with us everybody. see you back here on monday. hope you have a safe weekend. "happening now" begins right now. jon: brand new stories and breaking news for you. jenna: a throwdown on the campaign trail. the president's campaign making an offer to governor romney's camp, an offer he certainly can refuse if he wants to. what it is and the political fallout of all of that. some are calling paul ryan's first week a cautious roleout but could governor romney's vice-presidential pick behind a big spike in new donors? we'll talk about some of the polls and karl rove will weigh in on all that in a few minutes. if you like a sweet ride, and don't we all, you have to check this out. we're live with the coolest cars on the market. we'll have all those stories plus breaking news, all "happening now." jenna: "happening now", a deal of sorts on the table

for governor mitt romney and it is his choice what he wants to do. kind of interesting. interesting stakes. jon: and a clever response i think from the --. jenna: what happens when you run for president though, right? all these deals get thrown at you. we're glad you're with us this friday. i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. the president obama's campaign says if mr. romney only releases five years of tax returns the president's team will not criticize him for not releasing anymore at all, ever. that offer coming in a public letter from campaign manager jim messina to his counterpart on team romney there is already a response. we've chief white house correspondent ed henry at white house with that ed? >> reporter: good to see you, jon. what the obama campaign is asking for five years of tax returns, 2007 to 2012. the rationale being that is the time frame mr. romney launched his two presidential campaigns over last two cycles. campaign is saying just give us that range.

jim messina the cam pain manager in chicago, if the governor will release five years of returns i commit we will not criticize him for res more or ads or other public commentary from the rest of the campaign. quick response in moments from matt rhodes, he is the campaign manager for mitt romney in where the governor is in meetings. he says it is clear president obama wants nothing more than to talk about governor romney's tax returns instead of issues that matter to voters like putting americans back to work, fixing the economy and reining in spending. now this is the second straight day, obviously been going on for weeks and months. the second straight day where there was back and forth. the governor took questions from reporters yesterday where he was asked about all this. there was quick response from jay carney at the white house podium. take a listen. >> i did go back and look at my taxes and over the past 10 years i every in paid less than 13%. i think the most recent year is 13.6 or something like

that. paid taxes every single year. >> this president believes that the tradition of, as a for presidential candidates to put forward multiple years of tax returns is useful and valuable one of the not always a comfortable one of the but one that he is certainly awide and thinks one the american people believe is right and expect their candidates to abide by. >> reporter: interesting because throughout that briefing yesterday jay carney got a lot of questions about vice president joe biden, some of his recent gaffs. jay carney kept saying the president and vice president want to focus on issues. want to be a serious campaign. don't want to deal side issues. within it 4 hours 24 hours the obama campaign is pressing more tax returns from mitt romney. they think he is vulnerability. not disclosed enough information. not on par with what president obama release and ad not on par with what his

father released many years ago when he ran for president. jon: they say it is distraction from the real issues. >> reporter: they say that again and again. jon: ed henley. jenna: karl rove, deputy chief of staff to president george w. bush and fox news contributor. you're a deal maker. what if they threw in a free car or dinner, would you take that offer? >> in 2008, john mccain put out two years of tax returns and we never heard a peep out of the obama campaign about how this was insufficient. they certainly didn't say, senator mccain you need to release returns back to 1999 when we began your first presidential campaign for the 2000 election. matt rhodes caught it right. this is all about distraction. arguing about mitt romney tax cuts, personal attacks will not put a single american back to work, shave a single dollar off the national debt, grow the economy more or make people feel better about their health care it is a distraction.

you notice the obama team did this the day after there was controversy arose over joe biden putting his foot in his mouth once again. this is distraction. jenna: all right, karl, over last couple weeks we've seen that. >> sure. jenna: the president campaign asked for this. romney campaign says no. now a couple weeks later we're back at it again. cycle of deja vu. so what happens next? is this something we just should expect to see for the next several weeks in the election and disregard it? >> sure. jenna: what do which make of this back and forth? >> we'll see this because this is a way for them in essence for team obama to undercut or attempt to undercut mitt romney's credibility. jenna: is it working? >> look, i don't think so. i think the american people, if you were concerned about this you made up your mind about it weeks ago. look, we know he is a rich guy. we know he derives income from investments which is taxed at lower rate as every one agrees it should be or virtually everybody agrees it should be and you made up your mind about this issue. this does highlight the fact that the president can't

deal with issues on a sustained ongoing basis. we're not having a campaign in his mind. he doesn't want a campaign about jobs economy, deficits, debt, spending affordable care act, medicare. he wants to have it on side issues. that is sign of weakness on the part of the president. jenna: let me ask you numbers we've seen. gallup put out polls what it looked like for romney before the announcement that paul ryan would be his running mate and what it looks like for romney afterwards. we're looking on the screen, before, president had 45%. governor romney 46, within margin of error. after the announcement, it shifts very slightly, the president is still at 45%. governor romney slight higher. a little bit, still within the margin of error. why are we seeing no movement here, karl? >> that is traditional. we see very minor bounce typically that defend dills away. this race is different. there are hard feelings on both side. we're committed partisans for obama, committed partisans for romney. we're not likely to see much movement. what i think we're seeing

increase in amount of enthusiasm. this shows romney a bold leader will put the deficit and debt and spending entitlement reform and repeal of obamacare right in the center of campaign. they will make it about big issues. that will probably mean whatever gain he has from this is more sustainable and durable. we see this weekend, you saw it begin yesterday, the pundits and prognosticators, based on newest polling will move ohio and wisconsin out of the lean obama category based on new polls and put it in toss upcategory which is good news for the romney ryan team. jenna: that we'll look at that swing states are so important. important as you well know, karl, is fund-raising. one of the things we learned today a week after that announcement, about $10 million been raced by the romney campaign look at whiteboard. you are prepared. >> yeah. jenna: let me ask you a question as you show us those numbers. you're the cofounder of american crossroads. this is super pac gets a lot

of attention. are you seeing same trends? is more money coming into the super pac as well as the campaign based on this announcement? >> it enthuse ad lot of people and people are opening up their wallets. there is another story here, let's step back a minute. another story is being missed. at end of the april, obama and democrats, they had a cash on handed a advantage over republicans romney and republican national committee of $95 million. by the end of may it defend diled to the 61. by the end of june it dwindled to 23. we know in july the romney team and republican national committee raised $101 million. giving them $186 million cash on hand. dnc raised $75 million and they refused to release their cash on hand number. i think what we're going to see this $23 million advantage was wiped out of combination of republicans raising more and democrats spending more. as a result we'll likely see republicans with bigger cash

on handed a advantage. that is big, big problem. it will only accelerate here in august. not just small donors. $10 million from small donors. big number. i was in alabama. they had a fund-raiser night before in birmingham. biggest fund-raiser in the history of the state. $2.2 million for romney republican national candidate. that is huge number for the community. it is a sign of enthusiasm out there. jenna: interesting considering the economy we're in as well-being one of the issues we're talking about. dry erase board, karl. caught our attention and somebody else is using dry erase board. you may want to trademark that thing before other people start using it. there is mitt romney on the campaign trail yesterday. i don't know if he is is pulling a little karl rove or somebody but somebody copying. >> write your board out in advance. you waste time. if i tried to trademark it the family of tim russert would be on me like a bug on

snot. jenna: bug on snot nothing you can do to top that. nice to have your perspective as always. >> you bet, thank you. jenna: write out the board before you start. karl, thanks. quick programing note for you as well, tomorrow fox news will carry the ryan event karl was talking about at the villages in florida. very important. paul ryan talked about his med care plan. will we learn anything more about what the ticket stand for on medicare? beginning tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. jon: congressman's mom is going to be there as well. as you know, florida is home to this year's republican national convention. kicks off 10 days from now. right now preparations are underway in the host city of tampa for a throng of visitors including some who could cause a bit of trouble. tampa police showcasing their response to a mock demonstration. the department has specific procedures in place to protect the area in and around the convention, in the event things get out of control. but there is hope that it doesn't come to that.

