top of the hour, i'm poppy harlow in new york. john berman clearly got the better assignment this week. >> that's right. i'm john berman in las vegas. just off the strip outside the wynn las vegas. inside that hotel behind me is first head-to-head matchups for the democrats running for president just two days from now. the final preparations under way

for the big show. tuesday night, 8:30 p.m. eastern time right here on cnn. brought you a live picture inside the ballroom of the wynn las vegas. we just learned you the lectern layout on that stij. hillary clinton will be center stage because she's out in front of the national polls. it gives her a 19-point lead over bernie sanders. vice president joe biden who is still deciding whether he wants to run, he currently sitting in thi second place at 13%. as we talk about the people we know will be there. their challenge tuesday is to differentiate themselves from hillary clinton to draw a contrast. that's what they say in the political business. this is what martin o'malley and bernie sanders had to say earlier today. >> from day one i opposed the

keystone pipeline, because i believe if you're serious about climate change you continue encourage the transportation of very dirty oil. that was my view from day one. tpp. i believe that our trade policies going way back, i voted against nafta, cafta, i believe they've been a disaster for our workers, people shut down here and move abroad. people have to contrast my consistency and my willingness to stand up to wall street corporations. >> secretary clinton's always quick for the military intervention. i believe that a no-fly zone right now is not advisable. and this is why. no-fly zones sound attract iive but no-fly zones have to be enforced. given that the russian military is over the skies there, this could lead to an escalation of cold war proportions because of an accident. i don't believe that's in the interests of the united states. there are many fights in this

world. not all are our fight. we have to stay engaged there, put bash against isis. rev up the diplomatic pressure to get russia to fight isis. >> jim acosta is inside the wynn ballroom. jim, you've been working all day to prepare the stage. show us around. >> that's right, john. a debate stage does not set itself, right? we've got a team of cnn people inside. they've been working hard all day all night getting this debate ready for tuesday night. the best debate of this presidential season. pu can see that the stage is almost set. two days in counting. the middle podium for former secretary of state hillary clinton. she's the obvious front-runner right now in this race. but a few moments ago, vermont senator bernie sanders has been giving her a run for her money making her feel the heat, feel the burn, you might say, as supporters might say in polls like places like new hampshire. but there are other candidates

up on this stage who have a lot to prove on tuesday night. you mentioned one, former governor martin o'malley, will be trying to differentiate himself from the other contenders but loin conchafinco and it is bernie sanders that has captured the progressive nature of the democratic party. much in the same way that barack obama did back in 2008. he likes to remind supporters that he opposed the iraq war in 2002. he's now saying hillary clinton voted in favor of that iraq war back in 2002. echoes, shades of that battle royale between barack obama and hillary clinton. but earlier today bernie sanders was asked whether or not he can put together that same coalition, capture that same lightning in a bottle that barack obama did back in 2008. here's what bernie sanders had to say to that. >> i think what ended up happening is the president, because he happens to be a very

decent guy, actually thought that he could sit down with the republican leadership and work out some fair compromises. the truth is, number one, they never had any intention to compromise, but number two, more importantly, you have to be prepared to mobilize people to take on these big money interests. but you were right. i think we can do it. that's what the bully pulpit is about. and that's what organizing efforts is about. >> now, one of the interesting aspects of this debate on tuesday night is the audience participation. and on the screen behind me cnn anchor don lemon will be standing beneath that. he'll be helping co-host the debate. he'll be fielding questions from facebook users who are chiming in on what to ask these candidates. that's an interesting aspect of this debate. as we've been saying all day, looming large over this entire debate, the x factor, if you will, is vice president joe biden. will he or won't he? will air force two suddenly start flying this way, flying

westward toward las vegas on tuesday night, a dramatic landing at mccarran international airport, the speeding motorcade over to the wynn hotel, biden with the aviator glasses put on as he walks in, will we see some kind of dramatic moment that we haven't seen in this campaign so far? that would be fascinating to watch. just unclear at this point. but you we can tell our viewers there's an extra debate podium waiting in the wings off stage just in case the vice president decides to join us. people are saying no comment, no updates on whether he's made a decision on running for president, john. >> jim acosta with a child scenario for fuus if the vice president does decide to come. but the big matchup, hillary clinton, the former secretary of state, versus vermont senator bernie sanders. mark preston and paul begala, democratic strategist, co-chair of a pro-hillary super pac.

