Transcripts For CNN American Morning 20110317

japan's crisis. the focus is how to get the reactors cooled down, specifically reactor number three at fukushima's daiichi power station. military helicopters are dropping 30 tons of sea waters on the crippled reactor's pool. >> they're also spraying on the ground, up to a dozen water truxz a trucks are in place. the united states is telling americans to get at least 50 miles away from the reactor. >> there is one more critical development to watch for, engineers are planning to begin the process, which is key in this whole thing, of restoring power to the daiichi complex. they want to bring in external power lines to try to get the plant's cooling system up and running again. senior international correspondent stan grant has the latest from fukushima. >> reporter: the focus today once again has been trying to get these stricken reactors under control to try to bring the heat down. they've now enlisted the use of helicopters. there were four drops of water today before they abandoned that process. now they're using water trucks, one truck from the police and one truck from the military, to pump down the reactors, ongoing effort to get in there and sort out what is at the root of this problem, why they are overheating, how much damage is actually being done. at the same time, there is speculation about the radiation levels. yesterday they were so high that they had to evacuate the workers from the plant. of course there are 200,000 people who have been moved from their homes at a 20 kilometer, 12 or 13-mile no go zone around the plant. other countries are insisting it should be around 50 miles. in tokyo, people are heading for the exits, voting with their feet. they simply do not trust the information they're getting right now, the lines at the airport, the lines at the immigration department are ever, ever longer. right now the information coming from the government is the raidation levels are under control, and they're trying their best to grapple with this problem of bringing the reactors down, bringing the heat of the reactors down. the difficulty right now is that the people are just not believing what they're hearing. stan grant, cnn, tokyo. more images out today illustrating the power of the tsunami that hit after last week's earthquake. this from a port on japan's northeast coast. huge cargo ships tossed on to piers and then left there when the waters receded. there are tens of billions of dollars in losses. on the ground in the disaster zone snow is falling, temperatures are freezing. search and rescue crews are equipped for the cold weather but survivors lack food, water, blankets and shelter from the bitter cold. the u.s. government is taking no chances with citizens and troops in japan. it is now telling all americans to stay at least 50 miles away from the crippled nuclear reactor in fukushima. our foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty is live at the white house with more on what they're recommending to americans that are in japan right now. hey, jill. >> hey, kiran. there's been a lot of change so let's go through it. late last night the state department announcing that they're having what's called a voluntary departure for the families of people who work in three different locations, embassies and consulate and another location in japan, so that is the u.s. embassy in tokyo, the consulate in nagoya and also the fsi, foreign service institute field school in yokohama. those people are being authorized to leave. they're not being forced or ordered to leave. it's voluntary still. state department says that it will have clarter planes available for those people to leave, 3600 if necessary. alsoer this saying those charter planes could be available to americans in general. we already know the state department is saying americans should not be traveling to japan. they should postpone any travel to japan. they also have expanded that evacuation zone around the crippled nuclear reactor to 50 miles. now, that's according to nuclear regulatory commission american nrc rules. the japanese to that point have been saying 20 miles. it's now 50-mile radius and here is how the chairman of the nrc greg jaczko explained why they are doing that. >> we looked at what they have and compared at what we have here in the united states. as a result of that we determined that in the united states we would make a recommendation to evacuate personnel to a much larger area than currently being done in japan. >> so in other words, right now, kiran, the u.s. government is saying that americans should be paying attention to what the u.s. government is saying about that evacuation zone, and finally we have military families and they have told they can leave as well, there are quite a lot of them, 43,000 family members, dependents in japan and they're being helped to leave, should they want to go. >> i'm sure, people have differing views but there are many who do want to get out. jill dougherty for us this morning, thanks so much. airlines are also watching the situation in japan. there's currently a no-fly zone within 19 miles of the fukushima daiichi nuclear facility. some airlines rerouted flights bound for tokyo more than 150 miles from the plant. american airlines is operating normally. government officials say no government aircraft entering the u.s. has tested positive for radiation. >> the winds are eventually going to blow whatever is over the atmosphere in japan closer to the united states. >> right. >> and when we talked to some scientists they said the amount of radiation in any clouds that come over is going to be vastly reduced by the time it comes over here but it is certainly scary and jennifer delgado is in the weather center with more on when the clouds may make their way over here. >> i want to ease everybody's nerves. we've been dealing with leaks across this place but we haven't been dealing with any ejections. let me show you right now talking about the winds, the winds so very important dealing with the fukushima daiichi plant and leaking. winds coming out of the northwest, that is the offshore flow, what we want and we'll continue to see that through today, tomorrow and even through saturday. as we start to go through early next week, potentially we could see those winds shifting. take a look at this graphic right here, talking about the surface winds and the winds have been very strong. we actually have an area of low pressure that's departing and this model will start right back in, in a second, you can see how tight they are. this is actually potentially taking some of that radiation up towards the aleutian islands, even potentially up towards northeastern portions of russia. keep in mind as you look at this graphic as we widen up a bit more for you look how far away we are from japan to the western coastline of the u.s., well, the problem as i was saying because we haven't had an ejection, say like what we saw with the volcano that erupted in iceland that spread ash across parts of europe, when we're dealing with leak we talk about the surface winds, the lower levels and the strong winds are beneficial for mixing out that radiation. right now we don't have to worry about the potential for it making to the west coast. we'll watch for the potential for any changes happening out there. >> jennifer, thanks so much. meanwhile, japanese engineers still scrabbling to contain the damaged reactors. what progress have they made? coming up next we'll talk to a u.s. engineer who took part in the cleanup on three mile island. is there another race in hillary clinton's future in 2012 or 2016? she talks exclusively to our bee wolf blitzer coming up. wrestling backpower. moammar gadhafi gaining ground in the battle for libya as the world turns its attention to the crisis in japan. the latest on the bloody civil war ahead, it's nine minutes past the hour. it's 12 minutes past the hour right now. we're continuing to watch as developments continue in the nuclear situation in japan. we saw those water drops, helicopters trying to cool down some of the reactors at the plant. >> right. >> engineers at the fukushima plant are hoping to avoid full meltdown, the goal at that time and trying to get things back on track. we talked about four out of the six plants have had some sort of explosion, hydrogen explosion within them as engineers try to cool the reactors and to make sure that radiation levels don't spike. >> there are fires elsewhere in the spent fuel rod pools and it's been a really difficult situation this morning. military helicopters dumping sea water on the plant. those efforts failed. trucks are on standby with water cannons to spray directly into the reactors. blake barrett oversaw the nu response to the three mile island accident, almost mystical in the minds of many americans who remember that and scary that was. he joins us live. welcome to the program. i want to start with the spent fuel pools, where these fuel rods are kept within the facility. we know they've been trying to get water on those and actually there's some difference of opinion between the americans and the japanese about how dangerous that situation is. explain to us why that's important, those spent fuel rod pools. >> well, it's very important because they are exposed to the environment right now because they had hydrogen explosions that blew the roofs off the areas of the pool and there's highly radioactive material in the spent fuels and due to some fault in either the structure or through the explosions in the past the water has been reduced in levels in those pools such that the fuel is likely overheating and causing some radioactive releases which make high radiation levels in the localized area. >> so it's interesting that we're bringing you on to talk about this because three mile island happened back in 1979 and for people that don't remember what happened it was a partial meltdown after water meant to cool the awe rain yum fuel was released from the containment chamber because of equipment malfunction but the bottom line is many people say that even though as christine said has mystical status in terms of stoking fears about nuclear plants, no one died in this accident, and most people were exposed to what now we say was the equivalent of a chest x-ray. as you take a look at what's happening now in japan at the fukushima plant, how does this compare? >> well, there's many similarities but the situation in fukushima is much larger. there are three reactors involved as opposed to one, two spent fuel pools involved. we didn't have a spent fuel pool at three mile island. the containment at three mile island was not breached in any way. three mile island was a much simpler situation although it was serious, this is more serious. >> using water cannons to try to get water in the pools, the helicopters, in your mind, are they doing the right things right now to try to address this? >> it seems to me they are. they're doing everything they can to bring cooling to that, to reduce the energy and disperse the energy and to reduce the releases going into the environme environment. tepco operators are doing a h o heroic job in difficult circumstances. >> this 180 people they're cycling in and out in groups of 50 are basically on a suicide mission, doing this for the national good, to try to stem an even bigger disaster, but by all accounts they likely will die. n in chernobyl, the people that were left behind died in three months because of the radiation levels they were exposed to. that is a terrifying thought in and of itself. are there other failsafes in place at these nuclear plants so if something like this happened, workers didn't have to give their lives. >> i don't agree what you said about suicide missions and that sort of thing. i don't think it is of that severity. these are trained nuclear technicians working in that plant and i this i they know what they're doing so i would not refer to this as saw sidal at all. there are many safeguards that are there in place. what happened here is a phenomenal natural zadisaster wh the huge tsunami that took out all the electrical systems that were there. it is not suicidal. >> you think after they get this taken care of, if they finally get the water back running that the people that are in there right now are going to live out their lives? >> i believe they will, yes doi. there will be a higher risk of cancer probably for these people but it will be a statistical analysis kind of thing. i don't believe there's going to be acute radiation sickness situation with these operators but with all radiation you want to reduce your risk and reduce your exposure as much as you can. >> lake barrett thank you so much for joining us. your point of view is interesting because of the three mile island incident and the parallels that you see there. thanks so much. >> absolutely, thanks. >> you're welcome. find out how you can help cleanup efforts in japan, impact our world on cnn.com. anderson cooper is live in japan with the latest. and hillary clinton talks about her plans for 2012 and perhaps for 2016 and what does she have in store for herself in the future? hear what she told wolf blitzer coming up. president obama is going with the red state to win it all, but that's not making republicans happy. find out his final four picks ahead. it's 17 minutes past the hour. thbe pt delicious gourmet gravy. and she agrees. wi fcyest gravy lovers, uratannjoy the delicious, satisfying taste grmet gravy every day. fay as the best ingredient is love. she won't run against him but she won't be working for him again. wolf blitzer sat down with secretary of state hillary clinton during her trip through the middle east in north africa and asked her what her plans are for 2012. >> if the president is reelected, do you want to serve a second term as secretary of state? >> no. >> would you like to serve as secretary of