>> we don't anticipate things will get out of hand. again it is our sense of urgency. identifying those individuals that are bent on disruption and destruction and getting them out of the crowd immediately. jon: we're told k-9 units, bike teams, a mounted patrol unit and the regional bomb squad all will be part of the security team on hand. of course fox has complete coverage leading up to and through the republican convention. the best political team anywhere will be live in tampa for the big event. jenna: now on to other news. new developments in the investigation of mf global. that is according to sources close to the case. remember this is the failed financial firm that really blew up and everybody, caught everybody by surprise. apparently those that are attached to the firm will escape criminal charges despite the fact that the firm lost billions of dollars. investigators are determining that chaos in the firm led to the losses. not necessarily fraud. however this case is far from over. you're seeing jon corzine,

the head of that firm on your screen. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live in washington with more. >> reporter: thank you and good morning. according to a report first carried in the "new york times" that criminal investigation by the justice department into mf global may conclude without any criminal charges against those key players. the investigation is now in its/10 month and gathered evidence that according to the published reports show a pattern of poor risk controls and systemic disorganization rather than fraud in recent statements the former chief the firm, a senior democrat, former new jersey governor and former senator jon corzine claimed that he was in the dark about the problems. >> as the chief executive officer of mf global, and i say this with all sincerity, i truly apologize to all those affected. i want to be clear. i never gave any instruction to misuse customer funds. i never intended anyone at mf global to misuse customer funds. >> reporter: in an e-mail before the collapse of mf

global corzine was far more upbeat about its future writing to employees in 2011, quote, let's be an example how to do it right and play a leadership role in restoring confidence in our industry. but during the september 8th hearing lawmakers questioned whether corzine and other executives were offering a complete accounting what happened. >> this is a glaring, glaring example of why the american people are rapidly losing faith in our ability here in washington to get our hands around this. so i think that at some point mr. gingler will have to answer questions about what happened about this and i think it raises some questions. so i, i think that this is something we have to really answer. >> reporter: if the mf global investigation ends without a prosecution it will become the largest financial implosion since

2000 eight and once again none of the principles are held accountable, jenna. jenna: catherine, thank you. >> reporter: you're welcome. jon: a growing public health emergency in texas to update you on. what officials are doing now to contain the deadly threat from mosquitoes infected with west nile virus. will it be enough. jenna: we'll definitely follow that story out of texas. dozens of wildfires raging across 13 states. the dangerous mix of wind and heat that continues to fuel the flames. jon: a pakistani attack against the nuclear program how concerned should the u.s. and rest of the world be? we'll ask general jack keen when he joins us live

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jon: the city of dallas, texas is now launching an aerial assault against the nation's worst outbreak of west nile virus, spraying thousands of gallons of insecticide overnight to

kill infected mesquite foes. the virus has killed at least 18 people so far this year. some are worried about the effects of the insecticide. others are more worried about the virus. >> anyone who cares about their goldfish or coy or bull frogs or dragonflies, turtles will cover their pond just to take this protective action against the aerial spraying. >> we loaded up with lots of bug spray before we left the house. i think the spraying is great. it is west nile i'm concerned about. jon: casey staying gel is live in dallas. there was a bit of a hitch with last night's spraying, huh, casey. >> reporter: conditions have to be perfect for the aerial spraying to commence. there has to be very light wind and really no precipitation. after last night after planes were up, light showers moved into the spray zone. then the aircraft had to be grounded. only 52,000 acres got

sprayed instead of 106,000 as scheduled. the aircraft are scheduled to fly tonight and through the weekend to get the hardest hit areas. despite health concerns from some members of the public, hear is the dallas mayor's reaction. >> when you're dealing with someone's life that should come first and foremost. when you have the science from the cdc, the epa and all, many cities across the united states that say this is safe, this is the right decision to take. >> reporter: for context the amount of insecticide that is actually used for one acre is is roughly 2 tablespoons, jon. jon: so why is the virus so bad this year? does anybody know? >> reporter: well, doctors at the centers for disease control and prevention say it is a number of things, a perfect storm, if you will. we had a mild winter, a hot spring and really hot summer. then you mix a lot of rain in this area in with that. a lot of country is in

drought. texas had a lot of precipitation. the west nile virus of course is contracted by being bitten with an infected mosquito. usually the elderly and children are most at risk. but the cdc said, healthy people in their 40s and 50s are coming down with it this time around. while texas is the epicenter if you will, 43 other states have reported cases, a total of 693 cases nationwide. the south as you can see from the map seeing the highest numbers. places like mississippi and louisiana, oklahoma, has a large spike in west nile cases as well, jon. jon: so i couldn't tell, is that standing water behind you or is that a moving stream? >> reporter: well it is standing water but we have a little bit of a breeze going now. you can see the ripples going through it. stagnant water like this, why we chose it as the live location is a big concern because mosquitoes breed on top of the water. that is why health officials are asking the public to remove water like this from their properties and also to use this insect repellant

that contains the chemical deet in it to keep your family safe. jon: i hope you and the crew are getting sprayed. >> reporter: we got it. jon: casey stiegel in dallas. thanks, casey. jenna: an afghan police officer turns his gun on troops that trained him killing americans. this is latest in attacks carried out by afghan police against military members of our own forces. we'll see what this will change the strategy on the u.s. withdrawal. we didn't see them years ago. why is this happening now? a scenic carriage right in central park, one of the things you forward to in new york city. that carriage ride turns terrifying when a horse bolts out into traffic. what spooked that horse named orry yo and who is ramping up efforts to keep horses like him off the streets for good.

jon: fox news alert. updating you on those big wildfires burning in 13 states west of the mississippi. thousands of firefighters are trying to battle some terrible flames. in california alone, more than a dozen major wildfires are burning and in the washington town of cle elu. at least 70 homes have burned to the ground. hot, dry, windy conditions are making things worse. crews made gains on several fires in southern california, idaho and central washington. in the next hour we'll have a live report from the front lines. first let's find out if the firefighters will get any help from mother nature. meteorologist janice dean is in the fox extreme weather center. jd. >> jon, i think it is exceptionally worse this year for some reason. i think the drought. but high temperatures are lending a hand for all the wildfires and they continue

to burn out of control. these are the large wildfires. last count we had 48 of them across the which is. the good news we're dealing with light winds. the bad news, extraordinarily dry conditions and very warm temperatures. take a look at these temperatures. 92 in seattle. 10 to 15 degrees above what they should be this time of year. 102 in las vegas. the 2 in provo. that is not helping matters. the drought is exacerbating situation. we're seeing record drought numbers. this week, over a percentage of what we saw from last week. so just keeps getting worse especially across the heartland. extreme to exceptional drought. they need inches upon inches of rain to start making things improve. severe weather just a quick look here, jon and jenna. we could see the potential for hail, damaging winds across the southeast, mid-south and gulf coast states this weekend. back to you. jon: janice dean, we'll check in with you. thanks. we'll turnover seas now. a recent string of attacks

