that is brian boil who wa boyle who was on our show, sharing how he came back from an incredible injury and is now an ironman. jon: treat your husband very well for in a. jenna: he deserves it. that's for sure. jon: thank you for joining us. jenna: "america live" starts right now. >> reporter: the final players are set in the 2012 presidential race and we are awaiting our first chance to see the newly minted g.o.p. vice presidental candidate paul ryan in action flying solo on the campaign trail today for the first time. challenging the president in the critical state of iowa. welcome to "america live," everyone, i'm megyn kelly. congressman ryan splitting from governor romney after a series of joint events later. a live look at the iowa state fair in des moines where mr. ryan is expected to meet and speak with voters there in about an hour. congressman ryan and governor

romney made stops yesterday in virginia, north carolina and in ryan's home state of wisconsin. while the congressman stumps in iowa today governor romney is in another swing state. florida. team obama already tar quitting the pair with the first attack ad since the ticket was announced. watch. >> it will be a voucher plan. if we cut it now what is going to happen to our middle class? >> florida, we have a very large elderly population. >> medicare is a boon for senior citizens who without that would choose between food and going to a doctor. megyn: joining me now stu varney host of varney & company on the fox news network. the team obama out with we're going to end medicare as we know it, which was easy to see coming because that is the line they released on paul ryan before he was ever on the g.o.p. ticket. is it true? >> no it is not. let's take the allegations one at a time.

remember granny being pushed off a cliff? does the ryan medicare plan kill seniors, kill medicare, dump people off a cliff? no it does not. that was pure tkep demogogary. anyone 55 or older shows no change. the government will give money to seniors and they can use that money to spend as they see fit on competing private insurance programs. it doesn't kill medicare, far from it, it doesn't hurt seniors, anybody over 55 sees no change. but it does fundamentally change medicare, and romney says and ryan says it will save medicare. megyn: if you do the math the way we pay for medicare right now is we get taxed. if you work there is a tax taken out of your paycheck that goes to the government to pay for

it. your employer has to pay a similar tax. the higher income people, the taxes will go up thanks to obamacare in 2013 to pay more for medicare. that's how it works. if you do the math, stu, if you have a median income of 50 grand in this country, that person who makes 50 grand a year and the employer pays that money and they both pay the tax, it's about just under $1,500 that they pay into medicare per year. in evenings chang exchange when that person turns 65 they get free medical care for life. it doesn't add up. 50,000 a year doesn't pay for free medical care. that's why they are going bankrupt and having serious financial issues. paul ryan has tried to take that on. there is a real concern about whether his plan will force seniors to pay more than they can afford. >> some senior whose want better care will have to pay more for it.

let me go back to your point about the unsustainability of the current system and why it must be changed. if you're getting medicare right now you have put in on average $119,000 over your lifetime. over your lifetime to come you will takeout $357,000. it's about three to one. obviously unsustainable. does paul ryan's plan address that lack of sustainability? he yes it does. the government in the future could control the amount that it gives back to seniors for them to go out and buy their own private insurance from competing insurance companies. so there is an element of control in there, plus, if those insurance companies are competing, maybe they'll get the price down, so it will become more affordable and cheaper to more people. megyn: he says and those who back his plan have said many times, he's trying to save medicare not ruin it. he's trying to save it. he says it's already set up for failure and somebody somewhere has to do something.

it's all well and good to saying to seniors you can have the cadillac plan nor the rest o for the rest of your life. let's start it at 55 not wait until 65, if you don't deliver on the promises it's totally meaningless. he and others are saying the promises we've made to the seniors are totally meaningless because the system cannot sustain itself long term. >> that is true. turn it around. what is president obama's plan for medicare? his plan as far as i can see is to cut about a half trillion dollars out of medicare over the next ten years and raise medicare taxes. can you see us cutting a half trillion dollars out of medicare in ten years? that is a billion dollars a week. which government program or agency has ever cut, in waste or fraud a billion dollars a week or anything like that? the way we are going now medicare goes under. we simply run out of money. the president does not address

that issue. the paul ryan plan, in my opinion, does. megyn: stu varney thank you, sir. good to see you. most americans who are aware of congressman ryan know him because of his role in the big budget fight in washington. he's the main budget guy on the house side in d.c. he chairs the house budget committee. ryan grew up in wisconsin and he lives in his hometown with his wife janna and three children. in college he worked as an oscar mayer salesman peddling turkey bacon and l u.n. chables. he even grove the weiner mobile one time. for fun he noodles catfish. a picture of that file tape. if you haven't tried it it's file video that gives you an idea of what foo noodling is

and why it's so much fun. it involves fishing for catfish with your bare hands. the president is also in iowa today. you've got paul ryan there and president obama there. the president spoke at a campaign event about an hour ago and he used that opportunity to again criticize congressman ryan's economic policies. more and more this race is focusing on the economy. >> he's a good spokesman for governor romney's vision. but the problem is is that vision is one that i fundamentally disagree with. [applause] >> governor romney and his allies in congress, they think if we just get rid of more regulations on big corporations and give more tax breaks to the wealthist americans, if we end medicare as we know it, make it a voucher system somehow this will all lead to jobs and prosperity for everybody. megyn: back in february congressman ryan took the president's treasure secretary

timothy geithner to tax. he was testifying before the house budget committee, again that is chaired by congressman ryan. ryan said the administration's proposed budget would fail to fix the nation's economic crisis. he has charged that president obama has failed to lead on that issue. here they are discussing a charge that explains what the nation's deficit would look like if it continues on the path that we are on now. >> the economy according to cbo shuts down in 2027 on this path. >> i like that chart. i saw that chart yesterday. if you look at the -- you know, you're talking about like i think more than half a century going up. >> yes, if you look at the gap between us. >> i understand the gap. >> between ten and 20 it's a pretty small gap, and that gap, that ten to 20 gap which is all we're debating today is a gap where you're achieving that slightly diminished path. >> here is the point. this is your time. it will take a longtime.