defense? >> no. >> would you looic to be vice president of the united states? >> no. >> would you like to be president of the united states? >> no. >> why not? >> because i have the best job i could ever have. this is a moment in history where it is almost hard to catch your breath. there are both the tragedies and disasters we've seen from haiti to japan and there are the extraordinary opportunities and challenges that we see right here in egypt and the rest of the region. >> she's also said no to a possible run in 2016 as well. she's clearly ruled out more service after this. >> that's the beautiful thing about a mind, you can always change it. 2016 is a long way off. michelle obama planted her spring garden yesterday and now writing a book about it. she signed a deal to write about her "let's move" campaign, an effort to end childhood obesity through diet and exercise. the first lady will donate all of the money she makes from the sale of the book to charity. >> i like to do this but i have a deal problem. nothing will grow. he really went out on a limb yesterday, president obama -- >> marigolds. >> president obama filled out his ncaa tournament brackets, three of the four are located in swing states but who did he pick to win it all? >> you go with kansas after last year? >> i picked north carolina, they lost, the next year they won for me, i think kansas is going to do the same thing. they always feel bad about losing when the president picks them, they're going to go all the way. >> the president also picked the jayhawks last year and lost but in 2009 he nailed it with north carolina. republicans are going after his appearance on espn saying he should be focusing on more pressing issues. >> every year the president fills out the bracket, george w. bush did it, too. >> yes. >> i think i picked pittsburgh to go all the way. who did you pick, ohio state? >> you have to help me fill it out. i could pick an entire stock portfolio but could not fill out brackets. >> you fill that out for me, even trade. education secretary arne duncan tells "usa today" schools should graduate half of their basketball players or shouldn't be able to compete in the ncaa tournament. if that rule were in place three women's teams and ten men's teams would be out. arne duncan was captain of the harvard basketball team and academic all-american in 1987. they said something like 43% of the revenue generated from ncaa is from schools that don't graduate 50% of the players. let's make a deal, just about anywhere, facebook launching its own version of groupon and carmen -- caramel -- carmen is minding your business. >> i do not pay retail. i'm loving this stuff. this is the groupon effect. this is launching in five test cities and a fairly direct challenge to groupon which is evaluated at $15 billion. facebook deals first launched with a local location based deal, if you know four square and how that works that was back in november. now you can join with your friends to get local discounts together. now the new page if you go there to facebook.com/deals says coming soon, deals are about to get bet we are fans. atlanta, austin, dallas, san diego and san francisco, you get to check it out and i'm a little bit jealous. gap has joined in the deal-making via facebook, the little sprinkle of ebay, they began a promo of gap my price.com. name your price for a pair of khakis. they retail for $49.50. the offers are between $35 and $45. yesterday we got $45, so we saved a little bit of money. we saved on shipping. deal space here it's all getting more creative, just going to ramp up and i think it's good for us. >> i think it's good for us and must be driving retailers crazy. >> drives them a little nuts. >> they have to move fast and they could squeeze their margins. if i get those khakis cheaper. >> with the groupon thing for small retailers, this isn't making money but gets bodies in. this is also marketing for them. >> if you're a small business it's great. >> some businesses are finding themselves making different choices because of groupon, so when i bought from a groupon about getting a picture made they said well our groupon users, you're experiencing a two-week delay, meaning that they're going to get their full priced customers out there first. my friend went to get a massage, we don't have the groupon masseuse here. >> there's a special. do you want the groupon masseuse? i don't know. do you want to be in the groupon -- >> thanks, carmen. the latest on the nuclear crisis in japan including a new warning to americans who may be in harm's way. and the latest developments in libya, the envoy warning gadhafi may commit genocide, slaughtering his own people to hang on to power. will the world respond? it's 27 minutes past the hour. homeowners -- rates have been going up, but you can still refinance to a fixed rate as low as 4.75% at lendingtree.com, where customers save an average of $293 a month. call lending tree at... today. i'm 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>> reporter: kiran, the situation in benghazi itself is peers to be calm at this point in time. we are hearing reports of ongoing reports of shelling some 100 miles to the west of here, that is where the fighting is concentrated over the last few days, multiple reports of air strikes and artillery points and sniper positions, a growing sense of concern and alarm here amongst the opposition especially given the slow pace that the international community is moving at in terms of trying to implement some sort of a no fly zone or protective measures. secretary clinton might be talking about an upped pace of negotiations but for people here, they feel as if that is crawling along at their own expense. there's a lot of talk about saving innocent lives but the opposition will tell you innocent lives are being lost here every day as the international community continues to debate what needs to be done. the entire city bracing e ing i for an onsought as gadhafi appears to be bombing eastern libya into submission. >> arwa damon calm where you are but again not far away in the area thaw talked about, ashtabiyah gun fights. thanks so much, arwa. there's a new developments in the month-long uprising in bahrain. authorities there detained at least five prominent opposition activists, a further sign the government is trying to silence descent rather than open any dialogue. the three-month rule gives military the power to battle the uprising. americans are warning other americans to move 50 miles away from the daiichi power plant. dr. sanjay gupta will tell us what it is like there now. a nuclear power plant on top of dual fault lines. a short drive from new york city new fears it may not be worth the risk because of what's happening in japan. the reactors that have people worried at home the most. it's 34 past the hour. 38 minutes past the hour now. japan is trying to prevent a total meltdown at their daiichi plant. the daily beast website compiled a list of where we're most vulnerable in the united states based on safety records and the potential for disasters, we wanted to show where our nuclear plants are in america. we have many of them. we want to show you the ones that were listed as perhaps the most vulnerable. number three is the limerick nuclear power plant in pennsylvania, about 21 miles northwest of philadelphia and the deal is here in limerick, pennsylvania, is that basically you have about nearly 8 million people that live within 50 miles of this plant. number two is california, this is the san onofre nuclear power plant. this sits between los angeles and san diego, and there you have almost 9.5 million people living within 50 miles of the plant, a lot of the risk assessment is how big of a population is near there and would have to evacuate if there was a problem and just like the plant facing possible meltdown in japan this sits on an openet coastline near active fault lines, built to withstand a 7.0 magnitude quake. perhaps the most vulnerable plant is indian point energy center in buchanan, new york, westchester county. one of the reasons why is how close it is to the city of new york, just 24 miles north of the city and here you have population center only 50 miles away from about 17.5 million people. scientists say it sits near intersecting fault lines but that a major quake is not likely in this area. the biggest concern and the biggest vulnerability if there was any meltdown at indian point, 17 million people in the surrounding area could be in danger. speaking of indian point it has two reactors, and they provide as much as a third of the power for new york city and its northern suburbs. governor andrew cuomo of new york ordered a safety review of the site saying we may have to get that power from somewhere else. take a listen. >> i understand the power and the benefit, i also understand the risk and this plant in this proximity to new york city was never a good risk. >> the company that operates indian point says it was built to withstand a larger earthquake than one the region has never seen. there are 17 million people living in the 50-mile vicinity that may have to evac bait. >> the united states is breaking with the japanese and warning all americans to get at least 50 miles away from the crippled daiichi nuclear plant in fukushima suggesting the nuclear crisis may be worse than japanese officials are letting on, that's the concern. >> our chief medical correspo correspondent dr. sanjay gupta is in tokyo and joins us live. there are 180 rotating on the site at daiichi power station. there are differences of opinion with the experts as to how much danger they're in. at what point does the best protective gear fail to keep them safe? >> reporter: there is a lot of conflicting information with the evacuation zones. that's a good example because people are dealing with limited information, certainly outside the plant and inside the plant as well. you know, when you're talking about some of the most dangerous types of radiation no matter what kind of gear you have, the gamma radiation we're talking about that can penetrate just about anything, people carry around certain devices to sort of give them an idea of whether they've been contaminated and also do surveillance on them toefz to find out if there's radioactivity and also certain types of devices like respirator, they hear a hazmat suit, something like this but again when you're talking about the most dangerous forms of eyizing radiation there's just very little you can do besides getting behind some real barrier. you've heard the back and forth, whether there is water in the containment tanks surrounding some of the spent fuel rods. they don't quite know the answer to that even though it's in the plant because they can't get close enough to evaluate that particular pond so you get an idea these people are walking around in these hazmat suits, respirators, no electricity so doing this by dark or flashlight, putting out explosions, putting out fires, trying to turn valves and assess the plant at the same time with high levels of radiation compared to the outside they're being exposed to so it's a remarkable unbelievable situation for them. >> the broadcasting in japan, nhk says they've withdrawn water from the site. they've withdrawn that because of high radiation levels, exactly what you're talking about, that is sort of impeding what they're trying to do. the u.s. government meantime is telling citizens to evacuate 50 miles away from this plant. sanjay, what dangers exist for people still inside that 50 mile zone? >> reporter: well, you know, what we talk about are acute radiation sickness as sort of a primary thing and that's someone who is just exposed to high levels of radiation can get symptoms quickly if the levels are high enough. it affects all the various cells in the body that are dividing rapidly so someone gets nauseated, they may vomit and have bleeding from their intesti intestines, hair falls out, they have rashes, that's the acute radiation sickness. the water cannons are further away, these people are in vehicles squirting the water at the spent fuel rods and they're worried about those people that far away. imagine what it's like for 180-some people inside the plant. we don't know what the levels are inside. they've been raising what they think is the acceptable safe level. a lot of this is uncertain and we're not getting a lot of information what those people are going through as they try to salvage the safety of this plant. >> i mean it's a really scary situation to think about and you know whether or not, i mean eventually hopefully this will be successful but at what cost? boy it's tough. sanjay thanks so much for joining us this morning. >> reporter: thank you. still to come a big warmup for the northeast but that northeast warmup is not going to last very well. we'll take it, though. jennifer delgado will have the travel forecast. and tiger woods appeared on late night with jimmy fallon and why the comedian couldn't stop thanking him. it's 44 minutes past the hour. and brewed the coffee. we heated the bathwater and gave kelly a cleaner ride to school. cooked the cube steaks and steamed the veggies. entertained dad, and mom, and a neighbor or two. kept watch on the house when they slept. and tomorrow we could do even more. we're cleaner, domestic, abundant and ready now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power today. learn more at anga.us. it's 42 degrees outside in new york city, going up to 60 degrees. >> 60 degrees in new york and st. patrick's day, look out if you're riding the subways today. people are probably bursting at the seam to get out there and party. it is estimated it's going to cost about $350,000 to clean up wisconsin state capital after several weeks of demonstrations by union protesters when they were camping out there for 24 hours at a time. substantially lower than a previous estimate which put it at 7.5 million. the