>> bill: do you think they'll be okay question marks me to the sea lions make me feel better. >> bill: have a great day everybody, i'm taking a couple days off, so we'll see you on thursday. "happening now" starts now. have a great day. >> jon: we begin with a fox news alert as president trump is gearing up for yet another eventful night heading to phoenix shortly. he'll be holding a campaign style rally there. good morning, welcome to "happening now." i'm jon scott. >> melissa: and i'm melissa francis. the president is outlining a new strategy in afghanistan, he says he was deliberately laid on details to give the military more flexibility. he also reaffirmed the u.s. commitment to the afghan government, but set american support should not be taken for granted. >> however, our commitment is not unlimited and our support is not a blank check.

one way or another, these problems will be solved. i'm a problem solver. in the end, we will win. >> jon: we have fox teen coverage with john roberts on the latest of elements out of the white house. first, let's go to national security correspondent jennifer griffin whose life at the pentagon. jennifer? >> u.s. military officials tell us there are two aspects of the presidents strategies that are new. there will be no timetable for withdrawal and u.s. troops will have restrictions removed about how far down they can embed to call an air strike. that's not too different from what presidents have tried in the past. president trump is going to try to hold pakistan and india accountable and end of the use of safe havens in pakistan.

it's not as though this hasn't been tried before and money it has been withheld from pakistan in the past. it's not clear that new leverage the president has a nuclear armed pakistan. what is clear is trumps military advisors convinced him to keep the u.s. and pakistan. >> the consequences of a rapid exit are both difficult and unacceptable. a hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including isis and al qaeda, would instantly fill just as happened before september 11th. >> defense secretary mattis just landon and iraq where he was asked about the presidents strategy. he would not talk troop numbers. in fact, the president was clear last night that he would not be talking troop numbers either. defense officials i talked to agree there is no winning in afghanistan, but there is a way

to lose and the president chose not to lose, they say. he took their advice to stay engaged and i withdrawal. >> jon: jennifer griffin, thank you. president trump is getting ready to fly across the country for a campaign style rally in phoenix this evening. we expect he will touch on several hot button issues. >> melissa: yeah, without question. the president will get into a building the wall on the mexican border, he could get into the senate race and republican incumbent jeff flake who has criticized as weak and toxic just last week. let's bring in chief white house correspondent john roberts. a lot of fertile ground here, what do you think is going to happen? >> all of the above is probably the way it will go tonight. the president leaving for arizona and the next 45 minutes or so. as expected he will have a very friendly crowd inside the convention center, a place where he has spoken a couple of times

before, i was there for one of them and he had a very big crowd. outside the convention center a very different scene. protests are being planned tonight. some people are upset with the president's comments about charlottesville, some people are upset about his immigration policies, other people are upset with the fact that he hold fox news he may be considering pardoning joe arpaio. doug stanton wrote an editorial in "the washington post" on monday urging the president to stay away from phoenix is saying it's too soon after the charlottesville incident to hold a rally in phoenix. also complaining about his possible pardon of arpaio. listen here. >> that was such a difficult situation, not only for the people in charlottesville, but for all americans, so i campaign style rally so shortly after, i do not think was appropriate. there was also talk about

presidential pardon that i thought was particularly inappropriate to do so in an environment like a political rally. >> stanton is urging protest groups to keep it peaceful. listen here. >> we want to give you every opportunity to express your first amendment rights by what your opinion it happens to be. however, as mayor is the city of phoenix, i excite you to be civil, respectful, and peaceful. >> in addition to the rally in phoenix, the president will go to the border patrol statesman and review some new equipment. at some point today, he will renew his push for construction of the border wall, some 63 miles of it and yuma. apprehensions are down some 82%. he will also visit marines at the marine base and yuma. as for what we he will say, we got a preview today from vice president mike pence will introduce the president tonight.