here is the point. leaders are supposed to fix problems. we have a $99.4 trillion unfunded liability. our government is making promises to americans that it has no way of accounting for them. and so you're saying, yeah we're stabilizing it but we're not fixing it in the long run we're going to keep lying to people and keep all these empty promises going. megyn: some hollywood types are starting to react to the ryan-romney ticket. russell similar ons saying the two will, quote destroy our people. later in the show we'll talk about what he means by that, and what other notable folks are saying about congressman paul ryan entering this race. new developments today in the congressional investigation into the botched ft and furious gun running operation. the house oversight committee is planning to file a contempt of congress lawsuit against the attorney general eric holder. the committee expected to ask a

judge today to force mr. holder to release key documents related to their investigation. doug mcelway has more live from washington. >> reporter: not just planning on it they've done it. the suit was filed in u.s. district court in d.c. this morning. it seeks documents that the justice department continues to withhold ain't asks the court to, quote, declare that the attorney general's failure to produce to the oversight committee any documents so identified is without legal justification and violates the attorney general's legal obligations to the committee. the suit also contends that the white house and doj claims that the documents in question are covered by executive privilege is without merit. quote, no court has ever held that executive privilege extends anywhere near as far as the attorney general here contends that it does. the attorney general's conception of the reach of executive privilege were to be accepted would cripple congressional oversight of executive branch agencies. earlier this summer after the contempt vote in the householder

said this about the standoff between the oversight committee and the justice department. >> i had hoped that congressional leaders would be good-faith partners in in work. some were. others, however have devoted their time and attention to making reckless charges unsupported by fact and to advancing truly absurd, truly absurd conspiracy theories. >> reporter: so the fate of those unreleased fast and furious documents is now in the hands of a federal judge. don't look for an early resolution, megyn as you well know if the court finds holder in contempt the justice department will likely appeal. it could be months if not years before an ultimate end. megyn we will get to the bottom of those timing questions and how it will likely play out. thank you, sir. there are troubling reports from israel today on the possibility of an attack on iran.

could these be the final steps before potential military action in israel? have you seen some of the papers out of israel and the headlines over the past couple of days? you may find this disturbing. a live update from jerusalem and ambassador bolton will join us to weigh in live. a wild standoff in the middle of time square. police take on a knife-wielding man, and now his family is accusing the police of excessive force. and the romney team doubles down on its attack on the president's changes to the nation's welfare system. coming up we'll look at facts about what president obama has done when it comes to welfare in this country and whether governor romney really does have a winning issue with welfare reform. >> they have made no welfare states. >> everybody pulls his weight.

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mitt romney strongly believes work must be part of welfare. >> governor romney launching a new ad today attacking president obama on the issue of welfare. that is the second ad like this in roughly a week. the commercial claims the president has stripped all work requirements from the law. but the obama campaign denies that. the fight comes as federal spending on entitle -pltsz gets a fresh look and it is going -- he will you can see for yourself the direction. lou dobbs is the host of lou

dobbs tonight on the fox business network and a syndicated radio host. what is the truth? that is verifiable, that fact. did president obama actually strip out the work requirements for welfare recipient? >> he did something that follows a pattern that he set in place. every single fiat order that he has issued whether it be on illegal immigration, the d.r.e.a.m. act, whatever the subject may be, welfare, the temporary assistance program, he simply changes the law, the regulations, and the consequences of public policy. he's done precisely the same thing, megyn with this law. and why is it taking on such great import is because of tkaoet situation that governo decision that governor romney made and revealed to us on saturday morning. and that is because paul ryan who is at the forefront of interest hrebt all reform resolution in the republican party is now his running mate and that casts this effort to

take away the work requirement from welfare reform, which is sort of an interesting way to say it. clinton to's welfare reform law -- megyn: clinton is the president who put that into affect. a moderate democrat who said let's make work part of welfare, don't just give out the checks. >> and for the first time in 40 years we started to see the caseload for welfare decline in the country because of the work requirement. now suddenly he wants to strip out the work requirement and he wants to call that flexibility for the states. it's yo utter nonsense. megyn: why? >> it's exempted within the law itself. megyn: why does he want to strip out the work requirement? >> you know, i will infer from the great one who loves to govern by fiat that the reason he wants to do so is because he wants to enlarge the level of dependency in this country on the federal government even farther and wants to do so with those who are so dependent, unencumbered with any sense of responsibility. it is a disgusting act on the

part of this administration. it flies in the face of -- of 16 years of history. we have even seen in this horrible recession, the poverty rate has not returned to the levels of pre 96 and in large measure the reason is we have a work requirement that has been very successful under the 1996 welfare reform law. megyn: it was a bipartisan effort. it was supported with bayh partisan support. >> absolutely bayh partisan an bayh partisan and thbipartisan. >> he seems to be saying, i can do it all and i'm not afraid to talk about rel welfare reform. >> i give governor romney all the credit in the world for what he did in choosing paul ryan.

together they are going to make certain that the issues are discussed. first of all paul ryan can't talk without talking about issues. i think he's a brilliant choice. i think he will be a bill kwrapbt partner tbrilliant partner to this president when easy atlantic ne easy elected, if that turns out to be the case. we'll have to talk about the issues, we will not be able to talk about tax returns and nonsense. we are going to be focused on issues because these two candidates for the top two offices in our country are going into sis that president obama start to confront reality. by the way did you notice paul ryan doesn't use a teleprompter isn't that exciting? >> don't knock the teleprompter. we need the teleprompter for this show. >> i live by it sort of myself. megyn: they focus on welfare reform, we've been told this

election is about the middle class and the democrats will try to paint governor romney is he doesn't care about the middle class he only cares about the rich. his first ad since ryan has been picked is to talk about how president obama is giving a pass in essence to those on welfare, not requiring them to work. does that resonate with the mid class in a way that is objectionable? the middle class tend to work and struggle to get ahead. >> it's interesting. we should always recall that people in this country, 95% of us eery spebt tiff o irrespective of our circumstances think we are middle class. they want to see the restoration of jobs. they see after three and a half years of watching this government this isn't happening. welcome back. megyn: great to be back with all of you as well. an agitated man with a knife. a half dozen police officers

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megyn: imagine being an eyewitness to this scene. just two blocks from the heart of times square a man behaving erratic lee carrying a big knife, hundreds of tourists and residents around . the police say they ordered him to drop the weapon but refused. allegedly lunging at them with an 11-inch knife and threatening several bystanders. gregg jarrett has more. >> a deadly confrontation in one of the world's most famous locations. officers approach dari u.k.

kennedy who is spotted marijuana. he pulls a long knife in mid-afternoon as police reportedly order him repeatedly to drop it. he refuses taunting officers with the words, shoot me, shoot me, then lunges with his knife at them. according to witnesses kennedy also slashes at terrified pedestrians, none of whom were cut or stabbed. these cellphone images capture the chaos as numerous cops are seen moving down the street in a slow-speed pursuit on foot. >> we see a guy, dark skin, dread locks about my height came out of the subway with a knife maybe about that big, was slicing it at random people, hit someone in the face. me and my friend actually saw it. >> he seemed quite confused like he didn't know what to do. he seemed very panicky trying to go away from the cops. the cops were saying, drop it, drop it, drop is and as soon as he got to 37th, pop, pop, pop. >> police say they pepper sprayed kennedy.