a longtime adviser to president bill clinton. paul, you support hillary clinton. >> i do. >> no bones about that. i'll put you in the awkward position of giving advice to bernie sanders. good advice that he would want to hear. what does he do on this debate stage? >> he's succeeding, he's doing great. so stay in your game. don't get out of your game. one of the reasons he's succeeding is what he's not doing, he's not attacking hillary clinton. hillary is not attacking bernie. generally i love attacks. hillary has figured out a very high favorable. >> among democrats. >> who is deciding who the nominee is in the democratic party. bernie has not once attacked her. a few i disagree with the issue. good lord, you ought to be able to do that. but he needs to connect his populist economic message up with an audience that wants to hear it. but if he's drawn in, into like, oh, the standard -- the stuff we

saw in the republican debate where they were just really going at each other, it's not going to go well. he won't do that. he's a very talented debater. >> he may not go right after her, but of all the weekends in the political year, that campaign chose to release his speech in 2002 opposed to the invasion of iraq. clearly timed to draw a contrast to hillary clinton who supported the war just days before the debate. >> right. and look, for bernie sanders, i think paul's right. it is not in his nature to go after hillary clinton. i think he's going to have to go after hillary clinton, though, to some extent. it won't be as personal as we saw what donald trump did in the republican debate. but a lot lies on martin o'malley as well. he puts up or he shuts up after this debate. he's been very critical of hillary clinton. and martin o'malley is going to have to to -- he's been attacking her, as paul knows, he's been attacking her in the press. he'll now be standing next to her. martin o'malley has to make a move. >> how do you prepare for guys like martin o'malley, jim webb

and lincoln chafee who have nothing to lose. they have to go out of here with something. >> they could attack bernie sanders because that's the non-hillary vote that bernie is really gathering successfully. i don't think that's a good strategy. o'malley has hinted -- not hinted, he's been attacking hillary on the stump, which is his right. if he doesn't in the debate, he'll look like a wuss. >> like tim pawlenty. >> went down the last cycle from attacking mitt romney. >> how does hillary clinton then prepare? what's going on behind closed doors in this debate prep when there's a certain amount of unpredi unpredictability? >> i can't coordinate with her campaign, as you know, because i run a super pac. i've been at a lot of debate preps, a lot. one side is practicing and someone playing say martin o'malley attacks her. and they're saying hit him back, hillary. don't take any guff off of this guy. i know hillary, she's tough and she's got a temper. they're saying show that. that's who you are, if you get angry, pop him.

the other side, no, no, the guy is below skim milk. he's not even 2%. don't give him a moment, for goodness sakes, hillary, just let it go. i have no idea what she does. my own advice would be, actually, let it go, even though some in the press would say that's phony because he clearly took a shot at her. you don't want to give a guy who is one point ahead of me in the polls. you don't want to give him the air time. >> last word, joe biden not in the room as far as we know. is his presence felt on the debate stage? how do candidates deal with him? >> there's no question it is. that's what's hanging over the wynn right now. what does joe biden do? we want to find out what direction he's going to go. if joe biden is going to get in the race, it's kind of disingenuous for him to get into the race after the debate to see how hillary clinton does. obviously a personal decision. if he does get into the race on wednesday, i don't know. >> paul begala, great to have you here. just two days to go until the