carried out by afghan police and military members against our forces are raising new questions about our strategy in the country. afghan security forces attacked troops training them 29 times so far this year. that is more than double the total number of attacks from last year of the same type. in the latest attack, here is what we know. a newly recruited policeman, afghan policeman, turns on his american trainers who had just given him a new gun in a ceremony, moments before the attack. two u.s. servicemen were killed before the gunman was fatally shot. general jack keane, retired four-star general, former vice chief of staff of the army and a fox news military analyst. he spent quite a bit of time over in afghanistan. general keane, we didn't really hear about the attacks a couple years ago. now they're increasing. why? >> well, the taliban have always had a strategy to erode the public support for the war not only in our capital and our cities in america but also throughout the nato forces and they have found that this plays

very largely in our capitals when an incident like this happens as opposed to a normal ied which would kill one of our soldiers. that is the reason they're pursuing it. it is covered far less inside of afghanistan. it doesn't diminish the significance of the human aspect of this and what it means to our families and to our soldiers and loved ones with who certainly killed or maimed by an incident like this. in terms of troops on the ground, look it, they know this is the taliban. another form of warfare, another tactic they're using to get after them. if anything, it strengthens their resolve. it does not demoralize them to the point where they're pulling back. quite the contrary. when the taliban ever get advantage over them, i seen this up close time and time again, their determination comes forward, even more than it has been. their resolve is right there. jenna: let's talk a little bit about that. we have 80,000 troops on the ground there.

we're reporting today this attack. i don't remember the last time that i reported a successful battle that american forces have won in afghanistan and we're in the middle of the fighting season. i don't know what that says, general keane. i feel conflicted about it. and i'm just curious on your side what is happening there? we have 80,000 troops there. we're talking about all the countries every day, syria, egypt and rightfully so but what's happening on the ground there. >> every single day our soldiers are fighting the taliban. i don't know when we ever lost a fight to them to be frank about it. that is the reality about it. we are totally turned the momentum in the south and southwest where surge forces were applied and we're transitioning in those areas to the afghan national security force this is summer as we speak. we're applying as our main effort the, our effort in regional command east, similar to what we have done in the south and southwest. we have not made as great a progress in the east as we have in the south but you don't get those reports because there are not

reporters out on the ground with our troops day in, day out, they win those fights every single day against the taliban. what gets reported is an incident like this. jenna: right. >> for the reasons i stated previously. jenna: well, it is good just to talk about those reasons and have a frank conversation about it. i mentioned in the beginning there are some questions about the strategy going forward in afghanistan. what can you tell us about what the strategy is right now and whether or not these attacks that get attention stateside are affecting those in power making decisions about the strategy? >> i don't believe it will change our policy. we have two major decisions that will determine the future and the long-term success in afghanistan. one, what is the size, scale and purpose of the residual or stay behind force that we will leave post-2014? those decisions are being made as we speak. at least the arguments are on the table and the options are on the table. the second thing is what is the financial support for the afghan national security

forces post-2015? that force is now 352,000. to fully support that force you need $6 billion a year and right now there are options on the table to only provide 4 billion to that or something less than that. that would bring the force down to 230,000. if that happens, jenna, i don't see how we could succeed beyond 2014 in afghanistan with such a reduced afghan national security forces, when the overwhelming majority of all the u.s. and nato forces would be gone at that time. jenna: let's keep talking about the, keep attention on it. general keane we heard of course a helicopter going down over the last 24 hours. we know families today are getting very tough news losing their sons in afghanistan. general keane, nice to have you as always. thank you. >> good talking to you, jenna, let's talk about good ol' american automotive experience. if you le a really cool ride. we have just the thing for you. we can dream at least. adam shapiro in pebble beach

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jon: team obama putting to rest any doubt about whether it will continue with joe biden on the democratic presidential ticket.

this follow as wave of speculation that a switch could come in the run-up to november. yesterday fox chief white house correspondent ed henry posed this question to white house press secretary jay carney. >> since the president has given vote of confidence, and you defended vice president repeatedly, does this settle once and all the speculation, this is the ticket, obama-biden? >> i think. >> that is yes or no? >> yes. that was settled a long time ago, i appreciate and grade admiration for and respect for senator john mccain, but one place i would not go for advice on vice-presidential running mates is senator mccain. jon: mr. carney getting in a jab there at senator john mccain. senator mccain when asked about the subject, said, quote it would be wise for the president to replace mr. biden. that echoed the sentiment of former alaskan governor and mccain's republican vice-presidential running mate, sarah palin said the obama campaign should find a

way to replace vice president biden with secretary of state hillary clinton. author ed klein says according to his sources, secretary clinton was approached about the possibility of running with the president as a vice-presidential nominee this past november or i'm sorry, coming november. but turned it down. let's talk about it with monica crowley, radio show talk show host and jewelry row begins city, -- julie roginsky, former advisor to president frank lautenberg. julie, would you be sweating bullets about this. >> no. this is same things we heard about mccain replacing palin things aren't going well. we'll hear it about paul ryan if polls aren't going well. dan quayle, al for. calvin coolidge. this is something we talk about all the time. joe biden is not going anywhere. he was never going anywhere.

i don't believe hillary clinton was ever approached. this is bunch of nonsense and diversion from real issues at hand here. jon: all right. what about it from a republican standpoint? is joe biden -- >> from republican standpoint, we love joe biden the gift that keeps on giving. julie is right, to this extent whenever poll numbers are down for candidate or president, they start talking about whether or not the vice president is a liability for a candidate at the top of the ticket and there are all these questions, right? what is interesting to me though the left has been driving this narrative since the selection of paul ryan last week whether or not ryan might be a liability for mitt romney. but reality is there is no bigger liability as vice president than joe biden. and i think the president knows that but he is loyal to the vice president. >> he is not a liability. look, bottom line joe biden has been a great foot soldier for barack obama and great partner for barack obama. he is not a liability whatsoever. he big asset in places like

pennsylvania and ohio. he is strong candidate for vice president. he has been a great vice president by the way. jon: he is a great, does seem to have a lot of blue-collar appeal. but makes the remarks like keeping y'all in chains that seem to have infuriated some, even on the obama campaign. >> yeah, i mean look, my problem, my issue here with joe biden there is a huge double-standard when you have republican candidates, whether sarah palin or george w. bush, ronald reagan, dan quayle, that the press on the left tries to take their misstatements or their mistakes and try to turn them into a big dummy. in the case of somebody like joe biden, people go, well it is just joe and they laugh it off and excuse it. there is a huge double-standard. jon: let's play a sample what we're talking about and even a paul ryan, sort of humerus take on all of this. play it now. >> with you and i mean this. with you, we can win

north carolina again and if we do, we win the election if we win you. it. >> it is great to be here in north canton, or as joe biden might say, it is great to be here in nevada!. jon: the problem with joe biden promising to win north carolina again he was addressing a virginia audience. i guess that happens from time to time. you forget which state you're in. >> hello cleveland, they're not sure whether they're in cleveland. you're on the road a lot. it was a gaffe. joe biden makes mistakes and gaffs as do a lot of other politicians. paul ryan would be talking about medicare proposal and plans for medicare than he would be talking about joe biden. jon: people ask whether paul ryan is ready to assume the presidency. you might also ask the question of a sitting vice president. >> the sitting vice president. a lot of people are last week. there is serious reason why barack obama chose joe biden and why he on the ticket.