he wiped the spray from his face. as he lunges at police two officers opened fire hittin hitting him seven times. they say they act ned self-defense. the first time they fired their guns on-duty. they say it should have been handled differently, shooting him in the arm or leg. megyn: is there an investigation for excessive force? >> there is. ray kelly says you can second-guess all these things under the circumstances what the officers did was appropriate to the situation. now the legal standard is very subjective, megyn as you know police allowed to use only the level of force necessary to subdue a suspect, but if an officer feels they are in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death they are permitted to use deadly force. but, again, it's in the eye of the beholder very subjective. you can probably count on a lawsuit here from the family

members of darius kennedy. megyn: thank you. by the way i wanted to mention something in connection with our segment with lou dobbs, that romney ad, i asked him whether it's true where he says you wouldn't have to work or train for a job under the obama fan. politofact rated that claim with a pants on fire rating back a few days ago, for what it's worth. coming up one of the biggest names from the world of music has now weighed in on the new g.o.p. ticket. tweeting, quote, mitt romney and paul ryan the two men who will destroy our people. in three minutes we'll show you some of the criticism we've been hearing over the last 48 hours. an attempted murder trial comes to a screeching halt in utah. we'll show you what is next for the woman accused of hitting her estranged husband with her suv and blaming it all on her perscriptions in "kelly's court." >> all right, you said that you need an ambulance? >> yeah, a liddy just drove through the building.

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so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. megyn: a fox news alert on a significant development in the george zimmerman case. we are hearing zimmerman who is accused of shooting and killing

17-year-old trayvon martin, we are hearing his attorney is expected to hold a news conference any moment now. he's expected to request a hearing under florida's controversial stand your ground law. he's hoping to persuade a judge to grant zimmerman immunity under that law. if he got it, he would be cleared of any prosecution. last week zimmerman's lawyers put up a message on their web site saying the fact support zimmerman's claim of self-defense. if they don't prevail in the hearing they can still raise self-defense at the trial. >> i tell you, i love wisconsin. i see my family over here in this half of the stadium. i have got a lot of family.

i tell you what ... brock love you paul] >> i love you, too. we had 10 other ryan familiesth. my veins run with cheese, pratt wurst, a cow linings and some miller. megyn: an emotional paul ryan getting an emotional greeting in his hometown. there has been some blunt reaction from some including some on the left like hip hop mogul russell simmons. he tweeted out. mitt romney and paul ryan.

the two men who will destroy our people. here now brad blakeman who is the former department assistant to george w. bush and dick harpootlian. they will destroy our people. call it out. it will be the end of the republic as we know it. you know, i don't know whether he actually believes that. i'll start with you, dick. or whether he's trying to make a point. if you read his whole piece he's talking about the poor and he's going on about how he thinks these two rich guys or one rich guy and a guy who wants to rye form the budget are going to destroy the poor. is that the narrative going forward? >> i don't think so. we put too much weight on these so-called celebrity comments. how about ted nugent on the right who called the president of the united states a piece of

do do and said he had a machine gun he wanted president obama to suck on. he's an idiot. hyperbole on both sides is ridiculous. we have serious problems and we don't need this hyperbole on either side. brad, i'll defend maybe russell simmons if you will defend ted nugent. >> i'm not going to defend either because i think there is nothing more irrelevant than and i ill-informed celebrity. when this guy talks about his people. what people? he should get in his rolls-royce and drive outside his mansion in bel air, california and be with his people. megyn: by the way, russell simmons is reported to be worth over $340 million. >> his people are hurting more in the obama economy than anybody else.

the inner cities are double the national average in unemployment. their unemployment benefits have run out and that's why the president seeks to strip work fare from welfare. celeb lights whether democrats or republicans are noise. and nothing more. they don't move the needle and they don't convince someone to be for or against someone. megyn: he's a powerful guy in the entertainment industry. he goes on to say in part i'll stop to fight the literal destruction of poor people in this country. speaking of romney and ryan, he says i will eliminate every program we have that helps the most vulnerable and you will laugh all the way to the bank with your rich friends. for some group that believes -- there are some on the right that believe barack obama is determined to ruin america. but this is the narrative that

emerges. >> first of all he's got $340 million. russell. go to priorities u.s.a. spend the money. megyn: maybe he has. >> i haven't heard that. give $50 million to priorities and put your money where your mouth is. megyn: we didn't make lemonade out of lemons, dick. you tell me, brad wet this has an impact. four years ago when sarah palin was announced as the vice presidential candidate, the celebrities came out in droves and started ripping on her. and the list goes on and on about those who were really harsh on her. joy behar suggested she reminded her of usama bin laden. do people listen or can it be alienating to independent voters? >> i think it would have a

minimal effect. i have never seen a reliable poll by any reliable source that said a celebrity had a positive or negative effect on the outcome of an election. they do make sensational statement as we have seen in the celebrity mentioned here. but in the end they have zero effect. the effect they do have is raising money. they have fabulous opportunity for raising money from their hollywood friends. but at the end of the day that money doesn't translate into a vote for them specifically. it helps the democratic coffers and nothing more than that. megyn: interesting debate. thanks as always. we are seeing troubling reports out of israel about the possibility of an attack on iran. we have a live report from jerusalem. then ambassador john bolton will join us live. top republicans going to court this morning to launch a new challenge for the attorney

general holder. they are taking the matter to a judge and we'll have the details right after this break. >> you either lied or you are grossly incompetent. >> i don't know how long you have been here. but my hope would be we can get beyond that kind of interaction. whenou have diabetes...

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megyn: a heroic mother putting her life on the line to save her babies from a fire. she rescues her 10 day old puppies burning them from the burning building, but then carrying them all the way to the fire truck, and she guard them as any good mother would. sadly one of the fr puppies later died. about it others are in good condition and will go to loving homes.

