martha: jimmy fallon harmonizing on that beautifully. how about the governor from new jersey. go governor new jersey. bill: as the town says it is a town full of losers we're pulling out. martha: thank you forhat lyric. good night everybody. good day, everybody. jon: we begin with this fox news alert. a major earthquake, just reported off the coast of costa rica near the town of liberia. the earthquake apparently hit offshore, 7.9 magnitude according to u.s. geological survey. originally there were tsunami warnings, pretty common in a case like this of a very powerful earthquake happening offshore. the tsunami warnings have been lifted. so far no reports of damage but it is early.

a major 7.9-magnitude earthquake off the northwest coast, pacific side of costa rica, near generally the town of liberia. if we get more information about damage or other problems resulting from it we'll bring them to you "happening now." right now brand knew stories breaking news. jenna: we're live at the democratic national convention as former president clinton getting ready for his big speech tonight. as we get new reaction what first lady michelle obama had to say. charges of national security leaks rocking israel forcing prime minister netanyahu to cancel a cabinet meeting. what one of his cabinet members is demand something even more shocking. we'll tell you about that. verdict watch at the drew peterson murder trial. the jury is deliberating the case of the former police officer accused of killing his third wife while he remains under a cloud of suspicion in the disappearance of his fourth wife. all new, all live, it's

"happening now" jenna: hi, everybody. great to see you on this wednesday. lots of news to get to today. i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. breaking at the democratic convention, president obama's big speech nurse night is being moved from an outdoor football stadium to an indoor arena. democratic officials citing concerns about the possibility of a severe weather. jenna: wasn't just republicans that have to deal with weather. jon: both parties having weather problems. jenna: even in politics there are things you can't control. jon: don't mess with mother nature. jenna: don't mess with mother nature. so much to get to. the big star at the dnc at least wednesday night we expect to be former president bill clinton. you never know. we'll wait to see his speech. party faithful buzzing ba last night's big speeches. first lady michelle obama, quite frankly rocking the house with her powerful

defense of her husband. emphasizing the personal, not so much the political and explaining why her husband deserved four more years on the job. >> it is farmers and blacksmiths could win independence from an empire. jon: if immigrants could leave behind everything they knew for a better life on our shores. if women could be dragged to jail for seeking the vote. if a generation could defeat a depression and define greatness for all time. if a young preacher could lift us to the mountaintop with his righteous dreams. and if proud americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love, this surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great american dream. jenna: the first lady with her personal appeal for her husband. one of the big questions for both her and ann romney is

going to be, will they go negative? is that something that going to be part of their speeches going forward? not expected. meantime other speakers taking turns with sharp digs at the republican ticket. take a listen to this. >> republicans tell us that if the most prosperous among us do even better that somehow the rest of us will too. folks, we've heard that before. first they called it trickle down. then they called it supply side. now it is ryan -- romney-ryan or is it ryan-romney? either way. their theory has been tested. it failed. our economy failed. the middle class paid the price. your family paid the price. mitt romney just doesn't get it!. >> mitt romney never saw the point of building something when he could profit by tearing it down. if mitt was santa claus, he

would fire the reindeer and outsource the elves. [applause] jenna: what month are we in? is christmas around the corner? i haven't done any shopping yet. wendell goler live from the democratic convention in charlotte with more on what we saw and what we will see today. wendell. >> reporter: jenna, the weather claims another convention casualty except for the republican it is was the least important day. here in charlotte it is on the democrats most important day. president obama will formally accept his party's nomination in a crowd a practice shun of the size that will fill a football stadium and smaller fraction of the size of the crowd that saw his first nomination in 2008. mr. obama chosen former president clinton to headline tonight's list of speakers to try to cash in on mr. clinton's popularity. remind the country a democrat was in the over val office when there was budget surplus and full employment. the campaign officials are working closely with the

former president although they have not seen a draft of his speech yet. democrats attacked mitt romney from a number about direct ounce is. duval patrick did it from his own backyard. >> in massachusetts, we know mitt romney. [applause] by the time he left office, massachusetts was 47th in the nation in job creation. during better economic times and household income in our state was declining. he cut education deeper than anywhere else in america. roads and bridges were crumbling. mitt romney talks a lot about all the things he fixed. i can tell you, massachusetts was not one of them. >> reporter: back on the change from the football stadium to the basketball arena you can't challenge democrats claims it was weather concern. the crowd was told they couldn't bring umbrellas. people were being bused in from several states to make sure there were no empty seats. now they're being told they

will get tickets to future events. jenna. jenna: wendell goler live in charlotte, north carolina. thank you. jon: fox news alert. we told you moments ago about that 7.9 magnitude quake off the coast of northwestern costa rica. the u.s. geological survey said the quake struck offshore about 50 miles from the town of lie beer were. -- liberia. earlier we said tsunami warning lifted for pacific coast of south america. turns out it is not. there is tsunami warning for costa rica, nicaragua, el salavador, honduras, guatemala and peru also under the tsunami warning from the pacific tsunami warning center. a big earthquake. 7.9 magnitude that is getting way up there in power off the coast of costa rica. they're keeping an eye on the pacific coast of all those south and central american countries as a

result. >> just like his grandmother, he just keeps getting up and moving forward with patience and wisdom, and courage and grace. he reminds me that we are playing a long game here. and that change is hard. and change is slow and it never happens all at once but eventually we get there. we always do. jon: more of michelle obama's speech at the democratic convention. the first lady making the case that her husband needs four more years to bring the kind of change needed for america. let's talk to someone who was there in person to hear the speech. chris wallace, the anchor of "fox news sunday". you're giving it what, four stars, chris? >> no. i'm giving it one thumb up and one thumb down, jon. good morninging to you. first of all the obama camp says according to the polls that michelle obama is the most popular political

figure in this country and they also say she is a marvlously effective speaker. it was a brilliant performance. when i read the speech beforehand i thought, okay, but as i watched her perform it and even reading from the teleprompter she owned it and it was no longer words she was speaking but coming from her heart. so very effective. they said she would be a character witness for her husband and you know, i think she made as good a case as one can make, that as you say, he has tried hard but change is hard and it is going to take some more time. also they understand what middle class struggles are like because they lived those middle class struggles about. they went through college debt. they had problems within their families growing up. they lived the american dream. so they understand it. the one thing i must say reading it closely it was subtext was all about government. when she talked about the best of the american spirit, she talked about first-responders and firemen and military, all wonderful professions but all government professions.