new figure accounts for costs such as interior and landscape restorations, some argue that the number is still too high. they say protests really cost little damage. >> left hundreds of pizza boxes. scientists say space junk could cause serious problems. it is floating around the earth, pieces can collide with satellites. they will slow the pieces down and push them on to a different course. >> like playing real life asteroids. >> it's cool once you have a multibillion-dollar satellite and then you're worried about the satellites. >> we pollute the earth and then pollute the atmosphere. flooding from the pasaeic river continues to threaten the area. last year the county received $50 million in federal aid because they had the same thing happen. residents say they're hoping to receive additional funding for the post flood cleanup. there's going to be a warmup through the south and midwest today, we've been telling you about the nice weather expected in the midwest. get a quick check with jennifer delgado in the extreme weather center. >> good morning christine and kiran. you mentioned the flooding across parts of new jersey. the pay sayic river going down to minor flood stage and more good news, notice how quiet it is across the northeast, the storm system out of here and a good portion of the u.s. nice and quiet. however we are watching out towards the pacific northwest. we have been dealing with heavy rain over about the last month through parts of oregon and we're going to video coming out of california out of big sur, incredible video of a mud slide. heavy rainfall when the ground gets weak it starts to collapse. this is danger because we have more storm systems pushing through as we go through the upcoming weekend. you can see some light rain but also dealing with some snow right along the mountains. we're watching the upper midwest, a little bit of light rain but we have a flood watch in place for parts of the dakotas, we don't want temperatures to warm up too quickly because we'll be dealing with the snow melt, leading to more flooding problems. mperatures as i said 10 to 20 degrees above average down toward the south, up towards areas including the midwest and spreading toward the southeast. it gets better. look at the numbers, 70s and 80s, some of the warmest temperatures we've seen since last fall. now finally i can't leave you without st. patrick's day little forecast and you can see overall lots of sunshine in place. i don't know if kiran and christine are going to take their little ones to the st. paddy's day parade but the weather will be nice. >> temperatures in the raid parp to 65. >> i'm smart enough not to bring it them. the death rate in the u.s. dropped to an all-time low in 2009 down 2.3% from the year before. deaths from heart disease the top cause, we're down almost 4% and a big drop in homicides as well, homicides down almost 7%. startling statistics out of new york city point to a prescription drug abuse epidemic. the number of prescriptions filled for oxycodone, the generic name for oxycontin the number of prescriptions doubled, that's one out of 8 million taking so there's a big demand for that legal drug. top stories just minutes away including trying to prevent a total meltdown, the massive effort going on to cool the nuclear plant in japan. and what your thumbs up is worth to a company. the real world value of a facebook "like." it's 51 minutes past the hour. refined and aerodynamic design destined to shape our future. the jaguar xj. automobile magazine's 2011 design of the year. what do you see yourself doing after you do retire? 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takers say the question was unfair because they didn't have time to watch reality tv because they were too busy studying for the sats. there's irony for you. top stories coming your way after the break, four minutes to the top of the hour. who work tod your goals and help you achieve them. as one of the nation's largest wealth managers, northern trust's goals-based investment strategies are tailored to your needs. ♪ and overseen by experts who seek to maximize opportunities while minimizing risk. ♪ expertise matters. find it at northern trust. just one bite ope ♪ dreams of land meet sea, deliciously ♪ ♪ friskies surfin' and turfin' faris.♪ ♪ feed the senses. happening now, americans evacuating, the state department coordinating charter flights to get american citizens out of japan. also, an agency at the united nations saying winds could bring the radiation to the united states by tomorrow. we're tracking how dangerous it really is, on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning, it's thursday, march 17th. welcome to "american morning." i'm christine romans. >> i'm kiran chetry. happy st. patrick's day. in japan a helicopter is dropping tons of water trying to cool the nuclear power plant, dropping water into the towers. we're live in japan with the very latest on these efforts. we're closely watching nuclear plants here at home, which are the most vulnerable if a quake should strike this country. first the u.s. government taking action to help americans evacuate the disaster zone in japan. tokyo's airport is still packed with people trying to get out of the country. the u.s. state department says it's now chartering planes for family members of its staff and other americans who need help getting home. foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty is live at the white house with more. how are they working this? how do you get a charter flight? >> right now they've got this authorized departure for, it's a voluntary departure for the members of families that come from the embassy, there are three locations that are affected right now, it's u.s. embassy in tokyo, consulate in nagoya and foreign institute field school in yokohama. they're being told locations they can go. most charters will be going from tokyo as you can imagine. so they will make provisions in some fashion to get people to that location, and also according to the state department they're also making if necessary those charters available to americans who are in this evacuation zone, and i'll talk about that in a second around the crippled nuclear plant. so it is difficult to get out, as you said at the airport. and that's the second thing, what should americans in general who are in japan do? as we know already, for days they've been saying do not travel, anybody outside do not travel to japan. defer any type of travel. the other thing is that evacuation zone that the japanese already had around the crippled nuclear plant, the u.s. is now saying that they are expanding that. it's 50 miles from the center of that plant out, and the japanese up until recently are still saying 12 miles so the americans are being more cautious and here is how the head of the nuclear regulatory commission explained why that discrepancy. >> we took a look at the information that we had and compared it to the actions that we would take here in the united states. as a result of that, we determined that in the united states, we would make a recommendation to evacuate personnel to a much larger area than is currently being done in japan. >> and also last night, late last night president obama called the prime minister of japan, prime minister kan, told him the u.s. is standing with japan and he talked about military assets, special ooilgzed people, experts in radiation and dealing with the effects of radiation. >> jill dougherty for us this morning, thanks so much. here is the latest of the day, daiichi power station in fukushi fukushima, japanese military helicopters dropped 30 tons of water into reactor number three. they are hoping to fire up the facility's cooling system. since the earthquake and tsunami hit last week there's been a hydrogen explosion at number one reactor, a possible containment damage at reactor number three and strong possibility of a structure tear at reactor three causing a radioactive release. there was an explosion and two fires at reactor four that forced workers to evacuate earlier in the week. emergency crews temporarily withdrew a water cannon at the daiichi nuclear power plant because of high radiation levels. stan grant is live in tokyo. clearly this is a setback at least temporarily as they pull that water cannon back because they are concerned about the high radiation levels there. >> reporter: yes, this has been fairly kotzly. yesterday they tried to get the helicopters in to drop water. they aborted that because of the radiation levels. it is more precautionary. they're reporting here the nuclear safety agencies the levels are at a level not going to be any risk to humans, in fact they rise and drop very quick quickly but they don't want to expose anyone to unnecessary risk. the army is in there with five water trucks working as i speak. they made the point none of their soldiers ought to be getting out and putting themselves in any unnecessary risk at all. they're trying to cool down the reactors. they're also trying to get an jut side power source which would allow them to get the cooling system moving in, if they can do that they may be able to bring this under control relatively quickly or in a much quicker fashion than they are at the moment. we are getting a report from the nuclear safety agency that reactor number one is relatively stable, reactor number five and also number six also considered to be relatively stable. we have the problems in numbers three and four, especially the exposed spent fuel rods, if they are exposed, in the pool of water, there is debate how much water is in there. that's where the real dang ear parentally lies. >> seems to be a debate. it. lots of details of what's going on there. it's almost very hard to follow really because we're trying to figure out where is the most serious danger and what is being done about it. american authorities are saying 50 miles is what they'd like to see americans evacuated to. stan, thank you so much, stan. radioactive radiation plumes are making their way over the pacific ocean this morning and here is a forecast for when it's coming to the united states. an arm of the united nations said it could hit southern california by friday. health and nuclear experts say when it does, levels will be low. jennifer delgado is in the weather center with details. obviously they're going to test when it happens to see how big of a threat it is but a lot of people are scared. >> a lot are people are worried. first of all we want to talk about what's happening with japan. winds are coming out of the northwest, that's an offshore flow, great news, helping to mix the radiation, the particles and the lower levels. friday into saturday it's going to be offshore. now as i take you over, i want to go to the other graphic and show you how we're projecting this air to move. as we go through the next several days now, as i show you on our google earth, this is the fukushima daiichi plant with the winds coming from the northwest. that is going to be pushing the air particles offshore. we're taking this 48 hours out. if we want to go farther out, in this graphic this is the area of low pressure that's causing the strong winds through parts of japan. notice how it's going to be moving as we go through the next several days, we could potentially see possibility some of that making its way up towards the aleutian islands as well as northeastern parts of russia. for the possibility of it making it from japan over to the western coastline of the u.s., right now not that great because we haven't had an explosion at the plant. we've been dealing with leaks so that means we're dealing with the particle action and the surface winds, with the winds being gusty that is helping to mix it out and with wind patterns being active we're talking with this area of low pressure moving through that's also making the atmospheric conditions even better as well. so we'll send it back over to you, kiran and christine. >> shaz so much. coming up in 20 minutes we'll be back in tokyo on a special live report on the growing raid yigs plant. we'll check in with dr. sanjay gupta on the radiation risk coming in about 25 minutes. the house is scheduled to vote on a vote to pull root government radio's public funding. a conservative taped robin' ron hiller criticizing the tea party saying they would be better off without federal money. he resigned because of the scandal. a state's legislature is considering a bill to get licensed gun owners, allowing them to carry weapons on school grounds. students, teachers and police argue whether guns make campuses safe are or more dangerous. a 40-foot section of pavement fell into the pacific ocean. drivers on highway one near big sur had to leave their cars and walk to safety. no word on what caused the road to crumble. mexico admitted the unmanned drones over its territory to combat drug traffics, the intelligence is what led to the capture of several suspects in last month's murder of a u.s. immigration agent in mexico. the centers for disease control says a baby born in 2009 has a life expectancy of 78 years and 2 months. there's a gap between the sexes. for men life expectancy is 75 1/2 and for women, it's 80 1/2 years. i have to save more money. >> isn't that sad that's what we think of now? if you want to save money on your insurance let your insurance company monitor how you drive. would you do it if you meant lower premiums? >> assuming your' a good trial. what are hillary clinton's plans for 2012, what she told wolf blitzer, it's eight minutes past the hour. [ male announcer ] a chicken coop: the unlikely birthplace of a fundamental idea. it's where ethel percy andrus found a retired teacher living because she could afford nothing else. ethel couldn't ignore the clear need for health and financial security. and it inspired her to found aarp. for over 50 years, we've continued that work, to help all americans pursue