>> dave: carol alt tomorrow morning is this guest host on fox and friends tomorrow, starting at 8:00 a.m. >> clayton: she's hot. jean, frog lick, north carolina. >> alisyn: a lot of "licks". >> dave: bye, everybody. >> clayton: two egg, florida. >> dave: see you next week. >> clayton: two egg florida? ♪ >> jamie: a "fox news alert," israel reportedly ramping up defenses following a series of aggressive moves, from iran, a senior israeli defense official says israeli's military is upgrading its missile shield technology. this as iran's president renews calls for the annihilation of israel. tehran also announces it has successfully test fired an upgraded version of its short range missile, a weapon that could be a major threat to u.s. assets in the region. good morning, everyone, i'm patti ann browne. >> kelly: i'm kelly wright, welcome to a brand new hour inside america's news

headquarters an israel developed a missile defense shield, arrow-2 as a joint project with the united states. joining us now, fox news contributor and former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., john bolton. ambassador, good to see you this morning, let's get to it. you know, u.s. defense secretary, leon panetta has said the new arrow-2 ballistic missile, sir, is actually a shield that is like a similar israeli interceptor known as iron dome which, of course, is used for short-range guerrilla rockets and says, both systems, however, are designed to prevent wars, so with iran's mounting threats an serious instability how they'll these devices work to prevent war? >> well, i think the hope is that israel can have adequate missile defenses, to cause decisionmakers in iran or syria or terrorist groups like hezbollah, or hamas, not to take the risk of firing missiles including those that might have chemical or biological or even

worse, nuclear weapons in them because they wouldn't succeed in the first place and, would surely risk a massive israeli retaliation. that is the purpose of missile defense. it's too bad it's not as popular with the obama administration as it is in israel. >> kelly: why do you say that, given the fact that the obama administration has provided the support for iron dome, and, apparently, now, arrow-2? >> well, it is a curious hangover from the cold war, the president, vice president biden and others supported what used to be called field protection, which protected south korea or israel but not national missile defense and the national missile defense program for the united states has largely been gutted under president obama and i'm all in favor of protecting israel and our deployed force, but i would like to protect american civilians at home, too. >> kelly: sure and ambassador, as you know, israel is very concerned about what is going on there, iran's dispute nuclear

program and, threats towards israel, and iran saying it successfully tested a new missile increasing the islamic republic capability to strike both land and naval targets in the region, including u.s. assets, that are operating there in the persian gulf. and of course there is iran's president, mahmoud ahmadinejad, saying in advance of the upcoming jerusalem day, which of course is an iranian anti-israel day, that anyone who loves freedom and justice must serve or must strive for the athey relation of the zionist regime in order to pave the way for world justice and freedom. now, with that kind of provocative statement or statements like these from mahmoud ahmadinejad, how does israel and -- and should israel respond? >> well, you've got two things going on, as you rightly point out, iran's rhetoric is ratcheting up their repeated threats they've made against israel's very insistence but as the new missile test proves, they are also continuing to

upgrade their capabilities, to be able to carry through on those threats. so, it is just a matter of simple logic, for israel to be prepared for the worst. they live in a very tough neighborhood. it is perfectly clear iran is getting ever closer to a nuclear weapons capability. and we know that in syria, they have chemical weapons, and, by their own admissions, perhaps a biological weapons program, that they -- the assad regime has threatened to use against foreigners and you have a risk if that regime falls, the new regime comes in and acquires those weapons, so, israel has a lot of adversaries to protect itself against. >> kelly: you were just talking about the new weapons, in terms of chemical weapons, and let's talk about syria, because the escalating violence is going on there and this, of course a country with a stockpile of chemical weapons and skud missiles and how does israel protect itself from growing tension in the middle east, given the perspective that time, according to israeli prime minister netanyahu is running out for diplomacy? >> i think that is why they need

