Alex witt. Developing news out of syria right now, the Syrian Government reached an agreement with the United Nations to allow inspectors to visit the site of an alleged chemical attack last week. Word just a short time ago from a u. N. Spokesman saying inspections will begin tomorrow. A senior white house official tells nbc news the decision by the Syrian Government is, quote, too late to be credible and says any evidence has likely been damaged or destroyed by continued bombings. Meanwhile, the Syrian Government warned that any military intervention by the United States would set the middle east aflame and iran says u. S. Action would have severe consequences. This morning, republican senator bob corker called for a surgical response. I hope the president , as soon as we get back to washington, will ask for authorization from congress to do something in a very surgical and proportional way. Something that gets their attention, that causes them to understand that we are not going to put up with this kind of activity. The u. S. Navy moved a fourth ship armed with cruise missiles into the Eastern Mediterranean sea this weekend. This morning, defense secretary chuck hagel said they are ready to act if the order is given. President obama has asked the Defense Department to prepare options for all contingencies. We have done that. And again, we are prepared to exercise whatever option, if he decides to employ one of those options. We have two reports on these new developments. Nbc newss Kristen Welker and amaa reporter also. Whats the latest and what are the options being considered. Reporter the white house, youre absolutely right, saying theres little doubt that chemical weapons were being used by the assad regime. Theyre reacting to the fact that the Syrian Government will let u. N. Inspectors into the alleged site of the chemical weapons attack. The white house expressing concern that it could be too little too late. They say that area has been shelled for five straight days. Heres a statement from the administration, an administration official, that we just got this morning. This avenue says, quote, at this juncture, any belated decision by the regime to gran access would be considered to late to be credible including because the evidence available has been significantly corrupted as a result of the regimes persist enept shelling and other International Actions over the last five days. So some real doubts about how much the u. N. Inspectors are going to actually be able to corroborate the fact that chemical weapons or the allegations that chemical weapons were used by the assad regime. We know highlevel meetings have been going on for days here at the white house. President obama met with his National Security team on saturday. High level meetings ongoing throughout the day as the administration tries to figure out how to respond. We know that they are considering a number of possibilities, strikes from those cruise ships as you just talked about, a potential possibility. We know that president obama has ruled out the possibility of putting boots on the ground at this point in time. We also know that they are not considering imposing a nofly zone. Those two options really off the table. But the question is what happens next . There is increasing pressure, mara, for this administration to do something as the death toll mounts in syria. Mara . Kristen, a new Reuters Ipsos poll taken finds that only 25 of americans would support u. S. Intervention if it turns out the Assad Government is guilty. Is u. S. Public opinion a factor in the white houses decision on this . Reporter well, look, i think this is something that has certainly been at the backdrop of these negotiations. For the past several months, this administration is acutely aware of the fact that the nation is war weary in the wake of the war in iraq and afghanistan, as that war continues to wind down. So it is something that the administration is mindful of, the president certainly proceeding with caution. He doesnt want to repeat mistakes that were made in the past. He doesnt want to act without having all of facts. Thats what the white house says. That is why youre seeing a deliberative response. That is why the president is saying hes not going to make a definitive decision until he knows exactly what happened and has absolute confirmation about the fact that chemical weapons were used by the assad regime. Mara, meetings continue to go on at the white house behind the scenes. Mara. Kristen welker, live at the white house, thanks so much. We go to cairo. Ayman, iran has reportedly warned that the u. S. Should not cross syrias red line. Whats the feeling in the middle east about where this crisis is heading . Reporter certainly its a situation that is rapidly escalating beyond syrias borders. When you take a look at some of the syrias regimes a lot of the fighters are coming from outside syria, including its close ally in iran and hezbollah. There is a growing concern that any military action against the Syrian Government that could destabilize the government or the in the region would have a knockoff affect on syrias allies. A Senior Iranian lawmaker has come out and warned that this kind of regional conflict would be a disaster for the United States and regional allies. Its almost impossible to predict how this would unfold, to what extent would these allies come to the defense of the Syrian Regime by attacking either u. S. Facilities, u. S. Interests or u. S. Allies. And there are plenty of them across the middle east all within the vicinity of iran and hezbollah. It is a serious situation that has gripped the attention of many people here but at the same time, the humanitarian situation has spilled beyond the bored hes of syria and it has become the most