their best life. discover more of what we do, for every generation at aarp.org. with the world now focused on the desperate situation in japan, libyan dictator moammar gadhafi is taking the opportunity to try to brutally take back his own country. a libyan envoy is the u.n. is warning gadhafi may commit genocide, stepping up air strikes on his own people. this shows a rocket were propeld grenade attack on rebels in ros lanuf. they are gearing up for the possible bloodiest battle of all of them. four journalists have now disappeared, they all work for the "new york times." reporters anthony shadid and steven farrell and tyler hicks and lindsey adario. the paper received information they were picked up by government forces near ajavia. tom friedman talked about his colleagues and the risks they took to get the real story out. >> i was just in cairo working with some of them. they were caught up it seems in the most dangerous kind of battlefield situation you can be in covering a battle in a town that was changing sides between rebel forces and government forces, and you can only hope they're either in communicado, that they're safe or in the hands of people who are going to look after them and release them soon. >> libyan government forces have no information where the journalists might be but if they were picked up by the libyan military they would be returned to tripoli. and the uprising in bahrain authorities detained five prominent opposition activists, a further sign the government is trying to silence descent rather than impose dialogue. they imposed a three-month emergency rule that gives the military powers the power to battle the uprising. wolf blitzer is traveling with the secretary of state hillary clinton during her trip through north africa and the middle east. he had a chance to sit down with her in cairo yesterday. they're now in tunisia where wolf joins us on the phone. good to have you with us. you talked to secretary clinton yesterday. she had decisive answers for you about her future plans. >> reporter: she didn't mince any words at all. i was surprised, being the diplomat she is, i thought she'd hem and how and give me wiggle room but she was very firm when we asked her what her plans were on a whole range of options that have been mooted. if the president is reelected do you want to serve a second term as secretary of state? >> no. >> would you like to be secretary of defense. >> no. >> would you like to be vice president of the united states? >> no. >> would you like to be president of the united states? >> no. >> reporter: she didn't mince any words, she could always change her mind, it's a free country but as far as yesterday in cairo is concerned she was firm. she has no plans. she wants to serve out her first term in the obama administration and then move on to something else but not in government. she was firm on that. >> she certainly has to deal with in the four years a lot of turmoil and unrest and challenges in her job as our top diplomat. you asked her about the situation in japan and if their government is being transparent with ours, when it comes to these nuclear fears. what did she tell you? >> it's interesting, because there's so much on her plate, so much on president obama's plate, not just domestic economic issues and other matters but in terms of foreign policy you think of what's happening here in north africa and the middle east, what's happening in japan it's amazing and i wanted to get a sense if she thought that the japanese themselves were being transparent, were being honest with their own people, with the world about what's going on. here's what she said. are you confident that we're getting the full story from the government of japan? >> i believe based on the feedback i'm getting from our experts, i'm not a nuclear expert, i don't pretend to be, there was a lot of confusion as there would be in any disaster f you're hit with an earthquake and then hit with a tsunami and trying to figure out what's happening to your nuclear reactors it takes some time to get a handle on that. >> reporter: i can tell you, kiran, she is really worried about u.s. embassy personnel, consulate personnel, their families, their dependents in japan, very worried about u.s. military, tens of thousands of u.s. military troops in japan right now, a lot of american businessmen and women and a lot of tourists, trying to figure out what's the best strategy right now, going to try to get as many people away from the danger zone 50 miles or so away from the danger zone. they're going to make major decisions about getting out of japan and as we speak she's meeting with the president of tunisia, at the presidential palace, she's also very closely with japan. >> she's listen watching the events closely in libya, getting words and reports out of libyan tv, gadhafi forces may be in control of another keycy misratah as conflict goes on there. did she give you information on what level of involvement the united states would take? >> she was firm in making it clear the u.s. was not going to take unilateral action unless there's been authorization by the u.n. security council. that has not happened yet. maybe the russians and chinese wouldn't i veto now that the no-fly zone has been released. the story could be over even as the entire world continues talking about it so it's a problem, she knows what's going on but the obama administration has no stomach right now to take unilateral u.s. military action to go after gadhafi or back up the opposition, at least not yet but that could change given what's happened on the ground but as of yesterday, and this morning. >> a lot of good points made this morning, wolf blitzer he is traveling with secretary of state hillary clinton now in tunisia. great you got a chance to call in and talk to us. thanks so much, wolf. up next marketing a product online, the big difference between facebook and twitter when it comes to getting bang for your buck. and your car insurer wants to be in your passenger seat all the time. it could save you hundreds of dollars. would you do it? we're minding your business after a quick break. it's 18 minutes past the hour. with japan's nuclear crisis widening the yen has soared to record highs, a lot of speculations investors and insurers will be redeeming overseas assets. central bank may have to step in to weaken the yen to improve the country's ability to compete. >> sounds counter intuitive but. >> it allows to you make exports cheaper. this is an issue, this is a fundamental issue, not an issue of the price of the yen really. >> a lot of problems there, a lot of challenges for them. businesses that market their products online are getting a better bang for their bunk on facebook than twitter. an average tweet results in 80 cents' worth of ticket sales. a typical facebook like, giving the thumbs up to a fan site or site drives $1.34 in sales. >> i thought it was just about talking to your friends. anal says it's changing the way purchases are authorized inside iphone and ipad after consumers complained their kids were wracking up hundreds of dollars in charges, it seems when users enter their password on the device it does not prompt again for a password for 15 minutes and turning that windows the kiddies are shopping up a storm. sorry, i think it's funny. >> a lot of kids don't realize it, too, that they're doing it. >> sure. >> i keep playing this game not real money. one way to save money on car insurance is to have the insurer in the car at all times. they want info on you and willing to give you a discount to get it. >> they want to look over your shoulder, but be in the car with you. are you okay with having someone track your driving habits? i don't know if i am but if you are you can save a lot of money. progressive launched an ad campaign yesterday snapshot program which installs a data recorder in your car to monitor your driving, and it offers you discounts for safer driving so what's safer? the data collected is mileage, hard braking, the time of day or night that you're driving. now this is an opt in program and it can save you up to 30% in annual premiums, that's an average of $150 a year. there are other companies with similar programs, allstate drive wise but they monitor your speed, you go over 80 that's not good. state farm based on mileage savings up to 45% and milemeter.com, this is specifically about miles. if you drive under 12,000 miles a year you can get a discount. the insurance institute says there are privacy concerns but if you're willing to volunteer and you save money it may be worthwhile for you. >> ch would you do it? >> i don't drive very often for the good of myself and the community. >> why would you want them no know how you're braking? >> i don't want them to know how fast i'm driving. that's all i got to say. it's a little too much for me but if you're safe -- >> if you have a teenager though this is very interesting. you know how expensive it is to get a policy. >> they can't go up to a certain speed so by the time our kids are old enough to drive it will be like a jetson's car, they won't be able to do anything. >> let's do a quick check on the markets and how they closed yesterday, the dow down 242 points. >> ouch. >> that's a big ouch and nasdaq down 50 and s&p down about 25 points yesterday. >> the dow negative for the year which is a bummer. we'll see how it goes today. thank you, carmen. >> thank you. we're talking about the nuclear power plant issue on top of dual fault lines in the united states. the top three most vulnerable, where they are and whether or not there's a risk of what happens, what is happening in japan whether or not they could happen here. also dr. sanjay gupta live from tokyo on the radiation fear spreading across japan. 25 minutes past the hour. finance to a fixed rate as low as 4.75% at lendingtree.com. plus, get the best deal or we'll pay you $1,000. call lending tree at... today. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] with amazing innovation, driven by relentless competition, wireless puts the world at your command. ♪ welcome back to "american morning." right now in japan they're dousing the nuclear reactor's with 30 tons of water. many reactors in the u.s. are getting older and more expensive to maintain. the daily beast compiled a list of the most vulnerable plants in the u.s., based on safety records, potential disasters and how many people live around it. number three on the list is the limerick nuclear power plant 21 miles northwest of philadelphia, close to 8 million people live within 50 miles of the plant. number two is the san onofre nuclear power plant sitting between l.a. and san francisco, 9.5 million people just like the plant facing possible meltdown in japan, it is built to withstand a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. and the most vulnerable plant according to the list, indian point just 24 miles north of new york city, it sits near intersecting fault lines but a major quake isn't likely here. a meltdown could put more than 17 million people in danger. governor andrew cuomo ordered a safety review of the site saying we may have to get power from somewhere else. >> i understand the power and the benefit and i also understand the risk and this plant in this proximity to new york city was never a good risk. >> the company that operates indian point says it's built to withstand a larger earthquake than the region has ever seen. >> that's good news. the u.s. government helping some americans evacuate from the earthquake zone in japan using charter flights, basically it's for family members of government personnel but warning americans to stay 50 miles away from the damaged nuclear reactor telling tourists don't go to japan unless you have to. >> the japanese military using helicopters to drop 30 tons of sea water on to a crippled nuclear reactor to try to cool it down. so far that's done little to low our radiation levels outside the fukushima daiichi plant. engineers are working on a power line to try toet go the plant's own electric pumps working again. >> the u.s. military delivering relief supplies to the earthquake and tsunami zone. american ships and planes brought in more than 7,000 pounds of food and water for survivors. american troops are involved in search and rescue operations on the ground. the united states is breaking with the japanese in one way here warning wuhl americans to stay 50 miles from the crippled nuclear plant in fukushima. right now radiation plume is drifting across the pacific toward the west coast of america. an agency at the united nations is predicting it could arrive at the west coast sometime tomorrow. chief modical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta joins us live from tokyo now. a lot of health issues to discuss. first of all the workers at the site we have had a few nuclear experts we've had on our show over the past few days that say this is basically a suicide mission that these people are sacrificing themselves if you will for the national good, and then we talked earlier with one of the men who was over at three mile island when it happened, he seems to disagree. but there seems to be questions as to whether they're being exposed to potentially fatal doses of radiation. >> reporter: there's conflicting information and sometimes a complete lack of information. what people are trying to figure out is what are the radiation levels inside the plant, and that's an answer we don't know. we know what some of the high readings have been outside the plant, we know what some of the readings have been for example in tokyo, 20 times normal but still very low in terms of causing impact on human health. kiran, we know for example these ponds where they're storing these spent rods, they can't get close enough to examine them as to tell how much water is in them, they had to examine that by air and so that gives you some suggestion that the radiation