his connections to blue-collar america. he has enormous connections to unions. any removal of joe biden would be devastating to obama's chances in terms of getting unions to mobilize and support the ticket come november. remember after wisconsin, and recall election there, when barack obama didn't mobilize, didn't go into the state you think the unions of course will support democraticket a little less than enthusiastic. if he removes joe biden, that is end. >> i'm glad monica worried about union support of democratic ticket. worry about seniors supporting paul ryan privatization plan first. jon: we'll have discussion many weeks ahead up to the election. monica, julie, thank you both. jenna: away from politics a moment, jon. we have a treat for our viewers. the miss america of luxury cars. the nation's premier auto show featuring some of the rarest and most expensive cars in the entire world. adam shapiro is there live from pebble beach, california. adam? >> reporter: i'm joined,

jenna, by david gooding. he is owner of gooding & company, one of the premier auction houses in the country. they are auctioning a car with international attention. this mercedes behind me. this car is getting so much attention, david, why? >> well it is one of the most important mercedes ever offered at auction. it is a 1936 car. we expect it to break a world record this weekend. >> reporter: could make 10 to 16 million. another car getting a attention. american classic. this car movie lovers will like to see. clark gable's duisenberg. how did you get your hands on this? >> it is a car we've been chasing this for years. owned by a collector out of the northeast. beautifully restored. duisenberg was one of the most extravagant and important cars of the era. and carol lombard and clark gable drove this car from hollywood up to vancouver. they used to love the watch the horse races.

and he, gable had this car custom designed to his specifications. all these wild elements. the scoops, the wild wind shield, the dual rear spares. that was his design. >> reporter: car like this no reserve but an estimate. i know the mercedes could go anywhere from 10 to 16 million. this car, could it break a world record? >> it very well could. seven to nine approximately. -- million. last year we sold a duece send berg over $10 million so we'll see. >> reporter: david. thanks for joining us. jenna, you would look hot in the black mercedes. jenna: weill take two. >> reporter: you got it. put it on the company credit card. jenna: i wonder what leasing arrangement they have. probably not. adam, have fun out there. >> reporter: no leasing. see ya. jon: wow! as the obama and romney camps trade public bashes over mitt romney's tax returns will the issue matter with voters concern about economy and jobs? paul gigot from "the wall street journal" weighs in next.

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is. jon: now back to our top story. a deal being offered to governor mitt romney if he releases his tax returns from the last five years president obama's team says they promise not to criticize him for not releasing anymore. the offer coming in a public letter from mr. obama's campaign manager to his counterpart on team romney. mr. romney has been under a lot of pressure to show how much he pays in taxes. his campaign manager responding to the offer saying there will be ample time for president obama to discuss the governor's tax returns over the next 81 days. let's talk it with paul gigot, editorial page editor of "the wall street journal" and host of the "journal editorial report". so when mitt romney says, hey i paid at least 13% in taxes on my returns, does that answer the question? >> no, it was a misstep for them to get into this. this is what the obama cam pape wants to talk about

because they want to pour ray romney as someone rich and out of touch. he says he will not release more than two years of his tax returns. should have stuck with that and not said anything else. it was a mistake by the governor, yesterday. jon: and then, you know, then comes this letter saying hey, you know, mr. romney, please release five years and if you just give us five years, we won't ask for anymore, nor will we criticize you. >> and we won't talk about it the rest of the campaign. such a deal. throwing you into the briar patch. this is not, the romney campaign answered the right way was basically ignore that. we'll talk about the big issues. the romney campaign really doesn't want to talk about this either. the question is how important is this in the larger scheme of things? jon: does it matter to voters? >> ultimately i don't think it will matter that much. if it dominates the discussion for a long time it could. ultimately voters will rise above that and say there are more serious issues. i do think the romney campaign should have gotten

rid of this issue 18 months ago. they shouldn't allow the conversation to be on this subject now. and that is a tactical mistake, strategically, probably won't be decisive. jon: one more quick question. big surprise to a lot of people that paul ryan is the vice-presidential pick? you've known him for 20 years. were you surprised? >> i was surprised. i didn't think governor romney would have go this way because he is one of the riskier picks because of his budget and his position on mid-care reform. it has been fascinating to watch this week the romney campaign has gone on offense on medicare, going after the president's medicare cuts and basically, i think taken the debate to the democrats and so far the ryan pick looks like it is, it has been a good one for the, a long way to go. so far it has gone pretty well for romney. jon: paul gigot from the "journal editorial report" and "the wall street journal.". >> thank you, jon. jon: thank you. jenna: well, we're going to continue to, hey there, jon, hey there, jenna.

we go back and forth. paul ryan has a campaign rally at a high school in glen allen, virginia and i don't know if that is, guys is that happening now or was that happening -- it is okay. here we go. we're trying to get a live remote up for you. apparently the governor of virginia, bob mcdonnell, who was our guest on the show and introduced paul ryan and happy he knew what state he was in, which called back to jon's conversation with monica and julie a little while ago on some of the vice president joe biden's gaffs. there is paul ryan. he is there in virginia today. he will be down in florida tomorrow. busy time for him. there may not be any humans on board but the mars rover curiosity gets to wake up to music each morning. we have the play list for you of the music that is rocking on mars. we're going to play that for you just ahead. you know, i was once used for small jobs.

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jenna: dramatickic accident in central park not too far from our studios in fact reigniting the debate over carriage horses. you might see them when you come visit and movies and such. julie banderas live from the new york city newsroom. >> reporter: jenna i see them every day. it happened again and i can say that because i happen to live on the street where it happens and seen it in recent memory a handful of times in several months. another central park horse has broken free and run wild in the city of new york city on 59th street to be exact. the horse is okay. one tourist riding on the carriage was hurt and hospitalized after a car reportedly hit the horse and sent it running scare with its carriage operator in toe. witnesses say the horse's driver tried desperately to keep the animal under control.

the nypd did manage to catch the horse named oreo and get him into a nypd trailer and return him to his stable. a group called new yorkers for clean, liveable and safe streets is calling for a ban on horse-drawn carriage but the horse and carriage association says not so fast reigniting debate whether carriage horses even belong on city streets. >> it is really only a matter of time before someone gets seriously injured. the time of the horse and buggy has come and gone. that is the something of the last century. >> to ban carriages because of an accident is really very shortsighted. the horses are very well adapted to the environment here in new york city. we are very proactive in taking precautions to make sure it is very safe. >> reporter: not exactly an accident. because again i say i have seen about five of these in the last five months. but a spokesperson for the aspca which monitors condition of carriage horses said that oreo would be kept

off the job until cleared by a veterinarian, jenna. jenna: scary moments there. julie, thank you. >> reporter: sure. ♪ . jon: well that is a long playing on earth right now but also playing on mars, did you note that it is a big hit? jenna: out of this world. jon: yes it is. a doors song on the play list, used to wake up the mars rover curiosity in the morning. the robot landed on the red planet last month. it get as daily wake-up song, did you know that? one band member from the doors saying in an interview it makes sense to use his band's music because he and his bandmates are aliens and different like from mars. other songs on curiosity's wake-up play list, include, good morning good morning by the beatles. simon and garfunkel's cover of wake up little susie and come fly with me by frank sinatra. jenna: sound like a good list. they should wake us all up,

right? jon: that's right. jenna: wildfires burning out west and we'll show you what is happening out there in this wide string of fires across the area. we'll be back with more "happening now." uhuh yep uch let's find you a room. at hotels.com, you'll always find the perfect hotel. because we only do hotels. wow. i like that. nice no. laugh... awe uch ooh, yeah hmm nice huh book it! oh boy call me... this summer, we're finding you the perfect place - plus giving you up to $100 at hotels.com ere arojgame-cngs.

