White House pushes Congress on Syria after Obama's recoil

The Obama administration pushed forward Sunday on a new path toward military action in Syria, urging Congress to support the president's call.

Tests found signatures of sarin gas in blood and hair samples collected from the Damascus site of an alleged chemical weapons attack, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday on CNN's State of the Union.

The samples were collected separately from a United Nations investigation into the August 21 attack and provide further proof that the Syrian regime attacked its own people, Kerry said.

With "each day that goes by, this case is even stronger," he said, arguing that the United States must act.

"If you don't do it, you send a message of impunity," Kerry said. Iran, North Korea, and Hezbollah "will look at the United States and say 'Nothing means anything' -- that's what's at stake here," he said.

Syria denies using chemical weapons on its people and blames the rebels.

Even as Kerry called the evidence "overwhelming" Sunday, the United Nations argued that world leaders should wait until U.N. investigators determine whether chemical weapons were used.

'Red line' debate: Are chemical weapons worse?

"The U.N. mission is uniquely capable of establishing in an impartial and credible manner the facts of any use of chemical weapons," Martin Nesirky, spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said repeatedly at a news conference.

So when will the results be ready? The U.N. won't give a timeline, Nesirky said. "It's being done as fast as it is possible to do within the scientific constraints."

Samples will be delivered to laboratories Monday, he said.

The investigation involves a strict chain of custody and clear guidelines, he said, adding that two Syrian government officials monitored the process.

But even when it's done, the U.N. will only say whether chemical weapons were used -- not who was responsible.

U.S. military action appeared imminent until Saturday, when Obama announced he would first seek lawmakers' approval.

After signaling he was on the verge of delivering a strike against Syria, Obama made a last-minute decision Friday evening to seek congressional authorization before any military action, senior administration officials told reporters Saturday.

"While I believe I have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course, and our actions will be even more effective," Obama said Saturday. The 1973 War Powers Act technically allows him to strike without such approval.

Lawmakers officially come back from recess on September 9.

But some members of Congress arrived on Capitol Hill Sunday for a classified briefing on Syria with White House, State Department and Pentagon officials.

Many of them remained skeptical -- and undecided, CNN's Dana Bash reported.

Sen. John McCain told CBS' "Face the Nation" that Obama had invited him to a Monday meeting at the White House to discuss the next steps in Syria. McCain, who has been pushing for military intervention in Syria, said he had questions for the president.

"I want to find out whether there is a plan and a strategy. I want to find out whether this is just a pinprick that somehow Bashar Assad can trumpet that he defeated the United States of America," McCain told CNN. "But I will say that if Congress overrules a decision of the president of the United States on an issue of national security, that could set a catastrophic precedent in the future. It would be a very dangerous precedent to be setting."

While some praised the president for giving Congress a chance to weigh in, Obama's decision quickly drew criticism from many on both sides of the debate over whether to strike Syria.

A key group of Syrian dissidents said it was surprised and concerned by Obama's new approach.

"We can't understand how you can promise to help those who are being slaughtered every day in the hundreds, giving them false hope, then change your mind and say let's wait and see," the Syrian National Coalition said.

Iran, a staunch supporter of the Syrian regime, warned the United States will pay a price if it strikes Syria.

Even the slightest attack by the United States against Syria will result in dire consequences, Iranian Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi said, according to the state-run FARS news outlet. The agency did not specify what those consequences would be.

The shift to ask for approval from Congress left some analysts scratching their heads.

"The decision-making has been so confused and muddled that it's difficult to put the word 'wise' in front of anything they're doing right now," CNN's Fareed Zakaria said on Sunday. "The administration has hesitated between nonintervention and intervention, and it is caught between those two."

The Obama administration, Zakaria said, "seems to want to have it both ways, but it can't."

Others praised the president for taking a step to get more buy-in at home and abroad.

"Frankly, I think he looks prudent, and I don't doubt his resolve on this," John Negroponte, who served as director of national intelligence for two years under President George W. Bush, told CNN's State of the Union. "I don't think he's looking for an excuse to get out from a box or a situation that he painted himself into.