listen here. >> tonight you will hear the president say that as congress prepares to come back, here's the agenda. we want to support our troops, want to provide them resources they need to accomplish the mission that the president has tested them to accomplish. we want to support law enforcement, we want to build a wall and enforce border security. >> why the president chose to do a campaign style rally in phoenix, it was senator john mccain who came back from brain surgery who torpedoed the vote. neither mccain nor flake will be there tonight, though i would expect they will play a prominent role as well. the governor of arizona, doug ducey will not be there tonight, though he is meeting the president on the tarmac in phoenix to give him an arizona welcome. melissa? >> melissa: there we go, john, thank you. president trump last night making a new vowel to no more

nation-building. >> jon: the president saying it's now up to the afghan people to choose their own path forward, listen. >> america will continue their support for the afghan government and the afghan military as they confront the taliban in the fields. ultimately, it is up to the people of afghanistan to take ownership of their future, to govern their society and to achieve an everlasting peace. we are a partner and a friend, but we will not dictate to the afghan people how to live or how to govern their own complex society. we are not nation-building again. we are killing terrorists. >> jon: training is now, kimberly atkins and kelly jane toren. kelly jane, the president also went on to say that a rapid exit from afghanistan would bring

results that are predictable and unacceptable. this is the same guy who is a candidate said let's pull out of afghanistan, how do you explain that? >> he eloquently, and a rare moment, explain himself by noting that decisions are a lot harder to make once you're behind that desk in the oval office. it's easier for people to read a few headlines and think they know about what's going on in afghanistan in the region, but once they get into the office and you start listening to your generals, your advisors, and finding out just how complicated the situation is there, things change. i have to say, that sound clip you just played was excellent. that's exactly what we should be doing in afghanistan, if only president trump had not pretty much contradicted himself elsewhere in his speech. he talked about sitting down at the table eventually, negotiating peace with the tele- band. how do you negotiate with

terrorists? if you want the afghan people to be in control of their country, do they want to be ruled by the taliban? they won't get educated -- it's quite outrageous to think we want the afghan people to take control of their country, but that we are considering helping their country. >> jon: kimberly, i did think that when he mentioned a couple of benchmarks, he mentioned the girls are going to school now and afghanistan and life expectancy is up. he seemed to be saying, "we are succeeding there after 16 long years." >> i think that reflected that the president was clearly listening to his generals now and it was the generals who tried to convince him that afghanistan is not a place that's doomed to fail and there is nothing the united states can

do to try to help convince him that we should keep a presence there and i think that influence was clear in this speech, but in terms of the details in the reaction i got talking to some republicans is while they are happy the president does not want to put a specific timetable, that's one of the biggest criticisms of obama's policy, they wanted more detail details. they are still unsure about what victory actual looks like. we don't understand where we're going, especially when we are committing more troops to afghanistan. >> jon: he talked about a south asian policy, he mentioned india and pakistan, but he didn't say anything about iran. you have some thoughts on that. >> i do and i'm glad you brought this up. i think it's great that he realizes the situation and afghanistan -- you have to look

at the broader region. he called out the eastern and southern neighbors and nearby countries india, and pakistan. but he did not mention afghanistan directs neighbor iran. they are letting taliban members live in iran and go back and forth. they're giving them money, weapons. they love the idea of causing more chaos i'm a particularly because they see it as a race to hit the u.s. i'm a little disappointed that trump realizes that pakistan needs to stop helping terrorists, but he didn't mention iran. the president seems to want to tear up the iran nuclear deal and it's that deal that has made it possible for a run to have more money and terms of money we gave them. that money is not used to help the iranian people, it's used to fund terrorism and part of that is caused by the taliban. >> jon: the chain is in the

rules of engagement. i've spoken to special operators, former special operators who have said that while they were over there, they would know where the bad guys are, they just weren't allowed to go get them under the rules of engagement issued by the previous administration. >> this is something that is quite in line with what the president has said before and the fact that he wants to empower his military and empower the people on the ground to be able to make more decisions. that is a big deal. there would be less control over exactly what is going on with the military, the idea that you do have complete control of the military, this is right in line with the president's campaign promises about how he would deal with terrorism. >> jon: kimberly atkins and kelly in torrance, thank you

both. >> melissa: north korea vowing retaliation against the u.s. as as -- how u.s. military leaders are responding to the threats, plus an ohio man opening fire on a judge outside of a courthouse. the quick thinking that saved the judges life in the suspects ties that gained nationwide attention a few years ago. >> the judge was shot at in front of the courthouse and it's frustrating when i see this man come up on a judge. it's very frustrating. let's take a look at some numbers:

