and governor romney getting ready to speak out how to fix our struggling economy. both candidates delivering speeches in ohio today, setting up the fierce debate that likely will decide the presidential election. the president making his remarks in cleveland. governor romney is in cincinnati. right now the race is very tight in that state. the latest "real clear politics" average of polls showing president obama with 46% of the ohio vote, governor romney only slightly behind with 44. chief political correspondent carl cameron live in washington for us. carl? >> reporter: jon, it is buckeye state battle. roll out all your cliches about swing state slapdowns. ohio is arguably the nation's quintessential swing states so both speeches will matter. we heard the president will reset the economic debate and put last couple rocky weeks on the campaign trail behind him to jump-start momentum with new rhetoric. romney has been on offense

for weeks. he released first paid tv attack ad in the general election campaign. it will run in ohio and six other key states. listen. >> the private sector is doing fine. the private sector is doing fine. >> reporter: goes on from there. he says how can the president fix the economy if he doesn't understand what the problem is. it begins with several graphics of rocky economic news. romney's speech will not outline new policies. it is about bracketing the president in ohio. this will be mr. obama's 10th major speech on economy as president of the united states. we're told there is are no new policies developed. this is to argue the president need another term to turn the economy around. the rnc chimed in with attack video that mr. obama is looking for golfer's do-over mulligan. mr. obama starts a big bus tour across the country. democrats are sending out

truth squads to bracket him as he heads to pennsylvania, wisconsin, new hampshire and ohio in the next five days, jon. jon: no new proposals from the president's speech. this has been designated a campaign speech, right? this is not a presidential address? >> reporter: everything the president does now whether traveling officially as the commander-in-chief or president with campaign fund-raisers talking politically will be put through the political prism. the campaign and white house has been talking about this speech as major. it is in fact a campaign speech but he is going to be going there as the president and the utilities and power of incumbency of late have not been very helpful. they seem to be sticking to the president with all the bad economic news. so he would rather be a candidate in some of these speeches rather than a president. jon: hard to figure how you trot out a speech that contains no new proposals but a major speech. >> reporter: in fairness, jon, romney will not have new points either. jon: sure. >> reporter: this is both of them trying to frame the

debate with less than five months to election day. jon: carl, thanks very much. jenna: now this fox news alert. nebraska's national guard sending help to battle that raging wildfire in northern colorado. the black hawk helicopter is on its way right now. it can dump more than 600 gallons of water on the burning timber, timber like you're seeing on your screen there. these flames have spread out over 46,000 acres. so far about 600 homes are evacuated in larimer county. more than 200 buildings have been destroyed. people are losing their homes and livelihoods. losing nearly everything. >> this fire changed your whole life? >> yes, sir. i might have to get rid of all my horses. i have a property i owe payments on i can no longer run my business out of. my pastures and trails. i need trees and i need, i need to be able to take people out there.

racing he is suspected of walking into a buffalo hospital where his ex-girlfriend allegedly worked and shooting her dead. julie banderas is live in new york city with more on this. julie? >> reporter: jenna, police say they plan on holding a briefing later this morning on a search that continues for a doctor credited with saving countless lives now a person of interest in a violent murder. late last night s.w.a.t. teams arrived at 49-year-old timothy jord den's home using a robot to help them

search. authorities turned up nothing. jord den allegedly shot 33-year-old jacqueline wisniewski four times yesterday morning in the stairwell of the erie county medical center where the two worked. she turns out was not a random victim but reportedly an ex-lover who was a nursing student and receptionist at the hospital. her body was color found covered and lifeless in the medical center. police are not commenting on a possible motive but his friend say they can't believe it. >> he is the calmest, easy iest going, friendliest guy you can imagine. >> i find it hard to believe. the facts will come out. >> reporter: according to officials jord den had recently experienced emotional difficulties. the former army special forces surgeon with a career that spent 18 years which he earned numerous med dls and commendations n 1996 when

jorden was profiled in a newspaper when he graduated from the university of buffalo school of medicine he was quoted saying this. i wanted to be a doctor since early in my military career as a medic. back to you, jenna. jenna: more on this as we get it, julie. thank you. >> reporter: sure. jon: the bloody conflict in syria. the u.n. is calling an all-out civil war. the car bomb ripping through a suburb of the capital of damascus injuring more than a dozen people, damaging one of shia islam's holiest shrines. connor powell keeping an eye on it live from jerusalem. conor? >> reporter: the blast went off near a shrine popular with shiite pilgrims particularly ones coming from iran. it is not clear the shrine was the actual target but clearly it is a possibility because iran is a major backer of the assad regime and many rebels are sunni muslims. there was a military police station just about 15 or so feet away from where the blast went off.

it is possible that was the possible target as well. as the violence has escalated in syria in recent weeks and months it has become more chaotic and tougher and tougher to figure out who is responsible for many of these attacks. now the syrian government is blaming terrorists with links to al qaeda for this attack. no one actually stepped up and said they are responsible so it is a bit of a mystery but the violence is getting worse in syria as we speak. u.n. special envoy kofi annan is trying to put together a international meeting of a contact group, a new group he is trying to put together with the united states, britain, france and turkey. he wants to include iran as part of the contact group but the united states is trying to avoid meeting with iran as part of the group that would solve syria's problems in part because they see iran one of the major problems in the region particularly with their support of the assad regime. kofi annan says the meeting will take place june 30th.

a lot of details still have to be worked out. it is not clear if the united states or iran will participate in that meeting. right now it looks like the only diplomatic effort being put together in an effort to solve the bloodshed in syria. two weeks is a long way away, jon. fo those civilians caught in the cross fire, two weeks means a lot more bloodshed and violence, jon. jon: diplomacy doesn't seem to be working. connor powell. thanks. jenna: we talked about this with carl cameron. mitt romney and president both with big campaign speeches today talking about the economy. we have new poll numbers showing the president has his work cut out for him but really ohio is anyone's guess as far as where it will go by the time we get to november. we'll tell you a little bit what these numbers might mean for the president and take a closer look at all that. jon: carl pointed out it is a very important state, ohio. plus it is meant to level the playing field in athletic competition but one athlete calls this rule not only unfair but dangerous. we'll talk to him about how he is fighting back.

jenna: a special day, jon, for america. a day to honor old glory. some pretty amazing historical trivia for folks like you, jon. because you like that historical trivia. jon: i do indeed. jenna: i know you do. we have all that coming up for you on this flag day. recently, students from 31 countries took part in a science test.

the top academic performers surprised some people. so did the country that came in 17th place. let's raise the bar and elevate our academic standards. let's do what's best for our students-by investing in our teachers.

let's solve this. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

jon: we're inside america's election headquarters now talking about the president. he is set to use the bully pulpit again today as we've been telling you as he faces a tough re-election fight. some new gallup polls showing some key groups that supported mr. obama in 2008 seem to be souring on the president this time around. according to these polls, support from whites falls to 38% from 44% in 2008.

