watch, belt, everything. i don't know what i would do with my time. bill: you could bypass it. it will make your day. that is our tip of the day. martha: thanks for being here, everybody. "happening now" starts right now. we'll see you back here tomorrow. have a great day. jon: fox news alert on the showdown over syria. the threat of a us air strike looms as world leaders gather in st. petersburg for the g20 summit. we'll explore the latest turn in america's chilly relationship with russia. while back at home the administration on capitol hill once again pressing the case for punishing bashar assad for the use of chemical weapons. we'll look why some lawmakers are expressing concern over helping rebel fighters. senator john mccain, often an opponent of the president, is supporting him on syria. he will join us and we'll ask him why.

jenna: a lot going on here at home and certainly a lot happening overseas. the president and president putin meeting with a smile and a handshake earlier today as their heated battle over syria plays out on the world's stage. we're glad you're with us, everybody, i'm jenna lee. welcome to "happening now." jon: everybody was watching the body language when they greeted one another. jenna: nice handshake, solid and smiles. kept it moving, wouldn't know there are any tension between them. i'm jon scott. president obama heads into the lion's den. the two world's leaders in a tense standoff over syria engaging in a meet-and-greet as the g20 summit gets underway in st. petersburg. as the white house makes its case for military action the syrian crisis has led to a serious deterioration in diplomatic relations. earlier president putin attacked the u.s. position and called secretary of state john kerry an outright liar. chief white house correspondent ed henry is live on the north lawn. so what is the white house

reaction to the latest broadside from president putin? >> reporter: jon, as you can imagine they're not taking it lightly and not taking it kindly. they believe what putin was trying to do was spread some confusion over the fact that the u.s. believes that the assad regime was behind that awful chemical weapons attack on august 20 first. putin was saying that kerry's lying about the fact that the rebels have al qaeda and other extremist elements in there and maybe they were behind the chemical weapons attack. the administration defending kerry and basically saying this morning that they believe there are moderate elements within the syrian rebels. we'll see. that is one of the big flashpoints in this whole debate. whether the administration is right about that. you're certainly right, when you look at body language. better today. actual smiles the handshake there. they're not the best of friends, clearly sparring over snowden and syria and the like but the president yesterday at a news conference in sweden acknowledged that the reset of relations with russia hasn't gone all that smoothly but insisted there is still hope for

progress. take a listen. >> now there's no doubt that as i indicated a while back we've kind of hit a wall in terms of additional progress. but i have not written off the idea that the united states and russia are going to continue to have common interests, even as we have some very profound differences on some other issues. >> reporter: now remember president obama canceled a plan one-on-one in moscow before the g20 summit in st. petersburg. didn't want to have that with putin. we think they will have one on the sidelines here in st. petersburg. before any of that happens putin did an interview with the guardian newspaper where he saysally said we have our plans if the u.s. does strike syria. maybe a little bit more bluster, suggesting russia might get involved here, jon? jon: so the president asked congress to approve the use of force in syria. the administration sending more of its people to the hill today

to try to make the case. any progress? >> reporter: well it is still an uphill battle. in fact administration officials this morning telling us the president even while he is in russia is expected to make phone calls back here to washington. he is lobbying lawmakers frankly in both parties, not just republicans that are skeptical, liberal democrats in his own party who are not convinced of this. arrivals of more classified briefings today. the administration is trying to sell its case on capitol hill while the president is overseas. while the president at the news conference yesterday tried to redefine the red line you have republicans like former defense secretary donald rumsfeld says he looks weak on the international stage. take a listen. >> this president has tried to find a way to blame everybody or anybody for everything. and leadership requires that you stand up, take a position, provide clarity, and take responsibility. and i can't imagine him saying that he didn't draw the red line but he, he did draw the red

line. >> reporter: the president did get some progress late yesterday though as the senate foreign relations committee voted by a 10-7 margin to approve the initial resolution for authorizing the use of force in syria but again a long way to go. still likely big debate early next week in the senate. unclear whether it will pass on senate floor. at least it got through committee though. in the house, that is much different story. that is even bigger climb for the president. nobody knows today whether or not it can pass there, jon. jon: senator john mccain a big vote on the senate committee. he will be our guest an hour from now. ed henry, thank you. jenna: concern about the effectiveness of any u.s. strike on syria. the obama administration is making the case tomahawk missiles could be used to reduce president assad's ability to use chemical weapons but some critics say the only with to secure those weapons is put boots on the ground. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live from the pentagon and has who are for

us now. how does a limited strike prevent assad from using chemical weapons again? what would be the goal? >> reporter: it is really not clear, jenna. general dempsey said it would take 75,000 u.s. troops on the ground to secure the chemical weapons. there is no plan to do that now. there is no part of the limited strike using tomahawk to go after the chemical weapons stores which are stored underground by the way. here is defense secretary chuck hagel yesterday on the hill. >> if assad is prepared to use chemical weapons against his own people, we have to be concerned that terrorist groups like hezbollah, which has forces fighting in syria, supporting the assad regime, could acquire them and use them. >> reporter: nonetheless former defense secretary robert gaetz weighed in with this rare public statement, quote, failure by congress to approve the request would in my view have profoundly dangerous and negative consequences for the united states not just in the middle

east but around the world both now and in the future. jenna: so, so that's part of the argument about, whether or not the tomahawk missiles are the right way to go, what other considerings there are? are we getting other considerations, jennifer? you don't come across tomahawk missiles. they are expensive. how much this limited strike could actually cost taxpayers? >> reporter: its e it is very interesting, jenna to hear the debate on the hill. yesterday defense secretary chuck hagel put a price on this limited mission. >> who is going to pay for this? and what is it going to cost the united states taxpayers? >> it would be in the tens of millions of dollars, that kind of range. >> reporter: but what is interesting, jenna is that the cost of the u.s. navy being out there waiting for weeks on end, that has costs attached to it. it is not clear at this point and we heard for the first time today from a member the joint chiefs saying that the pentagon

may have to go back to capitol hill for a supplemental, suggesting this would be much more than tens of millions of dollars for this limited operation. here's admiral jonathan grenert, the cno. >> a carrier strike group operating out there will cost you, in extended operations, so i'm talking about a lot of flying going on as opposed to say routine flying, will cost you about $40 million a week. if it isn't flying that much, routine, about $25 million a week. >> reporter: so already the u.s. navy has spent $25 million for one week because the uss nimitz, aircraft carrier group repositioned from the persian gulf, it was supposed to go home. now it is in the red sea, already it has been there a week. so that is $25 million right there before the first tomahawk has even been fired, jenna. jenna: something to consider in this conversation. jennifer, thank you. jon: and then there's this. as the obama administration tries to convince lawmakers the

u.s. can work with the opposition groups, trying to topple the assad regime in syria. of the new intelligence suggests some of those rebel fighters might be as ruthless as the regime they are trying to overthrow. that is triggering questions about what their mission really is. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is more in washington with more on that. >> reporter: thank you, jon, and good morning. the four 1/2 minute video was posted on the web after the allege chemical attack in syria august 21st. research middle east institute reviewed the tape from fox news and they say the message in the video is clear, if the west doesn't act, members. opposition have no red lines themselves and may seek access to chemical weapons. separate analysis of the tape that the commanders are threatening to seek new and stronger alliances with the jihadists in syria, adding that the black and white flag you see in the background is symbol not only of the islamist movement but the islamist bent of this organization.