World leaders have said previously that sarin has been used in the Syrian civil war.

In April, the United States said it had evidence sarin was used in Syria on a small scale.

In May, a U.N. official said there were strong suspicions that rebel forces used the deadly nerve agent.

In June, France said sarin had been used several times in the war, including at least once by the Syrian regime.

Fast Facts: sarin gas

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: How 'gruesome' sarin gas can kill

U.S. lawmakers are deeply divided on what the United States should do after the purported chemical weapons attack on civilians August 21, which killed hundreds of people in rebel strongholds.

British intelligence had put the number of people killed in the attack at more than 350.

On Saturday, Obama said "well over 1,000 people were murdered." Kerry on Friday cited a death toll of 1,429, more than 400 of them children.

It's unclear how much international support the United States would have if it chooses to attack Syria.

At an Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Sunday, Saudi Arabia called for international action.

"The Syrian regime has crossed all the lines with its tyranny. ... It's time for us to ask (the) international community to carry its responsibility and put an end to this tragedy that is entering its third year," Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said.

"The Syrian regime has lost its legitimacy within the Arab world and internationally," he said.

Egypt said it was opposed foreign intervention in the Syrian crisis. "We have always warned that Syria might be a prey for a foreign intervention that we rejected and continue to reject, regardless of its motives and source," Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said at the Arab League meeting.

Britain has voted against taking any military action in Syria, and France said it won't act without the United States as a partner.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle tweeted Sunday that the time gained waiting for U.S. congressional approval "must be used to reach a common position of the international community within the U.N. Security Council."

Amid the debate over whether to strike Syria, U.S. authorities are tightening domestic security measures. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are warning of a higher risk of cyberattacks after months of disruptions by hackers known as the Syrian Electronic Army, and authorities say more attacks are likely.

Syria's prime minister appeared unfazed by the threat of foreign intervention.

"The Syrian Army's status is on maximum readiness and fingers are on the trigger to confront all challenges," Wael Nader al-Halqi said, according Syrian state-run TV.

Maria Saadeh, a member of Syria's parliament, told CNN on Sunday that she sees no justification for a U.S. strike on Syria.

"There is no legitimacy to make this attack," she said, accusing rebel groups of using chemical weapons and committing other crimes against humanity.

The Syrian government has denied that it used chemical weapons in the August 21 attack, saying that jihadists fighting with the rebels used them in an effort to turn global sentiments against the regime.

Syrian state media have been packed with critiques of the U.S. position since Obama's announcement Saturday. An editorial in the state-run Al-Thawra newspaper Sunday said that Obama had declared "the beginning of a historic American retreat."

Meanwhile, the opposition Syrian National Coalition issued a statement aimed at pushing U.S. lawmakers to take action.

"The Syrian National Coalition calls on the American congress to carry their historical responsibility towards the Syrian people and take the right decision to support the American government approach to stop the killing machine of the Syrian criminal regime," the statement said.

Usher, ex-wife set for custody battle after son's near-drowning

Lawyers for Usher Raymond and the singer's ex-wife plan to wage a fresh child custody battle in court Friday, days after one of their children nearly drowned in a swimming pool accident.

Five-year-old Usher Raymond V is recovering from Monday's accident at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Hospital, according to the lawyer for his mother, Tameka Foster. A breathing tube inserted after the accident has since been removed, attorney Angela Kinley said.

Foster said Wednesday on Twitter that her son was doing "much better."

Usher, as he is known in his career as a singer and actor, won primary custody of the couple's two children, Usher V and 4-year-old Naviyd, last year after a bitter court fight in which Foster accused the singer of being an absentee father.

Foster filed in May for a custody modification. That case hadn't been heard by the time the swimming pool accident happened Monday, so Foster filed Tuesday for an emergency hearing on the matter.

Foster complains Usher travels constantly and uses caregivers to watch the children rather than spending time with the boys himself.

