today, some u.s. lawmakers received a letter that seems to be from colonel gadhafi, that letter says he's counting on the congress to investigate what gadhafi believes is natos, quote, clear violation of the united states

will syria be next? joining me now is andrew tabler, where he just came from meetings where he briefed officials on syria. he is also author of the upcoming book "in the lion's den." mr. tabler, thanks for joining us. >> not at all. >> as the chaos and horrific stories of torture and beatings and shootings get worse and worse from syria, what should the united states be doing that we're not doing right now? >> the united states needs to plan for the eventuality of the assad regime simply not being there. while it's not clear exactly what the tipping point of the assad regime is in terms of the fall of the regime like in egypt or in tunisia, it's very clear that the regime's increasingly brutal crackdown is not working. protesters continue to come out. and that the regime itself is on a downward trajectory. although when exactly it will collapse is anyone's guess. >> well, let me ask you the question i think many of us have been asking. we see the assad regime day by day increasingly violent, using increa

our hala gorani, who is in syria for us. hala, we appreciate you. thank you so much. >>> and at 36 minutes past the hour now, we do need to pass along some sad news about one of our family members here at cnn. sports fans, as well, will take this as sad news. nick charles has died. he was cnn's first sports anchor, and he along with his co-anchor, fred hickman, were fixtures on "sports tonight" for nearly two decades. charles died of bladder cancer this morning at the age of 64. the president of cnn worldwide, jim walton, put out this statement saying, "as a journalist and sports personality, nick charles helped put cnn on the map in its early days. he brought intelligence, style, and heart to his work, qualities that translated to our company and inspired those of us who were fortunate to work alongside him. his passing is a loss to cnn, the sports world, and to the fans and friends everywhere who were with him to the end of his extraordinary life. like them, our thoughts today are of nick and with his family." ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] thanks

in syria tonight, those dreams have a name. he is 13 years old at the end of april he attended a demonstration with his father. he was separated from his dad in the across and then arrested. now we know that hamza alkhalee is dead. pictures of his body are disturbing. his family received his remains. it appeared the 13-year-old had been tortured. he was mutilated. many of the pictures we've received are too graphic to broadcast. cnn made repeated attempts to reach for comment without success. hamza's murder brought syrians into the streets. even children have joined the protests. we'll have more on dramatic developments in syria and the strongest words yet from washington in just a moment. but first, a look at the other stories we're covering tonight. >>> what do robert e. lee and sarah palin have in common? they both went to gettysburg, one of them lost, the other may have just begun to fight. >>> and housing prices keep falling, in some places they haven't been this low since the 1960s. edie hill asks, does the american dream

isn't syria, when you compare the two countries here, syria and libya, very different ball games. >> you know, they're very different countries. and that's what you hear. when you say it sounds logical, you know, a country repressing its people, it's very serious, imminent situation, why not take military action. well, they are two enormously different countries. libya really is small and insignificant when you compare it to syria. big country, major country in the region. big economy. pretty strong military. and then also you have to pull together a coalition. the u.s. -- there's no way the u.s. is going to do this independently. at this point even the countries in the region are kind of fearful of taking action because if you touch this hornet's nest, what will happen next? let's say if assad goes, a lot of fear that the next thing that could happen in syria could be another iran. and so, you know, everybody's holding back and they say it's a terrible situation. but what you're going to see, you know, are you going to see some type of military action? it could take a while. >> it's

even people who witnessed atrocities carry out by dictators in syria who want to talk to syria. it's interesting how the turkish authorities have treated these refugees differently from people who they have helped, from libya, for example, or iraq after the conflicts there. there the turks made campaign of helping people. here they're trying to keep it quiet, it's probably due to their sense tirchties with their relationship with the dictator across the border. there are signs of tension mounting here. last night an agency reported that a crowd tried to mob the turk eric embassy in damascus. they tried to tear down the turkish flag and put up a syrian flag. as we've seen again and again in syria, when you try to organize a street protest there, more often than not the syrian forces try to open fire and try to kill you. the fact that this crowd was able to gather in you up town damascus and swarm the embassy suggests the sear yab authorities wanted to send a signal to the turkish government even after its quiet remarkable victory. >>> let's take a closer look now at that syrian r