>> have you and your attorneys produced internally the materials responsive to the subpoenas? >> we believe that we have responded to the subpoena. >> no, mr. attorney general, you are not a good witness. a good witness answers the question asked. let's go back again. megyn: it was last june when we saw that infamous exchange between darrell issa and attorney general eric holder. and their relationship has not apparently improved much since then. issa's committee filed a civil lawsuit against mr. holder seeking to force him to release key documents related to this probe into whether our government intentionally allowed guns to walk into the hands of dangerous mexican criminals at least one of which was found at the death scene of an american border patrol agent. joining me now for a fair and balanced discussion.

jay sekulow, cheer counsel for the american center for law and justice. today julian, you were the legal guy on the house crown that did before what this house committee did today. go into civil court and try to get a concept citation enforced. explain exactly what they have done today and how it's going to play out in the immediate days and weeks. >> as jay and i discussed in our program before. this is the method a committee uses to enforce a contempt citation largely because the u.s. attorney would not convene a grand jury and prosecute the case. what the house will do is try to get a declare tory judgment or where it of of mandamus. i'm 3-3 on the predictions i

made on the he edwards case, the arizona and the healthcare case. the likelihood of prevailing is very low. the house must show it's essential to its legislative function and there isn't an accommodation attempted to be made by the justice department. given that the justice department provided 8,000 documents. umpteen interviews with the committee. i think it's very, very unlikely the court would find there hasn't been an accommodation. the committee has conceded that justice department provided it all the information on the operational question on operation fast & furious. the on question is how is it the justice department made a mistake in the february 4 letter to senator grassley. megyn: let's talk about this, julian. congress will say it is an essential piece of information because you can't lie to congress. if congress is looking into

whether they have been lied to by an administration official that would qualify as an he session investigation, no? >> yes, it does. >> what about julian's second point about whether an accommodation has been offered. can justice and mr. holder show they have offered an accommodation on those documents to speak to whether they intentionally misled senator grassley and others? >> they will make that assertion but the answer will be no. the judge is going to get together and say, where can we accommodate. what other document could be given. there could be a compromise that gives documents. the chairman isocusing on the operational aspect and lead together false and fraudulent statement and letters made by the department of justice hierarchy, a letter that was proved by the attorney general that said there was no gun

running, no gun walking. none of this happened. then 8 months, 9 months later they pull that letter back. and there is no privilege for the coverup that took place. so what you are going to have here is you will have real litigation with the parties bringing the issue. but i think at the end of the day, one case, the edwards case, julian and i agreed. arizona was a split decision. i have to give it to him he was right on obama-care. that may change with the election in a few months. megyn: as i recall you two guys were too chic on go on record before obama-care came out. >> you will see the republicans are mount a challenge in the electoral campaign. but i think what's going to happen is the department of justice will put forward some more document to see if an accommodation can be made. but this is the process -- this is the beauty of the american experiment, if you will from our

founding. this type of litigation is what makes our country unique from everybody else. we are now in a court of law -- megyn: the contempt proceeding against attorney general eric holder is what's beautiful about the american process. we asked this but i want to get to this today. it's time for the doj to really put up or shut up with the judge. they can say to issa in the congress, you are not getting anymore. but they can't say that to the judge. they will have to show their cards to the judge, no? >> no. yes and no. i think that's the point the question misses and jay misses. first of all, the question about this coverup and whether there was lying to congress. there is no evidence of any coverup. there is no evidence of any intentional lying. the justice department and the february 4 letter approved the

letter -- let me finish the point, jay -- mistakingly said they did not continue the bush policy of letting guns walk. megyn: that's the question. >> let me finish the point. but more importantly look at the case under the bush administration as to what happened on the doj attorney firing scandal. what the court said there when the house judiciary went to congress and tried to get a declare tory judgment. the court said the accommodation the judge had to make was for hem to meet. it didn't require any production of document because executive privilege had been declared. julian, jay, always a pleasure. that was beautiful. coming up we are now just moment from seeing congressman paul ryan in iowa. his first solo remarks since governor romney tapped him.

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megyn: a fox news alert on a developing story from the middle east. israel's deputy foreign minister is asking leading nations to give up their diplomatic efforts and quote declare that the nuclear talks have failed. this comes amid a new report the last 24 hours that fell netanyahu of israel is close to ordering a military strike against iran's nuclear assets. >> reporter: the war drums are beating here and the equivalent of "usa today" in israel weekend

edition. netanyahu determined to strike iran this fall. from the deputy foreign minister he wants the entire world to declare the nuclear talks dead, essentially giving the iranians a warning time has run out. for years the iranians have been in talks about ending their nuclear enrichment program but they have used it as a delaying tactic. israel views a news jar armed iran as a grave threat to its national security. it's thought israel only has a couple months to hit the nuclear facility before they would enter into a zone of immunity where the israeli attacks would be ineffective. but the intelligence community is mixed on what a strike would do and the counterattack from the iranians that have a mum of

surface-to surface missiles. they could hit jerusalem and tel aviv. as this critical decision plays out on the front page of the newspapers. today's headlines, not ready for war. meaning the insuing counterattacks. much of this country does not have the gas mask if the iranians used a chemical attack. the world making a statement to iran as a matter of weeks before israel has to make a decision. megyn: coming up in the moment. ambassador john bolton will be here live with reaction to that breaking news. this report of possible military action and preparedness for it, ramping within the next weeks in the middle east. in addition we are awaiting congressman paul ryan's arrival in iowa where we'll see if he speaks about his plans and hones in on his campaign's message.

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megyn: a fox news alert. we are awaiting remarks from congressman paul ryan. this will be our first chance to hear congress ryan speak solo on the campaign trail. the two men, governor romney and paul ryan appearing side by side the past few days but for the first time as a vice presidential candidate, congressman ryan is campaigning in iowa on his own. we'll bring you the remarks live in des moines. president obama was here in des moines earlier today. both campaigns paying a lot of attention to that state and its

three electoral votes. first we'll go to chris stirewalt. welcome, chris stirewalt. >> good to be here with you live. here is my question. i was on vacation last week. i watched the announcement saturday. i logged on to real clear politics.com. every editorial. obama's worst nightmare. obama should be praising jesus for this nomination. depending on who you ask it's the best other worst thing that could happen. what say you? >> it's complicated. the job of a vice presidential nominee is to rally the base of the party. that's paul ryan's job between

now and the end of the republican national convention. and guess what, he came out strong and they are liking it. you saw the crowds they had in wisconsin. you see what this basically means for the republican faithful is mitt romney is promising he will be a reagan child conservative. he's going to embrace a guy who is reaganomics. all of that stuff is what paul rieb did. that was mitt romney making an appeal to his political base, but doing it with somebody who is smart, credible and well respected. so that's a score. the question is and this is the part we don't know. can democrats successfully prosecute their what republicans deem medi-scare. that we don't know.

