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Assad remains defiant as US mulls missile strike - MSNBC

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 08:16 AM PDT

A rebel fighter takes aim at regime forces in the northern city of Aleppo on August 26, 2013. (Photo by Louia Abo Al-Jod/AFP/Getty Images)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to continue the fight that has killed more than 100,000 Syrians in the last two and a half years even as the United States huddles with allies to prepare a military response in reaction to suspected chemical weapons use by the regime.

Senior U.S. officials told NBC News that it may launch limited missile strikes against Syria "as early as Thursday."

"Failure awaits the United States as in all previous wars it has unleashed, starting with Vietnam and up to the present day," Assad warned the U.S. in an interview with a Russian newspaper published Monday.

Assad called U.S. claims that his regime launched a chemical attack outside a Damascus suburb last Wednesday "nonsense and "an insult to common sense." He charged the West with drumming up the charge as a politically motivated attack.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said Tuesday that "the options are there, and the United States Department of Defense is ready to carry out those options," noting that any action would occur "in coordination with international partners."

Given what Secretary of State John Kerry called "undeniable" evidence that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against its own citizens, "there has to be a response" from the United States, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday. Carney said the public will hear the decision as soon as President Obama has made it, and he emphasized that all options are open–except boots on the ground.

"I think you can expect to hear [President Obama] speak on it again as he evaluates the potential options and responses, and as he makes a decision about a potential response," Carney said during Monday afternoon's press briefing.

The United Nations reported in June that the Syrian death toll had risen to more than 100,000 dead, which is likely a conservative estimate.

More than one million children have fled to neighboring countries, the U.N. said Friday, representing half of all refugees in an ongoing crisis that has spilled into Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt–straining limited resources.

More than four million people, including more than two million children, have been displaced within their home country, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the U.N. Children's Fund. The figures only include registered persons and are thought to be much higher.

In an impassioned press conference Monday, Kerry called the alleged chemical attack that killed hundreds and injured thousands more "a moral obscenity" and said there is no doubt the attacks were perpetrated by Assad's regime.

"By any standard, it is inexcusable," Kerry said, "and despite excuses and equivocations, it is undeniable." Kerry said the U.S. would be sharing evidence proving Assad's culpability in the coming days.

It appears to be the worst chemical weapons attack in a quarter century, since former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein launched chemical weapons strikes in 1988, killings thousands of Iraqi Kurds.

The use of chemical weapons in Syria violates a "red line" delineated by Obama more than one year ago. While the U.S. has weighed its military and diplomatic options, the death toll in Syria has steadily climbed and thousands of Syrians have been displaced, primarily to Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq.

Reporting contributed by NBC News' Courtney Kube.

Watch a report from NBC's Jim Miklaszewski:

Cooler temps expected to aid Yosemite firefight - Northwest Cable News

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 08:12 AM PDT

TUOLUMNE CITY, Calif. (AP) — Officials say a massive wildfire burning near Yosemite National Park grew overnight, but they are still making progress in containing it.

The Rim Fire remained 20 percent contained on Tuesday morning. Officials said the fire grew to about 280 square miles, up from about 252 square miles the previous day, but back burning by crews was responsible for at least part of that increase.

California fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said crews are anticipating cooler temperatures and higher humidity this week that could allow them to gain the upper hand.

The fire is threatening thousands of structures, the main reservoir serving San Francisco and historic giant sequoias.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Crews are finally gaining ground on a massive wildfire burning near Yosemite National Park as fire officials expressed optimism even as the blaze grew larger while containment jumped to 20 percent.

As flames lapped at the edge of the main reservoir that supplies San Francisco, fears that the inferno could disrupt water or power to the city diminished.

"It looks great out there. No concerns," Glen Stratton, an operations section chief on the blaze, said of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

Nearly 3,700 firefighters battled the roughly 252-square-mile fire, the biggest wildfire on record in California's Sierra Nevada.

Weather conditions forecast for Wednesday may bring challenges in the morning as heavy smoke settles low to the ground, limiting visibility, but higher humidity was expected in the afternoon which could help dampen the flames, said Matt Mehle, a National Weather Service meteorologist assigned to the fire.

Crews remained confident they could protect hydroelectric transmission lines and other utility facilities at the reservoir, the chief source of San Francisco's famously pure drinking water.

"I don't foresee any problems," Stratton said.

Utility officials monitored the basin's clarity and used a massive new $4.6 billion gravity-operated pipeline system to move water quickly to reservoirs closer to the city.

So far the ash that has been raining onto the reservoir has not sunk as far as the intake valves, which are about halfway down the 300-foot O'Shaughnessy Dam. Utility officials said the ash is non-toxic but that the city will begin filtering water for customers if problems are detected.

Power generation there was shut down last week so firefighters would not be imperiled by live wires. San Francisco is buying replacement power from other sources to run City Hall and municipal buildings.

It has been at least 17 years since fire ravaged the northernmost stretch of Yosemite that now is under siege.

Park officials cleared brush and set sprinklers on two groves of giant sequoias that were less than 10 miles away from the fire's front lines, said park spokesman Scott Gediman. While sequoias have a chemical in their bark to help them resist fire, they can be damaged when flames move through slowly with such intense heat.

The fire has swept through steep Sierra Nevada river canyons and stands of thick oak and pine, closing in on Tuolumne City and other mountain communities. It has confounded ground crews with its 300-foot walls of flame and the way it has jumped from treetop to treetop.

Crews spent Monday bulldozing firebreaks to protect Tuolumne City, several miles from the fire's edge.

Stratton said they would continue working to burn vegetation in the fire's path to slow its march toward town. He said that while the community remains in harm's way, "I'm pretty optimistic."

Meanwhile, biologists with the Forest Service are studying the effect on wildlife. Much of the area that has burned is part of the state's winter-range deer habitat. Biologist Crispin Holland said most of the large deer herds would still be well above the fire danger.

Biologists discovered stranded Western pond turtles on national forest land near the edge of Yosemite. Their marshy meadow had burned, and the surviving creatures were huddled in the middle of the expanse in what little water remained.

"We're hoping to deliver some water to those turtles," Holland said. "We might also drag some brush in to give them cover."

Wildlife officials were also trying to monitor at least four bald eagle nests in the fire-stricken area.

While it has put a stop to some backcountry hiking, the fire has not threatened the Yosemite Valley, where such sights as the Half Dome and El Capitan rock formations and Yosemite Falls draw throngs of tourists. Most of the park remained open to visitors.

The U.S. Forest Service said the fire was threatening about 4,500 structures and destroyed at least 23.

Rugged terrain, strong winds and bone-dry conditions have hampered firefighters' efforts to contain the blaze, which began Aug. 17. The cause has not been determined.

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Selasa, 27 Ogos 2013