pressing humanitarian issue in the region, including countries like jordan, turkey, iraq, and lebanon. That has put a strain on a lot of the countries that are close al lilies of the United States. As the days go ahead, it is a serious consideration on the minds of the leaders in many of the countries. Thank you. Turning now to politics, and the rallying cry for Voting Rights still resonating today after saturdays march on washington. I gave blood on that bridge in salma, alabama, for the right to vote. I am not going to stand by and let the Supreme Court take the right to vote away from us. You cannot stand by, you cannot sit down, youve got to stand up, speak up, speak out and get in the way joining me now, reuters d. C. Correspondent Andy Sullivan and the Washington Posts emily heil. Thank you for being here. It was suggested that there was gop support for replacing the antidiscrimination providings in the Voting Rights act. Is it that there will be bipartisan support on this or does it look like it will be more of a partisan showdown . I think theres probably going to be some partisanship at play. Its difficult to imagine anything not feeling partisan right now. And certainly attorney general eric holder has a number of republican critics who find fault in just about everything he does. So im sure theres going to be some partisanship here but i think there will be some gop support for this. It was interesting, i was down at the mall yesterday, while i didnt hear eric holder speak, i understand he got a bunch of applause for his lines about Voting Rights. He was not quite as strong as congressman lew but he made it clear this was going to be a priority for him. The Justice Department, speaking of holder is suing texas over the new voter law. They wrote its good to see the Justice Department so emphatically oppose laws that would check minority rights. Unfortunately, fighting them is far easier said than done. How much can the department of justice do without the preclearance provision that was struck from the Voting Rights act . They can challenge these provisions, it just gets more difficult. In particular, in texas, which passed a voter i. D. Law and redistricting plan last year, and the Justice Department was able to preemptively block them under the law as it was written. The Supreme Court struck down that part of the law and so the Justice Department is now returning using another section of the law saying were still going to go after these provisi provisions, but right now they have to fight the law which is already in place, which is more difficult. They basically have one tool in their tool chest thats been removed. They still are showing it is a priority. I want to switch gears to this talk about impeachment. I want to play what senator tom coburn who calls president obama a friend said wednesday at a town hall. Lets listen. You have to establish the criteria that would qualify for proceedings against the president. And thats called impeachment. Those are serious things but were at a serious time. And so whether i dont have the legal background to know if that rises to high crimes and misdemeanors. But i think theyre getting perilously close. What are coburn and other republicans talking about here . What specific things do they believe the president has done that might be Impeachable Offenses or is this whole thing really just more about being a dog whistle for base. Theyre fuzzy on the details. Thats a problem here. Right, right, right. Thats kind of the crux of it. They havent been specific about what high crimes and misdemeanors the president may have committed. Theyre also unclear about the process they would use to actually impeach the president. I have to think that for some people, you know, they really do believe this. But it is used as a political ploy some some instances. This goes back to the presidency of george bush. We heard a lot of the same its almost the exact same sort of scenario. You had some people on the far left in Congress Talking about impeaching president bush. And you had the leaders of their parties saying, were not really interested in that. Thats a side show, a side track. But for republicans it seems to be a fever dream they cant shake, that they really want to impeach this president. It seems odd, theres certainly one way to get rid of a president whos unpopular and incompetent. Thats through an election. And i think obviously, that ship has sailed. And andy, you know, just to touch upon that if you could follow up on that, prior to the recent election, the gop way to go forward was to try to defeat him in this election, in fact some of them said it was their soul priority. We know that didnt happen. What should we be doing to making sure they are making gains in 2014 and 2016. Is this the way to win elections . No, its not, mara. I think the impeachment story is overblown. Everybody is out of town. Theres no real news. If you look at what senator coburn is saying, hes not specifically calling for impeachment. This idea has no support among Republican Leaders because they know it would blow up in their faces like it did in the 1990s. You see republicans stepping back from these confrontations. They know impeachment, shutting down the government to block obama care are not popular among voters. Theyre stepping back. Youve seen john boehner say were not going to shut down the government. Were going to keep it going when we return. I was just in a few town Hall Meetings in texas this past week and i was struck by how much they seemed to be looking for a solution immigration. Theyre saying were not going to provide amnesty to Illegal Immigrants but theyre saying were going to look at options to make the system more workable. And the people i have spoken to see this as a positive