even among blacks, support dropping to 87% from '91%. mr. obama is doing better with hispanics. support at 67% right now, essentially unchanged from 2008. bob cusack is the managing editor of "the hill" and here to talk about these numbers with us. it shows, bob, that some of these key voting coalitions that propelled mr. obama into the white house this, four years ago, three years ago, are not necessarily as supportive this time around. what does that say for his campaign? >> these are troubling numbers, jon, for the obama campaign. if you look at he is doing okay among hispanics. he has got to keep that lead. it shows people are watching and obama has had a tough couple weeks. had the gaffe saying the private sector is doing fine. people are starting to really pay attention and he has got to focus on three groups, i think, women, hispanics and the youth vote. he needs to have clear

advantages in those because he will lose the white vote. definitely lose the white male vote. hispanics are the key. jon: but that youth vote is proving to be a problem or at least at this point. the poll indicates the "gallup poll" indicates among 18 to 29-year-olds he enjoyed 52% support in 2008. he is down to 43%. that is 9% drop over four years. >> well, the electorate is very volatile and impatient. that is the tough sell for the president. he has got to basically tell people, be patient, the economy is getting better but if these people including the young people, they don't have jobs coming out of college, that is what romney is saying. don't vote for obama because you voted for him four years ago especially if your economic situation is worse. that is the tough part for the president. jon: talking about people whose economic situation is worse, among low-income whites, he is also down 9% from where he was four years ago. >> yeah. it is just a very difficult situation because he has to

make the case that the economy is getting better marginally but polls show people don't think that is the case. we have had such a bad jobs report last time, if we go back-to-back with dismal jobs numbers this will be a tough sell for the president. this is a toss you have race right now. jon: people feel like the economy is getting worse and job numbers back that up. one bright spot we were talking about earlier is among hispanic voters he is dead-even at 67% among hispanics where he was last time. some suggest that the president ought to use that as sort of a springboard to model his campaign. >> yes. and jon, i think some of those numbers are because romney had some tough rhetoric on immigration during the primary. one thing to watch for in the weeks ahead is that immigration reform activists are pushing obama to come out with an executive order would ease the administration policies on deportations they have been very critical on. remember, obama promised

immigration reform to get through congress. that has not happened. he could put out this type of executive order and possibly put romney on the defensive to say what do you think about that new executive order? he will have to keep the lead among hispanics to win this. jon: interesting. we'll see what happens over the next five months. bob cusack from "the hill.". >> thanks, jon. jenna: it will go fast. five months. jon: the election has been pretty much percolating since 2008. jenna: that is pretty good point. the trouble for lance armstrong today. why his seven tour de france crowns could be in jeopardy. did you like how i said tour de france? i don't think that really counts, does it? jon: it really is all about the shoes. jenna: oh, i could have told you that. jon: what do your shoes say about you? plenty we're told. new research points to the your footwear as dead giveaway to your personality. jenna: could we get a shot of jon's? jon: bore, boring shoes

does your phone give you all day battery life ?

droid does. and does it laun apps by voice while learning your voice ? launch cab4me. droid does. keep left at the fork. does it do turn-by-turn navigation ? droid does. with verizon, america's largest 4glte network and motorola, whater you want to do... droid does.

jenna: "happening now", big news in the sports world. lance armstrong finding himself in limbo now. the american bicycling champ now barred from a triathlon in france following a bombshell development. the u.s. anti-doping agency is now accusing armstrong of promoting and using several banned substances, charging that armstrong strongly denies these charges. molly henneberg live from washington with who are on this. molly when we saw the headlines, we thought, wait a minute, wasn't armstrong facing other doping allegations? and how does this tie into that? >> reporter: jenna, yes the justice department had been investigating lance armstrong for possible

doping related crimes but that probe ended this past february. that's what we heard about it then and federal prosecutors brought no charges against him. this time the u.s. anti-doping agency, usada claiming armstrong cheated by using banned substances over the fours of 14 years. armstrong as he has maintained since his first tour de france victory in 1999 said he never doped. he has taken 500 drug tests and never failed one of the he says of the usada, quote, these are the very same charges and the same witness that is the justice department chose not to the pursue after a two-year investigation. these charges, he is talking about the usada here, are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity. as you were saying, jenna, armstrong had been training in france for an ironman triathlon next weekend. he is now suspended from that and other triathlons because of this investigation. jenna: you can understand some of his frustrations

with some of the facts he presents there, but what do u.s. authorities say they actually have on armstrong? >> reporter: for one thing the usada has more than 10 witnesses cyclists and armstrong employees who testified armstrong used or spoke about use of blood boosting drugs and steroids from 1996 to 2005. agency says it has new evidence that blood samples from armstrong in 2009 and 2010 after he came out of his first retirement, are quote, fully consistent with blood manipulation to improve performance. the usada said quote, usada only initiates matters supported by evidence. we do not choose whether or not we do our job based on outside pressure intimidation or any reason other than the evidence. the agency can't bring any legal or criminal charges against armstrong but they can take away his seven tour de france titles if the charges are proven. jenna. jenna: we'll see how this plays out. molly, thank you. jon: all right.

"happening now", you want to figure somebody out? jenna: always. jon: don't look them in the eye. look down, way down. researchers at the university of kansas say you can accurately judge 90% --. jenna: 90%? jon: 90% of a person's personality just by looking at their shoes. now some of the results might be obvious. jenna: look at those. jon: you like those, huh? ex-throw verts wear flashy shoes. wealthy folks may wear pricey footwear. that makes sense. but the study also found some interesting quirks. practical footwear means you're more agreeable. jenna: okay. jon: ankle boots mean you're aggressive. got any of those? jenna: i do. i might be aggressive when i wear them actually. they give you that little edge. jon: you are the triathlete i know that. one of the most interesting findings, people who wear on couple for theable looking shoes tend to have calm personalities. >> uncomfortable shoes tend to have calm personalities. jon: whose shoes are those? jenna: these shoes say set

shoes. that is as much wear as they get. i don't walk around the streets with these. jon: you don't? jenna: no how long ago did you buy those shoes. jon: i bought them because they have a wide toe box. jenna: getting time on television finally. they have been waiting. jon: i literally replaced laces on them yesterday. jenna: they look shined. jon: that's true too. i don't often do that. i wasn't expecting them on tv. jenna: curious what our viewers think. 90%. maybe we need to do interviews differently. so people get a shot of the shoes and what folks say. jon: great idea. could we see your shoes, sir before we talk to you? jenna: before we start on. you will not see anyone's shoes when you watch these speeches right, because they have the big podiums. it might change the way you look at things today. there are dueling speeches happening in a key battleground state today. both president obama and governor mitt romney delivering the remarks about the economy at almost the same time in ohio. a fair and balanced look at

the candidates different plans, next. jon: hbo's popular series, game of thrones, underfire for this fake head seen in several beheading scenes. does that profile look familiar? why hbo is now apologizing for the face in this image.

an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, if your car is totaled, we give you the mone for a car one model year newer.

liberty mutual auto insurance.

jon: "happening now", we are awaiting two major campaign speeches in the same state set to start at nearly the same time. president obama and governor mitt romney both speaking today in ohio. they will bring their dueling messages to the battleground state on how each candidate plans to fix the economy. let's talk about what we're likely to hear with senator alphonse d'amato, former new york senator and fox news contributor. debbie dingell, democratic national committee member and former chair of vice president al gore's cam cain in michigan. welcome to both of you. >> thank you, jon, senator. jon: senator d'amato, what should both of these men say today? >> i think mitt romney should point out that the economy is stalling once again. that we've spent billions and billions of dollars in

foolhardy programs. spent taxpayer's money on things like solyndra, you know, this economic disaster. half a billion dollars down the drain. and that the way to get this economy going is to unshackle it, reduce the incredible rules and regulations that stifle small business and entrepreneurs. that we don't need tax increases but we need to get a grip on our spending and we have to reduce our deficits. if we're not going to become victim like we are in, you see in europe, our brethren in europe, the great difficulties they are because they ran up these deficits. so i think he has to say, i have the experience. i know what we have to do to get the businesses that create jobs in this country moving forward. jon: all right. debbie, what would you like to hear president obama say? >> well, first of all i want to try to be positive, and i