"Her concern is more about how he prefers to leave them with third-party caregivers, over her. She wants to be able to take care of the kids while he's gone," Kinley said.

"It's not about the money," Kinley said. "Tameka still gets child support payments. She wants the kids to be with her, or with Usher. This pool incident, she says, brought the whole incident to a head, and was the impetus to file the emergency motion which will be heard Friday."

n a statement released Wednesday, Usher said: "I am blessed and fortunate to say that my son Usher V is doing well and is recovering. I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of prayers, love and support for my family's well-being."

Foster says her ex-husband is "not capable of providing daily caregiving and supervision for the minor children of the parties as petitioner is preparing to film a movie in Panama and has ongoing commitments that require his presence in Los Angeles, New York and various other cities for the Voice and his upcoming album."

Her motion alleges Usher is away from Atlanta, where she and the children live, "in excess of 85% of each month." He refuses to let her see the children when he leaves town, saying he "would rather the nanny raise the children," Foster contends.

Foster also complained that her ex-husband does not talk to her about issues affecting the boys, "including school enrollment and summer activities." The private school in which he just enrolled them is more than an hour from her home, she said. And, Usher has not given her the phone number to the home he moved to with the children in June, she said.

Foster blames the swimming accident on "the negligence and failure to properly supervise" the children. Usher's aunt was in charge of the children when the oldest son "suffered a near-death accident while left unsupervised in a swimming pool," the motion contends.

"I need an ambulance," his aunt, Rena Oden, told an emergency operator in a call to 911. "My nephew was in the pool, and I couldn't get him, I tried to get him." A recording of the call was made public by police Tuesday.

The aunt, a housekeeper and another woman were "unsuccessful in pulling the victim from the pool drain," but two men who were installing sound equipment in the home rushed to help, the report said.

"They're doing CPR on him now," Oden told the operator. "Is he coming around? He's breathing!"

Sound technician Eugene Stachurski rescued the child from the drain and used CPR to revive him on the side of the pool, the police report said.

About five minutes into the recording, Oden told the operator that paramedics had arrived at the home and had taken over.

The child was "conscious, alert and breathing" when the ambulance took him to a hospital, where he was kept overnight for observation, the police report said.

Usher's former stepson, also Foster's son, died in a watercraft accident on a north Georgia lake last year.

Usher's ex-wife cites son's pool mishap in custody bid

Singer Usher Raymond's ex-wife is asking a judge to give her custody of their two children after the oldest suffered a "near-death accident."

Five-year-old Usher Raymond V nearly drowned "in a swimming pool and is currently hospitalized in the intensive care unit of the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Hospital," Tameka Foster said in an emergency motion filed Tuesday in a Fulton County, Georgia, court.

Her son "is doing much better," according to a Twitter posting by Foster on Wednesday afternoon. The mother has been with him at the hospital since she learned of the accident Monday, her lawyer told CNN.

A hearing is set for an Atlanta courtroom Friday afternoon for the motion, her lawyer said. The other child, Naviyd, is 4 years old.

Usher won primary custody of the children last year after a bitter court fight in which Foster accused the singer of being an absentee father.

Foster renewed her arguments based on Monday's accident, contending the singer "continues to excessively travel, utilizes third-party caregivers to supervise the minor children rather than personally exercising parenting time and providing supervision for the minor children."

Usher is "not capable of providing daily caregiving and supervision for the minor children of the parties as petitioner is preparing to film a movie in Panama and has ongoing commitments that require his presence in Los Angeles, New York and various other cities for the Voice and his upcoming album."

Her motion alleges that Usher is away from Atlanta -- where she and the children live -- "in excess of 85% of each month." He refuses to let her see the children when he leaves town, saying he "would rather the nanny raise the children," Foster contends.