the true nature of the opposition was raised on capitol hill this week. >> seems like initially the opposition was maybe more western-leaning, more moderate, more democratic. as time has gone by it degraded to become more infiltrated by al qaeda. is that basically true? >> no that is actually basically not true. that is basically incorrect. the opposition is become more defined by its moderation. >> reporter: but the chairman of the house homeland security committee, republican mike mccall, also challenged secretary kerry this week saying the intelligence briefings he received show signs that islamist element is significant within the opposition and growing within their ranks, jon. jon: what are we learn about another video that also surfaced? >> reporter: this morning "the new york times" is reporting on a new video it says was smuggled out of syria by a rebel commander who was disgruntled with increasingly vicious tactics of the opposition. the times describes a harrowing execution scene where rebels shot syrian soldiers at

point-blank range. fox can not independently assess the authenticity of that tape but again, it is another data point in this debate over what the opposition really constitutes, jon. jon: yeah. what a quandary. catherine herridge there in washington. thank you, catherine. >> reporter: you're welcome. jenna: more on syria throughout the next two hours. meantime we'll turn to other news as well. an elementary school principal accused of killing her husband is free today but her case may be far from closed. we'll tell you what the d.a. is doing. some patients find out they may be exposed to a fatal brain disease. we'll look at the disease and how this may have happened. that is ahead on "happening now." before mike could see his banking and investing accounts on one page... before he could easily transfer funds between the two in real time... before he could even think about planning

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jon: right now new details on crime stories we're following a california elementary school principal accused of killing her husband is released from custody

but the d.a. is now pressing police for further investigation into leslie chance's case as funeral services for her husband are planned for today. we're waiting to learn the identity of a body found burning in southern california. investigators believe it could be that of a missing college student. the 19-year-old vanished about a week ago on the way to visit his parents. preliminary hearing today for a 17-year-old student charged with murder. texas police say school fight escalated into a series of stabbings that left one teen dead and three others wounded. jenna: major health care this morning. a medical center in new hampshire, informing patients they have been exposed to a fatal brain disease during surgery. our laura engel is here with more. laura, how do experts think this even happened? >> reporter: it is pretty complicated however health officials in manchester, new hampshire, announce ad neurosurgery patient at catholic medical center suspected to have

creutzfeldt-jakob disease or sporadic cjd may have exposed other patients with similar surgeries. the other patients are at risk because the infectious disease that causes sporadic cjd is not destroyed by the standard sterilization process mandated at hospital. the disease is extremely dangerous. it progresses rapidly once symptoms appear but can take decade to show up. the patient who died had surgery in april and died in august. symptoms include behavior changes, memory loss, and impaired coordination and other neurological problems. >> once symptoms appear however, the average time to death is about four months. there is no treatment, there is no cure. and there's no screening test. >> reporter: it affect the one 1/2 million people worldwide. here in the u.s. only 200 people are diagnosed with cjd each year. eight patients locally may have

been exposed up to 13 nationally may be at risk because the equipment was also rented. this is the not the strain much cjd commonly known as mad cow we want to make that distinction as well. moving forward to help patient who is have been exposed the director of public health and human services in ma'am new hampshire said the risk to these individuals is considered extremely low. however he added after expert extensive discussion his team could not conclude there is no risk, adding this, quote, we're taking a step to notify patients and providing them as much information as we can. our sympathies are with all the patients and their families as this may be a confusing and difficult situation. catholic medical center said it is working closely with the families to help them in any way possible and there are no neurosurgeries scheduled until they have the autopsy results of that one patient. jenna. jenna: what a scary story. we'll continue to watch that. jon? jon: wow. customers complained and the company listened.

chobani recalls some yogurt from supermarket shelves because of illnesses. what we're learning is wrong with the product. two leaders of two former cold war adversaries face off once again. president obama greeting russian president vladmir putin at the g20 summit. despite the friendly handshake their frosty relationship shows no signs of thawing. next, russia's latest jab at america over the use of chemical weapons in sierra. -- syria. i am today by luck. i t in the hours and built a stro reputation in the industry. i set goals and worked hard to meet them. i've made my success happen. so when it comes to my investments, i'm supposed to just hand it er to a broker and back away that's not gonna happen. avo: when you work with a schwab financial consultant,

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jon: just in, the food and drug administration is now investigating as a popular yogurt brandish shoes a recall. chobani is now pulling 15 different flavors of its greek yogurt off the shelves after

numerous reports that yogurt containers are physicianing and swelling. chobani says the yogurt cups were infected in mold. they came from the idaho facility. that represents 5% of total production. here is what you need to know when you check the fridge, they are mark asked the code 16-012. expiration dates between september 11th and october 7th. they come in variety of sizes including cups and bigger tubs. >> good warning there. we'll turn to other top stories now. the chilly relationship between the united states and russia really showing no signs of warming up as president putin calls secretary of state john kerry a liar, accusing him of downplaying the al qaeda influence in the syrian opposition during his testimony before congress. take a listen to this. >> translator: i've watched debates in congress. congressman asked mr. kerry, is there al qaeda? people say they have gotten stronger. he says no, i say officially, they aren't there. the main combat unit, so-called

al nusra is a unit of al qaeda. they know about this. this is not pleasant for me to see this. while we communicate with them and assume they are decent people, he lies openly and he knows that he lies. this is sad. jenna: strong statement. maybe he is watching testimony on fox news, jon. jon: i bet he is. jenna: who knew president putin was watching all of this. jon: yeah. jenna: the state department is releasing a statement in response to that. obviously very deep criticism. secretariry kerry, here is what the state department says. this is certainly not the first time we've seen a visceral response from president putin. needless to say the secretary of state testified truthfully and accurately to the congress. that is the end of that at least for now. let's talk a little bit more about russia. fiona hill, author of a book about putin and senior fellow from foreign policy at brookings instution. nice to have you with us today. >> thanks, jenna. jenna: you've been in the position president obama has been in this way, you've come face-to-face with president

putin. tell us a little bit what he's like. >> well, president putin, as you might expect, he's a very cool and rather cold customer. i sat next to him a couple of times at dinner. let's just say he doesn't engage in small talk and he doesn't make you feel particularly very comfortable and that is part of president putin's modus operandi. he wants to keep people on edge and constantly guessing what his intentions are and what he is going to do next. jenna: what are his intentions when it comes to syria? what's the end goal for russia in all of this? >> well, his intentions are actually remarkably straightforward. he wants to prevent and international intervention in syria. he have doesn't see this as having any positive benefits for russia whatsoever. he really thinks that a strike upon syria could have a lot of really unfortunately consequences for russia in its relationships with syria itself and for its role more broadly in the middle east and potentially

trigger off terrorist attacks against russian territory. jenna: now, do you believe, because we've heard a lot of veiled talk between all sides, including our president, that the refresh your recollection shun president, seeing any sort of military intervention in syria by the united states, would retaliate against us or help others retaliate? >> it is really a question what you mean about retaliation. i think putin will be much more focused on preventing any kind of negative blowback against russia. i don't think putin is actually interested in taking part in a proxy war against the united states. in many respects that already happened. that was in georgia in 2008 when putin himself true a series of red lines what he wanted to see in georgia's relationships with nato and with the outside world and he really believed that the united states and georgia and other actors stepped over them. that's not what he is about in syria. and in syria he wants to keep the status quote.

