things are just getting started right now. here on the strip, the cnn debate is the biggest show in town. so take that, britney spears. the candidates making their final preparations for this high stakes showdown as are we, let's go inside the ball room, inside the debate hall and bring in cnn's jim acosta who has been working all night, putting up the chairs, setting up the lecterns. >> all night. that's right. it's a tough job but somebody has to do it. >> debate stages, they don't set up themselves. we've had cnn crews literally working around the clock over the past 48 hours. we are one day and counting until the first democratic presidential debate of the seas. hillary clinton is the front-runner. to her right, bernie sanders.

he's been doing well in the polls in places like new hampshire. it's somebody she'll have to worry about for the foreseeable future. former maryland governor, martin o'mall o'malley, lincoln chafee and jim webb. the x-factor in all of this is joe biden. the vice president is said to have been up in delaware over the weekend trying to determine whether or not he wants to run for president. no ig doeses have been made, according to his spokespeople. debbie wasserman schultz said on state of the union yesterday, if he decides to fly in at the last minute, he'll be more than welcome. >> he has been carefully considering whether he wants to run for president of the united states and, of course, in the democratic primary we would always have room and welcome the

sitting vice president. >> now, just to run down where things stand right now in the latest polls, we have new polling from cnn orc in terms of where the race stands at this point. and the first poll we want to show you, which candidate has the best chance to win? there's hillary clinton way out in front right now, her race to lose, 59% for hillary clinton, 18% for joe biden, that's if he gets into the race and 17% for bernie sanders. who of you decided to support at this point? have you decided on somebody to support? that's the other key number we're showing this morning. look at this, decided to support definitely 30%, still deciding, 58%. so that leaves a lot of leeway for these candidates on stage. might give an opportunity to somebody like martin o'malley who will be looking for a make or break moment on tuesday night. just to show you how we have prepped everything for the cnn debate just in case vice president biden decides to show

up, let's show you one thing perhaps you haven't seen yet, there it is, the extra podium. the extra podium just in case vice president biden decides to show up. here it is. it's been waiting in the wings. just in case air force two flies into las vegas right at the last minute and the motorcade speeds over here to the wynn hotel. >> i'm sure they'll have a space at mccarron airport. nice to know they have a podium. hopefully will ab justed for his height. >> it looks small from this angle. >> it will be fully prepped. one of the topics we know will likely be a hot topic is benghazi. in an exclusive interview with cnn, a former investigator for the house benghazi committee accused the republican-led panel of what amounts to a partisan witch hunt, going out of its way to focus on former secretary of state hillary clinton. brad podliska spoke to cnn's

jake tapper. take a listen. >> in your insider view, did the house majority staff on the house benghazi committee use this committee for political gain. >> i would state this has become a partisan investigation. i do not know the reason for that. i do not know the reason for that. >> they will listen to you and think this is some liberal trying to get hillary clinton off the hook. liberals will hear you and say, look, see, he's exonerating hillary clinton and this committee is all political and hillary has nothing to explain. what's your message to these partisans? >> 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 or in some cases drop the investigation on differenting as, different organizes and different individuals. >> 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 victim's families are not going to get the truth. that's the most unfortunate thing about this. i no he this because the nine months of research i have done is now lost. i have no idea where it is. i know i could give those victims' families, a pretty thorough explanation of why they were told this attack was due to a video. >> why are you coming forward? >> i'm going to be honest with you, jake. i'm scared. i'm nervous. i know that this is, you know, i'm going up against powerful people in washington. but at the end of the day, i need to live with myself. >> what do you say to any viewers out there who think that you might have an ax to grind, that you're only talking because you were fired? >> i have a conscience. there's wrongdoing here. i think it needs to stop. i do not want the investigation to end. i want the investigation to be refocused back to its original purpose. the victims' families are owed the truth. as it stands now, they're not going to get the truth.

>> the house committee denies the allegations. he said, because i do not know him and do not recall ever speaking to him, i can say for certain he was never instructed by me to focus on clinton nor would he be a credible person to speak on my behalf. we have a lot to talk about now. here to break down what to watch ahead of tomorrow's cnn debate, cnn national political reporter maeve reston, jeff zeleny and senior cnn political analyst and editorial director of "the national journal" ron brownstein. great to have all of you with us this morning. let's start with hot off the presses poll numbers. these came out six minutes ago. let's start in nevada. jeff, al start with you. let's look at the numbers. these are democrats choices for who they would like to vote for. the numbers for clinton are impressive. she gets 50% of those democrats in nevada, sanders 34%, biden if

he chooses to get in, 12%. what do you see here in these numbers? >> there's no question that hillary clinton is doing very well in nevada. we don't talk about nevada a lot but it is an important, important state. it comes directly after new hampshire. in this series of first for voting states. right now she's doing very well. if joe biden decides to stay out, she does even better, goes up to 70%. i'm sorry, up to 58% and bernie sanders is at 36%. look, she's in command of this race. the nevada electorate is interesting. hispanic voters very important. it's a key battleground in the general election here. nevada is an important state for her. so far, she's doing very well. >> john, you want to take the next one? >> i mean, it's also a key organizing state. people here in nevada effectively say that hillary clinton is here and she is organizing. no one else is just yet. that's one reason she's doing so well. look, we're standing in front of

the wynn las vegas where that debate hall, the chairs are being set up right now. hillary clinton, you can see her lead in nevada, see it in south carolina and nationally as well. maeve, what do you think she needs to do in here? because she is the front-runner. you want to maintain that air ever authority but you don't want to seem like you're not acknowledging the existence of the other people on the stage. >> it's been fascinating watching her creating distance with president obama on various positions, coming out the way she did on trade so that she doesn't have to get up there on the debate stage and be in a weaker position than bernie sanders on that score. so, i mean, she does finally seem to be moving the conversation on to the actual issues beyond her e-mails a little bit. but she really has to get up there and show people obviously that she's trustworthy, that she's not -- you know, the sense among voters that you talk to, just the political animal that's been shifting positions and

she's got to show fire and passion and really get people excited again. that's not what you're seeing on the ground. >> we have numbers on being honest and trustworthy if we can put those up right now in nevada and south carolina, hillary clinton versus bernie sanders and joe biden. we ask voters who do you think is the most honest and trustworthy? among democratic voters, ron, she does fine. >> yes. >> sanders edging her out just a little bit in nevada. up in front, being honest and trustworthy. in south carolina, some of the democratic electorate, that's not her biggest problem. >> no. >> we talk about bernie sanders, martin o'malley, the possibility of joe biden, is it really hillary clinton against hillary clinton? >> i believe it is hillary clinton against hillary clinton fundamentally in the debate and the race at this point. these two polls are an iowa check. iowa and new hampshire are anomalous, both 59% white states. one-third of all democratic primary voters in 2008, the last time we had a competitive race

between president obama and hillary clinton were minority voters. today, hillary clinton is dominant among those voters. you see the numbers here in south carolina, we assume the numbers here in nevada. she's in a very strong -- until bernie sanders proves he can crack into that minority support and/or joe biden comes in and fractures that minority support, it is very difficult to see how anybody gets past her on their own terms. the issue really is not so much do a majority of democrats prefer bernie sanders to hillary clinton, it's whether a majority of democrats conclude that hillary clinton is or is not a strong, viable, general election candidate given the incoming she's taken over the next several weeks, i think. >> let's move on to the benghazi issue and everything that came out with the former investigator for the house select committee saying he does believe this is now a partisan job and that they have focused on hillary clinton to the exclusion of other people

and other agencies that may have been responsible for what happened in benghazi. what's been the reaction in washington, d.c. to this former investigator coming forward? >> alisyn, it was a bit of a bombshell. the committee, the benghazi committee has been working for about a year and a half on this. working largely in private but the focus has shifted over this time as we know to this private e-mail server. i think it's a reminder of what is actually at stake here, what the actual original issues were in this committee. and this individual who is speaking to -- with jake tapper this morning -- on sunday but we played this morning, he's a key person but republicans are trying to discredit him. republicans are saying, look, we don't know who this is. the reality is, this has questioned now the credibility of the committee and she, of course, is going to appear before this committee on october 22nd, just next week, finally, to testify before them. there's no question that there are so many questions and

skepticism hanging over this committee. i think it's pretty clear it needs to end pretty quickly here. it's been going on so, so long. >> do you expect any of the other candidates may have to bring up benghazi? i mean, bernie sanders was asked will you talk about benghazi and e-mails? essentially his answer was no, no and no. >> right. that's an issue that's working for the republicans. but it's certainly not something the other candidates want to be talking about. except to the point that, you know, o'malley and others would like her to look like a weak and vulnerable candidate. that works to their advantage. as we know, bernie sanders wants to talk about her iraq war vote. he wants to talk about labor issues. the areas where he's really going to win against her with democratic primary voters. >> this revelation coming out, especially right after the kevin mccarthy comments about the committee and diminishing her

poll numbers makes it tougher for the democratic rivals to bring it up in this context. >> yes. >> it puts a more partisan lens through the whole thing. the reality is those issues will not completely go away. the issues don't go away for the general election. her ability to answer the questions with the moderator may be one of the most important aspects of the debate. >> stick around. we want to talk to you later in the hour. tomorrow night, the democratic debate hosted by cnn and facebook, starting at 8:30 p.m. eastern. iranian tv reports that jason rezaian has been convicted. >> this is the revolutionary court and therefore, there really isn't very much in the way of transparency that would

be there. we do know jason rezaian has been convicted. we don't know whether or not he's been sentenced and if so, what exactly he's been sentenced to. we did find out there was a ruling in this case yesterday which was also announced on state tv, again, zero details as to what exactly that ruling was except that there is an appeals period of 20 days where this verdict can be appealed. it's also unclear, this is something that really annoys a lot of people, it's unclear whether or not jason rezaian himself knows about this verdict and whether or not he knows what exact loy the sentence is as well. at this point in time, there really is very little in the way of any sort of information that we're getting. the white house also saying they don't know exactly what the details are. so does jason's family, all of them, of course, are calling for more transparency in this case and saying he is innocent and should be released immediately. so very little in the way of details but certainly very big developments that have been going on, alisyn.

