moment. bill: down there in texas. martha: yeah. bill: the sugarland skeeters. th might pack the stadium. they would get more people to watch the game as they would otherwise. we'll see how clemens does otherwise. martha: how do you feel being back? bill: i'm feeling good. settled in. martha: we'll see you back here tomorrow. bye, everybody. "happening now" starts right now. jon: right now brand new stories and breaking news for you. tropical storm warns after a new depression forms off the coast of florida. when it could make landfall and the latest on the projected path. jenna: states seeing a spike in gas prices. why many experts say the worst is yet to come. parts of texas spray entire towns to fight the west nile virus, new concerns that that deadly disease is spreading now to other states. we'll tell you where and tell you all about it. it is all "happening now.". well, happening now, less

than a week before the republican national convention. governor romney's vice-presidential pick, congressman paul ryan and president obama in key battleground states that could decide the election the battleground states will be the focus over the next several weeks. we're glad you're with us where every you are today. i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. governor mitt romney on a fund-raising trip to texas today but his running mate is make his first campaign appearance in pennsylvania. it is a key swing state as jenna was mentioning with 20 electoral votes up for grabs. moments from now paul ryan is expected to take a the stage in carnegie, where he will address steel plant workers. the president goes to ohio and nevada. yesterday mr. obama made himself available to the national press for the first time in months and responded to governor romney's claim that he gutted work requirements for welfare recipients. >> everybody who has looked at this says, what governor romney is saying is absolutely wrong.

not only are his super pacs running millions of dollars worth of ads making this claim, governor romney himself approving this and saying it on the stump. so the, the contrast i think is pretty stark. that's, they can run the campaign they want. but the truth of the matter is, you can't just make stuff up. jon: in new hampshire yesterday congressman ryan went after the president on the economy. >> let's be very clear and fair. the president inherited a difficult situation, no two ways about that. the problem is he made things worse. and that's why the president has run out of ideas and so, his campaign is now been relegated to waging a campaign based on frustration and anger. dividing people, distracting people, to try and win an election by default. jon: karl rove is with with us. he is a former senior

advisor and deputy chief of staff to burr bush. also a fox news contributor. karl, we have a lot to talk to you about today. a lot of observers from the republican side said the addition of paul ryan to mitt romney's ticket has energized him as a candidate. that they're more than the sum of their parts. do you agree? >> i do. i think this is a bold choice by governor romney and the vice-presidential pick matters to the degree it emphasizes and reinforces the themes and messages and at todd of the guy who is at the top of the ticket. obviously governor romney wanted to make the deficit, debt, entitlement reform, reforming the great social safety nets the center piece of his campaign and his administration. jon: you heard the president in his first appearance in front of the white house press corps in a couple months complaining about the romney campaign making stuff up. what is your thought on that. >> first of all the president is wrong on this. his administration,

department of health and human services which used authority under section 402 of the welfare reform law to try to modify the provisions in section 407 describe how long you can be on welfare, what the definition of work is and how you can exit the welfare program. all of which the congress, democrat and republican, put in the statute and said nothing in section 407 is waiveable. yet the president used authority under another section to try to change a section of the law nobody can wave. waive. president made it clear in the letter the department of health and human services put out we will not approve any policies which reduce welfare benefits. and look, the clearly the president was trying to signal to liberal supporters that he was going to be more generous in defining how you could exit from welfare, less restrictive how you define work and he got caught. and now he is is bellowing but it's, all you got to do

read the several page letter from the department of health and human services and look at the two requisite sections of the welfare law and it is clear to anybody that this is a way to weaken welfare to work requirements. jon: let's look at the some of the fund-raising numbers. and more mitt romney and the republicans they're looking strong right now. $60 million more than the president has on hand. president obama had raised about 127 million as of july, or had about 127 million on hand that is down from 146 million the month beef. governor romney, with 185 million on hand in, on, at the end of july, that's up from 170 million. >> yeah. jon: the month before. >> well, look, there is even more damaging pattern here you're right. there is $62 million advantage to the republican at the end of the july. remember at the end of april the democrats had $95

million more in cash on hand than the pubs. end of june, 26 million. by the end of july the cash advantage that president obama had enjoyed was gone. why is this important? first of all we're all creatures of habit in politics. four years ago president obama won in large part because he outspent john mccain, between june and november. the mccain campaign spent $525 million. the democrats and dnc spent 850. the obama campaign this time around scheduling all the presidential fund-raisers 205 to date was thinking we could overpower who the republican nominee is with money. so they raised a lot of money and began spending it on may 15th with a massive television blitz. after, you know, 2 1/2, nearly three months of that the race is deadlocked and president obama has run through his cash and no longer has the cash advantage he enjoyed this spring. jon: even in july the obama

campaign spent $40 million on television advertising. the romney campaign spent about 16 million. the president's advisors say they can overcome any cash deficits because they have got a better ground game, a better get-out-the-vote effort than the republicans. do they? >> well, we don't know. we know one of the tests of that is voter registration. in 2008 they dead a heck of a good job increases democratic voter registration as did the republican ground game in 2004. thus far this year, democrat registrations are down precipitously in battleground states that have partisan registration. not much evidence in the last fall in the fall elections in states like virginia and north carolina that the democrat get out the vote effort was very successful. we certainly didn't see it worked in wisconsin where they should have one heck of a ground game in the special election earlier this year to throw out governor scott walker. it didn't happen. jon: we're talking about the upcoming republican

convention in tampa as well. we know governor chris christie is going to be the keynote speaker opening night. what does he bring to the table? >> well, he is a pugnacious, straight-taking new jersey governor who calls them like he sees them. as a result sort of every man's, favorite governor. i mean he is going to give a terrific speech. he is going to be straightforward as he is. i would hate to be the guy inside the convention apparatus who has to negotiate every speech, has to be reviewed he about the officials of the presidential campaign. so everything fits together. but i would hate to be the guy trying to negotiate with governor christie and his people over what the governor may or may not say. it will be, i suspect, one heck of a memorable speech. jon: talk about the controversy going going on a in missouri where congressman todd akin made the remarks sunday morning that really inflamed so many on both sides of the political aisle. in fact your own group, crossroads, has pulled the