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happened at the scene. >> the judges out of surgery and the information we have is that he will recover, it was just after 7:00 a.m. yesterday morning when the judge arrived at the courthouse. he was armed as was the probation officer with whom he had just been a breakfast. the sheriff believes it was the probation officer who shot and killed the attacker, but they were both armed and both able to return fire. >> with all the nuts running around, and encouraged him to get a weapon and he did. and another judge was on the bench, i gave him a gun to carry with him because we have not cases running around the city of steubenville in the country. >> the shocker here is the identity of the shooter. he is the father of one of the steubenville high school football stars accused of raping a girl. the case followed him to

college, he had been trying to play at the youngstown state football team, but people circulated a petition to bar his participation. the judge who handled the rape case -- there is information that richmond was out drinking and driving around all night long, he had been stopped for a defective headlight just four hours ahead of the ambush. melissa, back to you. >> melissa: what what a sad st. >> jon: it's a sad end to a story of missing sailors. what defense leaders are now investigating as divers recover the remains of several of those sailors. and off the rails, a commuter train slams into another part train, sending passengers flying. now investigators want to get to the bottom of how it happened. >> my face hit the wall and put

a big hole in the wall and i went straight down, i blacked out. it was loud and it hurt, but i can't tell you much more than that.

>> jon: breaking now, 42 people injured when a commuter train slams into a parked train in suburban philadelphia earlier this morning. one passenger telling a local tv station he noticed the train going unusually fast as they enter the station just before they passed. the safety board is on the scene and they are expected to have an update later today. >> the next step of our new strategies to change the approach and how to deal with pakistan. we can no longer be silenced

about pakistan's safe haven and terrorist organizations, the taliban, and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond. >> melissa: president trump taking a hard-line stance on pakistan and his speech last night, calling for afghanistan's neighbor to step up and help the u.s. to fight terrorism. the u.s. already withholding millions of dollars and funding from pakistan because of concerns the country as a safe haven for the taliban. joining me now is chris and i weigh him, he's a former army sergeant and david sears who is a former navy seal. chris, let me start with you. there is a lot to those that most of the public may not know. when we talk about pakistan, as the neighbor next door, it's a nuclear power, china has become a nuclear power, it makes this

whole region, if possible, even more dicey than appears to the naked eye. your thoughts on that? >> this is take three in afghanistan. with president trump's plan, he's seen some success, he's always been able to leverage relationships like pakistan, is placing a $50 million restriction and making sure they're not funneling support to the enemy, the taliban. other things are loosening up restrictions on the military fight on the ground. i think the president has some fresh ideas that can help us out in achieving u.s. goals. >> melissa: david, what do you think? >> i agree that some of his approaches are different. that said, some of the administrations have done some of the same things to varying degrees, putting pressure on pakistan, so i've seen a lot of

the same approaches. >> melissa: yeah. it's also one of the biggest challenges, how do you define winning? what does that mean? what does that look like? some people fear that nation-building, others say it's impossible to create a stand-alone force within afghanistan that would patrol the entire country and maintain order. chris, what does winning look like? >> that's the most difficult part. one of the components of the president's speech that i was more skeptical of, channeling peace with honor, but what exactly is that? if we leave, we lose, if we stay, we are in a perpetual war. you look at the position on the right, senator mccain in a more hawkish position which is a perpetual war and essentially, our rest with pakistan. they have to take a look at their own country and get the

job done, otherwise there will be this difficult situation. president trump is trying to make the best of a really difficult situation. what winning looks like, it's difficult to say. >> melissa: president trump also referenced pakistan's long-standing rival, india, which is another arms nuclear power. your thoughts? >> he's trying to play those two off of each other a little bit. what might actually have more leverage against pakistan is us leaving afghanistan. then suddenly the taliban becomes more of a problem for them. pakistan have to do something about it, then india can move in to deal with it. this idea that we need to be there in order to eliminate that as a terrorist safe haven, we didn't have troops before 2001 in afghanistan, it was managed in three months to topple the entire taliban.

they've put these forward to continue with the same what's been going on for years. >> melissa: listen to this and tell me what you think on the other side. >> another critical part of the south asia strategy for america to further develop its strategic partnership with india, the world's largest democracy and a key security economic partner of the united states. we appreciate india's important contributions to stability in afghanistan, but india makes billions of dollars in trade with the united states and we want them to help us more with afghanistan. >> melissa: it almost sounds like what he said about china. we're making a lot of money on trade and he tries to tie that together with we need help on military terror problems, those sort of things, your reaction?