and so, you're bound to see technical assistance and weapons flowing into syria, but syria's not the only place. during the bush administration, we saw iran providing critical parts for electronically performed projectiles, parts of the ieds blowing up our soldiers in iraq. we've seen very aggressive iranian activity using their intelligence services in afghanistan. and so, this is part of a piece for iran's -- in terms of their own foreign policy where they're a destabilizing force throughout the region. >> what happens if assad is gone? do we have any idea what iran's role will be then? >> i don't think so. look, iran has been providing financial and military support to hezbollah. hezbollah is a shiite extremist group. it was the most deadly in terms of killing of americans until al qaeda. and so, they have safe haven in syria. they're a very strong political force. hezbollah is also a very strong political force in lebanon. and so, you know, what will happen if bashar al assad goes, it is not at all clear, because you would think the opposition would insist most of the regime go w

his death has been seen as a turning point in syria, the moment when the uprisings in syria triggered national and international outrage. this newest victim, i caution you this is terribly tragic video and we're not even showing you all of it. tamir disappeared on the same day hamza did. the friends were apparently together. as you can see, he was brutally murdered. meanwhile, we obtained fresh evidence of just how cruel the army is. this video was smuggled out. it shows military thugs brutalizing a protester they detained. we're seeking to get more information on this event. i want to make one thing clear. the united states is now involved in two military actions in the region. in libya and yemen. but syria is a country where the u.s. has done very little to intervene. so where do we draw the line? it appears tonight that there is simply not any clear answers to that question. i'll have more on all this in just a moment, but first a look at the other stories we'll be drilling down on tonight. >>> did anthony weiner break the law? a prominent law professor says it's possible. never mi

syria another. thousands again took to the streets after friday prayers there today with images emerging in several major cities. leave, they chanted south of damascus. another chant, the people want the fall of the regime. cnn's arwa damon is tracking the protests in turkey. >> reporter: according to what we heard from activists and what we saw on videos, it most certainly would seem as if the demonstrations once again taking place throughout the country. and these demonstrations apparently are even taking place in areas that are under the control of the military. people literally going out and risking their lives. we have, however, heard that on a number of occasions, the syrian security forces, according to activists, used lethal force and that people were killed, mainly in the central city and in the eastern part of the country. alongside all of this, that intense military crackdown taking place in the northwest is still ongoing, with an activist who is based right along the syrian-turkish borde

. >>> the violence in syria is forcing refugees across the border. we look at what this conflict means for syria's youngest refugee. >> reporter: this baby was born a refugee. he's just a day old and is named after the turkish prime minister. his parents say it's out of gratitude to the country they believe saved them from imminent death in their homeland. his father who did not want to be filmed angrily states it's better to die in turkey than a syria ruled country. this man is 103 years older than the baby. after a few questions about his life, he starts to cry. he is from one of the towns that has been the focal point of the military crackdown in recent weeks. thousands of refugees streamed into turkey, and the media until now kept away from them. the authorities allowed the press's limited access to the refugees in the camp on a carefully coordinated tour. we are able to break away and hear some of the stories of survival. this 4--day-old baby's uncle said he was born on the border before an ambulance can arrive that will and this 9-year-old says

and i too, as cnn has played, see people trying to escape to syria -- from syria to the border with turkey. the question is i think how broad and deep this is. i think the question also is can mr. assad assure his people that he can take the steps that are necessary to quell this? i don't believe that this insurrection is going to go away. i think it's only going to grow stronger. and so really it's up to mr. assad to do what is necessary to satisfy the people he represents. >> and then should an administration that said mubarak must go, gadhafi must go, saleh should not return, say assad must go? >> oh, i think assad must go. i think that's right. >> you believe -- should the obama administration make that its policy, though? it's not right now. >> i understand it is not right now. and i don't know whether the policy makes a big difference or not. you asked me for my opinion. and i gave it to you. >> senator dianne feinstein is the chair of the senate select committee on intelligence. senator, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you very much. >>> still to come, newt gingrich vows t

foreign journalists are not allowed into syria. arwa damen is following developments from the lebanese capital beirut. she joins us now live. arwa, we understand, according to the state-run television, this military crackdown in the town of jisr al shugur is to, what they're describing, to restore order. >> reporter: that's right, monita. that is the line that the government seems to be putting forward through the state-run syrian television channel saying they entered jisr al shugur at the request of residents, residents were the ones saying thr were being held hostage by these so-called gangs. the government from this uprising has been maintaining this line, saying it is only targeting armed gangs, terrorists that are intent on bringing down the regime. what we have been seeing interesting airing on state television as well is recordings of audio conversations that the government is alleging or syr n syrians are saying took place between these so-called armed gangs. you hear the individuals speaking, coaching one another as to ho