here is a good rule of thumb in politics. think back to 2008 when republicans said obama, his middle name is hussein. there is no way, this guy can't possibly win. we hope he beats hillary clinton for the nomination because we'll mop the floor with him. wrong. sometimes what seems conventionally smart and seems true doesn't pan out. megyn: why did he do it two weeks in advance of the republican convention. dick morris said the republicans will get a bounce out of these conventions, the democrats won't because the republicans have the announcement of the vp candidate. why two weeks in advance? >> so you can say that from a cynical point of view, you can say this, that for mitt romney he needed to change the discussion. the discussion since april had been about mitt romney the

vampire, mitt romney the go who kills old ladies. mitt romney, the guy who outsources jobs and cheats on his taxes. democrats had an audacious and negative -- megyn: he couldn't wait 14 more days to change that message? >> if you wait too long. once the cake gets baked, you can't unscramble an egg. the other way to look at it. if you know the romney organization and you know mitt romney as i joked saturday. he knows what he's going to have for breakfast three weeks from now. so maybe he picked this day a long time ago, as soon as he picked paul ryan on august 1. the cynical side says this was designed to change an unfortunate narrative for mitt romney. megyn: prior to this -- it looks like the congressman has arrived in deploin. but prior to this had romney's

popularity with the seniors been in question? seniors as part of groups that may not favor him in general. hispanics don't seem to be on romney's team. now people are saying why would you take a guy who fairly and unfairly portrayed as throwing granny over the cliff. he did have the courage to come up with a plan to address the problem immediate care will be facing. but democrats made a lot of hay out of their believe it will hurt granny and she'll go off the cliff. has mitt romney created a problem for himself with that group? >> some problems. remember seniors are more conservative and more republican than the nation as a whole. as a sub set they are more likely to vote republican than other groups. mitt romney will do well in this group. here is a way to look at it. mitt romney was being accused of

hurting a grandmother in specific. this woman in kansas city whose husband worked for a company run by bain capital. and it says he is responsible for her death to cancer. maybe it's better to be blamed in the general than the specific. megyn: how does it change going into the conventions. we are two weeks away from the republican national convention which is a hugely important to mitt romney. and his chances. and there is -- he's hoping for a convention bounce. we saw it happen when john mccain named sarah palin. she was controversial but she was beloved by the base of the republican party and gave him a genuine boost at the convention. does congressman ryan do that? how does this identification as the veep nominee change the

experience at the rnc convention? >> here is why this is a significant moment as he goes out on the trail by himself. paul ryan is a wonk. he has been a creature of the think tank. he's a creature of the house hearing room, he is a creature of the sunday morning talk shows. can he talk to heartland voters, the republican base in a way that gets them fired up? maybe the good thing is ryan has time to go out and campaign. sarah palin is a natural. she was born that way. she is sarah barracuda. when she gave that killer speech, the slap shot of a speech, it was great. that's not ryan's gear. he's a retail politician but one-on-one. he's a kitchen table kind of guy. this is a chance for him 0 go out on the trail and test himself. we herd him sharpen his attacks

on the president. he has to find a gear so when he gets to tampa he can take the stage and electrify. megyn: we ran some tape of him growing up on bratwurst and cheese and miller. i'm not from the heartland -- all right, chris, thank you. as we wait to hear from congressman ryan. as chris says, he's honing the message. remember listening to sarah palin? you heard some of the main theme of attack from her, not mccain. in the meantime, president obama is kicking off a three-day bus tour in iowa and wasting no time going after congressman ryan at a campaign stop in council bluffs. >> this weekend my opponent mr. romney chose as his

running-mate the ideological leader of the republicans in congress. i know paul ryan. he's a good man, a family man. he's an articulate spokesman for governor romney's vision. the problem is that vision is one i fundamentally disagree with. megyn: ed henry is streaming live to us on his way to the president's next campaign stop. we have ed in the car on the right. we are watching the iowa state fair on the left. you can see through the crowd. ed, take us to iowa and what's happening today. >> well, megyn, how eye appropriate it was iowa obviously that delivered for barack obama in 2008 and led him on the road to victory all the way to the white house. the path he's trying to choose to keep his job basically is to define paul ryan as a radical.

after he said what you just played, the president added that because of his historic drought in iowa, the worst in 50 years he charged paul ryan and republicans in congress are holding up the farm bill and as a result farmers are not getting relief. the problem is house republicans pointing out they passed a farm bill 11 days ago. the senate democrats have not act on one yet. the obama campaign doesn't want to lose its laser-like focus regardless of the details on going after paul ryan. before that, before this attack on the drought and the farm bill they were already trying to define him as a radical on immediate care saying he wants to turn it into a voucher pushing back on cbs "60 minutes" by using the example of his own mother retired in florida saying he's not going to change benefits for

anyone over 55 years old. so again you are seeing both sides on these issues. and it's interesting as well from a strategic standpoint, what the president is trying to do, you saw him say paul ryan is a good and decent man and challenged him on policy issues. dew david axlerod attacking paul ryan personally calling him a radical and right-wing ideologue. chris stirewalt mentioning brats and cheese and bake tag cake. you can see the corn behind me as we stream through iowa on this bus tour. also the president said he will be going to the iowa state fair as well as paul ryan. they won't be there at the same time. but the president joking how he may try to get one of those fried twinkies as long as the

first lady doesn't find out about it. megyn: iowa corn as important as it is in our economy. the state fair is all about what you can fry. you can take deep fried birth and love it as much as possible? they prove to us every year you can. i want to ask you about the white house reaction to paul ryan. i know what they tell us. they send axlerod out and the democrats out to say this is great for us. we love it. and then the republicans come out and say, no, they don't. do you get any feel from being the guy who is covering the white house that they are connected to people what their real feeling is about the fact that he's the guy? >> what they say is the real feeling is they were most afraid of tim pawlenty as a potential running-mate. they say that in private because they believe that pawlenty had less of a record, if you will, than paul ryan. didn't have a ryan budget plan

that spelled out all those details. pawlenty a former governor never serving in washington, an outsider. he has the motor myselfo -- has the moat -- he has the minnesota nice thing going on. but they are going after paul ryan hard. megyn: the obama campaign jumps in. it was our satellite feed. we are watching the iowa state fair. we could see congressman ryan. he's off to screen left and he will be up there in a moment as we listen to the governor make some opening remarks before the congressman takes to the stage. we are going to wait before we take a listen to him. >> fiscal responsibility when we need it most in washington, d.c. a great congressman from our

