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White House pressing Congress hard on Syria resolution - USA TODAY Posted: 02 Sep 2013 08:58 AM PDT The Labor Day holiday is a full work day at the White House as the administration presses its case with Congress for approval of a resolution authorizing military strikes on Syria. President Obama has invited Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to the White House Monday to discuss his Saturday request for Congress to vote on military strikes. McCain and Graham are critical to getting the resolution passed through the Senate, and they have jointly expressed concerns that a military strike should be part of a broader strategy in Syria, not simply a random strike to punish the regime. In addition, his national security team will conduct an unclassified call for House Democrats, according to a senior administration official, who could not be identified because officials were not authorized to discuss White House deliberations. National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, are slated to conduct the briefing. The White House is anticipating a majority of House Democrats will be on the call. Obama said Saturday that he believes the United States should strike Syria in response to evidence showing that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against opposition factions in the country, killing more than 1,400 people. Kerry said Sunday the administration has more proof Syrian troops used the nerve agent sarin in the Aug. 21 attack. Administration officials briefed members of Congress in the Capitol Sunday, but lawmakers in both parties have expressed some skepticism about the resolution proposed by the White House. Top Democrats said they believe the resolution will have to be narrowed to ensure that no American soldiers are sent into Syria. On Tuesday, at the White House, Obama will meet with chairs and ranking members from key national security committees. This includes: Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs Committee, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, House Armed Services Committee. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will also be holding a hearing on the issue Tuesday where Hagel and Kerry are expected to testify. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., on Monday released this statement: "To earn my vote of support for limited military intervention, President Obama must present a clear plan focused on effective humanitarian intervention or our national security interests. "Tens of thousands have been killed by the Assad regime in this brutal conflict — relatively few by chemical weapons. A military response that places an arbitrary focus on such weapons will do little to protect civilians and sends a deeply misguided signal that totalitarian regimes should only use conventional weapons to carry out mass murder." The White House argues that action is about more than just retribution for the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons, it is also necessary to impress upon Iran and other Syrian allies that use of such weapons will not go unpunished. |
Child shot in head in Brownsville, Brooklyn - New York Daily News Posted: 02 Sep 2013 07:36 AM PDT One-year-old Antiq Hennis was shot in the head a block from the family home in Riverdale Ave. A 1-year-old Brooklyn boy was killed by a bullet that had his father's name on it, police sources said. Antiq Hennis was nestled in his stroller Sunday night, just inches from his parents, when the shot pierced his head just a block from the family's Riverdale Ave. home, cops and witnesses said. The child's father Anthony Hennis — the intended target, according to law enforcement sources and family members — was unharmed but distraught after the bullets started flying at Bristol St. near Livonia Ave. in Brownsville at 7:20 p.m. "He was screaming 'My baby got shot.' He was going crazy," said Gina Gamboa, 22, who saw the dad seconds after Antiq was mortally wounded. "The baby was breathing, but his eyes were closed. It's crazy. They just will start shooting." At least four shots rang out. The tragic tot was the only person hit. Little Antiq was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital with a bullet hole in the left side of his head, cops said. RELATED: MAYHEM ACROSS FOUR BOROUGHS EARLY SUNDAY He died at the hospital shortly before 9 p.m. "He just started walking. He was vibrant. He was full of life," said the baby's great-uncle, Chris Dobson. "I can't believe it." The relative said that Antiq's parents, who hail from Trinidad, celebrated their son's first birthday in May. He said it was the father, who has a record of more than 20 arrests, who was in the gunman's crosshairs. "They shot at him and ended up shooting the baby," Dobson said. Detectives believe the shooting was payback for an earlier dispute, according to sources. Another source said the dad dashed away from the stroller to draw the gunfire from his son. RELATED: GUNMAN SHOOTS DAD IN FRONT OF 9-YEAR-OLD BOY Bishop Willie Billips, a local anti-violence activist, was with the parents as they made the gut-wrenching official identification of their lifeless child. "I'm furious about what I've just seen. I'm outraged," Billips said. "A 1-year-old baby lying on the bed? It's horrible." There was little solace he could offer to the family, Billips added. "What do you say? It brought me to tears. To see young parents suffer — for what?" No arrests had been made as of late Sunday, police said. But a source in the Brownsville community said the shooter's street name has been given to cops. RELATED: TWO TEENS SHOT OUTSIDE BROWNSVILLE'S HOWARD HOUSES Antiq is the 16th victim under the age of 16 to be shot on city streets since mid-May, and he is the second child to die, according to a Daily News review. The boy's grieving parents were hunkered down in their home late Sunday. "The family is shocked and devastated," Councilman Charles Barron said after comforting the bereft couple. "The child didn't even get a chance to start his life, and now it's over." A woman identifying herself as Antiq's godmother left the hospital shaken after the boy died. "I saw him, I saw him in there, oh my goodness, oh my God, oh my Lord," she wailed. "He was just a baby." With Kerry Burke, Chelsia Rose Marcius and Rocco Parascandola On a mobile device? Click here to watch the video. |
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