no talk about neighborhood volunteers. no talk about, you know, your religious leader at your local church or synagogue. when she talked about ways to build the middle class, it was all about government. having been in tampa last week and now here this week, what struck me, jon, if you think more government is the solution, this is the party you want to vote for and the man you want to vote for. if you think excessive government is the problem, there is no room for you here. jon: well, clearly she got the talking points from the obama campaign, you know. she, her mission was to sell president obama especially to women. here's another clip of what she had to say and, i'll get your reaction afterwards. >> i see the concern in his eyes and i hear the determination in his voice as he tells me, you won't believe what these folks are going through, michelle. it's not right. we've got to keep working to fix this. we've got so much more to do. [cheers and applause]

jon: so no references to the president's, you know, mention, early in his administration that if he didn't get things fixed in four years it would be a one-term proposition. clearly she is trying to sell the american people on the notion that, you know, four years just isn't enough. >> no, that's right. certainly targeting of women and who better to do it from the democratic point of view. i think even more than that, this gets back to your original clip about change is hard, i think they, frankly also the romney campaign, are targeting those people who voted for barack obama in 2008 but are disappointed and on the bubble. and perhaps persuadable. and the obama campaign and michelle obama last night trying to keep them in the camp. romney people saying it's okay. the decision to vote for him, hope and change made sense but he hasn't lived up to it and time now to make a change from the supposed agent of change. jon: chris wallace, who was up late last night with all

the speeches, anchor of "fox news sunday". thanks for getting up to talk to us this morning, chris. >> my pleasure, jon. thank you. jenna: right now we're getting word from senior aides to the obama campaign that former president bill clinton is still putting the finishing touches on his big speech tonight. president clinton will take center stage in a speaking slot usually reserved for the vice-presidentialal running mate. joe biden is he can speaking later on this week. he will make the case for voters, bill clinton, to give president obama four more years in the white house even though the two leaders have not always seen eye-to-eye according to many reports. so what can we expect from tonight's big speech? james rosen is live in charlotte with more. hi, james. >> reporter: good afternoon. this extraordinary moment is best seen not as a flowering of a fond friendship but kind of transaction between pros. even by the standard of elite's president club the dynamic between these two men is complex one. in this cycle alone mr. clinton distressed the

obama-biden team praising mitt romney's business career and calling for extension of bush-era tax cuts. those irray stations were nothing compared to the antagonisms of 2008 democratic primary when the former president flashed real anger defending his wife, then senator clinton against the obama campaign. >> i think they played the race card on me. we now know from memos from the campaign and everything that they plan to do it all along. >> i see things being said now by former president clinton, which i don't think is, is seemly. played the race card on president clinton. >> reporter: things obviously evolved since then. bill clinton is superstar fund-raiser surrogate and kib biter is in chief to the president. giving council for diplomatic missions and still a work in progguess will rebut the claims about welfare reform and make the

case for president obama. follow me on twitter and i will tell you a great story about bill clinton on election day 2000. back to you guys. jenna: we certainly will, james, thank you. jon: the u.s. hits a stunning milestone. get out your wallets. $16 trillion in debt this country is and just in time for the democratic national convention. what this means as the president prepares for his big speech. begin.

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jon: jury selection begins

in a bizarre care out of arizona a mother accused of kidnapping her own infant. a judge granted joint custody to the parents of eight-month-old gabriel johnson in 2009. his mother, elizabeth johnson was furious and told the father she killed baby gabriel and threw his body in the trash. later she changed her story and gave the buy away to a texas couple. the infant hasn't been seen since the end of 2009. police don't know ifs alive. his mother is charged with kidnapping, custodial interference and child abuse. jenna: the gop made the country's soaring debt a key theme of its convention by putting the national debt clock center stage. that clock you see on your screen right now. the democrats only mentioned it once in the party platform. some shrugged their shoulders at party platform saying they're not really that relevant. we should note that the national debt just stopped $16 trillion. timing is everything.

rich edson with the fox business network is live in washington with more. rich? >> reporter: good morning, jenna. there has been relatively little reaction to the milestone among democrats in charlotte. republicans last week at their convention in tampa highlighted the government's troubled finances with two clocks. they featured them prominently above the delegates. the treasury department released its latest balance sheet showing that the federal government owes more than $16 trillion. republicans pounced with statements, charts and speeches pointing to almost five 1/2 trillion dollars in debt during president obama's term. >> this is a serious threat to our economy. of all the broken promises from president obama, this is probably the worst one. because this debt is threatening jobs today, it is threatening prosperity today, and it is guaranteeing that our children and grandchildren get a diminished future. >> reporter: democrats who are discussing the $16

trillion debt point to president george w. bush's spending and tax policies, saying that, and a deep recession are a larger part of that 16 trillion than president obama's policies. >> putting tax cuts in the midst of two unpaid for wars and we increased the medicare prescription drug program cost and not paid for. so at the end of the george w. bush term he had doubled the deficit and debt of the united states of america. >> reporter: left-leaning center on policy and budget priorities agrees with that sentiment though president obama has the responsibility and put weight of his office behind policies that will address long-term fiscal challenges. jenna. jenna: still a lot to talk about, right? that number, we'll see if the actual policy is getting something done. rich, thank you. jon: $16 trillion. new questions about iran this morning. concerns that rogue nation may be using air routes over iraq to get arms to syria's dictator who is slaughtering

his own people. am bass done john bolton on what's at stake here. plus a dramatic crash landing after a plane loses one of its tires just after takeoff. we'll show you how this one ends. >> the national convention of the democratic party will now come to order!. >> who is mitt romney? the american people know barack obama. >> barack obama will never ignore our troops. he will fight for them. >> when detroit was in trouble, president obama saved the auto industry and saved a million jobs. >> for us democrats, obamacare is a badge of honor. >> that was the change we believed in. that was the change we fought for. that was the change president obama delivered. >> that is why he is my choice on november 6th. >> that is what change looks like. >> here is what we're going to say to mitt romney in november. we're going to say know!. >> being president doesn't

change who you are. no, it reveals who you are. >> we need proven leadership. proven judgment and proven values. america needs four more years of barack obama!. >> stand together, for the man we can trust, my husband, our president, barack obama. thank you. >> four more years!. >> as you heard her deliberate it was just masterful. >> this arena is electric. >> we'll be watching here from the floor. back to you guys. >> we hope you stay with us here at the democratic national convention. ♪ ♪

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jenna: right now a possible, a possible point of tension between our country and iraq. over iraq allowing iran to use its airspace to deliver

shipments to syria. now baghdad is saying it has been assured by tehran that those shipments are for peaceful purposes and not weapons. as was first reported in "the new york times." three u.s. lawmakers are visiting baghdad. senators joe lieberman, john mccain and lindsey graham, warning iraq that the flights pose a threat to middle east stability and could undermine iraq's relationship it the united states. ambassador john bolton, former u.n. ambassador to the u.n. and fox news contributor joins us now. ambassador, why is this significant? >> i think it shows the influence iran has over the maliki government in iraq and is using iraqi airspace, if these reports are correct, to resupply syria. this is a critical fight in syria for iran. it goes to its arc of hegemony across the region, hezbollah, terrorist group in lebanon, to me it is not

surprising that iraq is allowing these flights. not surprising iran would try to use the overflights is supply syria. jenna: why should iraq listen to us? >> i think it is very unlikely iraq will listen to us. i think the administration's decision to pull out combat troops simply allowed iran to increase its influence over the maliki government. that is one of the reasons i'm worried about stability in iraq itself. it was one of the consequences entirely predictable when this withdrawal went forward. jenna: but iran has been involved in iraq and iraqi politics now for a while, ambassador, right? we've seen this before. iran's technology has been responsibility for killing our troops in iraq and afghanistan. >> right. and i think the iranian influence in iraq has also been steadily increasing over these past several years. i think another thing to look at, iran using iraqi facilities to smuggle oil out of iran, to sell it on the world markets as iraqi

