Syria

The U.N. experts investigating last week's alleged chemical weapons strike outside Damascus left Syria early today and crossed into neighboring Lebanon.

Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. knows based on intelligence that the Syrian regime carefully prepared for days to launch a chemical weapons attack.

Shops in Syria's capital are filled with people stocking up on bread, canned food and other necessities ahead of what are expected to be U.S. military strikes. But there appear to be no signs of panic or food shortages.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the Obama administration is consulting with allies to "further develop the facts" about last week's alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, and options for a response.

A U.S. intelligence report that outlines the evidence against Syria says some questions remain about Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons last week.

President Barack Obama is still evaluating how the U.S. will respond to the chemical attack on Syrian civilians, allegedly by the Syrian government.

President Barack Obama says the U.S. has concluded that the Syrian government carried out a large-scale chemical weapons attack against civilians last week.

Evidence suggests that some kind of chemical "substance" was used in Syria that may have killed more than 1,000 people, but any military strike in response must first gain U.N. Security Council approval, the U.N.'s special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said Wednesday.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has pleaded for a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict, even as world powers appear to be moving toward punitive military strikes against President Bashar Assad's regime for what the United States and its allies say was a deadly chemical weapons attack.

Momentum appeared to build Tuesday for Western military action against Syria, with the U.S. and France saying they are in position for a strike, while the government in Damascus vowed to use all possible measures to repel it.