big debate on the stage behind me. we'll have much more from las vegas coming up. first, though, back to poppy harlow in new york. >> thank you very much, john. also to this very important story. reports from iran say that a verdict has been handed down in that country's espionage trial against "washington post" journalist jason rezaian. but what the verdict is and any possible sentence, those have not been publicly released. the lack of detail has added frustration and pain felt by his family and the u.s. government and, of course, his newspaper. they have been pushing for his release since his arrest in july of last year. brian stelter, host of cnn's "reliable sources" is with me. you've been on this story from the beginning. what's the family saying, what's "the washington post" saying? >> gut renching news to hear that there's apparently a verdict but then not be told what the verdict is. the other detail is rezaian and his lawyer have 20 days to

appeal. so what would they appeal if it was not a sentence to keep him in jail even longer. he said this trial has been a sham. this is what he said. >> this remains a mystery to us, but i think it does underscore that what we're seeing unfolding here is a sham. for iran to say that there's been a verdict but that it's not final simply suggests again that this is not a matter for the courts. it's a matter that's being decided in the political spheres in iran. this suggests once again that jason is not really a prisoner. he's a bargaining chip being used by the iranian government to extract some concessions from the u.s. >> that was a few hours ago. i just checked in with poppy, with the post, they say according to their best information jason rezaian's lawyer hasn't been told any information with the verdict. which means their client, jason, has not either. essentially this reporter who should be able to be covering iran today is still in the, da about his own future. >> who is a u.s. citizen and

iranian citizen. >> that's important because in iran's eyes he is not an american but in the u.s.' eyes he is. >> this week we surpass that 444 day mark which is how long the u.s. hostages were held in iran. >> we've heard republican candidates for president like mike huckabee say he's a hostage. we've heard commentators and journalists use the word "hostage." the obama administration has not gone that far but you hear every passing week and month, the disgust from the "post" editors and from the obama administration officials who to their credit have been trying to keep this story in the news, trying to keep attention on this case. we've heard president obama repeatedly say that the government is working diligently for this man's release but for now we don't know what his status is. >> not the only american being held in iran. we'll keep on it.

brian stelter, thank you very much. accusations from an american staff member on the benghazi select committee who says that they're carrying out a bipartisan investigation. and that hillary clinton is the target. an exclusive next. it's more than a network and the cloud. it's reliable uptime. and multi-layered security. it's how you stay connected to each other and to your customers. with centurylink you get advanced technology solutions, including an industry leading broadband network, and cloud and hosting services - all with dedicated, responsive support. with centurylink as your trusted technology partner, you're free to focus on growing your business. centurylink. your link to what's next.

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hillary clinton testifies before the house select committee on benghazi 11 days from now despite calls that the panel be shut down completely. those follow the fact that this investigator was fired by the committee and alleges now that it has become a political witch hunt aimed at derailing clinton's presidential campaign. the committee chairman trey gowdy vehemently denies that and says that the staffer was fired for cause. the committee issued a statement saying that the record makes it clear not only did he mishandle classified information, he himself is focused on clinton improperly and was instructed to stop and that issues with huz conduct were noted on the record

as far back as april. in an exclusive television interview cnn chief washington correspondent jake tapper spoke to the fired investigator to get his side of the story. >> it was a terrorist attack overseas that caught the nation off guard. september 11th, 2012, militants stormed the u.s. mission in benghazi libya and a nearby annex killing four americans including ambassador chris stevens. >> the house of representatives constituted this committee and they did so for us to find all of the facts. and i intend to do that. >> reporter: republicans determined to investigate established a new house select committee to focus on how it all happened and what happened after. the select committee on benghazi. but this man says that committee's mission has changed and is now focused solely on how to put blame on former secretary of state hillary clinton which is committee's republican chairman trey gowdy has repeatedly denied.

