• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State John Kerry says there is "undeniable" evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack in Syria, with intelligence strongly pointing to Bashar Assad's government, and "this international norm cannot be violated without consequences."
• Kerry's tough language marked the clearest justification yet for U.S. military action in Syria, which, if President Barack Obama decides to approve, most likely would involve sea-launched cruise missile attacks on Syrian military targets.
• Speaking to reporters at the State Department on Monday, Kerry was harshly critical of chemical warfare.
• "By any standard, it is inexcusable and -- despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured -- it is undeniable," said Kerry, the highest-ranking U.S. official to confirm the attack in the Damascus suburbs that activists say killed hundreds of people.
• Obama has not decided how to respond to the use of deadly gases, officials said. The White House said last year that type of warfare would cross a "red line." The U.S., along with allies in Europe, appeared to be laying the groundwork for the most aggressive response since Syria's civil war began more than two years ago.
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• DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- Syria has accused U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry of lying by claiming there is "undeniable" evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack in Syria likely carried out by the regime.
• A statement on the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency says Kerry's insistence on "jumping over" the work of U.N. experts in Syria shows that the U.S. has deliberate intentions to exploit events.
• Kerry said Monday there is "undeniable" evidence of a chemical weapons attack, with intelligence strongly pointing to President Bashar Assad's government as being responsible. President Barack Obama has not decided how to respond to the purported use of deadly gases in the Aug. 21 attack in the Damascus suburbs, which activists say killed hundreds of people.

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