he doesn't want to see the syrian state implode although we would argue it already has imploded. he wants to make sure that whoever is in charge in syria can keep further bad things from happening there. jenna: you mentioned a proxy war and we've heard that in conversations on our show before. that the middle east is really just a play ground for lack of a better term, i know it is not a good one, between the united states and russia for influence in the region. you don't see that it seems at this time but who is the bigger influencer in the middle east right now? does russia have the upper hand? >> russia doesn't have the upper hand in the middle east. russia's in a very strange position in the middle east now. this is not the cold war, we have to recognize that right away. the russia's three remaining allies in the middle east are three very odd bedfellows. in addition to assad, and israel and which makes it extraordinarily strange and makes it very difficult for

russian policy in the region. obviously israel doesn't have any kind of relationship with iran and syria that is not antagonistic. there have been real shifts in the middle east in russia in terms of the relationships they have there and we're now seeing a whole host of new players in the middle east, china, for example, and a whole shaking down of the old regimes in the middle east. this is an area in constant flux. putin looking forward is very worried about what the russian role in the middle east is going to look like down the line. there are still interests there. russia wants to see some stability in the middle east just like everyone else but it is not really sure when the final accounting is done where it is going to be. jenna: i don't mean to cut you off there but i want to get to this last question and you explain why it is so complicated with so many players on the stage in the middle east. the cover of your book shows a lot of different, i don't know if it is costumes are the best term or propaganda photos of president putin but we've all seen them of him riding bare-chested on horseback and

doing crazy stunts, at least to us it seems that way and some have suggested there is a chance for our president to communicate with the russian president, but the question remains about how to do that. does our president need to appear more like this, fiona? would that make the russian president respond better? what would actually bring russia on our side? >> president putin, in spite of all these various guises he is constantly assuming has one major goal, one major persona for him, protector and defender of russia. ultimately he wants to know, can president obama guaranty what happens next in syria? does obama know what the endgame is going to be? and will that endgame be beneficial to russia? now that's the really difficult task for president obama to engage in. ironically putin doesn't want to see the political three attributings from president obama in this particular case. he wants to know who will be in

charge in syria at the end of the stay and who will prevent anything bad happening to russia and who will come through with all the different deals that russia made with assad over the last period of time. so he wants results and he want to know that obama knows what he is doing in syria. jenna: those questions sound very familiar to questions our lawmakers are asking here at home and as well as the american people. so we'll continue to explore that question on the show today, fiona. thank you so much for your time. >> thanks, general ma. -- jenna. thanks for having me, thank you. jon: a car explosion caught on video. more incredible footage to show you, plus, what led up to this accident. also lawmakers on capitol hill take sides on a possible u.s. strike in syria. we'll look at the political divide that could stop the resolution in its tracks. woman: everyone in the nicu -- all the nurses wanted to watch him

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jon: a fox news alert, republicans and democrats divided as they consider authorizing a u.s. military strike in syria. the senate foreign relations committee narrowly approving a resolution authorizing the strike, but with opposition growing on both sides of the aisle, its fate in the full very unclear. let's bring in angela mcglowan, a fox news political analyst. it got through the senate foreign relationings committee on a 10-7 yes vote with one, basically, abstention. what do you think about the chances of this thing in the full senate? >> well, i believe it's going to

pass the senate, but it's going to have problems in the house. jon, it's not popular right now for military action in syria. the bottom line is that most believe we don't have any national interests in syria. this is more of an international human rights issue. and then there's confusion r5rding the red line. did the president set the red line or did the world, and if the world did, where's the world on this issue? it seems to me that we're standing alone, and that's the problem. jon: what about the president's remarks when he said that he did not set the red line, that the world did? >> i think that we all know that the president set a red line and even a spokesperson from the state department when asked about the red line, she flip-flopped, she said that syria crossed the red line, there is no red line. basically, jon, there should be leadership shown here and clarity and end game, and the president needs to take this to congress and to the american people. also americans are concerned are there going to be boots on the

ground. we've been told, no, but what's the guarantee? and with the economy being the way it is, jon, are taxpayers going to pay for this, and how much is it going to cost us? jon: we had senator john barrasso of wyoming on this week and asked him where he stood, he is one of those who voted no. he is not yet convinced that there is compelling reason for the united states to take action against syria. and some other no votes, senator johnson of wisconsin, senator rubio from florida, senator paul, a couple of potential presidential contenders there. >> and senator udall, yes. senator udall as well. jon: there are some sort of strange political bedfellows being made on this vote when you look at the yes votes. it's not very often that you see senators mccain and flake of arizona voting in conjunction with senate menendez of new jersey and senator boxer of california, and yet all four of them are among the yes votes on this. >> and you're going to have some of that in the house, because you have certain democrats even

though they're not back yet in the house, you have democrats that are in opposition. i do believe that president obama will whip his party and that the vote in the house will be via party lines, but also you see speaker boehner that has adhered to the fact that if the majority of the majority party does not support the bill, will you bring it to the house floor to vote? i think he should go around the hastert rule and bring it to the house floor for a vote, because members of congress represent their constituency, and president obama says that he wants to go to congress for approval. so if you don't put it on the house floor for a vote, jon, then we won't know what our members of congress think or feel. they need to be on the record. jon: do you think the president is trying to put republicans in a box by forcing this vote? >> i believe with this president it's politics over policy. i was very surprised on saturday that he came out as powerful as

he did, jon, but he also said that he's really going to congress as a courtesy, that he could do this on his own. but if that happens, then, jon, congress could take this to the supreme court and say that the president is overstepping his power. jon: but virtually every president in my memory has taken military action without consulting congress first. why the change now? >> because washington, d.c. is divided. this could be, remember when nixon wouldn't turn over his tapes during the impeachment? well, congress can go to the supreme court and say the president's overstepping his powers, and the supreme court can step in. so i'm hopeful, jon, that this is a messy, but i do believe that this is a political move on obama's part to put republicans as obstructionists, and in 2014 we have midterm elections. jon: well, again, he got the support of one key republican in the senate, john mccain. he's going to be our guest about half an hour from now.

angela mcglowan, thank you. >> thank you for having me. jon: and to keep up-to-date with your politics, log on to fox news politics.com. jenna: we're going to turn to the economy now. 323,000 americans filed for unemployment in the latest week. over the last few weeks, jobless claims are at or around five-year lows, levels we haven't seen since before the recession. a driver of job growth, of course, is small business, and in another potentially encouraging headline for the economy, we learned this week small business borrowing is at a six-year high. that could be a sign that business owners are looking to invest in their companies which may also lead to more hiring. it's also a sign that banks are giving more loans which hasn't always been the case. it's something our next guest in our small business spotlight can speak to directly. lisa is the owner of simply fit, a boutique studio in new york city. so you grew your business during a tough time in the economy, and you tried to get a loan initially and weren't able to. >> yes. jenna: tell us about your

experience and how that's changed over the last three years. >> three years ago i went into the banks with my business plan ready to go, feeling confident i was going to get approved, and i did not. so i was able to save my own money, went in against advice, built it all on my own with my own money. three years later i decided that i want to try and expand the business and offer more jobs and more classes and more for my community. went in and was approved just last week. jenna: what did they tell you the difference was? was there any sort of explanation? >> they wanted to see that my business was up and running and that it was generating revenue. jenna: so when you're looking to, what to do next for the business and what economists look like when they look at these statistics about borrowings, whether or not people are doing it because business isn't going good or because demand is up and business is better. for you, it sounds like there's a good reason to get more money invested in your company. >> right. they wanted to make sure i was

going to pay back what they were lending. jenna: sounds wise. >> of course. jenna: so what is next for you? you've seen your business grow through your own fruition. >> we're going to be expanding at the beginning of next year, probably open a second location. jenna: how do you compete with all the big fitness chains out there? >> well, when you go to the big fitness chains and you go into a gym, you sign a contract, you get their money, and that's it, you know? there's no care, there isn't that extra level of service. you're just another number. when you come to a fitness studio, everybody knows your name, there's an accountability, and they really, truly care about you being strong. jenna: you know when people don't show up. [laughter] >> absolutely. and i see them around the neighborhood. jenna: hey, you haven't been to the gym -- >> no, you don't ever want to make someone feel bad. jenna: i was reading on twitter this morning after the age of 30 we lose muscle mass at the rate of 1% a year. what is piloxing? that's one thing you offer.