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endorsed by aarp. don't wait. call now. jenna: fox news, we're america's election headquarters. we're riding along on the campaign trail with 81 days left until voters pick the next president. i know you're counting them one by one. we're glad you're with us, i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. the republican vice presidential candidate, paul ryan, is capping a whirlwind week today, taking steady aim at president obama's policies, especially when it comes to the economy and health care. congressman ryan returning today to virginia, the state where he made his debut at governor mitt romney's running mate just a week ago. virginia one of those key battle ground states, 13 votes up for grabs from virginia. 270 electoral votes needed to

win the presidency. jenna: the candidates running neck to neck in virginia. check out the latest real clear politics polling average. it gives the president a razor thin edge over the governor. chief washington correspondent james rosen is life in springfield, virginia, with more for us now. >> reporter: jenna and jon, good afternoon. the republicans have high hopes because voters here in virginia gave barack obama a six-point margin of victory in 2008 but gave an even larger margin of victory, more than eight points, to george w. bush back in 2004. representative ryan is speaking right now, and we can show you a live picture of this in glen allen, virginia, he was introduced by republican governor bob mcdonnell. the romney/ryan ticket has been touting its toils as good for the middle class. it's a response to relentless democratic attacks over the past few months portraying the gop ticket as the tool of the

wealthy. and out of touch with ordinary americans. representative ryan, to that point, has lately spoken of how he flipped burgers and how his old high school buddies in wisconsin have lost their jobs a at a gm plant that barack obama toured in 2008. in ohio yesterday, specifically warren, ohio, ryan wolfed down wieners at an iconic place out there. this was not long after he acknowledged that president obama inherited a very bad economy, but then accused the incumbent of making things worse. >> president obama's run out of ideas. that's why his campaign is based on frustration and anger. that's why he's not coming with new ideas, he's giving us more of the same, and he's going to resort to distortion. he's going to resort to fear and smear. >> over the next three months, the other side will spend more money than we have ever seen on ads telling you one thing, that the economy's not so good, and

it's obama's fault. >> reporter: that was president obama in davenport, iowa, on wednesday. now, the romney/ryan campaign disclosed last night since congressman ryan was added to the gop ticket last saturday -- by the way, also here in virginia -- the campaign has raised almost $2.2 million. the average donation was a modest $81. indeed, more than two-thirds of those giving were giving for the first time. virginia is the scene of the lean, why do aides call it that? roanoke, virginia, last month -- specifically friday the 13th -- that president obama uttered the comment, you didn't build that. we are certainly going to be hearing more about that from representative ryan today. follow me on twitter @james rosen, and i'll tweet some of the senior bush/cheney officials who are traveling with

congressman ryan. jenna: i follow you everywhere you go, and you don't even know it. on twitter and otherwise. >> reporter: for this, i'm grateful. take care. jon: and, remember, fox news is america's election headquarters. the republican convention in tampa just over a week away. be sure to join bret baier and megyn kelly along with the entire fox news election team for all the big speeches and complete analysis from tampa. to the wildfires out west, now, the governor of oregon declaring a statewide emergency because of widespread fires. he's calling on the national guard to help fight the flames. while in washington state a fast-moving wildfire has now consumed 70 homes, forcing more than 400 people to leave the area. dan springer is streaming live for us from washington. how expensive is it to fight all these fires, dan? >> reporter: well, yeah, jon. in addition to all the property loss, this is costing tax taxpayers tens of millions of dollars across the country. this fire alone started on monday, it's cost $2.7 million

as of yesterday at a growth of a million dollars a day, so you can see with all the fires burning across the west how much this is costing taxpayers. but it is making a difference. these firefighters are making some progress. it is now 33% contained, and the really good news is no the more loss of structures the last two days. they are holding the stubborn northern flank of the fire which is protecting a lot of homes to the north, and they're hoping for another day of gains as thunderstorms are forecast for saturday and sunday. still, hundreds of residents are out of their home, and i tell you, a lot of smoke in the air is making it difficult to breathe. at least they are making progress here, jon. jon: so how many fires are still burning? >> reporter: well, yeah. there are 62 across the country burning out of control, and almost all of them are out here in the west. most states have multiple fires burning. in idaho there are 12 including one that's a massive fire that's 123 square miles. there's also one in the southern edge of oregon, a dozen major

fires in idaho including one, as i said, in the boise national forest that is bearing down on a resort town. and just imagine, all these fires are driving thousands of people from their homes. >> just watching it get closer and closer to the house and how quickly it moved, it was just -- i don't know how to describe how you feel when you think your house is, you know? it was just, it was kind of horrifying, i guess. >> reporter: and we are mentioning, we mentioned california. they are also seeing a lot of fires, more than a dozen there, and 9,000 firefighters currently working all those fires. they are getting closer to full containment on some of them but, jon, you can see it's adding up, these costs. by the way, this fire and the other ones that have been declared federal emergency says and costing federal taxpayers 75% of the total cost. this fire here, again, is about

$3 million. most of that's being borne by the federal taxpayers. jon: it's going to be a painful and expensive fire season, that's for sure. dan springer, thanks. jenna: overseas now, government forces shelling the city of aleppo in syria, hitting a bread line outside a bakery. ten people reportedly dead because of that. civilians say government forces are constantly bombarding aleppo and other cities on a daily basis. in the meantime, military tanks from turkey are beefing up security on the border with syria today over concerns of escalating violence in border towns. steve harrigan is streaming live from turkey's border with syria and, steve, you witnessed a horrific attack earlier this week. what are you seeing now? >> reporter: jenna, it's really attacks like this that have changed the situation on the ground inside syria. as many as 1.2 million syrians are on the move because of those attacks. they've left their homes, and they are trying to do whatever they can to escape from the war.

they leave on foot, one arm for a child, the other for possessions. some north to the turkey border, others south -- like this family -- to recover their dead. an airstrike by a government war plane has changed the geography. ten have died here, he says, five died over there. a brother on a front step yesterday now can be found only on a cell phone. the government attack on civilians has successfully emptied a town controlled by the rebels, but it has failed to break the spirit of resistance. now i'm a fighter, he says. i'm ready to die. those are the words of a man who's lost his house, his wife and his children. jenna, back to you. jenna: some incredible reporting for us, steve. thank you very much, steve heir began from the turkey/syria

border. just think about this for a second. you're on a flight, you're bound for lebanon, and suddenly you have to make an emergency landing in syria. that happened to an air france plane, and we're just sort of learning about it now. the plane was out of gas, so the crew of flight 562, asked passengers on the plane to pitch in. it was diverted to syria, and air france spokesmen were worried that sanctions would complicate the payment for extra fuel. in the end, the passengers didn't have to, in fact, fork over any money. the flight landed in beirut on thursday. but some interesting and tense moments unexpectedly for the passengers of that flight. jon: unbelievable. jenna: you think, whoa, are you going to be able to get out of there? jon: passing the hat for another company's jet liner, crazy. the former head of the border patrol union now facing charges he used union funds for personal