Foster also complained that her ex-husband does not talk to her about issues affecting the boys, "including school enrollment and summer activities." The private school in which he just enrolled them is more than an hour from her home, she said. And, Usher has not given her the phone number to the home he moved to with the children in June, she said

Foster's tweets posted Wednesday read: "Cabin fever.. But I'm so happy to say that my son is doing much better. Talking & asking for food. Thank you for ur well wishes & prayers." and "....And no I haven't gone anywhere or done anything. #Relax"

Foster blames the swimming accident on "the negligence and failure to properly supervise" the children. Usher's aunt was in charge of the children when the oldest son "suffered a near-death accident while left unsupervised in a swimming pool," the motion contends.

"I need an ambulance," his aunt, Rena Oden, told an emergency operator in a call to 911. "My nephew was in the pool, and I couldn't get him, I tried to get him." A recording of the call was made public by police Tuesday.

The aunt, a housekeeper and another woman were "unsuccessful in pulling the victim from the pool drain," but two men who were installing sound equipment in the home rushed to help, the report said.

"They're doing CPR on him now," Oden told the operator. "Is he coming around? He's breathing!"

Sound technician Eugene Stachurski rescued the child from the drain and used CPR to revive him on the side of the pool, the police report said.

About five minutes into the recording, Oden told the operator that paramedics had arrived at the home and had taken over.

The child was "conscious, alert and breathing" when the ambulance took him to a hospital, where he was kept overnight for observation, the police report said.

Usher's former stepson -- also Foster's son -- died in a watercraft accident on a north Georgia lake last year.

Marijuana stops child's severe seizures

By most standards Matt and Paige Figi were living the American dream. They met at Colorado State University, where they shared a love of the outdoors. After getting married, the couple bought a house and planned to travel the world.

They did travel, but their plans changed when their first child was born in 2004.

Max was 2 when they decided to have another child. The couple got the surprise of their lives when an ultrasound revealed not one but two babies. Charlotte and Chase were born October 18, 2006.

"They were born at 40 weeks. ... Charlotte weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces," Paige said. "They were healthy. Everything was normal."

Seizures and hospital stays begin

The twins were 3 months old when the Figis' lives changed forever.

Charlotte had just had a bath, and Matt was putting on her diaper.

"She was laying on her back on the floor," he said, "and her eyes just started flickering."

The seizure lasted about 30 minutes. Her parents rushed her to the hospital.

"They weren't calling it epilepsy," Paige said. "We just thought it was one random seizure. They did a million-dollar work-up -- the MRI, EEG, spinal tap -- they did the whole work-up and found nothing. And sent us home."

A week later, Charlotte had another seizure. This one was longer, and it was only the beginning. Over the next few months, Charlotte -- affectionately called Charlie -- had frequent seizures lasting two to four hours, and she was hospitalized repeatedly.

Doctors were stumped. Her blood tests were normal. Her scans were all normal.

"They said it's probably going to go away," Paige recalled. "It is unusual in that it's so severe, but it's probably something she'll grow out of."

But she didn't grow out of it. The seizures continued. The hospital stays got longer. One of the doctors treating Charlotte thought there were three possible diagnoses.

The worse-case scenario? Dravet Syndrome, also known as myoclonic epilepsy of infancy or SMEI.

Dravet Syndrome is a rare, severe form of intractable epilepsy. Intractable means the seizures are not controlled by medication. The first seizures with Dravet Syndrome usually start before the age of 1. In the second year, other seizures take hold: myoclonus, or involuntary, muscle spasms and status epilepticus, seizures that last more than 30 minutes or come in clusters, one after the other.

At that time, the Figis said, Charlotte was still developing normally, talking and walking the same day as her twin. But the seizures continued to get worse. The medications were also taking a toll. She was on seven drugs -- some of them heavy-duty, addictive ones such as barbiturates and benzodiazepines. They'd work for a while, but the seizures always came back with a vengeance.

"At 2, she really started to decline cognitively," Paige said. "Whether it was the medicines or the seizures, it was happening, it was obvious. And she was slipping away."

When Charlotte was 2½, the Figis decided to take her to Children's Hospital Colorado. A neurologist tested her for the SCN1A gene mutation, which is common in 80% of Dravet Syndrome cases. After two months, the test came back positive.