>> i'm scared. i'm going up against powerful people in washington. i was fired for trying to conduct an objective nonpartisan thorough investigation. >> reporter: major bradley podliska was an investigator on the committee for nine months before being fired in june. the air force reserve intelligence officer is planning a lawsuit against the committee. he says he was dismissed in part because of the time commitment required by his duty as a major in the air force reserve but also he says for resisting pressure to focus his investigation on hillary clinton and her state department. >> this has become a partisan investigation. i do not know the reason for the hyperfocus on hillary clinton. >> reporter: podliska is a republican. >> i would like to state that i'm going to vote for the republican nominee in 2016. i do not support hillary clinton for president. >> reporter: he believes the democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton has much to answer for. >> republicans are going to listen to you and thing, oh, this is some liberal trying to

get hillary clinton off the hook. liberals are going to hear you and say, oh, look, see, he's exonerating hillary clinton. this committee is all political and hillary has nothing to explain. what's your message to these partisans? >> i'm trying to be objective about this. as i stated hillary clinton has a lot of explaining to do. we, however, do not need to shift resources to hyperfocus on hillary clinton. we didn't need to de-emphasize and in some cases drop the investigation on different agencies, different organizations and different individuals. >> we were misled -- >> reporter: clinton has faced intense questioning from congress on the state department in benghazi. >> as i have said many times, i take responsibility. >> reporter: republicans have accused her state department of denying requests for additional security at the u.s. mission before the attack and for being slow to acknowledge it was a terrorist attack. >> the fact is we had four dead americans. was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided

they'd go kill some americans? what difference at this point does it make? >> reporter: the committee has called a string of clinton's former state department aides to testify. several investigations have detailed the many failures of the obama administration in protecting americans in libya and in their explanations after the fact. the democrats are now calling for the house committee to be disbanded after kevin mccarthy touted the committee's role in hurting clinton's poll numbers. >> everybody thought hillary clinton was unbeatable, right? but we put together a benghazi special committee, a select committee. what are her numbers today? her numbers are dropping. >> reporter: did he accidentally tell the truth about the committee, that in recent months its focus has been on trying to bring hillary clinton's poll numbers down? >> yes, i think it was a slip of the tongue. now, as i explained earlier, his reasoning is wrong. i honestly do not believe this investigation was set up to go after hillary. i believe it shifted that way. >> reporter: podliska says his

problems began in march when he told his bosses on the committee that he needed time off to serve in the air force reserves. >> i said, gentleman, i'm obligated to serve the air force reserve for 39 days this year. my active duty supervisor wants me to report for an exercise in march for two weeks. so i'll be going on that exercise. and also in may. they need me to report to backfield for some people. >> reporter: and what was the response of the committee staff director when you told them that you had to go honor this obligation to the air force reserve? >> his response was one word and that word was "wow." lower case, no punctuation, nothing. and honestly, i was horrified by it. i knew that he was upset. >> reporter: in a statement to cnn the house committee said it, quote, vigorously denies all of his allegations. podliska, the committee says, was terminated in part because he himself manifested improper partialialty and animus in his investigative work. the committee went on the say that podliska has continued to

imagine a variety of new outlandish never previously mentioned allegations since his departure including that his supervisors somehow manifested an anti-military animus toward him. podliska dismisses those accusations and says the reasons for his termination were clear. the house committee on benghazi did not want someone with air force reserve obligations and they did not want someone foulkousing on the cia, on the pentagon, on the white house or anywhere else except for hillary clinton and her state department. do you think that the results of the committee based on what you saw will be fair, comprehensive, thorough, professional, honest? >> no. it's not possible. the victims' families are not going to get the truth. and that's the most unfortunate thing about this. and i know this because the nine months of research i had done is now lost. i have no idea where it is. and i know that i could give those victims' families a pretty thorough explanation of why they were told that this attack was

due to a video. >> reporter: jake tapper, cnn, washington. jake, thank you very much. in the next hour we'll look at the broader impact of that former staffer's claims with our political insiders. also ahead a look at the biggest obstacle that hillary clinton faces on tuesday night in the cnn debate. but first, anthony bourdain. so it's been a week of martial arts madness. and between the okinawan sumo and karate, there's really no part of my body that doesn't hurt. i've learned something. okinawa is nothing like the japan i know at all. everything is different here. >> happiness is number one. >> happiness first? >> yes. >> it's laid back. it's mellow. the food is completely different. people are expressive and open and tell you what they think.

what is the literal translation of that? >> once we meet, we are family. >> once we meet, we are family. oh, thank you. it's all very, very, very confusing. also this pork. delicious, delicious pork and lots of it. >> anthony bourdain, parts unknown is brought to you by expedia. connecting you to the people and places that matter. this trip, you didn't know we had over 11,000 local activities listed on our app. or that you could book them right from your phone. a few weeks ago, you still didn't know if you were gonna go. now the only thing you don't know, is why it took you so long to come here. expedia. technology that connects you to the people and places that matter.