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jon: here, now, some of the business headlines we're following. sending a child to daycare now costing parents more than sending a child to college in most states. the national be average for the cost of daycare just over $14,000 a year. the average in-state tuition at a four-year college is $11,500. and a federal regular later is looking at whether or not states can seize money left on unused gift cards. right now two states, maine and tennessee, consider unused cards abandoned property after two years. the regulator will determine whether those state laws violate federal law preventing the sale of gift cards that expire in

less than five years. and it seems the yet-unknown winner of a $337 million powerball jackpot purchased in lucky ticket in michigan. a state lottery spokesperson says it's not unusual for winners to wait weeks before claiming the prize. you know, they've got to unplug the phone, get anonymous numbers -- jenna: wouldn't it be hard to do? you've got to lock that ticket up. well, on to this story now. the former head of the national border patrol union is due in court on monday, and here's why. a federal grand jury is indicting terence vonner, retired president, on 12 counts. those 12 counts range from wire fraud to using hundreds of thousands of dollars in union money for personal use. william la jeunesse is live in our l.a. bureau with more. william? >> reporter: books, luggage, meals, airplane tickets, according to the indictment, t.j. bonner scammed the men and women he represented for years making them pay for his clothing, magazines, gifts for

his wife, visits to his mistress. the last 22 years he was president which meant he didn't work in the field, he worked out of his home, he traveled a lot going to different border patrol sector, meeting with presidents and reporters. now, as union president he pushed through policies that allegedly helped him soak the membership like clothing allowances and something called lost wages which was, basically, overtime. his false claims included time when bonner was actually visiting his mistress in chicago or family members as well as trips to attend nonunion activities like hockey games and other sporting events. now, the union represents 14,000 men and women who work long hours in the sering heat of the desert, freezing cold along the northern border and, of course, the southern border. they pay $1200 a year in dues only to find out their president allegedly took them for $78,000 for work he did not do and

48,000 in personal expenses. bonner's replacement said this yesterday: >> we have been aware for the last two years that he's been under investigation for these charges. i'm very disappointed, but more than that pretty angry. >> reporter: and so are other agents i spoke to today. now, the indictment says the union treasurer knew what bonner was doing, and he approved these fraudulent expenses, but he wasn't indicted because he was a cooperating witness. now, the 59-year-old bonner faces more than 20 years in the slammer, he gets arraigned on monday in san diego. jenna? jenna: it'd be a whole lot easier if people just used their own money, right? instead of other people's money from the union? i guess we wouldn't have these stories. [laughter] nodding your head quietly, that's all you can do. unbelievable, we'll watch that story going into next week. william, thank you. jon: well, you've no doubt noticed it, gas prices are

skyrocketing, and that's prompting the white house to consider tapping into the nation's oil reserves. charles payne on why this is a good or bad idea, that's coming up. plus, wisconsin congressman paul ryan's first week on the campaign trail as the presumptive vice presidential nominee. there was no honeymoon, that's for sure. from medicare to the stimulus, how did the congressman do in his first week on the trail? [ angela ] endless shrimp is our most popular promotion at d lobster.

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jon: right now, some new warnings about those double-decker buses. julie banderas is live with more. >> reporter: hey, jon, that's right. yeah, the string of deadly mega bus schedules recently has prompted an emergency bulletin

to motor coach companies nationwide about weight limits and tires blowing out. after several recent high-speed crashes when double-decker buses are fully loaded causing the tires to blow out. those accidents include this august 2nd crash in southern illinois, in litchfield, that killed one megabus passengers when the bus, carrying 70 passengers from chicago, crashed into that overpass right there. another accident involved a megabus that caused a fire on august 8th after a tire blew out in georgia. now, in this particular case no one was hurt. two key factors, though, that cause stress on the tires for both of these buses is the fact that they were heavily loaded on extremely hot days. now, the bulletin issued by the federal motor carrier safety administration cautions motor coach companies to prevent tire failures by properly loading passengerrings and cargo and increasing pressure in tires to the maximum marked when buses

are carrying heavy loads. megabus doesn't operate at any bus stations equipped with scales, so they load passengers and their baggage on the street on a first come, first served basis. federal officials say they are working with states across the country to increase enforcement of safety regulations in connection with the inner city bus industry. they also say bus companies that violate these tire-loading restrictions may be declared an imminent hazard and immediately placed out of service. so take caution and, i guess, be aware when you're getting on a bus, you know, look around and see how many people are on there, and if you feel like it's too packed, maybe get off. jon: and as hot as it's been this summer, you can see why that's been a problem. all right, julie banderas, thank you. jenna: the name of the ship was ocean breeze, but this trip in chile was not exactly living up to the ship's name. powerful winds and waves forced a hong kong flag ship to run aground in one of chile's most

important seaports. giant waves crashing against the ship's hull. 22 crew members airlifted to hospitals. the powerful waves also breached a seawall spilling onto streets and disrupting traffic. well, we have some more shocking details in drew peterson's murder trial, some brand new testimony. why one witness believes the bathtub drowning of peterson's third wife was no accident. we'll tell you for about that. and paul ryan wrapping up his first week as governor romney's running mate. coming up, how the media's reacting to the romney/ryan ticket. we have that for you straight ahead.

jon: well, it's been a week now since the addition of congressman paul ryan to the republican ticket is giving the mainstream media a new target. he's been to about half a dozen states in the past week, so how are the media doing covering ryan on the campaign trail? joining us now, judith miller is a pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter, kirsten powers is a columnist for the daily beast, both are fox news contributors. so in looking back over the week, kirsten, how would you say the media have treated this guy? >> well, i think it's been mixed. on the one hand, romney's gotten a lot of intention for having injected his campaign with this energy and this new person.

on the other hand, there's been some pretty clear bias, for example, in the '60 minutes" interview where they conveniently left out information about medicare and then later had to release that. so, you know, i think that they're rightly looking at his plans, um, but i don't know that they're necessarily being portrayed in a completely fair light. jon: judy? >> well, i think this is definitely the honeymoon phase for mr. ryan. i've been struck by the use of the word repeatedly, "bold," a bold choice, a young choice, somebody who adds energy to the ticket. just a couple of commentators are beginning to point out that ryan is a choice that plays to the base, and we're now in the general election. but this is definitely the getting-to-know-you phase, getting to know you skin animals and make your own sausage and flip burgers when your dad died. they're being nice. jon: some would say that it shows that, you know, mitt romney and the republicans in

general are ready to have an argument about big issues that the future of the country in terms of budgets and things like medicare, other entitlement programs, that that's what they want to talk about. is it? >> i think that's the positive spin, actually. and i don't disagree that conservatives want to have that argument, and i think even liberals want to have that argument. but i don't think the romney campaign wants to have that argument. they did this, in my opinion, because they probably thought they were losing, and they needed to do something very bold and risky because, um, paul ryan's plans come with a lot of baggage. and, by the way, romney had not -- i mean, he's now starting to say ha his plan is not different than ryan's, but that's not actually really true. so i don't know how much they're having that conversation that they claim that they want to have. jon: so why then is the president, i mean, just this morning the president is releasing this thing about mitt romney's taxes. why is he campaigning on issues like that if this is an election

about big things? >> well, because the president doesn't want the debate to be about the economy. that's pretty obvious. if we can talk about mitt romney's taxes, or if we could talk about paul ryan's four -- count 'em -- four different budget plans which you can pick and choose from, if you can talk about the fact that 62% of the cuts that he proposed in his budget would effect poor people, that's the debate that the democrats want to have, and i think we're going to have it. jon: and is that why we haven't had a presidential news conference since, what, march? >> eight weeks. eight weeks and counting, and does anybody say to the president, oh, mr. president, why are you appearing on entertainment today, and why are you talking to -- about music when you're not talking to the white house press corps? jon: and you're clearly a regular viewer of the program. it was entertainment tonight -- [laughter] yeah. he's talking to people magazine and entertainment tonight and not dealing with the white house press corps. >> well, i think the white house