>> they say money talks and there's a lack of it, i think this is one of the strategies and business skills of the president that could be useful, to be able to leverage that. it sounds like india's officials have said they are willing to work and that's realistic. we've seen success already with europe and saying you want to help us out, help us out and don't just talk the talk. we need to see that support. sometimes when you look at money, he can use that. the last part of the president's plan was integration. i think putting those together is our best chance for success. >> melissa: i want to ask you about a very sad update after a u.s. navy destroyer collided. divers finding remains of some of the ten missing american sailors inside the flooded compartments of the uss john mccain. the malaysian navy recovering more remains, a lot of people

are very concerned about the number of incidents we've seen and what does it mean all put together about what is going on? >> as well they should be. i know the chief of naval operations came out and said he doesn't think it's cyber peace, it doesn't matter whether it's cyber or whether it was a failure of block standing. it's a systemic problem of leadership going on. it should have never happened. you're in the busiest street and traffic navigation of the world, we should have people on deck standing by. you have redundancy, you should be able to avoid this. >> melissa: yeah, we've just seen too many of these accidents recently. gentlemen, thanks to both of yo you. >> jon: now this fox news alert, the associated press are reporting the u.s. will impose

new penalties on chinese and russian firms over north korea. the trump administration set to impose sanctions on 16 mainly chinese and russian companies and people as well for assisting north korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, also helping the north make money to support those programs. our treasury department says it's intended to further isolate north korea. this may block any efforts the u.s. has and bars the americans having any transactions with them. those sanctions include six chinese companies, to singapore-based companies. u.s. military drills sparking new threats from kim jong un, why defense officials say the military exercises with south korea will continue as scheduled.

plus washington has a lot to do and very little time in which to do it. can congressman's deadlines? and can capitol hill work together? our political panel ways and next.

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ceiling and pass funding bills or risk a government shutdown as the white house pushes for tax reform and ultra funding for a new border wall and a push for another try at repealing obamacare. josh holmes of the former chief of staff and senate majority leader for mitch mcconnell, jim kessler's former legislator and policy director for senator chuck schumer. gentlemen, thanks to both of you for joining us. jim, i want to give you first crack. you thought bannon would be out by the end of the week. you got that right, so what if that changes in terms of enacting this to-do list? >> that's helpful. the trump administration looks like a normal functioning and administration in the last several days. they've got a lot to do and the next month. september is the time when reality goes against your wish list because this is when the

clock starts running in congress. they have a lot to do and it's going to be hard to get things through. they really need to run a tight ship. >> melissa: josh, what would you focus on first? what's more doable on the list? there is a tax reform, the infrastructure plan which may have bipartisan support, what would you put first? >> unfortunately, they don't have the luxury of prioritizing. they have a couple of things that absolutely need to get done by the end of september, mainly keeping the lights on in the government with the funding and then the debt ceiling. those are two things that need to be addressed. this administration's biggest problem up to this point has been of being able to string together two days, three days, four days, five days and do a disciplined campaign across the agenda. it is not very exciting, but it is effective. they've got an opportunity to start that in september by getting little things done, and

ultimately getting onto the larger reforms. >> melissa: jim, when you talked to folks who worked for my new chin over and treasury, they feel like they're locked and loaded. they feel like they have the legislation organized, they feel like they know what they're going to do, he seems like he is reliable, credible person within the administration, who can accomplish things. do you feel like tax reform is a something could bring people together and there could be some negotiation on the other side and is doable? >> first of all, i agree with what josh said, keeping the government afloat and the debt ceiling and really, there isn't a real plan there, that's the problem. i think on tax reform, there's a possibility of starting late this year and next year, democrats have some conditions that i think are reasonable. one is can increase the deficit, number two is -- the third as it