$5 million in support money, was planning to spend on his behalf, as i understand it. what is his future? he can pull out of the race tonight at 5:00 p.m. he says he is going to stay. >> yeah. he does have the ability to withdraw tonight by 5:00 p.m. in which case the missouri republican central committee would choose his replacement on the ballot. if he remains on the ballot, you're right, crossroads gps will, and crossroads will not spend any money on the race. after those damaging statements, i mean to try to differentiate what is legitimate rape and illegitimate rape and believing somehow that a woman's body would reject a pregnancy if it was an illegitimate rape, these were reprehensible and deplorable comments and there is no way he can recover in my opinion. so, our group decided, if he remains the nominee there is no reason to throw good money after bad by trying to win this seat. so it is his choice. he gets to decide whether he remains or not. but this is a comment, this

is one of those unfortunate things is so bad, so deplorable, so out of touch that there is no way to recover in my opinion from it. jon: we're also getting word that four large figures in missouri politics and political history, former senators danforth, ashcroft, bonn and blunt, are all planning to hold a news conference or at least issue a statement today asking him to get out of the race. does that suggest he has no future? >> well, look, the reaction has been universal. it has been from the grassroots. it has been from all across the party. you know, i have known todd akin. he was in the congress when i worked in the bush white house. i know his heart. i know his faith. he is a good man. but he said something which he can not recover which will damage i am irreparably, if he cares about the future of his state, i think the right thing to do is step aside and give someone wells

a chance to win the seat. jon: karl rove, fox news contributor. karl, always good to get your insights. thank you. >> thanks, jon. jenna: words from karl on the akin situation. we'll follow that developing story. a word on the weather. we're watching a tropical depression in the caribbean. it is gaining steam and might be upgraded and there might be a political angle to all this believe it or not. meteorologist maria molina is tracking the storm from the weather center. >> jenna, we could see impacts potentially. still aways to go but we could see impacts possibly early next week into the state of florida. we do have the republican convention coming up in tampa. we'll keep a close watch on the storm system. we're seeing it get its act together and become tropical depression number nine as of 5:00 a.m. this morning. that was deemed by the national hurricane center. you see the area of showers and thunderstorms starting to really blow up here. the storm system is moving pretty quickly toward the west at 20 miles per hour.

that is kind of quick for a storm system at this latitude in the tropics. earth wise forecast to continue to strengthen. by this evening could be a tropical storm and its name would be isaac. the system is forecast to continue to move westward. by thursday, could be a category 1 hurricane. forecast to produce a lot of heavy rain on the leeward and windward islands. it is forecast to stay over open waters. we're talking about possible landfall over parts of eastern cuba as we head into this weekend. potentially a category 2 hurricane. a lot to watch for this storm. zoo. jenna: we'll watch the direction of that with the republican national convention in florida. maria, thanks so much. jon: we do not need a tropical storm, or hurricane. jenna: dynamics to play with. jon: just going to make the summer a little more interesting, isn't it? one of the busiest travel weekends of the year is right around the corner but surging gas prices could force many of us to stay home this labor day. we'll tell you how that

could affect the economy coming up. also new surveillance video showing tense moments before a philadelphia police officer was shot dead. authorities need your help finding the killers. >> i'm at a loss for words. this is another senseless act. you know, too many guns on the street and, you know, our hearts go out to the officers out there. hi. i'm henry winkler.

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jon: right now some stories making headlines. we start out with jetblue. the department of transportation fining that airline $90,000 in connection with a delayed flight at new york's jfk airport. this after reports the airline did not inform passengers they could get off the plane while it sat at the gate for nearly three hours. from the skies, to the roads. fisker, the government-backed electric carmaker is now initiating a voluntary recall. this after two mysterious fires broke out in its karma sedans. now we head out of this

world after rover's drove all around mars, now nasa is launching a new mission. jon: insight, set to examine the core of the red planet. insight is set for 2016. jenna: right now we're taking you to the state of pennsylvania. there is some new video of moments before an off-duty police officer was shot by two men on the streets of philadelphia. rick folbaum has more for us now. rick? >> reporter: well, jenna the police chief in philly says somebody out there knows who did this. knows who killed a 19 year police veteran who was watching to catch a bus home after working an overnight shift. the officer's name, moses walker, jr. he was walking alone a little before 6:00 a.m. saturday morning when approached by two men. police released this video of officer walker and two suspects. you can't see the suspects very clearly. looks like the officer was suspicious of them. you can see him glancing over is his shoulder a couple of times. he will walk around the car

parked alongside of the street. the video does not show the actual murder when the two confronted officer. he went for his weapon and wound up getting shot. here is chief charles ramsey. >> he was armed at the time. we found his gun, service revolver, underneath his body. so apparently he was able to draw his weapon but we don't know whether or not he was able to get any shots off at all. trying to pick up a scent from a suspect to see if we can follow to a location. however it started to rain and that does hinder a dog's ability to pick up a good accept. >> reporter: so the weather not cooperating in philly. no one has been arrested yet. the fbi is working with the philadelphia police department. investigators believe the suspects live in the north philly neighborhood where the murder took place. there is $80,000 reward that has been offered. anyone with any information is asked to either call 911 or the city's homicide unit. there is the number on the screen.

215-686-3334. tips can be posted at philly police.com. the chief encourages anybody who may know anything to call in, jenna even if they're not sure whether or not it is relevant. he said let us decide how important it is. just pick up the phone and call. back to you. jenna: tough story to cover, rick, a question of why always so hard to answer. why is this happened? >> reporter: true. jenna: rick, thank you very much. we'll stay on that for sure. jon: he took his bulletproof vest, because he was off-duty at that point, walking home. brother. the top u.s. general, i'm sorry the top u.s. general, martin dempsey, head of joint chiefs of staff is now in iraq after insurgents fired rockets damaging his plane in a u.s. base in afghanistan. conner powell was at the base. he tells us what he saw in three minutes. up they go. we're talking about gas prices on the move again. why this latest spike and will they come down anytime soon?

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jenna: welcome back, everyone. let's talk about something that really affects all of us and that is gas prices around this country. right now the average price for a gallon of regular is $3.71. we'll have a little context for you in a moment what that looks like compared to last month or last year but turns out those higher prices that we're seeing are really not stopping us from making plans to hit the road this labor day. sort of an interesting story here. rich edson with the fox business network has more for us live from washington. rich? >> reporter: good morning, jenna. you would think with gas prices up from a month ago, from a year ago, that americans would start cushing their travel plans this summer. aaa says quite the opposite. they predict for labor day weekend nearly 33 million americans will travel at

least 50 miles from their homes. car travel up more than 3%. air travel up 3.7%. total travel up nearly%. 3%. even despite spite gas prices americans will make it work. >> we think there is pent-up demand people not traveling in years past. shows americans are prioritizing travel. it is important to get out and spend time with their friends and family. >> reporter: so aaa says folks may make their trips but may look to curb some of their spending on those trips. fewer activities, fewer souvenirs, things of that nature. look at travel overall this year. sluggish economy, high gas prices memorial, aaa says, up 1.2% from a year ago. independence day up 5%. jenna: fewer souvenirs? what kind of trip is that? if you don't have the souvenirs, rich. but there has to be some other reasons. we take a look at the economy on a daily basis.

we hear it is not great. so is there any other reasons why americans might be traveling more despite some higher costs that are out there? >> reporter: could be travel deals. when you look specifically at air fare, air fare for the top 40 u.s. cities according to aaa is down more than four%. you get a good deal to get out of town you take it. jenna: i had no idea. always seems so expensive. are you going anywhere on labor day, rich? >> reporter: maybe into d.c. nowhere out in this area. see you later. jenna: hard at work as always. rich, thank you. jon: luckily union station is right by the washington bureau. jenna: so he can get out of town quickly. jon: that's right. talk about a trains, a train derails in maryland and two college students are killed the investigators are trying to figure out what happened and why those young women apparently were on the tracks in the first place. plus it has been more than a week since governor romney selected congressman paul ryan as his running mate. so what impact has ryan had

on this race and the issues taking center stage as well? a fair and balanced debate on that coming up. [ male announcer ] this is the land of giants. ♪ home of the brave. ♪ it's where fear goes unwelcomed... ♪ and certain men... find a way to rise above. this is the land of giants. ♪ guts. glory. ram.