>> absolutely. still so many questions. thanks so much for that, fred. more breaking news to tell you about, it,ky investigating a pair of deadly explosions at a pro-kurdish rally in ankara. cnn's senior international correspondent arwa damon is live in ankara, turkey with the very latest. what do we know this morning? >> reporter: good morning. well, we're at one of the country's leading university campuses where students were demonstrating, just a short while ago, call for peace and demanding accountability for the government, blaming these attacks on the government. at the very least for its inability to safeguard and protect the population. most classes here have been canceled and the students say they are on strike for peace. right now we are hearing from the prime minister who has said that their main suspect in this is the terrorist organization isis. this attack carried out by two suicide bombers, isis not yet claiming responsibility but this really is a country struggling to come to terms with all that

it has lost. among the losses, students and others affiliated with this particular university. everyone understandably incredibly emotional. turkey has been struggling with terrorism, the government says, both on the front with the isis but also against the separatist group, the kurdistan workers par party. the turkish government said it launched multiple strikes against multiple various locations. this country in such turmoil at this stage both on the emotional level but great concerns about what it means for the nation's future stability. michaela? >> thanks so much for a look at the latest situation there, arwa. no letup as israeli border police say they shot and killed a knife-wielding palestinian who went on the attack, stabbing an israeli officer.

a defiant president obama disputing claims that russian president vladimir putin is challenging his leadership. president obama spoke to cbs's "60 minutes" about russia's recent military action in syria. >> if you think that running your economy into the ground and having to send troops in in order to prop up your only ally is leadership, then we've got a different definition of leadership. >> well, the president went on to address the broken syrian rebel training program. he also warned that the situation in the war-torn country is volatile and complicated. it said there's no silver bullet to easily solve the conflict. first time "snl" host amy schumer mocking what some call america's obsession with guns in a new unsettling parody video. take a look. >> guns. >> you like it? >> i love it. >> guns are there.

in little moments. and big ones. when things fall apart. or it all comes together, they unite us. comfort us. bring us joy. and strength. >> that mock psa comes on the heels of the oregon massacre. schumer vowed to push for more gun control after a deadly shooting during a screening of her film "train wreck" in july. a few people were killed in that theater shooting. she's being very emotional about the issue. >> she has. she's stuck to her promise. everybody vows to do something after there's a horrible tragedy and she has stuck to it. she's testified. she has banded together with her

cousin, chuck schumer. >> chuck schumer. >> and this just continues. if her medium of comedies. >> i feel like she's not going to take her foot off the accelerator, either. >> yes. should we head back to las vegas where you'll be heading shortly? >> john, give us the lay of the land. >> we are all set up for you, alisyn, 18 rooms ready for your arrival, counting down the hours until the critical democratic debate right here on cnn. how are these candidates going to approach each other on that stage? what wilbul burn -- bernie do? we'll talk about the strategy and the prep. we'll talk about it all, next.

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this is las vegas, nevada, the site of the very first democratic presidential debate. the cnn facebook presidential debate. it is tomorrow night at 8:30

p.m. eastern time. the very first time that all five democratic candidates will face off on the same stage at the same time. it is simply crucial for all of them to make it known that they are in this race for the long haul. hillary clinton, the front-runner, four other candidates on that stage. the first among them, bernie sanders right now. second in all the polls, leading in the state of new hampshire. what wilburn n n n ny -- will b sanders do? maeve reston joining us, cnn senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny and cnn's senior political analyst and editorial director of the "national adjournle with" ron brownstein. bernie sanders did something quite interesting this weekend. he released on this weekend, he released his iraq war speech from 2002 pointing out that he was against the invasion of iraq, hillary clinton was for the invasion of iraq. is this the type of contrast

that we should and can expect to see on the debate stage? >> yes, i think that's where he's comfortable and where he wants to go on issues. that's probably his strongest single contrast. the electorate has turned sharply against the iraq decision. the country overall, democrats have moved even more. the challenge for bernie sanders and martin o'malley, in the end it's hard to see even if democratic primary voters agree with them on some of the issues, that they can get over the top, past all of her entrenched advantages if they can't also raise doubts about her as a general election nominee. you can win the race on ideological compatibility. ultimately there has to be a practical of component of can she carry the banner? that is a place they don't yet seem to want to go. if they want to get past her, sooner or later they'll have to. >> maeve, remember a couple years ago when martin o'malley was seen as a real rising star

in the democratic party. why do you think he hasn't been able to get traction thus far? >> i mean, he's probably the one presidential candidate who's actually losing name recognition as he runs, which is really remarkable. he just has never caught fire. he's tried to take on hillary clinton in a more aggressive way but i think that people just don't see him as fitting -- being presidential material at this point. when you have someone like hillary clinton who, especially here in places like nevada, her ground game is just on already. it's very hard tore people to see how he could ever be, you know, a stronger nominee than she would be. >> jeff zeleny, you've been reporting on joe biden for months now. we saw the picture of the lectern inside the hotel behind us, that empty lectern set up for joe biden, it's like setting a place for elijah at passover. jeff, what is your reporting

telling you about the meetings, about the meals, about the consultations that happened at the biden house this weekend? >> john, he is still at his family house in wilmington, delaware, spending the weekend there. and having a series of conversations with his family. this isn't just one group discussion where you sort of summon everyone into the dining room and decide, okay, now we're going to talk about possibly running for president. this is something that's been on joe biden's mind for, oh, no know, maybe 40 years. i'm told the conversations are over, they're coming to an end. he knows what he wants to do. he knows what his plans are. it could come perhaps at the end of this week. i'm told a decision will not be announced before the debate. so we'll have to probably hold on to that podium. he could always surprise us. i'm told the decision will not be announced until after the debate. friends who talked to him, who have talked to him in recent days are left with the impression that he's leaning toward running. but this is such a personal family decision, we will not

know the firm answer until he actually says it. there could be someone inside the family saying, look, we don't want you to do this or we do want you to do this. it is very much a family decision. we are getting pretty much to the end of this. the reason is this, by the end of october, october 29th, that is the first deadline of any state, you have to send a letter to the georgia democratic party. he would have to be on the ballot there. georgia will be a key super tuesday state. that is why time is sort of running here. i believe we'll have a decision later this week. >> ron, let's talk about something that may come up at the debate, that's hillary clinton e-mails. last night on "60 minutes" president obama was asked whether he knew hillary clinton had a personal e-mail server. he said no. then he also went on to say all of this about it. >> she made a mistake. she's acknowledged it. i do think that the way it's been ginned up is, in part, because of politics. it is important for her to answer these questions to the

satisfaction of the american public and they can make their own judgment. i can tell you that this is not a situation in which america's national security was endangered. >> ron, what are we going to hear tomorrow night about this topic? >> well, you know, i think we've heard a lot from her already. i think the real challenge for her is, now that she's acknowledged it is a mistake and clearly in polls most americans believe it was a mistake and it's taken a big bite out of her views of honesty and integrity, her challenge is to make this one item in a ledger. once she's acknowledged this is a mistake. what can she do than try to convince people that is not the totality of who she is. i think she'll say, yes, i made a mistake, yes, let's move on. in a democratic primary context, that's easier than a general election context. if she becomes the nominee, that is ultimately her challenge. this is the no going away but it doesn't have to be the primary way in which people assess her.

it's clear in the polls the opposite is happening. in fact, for many voters, this is today the primary lens through which they are seeing her. >> thank you so much. what is your take? tweet us using #newdaycnn or post your comment on facebook.com/newday. always eager to see what you think, especially leading up to this, the big cnn debate, the democratic debate, the very first democratic debate here on cnn, hosted by cnn and facebook, 8:30 p.m. eastern time. that is tomorrow night. michaela? >> all right, john, thanks so much. russia ramping up air strikes in syria, propping up the regime of president assad. this as the u.s. tries to tear it down. how badly damaged is the relationship between the two super powers? and has the u.s. lost respect for the middle east? we'll take a look. technology empowers us to achieve more.

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hillary clinton enjoying big leads in two key states. a new poll gives clinton a 16-point margin over bernie sanders in nevada. that lead widens to 22 points

without biden in the race. tune in for the debate tomorrow night, 8:30 eastern, live on cnn. well, memphis police reeling from the shooting death of another officer, this is the fourth in four years. details are described as, quote, very, very sketchy but a relative of officer terrence aldridge told a local tv station he was on his way to work when he was shot in his car. one suspect is in custody, aldridge leaves behind a fiance who was four months pregnant. backlash over new reports that say a rookie police officer was justified in shooting dead a 12-year-old boy. tamir rice was gunned down last november. outside experts determined the patrolman who shot the boy exercised a, quote, reasonable use of force because tamir was

holding a pellet gun that looked look a real handgun. an attorney for the rice families says those experts are, quote, pro police. frightening video out of tampa bay, florida, this of a waterspout overtaking motorists crossing the bridge. there's a funnel cloud. it tore through the area and it lifted a big truck off the ground. it knocked it to its side sunday morning, perhaps you can see it again, because the truck sustained significant -- >> oh, my goodness. >> significant damage. the driver we're happy to report was not harmed. >> what a terrifying thing to encounter. >> i know. can you imagine? >> oh, my. to witness that. >> look at that. you think those 18-wheelers are so big and sturdy. >> not so much. mother nature is a much stronger force. president obama claims russia's military buildup in syria is a sign of weakness. russian air strikes are not only propping up the assad regime, they're also winning over hearst and minds in neighboring middle

east nations. is the u.s. losing influence in the nation? we'll look at that, ahead. looks like some folks have had it with their airline credit card miles. sometimes those seats cost a ridiculous number of miles... or there's a fee to use them.

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good to have you back with us here on "new day." questions being raised about the stability of the middle east. michael weiss is here, co-author "isis: inside the army of terror," of course, a cnn contributor and editor inside the daily beast. pointing to the fact that he believes it's going to take effort from inside syria and iraq to do this. do you agree with his assessment and solutions? >> yes, i do. the problem is, all the efforts we poured into both those countries seem to be failing or at least not meeting the objectives the president set out a year ago. let's take syria. the pentagon had a program name train and equip. the program is now defunct.

the reason it was defunct is of the two classes we sent into syria, tasked exclusively with fighting isis. these are revolutionaries that want to go after the assad regime. the second class gave 20% of its material to al qaeda or sold it to them. i did a lot of reporting on this. the brigade commander of that class was not trained by the united states. so we sent our guys, our proxies into the lands of agy that we sort of, kind of knew but not really. he went into the country, stole our stuff and gave it to terrorists. the cia program in syria, however, has been doing fairly well. this is a covert program. we know it exists. we done the know the full parameters of it. we're giving certain syrian rebels anti-tank missiles. they're now using the missiles against assad's forces. those forces are making a concerted push in central syria backed by russian air power. these guys are blowing up a lot of syrian tanks with this material.

so the two separate programs, both with different remits. i think this goes to the heart of the ambiguity and the schizophrenic nature of u.s. policy. what is it, to get rid of assad or fight isis or is it to do both? >> i want to ask you about the breaking news over the weekend in turkey. there were two horrible explosions at a peace rally, at least 95 people were killed. who did that? who was responsible? >> right now the best assessment is that it was probably isis. they haven't claimed formal credit although a lot of their affiliated social media counts are celebrating this attack. the problem with this is, apart from the atrocity itself, turkish politics is on the brink here. you know, the turkish government has been more interested inple booing pkk, that is to say the kurdish workers party. the kurds inside turkey, those

affiliated with the pkk have eye new political party that's doing very well in the polls. there's an election november 1st. they stand to do exceedingly well, to the point where they might help topple the government. >> is turkey retaliating against them for this instead of isis. >> turkish foreign policy sees everything through the politics of the kurdish question. inside turkey there's a large minority of kurdish nationalists who if they had their druthers would declare around independent state. they've been undergoing a peace process for about three years. it was one of the marked successings of kurdish foreign policy. a lot of the hdp, a lot of their deputies are saying we actually blame the government for this. maybe the government blew these guys up to as a way to disrupt the political process.