the iron dome system for protection against the shorter-range missiles and the kinds of things that could come out of syria, or hezbollah. the terrorist group in lebanon. or hamas, in the gaza strip. just as they want arrow-2 and other systems to protect against longer-range threats but i think it underlines for the united states why we have to have not just plans but be moving now to make sure that assad's stock of chemical weapons is not used in this conflict and, indeed if his regime falls, whoever succeeds him gives the weapons up and turns them over to the u.s. or the international authority for destruction, should be a real objective of ours. >> kelly: ambassador, thanks as always for your perspective. obviously israel is facing a lot of situation right now in northeast. thank you, sir, have a great day and by the way, we'll have more on this in our next year with the former chief of staff to israel prime minister benjamin

netanyahu and we will also discuss whether the past week's developments are pushing israel to a pre-emptive strike against easterly. >> patti ann: forces in syria are fighting in aleppo, rebels inching closer to the historic city center in fierce battles with regime forces and the leader of syria's main political opposition group says he's ready to negotiate with government officials but first is insisting that president bashar al-assad be ousted. he says he will not work with anyone who has syrian blood on their hands. ♪ >> patti ann: less than encouraging news for president obama's campaign, gallup releasing the president's job approval numbers for the first half of the year and according to the polls, his approval rating is below 50%. in 37 states. so what sort of impact could it have come november? joining us now, jamie weinstein,

the senior editor of "the daily caller." thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> patti ann: ratings below 57% in 37 states and looking back historically what might it mean for the election. >> well, it is not good. the 50% is usually the benchmark, if you are 50% or above as incumbent you have a pretty great -- 100%, in the modern history of winning reelect and below that it becomes much more precarious and look at the numbers state by state it is more alateral than the headline read. -- alarming than the headline reads. battleground states like colorado, 43%, below the approval rate for the president in mississippi and ohio the same is a mississippi, 44% an ohio is the most important battle ground state, every presidential winner has won ohio since 1964. if you look at new mexico, which wasn't even supposed to be in play this cycle, the president's only at 45%, there, and the same level, of approval he has in

george awhi georgia, a solidly republican state, and, pretty alarming, i crunched the numbers and suppose that the president -- president obama won every state that he had a 47% approval rating and above and go below the 50% an mitt romney took every state, president obama had 46 and below it would be a landmark blow out for mitt romney. >> patti ann: as you say, more important might be those swing states, and, definitely, doing badly, in those. and is it because of the economy? >> i think at the end of the day, it is the economy. james carville said it is the economy, stupid. and, you know, the economic situation is bad and, whether, you know, you agree with what president obama has done, to try to reinvigorate the economy or not, i think voters will look at it and say, look, you have had four years, and the economy has not improved as much as you said

after the stimulus was put in effect and frankly we'll give the other guy another chance. >> patti ann: so in 16 states, president obama is not just below 50, he's below 40% in 16 states and yet in washington, d.c., a whopping 83% approval rating. why the huge divide? >> well, look, i think that in certain states, they are naturally democratic. a lot of the states where he is above 50%, for instance, president obama, these are states that have no chance of going to the republicans, to begin with and the states that are below 40%, they are states that are just, you know, in the republican camp, no matter what. and, swing states matter. as to washington, d.c., well, you know, most people in washington lifeblood is the government and this administration has enhanced government spending, so they have every reason to hope that the current administration stays in power. >> patti ann: right, so the poll, we should point out is from january to june and now it is august. his recent strategy is attacking mitt romney rather than focusing on his own record.

is that working do you think his ratings now would be higher or lower. >> polls tried to look into whether his recent strategy which i think is fairly desperate is tanks ac mitt romney as, the business man worked and, most polls show no net effect and president obama is where he was when he started the attack poll-wise and it doesn't look like it worked there and if you had to guess it would be lower, because, the economy has not improved, since then, and the job numbers have not been great. and, if you look towards going towards november, with all that is happening in europe, nothing good is -- seems to be on the horizon with the economy. so you can only imagine, these numbers could probably inch lower than they are, right now. >> patti ann: time will tell, jamie weinstein, thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. >> kelly: this is a fox news extreme weather alert. wildfires spreading in oklahoma, forcing families from their homes, emergency crews are going door-to-door, actually, telling

people to get out, as flames inch closer. dozens of homes have already been destroyed. now, families are trying to figure out just how to start over. >> you can't get everything in 30 minutes or 45 minutes. you... you practice fire drills at school, but you don't practice them at home, very often and you don't know what to get. >> told us now, leave now and we just left. >> we have stuff we have to maybe sift through and find anything that is left over, but, there is not a lot for 'em to do. >> i'm 82 years old, i've never seen nothing like it before. i have never... >> i have been watching it since yesterday and right now, hoping and praying the house will still be there. >> kelly: one fire in creek county already burned nearly 80 square miles and winds and record-breaking heat are making firefighting efforts very difficult there, in oklahoma. accu-weather's meteorologist joins us now with more details.