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region to meet with military commanders about the rise of insurgent attacks against nato forces. conor powell streaming live from kabul, afghanistan. you were there last night, connor. what happened? >> reporter: well, jon, fox news pentagon correspondent jennifer griffin and steve shelton and i i were at bagram last night following general dempsey. he already left the airport area of bagram airfield and was at his own come.with other senior u.s. commanders when the rockets began coming in at 1:00 a.m. he was well, well in a safe area. about 1:00 a.m. we started to hear rockets and alarms going up. according to u.s. officials there, one of the rockets hit dempsey's plane he was traveling on with jennifer griffin and other journalists traveling in his entrepreneur. two people were injured. and two maintenance worker and a helicopter was damaged as well.

rocket attacks are regular occurrence at bagram and military installations in afghanistan. rare they hit anything of importance. u.s. officials say this was more of a lucky shot rather than a targeted attack on general dempsey. the damage was enough to ground the airplane for general dempsey and general fir griffin and other journalists traveling with general dempsey. they were forced to wait for a new plane before heading out to bagram. this is clear example how dangerous these bases can be here in afghanistan. regular rocket attacks happen, probably two or three times a week. most u.s. troops take them in time. complaining it more disrupts their sleep as opposed to doing any real damage. every so often twice a month someone is injured and people have been killed here in afghanistan. it was an unnerving event for the entourage traveling with general dempsey. early this morning he was up and awarding medals to solders fighting in

afghanistan. a few hours later he was on his way to baghdad. it didn't change much of the trip here in afghanistan. it is a reminder how dangerous afghanistan is for all u.s. service personnel. jon? jon: sounds like a lucky shot and certainly it is good it didn't do anything to our nation's top military officer. connor powell. thank you. jenna: back here at home investigators are trying to figure out what caused a freight train to derail outside of baltimore killing two young women. julie ban ban is following the story and has more for us. >> we sadly learned the victims of identity. both were 19 years old from the town where the crash happened, located 13 miles outside of bault mortgage. it is still unclear at this hour what caused the midnight crash. the national transportation safety board is investigating. we're told the csx train was hauling coal on its way from grafton, west virgina, to

baltimore when it derailed crossing the bridge and killing two teens standing on the tracks. 80 cars derailed. some fell from a bridge, crushing vehicles in a parking lot below. this morning rescuers brought in trains to remove train cars from crushed vehicles to search for other potential victims. so far we have not heard them finding any other victims. the two train operators were unharmed. csx is investigating talking to them about the moments that led up to the crash. mean time cleanup crews are on the ground trying to remove all the spilled coal so they can reopen main street. according to the police, the train cars were not carrying any hazardous material, jenna. jenna: what a terrible accident, julie. thank you. >> reporter: sure. jon: governor mitt rom nip's vice-presidential pick is making news again. take a look at some live pictures from a rally in carnegie, pennsylvania.

we're awaiting comments from congressman paul ryan. we will listen in once mr. ryan gets started. meantime, fred barnes, a fox news contributor, writing in "the wall street journal" today that congressman ryan has recast the race and that his presence is hurting president obama and helping governor romney. is it? joining us now, for a fair and balanced debate, kate obenshain, former chair of the republican party of virginia. with us, simon rosenberg, president and founder of a mda, a leading progressive think tank and organization. he is former clinton campaign advisor. i want to get your take on that first, simon. a lot of democrats were reyoising at the choice of paul ryan. they said he was the guy who made it possible for president obama to win re-election. what do you think right now? >> look, i think he is clearly added a lot of vigor and vitality and energy to this race for the republicans. you know, he is an attractive candidate but i think if you look at the

polling so far there really hasn't been a big bounce for mitt romney. paul ryan, according to some polls is the most unpopular candidate that has been picked for the vice-presidency at this point in a race, in modern american history. in some measures he is the most extreme idealogical candidate picked for vice presidency in last 100 years. early on gave infusion to the republicans. it is not playing all that well in the rest of the electorate. jon: kate, according to some accounts at least the fund-raising has shot up for the romney-ryan ticket. you have the poll numbers, i guess ticking up in places like ohio and virginia. has paul ryan's presence energized this ticket? >> i think that the democrats are a lot less jubilant than they were a week ago. we have seen a shift not just in conservative republicans, although they are energized and willing now to get out and work for candidate romney who they were not that enthuse astic

about perhaps. but the democrats thought that this was going to be their opportunity to continue with divide and conquer. they were going to use their mediscare tactics worked always at the national level. but what they didn't bargain for how skilled a tactician romney is, i mean ryan is. he has been fighting against mediscare in every single re-election campaign he has faced in congress. so he has been able to turn the argument around. he brought out his mom, betty. he has been able to show the obama campaign, obama is actually the one who attacked medicare. so we've seen a real shift here. i think a momentum shift surely but a policy shift in that the republicans are now being aggressive. they're willing to talk about some really tough issues. jon: there was also that democratic super pac ad that zigged that mitt romney was responsible for the death of a woman from cancer.

president obama was asked about it yesterday in his appearance in had front the white house press corps. listen. >> i don't think governor whom romney is somehow responsible for the death of the woman portrayed in that ad but keep in mind, this is an ad i didn't approve. i did not produce, and as far as i can tell, has barely ru i think it ran once? jon: so what about that, simon? the president is saying hey i'm not responsie for that. >> i think, getting back to the question about paul ryan i think there are two things to watch about what happens with him over the next few months. this is what we're here to talk about. first, is what happened in the last few days his connection with todd akin in very far right social policies. >> oh, my gosh. >> which have been very scary. >> got no tact facts to talk about. >> so very scary for many americans. second thing is it locked the republicans in, i want to agree with kate, right, it made some of the economic choices more clear. what we now know about

mitt romney and paul ryan that their obsession with lowering taxes is going to blow a hole in the deficit and deprive the country of needed investment money that creates growth over the long haul that was a little bit less clear than a few weeks ago. i do think, i agree with fred barnes. there is more clarity in the race. i'm not convinced it will play out well for the republicans over time but we'll see. jon: we're talking about paul ryan and mitt romney which is part of the reason i brought up the president's reaction to that ad which he disavowing completely even though it is, you know, clearly designed to enhance his re-election prospects. kate, go ahead. >> if anybody is blowing a hole in the deficit by the way it is five trillion dollars that obama put there. but what obama's reaction to that ad, john was exactly why 7 million americans who voted for obama last time are looking at mitt romney and saying that they're not going to vote for obama. it was that promise of hope and change he was going to be the most unnyeing president in history. he was going to tran send

politics as usual. this appalling ad comes out essentially accusing the republican candidate of murder and obama the best he can do, i think it only played once and i didn't have anything to do with it. what people voted for him expected he was going to condemn this sort of nastiness, this baseless mudslinging yet he engaged in it in day one of the that's why these folks are looking for a different candidate because he has been the most divisive president in the history of the united states. and so, they are looking at somebody like a paul ryan who talks about ideas, something that simon wouldn't do just a second ago because they don't have ideas that can win. so the electorate is looking for positive, optimistic ideas that will actually turn our country in a positive direction and that is what the romney-ryan ticket is folking us on right now. jon: top ten seconds to wrap it you, simon. >> i think this is, i think paul ryan made this a clear

choice. i think over time choices in front the public will not play well for the republicans. i'm confident in barack obama's re-election. jon: simon rosenberg, kate obenshain, good debate as as you. jenna: they agreed at the end. jon: clear choice. jenna: common ground always found in the debates. speaking of he do bates the battle over immigration is still playing out in states across this country. wait until you see it pop up on the campaign trail. you know you will see it over the next couple weeks. today arizona is taking up the show your papers law. a brand new court ruling on other state laws in alabama and georgia happened this week. judge andrew napolitano will join us and break down what is happening and what it means for immigration policy in this country. also she was so close. endurance swimmer diana nye idea, abandoning her record swim a day shy of her 63rd

