TASK DEFINITION: Given a document, generate a short title of the document. The title should convey the main idea/event/topic about which the document is being written. Note that URLs in the text have been replaced with [Link].
PROBLEM: Supporters of the Syrian regime rejected any link to a chemical weapons strike. They claimed the reports were fabricated by terrorist groups in Idlib and suggested the fatalities were the result of an explosion at a supposed al-Qaeda chemical weapons factory. Russian authorities  whose warplanes are flying in support of the regime  said they had not conducted a strike in the area around the town. But the broader international reaction was vehement â and put the blame squarely on  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad .
Such strikes are a regime tactic to further demoralize the flagging rebellion. " Assad  calculates  reasonably  that military dynamics play in  his  favor. By using chemical weapons and other weapons   he  is demonstrating the powerlessness of international actors " Emile Hokayem  a Middle East analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies  told The Washington Post.
"Today's chemical attack in Syria against innocent people  including women and children  is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world " said White House press secretary Sean Spicer. "These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution."
It's seemingly a bizarre line of attack for the Trump administration to choose. In 2013  the Obama administration contemplated a military response after a suspected regime chemical weapons attack on rebel-held districts in the suburbs of Damascus killed more than 1 000 people. The mounting international pressure at the time compelled  Assad  to agree to eliminate its chemical weapons program.
The fact that Obama chose to back off from confronting the  Assad  regime  which allegedly used chemical weapons numerous times in the years since  will forever haunt the former president's legacy. Much of the Washington foreign policy establishment has excoriated him for it. But Trump in 2013 â then a private citizen with the same itchy Twitter finger â was opposed to American intervention in Syria.
The irony is that Trump's position on the Syrian conflict isn't that far removed from Obama's â although it's more conspicuous in its indifference to the plight of Syrian refugees. The previous administration called for  Assad 's departure  but it did little to actually push for regime change  fearing that any deeper involvement in the Syrian conflict would risk the sort of blowback and chaos that rocked Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion. Trump  meanwhile  has insisted on multiple occasions that he is not interested in nation-building in the Middle East or dictating regime change. His lieutenants indicated as recently as last week that the White House does not prioritize removing  Assad  from power.

SOLUTION: A chemical weapons attack in Syria exposes Trumpâs Assad problem

PROBLEM: A source close to the Vatican said that Mr Bush was the most "Catholic-minded" president since John F Kennedy , who famously played down his Catholicism . 
George W Bush and Pope Benedict XVI have held an intimate meeting in Rome as rumours mounted in Italy that the president may follow in Tony Blair 's footsteps and convert to Catholicism . 
However , George William Rutler , a New York-based priest who is close to the president , was quoted by the Washington Post earlier this year saying that Mr Bush "is not unaware of how evangelism , by comparison with Catholicism , may seem more limited both theologically and historically" . 
The usual protocol for heads-of-state is a meeting in the pope 's library in the Apostolic Palace , but a spokesman for the Vatican said Benedict wanted to reward Mr Bush for the "warmth" of his reception at the White House earlier this year . 
The two men have grown increasingly close in the past two years , and Mr Bush was overheard whispering : "What an honour , what an honour , what an honour !" 
Mr Bush appointed the Catholic judges Samuel Alito and John Roberts to the Supreme Court . 
Mr Bush belongs to a Methodist church in Texas and prays at an Episcopal church in Washington . 
However , it is thought unlikely that Mr Bush would convert until after he has left office . 
However , Mr Bush did not , as expected , kneel in prayer before the Grotto of the Madonna of Lourdes . 
Mr Bush has filled the White House with Catholic speech-writers and consultants and is also thought to have asked a Catholic priest to bless the West Wing . 
Mr Bush prayed with Benedict in the Oval Office during the Papal visit to the US in April . 
Several Italian newspapers cited Vatican sources suggesting that Mr Bush may be prepared to convert . 
One source told Il Foglio , an authoritative newspaper , that "Anything is possible , especially for a born-again Christian such as Bush ." 
Mr Bush has spoken out against gay marriage , abortion and stem cell research .

SOLUTION: George W Bush meets Pope amid claims he might convert to Catholicism . 

PROBLEM: A day after a report raised the possibility that the NCAA could have done more long ago about problems at  Michigan State  President Mark Emmert  said Saturday in an email that sexual assault allegations against Spartans athletes in 2010 were “widely reported” and already being investigated by law enforcement and the school.
 Emmert  made the comments in an email to the NCAA Board of Governors and other university presidents. Spokeswoman Stacey Osborn provided  Emmert’s  email to The Associated Press in response to a request for comment about a report by The Athletic that cited a letter sent in 2010 to NCAA leadership by the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes.
 Emmert  noted that  he  met with the coalition’s Katherine Redmond and legal expert Wendy Parker in November 2010. A letter sent by  Emmert   dated Dec. 6 and addressed to Redmond and Parker  was also provided to AP. It detailed programs the NCAA was helping to implement on campuses to address sexual violence and student behavior  though it made no specific reference to Michigan State.
As for his role   Emmert  told the NCAA board in his email: “The MSU cases were widely reported in the press and already being investigated by law enforcement and university officials. Kathy did not imply that these were unreported cases or that she was acting as a whistleblower to report unknown information to the letter’s recipients.”

SOLUTION:
NCAA's Emmert defends efforts on protecting college athletes