"I remember to this day it was a relief," Paige said. "Even though it was the worst-case scenario, I felt relief just to know."

Matt, a Green Beret, decided to leave the military.

"Every mission, every training I was going to do I was called home because she was in the pediatric ICU again or in the hospital again."

They were quickly running out of options. They considered a drug from France. Doctors suggested an experimental anti-seizure drug being used on dogs.

Paige took her daughter to Chicago to see a Dravet specialist, who put the child on a ketogenic diet frequently used to treat epilepsy that's high in fat and low in carbohydrates. The special diet forces the body to make extra ketones, natural chemicals that suppress seizures. It's mainly recommended for epileptic patients who don't respond to treatment.

The diet helped control Charlotte's seizures but had a lot of side effects. She suffered from bone loss. Her immune system plummeted. And new behavioral problems started popping up.

"At one point she was outside eating pine cones and stuff, all kinds of different things," Matt said. "As a parent you have to say, let's take a step back and look at this. Is this truly beneficial treatment because of these other things?"

Two years into the diet, the seizures came back.

The end of the rope

In November 2000, Colorado voters approved Amendment 20, which required the state to set up a medical marijuana registry program.

Pot activists divided over new cannabis club

There are eight medical conditions for which patients can use cannabis -- cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, muscle spasms, seizures, severe pain, severe nausea and cachexia or dramatic weight loss and muscle atrophy.

The average patient in the program is 42 years old. There are 39 patients under the age of 18.

Paige had consistently voted against marijuana use. That was before Dravet Syndrome entered their lives.

Matt, now a military contractor spending six months a year overseas, used his spare time scouring the Internet looking for anything that would help his little girl.

He found a video online of a California boy whose Dravet was being successfully treated with cannabis. The strain was low in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the compound in marijuana that's psychoactive. It was also high in cannabidiol, or CBD, which has medicinal properties but no psychoactivity. Scientists think the CBD quiets the excessive electrical and chemical activity in the brain that causes seizures. It had worked in this boy; his parents saw a major reduction in the boy's seizures.

By then Charlotte had lost the ability to walk, talk and eat.

She was having 300 grand mal seizures a week.

Her heart had stopped a number of times. When it happened at home, Paige did cardiopulmonary resuscitation until an ambulance arrived. When it happened in the hospital, where they'd already signed a do-not-resuscitate order, they said their goodbyes. Doctors had even suggested putting Charlotte in a medically induced coma to give her small, battered body a rest.

She was 5 when the Figis learned there was nothing more the hospital could do.

That's when Paige decided to try medical marijuana. But finding two doctors to sign off on a medical marijuana card for Charlotte was no easy feat. She was the youngest patient in the state ever to apply.

Scientists don't fully understand the long-term effects early marijuana use may have on children. Studies that show negative effects, such as diminished lung function or increased risk of a heart attack, are primarily done on adult marijuana smokers. But Charlotte wouldn't be smoking the stuff.

Childhood is also a delicate time in brain development. Preliminary research shows that early onset marijuana smokers are slower at tasks, have lower IQs later in life, have a higher risk of stroke and increased incidence of psychotic disorders, leaving some scientists concerned.

"Everyone said no, no, no, no, no, and I kept calling and calling," Paige said.

She finally reached Dr. Margaret Gedde, who agree to meet with the family.

"(Charlotte's) been close to death so many times, she's had so much brain damage from seizure activity and likely the pharmaceutical medication," Gedde said. "When you put the potential risks of the cannabis in context like that, it's a very easy decision."

The second doctor to sign on was Alan Shackelford, a Harvard-trained physician who had a number of medical marijuana patients in his care. He wasn't familiar with Dravet and because of Charlotte's age had serious reservations.

"(But) they had exhausted all of her treatment options," Shackelfordsaid. "There really weren't any steps they could take beyond what they had done. Everything had been tried -- except cannabis."