think that the american people want to see us start to have solutions. so i could talk about the mitt romney experience in massachusetts and how he was 49th out of 50th of john creation. 46th in economic growth. but i think what we need today, see comparison of two speeches they have very different approaches. one is approach, let's get rid of all regulation and cut taxes to let it trickle down. one is from the middle class up. how do we win vest in education, energy, innovation, infrastructure and, let's try to minimize taxes that may require, we do have to reduce the deficit to two very different approaches. jon: well, but, debbie, some observers would say the president has had 3 1/2 years of trying these approaches and, you can see where we are today. >> well, i would say to you that we have seen mitt romney's approach in massachusetts and a laboratory that didn't work either. none of us is happy where we are. the economy is not okay,

people are scared but it is moving in the right direction. we've had the greatest economic crisis since the great depression. would we like it to turnover night, yes. but we're going in the right direction. it is steady improvement. what we've seen happened in massachusetts we saw at point which governor romney was governor of that state, all of the numbers were bad and, it is now 11th in terms of job creation under president obama. jon: all right. senator what about that? the president is expected to say that you've got to continue on with his policies effective or ineffective as they might be, ire choice. >> can't afford it. jon: but he will say that everything else is a flash back to the past and you're going to get the economic crisis that we saw in the last year of the bush administration if we go to a romney administration. your answer? >> well the fact is that if we continue this pattern, we ran up $5 trillion in additional deficits in this

past 3 1/2 years. you just can not continue to do that. that is a disaster. and for him to come forward now to say, well, we're going to work on new tax codes, et cetera and he has a whole plethora of things to put forth, five months before the election, is just desperation. and when you look at the economy now, i have to tell you, in my hometown in long island, nassau and suffolk county, mortgage foreclosures are going up, 50% in suffolk. 30% in nassau. you look throughout the country, the mortgage situation which have people falling behind in their payments, isn't going down, it is getting worse. when you look at the jobs picture, the fact of the matter is the unemployment picture is getting worse. it is not getting better those are the facts you can come up with all the rhetoric he didn't do a good job in massachusetts. that is lot of nonsense. he did a terrific job there and worked with two

democratic legislatures, both the senate and assembly. but we have an economic disaster on our hands. more obama i have to tell you something, we will become another greece. we will have another catastrophe. jon: about this time yesterday, debbie, we played that 2009 clip from the president saying if i can't fix this economy, i am, i'm a one-term president. why in your view does he deserve another term? >> well i think what he said is correct. if people don't believe that, they will have to pick, they pick between romney or obama and who believe will protect their job and make them safe. i think both men have a challenge of trying to come up with a policy everybody will work with. i also think people are tired of the bashing, republicans, democrats, republicans say i'm not going to do anything because i will not help barack obama get reelected. they vote for the person that will work with everybody to try to get policies that will make this economy get better. what we're talking about today are policies that

haven't worked. the man that convinces american people will protect their job is the man that will get reelected. i predict it will be president barack obama. jon: we'll see if your prediction holds true in five months. debbie dingell, senator alphonse d'amato. thank you both. jenna: other news, hbo is doing serious damage control today after creators of that popular show, "game of thrones", used this head on a spike in several beheading scenes. look closely to that. the fake head with the scraggly wig. there is a very strong resemblance to president george w. bush. we're only getting profile. what does hbo say about this? dennis kneale from the fox business network is here with more. >> reporter: hi, jeanne jenna. this just in from the department of extremely poor taste. hbo apologizing for hit series of "game of thrones" which used fake severed head of president george w. bush, grizzly say was unintentional oversight. we used whatever head we had around one writer explains.

hollywood's longtime liberal bent and unrelenting sport of barack obama adding fuel to the fire. hbo's time warner, gave 80% of political contributions to obama and democrats in '08 election. hbo, 96% of its political cash went to dems in both 08 and 2012. none. producers and creators of "game of thrones" gave a dime to the democrats. so the head on stake scene was shown last year in the 10th episode of first season run of "game of thrones". no one noticed really. the detail shows up in the dvd of the series. rat.com was among first to notice this macabre homage to our former president posting a story yesterday and leading to that hbo policy. hbo saying quote, we were deeply dismayed to see this and find it unacceptable. and in very bad taste. we made this clear to the executive producers of the series who apologized for the inadvertent careless mistake. we're sorry this happened. we have it removed from any

future dvd production. it admonished the producers and they're sorry too. raises one key question, jenna, shouldn't the producers have known better to begin with? jenna: the question shouldn't they know better is question we ask on a myriad of different stories on a daily basis, dennis. thank you very much. >> reporter: thank you. jon: really stupid. it is flag day. the stars and stripes are 235 years old but old glory has changed a bit since way back in 1777. rick folbaum live in our newsroom with a look, rick? >> reporter: ain't she a beaut? in case you didn't know. as jon said it was flag day. back in 1777 john adams introduced a resolution to the continental congress in philadelphia declaring that the flag of the 13 united states shall be 13 stripes alternate red and white. that the union be 13 stars, white on a bluefield, representing a new constellation. not a bad design idea, right? of course betsy ross did the

rest. on june 14th, 1775, actually two years earlier, the u.s. army was officially established with congress authorizing the enlistment of soldiers to fight as a unified army for the states in the revolutionary war, the army's first commander of course, george washington. so a big day to celebrate, jon. our brave men and women in the u.s. army and we can wave those "stars and stripes" proudly. back to you. jon: hats off to all of them. jenna: rick matches the flag behind him. was that planned, rick? >> reporter: absolutely intentional. jenna: give you a lot of credit. jon: needs the blue shirt, doesn't he? jenna: thank you very much, rick. this next story is a really interesting one. a world class champion athlete, a national champ in triathlons, despite the fact he is legally blind is now suing several major organizations for discrimination. we'll tell you why when he joins us next.

♪ ♪ we all need it. to move. to keep warm. to keep us fed. to make clay piggies. but to keep doing these things in the future... at shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energies. that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal.

and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. ♪ >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go. ♪ wait. ♪ happy father's day. ♪

on my journey across america, happy father's day. i found new ways to tell people about saving money. this is bobby. say hello bobby. hello bobby. do you know you could save hundreds on car insurance over the phone, online or at your local geico office? tell us bobby, what would you do with all those savings? hire a better ventriloquist. your lips are moving. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent

or more on car insurance. jon: brand new stories coming up next hour. planning a vacation to sunny mexico this summer? the state department has a warning for americans traveling south of the border. why drug cartels could be planning to retaliate against the united states. new information on the economy. home foreclosures jumping last month, raising concerns about the health of the housing market. check this out. big chunks of hail coming down hard. ouch. we will show you where this storm took place. just about filled the pool there. that's next, "happening now.". >> legally blind athlete is suing three triathlon groups over an effort to quote, level the playing field. 30-year-old aaron scheides is upset over a rule that requires him and other visually impaired runners or try athletes to wear blackout glasses like these. we'll show them to you on

the screen in a second. that all the athletes are running are equally visually impaired. aaron calls that discrimination. says could harm him and other competitors. aaron is legally blind but he has about 20% of his vision. this an example of what someone like aaron would see. you can see sort of the outside of that clock but can't see the inside. he started losing his sight as a child as a result of macular degeneration. the international triathlon union states, quote, the rule exists to create fairer competition for all athletes because partially blind athletes and completely blind athletes compete in the same category and partially blind athletes have an advantage over those who are completely blind. that is their statement. aaron scheides joins us now. aaron, let me start off, how did you get involved with doing triathelons? >> i actually, i got involved with triathlons actually, to tell youth truth the reason was because i lost my vision. i always wanted to be a

professional soccer player and when i started losing my vision i really started going through a downward spiral of grieving and i was diagnosed with eating disorder, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. i even had some suicidal thoughts. and i, my brother asked me to come out for the swim team in high school, and i found, i started, i started i decided to do it. and it really became my outlet, my freedom. and freed me from all the pressures of society and --. jenna: aaron, we're seeing video of you right now competing. it is amazing. you've done more than 200 different triathelons all over the world. these blackout glasses are not worn in the swim or on the bike but they are worn, or they're supposed to be worn on the run. what is it like to wear them. >> yes. jenna: and have you warn