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jon: right now a look what we're looking at all new next hour. dru peterson murder trial resuming in illinois. the judge ruling a key prosecution witness can testify in that case. wildfires continue burning out of control in at least four western states, destroying homes and charring thousands of acres in northern california alone. we'll have a live report from near the fire line. and all eyes on the tropics. we're watching a couple of hot spots that could turn into tropical storm or potentially even hurricanes. coming up. jenna: well some new developments in states across this nation in the immigration debate. as we await a key hearing in arizona today on its controversial show your papers law. now the supreme court left that provision intact earlier this summer when it

ruled on immigration law overall from the state of arizona. now civil rights groups are trying to block the implementation of that particular part. in the meantime we've seen some rulings this week just came in on immigration laws in alabama and georgia. so there is a lot happening. judge andrew napolitano is here, fox senior judicial analyst to help us go through it all. take us back, judge to the arizona supreme court ruling show your papers law let stand but there was a little bit of a disclaimer on that? >> yes. supreme court said look, when the police stop you they ask you for some identification, a driver's license or something else. they then take that identification and run it through a computer in their car back at headquarters to see if there is other information that they need to know about you. in the process of doing that, they can ask for additional paperwork, like, are you a, are you legally here? however, the supreme court said, here's the caveat. if it turns out that the police are stopping people

on a pretext, in order to find out if they are legally here, something the constitution prohibits. jenna: pretext mean, what, judge? >> not a real basis to stop you. they made up the reason to stop you because they think you're here illegally and they want to examine your papers. the supreme court said, if that happens, then this portion of the arizona law will be struck. so today a hearing commences in phoenix, arizona, in which civil rights groups and others will try to demonstrate the police are in fact stopping people under a pretext, false reason. jenna: right. >> in order to ascertain their immigration status. jenna: it is interesting. while we're watching this hearing in arizona, we also, the states of alabama and georgia. >> right. jenna: they have had to tackle similar parts of their immigration law and they come up with interesting results. what have those been? >> alabama instructed school officials to inquire into the immigration status of children whom they suspected to be here illegally. jenna: no crime?

>> right. jenna: no pretext of a cry just that they are little kids in the school. >> correct. the 11th circuit court of appeals, the court below the supreme court said you can't do that you're interfering with the child's freedom on basis of subjective hunch or way child appears. so that is out. alabama and georgia also have the show your papers statute and the 11th circuit said that stands, unless a pretext is being used. jenna: a lot of this depends on how the implementation of this part of the law is rolled out? >> right. exactly. jenna: the experience of the community when police officers do this. what do you think though of a judge, legally the ruling is here when it comes to, you know, as you're watching it being implemented and seeing if whether or not there is some laws being broken? >> my own view is the show your papers is very dangerous because show your papers leads to, what are you doing here? and what are you doing here leads to, where did you come from? and where did you come from leads to where you are

going? that is not america. that is not the type of power we ordinarily put in the hands of the police, especially if those inquiries are based on race for physical appearance. jenna: we'll have to run. love to talk to you more about that. also voter identification laws. all of this seems intertwined as far as identification and who you are and why you're here. >> do you have any idea i.d. on you now, general that? jenna: i do not. jon can vouch for me. we'll run to a live event, aren't we. jon: that's right. she is my coanchor, judge. look at congressman paul ryan, he is in carnegie, pennsylvania. it is his first visit to the battleground state. his first speech there since being tapped by governor romney in the vice-presidential nominee. you see the new campaign banner right there. we did did build it!.

[cheers and applause] [inaudible] >> create jobs with our own energy. [inaudible] [cheers and applause] jon: a little tough to hear there. he is at a steel plant. you can see that roll of steel there on the back of a truck that is behind the congressman and vice-presidential candidate. we did build it, the theme. you heard him reference the keystone pipeline. he is advocating president obama give approvals to that pipeline, to this point the president has blocked. we are streaming the entire speech for you on foxnews.com if you would like to hear what congressman ryan has to say. back in a moment.

jon: update for you now on one of the scares of this summer we've been telling you about. another person has died of the west nile virus, this time in minnesota. rick folbaum has that for us. >> reporter: that's right, jon. knows of the headlines on west kneel have been out of texas forcing cities to declare states of emergency and spray insecticides. now as you said officials in minnesota are confirming the first west nile death in that state. an elderly woman who got sick earlier this month. she is the only one to die from it. there are 20 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne illness and the health department is looking into 10 possible other cases. >> this is the busiest west nile season we've had since 2007. this is a virus in its most

severe form attacks the central service system. so it will attack the brain. that is what we're trying to prevent. >> reporter: that is an official out of minnesota. including texas which is still by far the most affected state, 32 states overall have seen cases of humans coming down with west nile. elderly, young children, anyone with a compromised immune system are most at risk. experts say use mosquito repellant outside at dawn or dusk. keep the windows closed and ac on. clear your property of any standing water like puddles or kiddie pools. the season when people are most at risk lasts until september. there is still time left. please take the advice seriously. back to you, jon. jon: a lot of states affected. >> reporter: more than half. jon: rick, thank you. jenna: a day short of her 63rd birthday, swimmer diana nyad abandoned her attempts to make a swim from cuba to

florida. certainly not her choice. she was more than halfway finished when pulled from the water this morning. phil keating is live from miami, following this swim. an incredible difficult decision i'm sure, phil. why did she have to get out of the morning? >> reporter: basically early in the morning in the dangerous florida straits, diana's support team basically convinced her to pull the plug on this attempt for herself and everybody's safety. new photos posted on diana's website this morning show her face severely sunburn and swollen from two straight nights from jellyfish stings. she had to battle circling sharks. midnight, severe storm struck. rain, lightning, rough waves stopping her halfway to key west, pushing her off course dramatically when all hell broke lose. after 41 hours of swimming. she made it further than she had previously but diana

nyad's fourth attempt in total since she was a teenager ends in not making it to florida. jenna: wow! four attempts. just all the elements she has to deal with, phil. any indication, i know it has been a short time since she's been out of the water but any indication when she might get back in? >> she is certainly hoping to and her team wants her to when she gets close to the key west shoreline and maybe she can get back in the water and swim back on her own terms. she was doing well, making 50 strokes a minute. we talked to somebody on her team she tells us she is not sure this will be the last attempt for diana, knowing diana. most likely will try it one more time. her birthday is tomorrow. she turns 63. she accomplished so much on this last attempt, most recent attempt. but for now she is absolutely exhausted and definitely needs some recuperation time. jenna: physically tough but mentally tough as well equally i'm sure. phil, thank you. >> reporter: yeah. jon: sure wish she could

have made it. we're following the money trail as the clock ticks down to election day. who is outpacing who when it comes to campaign cash and who is spending more than they're taking in? some interesting numbers for you. also the president drawing a line in the sand whether it comes to syria when he says the u.s. would intervene in the civil war there. those stories and more coming up next hour