>> we look it afghanistan where it's a mess. we'll have to have you back to talk about that another time. >> sure. >> michael weiss, thank you, appreciate your expertise. up next, back to politics. we have a group of democratic voters in new hampshire and they sound off about important issues, including hillary clinton's e-mails. elizabeth, are you concerned about her e-mails? >> i think i am a little bit. i do feel the uneasiness. i think it needs time to be developed and get answers. i'm not sure if we will get answers about it. ♪ (vo) making the most out of every mile. that's why i got a subaru impreza. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

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digestive core.r so choose ultimate flora by renewlife. it has 30 billion probiotic cultures. feel lighter and more energized. ultimate flora. more power to your gut. does the hillary clinton e-mail controversy matter to democrats? in our next installment of real voters, real choices i talked to voters about that. we met them at the new hampshire institute of politics. i also asked who they will be watching tomorrow night at the

debate. let's talk about bernie sanders. because people support hillary and they feel loyal to hillary. but people feel passionately about bernie sanders. they feel the burn. jeremiah, what do you like about bernie sanders? >> well, because bernie is not accepting any money from super pacs or the billionaires, i know his entire campaign is influenced by us, the voters, to help him. and i don't feel that way with some other candidates that might be taking other money from other corporations. >> alejandro, you support hillary. do you feel she's in the pocket of big corporations? >> i don't think so. i looked very close to san doctors and i admire him very much. i respect him very much. but hillary clinton, what made me choose her is her experience. i believe she's very, very loyal to the voters, to the people, to the middle class and low-class

people in the united states. >> julia, what do you like about her? >> i agree with the experience component. that's a big issue for me. she also brings a subtleness and intellectual ability to look at an issue well-rounded and make a sound decision in these uncertain times. i feel a lot of trust in that with her. >> on the other side of the aisle we hear from republicans that part of why the outsiders this year, the donald the ben carsons are angry. are democrats as angry do you feel, mary? >> i don't think so, no. certainly, women, however, have a lot to be angry about in terms of the republican ticket. they would rather trust guns than women to make their own personal health decisions. >> show of hands, how many people are angry with politicians? why?

>> they're not there to serve us. they're there to serve their own needs and egos. that's another reason why i'm for bernie sanders. i feel that he's one of us. he walks to work. he rides coach. he talks to people. and i think that's part of the passion behind, you know, really feeling that for bernie sanders is that he's really trying to address the concerns of every american. >> mary, what do you like about martin o'malley? >> he's the only one running who has 16 years of executive experience as an elected person in maryland. 64% of the bills that he had passed were with republican support. he's very good at understanding and making the legislative system work as a leader. >> if bernie sanders is elected, if republicans control congress, how much of a difference can

bernie sanders make? >> you go to his rallies, as far as i'm seen the only person that says these are the things that i think we can do together but i alone, i can't do this. i need your help. >> elizabeth, you're on the fence. what are you waiting for? >> i think i'm waiting for more solid plans to come from both hillary and bernie. but what i see from hillary is a woman with so much experience who can get stuff done, who knows how to kind of like work the system and knows how it works and everything. when i look at bernie, i see someone with great ideas who's looking out for the youth and minorities that aren't as represented, i think, in our government. >> do you feel that enough questions have been answered about benghazi? >> the issue still being in the media, when i think about voting for hillary, specifically, i think in that moment she did her best to make decisions about the security that was necessary. i think it's tough to tell -- to say now and criticize now.

>> the problem is, everybody knew, even when she was secretary of state will be a presidential candidate to the united states. i think they begin to use it as a tool against her. >> what do you think about the treatment that hillary clinton gets? >> i'm a little uneasy about hillary. just because i think the baggage she carries, no matter whose fault it is, makes it very hard for her to be a viable presidential -- a successful, not viable, a successful presidential candidate. i'm concerned about the baggage very much. >> i think that hillary clinton puts herself in a position sometimes to make people more uneasy. and if she just was assertive, she had her campaign platform and she stuck with it, i think there would be more confidence in her. there was a time within i felt much more positive about her

than i do right now. >> are you concerned about her e-mails? >> i think i am a little bit. i feel the uneasiness. i think it needs more time to be developed and get more answers. i'm not sure if we will get answers about it. i think it's a complicated situation. >> do benghazi or her e-mails concern you? >> they don't. i was listening to everyone. she's experienced and worn so many different hats. it's almost as if it makes her job as a candidate so much harder. you could also argue that it makes her job as a leader so much easier. >> interesting conversations. >> it's always interesting to engage with the voters, particularly in new hampshire, john, as you know. they really are plugged in. they really are watching. there was only one on that panel who was on the fence, who's still undecided. this is more than a year out. she's waiting to watch the debates. >> we have polling that actually shows how undecided voters are right now. i think we can pull that up. i found this fascinating.

58% -- you would almost expect it, although you wouldn't know it from us, this is obviously in nevada. but still we're many, many days out until the election. and 58% of the electorate, at least in nevada are still saying -- still thinking about this. >> still decided is different than undecided. this election is not until february. i don't have to mike a final decision right now. when we polled people, if the election were held today, who would you vote for? that's what the polls are telling us. very different polls than what you are hearing in new hampshire, alisyn, people much more supportive of hillary clinton across the board on the issues. one of the reasons is nevada and south carolina look a lot different, a lot less white than new hampshire where you were. minority voters much more favorable to harrisburging had right now. >> it was also interesting to hear from the woman in the

front, on the left side of the panel, mary, she loves martin o'malley. she points out to all of us, you think this is going to be a battle between hillary clinton and bernie sanders. >> don't sleep. >> there's a moment where people can have their carly fiorina moment as it's called where one of the others could emerge and serve to impress people who previously didn't know who that person was. >> there are possibilities where that could happen. a lot of us are waiting to see how that will flush out tomorrow. >> for a guy like martin o'malley, what happens in vegas cannot stay in vegas. he has to do something on that stage behind me tomorrow night that will propel him into the conversation going forward. >> john, i can't wait to hear how many times you'll use that expression. >> he's living it. >> it's turning into a drinking game. john, stand by because we have a lot of news to cover this morning. let's get right to it.

final countdown to the first democratic debate. >> the stage is just about set. five podiums up on that stage. >> this race is really just beginning. >> when we stand together, there is nothing that can stop us. >> will joe biden run? >> pressure on a resistant ryan to run is growing and intense. >> i have enormous confidence it's the right man at the right moment. >> he knows he has to consider it. >> an exmossive charge sure to resonate on the campaign trail. >> victims' families are owed the truth. >> it was a bit of a bombshell. it's a reminder of what is actually at stake here. >> jason rezaian is convicted by an iranian court. >> the process has been shrouded in secrecy from the start. even the verdict is not clear. this is "new day" with chris cuomo, alisyn camerota and michaela pereira. >> good morning. and welcome back to "new day." john berman joins from us las vegas this morning where he has been up late, final preparations are under way for tomorrow

night's high stakes democratic debate hosted by cnn and facebook. hillary clinton and bernie sanders head lining, of course, the main event. >> check out this brand new poll just released this morning. this is a cnn/orc poll. it shows the former secretary of state opening a wide lead in two different states. she's supporting a 16-point lead over bernie sanders in nevada and without joe biden in that race, her lead widens to 22 points. look at the numbers in south carolina, another pivotal state. clinton leading biden by 25 points and topping sanders by 31 points there. without biden clinton's margin over sanders soars to 50 points. a lot to talk about this morning, john. >> a lot to talk about. a lot to see here in las vegas, alisyn and michaela. every once in a while someone walks by here, it's a reminder that we can't show you everything that happens in las vegas. it could be an equally wild night tomorrow night, perhaps

more appropriate, bernie sanders, martin o'malley, candidates that need to make a name for themselves, hillary clinton who needs to maintain her front-runner status. how will they go about it? i want to go inside the debate hall. cnn's jim acosta is there. we've been setting up all night, jim, set the stage, literally for us. >> reporter: okay, john, i'll do my best. the stage is almost set. we're one day and counting to the first democratic debate of this presidential season right here on cnn. you can see the podiums are set up behind me, the middle podium obviously for the front-runner, hillary clinton, the former secretary of state. you were talking about those polls just a few moments ago here in the state of nevada. we have a new cnn/orc poll. hillary clinton, she is the front-runner for a reason. she's way out in front. according to this poll, people who think she has the best chance to win, 59% in this poll, 18% for joe biden and 17% for bernie sanders. but a lot of people out there have not made up their minds. have you decided, we asked nevada voters.

definitely 30% leaning one way, 11% leaning one way, still deciding, a whopping 58% of voters. bernie sanders who will be standing to hillary clinton's right, he is giving her a run for her money. he's inspired the progressive base of the democratic party much in the same way barack obama did back in 2008. part of this is because of his opposition to the war in iraq. he's been talking about that in the last 24 hours, highlighting the fact that hillary clinton voted in favor of the iraq wrar. he's also talking about economic fairness issues. he talked about that yesterday on one of the sunday morning talk shows. here's what he had to say about that. >> what it's about is at a time when so few have so much and when the big money have so much political power, the real question is who is prepared to mobilize the american people, to stand up to these very powerful and wealthy special interests.