them before? >> it is absolutely horrifically scary. it's, it is basically as if you have vision, some vision one day and then you just lights out and your body goes into shock. it's, it is super fearful. i actually attempted to try them in the first time that i attempted to try them, because it being nos out one of your balance systems which is the vision, and, being visually impaired and having 20% of my vision, my body is going to use any sort of light for balance. when i tried them the first time i tried them within two minutes i hit my head on a fence. ran off into a ditch. jenna: have you competed with them before, aaron? have you gone through a

whole entire race before wearing them? >> yes, i actually, i did the new york city triathlon two years. one year i walked the run portion and even when i was walking i actually was almost like a drunk. stayingered all over the road hitting people. jenna: we can understand that. anyone with our vision having to run six plus miles with suddenly no vision, anyone can understand how difficult that is. the americans with disabilities act ask reasonable accommodation is made for folks with disabilities. so the argument coming from these triathlon associations is, listen, if i'm completely blind and competing against you in the same category am i at a disadvantage because you can see partially and i can't see at all? we're competing against each other. so what do you think is reasonable here as far as an accommodation for athletes like yourself that hve a visual impairment? >> well, to me what's reasonable is, they have

never done something like this before, what's reasonable is, if you feel that you need to a level playing field, and it's not fair the way it is, you create different classes of blindness, b-1, b-2, b-3 which they already use in other paraolympic competitions. jenna: i see. >> i'm not sure where this was created. >> that is interesting. different categories might be the way to go. i know this is a rule that they're, that is under review at this time. so we'll continue to watch the lawsuit, aaron. i know you're pursuing that. we wish you best of luck in other competitions. thank you for sharing your story today. >> thank you. jon: political junkies are busy speculating over whom governor romney might choose as his running mate. coming up a look at zoom of the likely contenders. larry sabato will join us to debunk common myths about picking a running mate. also, the philly

phanatic may be in some legal trouble. what one woman says the big green mascot did to her. and now she is suing. every communications provider is different but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company. ♪ we link people and fortune 500 companies nationwide and around the world. and we will continue to free you to do more and focus on what matters.

jenna: we are your election headquarters. and who will governor romney choose as his vice president? we're hearing lots of names. some of the folks believed to be on the short list include ohio senator robb portman. ex-minnesota governor tim pawlenty. wisconsin congressman paul ryan. louisiana governor bobby jindal and florida senator marco rubio. but there are a lot of myths about the selection process. myths like it is better to

pick a boring running mate. today the crystal ball debunks some of those myths. larry sabato the director for center of politics from the university of virginia. that's what we hear all the time, larry, pick someone vanilla. someone that won't shake the boat too much. why is that a myth? >> it is a myth that it always applies. it may be right for mitt romney but there are plenty of vice presidential candidates who weren't at all boring in both parties. you have to apply the myths to particular years. that myth may apply to romney but doesn't apply generally. jenna: what about this myth, the big swing state selection myth. everybody is in ohio so that name portman comes up. being a lawmaker from ohio. what about that strategy, pick someone from a swing state that will help you out? >> well, portman would help romney, there is no question about it. but if you operate on the theory that romney does want to pick a vanilla candidate but somebody who is very well-qualified as portman is, he could pick senator john thune from the small state

of south dakota. he could pick former governor tim pawlenty. minnesota is unlikely to go republican but pawlenty would ad some of the same things portman and thune would. there are a lot of considerations that go into picking a vice-presidential candidate, not just electoral votes. they are critical. as we all know. jenna: of course. you can't underestimate them. we've discussed that many a time, larry. how about this one, no one votes for a vice president, no one cares, no one goes to the ballot box thinking they will vote for the second guy or women that is in line. is that a myth too? >> it is absolutely a myth. there are exceptional years where that doesn't happen but people always cite just lyndon johnson saying that only lyndon johnson made a difference for john f. kennedy in 1960. that is untrue. even for losing candidates vice-presidential nominees sometimes made a difference. for example, senator ed muskie helped hubert humphrey close the gap with richard nixon in 1968. al gore did a considerable

help, considerable aid for bill clinton in the border states in 1992. and dick cheney was considered an adult, someone who knew national security and defense policy. he leavened the young governor of texas in 2000 and restored some voter trust in a young candidate. so the vice-presidential candidates do matter a lot. they do affect votes. sometimes it is tough to separate their effect from the vote that is the presidential nominee is receiving anyway but i think they're undersold as important in an election. they are very important in an election. jenna: only 30 seconds here. when do you think we'll find out? is this election going to be a little bit different than other elections finding out sooner or later who is vp? >> the hot rumor is that the romney folks are going to do this sooner than expected. the norm is to do it within 10 days of the convention. there is talk they will do late july, early august. jenna, i'm solidly oppose to this. it will totally cut off the

speculation. those of us in the speculation business, our business will be damaged. that is not good for the economy. jenna: don't have the hot rumor to end a segment on. >> exactly. jenna: we're right on page as always, larry. >> okay. jon: have the crystal ball. he should look in it. forget about water weight. there are new details about what you have in your body that can add as much as six pound to your weight. and this affect as lot of us. plus, we've heard the reports for years, omega-3 supplements, good for your heart, your brain but are they really? some scientific analysis questions that next hour.

>> reporter: rick folbaum in the "happening now" control room, and some brand new stories over the next 50 minutes including this one. tough for the economy to really recover unless the housing

market starts to pick up steam. new numbers just out that show that is not happening. also, a gang of armed thieves roving around a suburban philadelphia neighborhood, we'll show you the videotape that police hope will help them catch these suspects. and brace yourself for a near miss asteroid. the size of an entire city block is coming very close to us. we'll tell you how close and what you need to know. that and breaks news as the second hour of "happening now" starts right now. jenna: thank you, rick. a small army is now battling a growing wildfire in colorado, the massive plumes of smoke are drifting into wyoming skies as crews fight against the clock to maintain and try to contain those flames. it's been a tough job so far. we're glad you're with us, everybody, i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. welcome to a bland new hour of "happening now." the thing is only 10% contained. it's growing in size.

fire officials hope a forecast of rain and cooler weather will bring some much-needed help. dan springer is live in my old hometown of fort collins, colorado. dan? >> reporter: yeah and, jon, they just wrapped up up a news conference here. the headline is this fire is still raging pretty much out of control. the containment figure stays at 10%, it did grow 3,000 acres, so it's now up to 50,000 acres making it one of the largest forest fires in colorado history. they have allowed some residents back into their homes, lifting those evacuation orders, but they have put new residents on standby to be ready to go at a minute's notice. this fire continues to burn out of control to the west in an area that has been devastated by beetles, it's basically stands of trees that are dead creating lots of fuel, that's the big concern now. so they are setting backfires in that area, and that is also the area, that's the way the wind is blowing, so hopefully they'll

increase their containment later on. they have 1200 firefighters now working 24-hour shifts on this. the fire was started saturday by a lightning strike, it did kill a 62-year-old woman over the weekend. there were over 100 buildings that have been destroyed, the cost so far $3 million to fight this fire. weather conditions are somewhat better today, temperatures are in the low to mid 70 and humidity is up around 18%. now, on the positive side president obama signed a law yesterday that will allow the u.s. forest service to buy seven additional tankers. these are the big tankers that can hold 2400 gallons of fire retardant at a time and fly up to 350 miles per hour, so these are the big boys that can drop that fire retardant on the fire and help out. there are five here right now, seven additional tankers will be on the way in the coming months, three of them will be ready in the next two months, so that will help as this fire season gets going. meantime, the u.s. forest

service chief is saying what we need to do in this country is get back to nature, and we need to let fire be a natural part of the ecosystem. again, we've done such a good job in suppression over the last several decades that we have got too much fuel built up. it's also a problem that we haven't had enough logging going on in these areas, so he's calling for more thinning. a lot of stuff going on right here, but the headline again is this containment is at 10%, and this fire has grown to 50,000 acres in northern colorado, and this fire is getting very, very close to the wyoming border. jon? jon: and with 10% containment, it could be burning for a long time to come. >> reporter: that's right. jon: thanks very much. jenna: thank you to dan. also this business alert, the president is now gearing up for a major speech on the economy, framing the debate for the general election. mr. obama is set to deliver this speech next hour in cleveland, ohio, and minutes later after he's done governor romney has a campaign appearance in the very same battleground state, talking about the very same topic.