we talked about syria vis-a-vis libya. you told us how syria is much tougher nut to crack. i want to talk now about syrian president bashar al assad, he is a dictator. is there an alternative to him? and if so, could the alternative be worse? >> actually, bashar al-assad was actually considered a potential reformer, and that's what's been one of the factors here. he kept saying, even recently, don't worry, i will reform. don't worry, i will reform and the world wanted to believe it. but they haven't seen any evidence of that. so that's part of the equation why the world is being so slow. but when you're talking about, you know, viable opposition who could take over, that is a huge question, because you saw lindsey graham talking about libya. syria is the -- the opposition in syria is so far behind, let's say, in organizing, than the opposition in libya, that it's not even funny. so when -- at the state department today, when we're talking -- i asked this question several times. who are the opposition, what do they want. and mark toner, the spokesman, we can listen to what h

the reality is, fareed, there is trouble in syria. syria is divided. there are protests in syria. the protests are not as thick and large as the protests that we have seen in many parts of the middle east, particularly in yemen, tunisia and egypt. they're isolated. you're talking about thousands of protesters as opposed to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. we can explain why. you have multiple factors, many factors that explain the lack of the huge crowds that we have not seen in syria today. >> fascinating account, fawaz, of a syria that perhaps will endure, the regime will endure. but weaken with lower-intensity conflict and the loss of a very crucial ally in turkey. thank you. we will be right back. >> let me ask this simply. who is the good guy in this fact? the mullahs or ahmadinejad? >> the simple answer is none of them. ♪ could that have also inspired its 556 horsepower supercharged engine? ♪ the all-new cadillac cts-v coupe. we don't just make luxury cars, we make cadillacs. her morning begins with arthritis pain. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon

syria right now? >> there's no crackdown. there's a crackdown from these military groups against the government and against civilians. >> so who's doing the killing? who's doing the killing? >> the killing was initiated and it still goes on by these extremist groups. >> who are they? >> they are extremist groups, extremist religious groups and groups that are financed outside of syria and groups that don't want to achieve reform in syria. >> are they serious? financed with outside money? >> i don't -- i mean i cannot -- i'm not a security, i don't know who is financing them. >> well, we have been able to see both from evidence collected from people who fled to turkey and other places is that some of these demonstrate fors were clearly shot and they were shot by people with the intent to kill them. and they died, and it was some 1,300 people. >> believe me, this is a big lie. when you speak about the refugees to turkey, this is a big lie. >> no syrian official has elaborated on exactly what religious group or armed gang is acc

syria is a police state. the idea that there are tens of thousands of armed thug ganged who aren't affiliated with the government who are against the government, that's just absurd. >> it is absurd. look, anderson. bashar assad lacks absolute credibility, not only around the world and the international community but with his own people. if there was an ounce of honesty or integrity to the speech, it would have begun by saying i'm going to pull back the syrian military forces who are at the moment, slaughtering the syrian people. and i'm going to investigate the sort of abuses that the military is visited upon the syrian people. but he can't do that because, of course, he's ordered those abuses so this is just further evidence. it sort of delusional if you ask me. he makes the statement but it clearly lacks any truth or sincerity. >> you talked about the arab silence on friday. we heard from the arab league and they said the u.n. shouldn't get involved. outside powers shouldn't go involved in the internal affa

>> well, the court, icc, does not have jurisdiction in syria as syria is not a member of the -- nonetheless, the icc has jurisdiction when it comes to the type of crime because it's crime against humanity and also the crimes happened after 2002. nonetheless, for the icc to have full jurisdiction on the case, we need a united nations security council resolution. and to have the obama administration board calling for a referral is of extreme importance to start working towards seeing some justice happening in syria. >> does this have an impact? would it have an impact do you think if the u.s. got involved? not sure if bashir is going to be particularly concerned about the icc, is he? >> i think he will be concerned. we're not going to arrest him and bring him to the hague but i think it's important he be identified for the criminal that he is. this ace young man, a young ruler who had illusions about being a member of the community of nations. he is now being banished. what he and his colleagues are doing they're telling us there's a future for syria beyond him. i think for the obama administ