>> all right. you've heard the expression in case of emergency, break glass. well, in case of joe biden, we're breaking out podium number six. here it is right here if he decides at the last minute to join this debate. the debates rules are written as such. he can join this debate almost up until the last minute. all he has to do is declare on the day of the debate. the podium is on the floor. it's not on the stage. you have to be a candidate to have the podium on the stage. if air force two is fired up and starts heading in this direction, you'll have to let us know. as we've been showing our viewers all morning, there's plenty of space on this stage if the vice president decides to join us. >> just in case. we're on stand by. we're watching. we'll let you know if we hear either way. biden watch. >> no decision yet. that's right. >> exactly. thanks so much, jim. we'll get back to you in a moment in las vegas.

explosive allegations concerning the republican-led benghazi investigation. former staff eer bradley podlis now accuses the panel of a partisan investigation that targeted the former secretary of state. he spoke exclusively with jake tapper. >> what do you say to any viewers out there who think that you might have an ax to grind, that you're only talking because you were fired? >> i have a conscience. there's wrongdoing here. i think it needs to stop. i do not want the investigation to end. i want the investigation to be refocused back to its original purpose. the victims' families are owed the truth. 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. >> the house committee denies the allegations made by podliska.

in a statement, the chairman says of podliska, because i do not know him or recall ever speaking to him, i can say for certain he was never instructed by me to focus on clinton nor would he be a credible person to speak on my half. i'm equally confident his superviso supervisor, general chipman, did not direct him to focus on clinton. >> great to see you this morning. how vindicated does mrs. clinton feel by this revelation from this former investigator who believes that the investigation into benghazi, at least the house select committee's investigation, has basically become a partisan hitchup? >> i think it's certainly helpful to the case, something that many of us have known all along. in addition to the whistle-blower, i think you have to look at what majority leader mccarthy had to come on national

news and apologize. i think this was actually put in place because her polling numbers were extremely high. and to be able to think that republicans would use this committee to bring down her pollings, to have to apologize nationally for that gaffe and then to have a republican staffer come and say what he has said, i think it really allows the american people to take pause and understand while it's serious, yes, but what were the real intentions here? >> what happens now? this isn't the only investigation. we counted ten congressional committees that are investigating benghazi. does mrs. clinton believe this will put the issue to bed and it will go away or not so much? >> i think in the public's eye, it will help the public understand. i think last night with the president's comments on "60 minutes" where he was able to say we were not threatened by

it, i think that we've learned a lot from the hearings. hearings brings out both sides of the issue. i think it gives us comfort that we were never at a national threat. i think it brought all things to teach us all a lesson. we heard the former secretary of state say she would have handled it differently in hindsight. she apologized. that's what real leaders do. that's what she was able to do to bring it to the forefront, deal with it, apologize and now i say it's time for us to move on and look at other issues. >> and you're talking about her e-mail. the controversy or the issues around her e-mail. >> yes, her e-mails. i think that was what was focused on a lot in the committee. i think when we look at benghazi and what happened there, and what she has said, i think you're going to see the committee start to wrap up the whole committee process. it's become far too political. >> well, that is not what the

rnc is doing. in fact, they have released a new attack ad against hillary clinton talking about the e-mails and her trustworthiness. let me play you a portion of that. >> i did not e-mail any classified material to anyone. >> a federal government watchdog determined there was classified information -- >> did in fact contain classified information. >> total lack of accountability. >> partisan witch hunt. >> the fbi, "the new york times" chasing this story. >> those are not partisan organizations. >> you think the american public is that stupid? >> it doesn't sound like the republicans will be dropping this issue. >> i think they'll try to use it in their political campaigns. certainly that's something they're going to do. when you look at the cast of characters that they have running, sure, they're going to be on the attack for hillary, because hillary will be front

and center. hillary is up in her polling numbers now. they also know she's someone they can't be. so they will try to do everything. but she's going to stay focused on the issues. >> let's talk about those polling numbers quickly. i do have new ones i want to show you that are just out this morning. this is for the democrats' choice for nominee. it shows hillary clinton at 50%. she's ahead of bernie sanders who has 34%. if joe biden gets in the race at the moment, she has 12%. she has impressive poll numbers in south carolina. she's at 70% versus bernie sanders 20%. what is she doing right in south carolina that she's not necessarily doing in new hampshire where bernie sanders is beating her? >> i think what she's doing is looking at the base in most of the states. she's talking about real issues, issues for women when you talk about equal pay. when you talk about the criminal

justice system. she's talking about fairness there. she actually has plans and ideas. she's meeting with women. she's meeting with african-americans and she's been out in the front point, out in the front. she's right on point with the issues. i think when you see her center stage tomorrow, it's going to be more than just a position on that stage. she's center stage on the issues. there are a lot of people running for president but hillary's ready to be president. i think that's the comfort that she also gives the american people. she's intelligent. she's done this before. so she's well experienced. i think that brings comfort to people who have been disenfranchised, who have fought so hard to have that right to vote. and she brings out the best in all of the issues and she relates to the people. she's serious. she's on point. >> okay. representative joyce beatty, thanks so much for helping to preview all these issues that will be center stage tomorrow

night. >> thank you. >> make sure you tune in, the big event, the democratic debate hosted by cnn and facebook, 8:30 p.m. eastern in las vegas. michaela? iranian tv reports that "washington post" journalist jason rezaian has been convicted by a court there. he was arrested in 2014 on charges of spying. let's get right to fred pleitgen in london with the breaking details. >> reporter: all this news is trickling in, over the past two days when iranian state broadcasters started saying they had information that jason rezaian, there had been a verdict and today the news that he had indeed been found guilty. we don't know very much on top of that, ma lichaela. there's been very little information coming out of the court. we don't know whether or not there's been a sentence or what that sentence could be. there's been talk of 10 to 20 years for the crimes that jason rezaian has been convicted of by this revolutionary court which

by the way has little in the way of transparency. "the washington post" came out with a statement earlier today where its chief editor, martin barron says, quote, the only thing that has ever been clear about this case is jason's innocence. any fair and just review would quickly overturn this unfounded verdict. one of the things that the iranians have said is that there is a 20-day appeals process when this verdict can be appealed. we don't know whether or not jason has beeny of informed about the verdict or whether or not his lawyers have been informed and whether or not they know what the sentence is as well. and that they know they can appeal. alisyn. >> thanks so much, fred. more news to tell you about, tensions escalating after border police -- over the weekend, ten palestinians died in a rash of violence, including a 13-year-old boy. cnn's aaron mclaughlin has more from jerusalem. erin? >> reporter: it was a bloody beginning to the day here in

jerusalem israeli police say there was an attempted stabbing in the old city, near the lion's gate entrance where they noticed a suspicious-looking palestinian man. when they approached him, that's when he took out a knife, stabbing a police officer in his kevlar. they shot and killed the palestinian man later identified as 18-year-old mustafa al katid of a prominent business family. it was the third stabbing attack in as many days, part of a wave of violence to grip the region, killing over the weekend at least seven palestinians in clashes in the west bank and gaza. at least three palestinians were killed in an israeli air strike that targeted hamas in gaza and nine israelis were wounded in various attacks with both sides blaming each other for the violence. it's unclear how the killing will end. back to you. >> unsettling what's going on

there. iraq's military claiming an air strike hit a convoy that included isis leader al baghdadi. they don't know his condition only that he was carried away in a vehicle. that happening as he headed to a meeting with isis leaders. the pentagon not confirming the report at this time. the race for speaker of the house still uncertain this morning. pressure is growing on wisconsin congressman paul ryan to throw his hat in the ring. here with more is manu raju. when is he going to decide, manu? >> the house is on vacation after a chaotic couple of weeks that involved the house republican conference. the focus continues to be on paul ryan. he's debilitating several issues, including the amount of burden that it would have on him in terms of traveling across the country, doing fund-raising for his colleagues. he's being told by his fellow

republican leaders they could pick up some of that slack. in addition he's been told he can work on the same weighty policy issues he's been involved with for so long. he's worried about the fact that his party would be divided if he came in. we heard from several that they would get behind him if he decided to run. >> i think he checks every box. he's got the great experience. he's a visionary. he understands the institution. he's a great spokesperson. i think he'd be a wonderful speaker, just like i thought he'd be a great vice president or president. >> now, yesterday, when one of our camera people caught up with mr. ryan outside of his home in janesville, wisconsin, he said his answer is still no and that he's still not running. he clearly has some other things in mind. he was decorating his home, putting up halloween decorations and he was asked who he would be

for halloween. he said mitt romney. clearly paul ryan is taking a few days to digest everything. the focus will be on him when congress gets back into town next week. a big heads up if you're planning on flying southwest airlines today. you could face huge delays. the airline is cautioning passengers arrive earlier, two hours early, print your boarding pass at home before you arrive at the airport. they've been having massive tech knowledge problems. they began sunday and continue to plague the airline, forcing them to revert to backup systems to check in passengers. some 450 flights have been delayed. so really make sure you prep in advance you're planning to fly southwest today. >> i have to check to see if i am flying southwest. >> you might be. on the eve of the first democratic face-off, new poll numbers show hillary clinton widening her lead in two important states. we'll break down all of that with our real voters, real choices panel, next.

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and i didn't get here alone. there were people who listened along the way. people who gave me options. kept me on track. and through it all, my retirement never got left behind. so today, i'm prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. every someday needs a plan. let's talk about your old 401(k) today. elizabeth, are you concerned about her e-mails? >> i think i am a little bit. i feel the uneasiness. i think it needs more time to be developed and get more answers. i'm not sure if he'll get answers about it. >> ahead of tomorrow's cnn

democratic debate, real voters reacting to the candidates, especially hillary clinton's e-mail controversy. here to break it down, margaret hoover, cnn political commentator, as well as john avalon. fascinating to talk to these voters in new hampshire. i don't have to tell you guys how engaged they are and plugged in. democratic voters are not that concerned, really. i shouldn't say concerned. i should say interested in her e-mail issue. what do you think about that, margaret? >> hillary clinton probably has benefited from the advantage of having this happen early. once this has been out for a year come next june, july, this is going to be old news. and the new narratives will have taken place. this may be a total nonissue. she's going to testify october 22nd before the benghazi committee. the committee itself may not even be constituted anymore at that point. so she may have benefitted from the sort of early outrage and

getting it off the books. >> yes, but it's taking a real toll, no question about that. even though i think the committee has continued to come under scrutiny, particularly with the former staffer saying it's been a partisan effort, it's taken a toll. that said in our current hyperpartisan environment, it's not surprising. if scandals fail to resonate deeply beyond the base of the pop sigs party, there's a limit to the impact they'll have in a general election. >> john berman? >> it's interesting. it's almost like there's two campaigns going on, iowa, new hampshire and then there's everywhere else. this morning, cnn has a new look at everywhere else, brand new polls from south carolina and nevada where i am right now. hillary clinton has healthy leads, big leads in both south carolina and nevada, not just in the top line horse race. you look at the issues on issues like health care, race relations, foreign policy, hillary clinton way out in front on arrivals there as well. so margaret, you know, is there some safety that hillary clinton

can't enjoy even if she's suffering in suffe suffering in new hampshire? should she be careful about where she is heading into this debate. >> you raise a good point. she is winning everywhere else. for as much as we want to see a horse race and world-class boxing match, this debate is shaping up to look more like a civil mediation session. they're talking nice things about each other. bernie sanders on "meet the press" hoping to strike a policy contrast with her. she does and she knows this from 2008, need to be careful. she can't take anything for granted. i just don't think you'll see them fighting with each other. you'll see them civilly trying to contrast one another's policies. >> look, i for one refuse to be upset with more civility in politics. i do think you'll see folks on the down card, to extend the

metaphor, martin o'malley and jim webb have to step up their game. this debate is crucial for their existential policy. jim webb is a fascinating figure in american politics. >> right. what's wrong? what's happened? >> it's a fascinating thing. i think in part bernie sanders has been able to galvanize an activist class. it's not a surprise he's not doing well in south carolina and nevada. he's not a swing state guy. he's in low single digits in those states. that should be all the warning shot democrats need about the prospects of nominee bernie sanders. >> martin o'malley could be your next carly fiorina. right? >> that's a creepy image. >> one of them could break out. the debates are dragged down by the fact that nobody knows who they are.