levels are high within certain parts of the plant. there's not a lot you can do to protect yourself from the gamma rays, they may be wearing a suit like this which is a hazmat suit, loops around the neck and then wearing a mask that says got a respirator that can help. it's hard to say how much risk they're at right now. there are certain levels going to be more risky than other levels. the thing about it is they're just not telling us those levels yet. we don't know. it's been speculation and sort of trying to figure out based on the levels outside what they must be inside. >> and so that's the immediate workers, the worker there is in the immediate vicinity. what about the difference of recommendation coming from the u.s. government telling citizens to stay 50 miles out before the japanese officials had been saying 20 miles out. look at the same data. this is part of what, you know, what we're dealing with here in some ways is unchartered territory. there's been no specific studies done to say this is the absolute size of the evacuation zone. it should be this size based on these readings. some of it is based on weather conditions, wind conditions and things like that. it's safe to say the u.s. recommendations are more conservative. they're saying we need a farther evacuation zone. keep in mind with that 20 kilometer evacuation zone you had hundreds of thousands, 200,000 some residents who are essentially displaced adding to the displacement of the people affected by the tsunami. this is compounding those two problems. as far as the differing numbers, i said almost since the beginning there's an arbitrary nature to this and this is another example of that. >> there's a lot of fears about the radiation cloud, the jet stream is going to be blowing this to the west coast of america. how concerned will we be when it comes this way? will most of the radiation be dissipated? >> well you know we have precedents to look at this sort of thing, for example even after chernobyl there was radiation that made its way across the continent of north america. by the time it got there a few days later the amount of radiation any individual would have been exposed to was a fraction of what a chest x-ray gives. it's safe to say as things stand now it's inconceivable as some experts put it to me that the radiation that would arrive in the united states would be of any detriment to human health. it's just going to dissipate across the ocean, some of the activity of the radioactive particles is going to decrease so it's just, i think right now there's really i think it's safe to say nothing to worry about for people living on the west coast. >> sanjay gupta for us in tech yo thanks so much. japanese engineers scrambling to avoidclear meltdo. up next we'll talk to nuclear expert about what that damage could mean for the facility and for the rest of us. it's 35 minutes past the hour. h. ♪ these here? they belong to men who got a silverado during chevy truck month. with a powertrain backed for 100,000 miles -- that's 40,000 more than f-150. qualified buyers get 0% apr financing for 72 months on all 2011 silverado half-ton models during chevy truck month. get your keys today. uncovering hotel freebies like instant discounts, free-nights... ...and free breakfast at hotels in virtually every city. so, thanks to this large man in a little jetpack... you can search thousands of hotel freebies... right now only at priceline. welcome back to geico radio, hello uh george and linda! george: hello mr. gecko! linda: so, we're such huge fans - george: of yours...and would be really honored... linda: ...if you would marry us. me? linda: yea! you just seem so smart...so - george: british - sounding. i'm not really qualified to speak on matters of the heart. look i'll tell you this: when you insure more than one car geico you could save even more with our multi-car discount. i now pronounce you...thrifty! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. welcome back to "american morning." attempts to cool nuclear reactor at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant have failed. helicopters dumped 30 tons of sea water on the plant. >> they were hoping to lower radiation levels, as we've talked about four out of six reactors are damaged, and there are a lot of questions on when they're going to be able to get this problem under control and what it's going to take. we bring in arnie gunderson. thanks so much for joining us this morning. >> hi, thanks for having me. >> we keep seeing developments change. the latest news that came in about an hour ago, emergency crews temporarily withdrew the water cannons after they detected higher than acceptable radiation levels. what is your assessment of where we are today on this crisis? >> well, this is not something you put out like a traditional fire. whatever water gets on to that nuclear reactor has to be sustained for months, if not years. what's pushing the firemen back is the radiation that's coming from the spent fuel pool, and it's like, they're called gamma rays but it's a very high powered x-ray, and without the water in that fuel pool, there's two things, one, it's not being cooled but two it's not being shielded and so there's an awful lot of gamma rays flooding that site forcing the workers to say further away. >> which is why the water cannons have stopped, they've stopped the water cannons using the water on the facility and they say that they're not going to resume that and it may be because of those gamma rays, that would make it very toxic that area. >> right, you know you see the guys with the bubble suit and that's protecting them from the airborne contamination but the gamma rays are external to their body, like being in an extra machine. it's passing through that bubble suit and there's only a limited amount of stay time that they can be in the area. >> so what does that mean for the 180 workers? there have been differing opinions about what is going to happen to those that are cycling through as they desperately try to avert an even bigger nuclear crisis for their country. >> well the rule of thumb is that 250 rem of radiation will definitely give you cancer. if 100 people get 2.5 rem, somebody in that 100 is going to get cancer. they're probably getting 10 rem, which means that four out of every 100 will get cancer. it's not that they're on a suicide mission and will die immediately, but in the remainder of their life, they've increased the likelihood of cancer by a lot. >> it's probably clear they know the risks as well. these are people who work in the nuclear industry. what are the lessons, if any, for the united states? we've just been showing where there are facilities in the united states that are of the same age although many nuclear experts told us the age of the facility as long as it's kept up properly and there isn't an earthquake is it in good shape? angela merkel in january said they're going to be reviewing their older facilities and would not action tending the life of some of their older facilities. what should the united states do? >> you know these old plants don't meet current standards, they're nowhere near as robust as a plant built in the '80s or '90s, so chancellor merkel decided the eight plants designed in the '70s should have another look at. i was an engineer in the '70s when this plant was being built and we didn't have pocket calculators. we did these on a slide rule. we really need to look at the calculations and the design bases, how severe did we really think mother nature was going to throw something at us. >> the united states though we rely on this agency. vermont, 72% of their electricity generation comes from nuclear power. new jersey, more than half. connecticut more than half. south carolina more than half. you know, could the united states afford to sideline any of these facilities here in the u.s.? >> well first off the vermont yankee number is not correct, but you know, this is the time of year where we can afford to shut them down for a period of time until we analyze it. the load growth in the spring and fall is very low, there's not air conditioning, there's not heating. after three mile island the nuclear regulatory commission shut down all of the plants of a similar design for several months until they went back through and took a hard look at them. there's 23 units in this category and in the spring and fall it's an okay time, there's enough load to shut them down and take a good look at them before the summer peak arrives. >> just one other quick question there, trying to get power up and running again so they can continue to get the water pumps back up and working again. is that when this ends? >> it doesn't end. that heat is going to go on for years, but if they can, if the pipes have retained their integrity, they'll pump water on to this core, but the containments are cracked so the water will cool the core, but it will also create steam. the steam is going to carry out radiation. less radiation than right now, but it's going to carry out radiation for months. >> all right, arnie gungdersen, chief engineer with fairwinds. >> thank you. the education secretary has a message for college basketball. you may be spending a lot of time on the court but need to spend time in the middle of the library. a huge warmup for the east, temperatures above normal. jennifer delgado will have the travel forecast after the break. it's 44 minutes past the hour. as so many irresistible ways to treat yourself to lobster. like our new lobster-and-shrimp trio with a parmesan lobster 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[ male announcer ] america's beverage companies are working together to put more information right up front. adding new calorie labels to every single can, bottle and pack they produce. so you can make the choice that's right for you. ♪ so we're really just starting to get into march madness, st. patrick's day, people are watching basketball with their guinnesss. education secretary arne duncan says things are not going that well at some of the colleges because they're saying that schools, many schools are not even graduating half of their players, and if they're not, they shouldn't be allowed to play in the ncaa tournament. that standard would knock out perdue, syracuse. coach boeheim says the proposal is "completely nuts." basketball teams have small rosters. it would take a couple of players to push an entire team below that mark. >> energy drink, that would certainly seem to shoot up your bracketology. >> if half would be booted out because they couldn't graduate their players. drinks are sparking health concerns, high caffeine could cause heart palpitation and dehydration. a spokesman says energy drinks are no worse than coffee. an 8.3 ounce can of red bull has as much caffeine as one cup of joe. >> actually a little bit less but there are other stimulants in there as well but kids don't just drink one 8.3 ounce. they're guzzling these all day. >> i stick to tea. >> you are so good, sorry, i can't make it through with that. the white house has dwon green for the first time the fountains have been dyed. she was inspired by the chicago river turning green. >> it's awesome. >> you didn't wear green but you love the chicago wearing green? >> i do and my husband is wearing green corduroys. >> kelly green, he is irish to the core. president obama is meeting with irish leaders today and st. patrick day festivities is taking place on capitol hill. let's get a quick check of do that. the weather's morning headlines with jennifer delgado in atlanta. >> kiran i like you have your green on. you can see chris steen and i didn't follow tradition. get the forecast out there. it's going to be at 11:00 a.m. happy to report it is going to be nice. you're looking at video from last year. you can see dry conditions and guess what? we're expecting that today. i take it back over to our graphic here. we're expecting a few clouds around but how about the proof that we're actually going to see dry conditions? well, i'll get right to that in a second. take you over to our max one i'm having a little bit of trouble with our clicker but i've got it right now. here is a look at the radar. across the northeast, nice and quiet. areas up towards the upper midwest we are going to continue to see really some very light shower activity across that region. as that rain comes down, of course, we are watching that for the potential for possibly watching for snow melt as we go later into the next several weeks ahead. now, the problem is we're dealing with warm temperatures down towards the south. we have a ridge of high pressure in place and that is going to be sending temperatures 10 to 20 degrees above average. temperatures climbing into the 70s as well as into the 80s. the warmest temperatures we have seen since last fall. aside from my little clicker mishap, at least you got the forecast. >> thanks, jennifer. >> working on this. >> thanks. top stories coming up a couple of minutes away. the disaster in japan affecting the whole car while driving a new one off the lot this summer may get a whole lot more expensive. >> fighting for their freedom. muhammad ali's personal plea to the ayatollah on behalf of two american hikers. 