has to be done through regular order. i think those conditions should be able to be met by republican republicans, so i think there's a possibility, but as josh was saying, they have not been able to string together five days of message discipline and that's a problem. >> melissa: josh, we just showed the big board and so much of those wins on wall street have been predicated on this idea. number one is they rolled back on business, but the other is the idea that folks in washington have been assuring ceos, people on wall street, all kinds of folks that they have tax reform under control and they're going to get it enacted this year and it's going to take affect for taxes in 2017. the market is counting on that, do you think they're going to be able to get it done?

>> you're absolutely right. most of the market condition is banked on president obama not being president. we've gotten to a point now where we are going to need something else and tax reform is something that has been promised. what i would like to see is republicans playing a little offense around here. it's enough of what we're going to do behind closed doors and figure it out because that's the plan in everyday votes on it and the president is off doing whatever it is he's doing and congress is deliberating over these things. they all have to be on the same page. if democrats don't want to play ball, then don't let them play ball. let the megan people see that and they can understand very clearly what happens when democrats aren't interested in providing jobs, they're not interested in any kind of economic growth. we have a clear dividing line that we can spend 2018 talking about. >> melissa: jeremy, thanks to both of you. a lot to do.

>> yet, for sure. >> jon: new threads from north korea as south korea and the u.s. conduct joint antimilitary exercises. tensions rise on the korean peninsula, but the u.s. military commanders are refusing to stop the drills. william la jeunesse live for us from guam with more on that. william? >> it explained why north korea is considered such a wild card. on the same date, they basically says the united states. these drills with south korea, and airs a propaganda video on the state-controlled website which is part of the official north korean showing u.s. senior officials with this quote. "all north korea needs to do is place a hand on a button and press it when the right time comes." the u.s. to live in fear and anxiety the whole time. they want to be accepted as a nuclear power but the number one rule is you don't make idle

threats which explains why the u.s. is involved in this debate. is it too late to stop north korea from developing nuclear capability and if it's not, how do you stop this threa threat? >> we've had the responsibility of providing military options and exercises are a way of making sure the options are capable. >> the war games last until the 31st and includes defense drills, otherwise most of the exercises are computer simulation and different war scenarios including missile-defense systems designed to knock out as many north korean nukes as possible. >> all i can save it as very

confident in the nuclear defense capabilities. alaska and california have the ability to intercept anything. i'm also confident about the capabilities being deployed here in the field. >> at the beginning of this, you mentioned those sanctions against a certain chinese and russian companies, most companies recognize the missile programs out of north korea today did not get where it is without some help in the sections were talking about. back to you. >> jon: william la jeunesse on guam, thank you. >> melissa: president trump addressing the nation last night. our next guest on how our strategy in afghanistan may impact relations with other countries in the region. >> i'm a problem solver and in the end, we will win. does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment? if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace

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>> no one denies that we have

inherited a challenging and troubling situation in afghanistan and south asia, but we do not have the luxury of going back in time in making different or better decisions. when i became president, i was given a bad and very complex hand to him about a fully knew was getting into. big and intricate problems, but one way or another, these problems will be solved, i'm a problem solver. in the end, we will win. >> jon: president trump touting his skills as a problem solver. the president promising to get the job done after nearly 16 years of war, but he did and at a timetable to that. hear from her reaction to the big speech last night, andrew peake, former u.s. intelligence navy officer in afghanistan. as you heard the president's speech, did you like what he was

saying? >> i thought it was effective. he did two things very well. first, he made it clear he was listening to the military that any withdrawal would be based on conditions on the ground. you remember that was something people were very critical of what president obama when he increased forces in 2009 and afghanistan. i think secondly, by doing that, by giving the generals what they want, he set himself up in two or three years to be able to say you have the opportunity, if things aren't better and surely, they must have promised him that things would get better, you're all fired and we are going to pull out and do it my way. i think those are important bullet points to have done. >> jon: he also said he's changing the rules of engagement for our troops there. give us an assessment of what that's going to mean. >> one of the complaints that enforces afghanistan, which wasn't exactly do to obama, --