>> not for lack of trying. >> meanwhile, buzz feed, hillary clinton sat down with buzz feed. they asked her about an issue for her and that is her demeanor. watch this. >> people often say you're some sort of robotic, like rehearsed person. do you resent that relatability is the currency that politics deals with? >> you're expected to be strong and vulnerable at the same time. that's not easy to do. >> margaret? >> is the fact that people often talk about whether or not hillary clinton is too robotic, is that sexist? >> i don't think so. you never heard that when you heard sarah palin or carly fiorina. women do come under different criticisms and that is the result of being one of the first women in politics. but being a woman in politics

can cut both ways. you do stand out because you're one of few. there are advantages, there are disadvantages. i actually think that response is a pretty authentic response. she's sort of exposing the vulnerabilities. that's -- she has an advantage, i see it as, rather than just a disadvantage. >> don't we talk about ben carson's demeanor as well? >> we absolutely do. >> donald trump's. >> people talk about the structural underlying societal impact of al gore seeming robotic and unauthentic. hillary talking about the dixt of being both strong and vulnerable, that's authentic. those word choices, that tension is something she feels. that's something ultimately you bring on yourself. society is not responsible for your emotional state. you bring that on to the world. >> it will be interesting to watch this on display tomorrow night. what's your take? tweet us using #newdaycnn or

post your comment on facebook.com/newday. love to head your comments. >> do not forget, the very first democratic debate hosted by cnn and facebook. it is right here behind me at the wynn las vegas. it all begins at 8:30 p.m. eastern time tomorrow night. michaela? well, the polls -- new polls show that ben carson running a solid second to donald trump, seems he can't stop tripping over his own words, though. we'll talk to a member of team carson about the candidate's latest controversial remarks. th, i'm hacking your company. grabbing your data. stealing your customers' secrets. there's an army of us. relentlessly unpicking your patchwork of security. think you'll spot us? ♪ you haven't so far. the next wave of the internet

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hillary clinton enjoying big leads in two critical states on the eve of the first democratic debate. a new cnn/orc poll gives her a 16-point cushion over bernie sanders in nevada. that lead widens to 22 points without joe biden running. in south carolina, sanders trails by 31 points. without biden, clinton's margin over sanders is 50 points. the debate airs tomorrow night,

8:30 eastern right here on cnn. some other news, nato officials are investigating a helicopter crash in afghanistan. it killed five coalition members and injured five others. the chopper crashed sunday while landing at a base in kabul in a nonhostile incident. the victims were part of nato's resolute support mission, training afghan security forces. two of those killed were members of the royal air force. the u.s. military officer in charge of last month's hearing for bowe bergdahl recommended he not spend time in jail. his legal teams say bergdahl might be referred to a special lower level court-martial where he would receive neither jail time nor punitive discharge. he vanished in afghanistan in 2009 after desserting his unit. he was captured by the taliban and held captive for five years. imagine this, having unlimited vacation days at work. it's going to soon be the real deal for folks at linkedin.

employees work out with their manager is to hammer out their days off. they're also given 17 paid holidays. don't worry. as part of the tech company's growing movement to place more focus on results, not hours worked. that goes into effect next month. can you imagine the chaos at cnn if we had to negotiate this? >> let's see how it goes at linkedin at first. >> we'll use them as our test case. >> we want to talk about the new cbs national poll. it shows donald trump and ben carson running away from the pack. ben carson spent the weekend defending his comments about the holocaust, gun laws as well as other items. let's talk about what ben carson once again talked about yesterday on "face the nation." he was, again, trying to explain his position that the holocaust would not have happened had jews

had guns. listen to this. >> it's not hyperbole at all, whether it's on our door step or whether it's 50 years away, it's still a concern. it's something we must guard against. that's one of the real purposes of having a constitution. i think the founders were really quite insightful into looking at possibilities and understanding what has happened in other places and trying to put together something that would prevent that from happening here. >> armstrong, does dr. carson have any sense of how hurtful this is to american jews who may have lost grandparents or great grandparents in the holocaust? >> hurtful is not the word, alisyn. dr. carson who spent part of last december in israel, has been a champion of his jewish brothers and sisters throughout

the world. not at all. dr. carson is making a point which i think most americans clearly understand. all he's saying is that if the jews of nazi germany were not disarmed by a golf headed by adolf hitler over the years, maybe they could have sustained the sort of resistance that would have minimized the damage that had been done. he's not saying that the holocaust would not have happened and that many of his jewish brothers and sisters would have died. >> isn't he saying that if they had been armed they could have staved off the holocaust. >> let me raise this with you, alisyn and the rest of the media that can't seem to get over this. what happened if the british disarmed us during the american revolution? do you think america would be in the same place it is today? when armed you have a better chance of fighting against a

government. >> strong supporters of the jewish issues, let me read for you what they're saying, this historical second guessing is deeply offensive to jews. holocaust survivors and those who valiantly fought against hitler. it is mind bending to suggest that personal firearms in the hands of a small number of german jews could have stopped the totalitarian onslaught of nazi germany. this is the anti-defamation league. they're saying they're offend. >> that's the beauty of freedom of speech. they have a right to their position. they are just clearly not understanding what dr. carson is saying and dr. carson would never intent to be offensive. that's why if you started that cbs poll as you talked about as you were introducing the segment, they talked about they felt dr. carson was caring,

trustworthy. anybody who's gotten to know dr. carson, knows that he is just not an offensive human being. that's not who he is. >> at this point he has offended some american muslims by suggesting that he could not support a muslim president. he has offended at least one victim of the oregon massacre who said that he does not -- he felt hurt by what dr. carson said about how had he been in that room he would have rushed the gunman, even though one person in the room did rush the gunman and ended up being shot seven times. he's now offended some american jews and the anti-defamation league. is it possible that dr. carson, while meaning well, is missing some sort of sensitivity chip? >> you know, alisyn, i appreciate your continuing to drill down on these points, you know, that's the price of leadership. sometimes you say things that you really believe. you say because dr. carson is a trained surgeon, he's trained to

react. that's why he was able to save so many lives and prevent injuries over so many decades. he reacts. he's the kind of guy that would have jumped in the middle of it and not stood around and wait for the gunman to shoot him. he knows that no one would react the same or know how they will react until this situation is unfolding. while you continue to believe that is offensive to the government, obviously people are sensitive in those type situations. we firmly believe that most americans understand that if alisyn and many others were in a place and a gunman was firing, there are a few people that would jump in the line of fire to save your life. that's simply the way we are as human beings. some people would sacrifice everything for the love and future of this nation. >> he has talked about it when there was a holdup at at popeye's fast food restaurant, that he redirected the gunman and said i believe it's the guy behind the counter that you want.

i want to say the daily beast called dr. carson's biographer and said that story never came up during the research into his past as well as the baltimore police department have said they have in record of that incident. does hen stad by the facts as he has laid them out? >> you know, alisyn, it is true that the daily beast did speak with greg lewis who was dr. carson's biographer on three different books and greg lewis made it clear that dr. carson never mentioned those things during those moments when he was assisting dr. carson. he knows dr. carson is very truthful. alisyn, there are things in our lives, your life and our lives that we don't talk about, that sometimes can be very painful. one of the things that happened during this is that we assumed that it may have been to take the risk. i'm the guy that spoke to the daily beast, trying to react when the story was unfolding, i could not remember all the details from what dr. carson

explained to her. we since found out this happened back in '80 to '83. he could not recall the details. he talked to very few people about this. it did happen. as you continue the investigation, you find the truth out that dr. carson is honest and his credibility will still be intact. >> armstrong williams, thanks so much for being on "new day." >> always a pleasure. two outside investigators released new reports corning the fatal police shooting of 12-year-old tamir rice. the results upsetting a whole lot of people. we'll take a look at the case, what's going on, get reaction. if i want to go up...

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it's been nearly a year since tamir rice was shot and kled by police. two independent reports find that an officer's use of force was reasonable. rice was shot within sec after police responded to 911. he was carrying a pellet gun. want to break it down with harry

hauck. and also mr. mark lamont hill. this is hard for a lot of people to take. in particular, harry, one of the reviewers, one of them is a prosecutor and one a 20-year veteran of the fbi. the appearance of all of this we have to discuss. the body that will present info to the grand jury is posting this information. is that going to compromise trust? why release it now? what does g is this going to do? >> you see stuff like this happen all the time. this is a terrible tragedy that occurred to this young man. the fact that these are one of the tragedies that happen out there on the street from time to time. there's probably nothing you can do about it. the fact that these officers have been found that they were justified. the grand jury is going to hear that now. they'll hear all that evidence. i read over the ohio state police report. they're going to get that. that's a 60-page report with all the information about how the shooting occurred, the grand

jury will make a final decision here. >> what about the point this this will potentially taint the jury pool? >> is it a possibility? yes. all these different cases that come out, you always have reports come out, you have the grand jury pools, jury pools for cases like that. this is what happens. we can't stop it. >> we can stop it, though. we absolutely can stop it. we can stop it by not doing it. it didn't have to be posted to the prosecutor's website or to the public. this was an ineffabvitable resu. harry says we could have a grand jury that can make its own decision. the truth is, the odds of a grand jury making a decision opposite of what the prosecutor suggests. >> i want to spla some souplay r

you. this is from one of the attorneys from the rice family. i want you to hear her reaction to this. >> these two so-called expert reports are written by pro law enforcement, pro police folks. they have selective amnesia about certain critical facts that a reasonable jury could find means those officers have committed a crime. i'll give you a few of them. that the officers rushed up to tamir in the vehicle and immediately got out and killed him. they didn't assess the situation. >> apologies to the attorney there. what is this criticism that the two people that are conducting these interviews or doing the investigation, rather, the review are pro police? >> first of all, who can do the investigation? the police. the police conduct all these investigates. nobody else. this guy here is conducting an investigation on his own and he's not even stating any points of law here.

the fact that these police officers got on the scene and got out and shot the kid, it has nothing to do about the legality of what occurred. all right? you're talking about tactics here. of course, this is a defense attorney. he's not going to sit here and indemnify the officers if he thinks they were right. >> one of the issues that is causing so many people consternation is the age of this child, 12 years old. the fact is, the dispatcher didn't alert those responding officers to the fact that the 911 caller said, this person appears to be a juvenile. should that dispatcher also take some of the blame for this? bear some responsibility? >> we'll certainly probably see that on the civil side. i'll leave it to the attorneys to decide whether or not the dispatcher should be charged. that was critical information to convey, not just his age but the fact that the gun is likely not real. that's something that the officers should have been communicated. i don't blame the officers for that. what i do blame the officers for, is not making good decisions. when harry says, well, that's a

tactical choice. he's right. it's absolutely tactical. the fact that they made such a bizarre tactical choice to roll up on someone, thinking he had a gun and immediately get out and shoot, it's not protocol to not cover themselves, not communicate from a distance. these are all basic police tactics. >> we'll not talking about criminality here -- >> hold on. let me finish. >> go ahead, harry. >> people want police officers to be shot at first, to make sure their weapon is a real weapon instead of a toy here. nobody knew at the time, as far as the officers were concerned, i don't care what the caller says, it's a toy gun. how does he know? >> are you serious? >> if he pulls a weapon on me. >> he didn't pull a weapon. you're not being honest. >> that's the bottom line. >> harry, he didn't pull a weapon. >> he had a weapon in his hand.