51 minutes past the hour. refined and aerodynamic design destined to shape our future. the jaguar xj. automobile magazine's 2011 design of the year. water, we take our showers with it. we make our coffee with it. but we rarely tap its true potential and just let it be itself. flowing freely into clean lakes, clear streams and along more fresh water coast line than any other state in the country. come realize water's true potential. dive in-to the waters of pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org. than the bmw 7-series or mercedes s-class... making the decision to own a jaguar just as rational as it is emotional. come op top stalling and call him. >> i am not stalling. you are, too, you're a chicken! ba ba balk, balk, balk, balk! >> balk, balk, balk, to you. >> balk! the buck stops here. >> the cast "the facts of life "will reunite for the first time in 20 years at the tv land awards in 2011. actresses include those who played blair, tooty and natalie jo. >> who is your favorite? blair was the beautiful one but i liked jo. i thought she was a wise-cracker and was cool. >> i really didn't watch the show. that and solid gold dancers, my mom thought i was too young. >> i was as american as apple pie. he went on a limb earlier in the year and filled out hi ncaa bracket and says he has the top seeds advancing to the final four. we're talking about the president and his bracketology. who did he pick to win it all? here is a look. >> this year, you go with kansas after last year? >> look. here is what happened. i picked north carolina. they lost. the next year they won for me. i think kansas is going to do the same thing. they always feel bad about losing when the president picks them. they are going to go all the way. >> you didn't have any other help? >> the president picked the jayhawks and they lost last year but in 2009 he nailed it with north carolina. >> i wonder if they come in with the briefing book with the stats. national security, economy, basketball. >> he's a basketball fan so he probably follows it as well. >> he might give briefings. top stories coming your way after a quick break. they are still hoping that they can make some progress with the sea water trops. japanese officials flying chops over top of the radioactive plant at the daiichi plant, hoping that they can stop this unfolding nuclear disaster as radioactive plume makes its way now across the pacific toward the united states but how big of a threat will it pose once it gets here? we have some answers on this "american morning." good morning to you. glad you're with us on this thursday. march 17th, it's st. patrick's day. i'm kiran chetry. >> i'm christine romans. time to get you caught up what is going on in japan. right now, radiation spewing from the crippled daiichi power station this as an agency at the united nations says winds could bring the radiation to the united states by tomorrow. the u.s. is warning all of its citizens in japan to get at least 50 miles away from this plant. a much wider evacuation zone than the one the japanese officials are recommending. from the air and the ground, officials have dropped tons of sea water on the cooling pool in reactor number three hoping to keep the reactor from completely melting down. the japanese market takes a hit as the yen soars to a record high and the nikkei, the stock market average there continues to plunge. engineers in japan will be trying to fire up the cooling system once again at the daiichi plant using external power lines. these are the systems that were badly damaged and, in some cases, destroyed in the tsunami. senior international correspondent stan grant is joining us live from tokyo. this is one of the most essential, obviously, critical missions as they try to get these external power lines functioning. what is the latest? >> that is exactly what is the root cause of this problem. they knocked out their power supply and knocked out their splimtry power and external supply and why they weren't able to cool down the reactors. if they get that supply a great victory for them and can stabilize this situation. there was a briefing by the nuclear safety agency here. they are now saying several hundred workers who who are now at the plant. yesterday, there were just 506 and they moved it up to 180 and now saying several hundred. they also had the water trucks operating today flooding those reactors with water. they say too soon right now to say how successful they have been. the helicopters also dropping water a little earlier today. the ongoing concern about radiation exists particularly when it surrounds the numbers thorough and numbers four reactors. with those spent fuel rods, perhaps dangerously exposed in number four and sitting in a pool of water that some believe may have actually believe evaporated. they are grappling trying to bring the situation under control and at least get in there and have a look at the text ents of the damage and operation listen throughout the night and perhaps more water spraying tomorrow. >> we will see, of course, we are taking this minute-by-minute as the developments change and, stan, thanks for keeping us up-to-date. appreciate it. the earthquake and tsunami hit last week, officials say a hydrogen explosion at reactor number one. possible containment damage at reactor number two. and there is a strong possibility of a structure tear at the other reactor, reactor number three that is causing a radioactive release. there was also an explosion and two fires at reactor four that forced workers to evacuate earlier in the week. now u.n. scientists say a radioactive plume coming from the crippled japanese reactors could reach southern california by tomorrow. jennifer delgado is in the extreme weather center with new details of the plume's path. let's be clear. american officials, our own sanjay gupta and others are reporting the radioactive particles likely be dispersed and the actual radiation a fraction of what a chest x-ray would be by the time it reaches u.s. shores. >> absolutely. the wind environment is quite favorable. we're dealing with the winds coming out of the northwest and this is an improvement what we saw two days ago. here is the proof for you. as we go through thursday, as well as friday, we are going to be dealing with an offshore flow. now, i want to take you over to this graphic right here. this is the fukushima daiichi plant. here is the area. watch. we have a wind coming from the northwest. as we track the air particles and from the surface to the higher elevations is indicated by the different colors you're seeing there. it's going to be pushed right off to sea and that is good news. away from the populated area of japan. now, as i take you back over to our graphic here and advance this for you a little bit more, i want to point this out to you. again, this is this area of low pressure right now that has been causing the gusty winds. the gusty winds is great for helping and mixing with the atmosphere but also have to keep in mind we can potentially track it and we could see, say, possibly some of that radiation working up toward the aleutian islands. the threat it to make its way towards the east we need something for it to get higher in the atmosphere. we are talking -- dealing with leaks right now. we need something along the lines of an ejection that is certainly what we don't want right now. things are looking favorable and not expecting it to make its way over the pacific right now. the environment we're talking wind wise is looking pretty good. lack over to you. >> thank you, jennifer. in the meantime, turning to libya. the tide could turn there this morning. new reports of gunfire and explosions in ben ghazi and rebels is preparing for a last stand. in the meantime, france, britain and the united states are pressing for a united nations security council vote today on a no-fly zone. in an effort to stop gadhafi's air attacks. in the meantime, four journalists in the middle of the fighting of libya have now disappeared. they all work for "the new york times." reporters anthony shadid and stephen fair rel and tyler hicks and addario. information they were picked up by forces. libyan forces say they have no information about the journalists whereabouts but if picked up they will return to libya. witnesses say security forces have stormed a main hospital, beating doctors and demonstrators in the capital city and armed authorities have detained five prominent opposition activists and further they are trying to silence rather than open any dialogue. greatest making appeal to ayatoll ayatollah. muhammad ali has written a letter to iran's supreme leader asking for mercy for two jailed american hikers. the two have been held there since 2009. ali says he is making the appeal as a brother in islam. one of the busiest times for the secretary of state ever and hillary clinton is saying retirement sounds pretty good right now. our wolf blitzer had a chance to sit down with the secretary of state. she opened up to wolf about her plans for 2012 and beyond. >> if the president is reelected, do you want to serve a second term as secretary of state? >> no. >> would you like to serve as secretary of defense? >> no. >> would you like to be vice president of the united states? >> no. >> would you like to be president of the united states? >> no. >> why not? because i have the best job i could ever have. this is a moment in history where it is almost hard to catch your breath. there are both the tragedies and disasters that we have seen from haiti to japan and there are the extraordinary opportunities and challenges that we see right here in egypt and in the rest of the region. >> she also said no to a possible 2016 run. she saw so much need out there she may be going into perhaps helping in private charities and bringing attention to women's issues and childr's issues as well. >> she certainly has a lot of star power to whatever she decides to do. ahead, where once were homes and businesses and twisted rubble and metal. millions struggle in japan without food, heat and water and then snow. blizzard conditions and freezing on top of it. i mean, what can happen next? many, though, still holding out quiet dignity and hope. a story of resilience next. amazing pictures of mudslides in california. >> money race is on. president obama headlines a bash in washington. why he encouraged the group to not take his presidency for granted. 7 minutes after the hour. mary! hey! wow, you look great! thanks! it's this new wish yourself thin program. i just wish it and it happens. it's probably those fiber one bars you're eating. i know they help me stick to my diet. the bars are 90 calories and the fiber helps you feel full. 90 calories and high fiber. so that's why this diet thing is working. but it's weird because my wish for lorenzo came true. [ male announcer ] fiber one 90 calorie bars. hungry no. results yes. ♪ ♪ one, two, three, four ♪ you say ♪ flip it over and replay ♪ we'll make everything okay ♪ walk together the right way ♪ do, do, do, do but you can still refinance to a fixed rate as low as 4.75% at lendingtree.com. plus, get the best deal or we'll pay you $1,000. call lending tree at... today. a beautiful area in california now way too dangerous for traffic. take a look what happened. a 40-foot secretary of highway 1 the beautiful big sur area collapsed. drivers had to get out of their car and walk it. amazing no cars went down that. no injuries. but they still are trying to figure out what caused the road to crumble. it could remain closed for several days as the soil continues to erode away from yunds neath the pavement. >> a vote scheduled in the house of representatives today to possibly strip national public radio of its federal funding. the vote comes after a conservative activist caught npr executive ron shiler on undercover video criticizing the tea party. shiler was record saying npr would be better off without federal money. schhiller quit. president obama trying to recapture the magic of the 2008 campaign. listen. >> as time passes, you start taking it for granted that a guy named barack hussein obama is president of the united states. you know? it's not -- but i hope that all of you still feel that sense of excitement and that sense of possibility, because we still have so much more to do. >> the president talking to top donors from the democratic national committee a group he will need for re-election. >> he will. tokyo's two main airports, when you look at the pictures, many people lined up. thousands, in fact, trying to get out of the country. they fear the radiation from the crippled daiichi nuclear station in fukushima but also just concerns about everyday day-to-day amenities, food and basic things like shelter. despite the crisis, though, this is not getting into a panic. it's really a picture of patience. when you look at grocery stores and telephone banks and even shelters. >> joining us live from skype is jeffrey kington. welcome to the program. i'm really strug about the dignity and poise of the people we have been watching and the personal stories we have been hearing. jeffrey, one story of a father who is looking for his adult daughter, walked for more than a day and found out at the airport that she was, indeed, alive and went home and told his wife. they disintegrated into tears and said we would have understood if she was gone it would have been problem given what happened and that is so japanese to be so subdued. >> you're absolutely right. the level of dignity here is remarkable. i was struck today walking around talking to various people, shopkeepers. people are not all that upset, you know? they are going about their normal life. trying through their normally detail routial dalyly routine. people are grabbing everything at the store in soiting and doing it in an unrushed manner. nobody is shoving or pushing. there is no yelling. people quietly line up at long, you know, lines behind the cashier. so, in general, i mean, the level of civility and concern here is remarkable. and, you know, you have to really take your hat off to the japanese. they don't really believe their government. they don't really believe what the electric power company is saying, but they just seem sort of resigned to the situation, so be it. >> i have a japanese babysitter. we in american used to say the squeaky wheel gets the grease. she said is the bird that flies out of line that gets shot. when it comes to speaking up for yourself. in a tragedies like this, sometimes it takes the outcry, the anger or at least, you know, attention paid to the plight to get help. in