campaign has been in response mode. in the face of what even she admitted was a drip, drip of controversy. today for this moment, hillary clinton is appears to have conversation. her debate perform abc last night in which she mocked and frames republican attacks against her and stood toe to toe with her opponents may give nervou supporters a reason to breathe easier and rivals a reason for pause. that said, under already tough month for clinton is about to get harder. here is andrea mitchell. >> reporter: hillary clinton commanding the stage last night. and today campaign advisers tell nbc news, they are preparing for what they think is a bigger hurdle. next week's benghazi hearing. >> it is clear this whole effort was set up for political partisan purposes not to get to a useful end. >> her strategy last night dismissed the inquiry as pure politics. >> if this committee is basically an arm of the republican national committee. it is a partisan vehicle as admitted by the house republican majority leader mr. mccarthy, to drive down my poll numbers. >> mccarth's comment is a gift that keeps on giving. >> what are numbers today. >> and last night bernie sanders bailed her out over the e-mail controversy. >> i think the secretary is right. and that is that the american people are sick and tired of hearing about your dam e-mails. >> me too. >> why did you do that? >> it was a spontaneous response. >> and it was also strategic. they think democratic voters don't care about the e-mails and being generous made him look magnum mus. clinton did not return the favor. >> is bernie sanders tough enough on guns? >> no, not at all. ay they are >> hillary had a opportunity to be big when the gun issue arose, like burny was when he stood up and stood back the attack on her. >> and she signaled joe biden she'll fight him for the obama legacy. he asked me to become secretary of state. he valued my judgment. >> today clinton's advisers amped up the pressure on biden to decide. >> the time has come for a decision so at the next debate there will be six podiums on the stage. >> reporter: and before his weekly lunch with the president, biden was asked about the democrat debate. >> i thought they all did well. >> and as you can see, hillary clinton is here just outside of las vegas. she's just picking up a big labor endorsement here. still clinton is here in las vegas more more morale advice. and sanders has left town and she's planning to celebrate here in nevada with supporters later tonight. lester. >> thank you. we want to turn to our political director, the moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd. a big night for hillary clinton, but she is a good debater so is team biden sitting back to see how she did or are they waiting to see what happens in frons of the benghazi committee. >> there is no doubt that team biden was watching to see what kind of new openings they could find. but there is an important tell that happened or frankly lester didn't happen today. and which is, i was told if the biden campaign were about to get off the ground. we would start hearing about it. we would see leaks about it. and today would have been the perfect day to drip out the idea he was ready to run. because you would be stepping on the victory lap, that hillary clinton has taken today. and guess what, lester. almost radio silence from the west wing there. you heard what joe biden said about the debaters but other than that, nothing. and now we're hearing that maybe he wants to hear until after the benghazi testimony before saying anything publicly. lester. >> chuck todd, thank you. never at a loss for words. the republican front-runner donald trump is weighing in on last night's debate with any sit down with katy tur at his trump tower campaign headquarters. but what might get the most attention is the different tone from trump today that could signal a shift in strategy for his campaign going forward. >> 119 days on the trail so far. what have you liberiaearns about the american public. >> that they are really, really smart. they get it. they don't believe what they read. because they read false stories. an i'm not only talking about myself, but just generally. the american public gets it. >> would you do anything differently. >> i couldn't say i would. if you think back, sure i wouldn't do this or that. >> like what? >> well, i don't want to get into the negativity. i could probably have said fewer things about certain things. but honestly, i'm very happy with the way it is going. >> that is the first time i've heard you say you might do something differently. >> i might. i don't look back. i like to look forward. i have learned. >> so what have you learned? >> i think i could be perhaps a little bit -- i can watch my words a little bit, maybe bet a little more politically correct. but to be honest, one of the reasons i am doing well is because i don't want to be politically correct -- time. we don't have time to always be politically correct. and i can be more politically correct than anybody than you've ever interviewed but it takes a lot of time to do it. >> bernie had a moment last night when he came off as magnanimous and could you see yourself being that way to one of your competitors? >> yes i could. and i could be very magnanimous. but burny made a mistake. seconds, where hillary is being investigated by the fib and he gave it away. and he can never bring it up again. and he is losing. so i think he made a mistake. >> trump raised the republican led bengz committee for investigating sect clinton but added for him the controversy is not top of mind. >> she thinks republicans are pushing benghazi. do you find that to be the case. do you think we've done enough with this? >> i guess they'll go through a hearing and we'll see. it is not the biggest thing in terms of my own thought process. i think they are doing the right thing. hillary has a bad record as secretary of state. she had tremendous mistakes. just look at the whole world blowing up around us. hillary has had such a bad time as secretary of state that i really think that she is going to be rather easy to beat. >> and lester. >> as for who won last night's debate, he but gosh, what a different detroit. calmer and less combative and dare i say it, more like a politician. >> thanks very much. turning overseas where a series of attacks has