security council to take a stand on the syria crisis. reports out of the country suggest more than 1,000 people have been killed since anti-government protests began three months ago. and the fear of further violence is driving hundreds of syrians out of the country. more than 1,000 crossed the turkish border in the past day. that's according to turkey's anitollia news agency. the government said 120 of its troops were ambushed and killed in the town just last weekend. syria does make it difficult for foreign bjornalistss to work in the country. we want to go to arwa damon. we understand there's a ratcheting up of military action. >> reporter: that military action concentrated in the northwestern part of the country in the town you mentioned there, jisr al shugur. what we're hearing is there is a state of cautious calm, he was describing it. people very tense, shops remaining closed. people fully expecting a military crackdown at any point in time. we have over the last 36 to 48 hours been hearing from residents and activists that column

late word, new word, that syria is getting help killing its own people. crackdowns like this on protesters are made possible in part by the rising involvement of iran in syria. iran is helping, according to u.s. officials by training killers, sending personnel and keeping weapons flowing into syria and supplying riot gear. one official says the evidence is coming from american electronic eavesdropping. they say iran is supporting other potential leaders in sear you in case the dictator, bashar assad. he spoke today in damascus but for those that hoped he would change direction he made it clear he's got nothing to offer except the same reform he's been making and breaking for years but he blamed the chaos on what he described as a virtual army of rampaging criminals and said there are about 64,000 dangerous fugitives in syria. imagine, he said, what damage could be caused if a few thousands wanted to carry weapons and engage in sabotage. look at that statement. "keeping them honest," syria is a police state and has been for decades. 64,000 anti-government

there was a terror in syria. a repressive state. but not a war between the syrian regime and its people. then, on a certain day in march, some kid, some poor kids, under 15 years of age, went out in the southern town of denar and wrote some graffiti on the walls. the regime was so afraid, it couldn't tolerate this and it went to war against its own people. every act of repression, every act of repression on the part of the regime, strengthened the will of the syrian people and their defiancdefiance. >> which is actually a remarkable turn of events. usually acts of terror like that will lead to dissipation of opposition. >> exactly. that's why in mine opinion anyway, it's not a very original thought, that's why the syrian regime returned the body of this young poor boy to his people, to his family, tortured and mutilated, because the idea was you will reinstate the state of fear, you will frighten the people. they will scurry to their homes and leave power to the assads. >> quickly, last question on syria because i want to move over

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he becomes the president of syria and this is what transpires. this is a woman in a complicated situation and "vogue" magazine has been heavily criticized for featuring this woman, so my favorite quote was, skinny pants and a violet scarf are trey chic but married to a dictator killing his own people and barring foreign journalists is not. >> nadia bilchik with this morning's passport interesting sbroe deucing us to one more person. we'll check in with you later this morning. >>> we turn to the nervous residents along the swollen missouri river, doing more than just waiting and watching now. some are getting out of town. but they're taking their homes with them. you got to see this. there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder to help neutralize odors in multiple-cat homes. and our improved formula also helps eliminate dust. so it's easier than ever to keep your house smelling just the way you want it. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. 14 clubs. that's wha

we have heard something about an amnesty in syria today. do you know what happened, and was anyone actually freed? >> well, we are understanding from activists, again, as you mentioned, we don't have access to syria, a few hundred were freed today. some were political prisoners. overall, the thousands that were rounded up over the last few weeks, and i should say over the last few months of the uprising in syria, are still being detained. this was an amnesty announced through degree on state television that activists say doesn't go far enough because it's not exactly an amnesty in many cases. it's just a reduction in sentence for people who have been detained for belonging to, say, banned political movements such as his muslim brother hood. >> so do you know what the next steps are to expand that kind of -- that kind of potential amnesty? >> well, these are offers of reforms. again, coming from a set of contradictory messages from the government. an offer of reform on the one hand. but then crackdowns.