japan, is it different? meaning that do the people that you say are resigned to waiting in these lines feel this will bring help faster because it's more organized, or will it take longer because there isn't an outcry? >> i mean, i talked to a few motorists who are lined up in this long line of a couple hundred cars waiting for some gas. they shrug their shoulders and seem to placid. i was sort of going back to the 1970s when we had, you know, the oil crisis and thinking, people were a little bit more frantic then. you know? the situation in japan will lend itself to pandemonium but i think japanese from a young age are socialized to accept earthquakes and natural disasters as a fact of life. being a connecticut yankee, we sort of take our land being stable for granted but here people just -- it's like the shared collective natural memory and experience. the one thing, though, i think that troubles people is they know that the government and the electric power company has not been forthright with them about what is going on inside the reactors and i think that troubles them, and i think that the electric power company has a lot to answer for. i just watched the press conference and the performance there, i thought, was pretty weak, really ambiguous. >> some of the japanese media are beginning to, while respecting their government and officials, they say we need more joo apologies, we need answers. thank you so much. a word for this in japanese. i'm probably saying it wrong but gamon which is perseverance for the greater good and people are confident in the rebuilding of this country. because of japanese innovation and japanese order and hard work that all of these things go into that. >> they say they learn at a very young age that dealing with natural stadisasters is part ofe national identity, earthquake drills at a young age. jeffrey kingston, very good information from him this morning. you can impact your world by going to cnn.com/impact. >> we talk about the landfills and are we running out of room to. quiz for you. a, kim kardashian. b, jersey shore or, c, none the above. up next, s.a.t. question on reality tv that is sparking a massive student outcry in our morning talkers. [ male announcer ] your hard work has paid off. and you want to pass along as much as possible to future generations. at northern trust, we know what works and what doesn't. as one of the nation's largest wealth managers, we can help you manage the complexities of transferring wealth. seeking to minimize taxes while helping maximize what's passed along. because you just never know how big those future generations might be. ♪ expertise matters. find it at northern trust. >> woman: good night, gluttony-- a farewell long awaited. good night, stuffy. >> ( yawning ) >> good night, outdated. >> ( click ) >> good night, old luxury and all of your wares. good night, bygones everywhere. >> ( engine revs ) >> good morning, illumination. good morning, innovation. good morning, unequaled inspiration. >> ( heartbeats ) %e%e%e%e%e%e%ee ♪ morning talkers. nasa is planning to zap space junk with lasers and may sound like fantasy with you scientists say the junk could cause serious problems. the space junk is floating around the earth and pieces could collide with satellites or the international space station. scientists say the lasers will slow the piece down and not destroy the junk and push them on to a different course. >> isn't most of the junk satellites that they don't use any longer? >> i think dead old communication satellites humongous from the '80s and obsolete and floating around. >> americans are living longer than ever before. cdc say that baby born in 2009 has a life expectancy of 78 years and two months. a gap between the sexes. men life expectancy is 75 1/2 but for women it's 80 1/2. >> my retirement calculator doesn't go that high. >> they have to start readjusting those. >> some college dunn bound students taking the s.a.t. were asked if reality tv is harmful. the goal to give students a chance to demonstrate their writing skills but some say the test takers say the question was unfair because they don't watch reality tv! they are studying for the s.a.t.s! so it made it difficult to write an essay. >> sounds like an excuse. from the beginning of time they have grown up knowing reality tv unless you go to the preschools that cost $37,000! tyra banks on the quest to be america's next top student and attending harvard business school. banks put down the books at age 17 to start her modeling career and decided to go back. she says in order for her company to grow she needs to be the best and also says going to harvard is fabulous and fierce. >> wow. she would be cool to sit next to in class for sure. are you in the market for a new car? you will have to pay for a new car or truck starting this summer. fears of radiation sickness. dr. sanjay gupta is live in tokyo on the threat of nuclear fallout here in the united states as well. it's 23 minutes past the hour. 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor about adding onglyza. extra help. extra control. you may be eligible to pay $10 a month with the onglyza value card program. 26 minutes past the hour. with governments across america making painful cuts in a tough economy one state is bucking the trend. we are talking about north kool dakota. they have the lowest unemployment rate in the nation under 5% and the per capita income rose from 38th to 17th in the country the past decade. the state's biggest cities are experiencing a population bloom. i think fargo, north dakota, mayor said we are over a hundred thousand now! a state with 700,000 people. >> land prices and commodity prices are up. >> they have oil and great agriculture going on. i might move there. but the average temperature in january, i think, is like negative, is minus 4 below zero. maybe not. >> yes, yes. take a look at this at the washington nugget discovered near a gold rush mining camp near washington, california, last year. my gosh. the monster gold nugget weighs near nearly seven pounds and sold yesterday at an auction for 400,000. huge. >> in parts of california they let you go mining for your own gold. i would always find a flake this big. you never found a nugget like that. if you're thinking about buying in awe car soon you may want to get it before the summer. carmen wong ulrich is here to talk about that. >> march is typically the highest production time for japanese automakers and there has been a bit of a drop. research from ihs automotive says 185,000 auto have not been maid or manufactured since the quake on friday. a fraction of cars we import from japan that number is but many japanese cars are made here in the united states. 70% of toyotas are u.s. made and many hondas and nissan and mazda as well. specific model especially the popular prius is made in japan. what is the impact? soon. we will see higher prices on specific models like prius. rolling blackouts they are having a shortage and can affect other models from the u.s. that are made in the u.s. the average car has a couple of dozen of these processors in them. japanese automakers may not be able to offer incentives on these models. detroit is going to be sure to take advantage of this in the spring and the summer. they have a lot of competitive fuel-efficient models coming out that compete with these energy-efficient models. we're going to see some competition. >> interesting. we know the car sales have been so good recently, so that will be interesting to see if car sales can continue to keep plugging. >> especially small fuel-efficient cars, through the roof. >> prii? >> prii. >> the tide turning in libya this morning. the world called into action to stop it. moammar gadhafi forces battling rebels for misrata and stepping up air strikes on his own people. both bracing what is the most bloodiest battle of all. france are pressing for a u.n. security council vote today to stop gadhafi's attacks. the number of dead now in japan topping 5,000. just six days after the devastating earthquake and tsunami. crews using helicopters and water cannons to deal with their other pressing issue which is, of course, trying to cool down the reactors. specifically number three at the daiichi nuclear plant. airlines are also watching the situation in japan. currently a no-fly zone within 19 miles of the fukushima daiichi nuclear facility. some european airlines have rerouted flights bound for tokyo and more than 150 miles away from the plant. american airlines says it is operating normally. government security officials say simply no aircraft entering the u.s. have tested positive for radiation. u.s. is warning all americans to stay at least 50 miles away from the crippled nuclear plant in fukushima suggesting that the nuclear crisis there is worse than japanese officials are at least publicly admitting to. a reduce plume right now is drifting across the pacific toward the west coast of america and, in fact, an agency at the united nations is predicting it could arrive at the u.s. west coast some time tomorrow. our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta joins us from tokyo. the more than 150 workers that are remaining at this site rotating in and out. at what point are they protected by this gear? and at what point is what they are being subjected to just going to overpower whatever is protecting them? >> reporter: well, that's been the concern for some time now, kiran. yesterday, you may remember for a period of time they evacuated the workers and then subsequently brought them in. it may have been to sort of cycle through different workers, try to reduce time of exposure. if at some point they asay the radiation levels have become too high in these plants, we cannot subject these workers to this any more, then no one is sort of left available to try to continue cooling these rods which has been the goal for some time. they are trying to get a power line, kiran, into these plants so that the cooling systems can start operating again. that will be critical thing to do that if they get the power line in if they can do that but that hasn't happened as of yet, obviously. what it must be like for these workers inside this plant, it's hard to think about. there is no electricity so they may be using flashlights and may be wearing hazmat suits like this and maybe masks with respirators and they do little to try to control the most dangerous forms of gamma radiation that can penetrate through about anything. these workers they know the deal. they know what they are sort of -- what these radiation levels mean in terms of their potential health effects later on down the road. don't really know what it's like. we don't know what the radiation levels are like inside the plant right now. but this is what they are going through right now. >> our hearts and thoughts are with them and our prayers with them. a very tough assignment and what is going to happen in their health down the road is still not clear. about the cloud of material or this radioactive cloud that is headed our way, just simply because of the way the winds blow, how dangerous potentially will it be by the time it gets here or will it be not dangerous at all? >> reporter: we're feeling an aftershk right now, kiran. i don't know if you saw that at all. things are moving around a bit on us even as i'm talking to you. these aftershocks come quite frequently and still continuing here? you guys okay? i think we're all good. this plume it's interesting. it was expected to happen. you have radioactive particles getting into the air and then subsequently moving across the ocean. the real question is what are the levels of radioactive inside that plume? and how does it disperse and diminish across the ocean. the answer seems to be it diminishes a lot. by the time that plume will travel not only across north america but around the world ultimately, it should not really be at any level that would have an impact on human health. so, you know, i think that there's a lot of anxiety, understandably so about this but all of the modeling we talked to do not show that should have an impact and maybe not here in japan and when it hits the coast of the united states. >> you were standing there an an aftershock happened. that is a risk you are at in terms of other earthquakes hitting. what about radiation concerns for you guys in tokyo? >> reporter: you know, we have been measuring it ourselves. i've been carrying a dosimeter myself which measures the radiation i'm exposed to so i have an idea of my personal exposure. the levels are 20 times normal which sounds high when you hear it like that. at 20 times normal, still really no risk to human health. instead of getting the radiation that i would normal get in a year, i'm getting that in a few weeks instead. i'm not going to feel any symptoms from that. if that were to increase, if that were to persist, that would, obviously, be a concern and that is why there's so much focus on these plants and these workers and trying to decrease the radiation levels overall. >> scary stuff. sanjay gupta for us in tokyo, thanks so much. is the u.s. doing enough to teach tomorrow's scientists? jim akos to goes inside a science fair next to find out. 35 minutes past the hour. because general mills big g line of cereals is america's number one source of whole grain at breakfast. science fair next to find out. 35 minutes past the hour. rkos t science fair next to find out. 35 minutes past the hour. oskos science fair next to find out. 35 minutes past the hour. skos t science fair next to find out. 35 minutes past the hour. ch to science fair next to find out. 35 minutes past the hour. to lucky charms. so you can get the whole grain you want with the taste you love. get started on the whole grain you're missing with your favorite big g cereals. make sure to look for the white check. what was i thinking? 