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continued violence and unrest in the middle east today led to the death of a 13-year-old palestinian boy. the palestinian ministry of health reports the boy was shot in the west bank by a rubber-coated bullet during clashes with israeli forces. an increase in these clashes and several other violent attacks this weekend have prompted israel's prime minister to order more police reinforcements. cnn's ben wedeman is in jerusalem tonight. >> reporter: poppy, it could be a dangerous new twist in an already volatile mix. israeli police say a woman tried to ignite a gas cylinder in her car at a checkpoint on the outskirts of jerusalem. a potentially dangerous new escalation after a spate of stabbings. but it's not at all clear what actually happened. one eyewitness cnn spoke with

said it appeared there was something wrong with the woman's car and that police overreacted. israeli police say sunday evening an israeli arab man stabbed four israelis including a teenaged girl and female soldier north of tell leave. then on the west bank a 13-year-old palestinian boy died after being shot in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet during clashes with israeli forces according to the palestinian health ministry. the ministry also reported that more than 150 palestinians were injured, half by live fire in clashes across the west bank since early sunday. security in jerusalem has been dramatically ramped up. over the weekend israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu mobilized some 1600 border police officers to bolster security. after their regular sunday morning cabinet meeting, he blasted hamas, the palestinian authority and the islamic

movement in israel for what he called systematic and mendacious incitement regarding the temple mount, a similar charge leveled by plo executive committee member hanan ashrawi. she accused israel of provoking violence and creating a situation of instability and crisis as a cover to exercise control over the al aqsa mosque. a majority of israelis feel netanyahu is being too soft, with 73% either dissatisfied or strongly dissatisfied with the prime minister's handling of the crisis. a crisis that appears far from over. poppy? >> ben wedeman tonight in jerusalem for us. thank you very much. also an update, doctors without borders says it has not officially received any details of a compensation package announced by the pentagon for an

air strike against its hospital haas weekend. the united states said it would make condolence payments to the wounded victims and their families. 22 people were killed in ta attack in kunduz, afghanistan. doctors without borders said in a statement, the offer of compensation at this stage cannot preempt the rumt of present and future investigations nor preclude any further claims or rights of those affected by the u.s. air strike. the yup algroup also rejected ar to accept facility repairs. saying their policy is not to take money from any entity so they can remain independent. they get their first truly national audience on tuesday night in their first debate in las vegas. for three candidates in particular, it's their time to possibly move up in the polls. up next, we take you to las vegas and take a look at their need for a very memorable moment.

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in two days the most talked about show on the las vegas strip will be the democratic presidential debate which you can watch only right here on cnn. you see them getting the stage all set. the podium's up. cnn's john berman is there outside the wynn, las vegas. quite a show, john. >> quite a show indeed. wayne newton's got nothing on this. i'm sitting here with david chalian and we're talking about what the candidates need to do, the crucial decisions that they need to make coming into this debate. bernie sanders says he's been the consistent candidate when it comes to issues like trade and standing up for the middle class. what does hillary clinton do about that? does she take on bernie sanders? that might not be her big es challenge according to david chalian who has three big things to watch for in this debate.