>> but the -- >> all right. we'll leave it here, gentlemen. we have to wrap it up. it's difficult to do this when one of you is on remote, one is here. thank you for bringing your passion to the subject as always. alisyn. we're gearing up for tomorrow's big cnn democratic debate. we have poll numbers on hillary clinton, bernie sanders and even the wild card, joe biden. mcgladrey was founded to help growing businesses reach higher goals. soon our team of audit, tax and consulting advisors started taking the middle market to the global market. and now our network, spanning more than 110 countries, is unifying under one brand. mcgladrey is changing its name to rsm.

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bleacher report. tell us what we missed. >> good morning. the niners lost three in a row so they needed a win badly. eli manning was a man on a mission. my, oh, my, did this game end with a bang. 1:45 left in the game. niners hyde, punches through, rings up the go-ahead score. did the niners leave eli manning too much time? giants drive. 26 seconds left. manning to donnell. money. who loves you, new york? that's larry donnell with a great catch. what a throw by eli. giants win, 30-27. eli manning, the two-time super bowl champ becomes the winningest quarterback in giants' history. baseball newsbreaking la ib. chase utley has been suspended for this slide into tejada. it happened during the national league division series. utley broke tejada's leg.

utley will appeal the decision before the game tonight. the series is tied at a game a piece. the cardinals and cubs play before that with first pitch at 6:00 eastern. american league on tap this afternoon. two teams have a chance to end their series. the astros are up, 2-1, over the royals. the rangers need one more win over the blue jays. let's head to vegas where john bu burman is celebrating his win and getting ready for the democratic debate. >> the utley decision, interesting. not so much about the playoffs, changing the tone for plays like that. thanks so much. we are here for the democratic debate. the first democratic debate. it will take place right behind me at the wynn las vegas. we have brand-new polls out this morning. changes everything.

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the final countdown to the

first democratic debate. >> sanders has been giving hillary clinton a run for her money in the polls. >> the panel of voters give us their take. >> who wants vice president joe biden to get in? >> "washington post" journalist jason rezaian has been convicted. >> the sentence possibly 10 to 20 years. >> the victims' families are owed the truth. hillary clinton has a lot of explaining to do. >> it's an explosive charge, sure to resonate on the campaign trail. >> this has been a witch hunt. >> hillary clinton decided a few months before an election they were going to lie about what happened at benghazi. this is "new day" with chris cuomo, alison camerota and michaela pereira. >> good morning. welcome back to your new day. it is monday, october 12th, 8:00 in the east, 5:00 where john berman is in las vegas. >> you are soon to be. >> i'm looking forward to it. i'm excited. about 36 hours from now, hillary

clinton and bernie sanders and the rest will square off in the first democratic debate. it is hosted by cnn and facebook, as we count down to the showdown. we have some impressive and interesting new numbers to show you in two key states. >> our brand-new cnn/orc poll, giving the former secretary of state a 16 point cushion over sanders in nevada. with joe biden out of the race, her lead expands to 22 points. here's south carolina. clinton tops biden by 25 points and sanders by 31. without biden, clinton's margin widens to 50 points. so much to discuss as preparations are under way for the final few touches in las vegas ahead of the democratic debate, john. >> thanks so much, michaela. how does hillary clinton handle possible attacks? will sanders attack at all? they are making their last preparations. sometimes when you take the stage, all the plans you make go

out the window. this is the very first time the democratic candidates will face off on the same stage. just one day away now. let's go inside the debate hall, directly behind me. let's bring in senior white house correspondent jim acosta on stage at the wynn hotel. hey, jim. >> reporter: that's right. i'm feeling comfortable here with the podiums behind me. the stage is almost set. they've put seats into the audience. the podiums behind me, the one in the middle obviously for hillary clinton, the front runner at this point. she gets to be the one in the middle. bernie sanders will be to her right. the other candidates will also be on the stage with her, as well. jim webb, lincoln chafee, martin o'malley. it's interesting because the new polls from cnn/orc indicate this is a wide open race. clinton is a front runner. according to the new poll, people here in the state of nevada believe she has the best chance to win. 59% for her. joe biden, 18% should he jump

in. bernie sanders, 17%. have people made up their minds? have they definitively decided? no, that is not the case. 30% say definitely. 58% say they're still deciding. plenty of room if joe biden, the vice president, wants to jump into this race. if he decides to jump into the race over the next 24 hours, the rules are such that he can do that. cnn is prepared in the event of a joe biden candidacy and debate appearance, there it is. a podium number six, waiting in the wings just in case vice president joe biden decides to join us. fires up air force ii and points the plane for las vegas. as for the five candidates who will definitely be on the stage on tuesday night, michaela, there is potential for fireworks. hillary clinton and bernie sanders may be going after each other on the issue of iraq war. bernie sanders over the weekend was forecasting this. he was saying that he was against the war in 2002.

clinton was in favor of it in 2002. those are echoes of the battle royale between barack obama and hillary clinton in 2008. that hurt clinton, and it seems sanders is trying to use the playbook once again on tuesday night. >> it'll be interesting to see what other things will come up during the debate tomorrow night. jim, thank you so much for that. on the eve of the democratic debate, a former investigator for the house benghazi committee accuses the republican-led panel of targeting former secretary of state clinton. bradley spoke exclusively to jake tapper. he says what began as a search for truth turned out to be more of a smear campaign. >> in your view, your insider view, did the house majority staff on the house benghazi committee use this committee for political gain? >> i would state this has become a partisan investigation. doi not know the reason for that of . i don't know the reason for the focus on clinton. >> republicans will think, oh,

this is some liberal trying to get hillary clinton off the hook. liberals are going to say, see, he's exonerating hillary clinton. this committee is all political, and hillary has nothing to expla explain. what's your message to these partisans? >> hillary clinton has a lot of explaining to do. we, however, did not need to shift resources to hyperfocus on clinton. he didn't need to de-emphasize and in some cases drop investigations on different organizations and individuals. >> do you think the results of the committee, based on what you saw, will be fair, comprehensive, thorough, professional, honest? >> no. it's not possible. the victim's families won't get the truth. that's the most unfortunate thing about this. i know because the nine months of research i have done is now lost. i have no idea where it is. i know that i could give the victim's families a thorough explanation of why they were

told this attack was due to a video. >> why are you coming forward? >> i'll be honest with you. i'm scared. i'm nervous. i know that this is, you know, i'm going up against powerful people in washington. at the end of the day, i need to live with myself. >> what do you say to any viewers out there who think that you might have an ax to grind, that you're only talking because you were fired? >> i have a conscience. there's wrongdoing here, and it needs to stop. i don't want the investigation to end, but i want it to be refocused back to its original purpose. the victim's families are owed the truth. as it stands now, they're not going to get it. >> the house committee denies the allegations made by podliska. trey gowdy says, quote, because i don't know him and can't recall ever speaking to him, i can say for certain he was never instructed by me to focus on clinton, nor would he be a credible person to speak on my half. i'm confident his supervisor did not direct him to focus on

clinton. so much to talk about. let's bring in our cnn political commentators. we have a democratic strategist and senior adviser to a pro-hillary clinton superpack. also strategists. great to see you early out there. now that -- >> we're up late, not early. >> that's right. it's still nighttime for you guys. that's very vegas of you. kevin, now that this basically whistleblower, i think he would identify himself, has come forward, the former investiga investigator, to say the investigation into benghazi began pure but it morphed into a partisan project, what does this do now to benghazi and the issue moving forward? >> i think the genesis of jake tapper's question got to the heart of that, which is some partisans are going to see different things out of this whistleblower. i think the chargers should be

explored, but i think the chargers would be more troubling to me if -- and the american public if trey gowdy did not have an evidentiary trail of what he did and the focus of the panel with regards to searching for the truth. i think, as you saw on trey gowdy's response, and i think as you'll see continually, trey gowdy and members of the benghazi will make the case, and i think they'll make a convincing one, that they were focused ton truth, focused on trying to find out what happened inside the administration during decisions during the benghazi attack, and the truth will come out. ultima ultimately, hillary clinton has come under scrutiny because a lot of what she said was not true. that's where, i think, they'll continue to focus their efforts, is on the truth. >> maria, we have heard from trey gowdy, who said this investigator is a flawed source. in fact, he was fired. what gowdy claimed to fox news, at least, is he was looking for payment of some kind from the

committee. what do you think this does to the issue? >> well, i think that whatever actually happened with the whistleblower is going to be investigator, but i think that from a credibility standpoint, it is incredibly damming. i think because of two things that have already happened. it comes on the heels of mccarthy's comments, that essentially, he blurted out the truth on fox news, that this was a partisan endeavor, focused on trying to bring downhill hillar clinton's poll numbers. and we've had more than a year and a half on almost ten different partisan, bipartisan committees, that have already found there was absolutely no wrong doing on behalf of the state department and secretary clinton. in terms of what the american people will look at this as, i think it will be very tough moving forward for the american people to look at this committee and believe that they are really

focused on the truth. it's going to be tough for them to think of this committee with a straight face. i think that is going to be incredibly difficult for them to move forward, saying that they're seeking the truth. >> paul, if this issue comes up in the debate, and it is likely to, what should hillary clinton's response, her tone about benghazi be now? >> well, hillary is a counter-puncher and now she's got a punching bag to counter-punch against. not only the points maria makes, i think this is what she's likely to say. three data points here, all from republicans that prove that this is a partisan attack on me. first, the chairman of the committee himself, trey gowdy, was asked by fox news, what does all this e-mail stuff have to do with finding the truth about ben gaga ze -- benghazi? he said, not much. then the poll effectiveness, he was saying it dropped her

numbers. then this air force major, who said he's going to vote republican in the election but was part of the investigation himself, very, very rare, i can't think of a time that someone inside the investigation stepped forward and said, look, this is a partisan witch hunt. i think democrats are going to rally to clinton, and the republicans should shut this down. the worst thing for the republicans is to allow hillary to counter-punch and move up to the polls. >> the polls are fresh out this morning. interesting to look at what's going on in nevada. here are the democrat's choices. hillary clinton gets 50%. bernie sanders gets 34%. biden gets 12%. if you take biden out, clinton gets 58% and sanders gets 36%. in south carolina, the numbers are even more dramatic. hillary clinton there, if biden does not run, gets 70%. bernie sanders gets 20%.