>> this is a fusion class of pilates, boxing and dance. it's 40 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of pilates. right on trend with all of the fitness trends, and we offer fusion and intensity interval classes. jenna: good for you. congratulations, by the way. you said, forget it, i'm just going to go on. that's a great story. lisa, nice to have you. >> thank you so much. jenna: jon? jon: well, moments after emergency crews arrive at the scene of a car crash, one of those vehicles explodes sending debris flying. what we're learning about what caused this blast. also a storm spinning in the caribbean. where this system is headed. could it cause trouble for the u.s.? and your weekend weather fox cast coming up. [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah.

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jon: an incredible explosion caught on camera after a wild car crash in colorado. you can see pieces of the burning car fly into the air. police say one car rear ended another and then oxygen canisters in one of the trunks exploded and fed the flames. thankfully, no one was trapped inside. no emergency responders were hurt in the explosion. police later arrested the man who caused the crash for driving under the influence of drugs. jenna: well, now to the weather. a storm swirling in the caribbean is now downgraded. tropical storm gabrielle is becoming a depression as it turns towards puerto rico, and that's good news, apparently, for us, because it looks like it's not going to reach the united states. maria no molina, is that the ca? jr. that's good news for us across parts of the east coast of the united states. and so far this hurricane season, we have yet to see a hurricane. so that's also so much much-welcomed news, especially

after that forecast from the national hurricane center that the season was going to be well above average. now let's talk about gabrielle. right now the storm system is just a depression. earlier this morning, about six hours ago, it looked much more impressive on satellite, it had a large area of showers and thunderstorms associated with it, but take a look at this loop. over the past six hours, that has significantly dissipated, so just a couple of storms in the actual center of low-level circulation is located right about here, to the south and east of the dominican republic, and most of the showers and storms are well off towards the east producing areas of heavy rain across eastern portions of puerto rico. regardless of whether the storm is a tropical storm or depression, it is still forecast to produce a lot of heavy rain over parts of puerto rico, locally up to 8 inches, and within the next 4 hours, jenna -- 24 hours, jenna, we are thinking the storm will continue to weaken and by friday morning, maximum sustained winds of 25 miles per hour. the center of the country today

very hot and over the next several days, and that does extend over parts of southern california. take a look at los angeles, 90 degrees. the northeast? very cool for this time of year. jenna: hot in hollywood, but looks pretty good coast to coast, so we'll take it. maria, thank you. >> reporter: thank you. jon: the specter of military intervention is causing a lot of anxiety in damascus right now. a look at what's on the minds of ordinary people living in syria's capital, coming up.

jenna: well, as the united states considers military action against syria, civilians inside the country are living day-to-day. for folks living in the capital, it's becoming a bit of a waiting game as you can imagine. reporting for sky news, alex rossi has an inside look at the situation in damascus. >> reporter: now, this is as

close as we can get to this military checkpoint down there. they've been reinforced all around the city over the last 48 hours. and the soldiers who are manning them are defiant. today say they don't care who they fight, whether it's u.s. marines or opposition fighters who they call terrorists. they will defend their president with their lives. in this part of damascus, which is a government stronghold, people worry that the french will also commit. the legacy of france as a colonial power in syria is unmistakeable. at this bakery, customers buying their daily bread are anxious, but there's also defiance. and the french influence extends deep. this office was established during the occupation run by christians and muslims. they work side by side. in this room we meet catholipri. he was severely injured when the christian quarter was struck by rebel rockets. he fears if outside forces join

the fight, the sectarian divisions pitching syrian existence syrian -- against syrian will only worsen. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: we don't care who's the ruler of this country, he tells me. we're against the formation of an islamic state. we want a syrian secular state for all syrians. most people in this part of the city support president assad, but they wonder how long this almost normality can continue. alex rossi, sky news, damascus. jon: talk a little bit more about the questions facing the united states now with regard to syria, the extreme sectarian violence targeting christians about 30 miles north of damascus, i should say. al-qaeda-linked rebels are targeting a christian village in territory held by the regime. government troops battling the rebels for a second day after fighters for the al-nusra group

stormed a hotel atop a mountain overlooking the town. our next guest has a firsthand breakdown of how christians in syria react to the violence. syrians are a demographic mosaic that includes the sunni majority, plus christians, jews, al a whites and kurds, and they have a range of attitudes regarding what's happening. some support the regime, others have refused to be drawn into the conflict, others are active members of the opposition. our guest also says that up to 95% of syrians, especially the christians, believe violence is not the way to bring change to syria. joining us now, the only syrian priest in the church of england, reverend nadim nasser, director and co-founder of the awareness foundation. does that mean that you oppose any u.s. military strike on syria? >> i oppose any military strike anywhere in the world, jon, because in the '80s i lived

certain years in the hell of the civil war in lebanon. and i remember like yesterday when the battleship new jersey came to the coast of lebanon and bombed the mountains of lebanon. did that bring an end to the civil war in remember than? no. -- in lebanon? no. every single lebanese remembers that horrible night of new jersey, and the strike was absolutely devastating. but the war continued. when did the war stop? when all the lebanese went to the city in saudi arabia and sat around the table and found a way out of the conflict. jon: but what happens if bashar al assad wins this civil war? what happens to the christians, what happens to those who have opposed him in syria? >> i don't think the winner, when the regime or the opposition, is going to be good for syria at all. in the future.

a change must take place in syria but not through violence. most of the syrians want to see change. the change to a true democratic election. democracy, jon, should not be always defined as the west sees it. democracy is a system which should emerge from the country itself. it shouldn't be imposed on the country. jon: president obama says he is convinced that assad's forces launched that chemical weapons attack that killed a thousand, perhaps more people, innocent people, obviously, including women and children. are you convinced, and does that deserve some kind of response of force? >> i will ask you a question. the 200,000 people died or were killed during the conflict in the last 18 months. are they the children of a lesser god than the people who were killed by a chemical weapon? or if i'm killed by a tank or a

bomb, i'm -- my life is less value than if i was killed by a chemical gas? i mean, i ask these politicians whose rhetoric is absolutely nonsense. i will ask, also, president obama, you got the nobel prize for peace. why don't you intervene in syria without strikes and without military muscles and try to muscle your brain and say let's go and intervene in syria politically, diplomatically, bring all the syrians around the table and help them to find a way out of their conflict. why nobody is talking about dialogue. jon: you bring us an interesting perspective from your home country, reverend nasser. thank you. >> thank you very much. jenna: well, the white house and the kremlin remain far apart over syria, speaking about discussions, as the united states moves closer to a strike, a potential strike in syria. up next, john mccain joins us on the moves made now by the

president and what's also ahead. plus, a brand new reason to get your health priorities back in shape. carol alt will join us with a preview of her new program here on fox to help boost your health and your fitness.