jeanette, it is really devastating to see the kind of destruction the fire is wreaking on the area. >> yes. kelly, very, very impressive images coming out of oklahoma and the reason for these wildfires is that conditions have been favorable so far this summer for sparking wildfires, over this part of the nation and there has been a stalled ridge of high pressure sitting over the southern plains and beneath the high we have seen very little to no rain, for example, oklahoma city, since may 1st only received 5.5 inches of rain. so far this summer. also, it has been very, very warm. we're talking temperatures so far this summer, averaging up to 10 degrees above normal with the core of the heat gripping north texas, oklahoma, into extreme southern kansas. now, recently, there has been some relief. the ridge has broken down some and has shifted a little farther to the west. allowing for the latest frontal boundary to head south and it has been producing some spotty

showers and thunderstorms, but, only across northern oklahoma and it has been very, very light, so, unfortunately, it looks like that ridge will be strengthening again as we head into monday. and, the heat is on, once again, over the southern plains. plus, let's not forget about tropical storm ernesto, pushing off to the west at 22 miles per hour. and, actually looked more impressive yesterday but it will get its act together as it continues to push west and we expect it to make landfall in around the yucatan peninsula as a category 1 hurricane as early as late tuesday into wednesday. >> kelly: accu-weather, jeanette, thank you. >> patti ann: a good week on wall street. the stock market finishing up on friday at the highest level since may. the rally fueled by encouraging news on the future of the euro. and, greater than expected u.s. hiring. while stock brokers celebrate, the feeling on main street doesn't seem so rosy. brenda buttner is a fox news senior business correspondent and the ahor of "bulls &

bears." how are you. >> hi. >> patti ann: we got the good news about jobs created and the bad news, the unemployment rate, 8.3%, why the market optimism. >> basically there were more jobs created than had been expected. and -- but not so many that it would basically take away any hopes that the fed might move in, jump-start the economy. or that european authorities would also do something to resolve the whole debt mess, take more aggressive action and so it was just enough jobs to make us feel a little renewed hope about the economy, but, not so many that it would take away any chance that the fed would move. >> patti ann: yeah, in fact when friday's numbers came out some analysts said the markets are happy because the news was just slightly disappointing and, that might prompt the fed chair, ben bernanke, to consider measures like qe-3, another round of quantative easing which would be good for stocks but bad for the

economy, long term. >> it depends upon how you feel about it. a lot of people feel the fed has taken too much action and more stimulus is not what we need right now. but, you know, on main street, as you said, there really is the sense that the economy is in a recession, 2/3 of those in a recent poll think that we're in a recession right now, that this is not even a tepid recovery, as it is being sold. so, if people are thinking it is a recession, chances are they are not going to be spending and chances are businesses will not be hiring, and, there is so much uncertainty out there, it is very difficult, i think, for the economy to really get moving, get any traction, certainly, before the end of the year. >> patti ann: all right, brenda buttner, "bulls & bears." thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> kelly: a year after a devastating earthquake in new zealand it is finally time for the damaged building to come down, we'll show you the big moment, as it actually comes down.

>> patti ann: and the doctors are here, for sunday house call. new details on how you can be diagnosed for a serious condition. by your breath. and, join the "sunday house call" community, their chatting now on twitter, use the hash-tag, fox house call to get involved yourself. the perfect use of the 7th inning stretch. get that great taste anytime with kingsford match light charcoal. ♪ you want to save money on car insurance? no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance?