peter barnes with the fox business network is live in washington with a preview of all of this. hi, peter. >> reporter: hey, jenna. a buckeye battle over the economy today, the president hoping to jump-start his economic message after some recent bad news with slower growth, slower job creation, the risks from europe and the fiscal cliff here in washington. this is being billed as the president's first economics speech of the general election campaign in a key battleground state, but his attack on mitt romney will sound familiar. as he continues to lay out competing visions for voters for the economy and jobs. >> governor romney is a patriotic american, he's got a lovely family and, you know, he should be proud of his personal success. but his ideas are just retreads of stuff that we have tried and that have failed. >> reporter: but obama aides indicate the president will not offer any new policy proposals

today. it will be more of the same such as proposing more government spending on infrastructure, energy and education and, according to reports, the president will continue to try to deflect blame for the current economy by blaming it on his predecessor, george w. bush. yesterday governor romney served up a pre-buttal to the president's speech in ohio. >> he will acknowledge that it isn't going so well, and he'll be asking for four more years. he will speak eloquently, but the words are cheap. and the record of an individual is the basis upon which you determine whether they should continue to hold on to their job. >> reporter: and as you mentioned, jenna, romney will hold a rally at a campaign in cincinnati, at a company in cincinnati, rather, just as the president is speaking in cleveland. >> reporter: one of the questions we're going to be asking today, peter, when you get the numbers on foreclosures that we just got, are there any new ideas out there? that's a big question we have coming up in about 20 minutes or so. thank you so much for the

preview. peter barnes in d.c. jon: right now a massive car bomb attack rocks the syrian capital da damascus as the unitd states and russia face off over that bloody conflict. this just days before president obama is set to meet with russian president vladimir putin. catherine herridge is live at the state department for us in washington. >> reporter: thank you, jon. what we've got here this morning are conflicting narratives coming out of the obama administration. it really began earlier this week when hillary clinton said the russian government is selling attack helicopters to the syrian regime. >> we are concerned about the latest information we have that there are attack helicopters on the way from russia to syria which will escalate the conflict quite dramatically. >> reporter: there is new video this morning out of syria, this is part of homs province, the epicenter of the fighting. local reports say the helicopter you see there is an mi-24.

this is impossible to independently verify, nor is it possible to confirm whether it was russian made. the problem for the defense is they are buying russian helicopters for the afghan force because they feel or at least the thinking is the afghans are very familiar with this helicopter given their long history with the russians. but the question becomes if, in fact, the russians are selling these attack helicopters to syria, should we be buying them for the afghan air force? this issue was put to the defense department's spokesman who was asked specifically about hillary clinton's comments. >> i have not seen reports indicating the russians are providing attack helicopters to syria. frankly, the type of airframe is immaterial. that they are using helicopter gunships against their own people is intolerable, unacceptable and just further evidence of the degree to which they're willing to kill their own people for twisted ends. >> reporter: the key thing to

watch for this afternoon is just two hours from now secretary of state clinton and the defense secretary, leon panetta, will be here at the state department for an unrelated event, but you can except some aggressive questioning from from reporters pushing them to clarify what the status is of these russian helicopters not only with the syrians, but also in terms of u.s. purchases for the afghan air force, jon. jon: catherine herridge, thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. jenna: also just in from the state department, a disturbing new travel warning for americans in mexico. rick has more on this, rick? >> reporter: well, jenna, you know, we've been following the big arrest this week of some top members of domestic and drug car rell known as zetas. the charges stem from allegations that the cartel was funneling money into the u.s. where it was used to start a lieu rahtive horse-racing business. the state department is saying americans traveling in mexico should be careful, there may be retaliation against americans as a result of the arrest. an official travel warning has

been issued urging u.s. citizens to be on guard if you're in mexico, quote, given the history and resources of this violent transnational criminal organization or tco, the u.s. embassy urges u.s. citizens to maintain a low profile and a heightened sense of awareness. the zetas cartel, as we've told you before, is made up of former mexican military special ops who were trained by the u.s. military but who are now some of the richest and most dangerous drug dealers in the world. jenna: quite a warning, rick, thank you. jon: some brand new developments in the murder of a college student nearly three years ago, how a famous rock band is helping the fbi and police try to track down a young woman's killer. also, some grim new numbers on the economy as home foreclosures jump last month. what it means for any possible housing rerecovery, and the prices in your neighborhood. we'll go in depth. i've always looked up to my brother.

he doesn't look like a heart attack patient. i was teaching a martial arts class and it hit me. we get to the emergency room... and then...and then they just wheeled him away. i had to come to that realization that "wow, i am having a heart attack." i can't punch this away. i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen.

[ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone. so be sure to talk to you doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i'm a fighter and nowadays i don't have that fear. [ male announcer ] learn how to protect your heart at i am proheart on facebook.

jon: right now new information in some top crime stories. a retired texas firefighter convicted of murder for shooting his neighbor during an argument over a loud party. raul rodriguez claimed he acted legally under the state's stand your ground law as we told you yesterday. he now faces a possibility of life in prison. the frontman for the band metallica joining efforts to solve the murder of a 20-year-old college student. morgan harrington disappeared at a metallica convert in virginia. her remains were discovered more than two years ago. the band and police now urging anyone with information to come forward. and a judge sets -- set to florida read charges in the hazing death of 26-year-old robert champion, killed by repeated blows to his body. jenna: well, some new information on the economy today. 386,000 americans filed for

unemployment in the latest week. that number continues to go up as we've seen over the last several weeks. now take a look at the housing market. we have new news on fore -- foreclosure activity. it jumped last month, up 9%. big questions about the housing recovery and what's ahead. joining us now, the founder and president of the institute for america's future and the co-director for the campaign for america's future and peter schiff, president of euro pacific capital and author of the book "the real crash: america's coming bankruptcy, how to save yourself and your country." welcome, gentlemen, nice to have you. >> pleasure to be here. >> thank you. jenna: we have two big campaign speeches coming up today, both supposed to be on the economy. when we keep on seeing numbers like this, bob, one has to question what we're hearing about there being no new ideas presented by either side when it comes to the economy. are there any new ideas out there that the american people should be asking for? >> well, i think there's some new bad ideas out there that the

american -- jenna: ah, but that's not the question, bob. >> in terms of getting the economy going, i think there's been a set of ideas put out, it's just we have gridlock here in washington and a republican congress that's intent on doing nothing as far as we can cel. jenna: republican congress, peter. if that was different, would things be better? >> well, i doubt it. first of all, no doubt that the president was dealt a bad hand. but it's not bush's fault that he played that hand as poorly as he did. in fact, obama was a senator before he was president, so he helped to stack that deck. he needs to correct the mistakes of the bush administration, not expand on them -- jenna: so how do you do that, peter? >> unfortunately, that's what he's doing. i tried to bring some new ideas to capitol hill. a week ago today i testified to congress, and i tried to bring the idea of capitalism, of free markets to capitol hill, and i was shot down, if you want to see what happened, just go to youtube -- >> you think free markets are a new idea, peter?