what is the sense inside syria? >> reporter: well, john, as we have been speaking, the most recent military activity appears to be concentrated in the northwestern part of the country. it is there where the syrian government alleged that 120 members of the syrian security forces had been killed since friday. it is there where activists were telling us about a military siege that was in place over the weekend, where we have been hearing conflicting reports. some activists saying some residents had in fact armed themselves, deciding to fight back. others saying it was in fact dissent within the syrian security apparatus, where individuals, we are now hearing, who refused to fire then clashed with regime loyalists. we did speak with one resident who did say that the area was pretty much a ghost town. many people had fled, the electricity had been cut off, there were fuel and bread shortageages. another activist with a fairly extensive network in the country himself outside of syria said people, the doctors and nurses a

hamza's face has been carried on posters and banners in syria. we haven't seep it with this young map but if this video continues to circulate, then he yes it will become potentially just the latest outrage surrounding the alleged torture and killing of a child, a 15-year-old is a child. and according to one human rights organization, 77 children have been killed since the beginnings of these uprisings in syria and that is almost 10% of the total, of the lowest total that has been estimated in syria. >> i know you would love to be in syria, get the reaction first happened, you were in jordan, tried to get in there they still won't let us in, frustrating. hala gorani in washington. thank you. >>> more democrats are calling on congressman anthony weener to resign. he is now responding. you will hear his two reasons for why he will not quit. >>> dana bash is on capitol hill and you were reporting on anthony weiner, his colleagues forcing him to step aside. what are you hearing today and is it working? >> there is no evidence he is going any where in

want to talk about syria. that's where thousands of people, possibly hundreds more have reportedly died in the streets in public spaces in the last few months. people either rising up against the government or on the other side trying to keep the uprising down and quiet. hala gorani, we've missed you. good to have you back on the sofa. >> good to be back. >> we know the president of syria, bashir al assad, went on television again today and apparently hasn't much changed his stance. might we ever hear any kind of solid specific concessions from him? >> well, for those hoping that his tone was going to change today, it was his third speech. and what's interesting, brooke, is that president ben ali of tunisia, who was today sentenced in absentia, to 35 years in prison, and president mubarak, both gave three speeches before they were ultimately forced out of power. the expectation with syria is very different. there's no expectation that in the immediate future bashir al assad is going to be forced from power. ho

. >> gunfire sends demonstrators scattering in western syria. this is north of damascus. witnesses say military forces and police fired indiscriminately into this massive crowd of anti-government protesters yesterday at a and a human rights group estimates as many as 80 people were killed. we have to rely on eyewitnesss and youtube videos because cnn is not allowed to report from inside syria. >>> a suspected u.s. drone strike in pakistan may have killed the man considered al qaeda's military brain. cashmerery's group says he was killed in an attack on a tribal area near the afghan border. the killing has not been confirmed by pakistan or the united states. >> he was a man who was believed to be mounting or in the process of planning large, spectacular global attacks. and that is why he is such a key darth for the u.s., a man whom they believe had the ability and the resources to conduct strikes that could attack the west, particularly in europe and possibly even the united states, michelle. >> here in the u.s., the coast guard is closing a 182-mile stretch of the missour

syria claims 25 people were killed and more than 300 wounded. the protests marked the 44th anniversary of the 1967 six-day war. israel seized the golan heights from syria in that war. >>> >>> meantime defense secretary robert gates is making his final stop in afghanistan and he gave the troops an emotional sendoff. he's leaving his post later this month. he told a group of u.s. forces that he feels responsible for their well being and noticed that he signed the deployment papers that put them there. >> i just want you to know i think about you every day. i feel your hardship and your sacrifice and your burden and that of your families. more than you can possibly know. you are, i believe, the best our country has to offer. and you will be in my thoughts and prayers every day for the rest of my life. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> as for the planned withdrawal of u.s. troops, gates said he expects it to be a mix of combat and support elements, in his words "i have confidence we'll strike the right balance". >>> t.s.a. pat downs are pretty m

that's next. >>> as many as 80 people may be dead in syria. take a look at hama, syria. witnesses say troops and policemen opened fire on protesters gathered to commemorate the children killed since this uprising began. we cannot independently verify the casualty count. the number comes from a human rights group citing medical sources in syria. >>> let's move to yemen now. there are conflicting reports about the location of and the condition of the president ali abdullah saleh. rah late sa is here. what do we know. what has been verified? >> we know very little, richelle. we received information from the soud day government official that president saleh has gone to saudi arabia. he's arrived there for treatment. however, yemeni officials deny that. they say he's okay, sustained light injuries, possibly on his head. this is the conflicting information, complete confusion as to what the condition of the president is and where he is at this point. >> what do we know about the motivation behind the attacks, who did this? >> no one knows. what we know is president saleh himse