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>> patti ann: an incredible sight in christchurch, new zeala zealand. >> patti ann: incredible. a high rise damaged in last year's devastating earthquake is taken down by explosives. hundreds turned out to watch the implosion. the office building suffered serious damage from the 6.1 magnitude quake. the building's owner says it was cheaper to take it down this way than piece by piece, 185 people died in the earthquake last year. >> kelly: all right, three months to go until election day and the national unemployment rate is 8.3% and fox news sunday, david axelrod, campaign strategist sits down with our own chris wallace and saying the policy plans from governor romney will not help america, get back on track.

>> the real question for voters is going to be, what is the choice on the other side? this week we learned that governor romney's tax plan would raise taxes for the wealthy and, would cut taxes for the wealthy, a windfall for the wealthy and raise taxes by $2,000 on the middle class. >> kelly: that is david axelrod and joining me is the anchor of fox news sunday, chris wallace, and chris, your conversation with david axelrod. what does it focus on? jobs? the economy? the president's campaign strategy? >> yes, all of those. good morning, kelly. >> kelly: good morning. >> we started, of course with the latest jobs numbers that came out, on friday, for july. which indicate, yes, the economy created 163,000 jobs but the unemployment rate went up to 8.3% and the question is given his roar, the fact that there are 25 million people who either don't have jobs, have given up looking for jobs or are working fewer hours than they would

like, why does the president deserve re-election? and, that, you heard part of the answer there, basically, what axelrod says is two things, first of all, we've heard it before, that they inherited a bigger mess than they thought they had and points to the fact when obama came in the economy was losing 800,000 jobs a month and, secondly, compares it to what remember thomney has got a less about what obama in office has done and, talked more about what romney would do. >> kelly: and attacking governor mitt romney, instead of boasting what president obama has achieved... >> that and a got help this week, an independent study by the toc tax policy did an analysis of mitt romney's tax plan, no matter how many loopholes you close, he wants to close all tax rates to 20%, he says it ends up

being a sizable tax cut for a wealthy and a small tax increase for the middle class and mitt romney disputes the numbers but that is a good talking point for the obama campaign. >> kelly: and of course the republicans would like to see the middle class tax cut not be owe then thing that goes into -- the only thing that goes into effect, but, all the bush tax cuts go in place for all americans and many say that that is the way to go but the president hunkered down, saying i will not go that route? >> well, and i point back to david axelrod, there is another study done by an accounting firm, ernst and young, well-respected and well-known accounting firm that said if you put all of the obama tax cuts or tax policy -- not tax cuts, actually, into effect, increases to the wealthy and tax cuts for the middle class would be a drag of the economy, a half percent in growth and 700,000 jobs, a loss of 700,000 jobs, in the

economy. so, you know, everybody has their study. and, they are -- indicate flaws with both candidates' plans. >> kelly: what about the vice presidential choice for governor mitt romney? was that discussed at all today? >> i did ask david axelrod about that. and, you know, to see what he says, i said what will it say about him. >> and he says it will say whether he wants to double down on the return to policies of the past and, basically you are saying if he chooses someone who agrees with his policies it will show how bad a candidate he is an he said exactly. >> kelly: i'm going to get a front row seat to watch? >> real quickly, in addition to david axelrod, it is a combative interview and people will be interested and entertained by it. we also have an exclusive interview with ted cruise, if you are like me, you heard a lot about him but you haven't seen him, he's the tea party favorite who just won a big upset victory in texas in the republican primary there, our exclusive guest on set.

and you'll get to see why people are so excited about him. >> kelly: all right, chris, excited about what you are doing as well, for more of his interview with david axelrod and ted cruise, tune into fox news sunday and he'll also speak exclusively as i said with ted cruise, fox news sunday reairs today at 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern, only, here on fox. >> patti ann: the doctors are here to make their house calls and more americans are suffering from multiple chronic conditions. they'll tell you how to help turn it around and researchers are working on a new way to diagnose disease. all it may take is a whiff of a patient's breath.

pushing it's time for "sunday house call," joining us this morning, dr. marc siegel, associate professor of medicine at nyu's langone medical center and author of "the inner pulse, unlocking the secret code of sickness and health."