maria, i mean, what has she been doing right in south carolina that she has not been doing right in new hampshire? >> i think there's a couple things here. first of all, nevada and south carolina are much more representative of what this country looks like today. demographically speaking. it's not what she's been doing lately in nevada or south carolina. it's her relationship with the demographic groups who are going to be an important part of the election in nevada and south carolina. in nevada, for example, the latino vote is a quarter of the vote. she has had more than three decades of experience and having a nurturing relationship with the hispanic vote. in the '70s, she was in texas, registering voters before it was cool to register voters. the latino vote here, latinos across the country, see that she is going to be the one fighting for them. she announced this past week a terrific initiative called

latinos for hillary, where she's going to be focusing on that relationship, focusing on the policy proposals she is putting forward to help latinos and everyone here in nevada and south carolina and across the country live a better life and have a better future. i think it's all indicative of what her campaign has been all about from the beginning, being the fighter for the middle class, that i think people are looking for her to do. >> kevin, as the republican on the panel, what are you looking for hillary clinton to say or do tomorrow night? >> well, look, i think the -- one of the big problems she has is that she is getting polled to the left by other members of the primary field right now. one of the things i'm going to be watching for is to see if she tries to out bernie sanders on things like the economy or national security. that will make it more prop matma -- problematic, to appeal to the

big electorate. republicans are pulled too far to the right and aren't electable in the general election. with the presence of bernie sanders, making an authentic, liberal view to voters, hillary clinton can be polled to the left. that can be good for republicans. >> stick around, if you would. i know in a few minutes, john berman has some questions for you. we'll see you in a minute. also, reminder, tomorrow night is the big event. watch the democratic debate hosted by cnn and facebook, beginning at 8:30 p.m. eastern. we have breaking news. iranian tv reports that "washington post" journalist jason rezaian has been convicted by a court. he was arrested on fake charges of spying and crimes against the establishment. cnn's senior international correspondent joins us from london with the details. fred? >> yeah. there isn't much in the way of details we're getting.

that's because the revolutionary courts do everything behind closed doors. everything in secret. there usually isn't information that trickles out at all. however, there have been some things the iranians have been putting out. it was on sunday when they said there was, in fact, a ruling in this case. today, we have found out that jason rezaian has been found guilty. of course, some of the charges we've been hearing about over the past more than 450 days he's been in iranian custody was apparently espionage. the other was, quote, con spe conspireing with the hostile government. meaning the government of the united states. there's been widespread criticism of these proceedings. the u.s. government criticized them. also, the employer of jason rezaian, the "washington post," and its managing editor, put out a statement. he said, quote, the only thing that has ever been clear about this case is jason's innocence. any fair and just review would quickly overturn this unfounded verdict. some heavy criticism coming

there. one thing that we do have to say is there is an appeals process that is one piece of information that the iranians have given us. that is an appeals process of 20 days. we don't even know whether or not jason himself knows that this verdict has actually been handed down. >> thanks for all of that background. keep us posted on all the developments. we have more news from iran. state-run media reports that the first successful test firing of a new precision-guided, long-range, surface to surface missile happened on sunday. this was designed by iranian experts. it's their first missile capable of reaching israel. u.s. state department officials say they're looking into whether this test violates u.n. resolutions. the u.s. air dropping ammunition to rebel groups in syria. let's get the latest from barbara starr, live with the latest. what do we know? >> good morning, michaela. we know that the u.s. overnight dropped 50 tons of ammunition

supplies to rebels in northern syria, from c-17 aircraft flying overhead with fighter escort over northern syria. this ammunition key to the administration's new strategy for trying to urgently help the rebels in northern syria in their fight against isis. president obama in an interview with cbs's "60 minutes," talking about the intentions in syria of russian president vladimir putin. have a listen. >> we knew that he was planning to provide the military assistance that assad was needing because they were nervous about a potential imminent collapse of the regime. >> interesting words there that, i believe, we're hearing really for the first time. that the russians may have thought imminent collapse of the regime. the russian pounding targets in sish syria continues.

look at what they were hitting over the weekend. all of this. over the weekend, the u.s. and russia sat down for a second round of technical talks about air safety. no results, no agreement yet. >> barbara, thanks for that background. hillary clinton riding high in the latest polls before tomorrow's debate. is she in for a blistering attack from her rivals? we'll ask our insiders. that's next. ♪ [music] defiance is in our bones. new citracal pearls. delicious berries and cream. soft, chewable, calcium plus vitamin d. only from citracal. it's got the spring and bounce of a traditional mattress. you sink into it, but you can still move around. now that i have a tempur-flex, i can finally get a good night's sleep. (vo) change your sleep. change your life. change to tempur-pedic.

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that is the wynn las vegas hotel. inside that building just one day from now, you will see something you have not seen before in this entire election cycle. the very first democratic presidential debate, hosted by cnn and facebook. this is a crucial moment in this race. how will hillary clinton handle her rivals? how will per knee sane bernie sh hillary clinton? will there been contrast or more? let's bring back our commentators. senior adviser to the pro-hillary super-pack and a republican strategist, as well. we have new polls from south carolina and nevada which are

revealing. they show hill alary clinton ou front. there's more data of note. in south carolina, without joe biden running, you see hillary clinton at 70%, bernie sanders at 20%. i want to look at african-american voters in the state. without joe biden in the race, hillary clinton leads bernie sanders, 84% to 7% without joe biden in south carolina among african-american voters. that's not a problem. that's not not registering with african-american voters for bernie sanders. that's not even in the race at all. how does he change that in this debate behind us? >> he makes his case. i have to say, i'm not thrilled by that, as a hillary strategist. this is the lame stream media setting her up for a fall. she's not going to get 70% in south carolina. you'll say, she collapsed. no, she's going to win. >> what about bernie? how does he make a dent? he needs to with african-american voters. >> he does. he'll make a case for his record. maria talked about hillary

spending decades building relationships. frankly, and her political life has been dependent on a multi-racial workings. it's in her political dna. bernie, successful in vermont but, i mean, you get ben, jerry, you have the whole state. >> 95% white. >> he's polling well with ben and jerry, by the way. >> it's all vanilla in vermont. we love vermont, but he hasn't had the experience of putting together these multi-racial, multi-ethnic coalitions, which is a key for any democrat. >> that's what he's be focused on, i think. another aspect fascinates me. what does joe biden think about these poll numbers right now, showing clinton with a healthy lead over him in both states. in addition to the benghazi reporting, kevin mccarthy indicating there are political advantages for republicans. you have this whistleblower, in

quotations, saying the committee is out to get clinton. does he take a moment and say, you know what? this isn't lining up the way i thought. maybe hillary isn't in as big of trouble as i thought she was, and maybe not jumping? we have the podium ready for him at the teenage. >> -- stage. >> clearly. >> maybe he doesn't step up. >> no one really knows what he's thinking. absolutely. i think he is and his strategists are look at the polls very carefully, every single one that comes out, every single day, and are trying to make a -- some kind of prognostication in terms of what that means, should he jump into the race. at the end of the day, joe biden needs to answer one question. does he have it in him to do this? he better than anybody knows what it takes to run for president. he's done it twice. he better than anybody knows the strategy he has gone through with his son, has affected his

family. will this presidential run help or hurt? that's the only question he needs to answer. then he has to look at the path. that's the and then. >> but the and then may be and now. it may be time to look. >> that's the other thing. time may make the decision for him. >> kevin, over the last week, if you're watching closely, if you're listening carefully, you're starting to hear people say, mr. vice president, we understand everything that's going into this decision and we feel for you and the tragedy your family has suffered here. but you have to make up your mind. it's got to be soon. it seems like there might be some pressure on him quickly to get this over with. >> that's right. nobody wants to see the process draw out in a way that continues to distract away from democrat's ability to make a case directly to the american people on the issues. i also think, i've always believed the idea of a biden candidacy is much more interesting than the actual reality. i think all the focus we see on polls, the second joe biden gets

in, it could be his best day of the campaign. then all of a sudden when he's exposed to the scrutiny of the campaign, he begins to go down. yeah, i think democrats are wanting to see a decision from joe biden rather thanasi t see drama. he needs a clear answer. this is why i'm running for president. we haven't seen that yet, other than related to hillary clinton's weaknesses. that's not enough. >> we have an electorate inside the building behind us, just in case he decides. >> that's what i mean by waiting for him. >> this is the third voting state in the democratic race, nevada. it's very, very important, and we've been talking to people here over the last 24 hours who say the only candidate who has set up an operation here that can make a difference is hillary clinton. >> this is one of the few caucus states where hillary clinton beat barack obama, who had the

greatest organization i've ever seen in the 2008. the guy who organized for clinton, robby mook. this is a critical, critical state in the caucuses, first, and the general election. >> it's an underrated one. folks are obsessing over iowa and new hampshire. quickly and under the radar, organizing in nevada does help candidacy. >> speak for yourself. i don't underrate it at all. i've been here 24 hours and it's a phenomenal place. who are the important voters? >> latinos, like i mentioned. one quarter of the vote. clearly, the whole demographic coalition that represents what democrats need to gain to when i know the white house is in nevada. that's indicative of how well hillary clinton is looking from a national standpoint. i want to mention something paul said earlier. she's going to look at the polls

and feel good. the campaign will feel good, which is great. she needs to wake up every single day, and her campaign needs to wake up every day and act like she is the underdog. that's when she focuses on how she'll be a fighter for the american people. i hope that this does not go to her head. >> we will see how that plays out on the stage behind us. paul, maria and kevin, thanks so much. we want to know what you think. tweet us, #new day cnn or post your comment on facebook.com/new day. do not forget the debate is tomorrow night, 8:30 p.m. eastern time. it is the first democratic debate only on cnn. a joint operation between cnn and facebook. one day away now. >> i have on my calendar. thank you for the reminder. what is bernie sanders' plan to take on clinton during tomorrow night's debate? we'll talk with his campaign manager next. , the mid-size van from mercedes-benz. it's got small-ability