press corps actually does complain about it, and because he doesn't want to take hard questions. he wants to go where he knows he's going to get a softball. unemployment is not as low as they need it to be, it's too high, and i think that they're running a good campaign in that sense. instead of making the referendum on obama, they're trying to make it about a choice between obama and romney and saying, look at this romney guy and the radical paul ryan -- jon: and are the press playing along with that? are the press, you know, biting on that? >> i think judy's right, there's a little bit of a honeymoon going on, but they certainly, 3, 2, 1, will be biting any moment now. >> and when you look at mr. ryan's voting record, it is really very, very conservative, and i think the democrats are going to have a field day. jon: all right. thanks very much, kirsten powers, judith miller. join us tomorrow, 2:30 p.m. eastern time. we'll have more on the big stories of the week and how they

were covered. jenna: an interesting new report out from reuters saying that the white house is considering releasing some of the nation's oil reserves. to offset what potentially could be some higher fuel prices because of some of the tension we're seeing with iran right now. this would be the second time the president has signed off on this, on releasing some of these reserves. now, last year you might remember that 30 million barrels of oil from the nation's strategic petroleum verve were released to offset supply disruptions caused by what was going on in libya. charles payne of the fox business network joins us now. charles, it's one report, it is the not confirmed, but i already see a lot of traders and analysts paying attention to this. so why or why not would this be a good idea? >> well, you know, the last time they did it, to your point, oil prices did drop. brent crude was down, like, 6%. prices went down. the only thing is, they only stayed down for a week, and they were right back up.

you know, there are a lot of other forces at work here, and so i think a lot of people are looking at this more cynically. in other words, listen, gasoline prices particularly as they approach $4 which seems to be the magic number, certainly it's the number that puts a crimp on a lot of people's wallets and pocketbooks, but it's a big time number. as that becomes a national average, it's politically damning. so, you know, a lot of people wonder even though this strategic petroleum reserve was designed for ultimate disaster so that we would be prepared for that, it maybe now is just being used as a political tool. jenna: let me ask you about what could be the reason. again, according to this report, tensions with iran is what's brought up. but we've talked about gas prices going higher. $3.70 right now, that's up, well, about ten cents, 12 cents from a year ago and certainly up from last month. but most of the reason why we're seeing that go up has to do with the drought and ethanol prices, all that going up. not necessarily, at least

according to what we've heard on this show, charles, because of iran. >> yeah. jenna: so what would be the -- i mean, what would be the real reason you're seeing for these prices going higher over the next several weeks? >> if i had a checklist, iran would be at the bottom. listen, the food for fuel debate is one that we should be having in this country. we only have it when these type of things happen, but it's one we should continuously have. again, we get back to politics. you know, a lot of electoral votes, iowa a big corn state. nobody wants to offend the iowa corn farmer. but ultimately, the lack of refineries, jenna, we haven't even licensed one in the last 30 or 40 years, and a lot of the other man mandates, switching from winter to spring and individual cities. a city like chicago adding different rules and regulations that make gasoline more expensive, and let's not even go to california where they're killing themselves. i understand they want to lead the nation with respect to being clean, but by the same time, they're cleaning out the wallets

of the least productive or at least the poorest citizens in that state. so there are a whole lot of factors. i haven't even begun to talk about federal or state taxes either. there are a whole lot of factors that could help particularly long term. the strategic petroleum reserve is a short-term blip, maybe a week or two. jenna: it's interesting you put iran at the bottom of the list. just want to ask you really rodly, charles, are -- i've been paying attention to the stock market, very, very tight range of trading, so there's not a lot happening. and some are suggesting that, you know, we're in for a wild ride over the next couple weeks with the markets in the general. what do you see? >> i gotta tell you something, jenna, we are in one of the most amazing stealth market rallies i've ever seen. we're only 1.5% from a four-year high. but it feels lazy, the lowest volume almost ever seen in this market as well. there's a lot of apathy, a lot of anxiety. you're right. they were away in europe, they're coming back from vacation, our lawmakers come back, things are going to get

pretty wild, so buckle up. jenna: we will. thank you for the advice, we appreciate it. market's down about 1 points right now -- 14 points right now. a little context, if you will. in february of 2009, the obama administration announced it was prepared to tap that reserve if prices became too burdensome on the economy. remember, we were just coming out of the recession at that point, so there was a lot of concern about the recovery. in early to mid 2011, there were calls from congress to tap the reserves as we saw this developing situation in libya. and in june of 2011, the obama administration did strike a deal with the international energy agency to have this coordinated effort so that 60 million gallons were available over 30 days to really effect the prices. now, in march of this year the white house denied a report it struck a deal with britain to open the reserves, and we have today this report. but just as some context for a moment here, the last time we saw another administration tap into the strategic petroleum

reserves was back after hurricane katrinana because of what was happening with the oil rigs out there in the gulf. so just some context as to why and when these reserves are tapped. we'll keep you posted as we hear more. jon: new developments in the drew peterson murder trial. a doctor's testimony potentially blowing up a key defense argument as to how peterson's third wife died. julie banderas has that live from our newsroom. >> reporter: as the drew peterson trial enters its 12th day today, damning testimony for the defense after a state-hired pathologist explained why he believed the bathtub drowning of peterson's third wife was a homicide. dr. larry blum said kathleen savio's position, her injuries and the lack of drugs or alcohol in her system helped him conclude she was, in fact, murdered. he did acknowledge, however, his finding contradicts a well-respected pathologist who performed the original autopsy in 2004. now, blum -- who spent two days on the witness stand being

questioned by the state's attorney -- is a crucial witness for prosecutors in this high profile murder case built on circumstantial and hearsay evidence. meantime, prosecutors have also suffered a potential blow to their case after a judge, the judge overseeing this case, barred them from implying that peterson tried to stage the death scene by placing a blue bath towel on the tub shortly after her body was discovered. now, neighbors that actually were there and discovered savio's body tell a different story. they testified that it was odd there were no towels in the bath rook to their -- bathroom to their recollection, but a blue towel was later photographed on the edge of the bathtub. because savio's beth was originally treated as an accident, they have to tie peterson to her death and convincing jurors he, indeed, did murder her, jon. jon: and the strange twists continue in that case. julie, thanks. >> reporter: sure. jenna: now this fox news alert, we're just getting word of a

bomb threat at a series of different can theaters, movie theaters across this country. apparently, this is just focused on one particular chain, the carmike cinemas. and so in certain areas of the country, including georgia, for example, police are searching and evacuating certain theaters. you see that one on your screen from snellville. we're trying to figure out what exactly's happening and get a little more about this bomb threat. in the meantime, what do the united states economy and film icon rocky balboa have in common? one economist says maybe more than you think. we're going to explain, next. ♪ [music plays]