oil or to allow it to be used inside iraq. there are any number of ways in which the two governments are cooperating to the disadvantage of the united states and our other friends in the region. jenna: ambassador, i'm looking at the headline up on the screen just under you. netanyahu calls for u.s. to give iran a clear red line over nuclear program. let's talk about this in context. iran, iraq, iran and syria, we talk about them isolated segments on television but they're all related to iran and iran's mischief right now in the region. we talk a lot about red lines when it comes to uranium enrichment and percentages. why don't we just give iran a deadline, say if you guys don't stop the nuclear program, don't stop messing with syria and iraq we're coming for you? why don't we do something like that? >> well, i think the iranian nuclear weapons program, which is the gravest threat for peace and security in the region has already seen american red lines and blasted right past them with

no consequence. i'm not sure giving red lines at this point would make any difference. i think what prime minister netanyahu is reflecting is his sense of isolation, his sense that israel stands alone, certainly with respect to the iranian nuclear weapons program, but, as well iran's support for terrorism around the region. it is very dangerous and it is getting worse. jenna: you mentioned the isolation that netanyahu might be feeling. a topic of conversation over the last 24 hours is that the democrats platform they put forward omits the word jerusalem. omits jerusalem and recognizing jerusalem as the capital of israel. this is not worthy because in 2008 it was a part of the platform. that's why we're talking about it. ambassador, is it significant the democrats didn't mention it? what is the consequence of that? >> i think it is a unnecessary self-inflicted wound. goes with that god thing, jerusalem, all together, get it out of the platform entirely. platforms are significant for their political symbolism. maybe they're not well-read

but everybody recognizes these changes from quad drin y'all convention to convention. this is a change, i don't think the average democratic delegate or average democratic voter would agree with. i think came from the administration. i think it is a big mistake on their part. but again it shows, it is a piece of evidence for a really important point. israel is alone in facing its regional challenges in the obama administration. jenna: ambassador bolton, always nice to see you, sir. >> thank you. jon: of course israel is the nation most threatened by and worried about iran's nuclear program and right now there is concern in israel about a huge security breach. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has canceled today meeting of his security cabinet, telling ministers that information from the first part of the meeting held yesterday has already leaked out. one outrained cabinet member wants netanyahu to require those who attended the

meeting to take a polygraph exam, a lie detector. the agenda for the meeting was expected to center on iran's nuclear program and syria's civil war. so just imagine, the arguments we're having about leaks in this country. that's something that would be like something leaking out of a cabinet meeting in the u.s. the day after the meeting was held. jenna: can you imagine if the president had the entire cabinet of the united states polygraphed? jon: that is what they're talking about doing yeah. jenna: something historic to say the least. jon: crazy. jenna: we have to calls what the ambassador said about israel feeling potentially isolated and maybe netanyahu as a leader feeling isolated as well. a lot to pay attention overseas. we'll pay attention to the headlines. back to our country here at home, a lot of wild weather from a new tropical storm to the aftermath of hurricane isaac. yep, isaac is still hanging around. some new reports as well of funnel clouds and the like. we have, an update from the

fox weather center coming up. and are the democrats and republicans going to extremes? charges that both parties platforms are simply too radical. they're similar in that way. we have a fair and balanced debate next.

jenna: a lot of extreme weather causing concerns in several parts of this country. tropical storm leslie is gaining strength in the atlantic and already causing problems along the eastern seaboard. meantime parts of gulf coast are still underwater from hurricane isaac still today. this is a week now. and funnel clouds are spotted in parts of new jersey and delaware. rick leventhal has more details from our new york city newsroom. so, rick, isaac is still hanging around causing a lot of problems. >> reporter: it is, jenna. the floodwaters may be slowly receding in louisiana and mississippi but the rain is still falling from florida to boston, some of it remnants from the storm system that was isaac. we've had stormy skies outside our studios and

across the north east region since last night with reports of widespread rainfall and heavy flooding. tornado was confirmed to have touched down in delaware monday. national weather service is trying to confirm one in new jersey. several residents reported seeing funnel clouds like this one and saw parts of trees flying up into it. >> you felt everything sucking away from you into the funnel itself. you watched all the leaves and debris just washing into it. and it just, the sound was like a train coming down. >> reporter: the storm brought flooding to the region. one resident woke up with a motor on his house. water and streetscars on some r. other issue we're watching, jenna, which could become a hurricane later today. they're telling us right now she has 70 mile-per-hour winds and she is headed directly for the island of bermuda. not expected to hit the u.s. coastline but there you see leslie on the hurricane map, headed right for bermuda.

should be a hurricane by later today. possibly cat-2 by this weekend. that will cause very rough conditions up and down the east coast. so anybody going to the beach for one last weekend of the summer should be careful because there will be dangerous, if not life-threatening rip currents in the ocean along the u.s. coast this weekend, jenna. jenna: you know some of the surfers out there don't pay attention to that, my husband included. because they say, hey, good waves out there but you have to be careful. >> reporter: dangerous good waves. jenna: from isaac to leslie we will keep an eye on it. rick, thank you. >> reporter: sure. jon: a look at party platforms a week after the democrats called gop platform radical and out of the mainstream. republicans mentioning democrats platform without any mention of god or faith and removing pro-israel language the democrats had used incorporated in past platforms. fair and balanced debate. juan williams, fox news political analyst. mary katharine ham.

hotair.com and fox news contributor. i have a feeling i know which way you two are going to see these two platforms. but, juan, the question is, the suggestion is, that democrats have gone deep blue with some of their planks. republicans went vivid red. some examples on the democratic side the platform calls for more taxes on the rich. no restrictions on abortion. even taxpayer funding for abortion as a right. and same-sex marriage is endorsed. is that where the democratic mainstream is right now? >> yeah, i think that's right, jon. i think one of the things actually duval patrick, the governor of massachusetts did last night here on a night of great speeches was to raise the roof, here are things we believe in. this is what we believe in. one of those was allowing people who love somebody to marry them without regard to the society determining the gay marriage or not appropriate.

and same thing with abortion. that a woman should have the right to make that choice for herself. i would, i want to say one thing to you, jon. it is not faith that is absent from this democratic platform. i think it is 11 or 12 times faith is mentioned. there are whole sections about the importance of centrality of faith in american life. the one mention of god was removed. jon: there are past references to god in democratic party platforms. and he is not there this time around. that is, we'll get into that in just a minute. mary katherine, what about it? republicans took heat from the democratic side for what democrats call an extreme platform. what do you make of this democratic platform? >> when you make the platforms, yes, activists get involved and most dedicated activists have a hand in crafting these parts because they have been there, doing the work. sometimes you get stuff a little bit farther to the left or right than the rest of the party. in this case what parties have to worry about, whether that is out of step with

normal american voters. they will not read the platform but may hear about it on the news. one of the things democrats need to worry about on the abortion question, when there are no restrictions mentioned, when there is taxpayer funding of abortions included, that is a 70% issue for american people. they are more than 70% against taxpayer funding of abortions. when you take that extreme position and sort of make it part of the theme of your convention, that makes it more obvious to people that that is out of step with them. i think that is maybe the misstep the democrats have made. on gay marriage, i point out they didn't believe that until like two months ago. it is a recent shift. that is more in line with public shift of opinion. so they're safer on that ground though maybe not as much in swing states than other states. jon: a moment ago juan mentioned. go ahead, juan. >> i was going to respond to mary katherine, jon and say i think on the abortion issue, which is a hot button issue for both sides, i think when you read the republican platform says, even in cases of rape and incest, we're opposed to