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and linked it to his bank of america bank account to help free up plenty of time for the here and now. that's the wonder of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america. jon: new developments and breaking news. jenna: growing tension between two superpowers over how to deal with syria. president obama and russian president putin facing off again in st. petersburg as we get some brand new video of a russian warship heading to the region. and the president also back here at home in a pr blitz to sell the american people on obamacare. why former president bill clinton is calling on both sides to work together. and from the runway to your living room, supermodel carol alt with a new gig. she will join us live with simple ways to lose weight. it is all "happening now." we welcome you to a brand new hour of "happening now." glad to have you with us. i'm jenna lee.

jon: and i'm jon scott. it can make for uncomfortable dinner conversation. word leaders at the g20 in russia sitting down for what is being called a working dinner. dominating many discussions in saint pete's pete's, not the ususual economic issues but the bloody civil war in syria and the faceoff between russian president putin and president obama over what to do about it. president obama challenging the world to support his call for a military strike on syria over its use of chemical weapons. his biggest nemesis at every step is russia's president. today for the first time president obama and president putin met since this icy encounter back in june. a day after putin called america's top diplomat, secretary of state john kerry a liar. if that is not enough tension we have this video just in of a russian warship crossing turkey's bosporus strait we believe to the eastern mediterranean near the syrian coast where four u.s. destroyers are now in position.

we have a complete fox team coverage. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel on where the resolution to authorize military action stands right now on capitol hill. and senior white house foreign after first correspondent wendell goler on the big chill in america and russian relations. wendell is traveling with the president. we go to him first in st. petersburg, russia. wendell? >> reporter: jon, the syria civil war is the biggest item not on the official agenda here in st. petersburg, and the president doesn't seem to win many converts for a military plan for a strike to punish president bashar assad for what the u.s. insists was a government-led weapons attack. the leaders got a letter from the pope asking them to quote, lay aside the futile pursuit of military solution in syria. chinese officials warned of a attack in syria could trouble the global economy and this is primarily an economic gathering.

president obama and putin did put on smiles for the cameras today, mindful of the fuss the press may have had over their cold demeanor at the g8 summit in northern ireland. mr. obama's own comment about putin looking like the bored kid in the back of the classroom. the two men are not arguing whether there was a chemical weapons attack but they disagree over who was response with the u.s. saying intelligence points to assad's general and russia sending a report to the u.n. that blames the attack on rebels. they disagree over the value of punishing syria. here's the president from last night. >> anytime you're involving military action, people will ask, this may do more harm than good. i understand those arguments. i wrestle with them every day but i do have to ask people, well, if in fact you're outraged by the slaughter of innocent people, what are you doing about it? and if the answer is, well, we should engage diplomatically, well we've engaged

diplomatically. >> reporter: mr. putin is threatening to reconsider the hold he put on the sale of a sophisticated missile defense system to syria. if the u.s. goes ahead with the attack and possibly reconsidering his refusal to sell that missile defense system to iran. jon? jon: wendell goler traveling with the president in russia. thanks. jenna: meanwhile here at home syria resolution could head for a full senate vote as early as next week. the senate foreign relations committee narrowly approving the resolution authorizing military action yesterday. that is an initial vote. a initial vote that dru bipartisan support but an alliance is now forming between members of both parties to oppose u.s. intervention. our chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is live on capitol hill with the latest and greatest from there. so, mike, what is the next step for this resolution? >> reporter: well, jenna, they will take a procedural step tomorrow in the united states senate and that will set up a full week of debate and a vote on the resolution in the senate. arizona republican senator john

mccain was successful in strengthening the language of the senate resolution. it now includes changing momentum on the battlefield in syria but mccain and others favoring the use of force in syria say the commander-in-chief must do more to sell military action. >> what bothers me is that we've got a president who unlike former presidents is just failed to act the way that presidents act in times of crises. i supported early action by this president towards the regime of bashar assad. unfortunately he didn't do that. now he has come to congress. >> reporter: if you recall the president spoke to the country on saturday afternoon of labor day weekend. and so those who are favoring this military action say it would help if the president would raise the profile and really make the case to the american public and to lawmakers. jenna? jenna: we'll have more on all of that in just a moment when senator mccain joins us.

meantime, mike, just real briefly. we have classified briefings happening today? what's going on today on the capitol? >> reporter: that's right. they can be more candid in these briefings, revealing what the u.s. intelligence community knows what the syrian regime has done. on the way into a senate intelligence briefing several lawmakers said they have questions and concerns. >> i'm not ready to vote on a resolution. i have more questions than i have answers and i hope to get them over the course of today and tomorrow. >> this is a broader issue and i think the administration has yet to enunciate clearly a broader strategy. so i have not yet reached the conclusion on how i will vote. these briefings have been helpful but i still have many questions about the wisdom of the president's action. >> reporter: multiple lawmakers have said they would like to personally support this effort. the use of force in syria, but

they say, they're getting overwhelmed, from their constituents, do not want it. jenna? jenna: mike, thank you. jon: so let's bring in now one of the staunchest advocates of military intervention in syria, a key player in determining whether or not congress authorizes the president to use military force. arizona senator john mccain, a former presidential nominee and ranking member of the senate armed services committee. you voted on the foreign relations committee in favor of this use of force resolution. you say you want to change the military equation on the battlefield. are you confident that a military strike will actually accomplish that? >> i think, giving sufficient support to the free syrian army will have a great effect, not one weapon has come from the united states from our, in the hands of the free syrian army, meanwhile plane loads of arms of the most sophisticated kind come in from russia, from iran.

5,000 hezbollah on the ground. the iranian revolutionary guard. so certainly the momentum unfortunately favors bashar assad and everybody acknowledges the only way bashar assad will leave in a negotiated settlement is if he think he is going to lose. so that's very important but let me just start out by saying i understand the skepticism of my colleagues and i'm going to be having town hall meetings here today and tomorrow and, my constituents are very skeptical. they're burned by the iraq experience. they, they are very, very concerned about this. and they're going to have to be convinced. and so we've got an uphill battle here but i also think at the end of the day, the option of doing nothing in the face of the use of chemical weapons, something that has been outlawed since world war i, because the horrors of world war i is something that would give americans pause. jon: would you at advocate, because you just talked about

the armying the -- arming the free syrian army, would you advocate a plan where we give significant amounts weaponry to the free syrian army and don't undertake a some kind after crews missile attack? >> no, i think the president is correct we have to respond to the use of chemical weapons although i would point out we didn't respond while 100,000 were massacred but when you use chemical weapons, that is something that the world has outlawed. they were not used in world war ii for a reason, because of the response that it would get at one time or another. so i think you have to do both but right now to allow bashar assad to use these chemical weapons and slaughter innocent people is just something we can't go unresponded to. but americans don't want boots on the ground and they have to be, american boots on the ground.