>> reporter: rick folbaum in the control room. brand-new stories we are working on, including a tropical storm you're looking at right there, a depression expected to turn into a tropical storm later on today. it's inching closer and closer to the states and it could put a damper on next week's big republican party in florida. the latest on that. in the last hour or so a bombshell ruling in the drew petersen case. the judge just deciding to allow prosecutors to call a brand-new witness to the stand, and what this person has to say could change the entire case in a big way. a preview is coming up. tourists from all over the world

are flocking to several spots along the california coast trying to get a peak at some of the biggest animals on the planet. we'll let you see what they are looking at. all of that and breaking news. the second hour of "happening now" now starts right now. jenna: talking about the biggest animals, he's not talking about the candidates, nothing like that, political animals. jon: they are big political animals. we'll see some whales later on. jenna: it is another big day on the campaign trail for the presidential candidates and for all of us political animals. we are glad you are with us, everybody, i'm jenna lee? i'm jon scott "happening now." congressman paul ryan is campaigning in western pennsylvania, while governor mitt romney does fundraising in texas. president obama just arrived in the key battleground state of ohio. he is gearing up for a big rally in columbus. the president expected to shift his focus to congressman ryan's education plan. jenna: interesting he's taking

on congressman ryan on that. we have live team coverage. mike emanuel is live. anded henry is live in columbus, ohio. that's where we begin. >> reporter: you saw the president yesterday come out at the white house, take a few questions at reporters and try to blast away at the romney-ryan ticket. today you'll see a second front in the war to define paul ryan. the president went after him on medicare. here at capital university in the battleground of ohio he'll be talking about education cuts in the ryan plan to try to define him as somebody outside the mainstream. he will be hitting, based on excerpts we've got even hitting mitt romney a at the top of the ticket on the statement he made, if you can't afford college, you

should borrow money from your parents. when a high school student in ohio asked him what he would do to make college more affordable, governor romney didn't say anything about grant or loan programs, nothing about work study programs or rising tuition. not one word about community colleges or how important higher education is to america's check future e. said, quote the best thing i can do for you is tell you to shop around. the rhetoric is tough not just on the personal attacks but on the policies as well. when the president goes after paul ryan in his budget plan for quote unquote cuts on education, some say that is extrapolation from the obama campaign about what might get cut, not will be cut, jenna. jon: governor romney's running mate paul ryan is focusing in

pennsylvania. mike emanuel is live in carnegie, pennsylvania. he has more for us now. >> reporter: hi, jon, congressman ryan is talking to a packed business here in southwestern pennsylvania. he made a reference to being -- it's great to be in a steel company in steel country. congressman ryan has had some hits against the president's record, a hit on the line that the president said in the 2008 campaign about people clinging to their guns and weapons. he says he's a catholic and a deer hunter and this place went wild. the steel business is off the beaten trail in the back of an industrial park in a remote town. a lot of people found their way here and they've been very enthusiastic to hear from paul ryan. on medicare there was a reference today to the impact on pennsylvania. check this out. >> 38% of all seniors in

pennsylvania have chosen medicare advantage for their medicare benefits. it's a plan they got to choose for themselves that they like. about half of them are going to lose it under obamacare within five years. [chanting] >> reporter: it's very loud in mere, forgive me, i'm having a hard time hearing the show. the bottom line, very enthusiastic crowd to hear from paul ryan. there are a lot of reagan democrats in this part of pennsylvania, a place where republicans feel they can do particularly well. the latest polls have the democrats in the lead but it will be interesting to see after he spends the full day here in pennsylvania if there is any movement in pennsylvania polls. the republicans certainly feel like there will be because a lot of people are energized by the paul ryan pick here in the keystone states. back to you. jon: very biggie electorial prize there that both camps are going after. thanks very much. mikee emanuel. jenna: we know where congressman

ryan is, where the president is, how about mitt romney? mitt romney is in texas doing some fundraising. let talk a little bit about some of the new numbers on where both candidates stand in the battle, where everybody is on campaign fundraising. the romney campaign is out pacing the president for a third month in a row. as far as total funds raise the republicans lead with $186 million. that's about $60 million more than the democrats who have $127 million in their coffers at this time. we are also learning the president's campaign is spending more than they are taking in at least at this point, raising just over $49 million in july but spending $10 million more than that. they say that's part of the strategy to get the grass roots campaign up and running quickly and it will payoff later. so far they are spending more than they are taking in. jon: the pressure is building on missouri congressman todd akin from his fellow republicans to drop out of the missouri senate race.

four former and current missouri senators expected at any moment to ask akin to step aside. the congressman ignited a firestorm when he said women's bodies can prevent presentin pregnancies in cases of quote, legitimate rape. doug mcelway is examining the story. >> reporter: we have learned from a highly placed source in the missouri g.o.p., former and pe senators are expected to issue a statement any time now calling for representative todd akin to step aside from his candidacy from u.s. senator from missouri. three of them, ashcroft, kitbod and danforth have all been asked to run for the seat. all of them have declined. three noted missouri republicans, two of them woman have agreed to take up the candidacy for the senate. joh and emerson, ann wagner who is a chair of the republican

party for six years, and also the cochair of the rnc for four years. the last potential candidate is representative blaine lutkamyer. intense pressure is mounting on akin within his own committee to resign. the campaign committee will stop funding his race pulling $5 million set aside for missouri. cross woods gps is also pulling campaign funding. >> cross woods gps and crossroads will not spend any money in the race after those damaging statements. to try and differentiate between what is a legitimate rape and illegitimate rape and there is no way he can recover in my opinion. our group decided if he remains the nominee there is no reason to throw good money after bad by trying to win the seats. >> across the spectrum of the party the g.o.p. distancing himself from akin. so far he has refused to step down issuing this apology and a plea for forgiveness.