abortion, i understand people saying we believe in protecting unborn life. but i think at that point then you have a break with mainstream american opinion about protecting the rights and life of the mother. >> democratic platform similarly breaks with mainstream opinion by saying we would love to taxpayer fund these. we would like to take your money and pay for abortions at every phase of pregnancy. that is way out of line with mainstream opinion. there is danger on both sides. the difference with democrats they made this a central theme of their convention which makes it more obvious they're out of step. >> i think when you focus on things like partial-birth abortion or federal funding that is where you can say, oh, yeah, most americans find this objectionable. >> right. >> most americans don't find a women's right to make a choice objectionable. that is where republicans have gone too far. that issue. no restrictions on gun sales in the country? oh, my gosh even -- people say what is going on. telling people, gays can't

marry. that seems radical. jon: that is the point, juan. americans might be in favor of some abortion rights but the democratic platform doesn't call for any restrictions and in fact, suggests that taxpayer funding of abortion is a woman's right. >> no. well, suggests. i would be very careful about that but i would say this to you, jon and mary katherine, there is little bit of ping-pong tit-for-tat going on here where the democrats feel given republicans say we'll be very strong we support a women's right to choose. >> they're plenty strong with my money. problems with israel you noted are problematic for democrats as well. jon: we'll continue to watch the platforms and the debate that erupts around both of them. thanks to both of you, mary katharine ham, juan williams down there in charlotte. >> thank you, jon. jenna: a plane loses one of its tires just after takeoff. the dramatic landing, plus what happened to the pilot of that plane. also a new poll suggest

that is the president may be losing ground with women. democrats are trying hard to appeal to this key voting bloc at the convention. we'll go in depth ahead. >> put simply, women in america can not trust mitt romney. [cheers and applause] there are projects. and there are game-changers. those ideas that start with us rolling up our sleeves... ...and end with a new favorite room in the house. and when we can save even more on those kinds of projects...

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shredder, a $29 value, free! call or go online now. [♪...] jenna: we talk a lot about women, don't we, this time around? we're talking about the election of 2012. courting the womens vote is very key to the election. the gop did it last week. democrats are shining a spotlight on this key voting bloc highlighting the difference between the president and governor romney. nancy koehn nan, president of the national abortion rights action league made the case last night. take a listen. >> put simply, women in america can not trust mitt romney. [cheers and applause] we can not trust mitt romney to protect our health.

he would repeal obamacare. taking away our access to better maternity and prenatal care, and the law near universal coverage of birth control. we can not trust mitt romney to respect our rights. jenna: but the latest abc poll shows the president's favorability rating has dropped when it comes to women. back in april the president's numbers were significantly better. more than ten percentage points higher than mitt romney on the favorables and lower on the unfavorables. as you can see on your screen there, the gap has tightened a little bit. joining us melody barnes, form domestic advisor to president obama and former domestic -- former because you're no longer a part of the white house this point. >> that's right. jenna: you have your life back as i understand it. in your town where you went to college.

>> i went to school in chapel hill. it is wonderful to be back here in north carolina. it is wonderful to see my former white house colleagues to be here and to support the president as he works his way to re-election. jenna: what do you make of these numbers, the gap, when it comes to women in favorability tightening? the president not having as much of an edge as he once did on governor romney? >> well, jenna, first of all it is great to be here here with you again but i think we always knew this was going to be a tight race. we always knew that this would go down to the bitter end right to election day. and certainly coming off of his convention, that people would take the time to listen to what mitt romney has to say. but i think after listening to the first lady last night, after listening to secretary kathleen sebelius last night, the opportunity to listen to elizabeth warren and bill clinton and others tonight, that we'll see the divide continue to grow and the president continue to assend because his policies have supported women. they know it in terms of

economy. they know it in terms of health care. they know it in terms of reproductive rights. it is all the reasons that women will go to the voting booth in november and support the president. jenna: you were a key domestic policy advisor to the president and i'm just wondering your thoughts on this other topic as well. we're expecting to see bill clinton tonight. we saw bill clinton during his administration move more towards the center during the second term. there is big question whether or not that is part of the president's plan. is it, melody? >> well the president is going to stay consistent to his principles and his values which are to insure we're growing the economy. that we're supporting the middle class. we're hoping to make sure everyone can reef the american dream. that something that is the first lady was talking about last night in terms of values, in terms the direction in the economy. and president clinton has also said that he admirers the president. that when it comes to issues like foreign policy, and the decision to go after usama bin laden, president clinton said, i wonder if i would have had the courage to make

that same decision. he talked about the president as a fabulous leader. i expect to hear him do the same tonight. so --. jenna: if i can, nancy koehn nan made the interesting statement about trust and how women should trust the president. that seems to be an issue for all genders right now when it comes to selecting a leader of this country. so, melody, in, one or two sentences why should americans trust the president with another four years? >> because the president in 2008 promised the country that he was going to work hard, to insure that we stablize the economy, even then we didn't know how bad it was. to stablize the economy and he has done that. no one wants to go back where they were four years ago because the hard work of the president. he also promised that he would insure health care for millions of americans and lower costs for those of us with health care and he has done that. he promised to make sure wall street gets reined in appropriately but at the same time support free enterprise. he has done that as well. he is keeping his word and

needs another four years to continue to support the green shoots of economic growth we're already seeing. jenna: back with your friends. do you miss the white house, melody? or is this pretty good on the outside? >> i think i have the best of both worlds right now. i get to see my friends and support the president and get to have breakfast and dinner with my husband. jenna: probably a pretty good thing. thank you for the service with the administration previously and thank you for your time, melody. thank you. >> thanks so much, jenna. great to be with you. jon: jurors get down to business now in the drew peterson murder trial in illinois. they are deciding the fate of the former police officer accused of killing his third wife. we're live at the courthouse with a look at the latest there. plus, republicans slam democrats accusing them of ignoring the question, are americans better off today than they were four years ago? a fair and balanced debate on that coming up.