sign for immigration. Important points there. Reuters Emily Sullivan and the Washington Posts emily heil. Thank you for being here. My pleasure. Thank you. We go to weather now, and the fight thats trying to contain one of the largest fires in history. They could also be fighting the weather. Nbc meteorologist diylan dreyer joins me. Its hot, its dry, were not going to see rain anytime soon. Humidity is down around 20 to 25 . Any random thunderstorms that do develop are dry in nature meaning you get the lightning but you dont get the rain that comes with it. The lightning is whats triggering some of the fires. On top of that, you have wind gusts up to 25 to 40 miles per hour, helps to fuel the flames. Its hot, too, temperatures will be in the mid80s and were not going to see a whole lot of improvement in the areas through california and into parts of the west. But further to the southwest, thats where we have most of the rain, actually the remnants of what was Tropical Storm evo, that is going to make its way into the southwest over the course of the next couple of days. As that moisture streams in from the southwest, thats going to problem perhaps up to 3 to 4 inches of rainfall in the desert southwest. That could lead to flooding. We have flash flood watches and warnings in that region over the course of today and into tomorrow as well. The heat is on in the middle of the country. Were looking at temperatures to be well above average by about 15 degrees. Were not breaking records here but it is going to be up around 100 degrees in parts of the upper midwest and plains. That is going to spread eastward as we go into tomorrow with chicago getting back into the lower 90s. The east coast is enjoying the nice dry weather with sunshine. Low humidity and temperatures staying around 80. Mara . Dylan, thanks so much for that. Bradley manning is now chelsea manning. Is leavenworth prison legally obligated to grant the prisoner gender reassignment surgery . And is she in any danger in a mens prison . Chelsea manning has now begun her prison term at the armys ft. Leavenworth where shes been sentenced to 35 years. The already politicized case became more complicated last week where manning formerly known as bradley announced that he was now identifying as a woman and requested that the military provide hormone therapy. Joining me now is a professor at st. Marys University School of law and director of its center for Terrorism Law and retired Lieutenant Colonel in the army. Thanks so much for being here this afternoon. My pleasure. I want to get your reaction to mannings sentence, 35 years with the possibility of parole in seven years. Does that fit the crime in your opinion. No, it doesnt. The defense counsel was shrewd, they elected to go with a judge and not the jury. They got a judge that gave a light sentence, considering the fact that hes eligible for parole in the military system hell probably get it, so well be out in the streets in about seven to eight years. We wanted to send a signal of det deterrence. And in terms of now his mission to basically i dont know how far he wants to go in reassigning his gender but he is asking for hormone therapy. The military doesnt provide hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery. Mannings Attorney Says hes going to do everything in his power to get this for manning. Its curious he decided to change his identification right when the sentence came out. Hes an air began the person and all criminals are arrogant. This is his brand of arrogance. Ive checked the d. O. D. Regulations, the military is under no obligation to provide medical expenses associated with his desires to change from one sex to the other. You know, he can probably make that announcement all he wants to. Were using the he she here. Were all saying, like, really . The reason im using she is because thats what his request was through his attorney. Were trying to honor that request. You were talking about the motivation, you say clearly hes arrogant. Do you think its that or is there a big concern on her part she will spend the next seven years in a male facility. I dont coddle criminals. Heres your suit, your jail cell, have a nice day. That should be the approach of most americans. This is outrageous that we should coddle this criminal. The job in the military is not to engage in this type of supersillious activity. Lets move on, love him up, and hopefully that will be a deterrence to others. Do you i this the government has responsibility to protect his security in being in an allmale facility if he she rather identifies as a woman, that there could be questions about her safety and there is an obligation to protect them from imminent harm. Hes a male, he has male genitalia. Hes going in to serve with males. If im convicted i can say im a female, throw me in with the female prisoners. We cant bring ourselves down to the level of these type of criminal hes a criminal, a convicted criminal. He doesnt have these rights. His right is to go to jail and serve your time, well protect you as we protect any other prisoner, have a nice day. There are also two other options that are being tossed around, one is transferring her to a nonmilitary person where there are designated wards for transgender facilities. The other is offering to let her serve her time isolated. What do you think about that . No and no. 40 of fortune 1,000 Companies Covered transjennifer specific health coverage. In 2005, o4, only 1 covered transjennifer health coverage. Right now, 7 years of music is being streamed. A quarter million tweeters are tweeting. And 900 Million Dollars are changing hands online. Thats why hp built a new kind of server. One thats 80 smaller. Uses 89 less energy. And costs 77 less. Its called hp moonshot. And its givin