>> rapist an evil act. i used the wong words in the wrong way and for that i apologize. as a father of two daughters i want tough justice for predators. rape can lead to pregnancy. the truth is rape has many victims. the mistake i made was in the words i said, not in the heart i hold. i ask for your forgiveness. >> reporter: akin face east 5:00pm deadline today to voluntarily withdraw. we shall see. jon. jon: doug mcelway in washington. thank you. jenna: a tropical depression brewing in the caribbean could turn into a tropical storm, a tropical storm with the name of isaac. depending on what path the storm takes from there and it could be a few it might spell trouble for next week's republican national convention if florida. we are still a few days out. janice dean pays attention to

all these. patti ann: . what are we looking at? >> reporter: yesterday, skwr*ep a we had this thing moving across cuba and making kind of a curve up towards tampa where of course we have a very big convention happen next week, and i'm sure they are all biting their nails wondering what is going to happen with isaac. in the short term we dakotas specht this to be a tropical storm, the name isaac. we expect it to be a hurricane. a tropical depression, getting better organized, conditions more favorable for development. taking a look at the track as of 11:00 this is the very latest as we head into wednesday, becoming a tropical storm, and then moving towards the lesser antilles, becoming a hurricane. and further out in time the cone of uncertainty gets wider as we head into friday and saturday. category 2 hurricane making its way perhaps across cuba and of course all eyes are on florida, because florida could be next in line. that cone of uncertainty, the

tropical storm models that make up that cone, this is what we look at, and one of the reliable models that i mentioned yesterday had the storm moving into tampa. it's moved a little bit more eastward. as we take a look at this gss model moving up towards florida and then perhaps maybe the carolinas. again we are still, five, six, even seven days out. a lot of things can happen in that time. just want to show you the sea surface temperatures. the storm needs a lot of warm water to get its act together and we certainly have that over this stretch of water that is going to travel. as it heeds across cuba i want to make mention a lot of mountainous terrain here could actually rip the storm apart and make it a weaker storm. fit does of move out into the florida straits, look at this 89 degrees. a lot of warm water. we are several days out. a lot of uncertainty here. we will keep on it and bring you the very latest, hour by hour you will be informed. jenna: several days out but it

adds a little drama to the weather reports, doesn't it? >> reporter: tampa is one of the most vulnerable areas across the nation for storm surge. so really worried about certainly that area. florida is in that cone of uncertainty, the whole state of florida. they need to be keeping a close eye. jenna: more reason to pay attention to the weather reports as they come down and follow you on twitter by the way, i know you're updating. jd thank you. >> reporter: okay. jon: it wouldn't be the first time the weather has impacted a republican national convention. back in 2008 hurricane gustaf made landfall in louisiana in time for the big event. the convention was 1300 miles away in st. paul, minnesota but they were forced to cancel some activities. the unusual timing puts it in the heart of hurricane season making events more prone to the affect of severe storms. jenna: now that we're talking about it probably won't happen. jon: let's hope that is the way it is. jenna: you over talk it and nothing happens. we'll see. we have a couple of days out on

that. as the romney-ryan ticket enters its second week on the campaign trail some political commentators are saying there is a new energy in governor romney's campaign. >> good to see you. thank you. >> how are you? >> thank you. jenna: does he seem more energized to you? this is days before the republican convention. do we see a shift in the momentum for the race for the white house? >> a new milestone nor casey anthony has a lot of people upset. we'll tell you what is going on in her case. jenna: lightning sparked wild fires in northern clif california, torching homes and forcing people to run for their lives. >> i have three cats missing, i don't know if they are alive or if my house is burned up. >> it's been overwhelming.

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jenna: welcome back. a few headlines we are watching today for you here on "happening now." closing arguments expected in one of the biggest technology disputes in history. apple is accusing samsung are copying it's iphone and ipad technology. attorneys for samsung said others previously developed much of the technology at issue. in the meantime in florida casey anthony is about to complete her one year procee probation sentence for check fraud. last summer a jury acquitted her of murdering her daughter. once her case ends on friday anthony will be free to leave the state of florida. where she goes next, anyone's guess. more americans are expected to hit the road for labor day despite high gas prices and a sluggish economy. 28million americans are expected to drive to holiday

destinations, an increase from last year. jon: well the week before the republican national convention this bold headline from the chicago sun-times. clouds begin to part for romney. columnist steve hunt lee says governor mitt romney's campaign has hit its stride. he sites his selection of congressman paul ryan as a running mate and the republicans message of economic optimism based on tax and regulatory reform. all this contrasting with president obama's current problems with the economy and reports of a re-election campaign in disarray on the democratic side. is he right? let's talk about it. tom bevin is executive editor of "real clear politics" and is in chicago right now. am i right about that, tom, you're in chicago? >> absolutely. jon: what do you think about that? has mitt romney, does he have a little more pep in his step these days after the addition of congressman ryan to the ticket?

>> yeah he certainly does. we've seen some movement in the polls nationally the day after, actually romney picked rhino bama had busted ouryan, obama had busted out to his biggest lead, by five points, early april. we've seen that lead cut in half. obama is leading by 2.5 points. we've seen movement in virginia, ohio and wisconsin. the question is whether this bump is lasting or whether it's going to recede at some point. obviously republicans hope that they can ride this wave into the convention next week and build on that momentum. jon: democrats had said that of all of the potential running mates out there, congressman ryan was the guy that they hoped that mitt romney would pick, but in picking congressman ryan he chose a guy who has, you know, solid conservative credentials, he's pro-life, he's a roman

catholic. there are a lot of things that a lot of conservatives have been suspect with mitt romney like in paul ryan. >> that is right. up until the point until romney picked ryan. it wasn't turning out to vote for mitt romney, it was to turn out to vote against president obama. they do like paul ryan. he is liked within the republican base. they are hoping that that enthusiasm edge that they've been carrying for a while now will last through november 6th. jon: what about the reports that the obama campaign is in disarray? >> i'm always careful, i take stuff like that with a grain of salt. there's been pretty good reporting on the obama campaign. they have had internal discussions and disputes, both campaigns v. i don't know know that the obama campaign is in as much disarray as it might be being portrayed, but, look, this

is a campaign that has been struggling with -- we've never seen a president run for re-election in this kind of political environment and economic environment and they've struggled to recapture the magic of 2008 and make good on some of the promises of 2008, running that campaign that was supposed to be above the partisan politics of the past. they've really struggled with that and we've seen that play out over the last few months. jon: one of the things that ryan and romney seem to emphasize during their campaign appearances is that, you know, things don't have to be this way. thins can change. they try, it seems, to project an optimistic tone about the future. is that working? >> well, i think so far. again, they have seen some movement in their way. remember the debate over the last ten days since ryan has been put on the ticket is medicare. that is an issue traditionally democrats win on, and republicans feel they've fought

to a draw and actually may have won that argument over the past few weeks. we saw ryan down in florida campaigning with his mother. that is a battleground that republicans feel pretty good about. heading into the election with 11 weeks left, given where the economy stands, where romney is in fundraising and their messaging, republicans feel good. but obama is leading in all the polls, so it's going to be close.

jenna: "happening now," drawing a line, apparently in the sand on syria. the president outlining for the first time the point at witness united states might intervene in the bloody conflict that is happening there, pitting rebels against the dictator. >> we have been very clear to the bashar al-assad regime, but also to other players on the

ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bu bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. that would change mychal cu my calculus. >> what do you think when you hear that, that that is the red line for our country? >> absolutely. the obama administration has taken a very strong position, in terms of showing when the united states might get involved, but there are other issues it's also debating within the inner circle, and those include, do you try to create a no fly zone in areas of syria that would allow for humanitarian aid to the many thousands of people who are trying to flee the areas of conflict, particularly in the north? jenna: consistently and constantly we are talking about this debate about this intervention in syria. it's something we've talked a lot about in a lot of arab

countries throughout the arab spring we've been watching. it's been 18 months of this debate. what has that time cows, if you will as a country? what risks are now surfacing because we have waited this long, at least to say what the red line is? >> well, there is no really easy or ad advantageous for the united states to take. the international community stood as one in taking on gadhafi. on syria the international community is split. an estimated 20,000 people have died. the real challenge is how to you try to prevent genocide and the deaths of thousands of more as long as the regime of president

bashar al-assad is still in power without getting in a much more complicated military operation. syria has 300,000 strong military, it has antiaircraft technology that could make a no fly zone very dangerous for american aircraft. jenna: you rightfully point out that every situation we've talked about in the middle east, and you've joined us many times to talk about a few different countries throughout this arab spring. we're going to leave syria for a moment as we continue to watch what is happening there. i would like to talk to you about what is happening in egypt. egypt is at a different stage if you will. they've seen the revolutions on the street. there is the muslim brotherhood in power there. what do we see in egypt? what has the arab spring brought there? >> egypt is still in transition. just as sear kwraeus the most country strategically, egypt is the most important country politically. it is often said the pace for

political scene or making peace with israel, it is the trend setter. what it does as it tries to write a new constitution, elect its first round of officials will have enormous influence throughout the 22 nations of the arab world. it is at a state where the civilian institutions, the presidency and what had been a parliament were trying to balance the power with the military kind of on the other side. and the military initially took away some of the powers of the presidency in parliament. over the past two weeks you've seen the president taking away some of the powers of the military and pushing aside two of the top military officials. this is a very interesting period where the muslim brotherhood is under the spotlight. is it doing too much? is it trying to islamasize society. it has to prove its credentials in the eyes of the west.

jenna: tba as to whether the country is going more islamist versus another destiny. >> exactly. the issue of women's rights. minority rights particularly among the 10% christian population. these will be critical issues as egypt writes a new constitution. we all tend to focus on election -gs as determinative of what the new order will look like when it's really the constitution and laws that are created. jenna: something we'll continue to watch. egypt one of our great alleys at one time in the region a wondering what our relationship will look like in the future. thank you for the time today. always nice to have you. >> thank you. jon: still ahead dan springer is on the scene in california with the latest on a massive wildfire there. dan. >> reporter: yeah, jon it's a critical day as the winds have picked up and really an important day for this massive wildfire fight in northern california. i'll have that story coming up. at usaa, we believe honor is not

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jenna: massive wildfire in california threatening thousands of homes there, burning at the edge of three small towns. the ponderosa fire just one of many burning out west as weather conditions drive a early start unfortunately for the fire season. dan springer is in california with more. dan? >> reporter: jenna, you look at faces of and language of firefighters out here and the word that comes to mind

is weary. this has been going continuously ever since the deadly fires in colorado in the spring. as for the ponderosa fire, it is a critical day. we're under a red flag warning. hot, dry, wind out of the south expected to hit 35 miles an hour. the fire has destroid seven homes and threatening 3500 more and charred 31 square miles. the firefighting attack has been beefed up like you a rarely see. three days of at fire was sparked by lightning, there are now 1900 crews battling. >> this fire's path is directly headed toward many of these homes. so our number one goll to get them out and get our firefighters in to put this fire out. >> reporter: so far, 35% contained. meantime a dozen other fires are burning elsewhere in california including a 73 square mile wildfire in the plumas national forest. that has been burning for over three weeks and is

threatening 900 homes. the biggest fires are burning in idaho, entire towns, featherville is one with, evacuated to the 140 square mile trinity ridge fire. there is major progress on a fire we were reporting on last week in central washington. the fire that burned 70 homes and rage on about a week is now almost fully contained. as you go around the western region of the country you see they are putting a lot of resources on high priorities like this one to stop the homes from being threatened. jenna. jenna: we'll continue watch this one in california. thank you. >> reporter: yep. jon: take you to illinois where major developments are underway in the drew peterson murder trial. the judge allowing a potentially powerful witness for the prosecution to take the stand. a former peterson coworker is expected to testify that peterson offered him $25,000

to hire a hit man to kill his third wife, kathleen savio, just months before she was found dead. what impact might this have have on the prosecution's case? we'll have a legal panel. lis wiehl, a familiar face and doug burns, also a attorney and prosecutor. the judge had to rule allowing the testimony in because the prosecution neglected to list this witness before the trial? >> exactlyly. did not put the witness on the witness list what defense and prosecution have to give each other. jon: discovery. >> discovery. that is okay the judge said. you discover things as prosecutor going forward that you don't know when you have the witness list. they discovered this witness, incredibly relevant to show, hey this guy was hired to murder. jon: because this guy, apparently drew peterson went to this guy and said hey, i will give you 25 grand if you bump up kathleen savio. a couple of months later,

kathleen savio, drowns, quote, unquote in the bathtub. >> no question it is relevant but hear is the problem. we have rule of evidence if the probe tiff value is substantially outweighed by the prejudice. lis is shaking her head. in such a close case where you have no forensic proof. look, quick editorial. drew peterson will not win any popularity contests but we're talking about a trial in a court of law. the point is very difficult case for the prosecutors. >> you made my point for me. exactly why you let the evidence in. you don't have forensics. let the circumstance evidence in and let the jury decide after that. >> it is interesting the fact he may have offered that supposedly, will go crazy, not technically probative whether he killed her. >> but probetive of his state of mind. that is the issue. you know that. jon: there has been another development just this morning in the case. mary case is her name, a pathologist, who apparently

testified, well, she was telling all the reasons why she didn't that the cut on the back of kathleen savio's head was sufficient to have killed her, or at least to have knocked her unconscious in the bathtub where she ultimately would drown. all she did this person was apparently name some other pathologists also not on the witness list. that is a major screw-up. >> it is a mistake for the prosecution. when you have your own witness on, not a lay witness, expert witness, you put that witness on you tell them this is what you can say and this is what you can't say. you can't mention other people on the list or not on the list. that was a mistake. it is not for a mistrial though, right doug? right doug? >> in my opinion the prosecutors are frustrated, lis, because they have a difficult case not to be a broken record. the amount of errors will make are in direct proportion having a difficult and frustrating case. hold on. the judge chastised them over and over again. >> right. >> i just told you don't do

this and they do it. >> the problem with your analysis, unless you have a smoking gun, fingerprint witnesses got everything, somebody that saw the murder happen. you don't have a case and that is not proof. >> put it a different way. are you ready? he may have offered somebody money. >> $25,000. >> clergyman said somebody told me you might be afraid. if i'm a juror, prove to me killed her. don't give me all the other stuff. >> brick on brick, mortar on mortar to build a circumstantial case. >> i understand your point. jon: here is my question. we don't know whether he will be convicted or not but with all the admonishments from the judge, you shouldn't have done that, you have to apologize to the jury for this, does it, speaking of brick on brick, does it become potential for an appeal based on many, many little mistakes? >> not an appeal necessarily but here is how it does damage the prosecution. if the judge is doing this in front of the jury. a lot of time the judge is sending jury out. if it happens in front of