Paige found a Denver dispensary that had a small amount of a type of marijuana called R4, said to be low in THC and high in CBD. She paid about $800 for 2 ounces -- all that was available -- and had a friend extract the oil.

She had the oil tested at a lab and started Charlotte out on a small dose.

"We were pioneering the whole thing; we were guinea pigging Charlotte," Paige said. "This is a federally illegal substance. I was terrified to be honest with you."

But the results were stunning.

"When she didn't have those three, four seizures that first hour, that was the first sign," Paige recalled. "And I thought well, 'Let's go another hour, this has got to be a fluke.' "

The seizures stopped for another hour. And for the following seven days.

Paige said she couldn't believe it. Neither could Matt. But their supply was running out.

Charlotte's Web

Paige soon heard about the Stanley brothers, one of the state's largest marijuana growers and dispensary owners. These six brothers were crossbreeding a strain of marijuana also high in CBD and low in THC, but they didn't know what to do with it. No one wanted it; they couldn't sell it.

Still, even they had reservations when they heard about Charlotte's age. But once they met her, they were on board.

"The biggest misconception about treating a child like little Charlotte is most people think that we're getting her high, most people think she's getting stoned," Josh Stanley said, stressing his plant's low THC levels. "Charlotte is the most precious little girl in the world to me. I will do anything for her."

The brothers started the Realm of Caring Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides cannabis to adults and children suffering from a host of diseases, including epilepsy, cancer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's, who cannot afford this treatment.

People have called them the Robin Hoods of marijuana. Josh Stanley said it's their calling. They use the money they make from medical marijuana patients and get donations from sponsors who believe in their cause. They only ask patients such as the Figis to donate what they can.

"We give (cannabis) away for next to free," Stanley said. "The state won't allow us to actually give it away, so we give it away for pennies really."

Charlotte gets a dose of the cannabis oil twice a day in her food.

Gedde found three to four milligrams of oil per pound of the girl's body weight stopped the seizures.

Today, Charlotte, 6, is thriving. Her seizures are down to just one a day, almost solely in her sleep. Not only is she walking, she can ride her bicycle. She feeds herself and is talking more and more each day.

"I literally see Charlotte's brain making connections that haven't been made in years," Matt said. "My thought now is, why were we the ones that had to go out and find this cure? This natural cure? How come a doctor didn't know about this? How come they didn't make me aware of this?"

The marijuana strain Charlotte and now 41 other patients use to ease painful symptoms of diseases such as epilepsy and cancer has been named after the little girl who is getting her life back one day at a time.

It's called Charlotte's Web.

"I didn't hear her laugh for six months," Paige said. "I didn't hear her voice at all, just her crying. I can't imagine that I would be watching her making these gains that she's making, doing the things that she's doing (without the medical marijuana). I don't take it for granted. Every day is a blessing."

Matt added, "I want to scream it from the rooftops. I want other people, other parents, to know that this is a viable option."

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U.S. issues global travel alert, to close embassies due to al Qaeda threat

A U.S. global travel alert remained in place Saturday amid fears that al Qaeda may launch attacks in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond in coming weeks.

The threat prompted the United States to announce that 22 embassies and consulates will be closed on Sunday, including in Yemen, which was a focus of concern.

On Saturday, the security around the U.S. embassy in Yemen was even tighter than last year when the embassy was raided by protesters. At least 12 tanks were stationed within 500 meters of the building.

Hundreds of additional security forces were deployed, and roads leading to the embassy were closed. Checkpoints were set up at a distance from the embassy, and trucks weren't allowed to pass anywhere near the main embassy road.

Yemen's special forces, the most elite, were seen in small numbers near the embassy, as well.

Meanwhile, Britain, France and Germany have said they, too, will close their embassies in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Sunday and Monday for security reasons. No other embassies are affected, they said.

Neither Italy nor Spain -- which has no embassy in Yemen -- planned to close any of their embassies.