>> look at what happens when you try to bring common sense to washington d.c. jenna: bob, hold your thought for just one second. i want to know specifically when peter said try to bring capitalism back to washington, d.c., can you give us something specific that you recommended that you'd like to see? >> i want them to get out of the housing market. can you believe these guys in congress after what freddie and fannie did to single-family housing, they want to do the same thing to apartments. they want the government to guarantee securitized mortgages on apartment buildings. the worst thing you could possibly do, and they had a bunch of industry lobbyists lined up, and i was there representing the taxpayer trying to say enough is enough, and can they didn't want to hear anything. they were just ridiculing me and shooting me down. they're not open to new ideas, they just want to rehash the same failed socialist policies that have been pursued for years in this country. you know, president obama wants to keep criticizing george bush, then why does he keep following

his playbook? why does he have the same borrow and spend, regulate tax and print agenda that bush had? jenna: so, bob, maybe that's the problem -- >> because the ones -- jenna: hold on, peter, hold on, peter. let me get bob's thoughts on this. bob, i'm sure you disagree with a lot of things peter ooh -- peter is saying, but at this point there's too thin of a line that divides everybody when it comes to economic philosophy. >> look, we have a huge difference in philosophy now, and peter's one of the few people in america or the world who would think george bush is a socialist. the reality is you've got an economy that's laboring from the worst financial collapse since the great depression, it was caused in the private sector, not the public sector. and you have people facing, you know, massive losses. the fed just came out with their report, showed that from 2007-2010 families lost 40% of

their wealth. jenna: right. >> that's mostly in the value of their homes. their wages are down -- jenna: so, bob, what do we do? hold on, peter. what do we do, bob? if there's one thing we have to do today that either president obama or mitt romney can champion, what is the number one thing we should do to get better numbers than the things we saw this morning on the job market and on housing? >> look, we have to put people to work, and the only way we're going to put people to work is to actually do it. and the question is, who does it? ceos have a lot of money, corporations have record profits, they are not doing it -- jenna: how do you get -- is that possible? >> what we ought to do is take advantage of the market. the market will now lend us money cheaper than free to the u.s. government, we ought to borrow that money, and we ought to use it to rebuild the country. [laughter] we have massive needs for -- >> so we have the rope, we should hang ourselves with it? first of all -- [inaudible conversations] jenna: let me jump in. guys? >> peter, let me just finish the point. >> we need --

jenna: if this is an example, we're really not getting anywhere. peter, hold on one second. hold on a second, peter. we're not going to be able to hear anything. our viewers are going to get frustrated if none of us can talk. peter, i'm going to give you the final thought, but, bob, you weren't done, and then we can hear jon talk. >> we have a construction industry that's flat on its back, we have massive internal needs for improvements, and we can borrow money cheap or than free. jenna: okay. so, peter, bob says borrow now, it's cheaper, it's the only tyke we're going to -- time we're going to see money like this. why do you not agree with that? >> basically, there's free heroin, we should use it. he's advocating what greece did. greece borrowed a lot of money when it was cheap, they spent it on government, and then interest rates went up, and they're broke. the same thing is going to happen to us. if we take advantage of all this cheap money and go into debt and squander it, this whole economy is going to collapse. unfortunately, that's what's going to happen.

that's why my book is called "the real crash," because it's coming. we're repeating all the mistakes of the past, we're learning nothing. jenna: i hope you both will come back and talk more about this. there was a heroin reference, there was, i mean, i don't know where else we could possibly go, but we look forward to having you both. >> george bush a socialist. take care. jon: well, the bloodshed in syria only getting worse, and as the violence spirals out of control, russia emerges as an important ally for syria and its government. so how will this impact our relationship with russia? our two presidents about to meet. we'll go in depth. and a manhunt of armed robbers who strike in broad daylight. the evidence police now have that they hope will help crack this case. also, rick at the web wall. rick? >> reporter: one of the big stories everybody's talking about today is lance armstrong and yet another investigation into whether he used performance-enhancing drugs to help him win all those races. take a moment right now and go to the "happening now" home page

and let us know what you think. did lance armstrong use those drugs or not? we'll have more on that story coming up and more of "happening now" after a quick break. don't go away. if you have copd like i do, you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd iludes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiva helps corol my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell yr doctor if you have kidy problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you ta, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help

if yr breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing ure. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. does breathing with copd weigh you down? ask your doctor if spiriva can help. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. fohalf the calories plus vgie nutrition. could've had a v8. or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

jenna: well, a man hundredth is underway for the suspects in a series of brazen armed robberies. several businesses hit in one pennsylvania town. rick has more of this. rick? >> reporter: this is outside of philly, and what has police most concerned, jenna, is how brazen these thieves are. they go into stores and businesses smack in the middle of the day in front of tons of potential witnesses, they commit their crimes and casually just

walk out the door. the police chief says like they're going to a picnic. take a look at some video camera footage from one of their more recent attacks. it shows -- this is the most recent attack, police hope it'll help them crack the case. you can see the robbers, they walk in. you saw them, perhaps, put a gun to the head of that woman, they pulled a $20 bill out of her hand, then they empty out the cash registers before calmly walking out the doors. investigators think this same group is responsible for at least five other robberies in the same general area over the past month, three since just this past friday alone. police did isolate a frame showing one of the robbers before he pulled that mask over his face, so they want you to focus in on that picture, and if anybody has information on who he is or who did these crimes, call the police in upper darby with the number on the screen, 610-734-3439. back to you. jenna: thank you, rick. jon: escalating violence in

syria brings back potentials of cold war-style maneuvering. as prime minister ma and russian president -- president obama and vladimir putin prepare to meet in mexico next week. can they resolve a terrible humanitarian crisis in the middle east, and what are the political stakes for president obama here? matthew is an expert on u.s. and russian national security at carnegie endowments russia and eurasia program. thanks for being with us today. the two have this meeting scheduled next week, this is going to be their first meeting as presidents. putin was in office before but was prime minister when president obama was elected. what do you suppose that conversation will go like? >> you know, i think the most important dimension of the conversation, ironically, is going to be personal dimension. you know, putin and obama have met before, it was under slightly different circumstances. the first time they met it was

in moscow. putin lectured to obama famously for over an hour about the recent history of u.s./russia relations, all the slights and offenses that the united states committed against russia, and obama said, okay, let's take a little time and talk about the future. now it's the future. the u.s. and russia have been cooperating pretty effectively, actually, behind the scenes for the last several years on security and economic issues. the relationship is going better than it seems from the public limelight, and yet these guys have got some damage control to do. they're going to have to demonstrate for the cameras and for other world lead thears the united states and russia can work together. jon: well, and there was that famous open mic comment that mr. obama made to the former russian president, medvedev, i want to play that again for our viewers so they can be reminded. >> after my next election, i have more flexibility. jon: after my election, i have more flexibility.

more flexibility to do what? >> yeah. i think the answer is, of course, we're not going to know that until after the election. that comment in particular was about ballistic missile defense, this is something that the russians perceive as a significant threat to their nuclear deterrent. the reality, of course, is it's not a short-term or even a medium-term threat, so we're going to have to find a face-saving solution on that. but, you know, the part of that exchange that i paid more attention to that not too many talk about is the second part when medvedev said i'll transmit this information to the boss. now obama gets to talk directly to the boss, that's something he hasn't been doing for the last three years intentionally when putin was behind the scenes, so, frankly, we can make a lot more progress. it's the boss talking to the boss. jon: what about the syrian situation? perhaps 10,000 people slaughtered by their own government, and the russians seem to appear eager to support that assad government. >> yeah. i think the russians have got to support the assad government.