neighboring state, paul ryan. [cheers and applause] look at that. huh? are there any packer fans here? all right! cool! hey, everybody, how are you doing? thanks so much. what a beautiful day to be at the state fair. we have fairs -- do you have wristband day here? that many the favorite day for my kids. you can ride all the rides with just one wristband for the whole day. from a wisconsinite to a neighboring iowan. get wristband day. your kids will love it. i heard president obama is starting his bus tour today. and i heard he wasn't going going to come to the iowa state

fair. i think it's because -- you know what? it's funny, it's funny because iowans and wisconsinites, we like to be respectful one another and listen to one another. these ladies must not be from iowa or wisconsin. so like i said -- you must not be from iowa. all right! my guess is -- my guess is the

reason president obama isn't making it here from council bluffs because he only knows left turns. you know, but as you see the president come through on his bus tour, you might ask him the same questions that i'm getting asked from people all around america and that is where are the jobs, mr. president? [cheers and applause] now, one thing we have got to get straight ... one thing we have got to get straight is we are not growing this economy like we need to. we are not creating jobs like we can in america. and that is why mitt romney and i have have a plan for a stronger middle class to get this country back on track, get this country growing jobs again and get us back on the path to prosperity in this country. cheer --

[cheers and applause] there are five things we are going to do right away that are designed to create 12 million jobs. number one, we have energy in this country. let's use that energy in this country. everything, renewables, bio mass, nuclear, and you know what? oil and gas. it's here. let's get it. let's not keep buying it from other countries. we also need our workers to have skills so they can compete and thrive and survive in this 21st century economy. you know what else we need to do? we need to stop spending money we don't have. president obama has given us four years of trillion dollar plus deficits. he's making matters worse and he's spending our children into a diminished future. we don't have to stand for that.

we are not going to stand for that and on november 6 we are going to change that. we also need to have free and fair trade so we can make more things in iowa, make more things here and sell them overseas. 97% of the world consumers are out of this country. we need to grow and make things in states likes with, wisconsin, the midwest. if we do that, we'll create jobs. you know what? one more thing. one of the great things about mitt romney is that this is a man who actually knows how to create jobs. this is a man who in his life has created jobs, started small businesses, turned around failing businesses. that's the kind of leadership and experience we want to have in the white house. this is a man who has real life

experience. megyn: there you have it, a taste of paul ryan stumping on the campaign trail. we'll stream the rest of his remarks live on foxnews.com. we are being told the hecklers in the front row were screaming "stop the war." we don't know if they were codepink activists. chris stirewalt. interesting to get our first look at him doing this as the man on the second spot on the ticket. your thoughts? >> you heard some little bit of that sharper language and he had the joke about president obama couldn't make it there from council bluffs because he only knows how to make left turns. so you are starting to hear -- they start the show on the road. they try out these lines. they try out this kind of stuff and see how it works. then it will lead them to tampa where ryan is going to try to

deliver the speech. the folks in the front were probably yelling -- this is the preferred chant. "stop the war on the poor." that's what they heckled mitt romney with when he was there. that when he said corporations are people, my friend. ryan handled it a little more adeptly than that. i think the guy has some chops. i think this time on the road will season him and make him into a better general election campaigner. megyn: i remember seeing mitt romney heckled at this same event last summer. he stood up for himself but got blowback for how he did so. just watching him, this is no criticism of paul ryan so much as again with a a palin, she electrickified folks. in her first few days out she was less well known, about it was very compelling. you had to watch. who is this person? she speaks so plainly.

the crowd loves her. is this guy capable of doing that same thing? >> that not who he is. sarah palin was a question mark wrapped inside an enigma. people were wondering where is wasilla, alaska, let's send reporters to alaska to comb through her garbage to find out the story of this porn. paul ryan is not going to cause anybody to do that. he's known commodity to the national press corps and a known comondity to people who are attendive. one thing he won't create is what palin created later. after the stars burst. then there was the letdown. ryan is not going to do that. romney could have gone with portman or pawlenty who wouldn't have caused a ripple in the pond. in this case there is a ripple.

megyn: thank you, the hecklers were yelling "stop the war on the common good." media reports suggest in israel the prime minister is close to ordering a military strike on iran.

megyn: declare that the nuclear talks have failed. this comes amid a new report in the last 4 hours that israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is close to ordering a military strike against iran's nuclear assets, and now we are getting some feel for the timing of that.

john bolton is the former u.s. board to the united nations -- ambassador to the united nations, and there was a frenzy of reports in the israeli papers over the weekend suggesting that mr. netanyahu had all but made the decision to launch an attack on iran's nuclear facilities this fall. do you believe that's the case? >> well, i don't really know one way or the other. i think it's certainly significant that deputy foreign minister danny ailone made the statement that the west should acknowledge that diplomacy's failed. he's one of the most visible ambassadors israel's ever had in washington, so i think he knows the impact his remarks will have here in the united states, and i have to say, he is saying nothing more than the truth. diplomacy, by the way, failed about ten years ago. so the spotlight clearly on

netanyahu and the israeli government given that everyone believes president obama's not going to use fort against iran's program. -- force against iran's program. megyn: now not only is the deputy foreign minister declaring the remarks failed, now we get all these reports saying now they're getting ready to do it. the strike we've within -- we've been discussing, he's all but made the decision to attack iran unilaterally this fall, you know, he'd heard similar reports about him doing it possibly over the spring and summer. here we are mid august. do you believe israel is getting prepared for a unilateral attack on iran this fall? >> well, i certainly believe they're getting prepared for attack, on the other hand, i believe they should have done this about three and a half years ago. every day that goes by increases the risk that iran already has nuclear weapons and their response would be a nuclear

response. i think israel has to be very concerned about tactical surprise against iran. there's no strategic surprise here. the iranians are fully prepared for israel to strike at some point. but it doesn't bemove -- behoove israel to talk about it publicly. whatever tactical surprise you get you get by lulling tehran into thinking, well, maybe it's not today. megyn: they're clearly not going that route. and then there's a question about what we are doing or will do, because politically, obviously, that's not the position in which president obama wants to be, having israel launch a unilateral attack on iran prior to a presidential election. and yet there was a report last week that the defense minister in israel had confirmed that barack obama recently received a national intelligence estimate here within the united states on the iranian nuclear program and that that internal report that our president received shared