The U.S. embassies that will be closed Sunday -- when they would normally be open -- stretch across a swath of North Africa and the Middle East, from Mauritania to Oman. Bangladesh and Afghanistan, both majority Muslim nations, are also affected.

The U.S. government's actions are in response to growing intelligence that shows a potential for attacks in Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa, said U.S. officials who spoke to CNN on condition of not being identified.

"The threat appears to be much worse than it has (been) in a long time," said a senior national security official in Yemen, where the government is "on high alert against possible attacks in the days to come."

Various Western targets -- not just those tied to the United States -- are under threat, two U.S. officials said.

Three sources said the United States has information that members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are in the final stages of planning for an unspecified attack.

One of the sources said such preparations appeared to have increased in recent days with the approaching end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Sunday is Laylet al-Qadr, or the Night of Power, one of the holiest moments on the Muslim calendar.

Said one U.S. official: "It all leads us to believe something could happen in the near future."

What's behind timing of terror threat

Christopher Hill, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told CNN he had never seen embassy closures ordered across such a broad area.

"There have been incidents where they've closed down a number of embassies in the Middle East because the information is not specific enough to say that 'embassy X' got to be closed as opposed to other embassies," said Hill, who joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1977.

"But I think this, closing all of these embassies in the Middle East to North Africa, is in fact unprecedented. At least, I didn't see this during my career."

'Leave Yemen now'

U.S. officials said that, based on intelligence, they were particularly concerned about the U.S. Embassy in Yemen between Saturday and Tuesday. President Barack Obama, amid regular updates on the situation, has directed officials to take all appropriate steps to protect Americans.

A White House official said the president was updated Saturday morning by Lisa Monaco, his assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism.

Obama, who departed for Joint Base Andrews to play golf, was to be updated through the weekend, the official said.

He praised Yemeni President Abdo Rabu Mansour Hadi for his country's efforts following a meeting Thursday at the White House.

The UK Foreign Office has also warned its citizens against travel to Yemen, and urged British nationals to leave as soon as possible.

"If you don't leave the country now while commercial carriers are still flying it is extremely unlikely that the British government will be able to evacuate you or provide consular assistance," it said

It was unclear whether the apparent plot targets that Arabian nation or one elsewhere -- which is why the travel alert applies so broadly, and why embassies from Bangladesh to Libya are being closed. Nor is the expected time of an attack known, which explains why theU.S. travel alert extends through August.

"Terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests," the alert states. "U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure."

New York Rep. Peter King, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, called the information "the most specific I've seen.

While the principal attention is on the Arabian Peninsula, he stressed to CNN's Wolf Blitzer that "we can't rule anything out."

"We are focused on the Middle East, but it's a potential series of attacks that really could be almost anyplace," King said.

22 embassies, consulates ordered closed

The State Department has listed 22 embassies and consulates that will close Sunday, which is normally the start of the work week in the countries affected.

The 17 affected U.S. embassies are in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Yemen. The U.S. Embassy in Israel will be closed as normal Sunday.

Consulates in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also being shut for the day. Embassies and consulates in the region typically close or operate with minimal staff on Fridays and Saturdays

The shutdowns could extend beyond Sunday, a senior State Department official said.

Retired Gen. James Mattis -- who until earlier this year was head of U.S. Central Command, responsible for a 20-country area that includes the Middle East -- said the decision to close the embassies underscores the reality of the threat and the wisdom of U.S. policymakers.

U.S. embassies have been targeted before in places such as Yemen, Turkey and Tanzania, he pointed out. Moreover, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is one of the terrorist network's most active and most destructive branches.

Referring to the move by U.S. officials, he said, "They are showing some proactive discretion here, making certain that we don't give the enemy an opportunity that we can deny them."

Questions, concerns after Benghazi

House leaders have been briefed, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters, adding that the travel alert and embassy closings provided "some understanding of the seriousness of the threat."

King, who has also heard such briefings, applauded the government's decision to close its diplomatic missions.

"I give them credit," the Republican said of the Obama administration. "I think the government is doing exactly the right thing here."