there's a real choice in syria. syria is a mercantile society. it has a deep tradition and decent people. they deserve a chance. this is what we need to be able to see, that it's not -- we don't have this stark choice of either bashar or chaos. >> right. fouad, great to have you on again. ann marie slaughter as well. thank you so much. >>> there are other stories in the world. sometimes you really need them. just ahead, he was lurking at the denver airport. this is something to make you smile at the end of the night. it's been a pretty tough couple of days. a really bizarre, one of the more stranger people we've ever put on the "ridicu-list." stay tuned. [ bell tolls ] [ indistinct conversations ] [ hissing ] agents, what did we learn here today? that lint balls are extremely flammable! well, yeah. and that 15,000 dryer fires happen every year! that's why it's important to regularly clean and inspect your vents! correct. where did you get that?! i built it. [ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum

to think about a new syria. and that's what this is about. >> ann marie, have the prote protestsprotests gotten to the point where they threaten the regime? it doesn't seem like they're wide enough or deep enough at this point. >> they haven't been yet. but on the other hand, they can't be stopped. the government has used obviously horrific detention and torture. they've sent in the army in daraa. and yet the protesters keep coming out on the streets. and i do think hamza helps crystallize all that rage, and it may help shift the political balance of power. at some point the upper middle class, the merchant class may decide this has gone too far. at this point, you cannot deny the horrific brutality of a man who presents himself as a reformer and has two young sons -- two young children himself, the facts won't lie. >> and fouad, to see -- every night to be talking to someone like razan zaytouni, i am so moved by her courage. you see those pictures of other little children out on the streets carrying pictures of

. >>> syria's war on its own people. cnn's arwa damon has the story of the military's latest atrocity. >>> and, a country in chaos. yemen's president is in saudi arabia getting surgery. he says he's going back. the state department says that's a bad idea. e.d. hill asks, will al qaeda fill a power vacuum? >>> then, mitt romney, former governor of massachusetts, wants to be president. michael dukakis, former governor of massachusetts once ran for president. dukakis says romney's a fraud. >> he's smart, he's slick. unfortunately, she's slippery. >>> now for more on our top story, anthony weiner's bizarre circus of a press conference earlier this afternoon. let me play a bit more of what the congressman had to say. >> for the past few years, i have engaged in several inappropriate conversations conducted over twitter, facebook, e-mail, and occasionally on the phone with women i had met online. i have exchanged messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years. for the most part, these

as we head, reporters aren't allowed into syria. joining us from just over the boarder in turkey, ivan, the video we showed of thousands of men peacefully walking down a long road and getting fired on. you got that video for us. how did you get it? >> this was an activist who came across the border thursday night, anderson, smuggled himself across the border into turkey, and shared that with us. we spoke with him. he described the security forces basically mowing people down. and you could see that in this video. he challenged any syrian official to claim that these activists had weapons, saying they didn't even carry knives. they even kept their flag poles short. and then he said he was going back into syria to participate in protests after friday prayers. we spoke to him a couple of hours ago. they had those protests, and he said security forces once again opened fire on the thousands of people who were demonstrating against bashar al assad's regime, and even opened fire from helicopters. he says he was shot in the right thigh. he

bring your challenges. >>> it was a dramatic day in syria. political figures critical of the regime met publically in damascus with the blessing of the government. syria now has allowed cnn correspondents access to the country where hundreds died in a brutal crackdown over the course of three months of political protests. earlier today we visited a town where the government account of the violence differs dramatically from the reports of human rights groups and activists. >> reporter: he is saying when he arrived into this room, back here he found three bodies. one of them, he says, was decapitated. the others had gun shot wounds to the torso. he is saying it is seen as if they had been beaten, as well. back here there is a little bit of debris, a shoe and some dark stains on the wall. it's hard to tell exactly what it is. >> hara, let's start with you on your visit there. essentially what you get is two competing, very different versions of history. >> you most certainly do. in that clip there, that was an individual who said he was an eyewi