he felt the better you get to know the population, the less he would have to shoot and shooting, even if you killed a bad guy was too risky if you're renting it a civilian, but i think in reality what happened was u.s. forces started losing firefights. >> jon: i want to turn your attention to another topic in filing u.s. military right now that remains without some of those missing sailors found after the uss john mccain collision. there is admiral scott swift, the commander of the pacific fleet. >> the u.s. navy and marine corps divers joined a search today assessing sealed compartments in damaged parts of the ship. the divers were able to locate some remains in those sealed compartments during the search

today. additionally, the malaysian navy has reported that they have located potential remains, they are working to confirm and identify those remains. >> jon: this is now the second collision of the u.s. destroyer within months and a loss of more lives, what is going on? >> it only reflects a failure of leadership at the top and the top is the pacific fleet commander. this situation is a little bit different in the fitzgerald crash off of japan because it was hit on the left side of the ship, which indicates that it actually had the right-of-way. the truth is that a warship has seen troubles with a bridge crew of about a dozen. they're not really keeping watch the same way a destroyer is. to have a collision regardless of how busy the street is is

unconscionable. >> jon: to have to explain to the parents of those loved ones and sailors that the sailors gave their lives in such a stupid way. it's got to be so frustrating. >> it's unbelievably tragic. i can't imagine anything that's more damaging to the navy and incidence of these kind. >> jon: andrew, former army intelligence officer. thank you. >> melissa: ohio and florida, states that are shaping up as a surprising battleground in 2018 midterms as they get closer, ed could determine the balance of power on capitol hill, we will take you there next.

with >> harris: here we go, moments from now, the president is heading to arizona for a rally after laying out his strategy for afghanistan. how this is different from the presidents before him and whether it will ultimately put an end to the nation's longest war. >> sandra: all eyes turn to to hear with the president will say, his message, his tone, and whether he will seize the opportunity to push for unity and whether anything he says will be good enough for his critics. >> harris: #oneluckyguy is going to sit right next to us, a former green beret. "outnumbered" at the top the hour. >> jon: america's election headquarters, are you ready for another election? >> melissa: oh, my goodness, already? >> jon: the 2018 midterms just over a year away and whether the house of representatives could determine. >> melissa: specifically parts of california in orange county, democrats are taking aim.

peter doocy is live, just north of san diego and oceanside, california with the details. it's a beatable place, i've been there many times myself. >> it is, melissa and a little ways away from here in southern california, there is an office building already that has an office space with experienced democratic operatives inside. the democratic congressional campaign committee says it's the first time they've ever had a presence like this on the west coast this early in its because they think they can flip six of the 24 seats that they need to win control of the house of representatives here in southern california. it's got officials on their toes. >> i've got people doing voter identification now a year and a half hour before the election, i might have only been doing that ten months out or eight months out before an election. it makes us stay on our a game.

>> there are still republicans and seven californian districts. they are trying to appeal to the split ticket voters. >> a lot of the members here ran on the idea that they were going to stand up to trump. what's clear is they haven't been. >> southern california's demographics are changing. one democratic hopeful is saying the g.o.p. is different now than when this state former governor was president. >> i grew up in the '80s and ronald reagan was the president during that time and i got up and a lot of what he had to say. i felt the same way. he was for things that no the revoking party is not four. >> one thing republicans in

southern california give a big advantage over democrats nationally is that they have a better lay of the land, so democrats who might have to come in and spend a lot of money in the l.a. tv market on advertising. >> melissa: we've got a go, thank you so much. during your period?

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>> jon: "outnumbered" starts right now. >> sandra: fox news alert, a new strategy for afghanistan. president trump announcing his plan for america's longest war, vowing the u.s. will defeat the terrorists. the commander in chief insisting his approach is not nation-building and not "a blank check." this is "outnumbered," i'm sandra smith. here today, harris faulkner, anchor of the intelligence report on fox business, trish regan, democratic strategist and fox news contributor jessica tarlov is here and today's #oneluckyguy, former green beret and veteran of three tours of duty in afghanistan, ben collins. he is