Such bipartisan agreement in Washington comes at a time when politicians are still scrutinizing the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consular compound in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Since then, Republicans have been pressing Obama's administration for answers, with some accusing officials of covering up what happened in Benghazi and not doing enough to track down the attackers.

Eight GOP lawmakers are asking that incoming FBI Director James Comey brief Congress within 30 days about the investigation. They say the administration's inquiry to date has been "simply unacceptable," according to a draft letter obtained by CNN.

Earlier this week, Vice President Joe Biden and senior State Department officials went to Congress to discuss embassy security.

Biden also briefed congressional leadership, key committee chairmen and ranking members about the latest threat concerns, a source who attended the meeting said.

Another official said the recent intelligence might not have warranted such a response before the Benghazi attack, which created a political firestorm for the administration.

On Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the agency was taking the steps out of an abundance of caution.

Raven-Symone says she's a lesbian, grateful for legalized gay marriage

Raven-Symone, who played 3-year-old Olivia on the 1980s sitcom "The Cosby Show," indicated for the first time Friday that she is a lesbian.

"I am very happy that gay marriage is opening up around the country and is being accepted," the actress said in a statement through her representatives.

"I was excited to hear today that more states legalized gay marriage. I, however am not currently getting married, but it is great to know I can now, should I wish to," she said.

Earlier Friday, Symone posted a tweet: "I can finally get married! Yay government! So proud of you."

In response to media inquiries after that tweet, her representatives said that "Raven is not getting married. She was just supporting the fact that she heard on NPR that more states legalized gay marriage today."

Symone then subsequently issued her official statement.

In the past, she has said her sexual orientation was a private matter. "My sexual orientation is mine, and the person I'm datings to know. I'm not one for a public display of my life," she wrote on her Twitter page in May 2012.

After "The Cosby Show," Symone was featured with Eddie Murphy in his "Dr. Dolittle" films and starred in Disney Channel's "That's So Raven."

Syndicated radio host Kidd Kraddick dies

David "Kidd" Kraddick, whose morning radio show aired in nearly 100 cities, has died. He was 53.

He died Saturday in New Orleans at a golf tournament to raise money for his Kidd's Kids Charity, his management company said.

What killed Kraddick was not immediately known.

"At the appropriate time, we will release more information about the cause of death," said Ladd Biro with Champion Management.

Photos: People we lost in 2013

"He died doing what he loved, and his final day was spent selflessly focused on those special children that meant the world to him."

Kraddick is the face behind the nationally successful "Kidd Kraddick In The Morning" show.

He has been named America's Best Radio Personality'; Radio and Records Major Market Personality of the Year; and he won the prestigious Marconi Award for Radio Personality of the Year.

Kraddick said his career as a disc jockey began in high school.

"We sponsored a big dance for the seniors but didn't have enough money to hire a DJ. So I snuck out my dad's stereo and did it myself," he said.

The name "Kidd" wouldn't come for several years though.

He began his career in Miami. And as is common with radio personalities, he bounced around.

Stints in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Tampa followed.

It was in Tampa that a program director gave him the name "Kidd." It stuck.

His career really took off after he moved to Dallas when his morning drive time show went into syndication.

Last week, Kraddick did a humorous segment on what he'd say to his co-hosts in his "final moments on Earth."

"When I die, you have permission to take a bunch of creepy pictures of my body," Kraddick said. "I want to thank all of you guys for being at my deathbed today. I'm going to miss you so much."

Saturday's golf tournament was for his non-profit Kidd's Kids Charity, which raises money annually to send children with chronic and terminal illnesses -- and their families -- to spend five days at Walt Disney World.

"RIP Kidd Kraddick. You were an amazing man and a friend. You are already missed," tweeted entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

"Such a great guy. I've listened to the show for years," commented Johnny MacNary. "He was always raising money for Kidd's Kids and giving things away. He really had a heart of gold. Mornings in Texas will never be the same. My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues tonight. He really made the world a better place."