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jon: jenna told you a few minutes ago in this fox news alert about the theater evacuations going on at one particular chain around the country. julie banderas is on it from our newsroom. >> reporter: yeah. authorities right now are currently investigating, searching and evacuating several

movie theaters across the country after they got a non-specific bomb threat. in particular at theaters, they're called the carmike movie theaters, nationwide. we have live pictures courtesy of waga, here's an investigation as you watch the aerials of this particular theater which is located in snellville, georgia, and police at this and various theaters across the country are searching these theaters, evacuating customers and employees. most recently of this theater in particular, employees were actually evacuated outside. it's not known if there were customers inside at the time. also in morris, illinois, a fire and rescue there at the orpheum theater are, quote, still on the scene and investigating. nothing found yet. and reports about the bridge also being threatened are not true. it's likely it is a hoax but, obviously, authorities are taking it very, very seriously. back to you, jon. jon: julie banderas in the

newsroom, thanks. >> reporter: sure. ♪ ♪ jenna: well, that's the song that jon scott plays every morning right before he walks -- jon: oh, you know it. [laughter] jenna: it's really inspiring. it's good, jon. it certainly does get you jazzed. it's one of the most famous theme songs out there, and you might instantly envision rocky balboa running up those steps, taking a few swings, getting knocked down over and over again. apparently, this is kind of like our economy. ever since the recession ended three years ago, we're seeing the weakest recovery since the great depression, that's according to the associated press. and one economist says we're actually in what he describes as a rocky balboa recovery. stephen dee seize is a professor of economics at the university of chicago, so probably inspired a little bit by that song, stephen.

why is this a rocky balboa recovery? >> well, as you said, jenna, the economy does have a certain stop-go aspect in the last three years, and it reminded me and my co-authors of rocky balboa springing to action, trying to recover and getting whacked and knocked down on the mat again. jenna: what keeps knocking the economy down? >> yeah, several things. one thing we focused on is the highly uncertain policy environment facing businesses and households both in the united states, but also in europe. which has spillover effects on the u.s. jenna: and so does that look like it's going to end anytime soon? >> well, it's not looking really good for the near term. um, everybody here talks about the fiscal cliff that's coming due on january of next year. that is a big deal. if there aren't some changes in the law, there will be major tax hikes on businesses and households and big cutbacks in defense spending and some other areas of government spending.

and, of course, we've also got a very important national election coming up, and there's a lot riding on that. president obama and governor romney have very different views about health care reform, tax policy and just the overall size and scope of government involvement in the economy. jenna: so certainly a lot of dynamics at play. we were having kind of a fun conversation before we got to air because your piece really sparked a lot of conversation about what rocky movie we're in, you know? are we in rocky iv or v where he's going bankrupt, or are we at the end where he's starting to own an italian restaurant? what rocky movie are we in right now, professor? >> well, as i recall it, in almost every rocky movie, there was a dramatic fight where he got knocked down several times before he finally prevailed. and that's sort of the metaphor we had in mind when thinking about the economy. jenna: but ultimately he prevails, right? what do you think gets the american economy back to that place where it is, you know, for lack of a better term, the

champion? >> yeah, that's a good question. um, you know, still on the policy uncertainty theme, i think it's pretty apparent to everybody that our policy process has been dysfunctional in some respects. probably the clearest example of that was the debt ceiling dispute last summer in which democrats and republicans fought over whether and how much to raise the debt ceiling. and under what conditions. and we got very close to, um, a curtailment of critical government functions because democrats and republicans couldn't agree as adults about how to proceed. in addition to that, we do face genuine, long-term and difficult questions about what kind of society we're going to be and what will be the role of government taxation and spending in that society. jenna: those are -- >> those are hard things to resolve. jenna: absolutely. those are some big questions. you were talking about the lack of compromise. maybe they should, you know, when we talk about the lawmakers, just start playing the rocky balboa theme every

morning, because they're in a position where they could really, you know, they could fight some, but they could also come together. >> it might put them in a better mood. jenna: it certainly did that for me today, i have to say that, that's for certain, and that's worth something. professor, thanks for the creative look at the economy. we appreciate it. >> okay, thank you. bye-bye. jon: well, a brand new vice presidential pick, the announcement of paul ryan has energized the republican campaign. but who really won the week? we'll talk to a couple of campaign pros to get their take. [ male announcer ] when a major hospital wanted to provide better employee benefits while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac ♪ aflac [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. [ yawning sound ] your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes.

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jon: we're just wrapping up a pivotal week in the race for the presidency. governor mitt romney announcing his surprise choice for vp to many, obama's team then going after the wisconsin congressman, paul ryan, on medicare.

and you had vice president biden struggling on a number of fronts this week. so who won the week? let's talk about it with ed rollins, a fox news contributor and former campaign manager for michele bachmann for president, bob beckel is a co-host of "the five," and a former democratic campaign manager for walter mondale. bob, i was surprised when it was announced that a congressman was going to be the vice presidential pick. i was trying to think of the last person who did that. generally, you pick a governor or senator. turns out walter mondale was to pick a member of congress, geraldine ferraro. >> yeah, but it's very rare. and in mondale's case we were struggling, and we needed to try to break through, so ferraro was a way to shake things up, which worked for a while anyway. but in this case, i'm not sure where romney, what he was thinking about. and unless you just take him at his word, he likes this guy. but it did throw into the debate the medicare issue which, as a friend of mine, a former

republican governor said, whenever you get into medicare or social security, republicans never win. so we'll see, you know? he's an attractive candidate, but -- jon: what about that, ed? do republicans never win if you talk about those issues? >> it's hard to say about vps. there's been four congressmen picked, and the past two got in office. john garner, i think, was the last one for roosevelt, speaker of the house. at the end of the day, i think they had a good week for two reasons. one is, ryan is a lot smarter than people who didn't know him, he basically is very good in interviews, he's going to be better as he gets on the campaign trail. i think the contrast with biden this week who stumbled all over the place, his mouth's always about half a lap ahead of his brain, and i think to a certain extent that comparison was to benefit. i also think the debate on medicare got us off of romney's taxes, got us away from bain capital and things that have real substance, and i think they fired it back pretty good on the president and his cuts. jon: what about, you know, ryan

was asked early in the week what he's going to bring to this campaign, and one of the points he makes, and i'm paraphrasing here. he said, look, up til now, it's been two against one, joe biden and barack obama pounding on mitt romney. now it's two against two, and you're getting some more press coverage for the republican ticket. what do you think? >> there's a lot to be said about that, but let me also just make a point about the week. romney somehow, beyond my comprehension, raised his taxes himself and said, yeah, before this i never paid less than 13%. bringing that back into the week. leaving that aside, yes, it is true, you've got ryan out there now. ryan's pretty good at pounding away on obama, but romney still has yet to find his feet of being an attack politician because i don't think in the end he really is one. jon: there's a gallup head-to-head poll that shows mitt romney is now ahead of the president. there you see the numbers, 47-45%. if you look at the real clear politics average, that number essentially gets reversed, it

shows mr. obama at 47.7, mitt romney at 43.8%. would you expect, ed, to see movement in the polls this quickly after a vice presidential selection is named? >> historically, you always get a 3 or 4% boost with a vice presidential choice. the partisanship of the country is so divided at this point that i think the one or two points that he got was about all you're going to get. and i think does he help you in the long term? i think he will. j. jon: so, ed, who won the week? >> i think romney/ryan. >> well, being an honest and forthright democrat as most democrats are, i will have to say given biden's problems this week that i would give the slight edge to romney, yeah. jon: wow. rare agreement from you two guys. >> rare, very rare. jon: and we'll be right back. constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues

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i can oil reserve is on the table but i have nothing to announce further on that topic at this point. jenna: they went onto say the president has advocated aggressive states to make america independent of foreign oils. one of the big factors to oil prices and gas prices as of late has been domestic issues rather than international one. a story we'll continue to watch on "happening now" and otherwise. jon: a foa formula one driver turning the lincoln tunnel into an underwater racetrack. the car hitting speeds of 180 miles an hour taking less than 30 seconds to blast through the tunnel that connects the big apple with the garden state. i'd lov