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this is "new day." that is the wynn las vegas, the

hotel where we will have the very first democratic debate of this election cycle. hillary clinton on stage with four opponents. leading among them right now, bernie sanders, number two in all the polls nationally. number one in the key state of new hampshire. what does he want to accomplish on the stage? this is one man who knows. jeff weaver, the campaign manager for bernie sanders. he is in las vegas with me now. thanks so much for being with us. >> thanks for having me. appreciate it. >> no mock debates so far. i'm always nervous when talking about how little candidates prep. i think sometimes we get a little bait and switch. they fake us out. >> right. >> no fok debamock debate. >> right. >> how be senator sanders prepare? >> we've been going over the expected questions. you can get from the media what you think the questions will be. >> we're unpredictable. >> i'm sure that's the case. what we're looking forward to is a substantive debate on substantive issues.

we hope that's the sort of tone of the debate. obviously, your moderators have a lot to do with what the tone of the debate is going to be. we would like to see a discussion on the important issues facing the american people, as opposed to the political food fight we saw with the republicans. >> right. jeff, you've talked about how bernie sanders does not plan to attack hillary clinton, but her record is fair game, right? what part of her record will he go after? >> look, we're going to be talking about the important issues from our perspective. bernie has stood up for middle income and working people in this country. we'll be talking about the trade deal, the keystone pipeline. we're going to be talking about bernie's plan for -- to make college education affordable. these are the issues we want to discuss during the debate. secretary clinton will put out her positions, and then the voters can contrast them. >> he has his work cut out for him, particularly with certain voting groups. in south carolina, if joe biden

is not in the race, hillary clinton leads senator sanders 70% to 20% amo. among african-american voters, 84% to 7%. why aren't black voters buying what you're selling? >> well, let me say this about it, we obviously have a lot of work to do in the african-american community, to introduce bernie sanders and his platform and record of fighting for economic justice and racial justice, as well. that's a challenge that we have. we're engaged in that process. we have a great team on the ground in south carolina. we're speaking to the african-american community. i think you'll see over time, the polls will change. one dynamic you should observe is the more voters learn about bernie sanders, the more they like him. in new hampshire, where he's best known, he's leading. iowa, where he's the second best known, he's even or slightly behind. in nevada, the other poll which is phenomenal for us, we haven't

had any staff here until last week. yesterday, we had a meeting and called for volunteers to come out. 200 people showed up in henderson. we have done nothing in nevada. we're only down by 15, 16 points. i think that's a phenomenal poll. i think you'll see, as the dates come closer and closer for these various primaries and caucuses, you're going to see movement toward bernie sanders has people pay more attention to the discussion and the race. that's the phenomenon we're seeing in this. >> jeff, there's an interesting story in the "new york times" this morning that says that the vice chair of the dnc has been disinvited from tomorrow night's debate because she dared to publicly call for more debates. apparently, debbie wassermann schultz's office didn't like she was calling for more debates. bernie sanders also called for more debates. is he afraid he'll be disinvited

from tomorrow night's debate? >> i don't anticipate that'll happen. if she needs a ticket, we have a couple and maybe we could give her one. >> seriously, the serious question, why wouldn't they have more debates? hillary clinton says she wants it. bernie sanders says he wants it. the voters say they want it. what's the problem? >> right. i don't know what the problem is. we would love to have debates. the more debates, the better. in the last election, we had many, many more debates on the democratic side. i know that a lot of voters we were talking to out in the world say, why are we not having more debates? it's healthy for the democratic party to have more debates. it keeps the issues democrats are concerns about on the burner. cnn will cover more debates. there will be discover of democratic priorities and how it benefits america. i think that the idea to have fewer debates, i think, is really bad for the process. it's bad for the democratic party. >> one of theish sh issues that matters to democratic voters now

is gun control. a lot of voters will learn senator sanders' positions on this. they might not have known he voted against the brady bill. he voted against the five-day waiting period part and parcel to that. how will the senator handle that, when the other candidates run to the left of the senator on the issue? >> pbernie sanders has a strong record of supporting gun legislation. he represented a state that has virtually no gun control. despite that, he's been a supporter of a ban of assault weapons since 1988. he supported the background check system, supported closing the gun show loophole. he fought against republicans who wanted to strip waiting periods from states that wanted to have them. on time after time, senator sanders has been strong on -- >> except on the brady bill. except on the five-day waiting period. that is part of the record. you acknowledge it is more nuanced and maybe not as

restrictive as some democrats support. >> in terms of the waiting period, he supported states having their own waiting periods. he told the voters in vermont he would support the assault weapons ban and not the waiting period. he kept his word. when he tells voters he's going to do something, he does it. that's the bernie sanders record. when people hear him talking this year, in this election, they know that when he says something, that's what he's going to do. >> more people will probably hear him talking tomorrow night. >> absolutely. >> it's big. jeff weaver, campaign manager for bernie sanders, thanks for being with us. >> great to be here. >> the cnn debate is tomorrow night, tuesday night, 8:30 p.m. eastern time hosted by cnn and facebook. the first debate of the democratic presidential cycle. up next, another installment of our real voters, real choices panels. i sat down with voters from new hampshire. you'll hear their compelling thoughts, next. you totalled your brand new car.

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here we go with the five things to know for this monday. number one, hillary clinton is a 50 point lead over bernie sanders in south carolina in the latest cnn-orc polling. she has a 22 point margin in nevada on the eve of tomorrow night's first democratic debate there in las vegas, hosted by cnn and facebook. iranian tv reports that jason rezaian has been convicted by a court. he was arrested in 2014 on vague charges of spying. turkey is investigating deadly explogs plosions at a pro-kurdish rally in ankara. they're focusing on isis. president speaks about claims that putin is challenging his leadership. also on russian military action before the two met at the u.n. chase utley is suspended for

the hard slide that broke the leg of tejada. the appeal will be heard before the series resumes tonight. you can get more at new day.cnn/com. new hampshire voters share their feelings about all the candidates, including joe biden. would any of you be swayed or change your favorite candidate if joe biden were to get in? that answer, next. inta and fires up free wi-fi, with a network that's now up to 5 times faster than before you know what he can do? let's see if he's ready. he can swim with the sharks! book your next stay at lq.com!

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look at what's at stake in the first democratic debate. our panel of new hampshire voters spells out what they're looking for, and they have some tips for the candidates. let's talk about the debate. i'll start with you, elizabeth. what are you looking to hear in? >> i want to hear more about college affordability and also women's issues, like the reproductive rights. obviously, those are important to me because i'm in college now and i'm a woman. >> if somebody speaks your language, will you decide which candidate you support after the debate or will you wait longer? >> i think it'd be too early to tell. i'm not sure what -- like, if they speak my language, but also, things could happen before then. >> i'm looking forward to people to be there. there's plenty of our candidates, lincoln chafee, i've never heard on the news. bernie, you can find him online. it's hard to know that there's people other than hillary and other than bernie running for the democratic party, for the

presidency. i will very much appreciate, no matter what they have to say, that people will know these people exist and they are options. >> your candidate, hillary clinton, is known as a great debater. what do you think she has to do at this debate? >> i think she has to hone in on her specific policies and articulate those clearly. also, just show the passion that i think she does have as a candidate a little more clearly to the people who support her. get fired up about the issues that i know she cares about. >> stephanie, we've spoken to bernie sanders' campaign manager, who says he's not preparing for the debate in a traditional way. he's reading up on policy but he's not staging any mock debates. does that concern you? >> no. i think it's bernie, all bernie, all the time. that's how he is. i think he runs his campaign. i do. i think hillary clinton is an excellent speaker. he's an excellent speaker. there are many others who are. there should be a great exchange of ideas.

personally, i'm going to be listening for what the plan is in terms of citizens united, land rights and my number one thing is about climate change issues. i really want to hear a solid plan. >> mary, do you think that martin o'malley or lincoln chafee or jim webb can have a carly fiorina moment, where they introduce themselves nationally and then see a rise in the polls? >> oh, definitely. no question in my mind. i think once people -- i know i'm experienced it. once people meet martin o'malley and hear him and begin to get a sense of what he's accomplished in maryland, they will move very much to really considering him seriously as a candidate for president. >> what has impressed you most about him? >> a good example is what he accomplished for women in maryland. while he was governor, they had -- they got the rating as

having the best -- be the best state for women in terms of income, education and health. >> show of hands. who wants vice president joe biden to get in? tell me why. >> i think it'd be interesting to see what he has to say. i'm not sure if he would change my standpoint, but it would be more options, more interesting. >> he's a wealth of information, lot of experience. he was candidate before, and he has been the vice president so he knows a lot and also is well-rounded. i'm not sure if i would change my candidate, but i really believe it could be great to have him. >> would any of you be swayed or change your favorite candidate if joe biden were to get in? >> no. >> no. >> hm-mm. >> why not, jeremiah? >> i don't want to say that i've

completely made up my mind, because it's too close minded. i would love to hear what everyone has to stay. that's why i went to the state democratic debate last month. i'm happy with how bernie is polling right now. >> is there anything joe biden could say or do that would sway you, julia? >> not specifically, no. i wouldn't be against him joining, just to rise the level of debate. but i think i'm pretty focused on hillary. >> what i'm hoping from the debates is that it will get people more interested in the political process and registering to vote. >> you all have the same message. go out and vote. >> yes. >> get engaged, watch the debate. >> watch the debate. >> different candidates on both sides. that's great. we at cnn like that message. watch the debate. great. >> you're watching to the camera there. the six people you talked to, there are more people you talked to than people in the debate. different scene from when we saw the republicans do it. >> it's interesting to hear what they want, the issues they want.

it's difficult therent than the we spend a lot of time talking about. >> thanks for being this. good job. and you're going to vegas. you're so busy. >> i am today. tomorrow night, you will be busy. watch the democratic debate hosted by cnn and facebook. it's at 8:30 p.m. eastern. >> should we give you monday good stuff? >> please do. >> after a break. why do so many people choose aleve? it's the brand more doctors recommend for minor arthritis pain. plus, just two aleve can last all day. you'd need 6 tylenol arthritis to do that. aleve. all day strong.

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wherever you are in the world. sheraton. this is a great good stuff. they're all good stuff. a florida dad shattering the perception that doing a little girl's hair is mom's job. he has become the hero of other single dads in the process. he has been raising his daughter emma by himself since she was a year old. didn't take him long to realize that perfect pigtails don't happen on their own. he creates them. >> look at that braid. fantastic. >> good dads. the other dads have taken notice. he does a free class at a local beauty school to teach other fathers, free of charge. he holds the classes weekly. he says the experience has made

him a better dad. he's hoping it'll make other dads feel closer to their daughters. great way to bond. >> that's like rapunzel's hair. >> do you think chris will practice on us? >> i hope not. >> "newsroom" with carol costello. >> have a great day. "newsroom" starts now. good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you for joining me. the stage is set and the countdown is on. we're one day away from the first democratic presidential debate in las vegas. hillary clinton and bernie sanders go head to head for the very first time. they'll be joined by martin o'malley, lincoln chafee and jim webb in what could be a breakout moment. all of this as new polls show lincoln with a commanding lead in nevada and south carolina. let's bring in