the jury, jury goes in, doesn't like the defendant, the proszcution, the defense lawyer, who do they like, they like the judge. jon: doug? >> you make a good point. they took an interlocktory appeal on hearsay stuff in advance and got a ruling. the wind is taken out of the sails on that. an appearl during the case we don't have here in new york. be that as it may, jon's point with all the different admonishments you may have something on appeal. we'll see. >> if you get there. that means an conviction. >> old story if you worry too much about the court of appeals in the prosecutor you never get there. that is why they're pushing evidentiary envelopes. >> not envelopes. right evidence to get in. this is evidence. evidence, doug. jon: there is apparently disagreement among these pathologists, these medical experts as to whether the injuries kathleen savio supposedly suffered were

sufficient to cause her to slide into the bathtub where she apparently drowned. >> experts never win a case for you. they never do. jon: really? >> defense will have one expert or two experts or three and prosecution has the same amount. the jury has to sort through. >> lis, in a homicide case some experts saying she drowned and others saying it is accident. seems the tie goes to the defendant. >> i don't know, doug. they reopened case because they called it an accident. >> problem is on the grand jury. >> you made my point. thank you. jon: you see why the argument goes in this case here in the studio and elsewhere. we'll continue to keep an eye on it. lis wiehl, doug burns. >> thank you. jenna: they make a pretty good team. take the act on the road, two of them. how paul ryan is changing the white house race. why our next guest says no running mate has shaken up a presidential campaign in quite the same way ever, in history. it is all good for governor

romney according to "the weekly standard"'s fred barnes. he joins us next. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

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jenna: "happening now", weighing the ryan effect today. governor mitt romney's running mate paul ryan drawing big enthusiastic crowds today in the key swing state of pennsylvania. we showed you a little bit of that. our next guest says never before have we seen a vice-presidential pick shake up a presidential race in such a big way and it's good news for governor romney. fred barnes, executive editor of "the weekly standard." also a fox news contributor. so never ever, fred. why? >> there have been vice-presidential candidates like lyndon jobs in 1ed60 who helped the presidential candidate. this is something different here. ryan shook up the very nature of the race. he cops with a plan for dealing with the debt and economic crisis. a plan for reforming

medicare. ideas about reducing the size of government and those have been mostly adopted by mitt romney, a guy we thought was cautious. now he is, now romney's the bold candidate, he is the change candidate and president obama, who doesn't have a plan for these things, he just wants to defend the status quo. he is the status quo candidate. and that is a big change. jenna: what do you think the risk is paul ryan may overshadow his presidential candidate he is working with? >> well, look he has for the last, what, nine days, that he has been the vice-presidential running mate he has overshadowed romney. but in the long run, in the long run of the campaign up until november, going into november that can't last i mean because the media, fox news and everybody else is going to really concentrate on the presidential candidate. that's mitt romney. jenna: you wrote an article on paul ryan. we're doing a segment on paul ryan. we're not really talking that much about mitt romney. how is that good for him? >> we're still in the paul

ryan era of the campaign. look, by the time we get to the republican convention next week and on thursday night when romney gives his big speech, accepting the nomination, i think from that point on romney will be in charge and he will be the most prominent but ryan will get more attention than the usual, that is usual for a vice-presidential running mate, no question about that. jenna: there are so many weeks ahead. so much can happen between now and then. we'll watch for that. question i have for you because we know strategy talked about, that the president and his campaign will take up paul ryan when it comes to women wish shoes, when comes to foreign policy. that will be the topic of debate for the vice-presidential debates. what is paul ryan's biggest weakness for the campaign overall? >> i think there will be a lot of people who don't like his plan. now most of those people, they don't like his plan for cushing medicare. they don't like his plan for reducing the growth in the government, reducing the size of government and

spending. those people will be very critical of him. the good news for paul ryan, they're mostly democrats. i think, independents, will i think tilt in favor of ryan's plans which are now romney's plans. i think he will help more than he can hurt. jenna: it was interesting. you quoted a paul ryan advisor in his article, what he had to say, the disarming thing is his, meaning paul ryan, sense of mission is greater than the sense of ambition. that is disconcerting to his critics that is coming from a ryan advisor. >> yeah. jenna: calls into question of american leadership, fred, overall and the choice ahead in front of americans. what do you think this pick says the reaction to the pick, says about what americans are seeking overall when it comes to who is leading the country? >> well, there is one word of what americans are seeking, and that is solutions. paul rye ryan has solutions. he has solutions for the problem of out of control medicare spending.

he has solutions for the debt crisis that is looming. he has solutions for the problem of government that has gotten too big. a lot of people aren't going to agree with those solutions but they are solutions and i think they will appeal to a majority of america and the weakness of the obama campaign is its lack of solutions. >> other side certainly says it has solutions too. we're all sitting here saying we look forward to those solutions hurrying up, right? we can't wait for the solutions to get here whatever they are when we're all out here waiting. fred, nice to have you as always. thank you for the time. look forward to having you back. >> thanks, jenna, for inviting me. jon: are you looking for something else to check off your summer travel list? we'll tell you where folks are flocking for an up-close look at these amazing creatures of the sea. >> whoa. >> that's a little one, guys. that is a little. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --

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jon: all right. speaking of you're never too old, a baseball legend, the rocket, roger clemens is ready to relaunch his career again. the seven-time cy young winner coming out of retirement to join the sugarland skeeters. clemens, who is now 50 years of age, will pitch this weekend. fans say they're excited. some are wondering if it is really just a publicity stunt. what do you think, jenna? jenna: i don't know. just sort of laughing listening to this. jon: clemens played more than 700 games, pitching for the yanks keys, red sox, blue jays and astros in a career that already spanned --. jenna: there is always hope for you. you wanted a sking career, you know? jon: i was a little league pitcher. i was great at eight years old. but that is where it ended. jenna: just for the love of the game. well there is quite a show right now off the coast of california. it has nothing to do with bass ball. rick actually knows what is

going on out there there. >> reporter: this is your next of the woods. jenna: it is. >> reporter: best whale watching season on record. from operators. we have pictures seem to back it up. blue whales. the world's largest animals putting on quite a show in dana point, california, getting up close an personal with tourists there. not bad. why are the whales in there in particular? they come for the food of course. apparently there is an abundance of criminal in the water around those parts -- kril. they are shrimp-like creatures. they could munch on whatever they like but why they choose krill i have no idea. humpbacks and orcas are there as well. only downside, a number of collisions with shipping vessels in san francisco bay. there is a push to change the shipping routes to reduce the collisions with the whales. we'll see what happens with

that. meantime some very excited people buying tickets for a whale-watching tour. jenna, getting their money's worth. jenna: have you ever seen that in person, rick? >> reporter: i have. i went whale watching in alaska. it is something. jenna: i always wanted to. the pictures are good. probably good to see in real life. >> reporter: you should go. jenna: maybe take the show. jon would be down for that. jon: "happening now". jenna: "happening now" is right. rick, thank you. he also gets to come. he is not left out. of course. jon: i did it off provincetown, massachusetts. it was great. jenna: you saw the whales? jon: yeah. the humpbacks are big in provincetown. magnificent animals. jenna: well, they always had the internet and blue m&ms, no tan ones with? what today's college freshmen know and do not know and what you probably packed for college that they actually do without. we'll give you a little cheat sheet if you will coming up.

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