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[ laughs ] if you have high cholesterol you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor. ♪ living on the edge living on the edge ♪ >> all of those people there are math and science wizards. >> are the schools doing enough to teach our kids math and science. the u.s. ranked 19th in science and 29th in math. >> why is this? >> it's been pretty consistent. >> there is an elite research competition going on right now hoping to find the future scientists among u.s. high school students. jim acosta is in our washington, d.c. bureau today with more on this. hi there, jim. were you a math and science whiz? >> no. i was better in math than in english and those sorts of things in high school and then i didn't use it. what are you going to do? but we're trying to change that in this country, right? the president has talked about winning the future in education and one place where the country could start is in our science classrooms. just ask the young scientists of tomorrow and they will tell you they are still waiting for the country to have a eureka moment! >> the bubbles you see on the left here is hydrogen being produced. >> reporter: this is one talent competition that actually matters. >> wow. >> reporter: sort of like an "american idol" for high iqs this week talent search in washington is out to find the country's most promising future scientists. >> this was done in my kitchen because i do not have access to a lab or anything. >> reporter: you built this in your kitchen? what did your mom think about that? >> she was not very happy. >> reporter: jordan came up with a solar panel. he is the kind of student education reformers have in mind when they talk about building 21st century schools that can compete on the global stage. a key component of president obama's winning the future education plan calls for training 100,000 teachers in science, technology, engineering, and math. the goal is to create millions of wizkidz like this kid who points out his school doesn't even have a science club. >> everyone knows about the football game and everyone shows up there one way or another. for a science fair to get my school to excuse my absence because i'm going to a science fair is a good deal of trouble. >> reporter: across the country many schools are cutting back on science fairs because they cost money. christina is volunteering her time to be with her student at this science fair. >> i think this is a wonderful country and we should be number one because we have the best minds and i don't think that everyone knows we do and i don't think we force the brilliance that we do have. >> reporter: now, before you brush this off as any other science fair, consider the grand prize at stake. this year's winner of the intel fair evan michael o'dourney, yes, he sounds irish, walked away with 100,000 dollars for solving a complex math equation! guys, that can buy a lot of books in college but in my case a lot of something else. >> i notice you're wearing green today. >> showing your irish heritage. >> that's right. >> we are speaking to evan. it had to do with integers and other confusing things. he won the spelling bee a few years ago. >> talk about smarts. i'm jealous. >> he could be our boss someday. jim acosta, thanks. we will meet evan and michelle and what they did to win thousands of dollars in that prestigious national science competition and what they will do with the money. >> we can't wait to talk to them coming up. destined to shape our future. the jaguar xj. automobile magazine's 2011 design of the year. 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[ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business. than the bmw 7-series or mercedes s-class... making the decision to own a jaguar just as rational as it is emotional. it is one of the most elite and challenging competitions in the country. intel talent science search and honors high school seniors who excel in math and science. they must create a project and here with us is this year's winner evan o'ddorney and michelle hackman and with us is wendy hawkins the generator of the intel foundation. congratulations to both of you. evan, i want to talk to you first. you are, obviously, very talented at this. did you love doing this competition? >> yeah. i just loved doing math and getting on the computer and finding some more data and uncovering the hidden patterns in the math that i do. >> when you worked on this problem, are you single-minded at it? do you work at it until you figure it out? >> yeah. about two weeks when i really worked on the problem intensively and kept generating more data and trying more and more formulas until i came up with one that worked. >> congratulations. that single-mindedness and that talent in science and math is clearly the intel folks certainly recognized. michelle, your project was something we can all relate to. cell phone addiction! tell me about your project and what prompted you to do that! >> i was really, really fascinated by the idea of, you know, attachment to cell phones and how everyone is sort of weighing in on that. we all have opinions on how technology is really rhining our lives and all of these sorts of different ways. i wanted to turn that into science. >> why are we addicted to our cell phones? what did you find out? i'm very curious! >> my research hinted at and it's never really been fully shown but neurologists and i found re with addicted to our cell phones like cocaine addicts. they stimulate the same brain circuitry. the reward circuitry. i like to make the comparison that sometimes when you get a text message -- i shouldn't say sometimes. all the time. when you get a text message it's almost like a hit of cocaine in that it is so quick and stimulating that when it goes away, when you don't have a message or when you don't have access to your phone, let's say, maybe it dies! you lose that access and you go through withdrawal. you start craving it. >> really interesting. do you think you're going to pursue science and math when you on to college, evan? >> yeah, i'm going as a career as a math professor. >> where do you think you'd like to teach? a college level? clearly you're very smart so you've got more to learn but you want to teach at a college level. fascinating. wendy, there must have been some really impressive kids in this -- in this display. what is the intel foundation get out of it? clearly, you're trying to inspire potential new scientists and innovators for intel and your competitors, i guess, too? >> we will share a few of them, yes. >> but it's good. strong math and science is good for the country and good for our business and it's good for -- it's good to get kids inspired. >> absolutely. a cycle we like to think of it it's great for intel. we are absolutely dependent on the talent of young people like this to create our future, so create the new inovags that will be intel 10, 15 years down the road. >> i'm interested that evan wants to be a math professor. the president said we need a hundred thousand math and science professors and teachers the next decade because we need to fill labs and places like intel with quality american students who have a good education to get through. clearly, these kids are the cream of the crop. >> absolutely. >> tell me what else intel is doing to try to broaden interest in science and math in high schools. >> we invest a hundred million dollars each year in our programs so 225,000 we have invested in scholarships for these kids is a part of that. we work with teachers in the united states and around the world to try and provide them the skills to teach these kids in ways that get them hands-on with science and mj in a way that will really engage and excitement them. >> michelle, do you think you're going on with a career of math and science? >> i think so. i like to pursue psychology and studying the technology that is invented in our lives as evan invents it. >> evan o'dorney, congratulations and proud of you guys. michelle hawkins. and best of luck to you in your future endeavors and proud of you guys. kiran? >> drying out in the northeast. it feels like spring has arrived in the midwest and the south a few days early but will it last? jennifer delgado will join us with our forecast in a couple of minutes. . stamps.com is the best. i don't have to leave my desk and get up and go to the post office anymore. ♪ dallas, texas, ft. worth next door. cowboy capital of the world. partly cloudy and 84 later. it's going to be a nice day in dallas/ft. worth. >> they deserve it, too. jennifer delgado is in the extreme weather center for us. if you hire he would pinch you because you are wearing red. >> why don't you lean over and pinch christine. >> she has green eyes. temperatures across dallas are nice and warm. talking about seventh and 80s for parts of the south. let's start off right now looking at the radar. overall, fairly quiet in the northeast and dealing with rain up towards the north and not expecting much out of the upper midwest. then notice snow coming down through parts of colorado. we are expecting some locations anywhere between 3 to 7 inches of snowfall as we go through the day, as well as into the evening. so not going to be dealing with a green st. patrick's day there, dealing with white. take you over to our other graphic for you to get a wider view. warm temperatures and you can see that is going to be down towards the south as well as areas over towards the southeast. we are going to see some rain out to the pacific northwest and we will be focusing on that over the next several days because more heavy rain in that forecast. but i want to leave with you some video coming out of washington, d.c. maybe you are not wearing green today, but hey drive past the white house and the fountain is nice and green today! of course, for st. patrick's day and show you the temperatures across the region. washington, d.c. a high of 63 degrees. it's going to be sunny and if you're going to be heading out for the big parade today at 11:00, we're expecting just partly cloudy skies and temperatures around 54 degrees around the start of the parade with lots of sunshine on the way. guys, send it back over to you. i think it's 9:00. maybe time for some corn beef and cabbage? hhmm! >> the day will not end without me eating that. >> two hours past green beer in chicago! >> don't worry. you can find some later. >> jennifer, thanks. 5 1/2 minutes before we start the new hour. we wiped the slate clean. then we created a powerful, refined and aerodynamic design destined to shape our future. the jaguar xj. automobile magazine's 2011 design of the year. usa prime credit. you have question?. ok...peggy. yes, i have 100,000 reward points. what are my options? ooh, many options. ooh. one keychain. b, trucker cap. look good for ladies. uh ok, how 'bout cash? cash? he want cash! want better rewards? peggy? switch to discover. america's number 1 cash rewards program. it pays to discover. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? 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[ female announcer ] new purifying facial cleanser from the new line of neutrogena naturals. uncovering hotel freebies ] nelike instant discounts,nser free-nights... ...and free breakfast at hotels in virtually every city. so, thanks to this large man in a little jetpack... you can search thousands of hotel freebies... right now only at priceline. than the bmw 7-series or mercedes s-class... making the decision to own a jaguar just as rational as it is emotional. three minutes till the top of the hour. new information in to cnn from secretary of state hillary clinton. our wolf blitzer is traveling with the secretary and he joins us from tunisia this morning. hi, wolf. >> reporter: hi, kiran. i just had a chance to ask the secretary a couple of questions about japan and she did say the president has now authorized the departure of american officials, diplomats, family members if they want to leave japan. there is an authorized departure under way, given the circumstances of what is going on. she, obviously, is very concerned about what is going on in japan even though she is here in north africa. we're in tunisia right now. it's weighing heavily on her and other obama officials are deeply worried. she says they are taking the situation in her words minute-by-minute and getting the latest information and want to make sure they have the latest information and be precise. american diplomats, family members, if they want to leave, obviously, it's their prerogative right now. the u.s. will help facilitate that kind of departure and said the president overnight authorized that decision. so it's, obviously, very significant development underscoring the severity and concern that u.s. officials have about the radiation levels in japan right now. >> just to be clear. jill dougherty at the state department earlier had said something along the lines of getting planes out there so that if people that were working for the government, the u.s. government wanted to leave, they could. does this new information extend to those beyond those working at the embassies and others? can americans in japan not affiliated with our government get a ride back as well? >> reporter: i think they are going to try any american, if they get these planes, charter planes, american businessmen and businesswomen there, tourists whoever need help and can't get commercial flights and if they want to leave and if they are concerned about the radiation levels, the u.s. government will try to help, obviously. it's a very fluid situation, she says, and it's changing almost minute-by-minute, but right now, the president has aurnlized the depa the departure of those family members and americans if they want to leave this is the time to think about it, given the nature of what is going on. and, obviously, the people in

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