pushed tensions between israelis and palestinians to a boiling point. in the latest violence, israeli police took down a plastin man man wielding a knife in a hail of bullet it played out before the eyes of our nbc team in jerusalem. ayman mohyeldin witnessed it all. >> reporter: it happened in an in stand n. front of our cameras. a man with a knife went past a security check point and was shot deadly israeli police. the knife clearly visible in his hand. >> he pulled out a knife and police officers managed to neutralize the terrorist. >> reporter: he was identified as a 19-year-old, a palestinian from the west bank. just hours later, at jerusalem central bus terminal, another man stabs and injured a 72-year-old israeli woman. he too is shot dead by police. the latest in weeks of attacks leaving eight israelis dead. today, another funeral, israel is on high alert. hundreds of additional security forces called up. police check points increased. palestinian neighborhoods sealed off and restricting movement. israel is warning that bodies of attackers will not be returned to families and their homes will be demolished. but palestinians are also mourning. 30 dead in recent weeks. some of them attackers but many of the killed were protesters. the funeral of one today in bethlehem was followed by more clashes with israeli palestinians claim a double standard. that israel cracked down on plastinab attackers but goes extremists. their anger fueled by social media and viral videos like this one, allegedly showing an injured 13-year-old palestinian left to bleed. israel released its own video shows knife wielding palestinians. both sides feel under siege. israel under attack like the one today and palestinians by what they consider an occupying power. lester, secretary of state john kerry plans to travel to the region. though he hasn't given any specific dates or plans. for now ending the violence, like what we saw here today, may be wishful thinking as both sides continue to blame each other. >> thank you. two people are dead after a small plane crashed into a florida mobile home park. surveillance video captured the final moments of the flight as it plunged to the ground in the lake worth area yesterday. the plane hit one home and sparked a fire that engulfed another. one person was killed in the airplane and another on the ground. the cause is still under investigation. don't look now, but the holiday shopping season isn't that far off and pricing wars begin. tonight there is big news about the biggest retailer of all, wal-mart, stupping wall street, by announcing disappointing earnings this year and next. nnd nbc's tom costello tells us part of the reason is competition from amazon as americans change the way they shop. >> reporter: with 5,000 stores in the u.s. alone, wal-mart has been the country's largest retailer. but the stock is in a nosedive. down 10% today. down 29% for the year. >> we'll show a chart comparing the dow with wal-mart today which was the biggest drag but it skews the chart so much. >> wal-mart blamed it on the cost of paying workers more. >> the nation's largest retailer walmart announced it is giving a pays raise to hundreds of thousands of employees. >> reporter: this year, wal-mart raised the minimum wage for employees. today they said higher wages and stiff internet competition are taking a big bite out of the earnings and warned profits will drop in 2017 and 18. >> we have to be thoughtful about what we do and not everything will happen overnight, but we're clear that we have to win in some certain areas. >> reporter: among the biggest competitors, amazon.com, now worth more than walmart on wall street. they are spending millions on the e commerce website just to compete. >> wal-mart is just now trying to play catch-up. to get up to where it needs to be to really compete with amazon when it comes to online shopping. >> reporter: wal-mart is announcing plans to clean up and spruce up the stores and build oup 50-60 supercenters. and analysts are telling us we should expect tough pricing competition over the holiday season with amazon and walmart and other internet retails. lester. >> thank you. late developments concerning the condition of former nba and reality tv star lamb or odom found unconscious. and jacob rascon is there with what we learned about the drugs we found in his system and his fight for survival. >> reporter: lamar odom was found unconscious in the love ranch, a legal house of prostitution. >> he was breathing but he was unresponsive. >> the owner tells nbc news he checked in on saturday. the former l.a. lakers star and two-time nba champ found recent fame when he married no the kardashian family. even starring in his own spin-off with then wife khloe. but the two years since he left the nba and his marriage fell apart have been difficult. >> he's been struggling with the separation and then the divorce from khloe kardashian. and every source that i talked to is saying that has taken an emotional toll on >> on top of that, he's struggled with substance abuse and drugs and alcohol for years. >> sources close to odom tell our sister network he is on a ventilator in a coma. multiple drugs were found in his system and there are reports he used synthetic viagra. he also haez brain damage. there was support on social media. kobe bryant left his game in las vegas early to be with odom and hasn't left his side. several kardashians rushed to the hospital. khloe said to bein consolable and her sister tweeting please don't go. and a champion on the court, now facing his toughest battle. jacob rascon, nbc news, las vegas. still ahead here as we continue tonight, check please. you might start noticing a big difference when the bill comes at your favorite restaurant. why more and more are doing away with tipping and what they are putting in its place. and also it was sold for $2 but you this this is my body of proof. proof of less joint pain. and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis from the inside out ...with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage and clear skin in many adults. doctors have been prescribing humira for nearly 10 years. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis serious,sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system 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"behind me is building