in the part it was because, frankly, the invoices that russia's got outstanding, and we're talking about billions of dollars here, arms sales, energy contract, services infrastructure, they've got assad's name on them and nobody else's. if he goes, the russians don't get paid. that's a very straightforward interest. obviously, they like -- jon: so they owe them money? >> money and, i think, influence. and the ability to portray themselves as having, basically, an independent foreign policy. there's a sense in which, you know, if the united states had not come out so strong and so early saying the assad regime has got to go, it's a criminal regime, they're killing their people, this is a moral issue, that really pushed the russians into a corner to say, no, no, we're drawing a line here. you're not going to tell the world how to play this one, and you're not going to pick winners in syria like you did libya. jon: international relations always so come complicated. matthew row january sky, thanks

for helping break it down. jenna: huge hail around the country to the threat of dangerous storms, maybe even tornadoes. where the wicked weather may head, a live report next. and new trouble for a world famous cyclist. lance armstrong fending off some new doping allegations. he says enough is enough. we're going to debate this with our legal panel coming up. ♪ eggland's best eggs. -the best in nutrition... -just got better. even better nutrition -- high in vitamins d, e and b12. a good source of vitamin b2. plus omega threes. and 25% less saturated fat than ordinary eggs. but there's one important ingredient that hasn't changed. -better taste. -better taste. -better taste. -mmmm... [ female announcer ] eggland's best. better taste and now even better nutrition make the better egg.

another cup of coffee? even better nutrition how long is this one going to last? forty-five minutes? an hour? well... listen. 5-hour energy lasts a whole lot of hours. take one in the afternoon, and you'll feel alert and energized 'til the cows come home. it's packed with b-vitamins and nutrients to make it last. so what's it going to be, partner? 5-hour energy. wise choice. 5-hour energy. hours and hours of energy.

jon: fox news alert. police just wrapping up to a news conference. they are now issuing a nationwide alert to law enforcement all across the country to be on the lookout for a man suspected of shooting to death his ex-girlfriend. this is his picture. 49-year-old timothy jorden, a well-respected trauma surgeon in the buffalo area. he is thought to be the person of interest in the shooting death yesterday of his former lover, 33-year-old, jacqueline wisniewski. it happened there at the trauma center in buffalo. now the canadian border is basically right there but authorities don't believe he has gotten into canada. they say that all of his vehicles are accounted for. but they do want authorities across the country to be on the look quote for this -- lookout for this man, 49-year-old, timothy jorden. we'll keep you updated on the search.

jenna: now this fox news extreme weather alert for you today. check out this video. unbelievable baseball-sized hail damaging dallas and doing serious damage to cars and holes. check this out. we also have severe weather across the country. chief meteorologist rick reichmuth is luckily inside. wow!. >> it will total it and windows and damaging dents across the metal. right there the storm reports from yesterday, 42 hail reports. today we have another threat for some big storms. you can see one batch of this here across areas of the northern plains right now. none of it is severe but big rain moving through minneapolis. we have storms popping up here across louisiana. this is where we have today the threat of severe weather, a big swath of it. from minnesota to parts of texas an oklahoma. the main event hasn't happened. even though you see storms

moving through minneapolis there will be another round coming through later on. and another round through tyler, texas and lake charles through new orleans. a couple of stories we're following all the fires burning across areas of the west today, we see the yellows and oranges. that is the fire weather. wind will kick up a little bit today into tomorrow though. that all kind of goes away. that is good news for the firefighters, however, no moisture or rain coming. that unfortunately will not help matters. no likely rain until the month of july. jenna: thank you. >> you bet. jon: information on a fresh round of allegations against american cyclist lance armstrong. the u.s. anti-doping agency accuses him of cheating, getting him barred from a competition just over a week away. armstrong fiercely denies those claims. so what's at stake for the man who won the tour de france seven times? talk about it with frred tecce, former federal prosecutor.

jennifer bonjean is a criminal defense attorney. dr. marti mccrary, physician and professor of public health at john hopkins. welcome to each of you. >> thank you for having me. jon: fred, to you, first of all. the justice department investigated lance armstrong for a long time. couldn't find any evidence he had been involved in doping. now along comes the u.s. anti-doping agency and i guess they have got a lower burden of proof? >> they do, jon. they have a lower burden of proof. don't forget the french don't like this guy a lot. they went after him for years. this guy has been a personal hero to me. personally i have a real problem with this. ultimately sometimes when you're a prosecutor, when it is your job to uphold the law you have to do things that may be personally offensive. i think the guy has been inspiration to cancer patients for years but let's get this figured out and find out once and for you will if this is true or not. jon: jennifer, if there wasn't enough evidence for the justice department to bring criminal charges, why should the ada go after him?

>> i can't think of a greater waste of taxpayer money. the department of justice conducted a two-year exhaustive investigation and they could not find enough evidence to even indict the man. and now the u.s. anti-doping agency comes along. it doesn't appear they have better evidence, any different evidence. in fact so much of this evidence is based on snitch testimony. other people who are known dopers who allegedly saw armstrong do this. the reality is, for a 20-year career he never failed a drug test. enough is enough. put up or shut up. they can't do it. they need to go away and quit wasting money. jon: talk about wasting money, he spent millions defending himself. as you point points out, 500 drug tests and he hasn't failed a single one of them. >> look he is the most tested athlete probably in the history of athletics. he hasn't failed one. if you believe these people's conspiracy theory went on 10 or 12 years on

three separate teams. jennifer is right. the feds didn't indict the guy. the french went after him. sooner or later, what i don't like about this as a prosecutor, he is 41 years old. he was trying for the kona triathlon. placed second in panama recently. this is life sentence. he is guilty until proven innocent. jon: jennifer, what about what fred said earlier is it possible the french who doesn't like this american guy winning their race year after year after year that they're really behind this? >> i don't know if they're behind it but definitely seems like a vendetta. and you know even though the u.s. anti-doping agency isn't a prosecuting agency, they can't prosecute criminal charges against him it is still unfair to take a way a man's legacy based on this cruddy evidence, quite honestly. jon: yeah. fred, there is lower burden of proof for the ada to bring these charges. sort of like, you know, o.j. simpson won, you know was found not guilty in the criminal case. they came back at him with a

civil case and they got a judgment against him s that the same kind of thing we're looking at here? >> it is. it's the same kind of thing. it is a lower burden of proof. but you know something, jon, when i was off the u.s. attorney's office, a federal judge said discretion is the better part of valor. to what end if they prove this? how many cancer patients lied in bed at night ravaged by toxic drugs if lance armstrong survived and won the tour de france i can make it through. what do he hope to accomplish all this? i don't get it. jon: a lot of people don't. fred, jennifer, we'll have to leave it there. thanks to you both. >> thanks for having me. jenna: a huge asteroid on course to pass close to the earth. we report every once in a while, jon. question is how close? jon: it is coming this way. jenna: plus, how much bacteria do you think the, the average guy, the average guy like jon is carrying around on him?

how much do you think, jon? jon: you mean on my hands? jenna: we'll tell you. you will be shocked when you hear this coming up. a party?