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jenna: right now jurors are deliberating in the drew peterson murder trial and they have to decide whether prosecutors proved that the former police officer killed his third wife. it's a tough case. it is based on a, well partly based on circumstantial evidence. it certainly is an important part of it. steve brown live at the courthouse in illinois with more for us now. steve? >> reporter: hey there, jenna. yeah, hearsay is the key portion of the prosecution's case. james glascow, the state attorney in will county, the prosecutor for will county has essentially been an advocate for this new illinois law that allows hearsay to come in. in this particular case that drew peterson face it is would allow the victim, kathleen savio to speak from the grave. jurors heard multiple times either words from savio's mouth from beyond the grave if you will that drew peterson intended to kill

her or others attributing statements to peterson. those statements not normally allowed in court. now while that does allow per se, a someone to speak from the grave, but does not allow them to be cross-examined from the grave. that is essentially at the occur core of the defense's objections to all this as the trial has been going on. the defense attorney has-beens consistently saying the only thing we know anything about drew peterson at all because his wife stacy peterson disappeared and drew peterson yes, has been a suspect in that. essentially the defense is saying that the proses caution and this -- prosecution and this law are essentially ganging up on their client. >> everybody in america wants drew peterson convicted because of stacy. so they tried to use cathy to get to him. there is no evidence at all that stacy is even dead. people leave all the time. >> reporter: now the jury has been getting instructions this morning. we'll begin deliberations as

we understand relatively soon. so the deliberations only starting in this particular case. they her five weeks of testimony. anybody's guess how long the jury may be taking a look at the two murder charges that peterson now faces. jenna? jenna: wow, steve brown in illinois. thank you, steve. jon: a party powerhouse set to make history. bill clinton's big turn as a speaker tonight at the democratic national convention. he is there to help president obama but some say his presence on stage might hurt the president. we'll have a preview. plus, fact-checking those speeches. we'll put them to the test.

jon: brand-new video atascosa rica as that strong earthquake hit just an hour or so ago. the u.s. geological survey is downgrading the magnitude, saying it was not a 7.9, it was

a 7.6. that is a significant reduction. there is still a tsunami warning for costa rica, panama, and nicaragua. the pacific wide warning has been listed. phone service has been knocked out in some areas. take a look at this video of the shaking as the earthquake hit. just for some contacts, there have been two big earthquakes in costa rica. one end hartog wrote killed 700 people. in 1991, a quake killed 125. we will bring you new information and new video as we get it after this big earthquake , about 25 miles under the surface and 50 miles offshore of western costa rica. jenna: as happenstance, mother

nature is our lead story today. not only about the earthquake, but the weather in north carolina. jon: raining out the convention. jenna: i am generally. welcome to a brand-new hour of "hapening now." a severe weather forecast is forcing the dnc to move the presidents acceptance speech indoors. in the meantime, an elder statesman of the democratic party is taking center stage tonight. how do you think he would feel about being described as an elder statesman? jon: he was in his 40s when he took office. former president bill clinton. he is looking to fire up the crowd. what people actually say is actually anyone's guess. mr. clinton stepping back into the spotlight. nominating president obama president obama for a second term in the white house. the man from arkansas praising the president for hope and change. in the meantime, some very

interesting new polling. we know that president obama is making every effort to win over women voters. last night, the first lady stressed that theme. >> he believes that women are more than capable of making our own choices about our bodies and our health care. that is what my husband stands for. jon: as we mentioned last hour, the president's poll numbers among women have slipped quite a bit. there are other areas that might signal concern. his popularity overall slipping dramatically in the latest abc news "washington post" poll, falling three points since just before the republican convention. down seven points from a high in april. the narrowing gap in the head-to-head has now totally disappeared. the candidates are dead even in the latest politics. tied at 46.8% each. let's talk about it with charlie

hirsch, a columnist for the washington times. throughout this long campaign season, we have been hearing over and over again that the presidents strongest advantage was his popularity among women. where did that go? >> you know, president obama is trying to buck a trend that has gone on since world war ii. after one term, the democratic president, all but one, had been down from the office and one term. there is this magic trick that was going to be keeping women voters with him. but obviously, that's often the lot. i think that ann romney's speech had a lot to do with it. it remains to be seen what will happen with the first lady's speech last night. it was a very good and strong speech that the audience here at the convention went absolutely bananas for it. whether that will help him or them or not is sort of hard to say. you know, the content of her

speech was very much just that he is a really nice guy. and i love him now more than i did four years ago. that is not particularly a winning argument. but it may sort of help his numbers a little bit among women voters. jon: enters stage left. bill clinton. putting into nomination tonight the name of his democratic successor, president obama. here is the way to chris stirewalt listed in his power-play column. tonight, we still deploy the most popular former president and his most dangerous ally, former president bill clinton. the clintons and the obama's have an interesting relationship, to put it mildly. reporter: reporter: one of the things he can be very unpredictable or shoots from the head and political settings, which is why

the media loves bill clinton. it could be a very dangerous thing. especially because you are you're talking about a guy, bill clinton being the only president -- only democrat since fdr that has won a second term. he is a marvelous politician. he is always talking on several levels. he has accomplished things that president obama simply has not been able to accomplish. i think it is important to note that after bill clinton's party suffered in the midterms when he was in office, bill clinton came back and he changed his stance on things. he began negotiating with republicans and did so on the platform. when obama got a second term, he did the exact opposite. he doubled down on the more liberal policy and he continues to repeat negotiating with republicans. it is hard to say how that's going to help them.

jon: it was bill clinton and said the air of big government is over. what we heard last night is a lot about how big government is back. >> it is back in a big way. that will be the most interesting thing to see on president clinton's speech tonight. will he attacked way to the left to lab to accommodate all of that or does he stay as a sunny guy that is willing to sort of, acknowledge that things went well for obama, and for the democrats. jon: it will be a fascinating audience. charlie hirsch, thank you so much. jenna: in addition to his turn on stage tonight, president clinton is featured in a television ad which the obama campaign is running in several battleground states. in it, he backs the president's approach. take a look.

>> president obama has a plan to rebuild america from the ground up. investing in innovation, education and job training. it only works if there is a strong middle class. that is what happened when i was president. we need to keep going with this plan. jenna: many americans still remember president clinton's tenure as a time of prosperity. his approval ratings right now are at a 20 year high. democrats are counting on the former president to explain to voters how their lives will improve if they give the president another four years in the white house. we should mention tonight that he has some competition. the opening game of the nfl season, giants versus the giants versus cowboys. we will see how the president does against football. plenty of claims made during the opening day of the dnc. were they all true? shannon bream is fact checking this buzz in washington. last night, a lot of speakers at how bad romney would be for the

country. contrasting that with the president's record. let's start there. what part of that is accurate them apart was not? >> let's start you off with a statement by one of the most popular speakers of the night. this comes from mayor leon castro. >> four years ago, america stood on the brink of the depression fighting incredible odds and uniting republican opposition. our president took action, and now we have seen or .5 million jobs. reporter: according to the bureau of labor statistics, they say that's not the true number if you are measuring from the time the president obama took office in january 2009. since that time, the private sector has added just over 300,000 jobs with the overall economy. let's move onto the speech by first lady. very well received, very moving. she talked about the president's willingness to look beyond the parties.

here's what she said about that. >> i love that for rocco palma, there is no such thing as us and them. he doesn't care whether you are democrat or republican or none of the above. he knows that we all love our country. and he is always ready to listen to good ideas. reporter: that is aligned we have heard from the president himself a number of times. republicans are quick to point out that when it comes to major issues over the last couple of years, their attempts to meet with the president have been rebuffed. on topics like jobs bills, putting together a plan of attack, even a health care law. for example, during negotiations over the debt ceiling, -- excuse me, minority leader, mitch mcconnell call for meetings with him. the press secretary said at the time, we know is position and we are not having a conversation. coming up in the next hour, we will do some fact checking on one of the hottest topics on the campaign trail. it is all about medicare.