you thing the first thing is hillary clinton dealing with being hillary clinton. >> yes, clinton versus clinton. she's her toughest competitor. and this is what i mean by that. obviously, with the e-mail controversy or her recent moves on positions, it's less about, i think, for her, what others may bring to attack her on the stage and more how she takes this moment to explain those things. and we've seen her employing this strategy over the last month, we're seen her do a ton more interviews than in first five months of her campaign. and i think that she is trying to work out how she's going to answer certain of these questions that are potential vulnerabilities. when you look back at her debate history in 2008 there was that illegal immigrants, driver's licenses for illegal immigrants question that she flubbed in that 2007 debate. and she did it to herself. that's what she has to guard against, i think, coming into this debate tuesday. >> there was a tile when a lot of people said this debate would be just about hillary clinton, but that's changed now. bernie sanders is on this stage

doing very well in some states. what are his objectives? >> this is sanders' big moment, i really do believe. because as you noted before, probably the biggest introduction he'll have to the american public that he's ever had in his entire career. he has to go from a guy who has had huge crowds at his events to a guy that can transform that into a credible presidential contender so that not just the age it althater but somebody that people can start seeing sitting in the oval office. a big moment on tuesday night is to come through as not just the guy that gets the big crowds but nothing more. >> but the wild cards, fascinating, these three other candidates on stage. >> listen, you've got o'malley, chafee and webb. and they have to have a moment here. because they've got to prove whether or not they're going to be in the next debate. they are so far behind in the

polls, they are so far back in fund-raising, they're not really in the same league as sanders and clinton right now. this is their moment to say to democrats, hey, i belong in this conversation going forward. i've got something to offer here. either with a very stark contrast against the other two or just by bringing their message to the stage that they're bringing something different to the debate. and i think if they don't have a moment that translates that way, i think they're just in danger of disappearing from the race entirely. >> if they don't have a big today, there is no tomorrow. david chalian, great to have you here with us. fascinating outlook. nevada voters, what do they want to hear from the candidates? the people in this state will play a huge role in electing the next president. just might be the one.

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las vegas, nevada, this is the site of the very first democratic presidential debate of this election cycle. a crucial moment for five democratic candidates who will face off on a stage in the wynn

las vegas right behind me right now tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. eastern time. but not only is nevada the site of that debate, it also could be a crucial state. it will play a huge role in the primary and caucus process very early in the election season. i'm now joined by a man who knows more about nevada politics than any human being alive. a political celebrity. i am star struck, in fact. john ralston is the host of the show on pbs "ralston live." he's correctly predicted every event in nevada in history. >> how do i live up to this? >> nevada is an early voting state. third state for the democrats after iowa and new hampshire. for the republicans it comes right after south carolina. it will be crucial. how is it different particularly for the democrats? how is it different than iowa and new hampshire?

>> of course, we're a much more demographically difbers state, right? iowa and new hampshire are superwhite states. a completely different system. iowa is a caucus, nevada's a cauc caucus. that's the only similarity. the latino vote here will be huge. a huge percentage of the democratic vote which is what hillary clinton knew and why she got some infrastructure built up here among latinos with some latino leaders helping organize her campaign. she has a huge headstart in the democratic race. >> of course, that's quite intentional. new hampshire she's trailing in the polls to bernie sanders. iowa getting very, very close. so if things don't go great in iowa and new hampshire, she comes here to nevada and do you think she's built that wall of protection? >> i think that was her strategy all along. i think it was the e-mail server problems or the front-runner starts to run high and starts to come back, she knew she needed some kind of firewall. that's why she built this infrastructure early.

bernie sanders has been invisible in this state with any kind of organization until yesterday when he had his first organizational meeting. they're now trying to get going. but he'll have the same populous appeal as he does elsewhere. but it's an intense organizing effort. he's getting a late start. most people are saying what's this guy talking about, it's only october 11th. you've got to get started ea ee. >> he's got union support. is that enough to help him. in culinary endorsement which represents the workers in the hotel behind us, they've not made an endorsement yet. he endorsed obama in 2008 and it was important for him. even though he lost the state by a small amount, it meant a lot to him. they stay out of it. hillary clinton has appeared before them. martin o'malley will try to make some kind of statement in the

debate. he's been nowhere and has appeared before the culinary at the trum tower. >> there is a trump hotel looming over the democratic debate. so let's talk about the republican race for a second right now. is this trump wave that's hit so much of country, he's ahead in the national poll, ahead in iowa and new hampshire, the same support? nevada? >> he was here and gave a speech across the street at the treasure island. he was received with a kind of a cult fervor the way he is everywhere. it wasn't as big of an event. 1600 people. the problem with polling in nevada, it's difficult to poll because it's a caucus state. we're a weird animal 24/7 town all of that. does trump have support here? absolutely. but his campaign doesn't have a presence here.