[ music plays, record skips ] hi, i'm new ensure clear. clear, huh? my nutritional standards are high. i'm not juice or fancy water, i'm different. i've got nine grams of protein. twist my lid. that's three times more than me! twenty-one vitamins and minerals and zero fat! hmmm. you'll bring a lot to the party. [ all ] yay! [ female announcer ] new ensure clear.

nine grams protein. zero fat. twenty-one vitamins and minerals. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach. refreshing nutrition in charge! jon: a lot of star-gazers are going to be looking skyward tonight because an asteroid, the size of a city block, is expected to fly past earth tonight. astronomers say it is more than 1600 feet wide. it is expected to come within 3.3 million miles of our planet. don't worry though, no concern of any possible impact. that's a good thing. jenna: my dad has to explain that, right? shiny hair, good skin, a boost in mental health and protection, all the promised benefits of omega-3s. the question now being raised by one study researchers call the gold standard is whether or not omega-3 is all they're cracked up to be. dr. marti mccreery, physician and professor of public health at john hopkins hospital. doctor, this study done by

the cochran review is looking at mental health in a specific group of people but what does it really tell us about omegas? >> jenna, a lot of people take omega-3s because of the heart benefits. it is exaggerated to say it has been good for your brain health. people thought it prevents alzheimer's and increases your memory. this study, the largest study of aggregated studies in patients show that is not really true. the brain health benefits are really not there. jenna: what about the other benefits? we're really told that owe -- if i can get it out, omega-3 are great when it comes to cancer, when it comes to your skin, when it comes to so many different things. so are there areas where omega-3s are still something someone should consider taking? >> the cancer benefit and skin benefit are also not very well-proven but the cardiac benefit, the benefit preventing heart disease is much more reliable. it has been proven in good medical studies now to prevent second heart

attacks. you know, jenna, it makes sense. we get very little omega-3 in the modern, busy processed food diet out there. if you look at most of the beef, most the chicken, most of the milk we consume, it comes from animals that don't eat grass and they get an imbalance of omegas. that is believed to result in high cholesterol for people eating those foods. jenna: that is really interesting. do you take omega-3s, doc? do you take fish oil? >> jenna that is one of the few things i take every day. i think people take way too many vitamins and supplements and spend too much money. good omega-3 from a good source because there is wide range of quality is probably a good thing to take if you don't get a lot of good, healthy whole foods every day. jenna: looking what is recommended. seems manageable. two portions of fish a week. as you mentioned depending where you are and your diet that can be tough. can you tell us a little bit more? i have to run but you said

it needs to be good quality. is there a way to know if you're taking a good quality omega-3? >> you can get omega-3 $2 or $40 from the same amount. you want something from clear natural waters, norwegian waters, alaskan waters and wild cod. and fish from cod and cod liver. not from undisclosed fish from minnows from polluted waters or fish farms. try to get it from good sources. if you can, try to eat fish twice a week. that is what authors of study said. jenna: doctor doctor mack contrary, good advice for us today. >> thank you, jenna. jenna: that could make you cringe a little bit. now that we're looking at our vitamins and supplements, jon. scientists discover the average 200 pound person, is that what you are, jon? jon: i'm in that ballpark. jenna: pure steel. jon: all muscles. jenna: the average 200 pound person carries around two to six pound of bacteria. jon: hitchhikers.

jenna: more than 10,000 species. turns out most of the bacteria helps us, natural functions and live in harmony with the human body. we thought it was worth pointing out. a big story on the front page of "the wall street journal." if you think about six pounds of bacteria. jon: trying to figure out how they interact with the human game know. jenna: a broader research study. of all the big intense research we thought two to six pounds of bacteria everyone could carry on them is the big headline. jon: don't take antibiotics to try to lose weight, right? jenna: i guess not. jon: making new homes more energy efficient as california adopts the toughest standards in the country but going green could cost a lot of green up front. supporters say it will save you money in the long run though. we'll look at the controversy in a live report. also legal trouble for the green thing, the philly phanatic. what that popular mascot is accused of doing. oh. we're live with the story.

[ fem] research suggests the health of our cells plays a key role throughout our entire lives. ♪ one a day women's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for women's health concerns as we age. ♪ it has more of seven antioxidants to support cell health. that's one a day women's 50+ healthy advantage.

jon: new controversy over going green in california. as it aproves the toughest standards for new homes in the nation. california is requiring things like solar-ready roofs claiming they will save homeowners money in the long run even though it adds thousands to the initial cost of the home. not everyone as you can imagine is on board with some of these ideas. claudia cowan live in san francisco. claudia? >> reporter: jon, california once again enacting regulations to pursue a greener environment. this time with new rules for builders. starting in 2014 new homes must have solar-ready rooftops, hot water pipe insulation and an inspector has to come on out and make sure the air conditioner was installed right. new buildings must have

improved temperature controls, sensor lights near windows and a solar-ready roof as well. some home buyers may never want solar panels. even so straight energy officials they have anp obligation to require up grades, features they claim will make life better for everyone. >> we're lowering energy bills, saving people money, increasing comfort. reducing pollution and helping the state provide reliable energy to people in california. >> reporter: but not everyone sees the new guidelines as a good thing. some industry groups say it will mean higher construction costs just as many calfornians are reeling from the recession. another others claim new technologies are based on flawed data and poor science. one group says the regulations in place now are not fairly enforced. >> it really harms the market because you have those corporations, contractors, distributors and others that are following the rules and then

others that are not and they're put at a competitive disadvantage. >> reporter: but take a look at this state of the art house we saw in sacramento. commissioner douglas argued upgrades do save energy and money through lower utility bills over time. and she says she hopes the new roofing requirement encourages more homeowners to go solar and give a boost to the state's growing solar industry. jon? jon: going to cost a lot more to get those houses built that way. claudia cowan, thank you. >> reporter: sure will. jenna: from one city to one state to another. one city's beloved mascot at the center of a very serious lawsuit. what one woman claims the philly phanatic did, and why she is suing next. ♪ [ male announcer ] you're at the age where you don't get thrown by curveballs. ♪ this is the age of knowing how to get things done.

so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor.

...more talk on social security... ...but washington isn't talking to the american people. [ female announcer ] when it comes to the future of medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and your family? [ female announcer ] you've earned the facts. ♪ washington may not like straight talk, but i do. [ female announcer ] and you've earned a say. get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security at earnedasay.org.

jenna: well, sports history made in san francisco last night. pitcher matt cain throwing a

perfect game. it's the first perfect game for my san francisco giants and only the 22nd time in big league history. a sellout crowd saw this and, wow, congratulations to him, congratulations to the giants. you can see quite a celebration, and appropriately so. in other sports news, not that there really is other sports news on a day when -- jon: i hope they didn't hurt him in that pileon. jenna: there is a big league mascot that's in the middle of a very serious lawsuit. >> reporter: full disclosure, i might not be the most impartial journalist to do this story, but i think we can all agree the fanatic is presumed innocent until proven otherwise. of course, one of the best-known mascots, and in philly he's more popular than ben franklin and rocky balboa.

he was alleged to have picked up a woman and thrown her into the hotel swimming pool. the woman now has to walk with a cane, the phillies standing by their man and saying they do not believe the charges. but philadelphia sports fans can celebrate their football team, the eagles. a new partnership between the team and makers of angry birds, the new angry birds eagles' edition will soon be out along with a ton of cross-marketing and merchandising opportunities. in other words, jenna, new ways for everyone to make money, and who can argue with that? jenna: i can argue with that phillies' hat though. [laughter] it looks good, rick, i like it. jon: our cameraman is a big giants fan, but he also likes angry birds. jenna: it's going to be a huge conflict. we're going to try to work that out before we get to tomorrow's show. jon: thank you for joining us today. jenna: "america live" starts right now. megyn: fox news alert, a huge

hour in the 2012 race for the white house as we witness dueling speeches in a key battleground state by the president and the man who wants to replace him. welcome to "america live," everyone, i'm megyn kelly. screen left, president obama headed out to give what his team calls a framing speech contrasting his economic agenda with that of governor mitt romney. screen right, governor romney getting ready to speak with voters just five minutes after the president is supposed to begin his talk. we expect both men will address our soaring deficit, but today's dueling events also come as we get some troubling news on the economy. the number of americans filing for first-time jobless benefits has gone up again to 386,000 last week, that is well above where we need to be to signal a healthy jobs market. and it is just another sign that our economy right now is not on the track we would hope. the monthly job gains has steadily gone down every month this year. you