we do. jenna: we look forward to that, shannon bream, thank you. jon: elizabeth warren is a primetime speaker tonight. locked in a bitter race in massachusetts with a senate seat with scott brown. her appearance tonight could play an important role in that battle. john roberts joins us live now from charlotte with a look. reporter: good afternoon to you. elizabeth warren has become a hero to the left. she also creates this consumer protection bureau. her role will be twofold. she will be there to fire up the base and also reach out to voters in massachusetts. she hopes will vote for her in november. at the same time and she has wrapped itself in the flag of the democratic party. senator scott brown has done some distancing from the republican party, only showing up at the republican convention for one day, making it clear that he is not in full agreement

with the republican party platform. >> i do pride myself on platforms and their issues are not necessarily mine. but you need pro-choice moderate republicans in the big tent of the republican party. reporter: if he hopes to win in massachusetts in november, scott brown has to run as a moderate. because in 2010, he won because he got the support of 20% of democrats. elizabeth warren is hoping to win back some of the democratic voters. according to someone at the university of regina, she won't need much more. >> if she gets even 85% of the votes cast for barack obama, she will win the senate seat. she doesn't need independence. she certainly doesn't need republicans. massachusetts is so heavily weighted to the democratic side in presidential election elections, her secret to success is no secret at all. reporter: taking a look at the latest poll, taken the middle of

last month. it shows the scott brown with a five-point lead. 401944. the race appears to beslipping away from elizabeth warren. at least at this moment. we will see if her appearance tonight at that convention may be will turn the numbers around. jon: a very big opportunity tonight for elizabeth warren. thank you very much. john roberts. jenna: an interesting statistic that broke this week. the number of americans who rely on food stamps is at a record high. coming up, why this is raising alarm bells when many economists say the opposite should be happening. jon: we will take a look at that and governor romney lying low in vermont. how he is preparing for the upcoming presidential debates. jenna: with the democrats taking their turn in the national spotlight. did they succeed in convincing the american people that they are better off now than they were four years ago? should we be asking maybe a different question?

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speak to the number of americans relying on food stamps reaching a record high. topping 46 million in the month of june. that means one out of every seven americans now depends on some sort of assistance. we have against providing context about what does this mean for where our economy is at. >> we are hearing from the democrats that things are getting better. if things are getting better, why are so many people on food stamps? we don't get lost in the numbers here, but in 2009, the worst part of the recession, 33 million americans were on food stamps. we have 36 million americans.

we were spending $50 billion a year in 2009. the worst part of the recession. as things are supposedly getting better, now we are spending $72 billion a year. that is 77 billion over 10 years. almost $1 trillion. if things are getting better, usually when we are coming out of a recession and things are improving, fewer people are on welfare, fewer people are on food stamps. people come up with off as food stamps and don't go on them. why are we having so many more if things are getting better? why are so many more people on food stamps? jenna: please, what are the answers? >> first of all, we are advertising for food stamps you hear the radio advertisements, you hear the television ads, we actually have quite a few different television ads be to what is interesting is that they make the point you might have a job. you might have a home, but you still could be eligible for food stamps. that is the advertisement that is running in new york. i'm wondering how this figures and because we december 16 trillion-dollar debt

that we passed over. we are paying for them, as you mentioned. >> we are paying a lot for it. the bottom line is they're used to be people -- the government was anxious and getting people off of the assistance. if things indeed are getting better, we should have people getting off of it. but we have more people getting on it. why do we have the government encouraging people to get on it? we used to think it was best. [talking over each other] that's right, we are paying from it all. the method you are hearing from north carolina this week is that things are getting better. well, things are getting incrementally better. you look at the average wage, for example. the average wage in 2007, those were the top beers -- it was about 40 $7000 per year. it is now much less than that.

we are expecting unemployment numbers to come down the. jon: jenna: we don't want to leave our fellow americans out in the cold. we hear that echoed at the dnc. but we have a jobs report that will immerse a sense of where the economy is. >> in july we had good jobs report. we were expecting to get 120,000 people. maybe it is better than nothing. better than losing jobs net tonight. but the bottom-line is bottom line is that it's not keeping up with population. we are having a growth rate of 1.7% now per year. 1.7%, usually coming out of a recession, it is for five or 6%. during the reagan years we had 8% growth coming out of the recession per quarter. we are nowhere near where we should be. the question is if we are getting better, why do some things look worse? like income and of course the food stamp problem?

jenna: thank you so much, david. jon: good man, david. digging deeper into the battleground states. when virginia delegates cast their ballots at the convention, the vote will be unanimous. the state has voted republican seven times in the last eight elections, except 2008. will president obama take it again or will voters return to the gop? also, a raging wildfire in the hills above los angeles. a live update on what's happening there

jon: your election headquarters. taking a look at the key battleground states that could make or break this white house race this time around. today we are looking at virginia. folks in virginia have been reliably republican for a long, long time, except last time around when they voted for president obama in 2008. if you take a look at the stats, virginia, a key prize this time around. oh electoral votes of 13 of them in virginia. the economy looking pretty good right now. that is part of the reason that both campaigns want to claim the state. 5.9% unemployment in virginia. much better than the national average. in terms of the history, president obama has been there seven times. this campaign season, mitt romney has been there five times. if you look at the polls, the real clear politics average, pretty close. president obama with 43.7% of

the votes and mitt romney with 46.7% of the votes. kyle conduct is a little end of analyst. it is the state where you live in virginia. what is virginia leaning towards this time? >> i think it is basically a total tie this time. one thing that is interesting is that in virginia in 2008, obama got 52.9%. nationally he got 52.6. that was the state closest to the national average. you figure that obama will probably do a little bit worse this time if he wins. that's why it could be the key state in the selection. jon: one of the quandaries for republicans is in that some of the these states that have republican governors like ohio and virginia, they have managed some things that have helped the unemployment situation or seems to. that is a net benefit, perhaps

to the obama campaign. you have governor bob mcdonnell, who has instituted some things that could help make the president look good. >> yes, we have seen this in a lot of states. ohio is another one. we have a republican governor who is trying to take credit for lower unemployment and more economic growth. at the same time, that makes the president look good, too. although there is not really a lot of good evidence that state-level unemployment figures actually matter to voters. voters tend to base their decisions on what the national climate is. it doesn't seem like the president has gone the real electoral pulling boost. jon: just yesterday, a former congressman from virginia was added to the state's ballot as a presidential candidate. a third-party presidential candidate. his name is virgil goode. there are fears that he could hurt mitt romney. can you tell us why?