israel's view that iran made significant progress toward military nuclear capability. and so it seems our president is now armed with the same information as israel's leader is right now. >> right. well, bear in mind a couple things. one, israel's press is very creative, and it's very exciting to read. then there's reality. you know, the president has not paid adequate attention to the iranian threat for a long time, and i think his political handlers have made the calculation, as most political operatives do, that they don't want anything in foreign policy interveering with their election plan -- interfering with their election plan. there are potential upsides for president obama here as well, and that is that he can put his arm around israel if israel does attack and say i was always there with you, although we know, n., he hasn't been. nonetheless, where i would come down is that the obama white house wants to do anything possible to put this entire

matter off until sometime on november the 7th. it's too risky for them. i think israel, on the other hand, is going to make a decision based on hard calculations about its national interests, and i do think that means the attack could come at any time. megyn: wow. ambassador bolton, thank you. >> thank you. megyn: we've got breaking news next on a shooting near the campus of texas a&m. we will go live to texas after the break. miss, a mistrial has been declared in the case of a woman accused of hitting her husband with her suv and then blaming her prescription medication for her behavior. that case in today's kelly's court. and governor romney's newly-named pick for vice president, congressman paul ryan, making his solo debut in iowa as some compare the wisconsin lawmaker to former president ronald reagan. we'll take a look at that next. >> we won't blame others, we will take responsibility. [cheers and applause] and we won't replace our

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megyn: fox news alert, we are following a developing story of a shooting near texas a&m university. the residents there being told to stay away from the area. according to police, several people have been shot. the shooter is in custody. one of the injured, we're told, is a law enforcement officer. casey steegal has more live from

our dallas, texas, bureau. casey? >> reporter: yeah, megyn. this is a fluid and developing situation we're following at this hour. according to one of the local affiliates down there, kbtx, a crew on the scene has confirmed that more than one law enforcement officer had been shot in this incident. we are, of course, trying to reach out to the police department there, although the public information officer not answering the phone at this point because this is a very chaotic situation. however, just as you said the suspect apparently in custody. we should point out that this is not reportedly on campus, but rather just off of campus in college station. texas a&m university is awfully big, about 50,000 students or so. and we got reports of these gunshots ringing out just within the last 45 minutes or so. and, again, multiple people have reportedly been shot, but no fatalities according to officials down there. and this is something where they say members of the public are no

longer in danger. there was a lockdown in this particular neighborhood when the shots were being fired, but now that the suspect is in custody, the authorities are saying that there is no reason to believe the public is in any danger at the point. megyn, once we get more phone calls made and we get on the phone with police and we're able to get more information we'll, of course, bring it to you right away. megyn: all right, casey, thank you. >> how can we not believe in the greatness of america? how can we not do what is right and needed to preserve this last best hope of man on earth? after all our struggles to restore america, to revive confidence in our country, hope for our future, after all our hard-won victories we wered through the patience and courage -- earned through the patience and courage of every citizen, we cannot, must not and will not turn back. we will finish our job. how could we do less? we're americans.

megyn: that was president ronald reagan giving his state of the union address back in 1984. now that governor romney has named congressman paul ryan as his running mate, we are hearing some comparisons of congressman ryan to former president reagan. some saying the wisconsin lawmaker has reaganesque attributes and that mr. romney's pick is turning this presidential contest into a 1980 reagan election about ideas. listen here to congressman ryan talking about conservative principles just this weekend. >> america is more than just a place though. america a -- america is an idea. [applause] it's the only country founded on an idea. our rights come from nature and god, not from government. [cheers and applause]

that's who we are. that's how we built this country. that's who we are. [cheers and applause] megyn: joining me now, guy benson, political editor of townhall.com and host of the guy benson show, and sally kohn of sally kohn.com, also a fox news contributor. so that's the question. for all the weeks and months folks have been critical of mitt romney and his ability to inspire or lack thereof depending on one's perspective. the question for you, guys is whether a new threat has been added to that ticket in the form of paul ryan who, you know, may or may not -- you tell me how you see it -- may be an effective communicator in the way that reagan was. >> oh, yeah, big time. this is very exciting. there's a new washington post/abc news poll of voters who have now had a few days to take measure of paul ryan and get to know him just a little bit, a first impreg, and his

favorability ratings have gone up among republicans, among democrats, they've doubled among independents, they've almost doubled among seniors among whom he's supposedly very vulnerable. and i think the reason that we're seeing these numbers is because paul ryan is a lot like reagan. full disclosure, when reagan was getting sworn in in his second inaugural, i wasn't born yet. but i've read a lot -- [laughter] megyn: he's seriously bumming me out there, sally. >> me either. >> the thing that strikes me about reagan is how just naturally sunny and affable and optimistic he is. paul ryan's that way, too, and the other big point is ronald reagan was always criticized, they'd say he was extreme which sortf sounds familiar these days, he would go over the media's head, take his case directly to the american public, and he won the argument. and i think that's what we're going to see from paul ryan.

megyn: but let me ask you this, sally. can a vice presidential candidate get done what the main guy cannot? i'm not saying mitt romney cannot, but if he cannot, if he's got some messaging problem that the republicans would like to solve through this second guy, can it be done that way? >> yeah, i mean, it remains to be seen. obviously, that's why romney chose him. we're going to agree on style, paul ryan and ronald reagan are very similar. paul ryan's a very effective communicator. the problem here is on substance and, frankly, the american people should be so lucky for paul ryan to be like ronald reagan. ronald reagan's a guy who said it was crazy for a bus driver to pay a higher tax rate than millionaires while, meanwhile, paul ryan's plan would raise taxes on 95% of americans and give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires. so, listen, it was republican lindsey graham who said that ronald reagan couldn't be elected as republican today, as president. i don't think he could be elected as vice president

either. the party has moved so far to the right that ronald reagan would be considered a socialist. megyn: i want to ask you, guy, to respond to that, but ann coulter made some comments over the weekend about how she thinks his adding this ticket on the gop side changes the election to now it has to be one about ideas, big ideas for the country. listen to her take on it in the way that only ann can do. >> is young and catholic and midwest. um, i really think the big thing with the ryan pick is that it turns it into a 1980 reagan election about ideas. democrats can't escape it. they're going to have to scream about their socialist policies, and we just have to, as bernie sanders says, raise taxes on the rich as high as they need to be and not touch the program that was ordained by the saint fdr. um, you know, they talk about fundamentalists and their beliefs and their inability to reconsider things.