they have to be assured of that and they have to be confident of that if they're going to support this measure. jon: but let's say we suddenllv. we launch an attack. you know, we take out some of his air force or we take out some chemical weapons depot and something like that and hezbollah responds, by, you know, sending somebody to american shopping center with a canister of sarin gas. then what? >> well, that is a, in my view a remote possibility because then that is the end of hezbollah but, look at the option of doing nothing and bashar assad and his iranian patrons and the north koreans watch the use of chemical weapons and, now, will view that they have a blank check. that's, that's the other problem that we face, which think is much greater. an attack on israel, i don't want an attack on israel but the reason why hezbollah won't

attack israel because the last time they tried it, they got their rear ends kicked and they know that would happen again. as far as whether the russians would do anything, absolutely not. they would not. but the, this is really about iran and their continued development of nuclear weapons and if we stand by and watch the chemical weapons being used, what signal does that, you think that send to iran and north korea and other countries who want to develop weapons of mass destruction? jon: senator mccain, i know your time is in great demand these days. we appreciate you stopping by. "happening now" and talking to us about all of this. >> thank you for having me on. jon: you bet. jenna: so that's senator mccain on syria, a key member of the house may not see eye-to-eye with the senator. take a listen. >> watching your votes and career for years and years that i will anna ros-lehtinen goes along with something that said you're good to keep murdering your own people and but not with

chemical weapons, you that doesn't sound like you, congresswoman? >> here is the other choice we have. we have a john mccain-style, less limited, more broad level of authority to go into syria to accomplish what, regime change? that is where the people, really if they know. jenna: so what is the goal? the congresswoman you saw in that clip with our shepherd smith, a key member of the foreign relations committee joins us ahead to talk more about this. hi, there, congresswoman. take a number. auto showrooms are busy these days. what is behind the surge in car sales and what is the significance for the america's economic recovery? that's ahead. let's play:

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>> welcome back, everyone. president is looking to punish syria's regime.

resolution authorizing military intervention is approved by the senate foreign relations committee. it is an initial vote. it sets up a full vote in the senate sometime next week. what happens in the house is the real question where the resolution is proving a tough sell for skeptical lawmakers on both side of the aisle? let's bring in a key member of the foreign affairs committee. florida congresswoman ileana ros-lehtinen. >> thank you so much for your invitation. jenna: you were talking a little bit what we heard from senator john mccain. you disagree with him completely. why? >> well, this was a very important change that senator mccain made to the resolution that was voted on in the senate foreign relations committee. that resolution as it was originally written by senator menendez and how it was changed by john mccain i think would change the way that the house would perceive voting for this. jenna: why is that? >> and it would be for the

negative. because what senator mccain, whom i love, i respect, he is a war hero and we thank him for his service. he knows warfare very well but what he wants to do, and he said it, he wants to change the momentum on the battlefield. this is not what president obama said we were going to do in syria. what president obama said and what secretary of state john kerry and chuck hagel have said is that we are going to be sending a message to the assad regime that the use of chemical weapons is illegitimate, it is ill-advised and it will be decisively met with force. that is different than changing the momentum on the battlefield. because. jenna: why wouldn't we want, why wouldn't we want to make a strong statement if that is the case? why wouldn't we want the momentum to change, that the regime, the same regime we say is using chemical weapons to kill children, will go? >> because that is a different type of debate that we would need to have. then you're talking about a

mission that is similar to iraq. that is similar to afghanistan. what we were promise is that this would be a limited, targeted aerial strike to make sure that the future assad and the present assad and any thug in the world knows the use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians is prohibited. now that is quite different than changing the momentum on the battlefield. jenna: sure. >> that is getting involved. even though we won't have boots on the ground that is quite different and that is just not going to make. jenna: would you be able to work with a future assad if we keep on calling him a thug? if this is what we're talking about right now, why would we think that we could work with another thug somewhere in the middle east if this is what is happening at this time? >> well, that is up to responsible nations to deal with russia and tell russia to stop arming assad. to, iran will look at what the united states does with syria.

if we do nothing, then how do we say to iran, all options are on the table? they will shrug their shoulders. jenna: but you mentioned this and john mccain mentioned this. i think it is really important for our viewers because it has been mentioned so many times by lawmakers. we keep talking about iran, hezbollah and hamas because of all the evil in the world. >> because they are very involved in syria. jenna: they are very involved but why do you think iran would suddenly be listening now when after two years we stood by and done nothing? >> what we have done, la mennably, we have forced the obama administration to pass legislation that we passed overwhelmingly in the house and senate and he is very reluctant to implement the crippling sanctions. even today there are a host of countries and a host of companies that have loopholes that they continue to do business with iran. we have to make it very clear to countries like china, like russia, who continue to prop up

this terrible regime, that we'll have nuclear weapons it will be a real threat to our national security. they can choose, either do business with iran or do business with the united states. there are a host of issues that we can confront. but this resolution next week should just be about chemical weapons use and not about changing momentum on the battlefield. jenna: i'm up against a commercial break but i have to get this in really quick. if you could share something new with our viewers we talk a lot about day one, what day one would look like with a bombing campaign of some sort. what have you been told about day two? what happens next after that? >> well i think that assad is going to be putting a lot of dead bodies for the world to see, whether they were the victims of a targeted strike by the u.s. or not. and he is going to be blaming the united states but it is more or less what he has been doing all of this time. russia has got to understand, they have got to choose sides. they have got to be on the side of what is right and just and

stop this murderous thug from doing this terrible chemical weapons attack on further civilians. that's what this lesson and that's what this debate is all b it is not about regime change. it is not about changing momentum on the battlefield, and that will never fly. jenna: we keep calling him a thug. do we think he will be rehabilitated? >> no way. jenna: that is confusion when we want -- >> because we said as a responsible nation the use of chemical weapons is prohibited. it is against the norms of international standards and to let something like this go unanswered, i think will weaken our resolve. i know that president reagan would have never let this happen. he would and up to and and president obama the only reason he is consulting with congress, he wants to blame somebody for his lack of resolve. we have to think like president reagan would do, he would say chemical use is unacceptable. jenna: you lead us into another

conversation completely when it comes to politics. we look forward to having you back. thanks for being patient with your questions. we look forward to talking to you again. >> i appreciate it. jenna: we'll be back with more "happening now" [ dennis ] it's always the same dilemma -- who gets the allstate safe driving bonus check. rock beats scissors! [ chuckles ] wife beats rock. and with two checks a year, everyone wins. [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call 866-906-8500 now. [ dennis ] zach really loves s new camera. problem is...this isn't zach. it's a friend of a friend who was at zach's party and stole his camera. but zach's got it covered... with allstate renters insurance. [ female announcer ] protect your valuables for as low as $4 a month when you add renters insurance to your allstate auto policy. call 866-906-8500 now. what are you doing? we're switching car insurance. why? because these guys are the cheapest. why? good question. because a cut-rate price could mean cut-rate protection.

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jon: right now as we gear up for the full rollout of president obama's signature health care law rural communities are facing mounting challenges like attracting doctors and providing basic hospital services in the face of increasing cutbacks. alicia acuna is live in denver with more on that. >> reporter: hi, jon. rural physicians are in short supply. it put as lot of pressure on folks like dr. jeffrey bacon. >> we see people from sydney, nebraska. we see people from kansas. we see people all over the region that drive, 60, 80 miles

to come see a physician. >> reporter: dr. bacon's office is located in the middle of the far-flung plains of eastern colorado. the town of sterling has 15,000 residents and is the largest city in a vast region. >> you take care of the whole gamut anywhere from deliveries all the way to fluorsing home patients. so it is a hard job but it is very rewarding. >> reporter: providing health care services in rural america is becoming more of a challenge with young folks heading to urban areas, populations in places like sterling are getting older and the people to care for them disappearing. >> the future is very worrisome in terms of, will we keep the smaller hospitals that are out in the local communities? not only financially but also struggle in terms of having qualified health care practitioners that are willing to live that rural life. >> this is another ambulance. >> reporter: when the region's only private ambulance service went under two years ago, sterling's fire department

stepped in. >> we were able to utilize our station as part of an ambulance station. that saved the county quite a bit of money. >> reporter: however, jon, when the department did that, their coverage area increased to 2,000 square miles. that is up from 600. at love these areas are also concerned about the president's health care plan because they're worried it will additional pressure to their already-suffering systems, jon? jon: we'll talk more about that plan in the next segment. alicia acuna, thank you. jenna: the white house eliciting the help of former president bill clinton to promote obamacare. his new pitch to the american people and is it working? our panel debates that straight ahead. more than 100,000 dead and two million displaced. the president is preposing limited missile strikes in syria. why our next guest says that is simply not enough. a different opinion coming up.