>> virgil goode was a conservative democrat turned into an independent attorney to republican that served in the u.s. house. there has been some polling that has shown that he might get as much as 9% of the vote. he is very conservative. that would come out of romney's column. i don't think you actually get 9% of the vote, probably more like one percentage point or something like that. but that would probably disproportionately come out of mitt romney's column. if you think back to florida in 2000 when ralph nader got a few percentage points -- in a very close race, virgil goode might affect virginia's outcome. jon: president obama won last time around. right now, still on the fence. too early to say which way virginia will go? >> yes, i think it's too early to tell. the poll average -- it's been within the margin of error. you have seen both candidates spending a lot of time in virginia and i suspect they will spend a lot more time. in the last 60 days the.

jon: kyle is with the university of virginia center for politics. kyle, thank you for joining us today the two governor romney is hitting the books. preparing for the upcoming presidential debate. we haven't seen very much of him over the last few days, it is going to be very busy over the next several weeks. we will tell you about the governor's plan. and are you better off? democrats doing their best to avoid the exact phrase during their convention. what about the message? are they effectively countering the republican argument? a fair and balanced debate is coming up ahead are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

jon: republican presidential nominee governor mitt romney has been keeping a low profile as he gets ready for his three upcoming debates against president obama but that's about to change. he is spending much of the vehicle in vermont -- vor month training for the debates against ohio senator robb portman a fellow republican standing in for president obama. meanwhile his running mate and his wife are drumming up support on the campaign trail. ann romney is ohio while vice-presidential nominee paul ryan is stumping in iowa and utah. chief political correspondent carl cameron is live in his home state of new hampshire. what do we know about what the governor is doing today, carl? >> reporter: sound like a heck of a travel log there, jon. in west lebanon, new

hampshire, a stone's throw away from reading, vermont where mr. romney spent a last couple of nights where he continues to have debate preparations and rob portman and handful of staffers and going over briefing papers and contrast the proposes and policies against the president's record. mr. romney decided to pop out of the secluded envelope where he is working to join and lead the republican efforts to counter program the convention in charlotte underway this week. today with president bill clinton speaking mr. romney will come out and talk briefly with the press. we'll have an interview with him. he will visit a building supply place in west lebanon, briefly. ses essentially with the debt clock reaching $16 million with the dim creat createcratic national committee removing god from its platform and democratic national committee removing mention of jerusalem as the capitol of israel and no mention of improvement or

lack thereof from the democrats last night when michelle obama was the dig speaker along with mr. skas castro of san antonio, texas. mr. romney wants to wave the flag and overshadow and undercuts what the democrats are doing by pointing out those issues. we'll ask him about those things and more. mr. romney will again go back into seclusion and wrap debate prep and head out on the campaign trail thursday night and iowa, virginia, key battleground states, which is his wife and paul ryan and barack obama will go after the convention is over. all these states are going to have tremendous amount of focus. there is very real possibility we'll see the two nominees, president obama nominated on friday he will have been, campaigning here. first time candidates post-convention are in the same state, first of the nation primary where barack

obama lost in 2008 and mitt romney won in 2012 launching him to the nomination. we'll talk with him what he is doing behind closed doors. what he thinks is going on and what the true message from the democratic convention should be from the republican perspective, jon? jon: bucolic scene and all heck breaking out politically where you are. carl cameron, thanks. jenna: republicans continuing to ask americans if they're better off now than we were four years ago? last night the rnc pointed out that not one speaker at the democratic convention so far has said the phrase, americans are better off than they were four years ago. that exact phrase. but several speakers made that argument implicitly including massachusetts governor duval patrick. >> this is the president. who saved the american auto industry from extinction, the american financial industry from self-destruction. the american economy from full-blown depression. who added $4.5 million

private sector jobs in the last 2 1/2 years, more than in george bush's eight years in office. [cheers and applause] jenna: so are the democrats effectively countering are you better off theme? brad woodhouse is with the dnc. sean spicer, rnc. both communication directors. we expect perfect grammar from the both of them. nice to have you with us today. >> thank you, jenna. jenna: sean, that's a long laundry list of come likements according to duval patrick. what is your single biggest point that counters all those accomplishments by president obama? >> keep it short, long. >> there is no single list. i mean you had a convention that kicked off yesterday with a video in which they said government is the only thing that we belong to. that is the mantra last night. all about government. the government belongs to us. we don't belong to government. second, you had, as you just mentioned not one of the 34 speakers mentioned we're

better off. nothing about jobs. nothing about the debt. third as carl mentioned in his intro they took out the word god from their platform and took out the reference to jerusalem as the capital. there is a definite problem going on with the messaging coming out of here. a clear contrast to the values we portrayed in tampa and what you're seeing here in charlotte. jenna: brad, take that point by point. start with the first one, big government. that's one of the criticisms we've seen as we've had some hours to digest what happened to the dnc last night. earlier in the show we did a segment about one in seven americans being on food stamps. that is one fact coming out, a record high right now. what is the plan from democrats to, to make the economy better and to create jobs and get people off food stamps? >> let me tell you something. let me answer sean's question. are we better off than four years ago? obviously we are. they want to put a four-year clock, jenna. remember what happened four years ago this month under republican administration. lehman fell. we all watched, we all

watched the news reports of the stock market falling through the floor. that was on a republican administration's watch. that was after six years of republican rule. jenna: brad, that is not my question. brad, this is my segment. so i'm going to need to have to ask you about my question. >> let me answer your question. absolutely. the president has put forward a plan, you hear about it this week. one of the major criticisms out of mitt romney's speech he presidented no rationale for his candidacy. the president will, he will talk about a plan, balanced approach. jenna: give us a specific. just a hint. you and me and jon, a million people. just something. >> i will not tell you anything about his speech but i tell you what the president will say. he will say we need to create an economy built to last. we need to do that by balanced investments. he will talk specifically about investments in education, research and development, job training. all the things romney-ryan budget would eviscerate. we'll have to invest in the economy if we improve it.

jenna: all right. >> he will talk about a fair tax code that protects the middle class from the tax increase that paul ryan and mitt romney would put on them. jenna: let me take this question a different way if i can, sean. maybe is is not are you better off than you were four years ago. maybe the question is more, why should we trust either candidate with four years of our lives in this country? what is the best argument coming from the republicans about why we should trust mitt romney now? >> that's actually a great question because i think that's what every voter is asking themselves right now and there's two things. one mitt romney has a plan to get this country moving again and his number one job day one, to focus like a laser on jobs and economy. nothing else. getting people back to work. more importantly you have to look at a track record. and brad said, you know, started talking about what the president will talk about. we had four years. he had two with a democratic complete democratic congress. look where we are? mitt romney you look back, say okay, large, long-"time"

experience in the private sector. everyone including president clinton called it a sterling business record. by every measure he was successful. two, salt lake city olympics. in dire need of help. turns it around. huge sort of national pride. three, governor of massachusetts. came in, took a failing state. balanced budget. >> 47th out of 50 in jobs. >> he walked into office, walked out of office as number 30. he has an amazing record. >> 47 out of 50 in jobs. >> success, success, success. track record. >> let me address a couple of the points that sean just made. jenna: brad, if you could, go back to the question though. >> sure. jenna:. jenna: i can't should we trust the president with another four years of our lives here? >> i'll tell you, tell you exactly why, jenna. the middle class should trust him for a few reasons. one, he won't raise their taxes by $2,000 a year like paul ryan and mitt romney are proposing to do. he will. >> said that in obamacare too. >> he will put middle class