no, liberals will not reconsider social security. fdr gave it to us, it is set in stone, it was passed down by moses, and we may not consider making any changes to it no matter how -- that bankrupting the country. megyn: your thoughts on that, guy. >> well, i think it's interesting. the 1980 dynamic had two things going for it. it had a failed incumbent, and it had a dynamic opponent. and i think there's a lot of parallels here. i mean, the jimmy carter of 2012 is barack obama presiding over an economic malaise of his own making. he's made it worse. high gas prices, people feeling overregulated, anemic growth, terrible unemployment. i mean, there are some very striking similarities between jimmy carter and barack obama, and i think that's the reason that we want an ideas-based campaign. president obama and his campaign want this entire election to be about whether or not mitt romney outsourced jobs, which he didn't, and killed a woman with cancer, which he did not.

and i think romney and paul ryan want to say how do we actually turn this country around? we've got plans. what are your plans, mr. president? i've hearing crickets. megyn: sally? i'll give you the last word. >> it's a question of are we going to return to the policies that got us into this mess or choose policies that are moving us forward. we can argue about the 27 straight months of private sector job growth, but what we started talking about was reagan versus ryan. let's remember, ronald reagan initially tried the massive tax cuts for the wealthy. he had massive unemployment after that and then seven out of his eight years after that he raised taxes. it was ronald reagan who bailed out social security, it was ronald reagan who gave amnesty to three million undocumented immigrants and saw the need for compassion there. so, again, i wish we could move back to that republican party. megyn: it gets very confusing, reagan, romney, ryan -- i don't know, it's an alliteration dream. >> i like all of them. megyn: thank you so much.

she allegedly chased her husband down with an suv, but she says it wasn't her fault. kelly's court with an update on this case that's just breaking, next.

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start? alzheimers.gov. the answers start here. on the docket today, surprise developments in the what's being called the company new york stock exchange murder style -- xanax murder trial. in the case of brenda white after accusations by a friend of brenda's that she allegedly heard jurors discussing this case outside of the courtroom. brenda white accused of driving her suv into this building back in 2006 and mowing down her estranged husband. she hit him not once, but twice and broke both of her legs. brenda explained she allegedly took a handful, that was the term, of antisanctity medication, xanax. she claims she's not responsible

for what happened claiming she blacked out and, quote, it was not me. here's the 911 call. megyn: now the prosecution says it will retry this case and a scheduling conference has been set for august 27th. joining me now, brian, a defense attorney, and marc ieg lahr, former prosecutor, now defense attorney. how had the trial been going for the prosecution prior to the mistrial? >> well, extremely well. you know, this i did it, but i can't be held accountable for it, you've got to blame somebody else. it just doesn't work. in fact, specifically i did some research for this kelly's court, i looked

up the side effects of xanax, and they include changes in appetite, decreased sexual drive and, oh, look, extraordinary desire the kill your spouse. i guess it wasn't going so well for the prosecution. megyn: the question is, though, whether she can get away with this, brian, because this is clearly the defense. she's going to tell the new jury what she told the first jury which was i blacked out or something, it wasn't me. he was my best friend and lover, but it was that handful of xanax, and the lawyer says that should get her off. >> sure. well, megyn, look, you know, as a defense lawyer, you have to come up with some argument to help your client. and, you know, i mean, mark raises a point about xanax, but the side effects could be different on each person. i think you have to look at the history of brenda white, and you've got to make the best argument you can for her and -- >> well, let's look at the history. megyn: go ahead, mark. >> wait a minute.

you've got to prove intelligent. you've got to prove intent here. >> if you'll let me speak, i will. here we go, okay. at his office she was arguing with him about their financial matters relating to the divorce, and then a song comes on, angry johnny. i've never heard of it. apparently, the lyrics. >> she said to him in a threatening manner -- again, this is prior to her running over him in her vehicle -- i want to kill you, i want to blow you away. she also calls him a parasite and said i'm going to wipe you off the face of the earth. i don't know, xanax doesn't do that. megyn: that's not particularly helpful to the defense, brian. >> no. >> well, megyn, it's not helpful to the defense, but i'll tell you, in the united states i'm sure there's a lot of wives and husbands who have made some nasty remarks about each other and said i wish you were debt and things -- dead and things like that. not saying that's right, but there's a big difference between saying something like can and forming an intent in your mind you want to do that. megyn: that's true.

but then there was a phase two where she ran him over with her suv. >> oh. >> but, megyn, here's the thing, though, if she hasn't taken xanax before -- megyn: oh, we'll talk about that right after the break. i was teaching a martial arts class and having a heart attack. my brother doesn't look like heart attack patient. i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i'm a fighter and now i don't have that fear.

>> brian claypool, you were saying, if she didn't know what the xanax was going to do, the effect it was going to have on her, do we have ed that this was -- evidence that this was her first time taking xanax? >> these are questions that we have to ask herself. if she hasn't, how much did she take on this occasion? megyn: a handful. >> well, then that could cause a blackout. megyn: why does that give her a pass? >> because it doesn't show that she intended on harming him then, megyn. megyn: okay. so anybody who wants to try to kill their spouse, all you have

to do is take a handful of xanax before, and you're off scot-free because it negates intent? >> right. >> and let me just say this, today is actually my wedding anniversary, so i hope my wife isn't watching this, but let me say this to be very clear. even if all the jurors themselves took handfuls of xanax, they're not going to excuse the fact that this woman drove directly into a building -- >> she could have blacked out though, mark. >> yeah, it's all theoretically possible. megyn: let me ask you, brian, does it help her defense that the way in which she allegedly tried to kill him was so outrageous? does it help her suggestion that she was out of her mind? >> megyn, here's the bottom line. mark's not a medical expert. he's not going to be able to testify as to the medical effect of xanax. if she's driving this suv and drives into a building, the argument is she could have possibly blacked out because she took the -- >> horrible -- >> hold on a second.

maybe she's not convicted of attempted murder, maybe it's negligent homicide. well, he didn't die, so -- megyn: mark, what happened in between her taking the handful of xanax and the alleged attempted murder, supposedly, was she heard her husband on the floor in the parking garage telling someone else he loved her. that, to me, that came from her side. she testified, her lawyer did, how does that help them? >> yeah, i don't see it. and i respect brian a lot, but his argument has absolutely no merit. it just so happened that the person who got in the way of her vehicle inside of a solid building was the one she had declared that i want to kill you, i want to wipe you off the face of the earth. those are tough facts. megyn: having said all that, there was a woman who was acquitted of shooting a family member based on her defense of taking medications back in 1999. gotta go. we'll see. thank you, retrial likely, very likely according to the prosecution. coming up, breaking news about the shooting near the campus of

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