jon: "happening now", president obama turns to the big guns with less than a month to sell obamacare to the american people, he is enlisting the help of former president bill clinton, who he once called the secretary of explaining stuff, to highlight the plan. >> it seems to me that the benefits of reform can't be fully realized the problems can't be solved. unless both the supporters and the opponents of the original

legislation work together to implement it and address the issues that arise whenever you change a system this complex. jon: meantime many lawmakers on capitol hill are still trying to defund the overhaul as skeptical americans have more questions bit than answers. all this as a study by the non-profit kaiser family foundation shows cost-conscious consumers hunting for lower prices will have options if they're willing to take a chance with higher deductibles and co-pays. a separate study premiums for a 21-year-old by buying a mid-range plan would be $270 a month. a 60-year-old looking into that same plan would face premiums nearly double that amount. a.b. stoddard, associate editor and columnist for "the hill." juan williams a fox news political analyst and they are here to talk about some of these obamacare issues. juan, reading the opening line from an ap story, coverage under president barack obama's health care law won't be cheap but

cost-conscious consumers hunting for lower premiums will have plenty of options. won't be cheap? i thought that was idea that would make it affordable for everybody? >> there will be subsidies, jon, some of the subsidies as you described earlier if people are willing to take co-pays and willing to take risks in terms of lower level plans the costs will be limited but there will be costs. i mean it is not, its not free, but so, ab, 21-year-olds generally think they are invincible and not going to get sick and how are you going to convince them they ought to be spending maybe 270, 300 buck as month to pay for health insurance? >> and that literally is the linchpin of the success of the program because if you don't get those young people who are healthy into pools to balance out the pools of risk because we're not taking sick people into the pools, the health care is not going to be affordable. what you're seeing now an enormous push by an administration finally engaged

into selling obamacare. they did it too late. even people in the administration will privately admit that. that they're trying to engage young people to get them on board, to look at a plan that costs $100, $193 and sell them on purchasing that coverage, perhaps seeking a subsidy, over paying a non-compliance fee which is only $95 a year. jon: that, the math doesn't make sense there to me, juan. i mean i would rather pay the non-compliance fee. >> not if you want health insurance. i think at love people without health insurance do want some kind of coverage. the question is, as you point out earlier, will young people feeling invincible, you have to explain to them, hey, you know what? if you get squished in a motorcycle crash it's a problem for you. yes the country, america will pay your bills at the hospital but at some point you are going to encounter a situation where you want to know that you have personal coverage. and i think that's what the president, president clinton was trying to say the other day,

there are problems here and one of them is convincing those young people but we think the american people, president clinton said, that we can work together. if you can get republicans and democrats to cooperate, we can make this thing work. jon: well, ab, obviously this thing was passed in a bit of a smoke and mirrors thing especially on the senate side. there are a lot of republicans who are just dead-set against it. why are they suppose to just roll over and go along with this program? >> yeah. i mean i think bill clinton's concession was interesting he basically said there will be bumps in the road on implementation. the success of implementation depends on efforts to amend the law and wrinkles that pop up. republicans are not interested in that. bill clinton knows that. the problem is now for republicans, as we get into this after october 1, and official kickoff on january 1, where everyone has to have insurance that republicans don't want to look like they're against the

access to care. and that they want the program to fail. when you look at polling actually, it is true that most americans don't want to repeal the law. they just want it to work and they're very nervous. so it would be better for republicans politically to step aside, watch how the program sort of stumbles out of the gate and make their criticisms accordingly but all the repeal votes end up doing nothing because they're not backing it up with an alternative plan. jon: the republicans say, juan, that they have presented plans like selling insurance across state lines, that kind of thing, juan. those haven't gotten a whole lot of attention but what do you think about ab's suggestion? should they get out the way, let the thing stand or fail and let the president and democrats own it? >> well you know, as your political analyst, jon, let me tell you republicans are making hay by going out there and just dumping on health care. i mean there is an element of the party that doesn't want anything to do with obamacare and just delights in seeing

every stumble and failure as this plan comes to life and so they're going to point out this is a big government takeover. it is an imposition on personal freedoms by insisting that people have insurance. that they are disagree with the supreme court decision. so, you know what? there are people who are making hay with this and its hard to go out and say, hey, stop, when they see political advantage in it. jon: also pretty hard to get excited about a program that is sort of overseen in large part by the irs but, that's another topic for another day. juan williams, a.b. stoddard, their both. >> you're welcome, jon. jenna: turn back to syria now. some growing questions about the president's approach to the conflict in syria with several destroyers positioned in the eastern mediterranean. if given the order the pentagon says it is ready to launch cruise missile strikes with destroyers off the coast of syria. some say this may not be enough including danielle with the american enterprise institute. she writes, quote, this is the

opportunity to the right thing. but that is not what the president has in mind a few tomahawks a few big bangs, and the only message assad will get that america has nice weapons and we do. she is the vice president of foreign policy studies at aei. nice to have you back on the program. the option that we're hearing as far as some of these missile strikes, what other options do you think we should be entertaining? >> i think the biggest problem that the president has he hasn't really articulated any strategy. that is one of the reasons why he is having trouble selling congress and the american people and until we hear something solid what is going to turn the tide in syria people are going to be doubtful about a couple of missile strikes. jenna: and why are you doubtful? >> i'm doubtful because at the end of the day i'm afraid the president is only looking for symbolism. i'm afraid that's what motivating him is politics and not strategy. we need to look very seriously who will end up with chemical

weapons on the ground in syria if the war continues to deteriorate and al qaeda continues to gain ground. jenna: is that concern enough for you to want a stronger response than what we're hearing? >> what i really want is to help the people on the ground who are fighting assad. the free syrian army, not the al qaeda-related groups. is capable of doing a great deal against the assad regime. if we were working with them, if we were indeed as the president promised some months ago, arming them, then we could worry less about having to do a job later and more about the syrian people fighting for themselves. jenna: so have we missed our moment? have we missed the opportunity to do that? >> i don't think that we've missed the opportunity. i still think that it is possible for us to do the right thing. the problem is, that the president hasn't said that he wants to do the right thing. he keeps promising to arm the rebels but he hasn't done it and a couple of missile strikes are not going to make the difference in this war.