back on a road to success. mitt romney wants to take money from the middle class to fund more tax breaks for the wealthiest americans. but, let me say this. when the president took over, we had just come out of collapse and lehman and economy. it was make a plane going towards the ground. he got stick, he pulled it up we're starting to rise. we don't need to go back to the policies and mitt romney and paul ryan advocated for years ago that crashed the economy. they want to repeat the things that crashed economy. >> plane was crashing if plane was crashing listen hold on hold on. jenna the thing is --. jenna: congressman becerra, used same example of plane crashing on our show yesterday. i'm not a great flyer. jon the pilot next to me, wondering we have to save the plane. brad, sean, get together for drinks. you're on opposite sides. hang out, you guys like each other, right? >> you're welcome to come over to the hilton, sean. >> here's the thing, when

the plane is crashing get the pilot to focus on turning it up, not ask for more peanuts. keep eye on plane crashing. not keep your eye off the ball. jenna: i love to have you both back. use a different metaphor than a plane crashing. >> i agree. >> i got tons of them, jenna. jenna: nice to see you both. thank you so much. >> thank you. jenna: you know i don't like flying. i'm not partisan. that plane is going down, i get nervous. jon: the first point, first rule in aviation. fly the airplane first and worry about everything else. jenna: fly the airplane. that is what i keep thinking to myself when i'm going through turbulence. we'll see what they come up with next. a lot of creative metaphors. jon: we'll get you calmed down. one of the most anticipated speeches of the convention comes tonight, when bubba, president bill clinton. he supported his wife hillary when she ran four

years ago. that's why many supporters fear he is a loose cannon. what can we expect to see tonight? okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --

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[ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! jon: make no mistake about it. democrats are about to unleash one of the party's most valuable weapons when former president bill clinton takes to the stage tonight, he will be reaching out to connect with a wide range of voters including white working class voters and wealthy donors in the financial industry. last night the convention focused on latinos when san antonio mayor giulianian castro gave the keynote address. >> we know that in our free market economy some will prosper more than others. what we don't accept is the idea that some folks won't even get a chance and that the thing is, mitt romney and the republican party are perfectly comfortable with that america. in fact, that's exactly what they're promising us. jon: the star of the night was first lady michelle obama, making the case to give her husband four more

years while courting hispanics, women and the working class. >> he believes that when you worked hard and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. no, you reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed. [cheers and applause] jon: let's talk about it with bill mcgurn, a columnist for "the wall street journal" but you're also here because you were a speechwriter for president george w. bush. >> right. jon: generally last night those big speeches got pretty big reviews. what did you think? >> i thought, michelle obama did a pretty good job in what a first lady is supposed to do. paint a vivid portrait of her family and her husband, so forth. in a way i think she did it better than ann romney. the illustrations about the rusting old car. i think she did well with that.

when she got political that diminishes things. that is true for any first laid day. could have been shorter. all that said i think first lady speeches don't mean much after the convention. they're great for the room but that is not how, got the crowd juiced. in mrs. romney's case it is kind of an opportunity to give a slice of life of her husband, to be people that haven't seen it. but at the end of the day people aren't going to vote based on that. jon: tonight we have bill clinton himself taking the stage and telling people what a great guy barack obama is and why we should reelect him to the presid jon: there are many people who are concerned about what he's going to say on the de demcratic side. they're wondering is he in some way as problem for the president. is he? >> well, he is bill clinton, when you put him in front of a microphone you don't know what will happen. two years ago he showed up at a white house press conference with president obama and sort of stole the show literally. jon: on the stage. >> president obama looked at

his watch and left. there is always that, he has, he has, he loves this environment. he loves the microphone and he just has that personality. i don't think they're really afraid of what he is going to say. if you look what he said in 2008 when he had a lot more reason to be angry, it was a unifying speech and so forth. in fact, i think bill clinton's job this time is to explain obama policies in a way that president obama has not yet done. jon: but obama policies are not bill clinton policies. bill clinton worked with republicans, worked with newt gingrich to shrink the deficit. >> right. jon: get a balanced budget, reduce welfare roles, do a lot of things that seem the antithesis what president -- >> they don't seem the antithesis. they are the antithesis. jon: okay. >> you haven't read bill clinton's book where he claims they're the same. you watch the speech. he will claim it is the same. there is reason for this for the democrats n 2008, then mr. obama succeeded largely because he ran against

george w. bush and not john mccain. he tied john mccain to george w. bush. that is what he ran on. this time there's a similar proxy element going on. he doesn't want people to think about the obama economy we have. he wants people to think about the good times in the 1990s. who better to sell that vision than bill clinton himself. jon: sort of a gazi memory after democratic administration and not specific policies. >> bill clinton in the trailer, in the ad, these are the policies i pursued and we need them again. the rest of us would be like footnotes trying to explain but he will have the message out there. jon: he will sell it. bill mcgurn. thank you. >> thank you. jon: jenna? jenna: fallout from a fox news report's revealing a actor's vulgar tweets about paul ryan's wife, janna. heated response from those involved ahead. [ female announcer ] want to spend less and retire with more?

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jenna: we are getting some more new images out of costa rica, some aftermath from that very strong magnitude 7.6 earthquake. there is a still a tsunami warning in effect pacific coast of coast can reek can, panama and nicaragua. the warning for mexico has been lifted. we're getting warnings power and phone service were knocked out in the country especially near the epicenter. we're beginning to get pictures and video of the damage. look at the photo we received on twitter. looks like a rockslide shut down an entire road. the president of the country speaking there are no deaths from the quake. that is good thing. we'll follow the story and bring you the latest as we hear more. jon: a plane forced to land without one of its wheels causes quite a scare at a idaho airport. it was all caught on tape. the control tower said pilot

said one of the wheels fell off during takeoff. he spent two hours circling the field burning off as much of its fuel as possible. this plane called a tail dragger, puts most of the wait on the front gear. when it hit there the plane nose dived and lifted up. the pilot was not hurt and walked away without a scratch. jenna: speaking of plane crashes like a metaphor in politics. enough plane crashes today. terrifying moments for a convenience store clerk in oregon who found himself staring the down the barrel of a gun during a robbery and it was all caught on tape this was early saturday in portland, oregon. surveillance video shows the clerk trying to hide behind the counter when the gunman walks over to demand the cash. worker fills the bag and the suspect takes off. >> i immediately just went into anxiety attack. adrenaline was so high, i never had adrenaline quite that bad. jenna: no one was hurt in the robbery but he says he

won't rest easy until the gunman is caught. jon: next, an update to a story we brought you live on "happening now" yesterday. what goes up must come down, eventually. we'll show you how this big bear, finally made it to the ground. intradermal vaccine, a 90% smaller needle, wow that's...short. to learn more talk to your health care provider. [ female announcer ] fluzone intdermal vaccine is fda approved for 18-64 year olds. it shouldn't be given to anyone with a severe allergic reaction to any vaccine component including eggs, egg products or a prior dose of influenza vaccine. tell your doctor if you've ever had guillian-barre syndrome. redness, firmness, swelling and itchingt the injection site occur more freently than with fluzone vaccine. other cmon side effects include pain, head ache, fatigue and muscle aches. if you have otherymptoms or problems following vaccination

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jenna: it was eclipsing content hanger of sorts yesterday. a 300-pound black bear up a tree in suburban cleveland after several failed attempts to get the bear down. firefighters on the ground, turned on the fire hose and started spraying the bear with water. that only force the bear higher into the tree, climbing higher and higher until eventually the bear this came down on its own and ran past the police. right back into the