the stakes in syria are certainly enormous. what happens in syria could have a huge, huge impact on the surrounding region. let's bring in our national security analyst, peter bergen. peter, this is awful. now at least 1,000 people have been killed during the uprisings by the regime in syria. and i guess the question is, can bashar al assad, the ruler there, can he survive? >> as you know well, wolf, his father made the calculation that if he killed up to 20,000 people in 1982, not only would he survive, but he would thrive and clearly the son is very much the son of his father. is making the same calculation now in the age of twitter and youtube. that may be harder to do. you know, his father was able to execute and murder thousands of civilians. >> you're talking about what happened back in 1982 and there were at least 20,000 people who were simply slaughtered. >> right, that was well-known but it wasn't being documented in realtime as what we're seeing in syria right now. i think it's much harder to do but clearly he's makin

not want to achieve reform in syria. >> unnamed groups. no evidence. unnamed extremists, financed by unnamed outsiders. in his last speech, bashar al assad blamed the criminals and clearly the regime needs to get their story straight. chilling pictures, these from outside damascus on friday. security thugs jamming a protester into the trunk of a car beating them. watch as someone rush into the crowd with sticks, batons, trying to rescue the guy. he's beaten senseless and the trunk is shut. and another person, someone's father, uncle, best friend, is 45u8ed away. and a young man being led away by security forces his face unmar ford now. his future? we can't tell we don't know. each new tragedy seems to bring more people into the streets. this weekend i spoke with a woman whose husband was taken away weeks ago. she, herself is a fugitive and she's on the run in syria with her life in danger. we talked by phone earlier. there were more protests and more brutality over the weekend. what can you tell us about what happened? >> actually, the pro

the regime of bashir al assad in syria. they try to hide their crimes by keeping reporters out, but the video continues to emerge. this is what syrian soldiers do to helpless handcuffed prisoners. >> this is what syrian soldiers do to a helpless elderly man. >> this is what the regime does to its people who are protesting. [ gunshots ] video today from a damascus suburb. right now syrian soldiers and government thugs are on the brink of exacting bloody retribution on an entire city. and their leader, bashar al assad according to the neighboring prime minister of turkey taking all this very lightly. tonight for whatever it's worth and whoever can do something about it, we want to show you the truth of what is happening in syria. the pictures are hard to look at, i know, but people are risking their lives to take these images. they are dying so that you and i may know the truth. this is exclusive video, new video of a recent protest. a peaceful protest in northern syria, photograph bade dissident who managed to escape to turk

>> gosh, arwa, what is it like for you to be inside syria as a reporter? what were your impressions? >> reporter: it's an incredibly grim set of conditions that these refugees are having to deal with on the other side, not only are we, by being there, afforded the opportunity to have direct access to syrians who say they witnessed firsthand the brutality of their regime prior to crossing over or contact with individuals who by and large over the phone trying to reach eyewitnesses, since the country has prevent us from having access to the people, to speak to them about the horrors they've experienced. at the same time, one really grows to appreciate what these individuals have been through. not only did did they have to flee, they're dealing with this out in the open. they have for protection, for example, against the rain and it had been raining up until the last few days, these plastic tarps strung between trees, food they have to rely on the villagers here on the turkish side of the border ferrying things like bread and basics across. there's something

actually praising syria's dictator and his violent regime. we'll explain what is making them do that. also ahead, at least two tornadoes hit western massachusetts. the pictures are incredible, including the city of springfield. the latest on the damage coming up. down the hill? man: all right. we were actually thinking, maybe... we're going to hike up here, so we'll catch up with you guys. [ indistinct talking and laughter ] whew! i think it's worth it. working with a partner you can trust is always a good decision. massmutual. let our financial professionals help you reach your goals. and my dog bailey and i love to hang out in the kitchen. you love the aroma of beef tenderloin, don't you? you inspired a very special dog food. [ female announcer ] chef michael's canine creations. chef inspired. dog desired. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands o

there's a document leaked out from syria from syria intelligence. what they end up saying is the lesson of egypt and tunisia is never to relinquish power it's to use the armed forces to hunker down and kill as many people as you can and so, in fact, you're absolutely right. you have egypt and tunisia as one story and then you have syria, libya and yemen. yemen itself is interesting. because saleh was always a rogue but not a killer. now i think with the complications in yemen i think now there's more blood on his hands and there's greater reluctance on his part to relinquish power. >> in syria, the u.n. secretary-general says at least 1,000 people have been killed over these past several weeks in syria and i fear many, many more are about to die because they don't want to give up, they don't want saleh to stay in power but he's getting even more bold in his crackdown. >> you know, there's something very ironic which the wolf has come to hamad. since his father wreaked convenient against in 1982. here we are three decades later, almost, a year short