jenna: one of the things you wrote early they are week after being told for six years the middle east doesn't matter you say the president needs to make his case about why we should re-engage in the middle east after some years of him as our commander-in-chief. i put this question to our viewers, danielle, i wanted to know whether or not that they are as war-weary as everyone is talking about. everyone throws around that term. i was surprised. viewers came back with overwhelming response on twitter. carolyn said i'm war-weary. i am distrustful of our president. there is no integrity. joe says he is worried about sequester and fiscal cliff. he wants attention on that. so if you were to speak directly to our viewers danielle, how would you place this in the priority? we have some different concerns about the country of the, how would you explain to the american people why this demands our attention? >> look i think your viewers are absolutely right. if the commander-in-chief isn't willing to come out and sell a policy, why should the american

people be willing to take it? the polls are very clear. in december the american people supported action in syria if there was use of chemical weapons. now, they don't support it. and that's because the president has spent no time trying to explain to the american people what's at stake. if he asked the american people, do you want chemical weapons in the hands of terrorists groups, i'm pretty sure what their answer would be but he hasn't done that. jenna: interesting. we'll see if he make as more direct appeal in the coming days and weeks. here's a final question, danielle, because your expertise has been on syria for so many years and we appreciate that expertise and there are some comparisons coming up even from our viewers, comparisons to iraq and comparisons to afghanistan or libya. do any of these comparisons in this type of scenario actually work here, that we can draw upon to further the conversation? >> every country is different. every dictator is different. what i don't want us to do is to ignore the opportunity to get people in these countries, to

fight for themselves because i'm always afraid that we will later on have to go in, like iraq, and fight ourselves. better to have the syrians fight for their country than americans fight to secure our national interests. that is always the important choice. jenna: danielle, thank you very much. great to have you back on the program. >> it's always a pleasure, thanks. jon: much more on syria and that situation coming up. fox news obtains brand new video raising troubling questions about the people that we might be helping. why experts say it is meant to send a clear message to the west. plus the auto industry shifting into high gear. why more people are buying cars these days and what it means for the u.s. economy overall. ♪

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jon: you might be surprised to learn that one industry is now rebounding in our struggling economy as u.s. auto sales hit levels not seen since before the financial crisis. david asman of the fox business network anchors, "after the bell" each weekday, 4:00 p.m. eastern on that network. so, david, why so much car buying going on? >> well it's a good question because it is one industry that is booming at the moment. it is up 17% in terms of car sales from what it was last year. first of all there is a huge pent-up demand. the average age of the american car on the road is 11 years. that iry old car. and that's the average. so there are a lot of 20-year-old clunkers on the road. americans were ready to buy new cars. they have been driving old cars for too long. second reason they're buying because car companies are simply making better cars. why are they making better costs? because their costs decreased dramatically. they have been cutting costs like crazy. both gm, ford, chrysler, all the car countries.

they're not just here in the united states but abroad. but specifically here since 2007 both gm and ford closed 25 plants. jobs have been cut. that is not good news for people losing their jobs and it adds to the overall unemployment rate but car jobs lost since 2008, ford has cut 42,000 jobs. gm has cut 31,000 jobs. salaries by the way are lower as well, starting salary now for a job in a car industry is about 14 bucks an hour. used to be about twice that. health care costs are lower. when costs are down, profits are way up. so car companies have a lot more money. ford has made $32 billion in profits over the past three years. gm has made 18.8, almost $19 billion in profits. so, their profits are up. they have a lot more money. instead of just going out and partying they're spending it on cars, making better cars, jon. jon: so is there any slowdown possible? i mean what could slow down car sales? >> one of the other things that

has increased sales is that interest rates are so low. it is easy to borrow money to buy a car. interest rates have been going up pretty dramatically over the past couple months. it is up 25%, interest rates across the board, whether you're buying a 10-year treasury bond or mortgages, you've seen rise. so if interest rates continue to rise, and there is a fear in the marketplace that they may do so, people can't buy cars unless they have the cash, most people don't have cash. they have to borrow. if they can't borrow because interest rates go up, that could slow sales. jon: we know jenna is working on getting her husband to replace the old truck. jenna: i love the old chevy. i like the old chevy. jon is getting me in trouble. jon: buy another one. >> keep the old chevy and buy a new one. jon: david asman, thank you. jenna: he is good advocate for consumerism. there are some new fears that a deadly and rare brain disease is spreading after claiming the life of a surgery patient. what health officials are now

saying. plus she has been supermodel and an actress but carollality has a new gig at fox news channel. >> welcome to healthy you, i'm carol alt. canner a business as well as disease? maybe there is more than one way to tackle this health care? you won't want to miss this. jenna: we are excited to have her as part of the fox family. i'm excited to ask her about her shoes because they're super fabulous. i will need to hear about that carol. carol will be our guest coming up next. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu.

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jenna: we have a fox news alert now on that huge forest fire that has been burning near yosemite and around yosemite

national park in california. we have a headline coming from the u.s. forest service says this fire began when a hunter allowed an illegal fire that he wasn't supposed to set, campfire, escape. no arrests have been made right now. the hunter's name is being withheld. there will be further investigation. that fire by the way is 80% contained. jon? jon: she is a triple threat, a supermodel, an actress and a best-selling author but now carol alt is joining us here in the fox news family with a brand new nutrition and fitness program. the healthy you, and carol alt premiers this saturday, 4:00 p.m. eastern time. carol joins me now with a preview. welcome, it is good to have you. >> thank you very much, jon. i'm very happy to be here. jon: obviously you're in very good physical shape and that is what you will be able to bring to viewers some ideas that keep you looking so good. >> jon, i wasn't always in really great physical shape.

at 34 i had very bad health issues. i gained weight. i wasn't looking good at all and i saw my career slipping through my fingers. i thought i really have to do something the issue as you know, people sell snake oil. i went through dig out what really works, what doesn't work and all this information is in my head and i'm so grateful to the fox news family for giving me an opportunity to share this information and to give the miracle that i have found to other women. this is an aging population and we're all looking to be healthy. we're all looking for that edge. we're all looking to stay beautiful and desirable an relevant and that's what i'm looking to bring to my viewers and on the opening. jon: and on the opening program, for instance, you will talk about snacks for children. >> right we did a little school thing because school is starting. everybody says chips, for me it is all about eating the right food but what is the right food? nobody tells you, they use the word right, healthy, all these monikers but nobody can tell you

exactly what that is. we're trying to debunk the myths. jon: you're making fitness and healthy lifestyle accessible. you watch some commercials and read some magazine art else, some people want to make it so impossible or difficult. >> or expensive. it shouldn't be expensive. it should be within anybody's reach to be healthy and that is only fair. you should be able to be healthy. i think that is a god-given right. jon: the saying goes, if you don't have health you don't have anything. >> believe me, the minute, i'm sorry to tell you diagnosed with, your life changes. i i've been through that. i wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. i'm trying to bring information that might help other people like it helped me. jon: but you know, there are heavy people out there who say, oh look, she is carol alt. she is a supermodel. she has handlers and helpers and unlimited amounts of money to stay looking like this and looking fit. what do you say to them. >> i'm the daughter of a fireman. i live like the daughter of a fireman. i do my own cooking. i work out myself. i go to the gym if i need help.

i'm actually an every woman. doesn't matter what i did as a job. what i've learned will help every woman like it has helped me. i get up in the morning. i see wrinkles. i see gray hair. i see the niece melting and flab under the arms and i do something about it. what i learned to do gotten me great results. those results are what i'm bringing to our viewer. jon: that sound great. all right, be sure to catch the premier of carol's new show, the healthy you with carol alt." it airs this saturday and then sunday 4:00 p.m. eastern time on fox news channel. she promises no snake oil and weill be right back

>> i learned a lot in the commercial break. i am going to be watching her show. a list of things to do today later on. >> watch out for the chemicals she said. she has me hook, line and sinker. i will be watching that show.

>> good to have her own. 4 o'clock p.m. eastern on fox. thank you for joining us. america live starts right now. thanks, everybody. >> we start with a fox news alert for you. we have a look at the united nations there in new york city and we expect to hear from the new u.s. ambassador to the un. samantha power is expected to discuss the situation in syria welcome to america live, i am allison cameota in for megyn kelliy today. as we wait the ambassador the closed briefing on syria is getting underway on capitol hill. members of the obama administration is detailing the latest information on syria as some of the loyal supporters of the democratic party are expressing deep reservations for the united states to get involved in another mideast war. there is host of power play on