marco rubio just finished up yesterday a three-day visit to nevada. he's been here more days than any other candidate. rubio also was having a firewall strategy in nevada appealing to the latino population, getting organized with the mormon vote which is very, very big here in nevada especially in a low turnout caucus. >> great to have you here with us. great to meet you in person. look forward to talking to you as this week goes on. as the campaign goes on. nevada matters all the way to november 2016. >> keep saying that. >> it does matter. poppy? >> berman, we'll keep saying that. how much money have you won there yet? >> $170. the craps table. true story. >> better than i would do, my friend. we'll be back to john live in las vegas in a moment. but you know hillary clinton, you know bernie sanders, but the other three people running for president on the democratic side, we'll tell you a little bit more about them including

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♪ we are just two days away from the first democratic debate. those five candidates will take the stage and try to convince you they should be the next president. and even though hillary clinton and bernie sand issers have gone the lion's share of the attention so far, three other candidates really desperately want to make a splash. >> chances are you know her. and you know him. but do you know them. martin o'malley, chafy and jim webb. they don't always make the campaign headlines. but all three will share the

stage with hillary clinton and bernie sanders come tuesday night. >> weather vanes tend to shift in the wind. i know where i stand. >> let's start with martin o'malley. the married father of four born in washington, d.c. was tailor made for a career in politics. at only 20, he left college briefly to work on the presidential campaign of colorado senator gary hart. by 28, was ready for office himself, winning a seat on the baltimore city council. from there, his political aspirations grew. first, mayor of baltimore, then governor of maryland. ♪ but here's something you probably didn't know about martin o'malley. he's front man of a rock band. and he even used his guitar skills to tease his presidential bid. on the issues, gun control, o'malley wants stronger expanded background checks and assault weapons ban, plus a limit on the size of gun magazines. on immigration, he supports a path to citizenship.

and on climate change, o'malley says it is real and a real threat. he wants stronger regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. >> lincoln chafy, the one time republican u.s. senator independent governor of rhode island just announced he is running. >> next, lincoln chafy, u.s. senator from rhode island. he was a republican then but became an independent in 2007. but he runs to run as a democrat. chaffee likes obama care but would push for even more americans to be fully covered. on eyes else euisis, he is agai the ground. he was the only senate republican to vote against war in iraq in 2002. on social issues, he supports is a woman's rights to choose to

have an abortion and supports same-sex marriage. >> i am unbought and i am unbossed. >> and jim webb, a highly decorated marine veteran, former u.s. senator from virginia, author, teacher, husband, and father of six. on the issues, climbed change webb wants to limit the environmental protection agency's power to regulate emissions and supports keystone pipeline and energy expansion. immigration reform, he wants a path to citizenship but the border must be secured first. prison reform, more focus on treating mental illness and drug addiction, and would push for more dialogue on ways to reduce the high rate of incarceration among minorities. >> stay with us. at the top of the hour, we are live from las vegas ahead of the first democratic presidential debate. you won't want to miss this. we'll be right back. let me talk to you about retirement. a 401(k) is the most sound way to go.

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we figure you probably don't have time to wait on hold. that's why at xfinity we're hard at work, building new apps like this one that lets you choose a time for us to call you. so instead of waiting on hold, we'll call you when things are just as wonderful... [phone ringing] but a little less crazy. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. it is 3:00 p.m. where john berman is in las vegas. i'm poppy harlow in new york. >> reporter: as poppy just leaked, i am john berman in las vegas on the v