Transcripts For CNN CNN Newsroom 20110324

pacific. we begin our coverage with the latest from japan. two worker at the fukushima nuclear plant have been rushed to the hospital. a total of three workers of the plant stepped in radioactive water. no word on the condition of those workers or why the third worker wasn't hospitalized. officials say new tests show that tokyo tap water is again safe for babies. a previous test raised concerns about radioactive material levels. authorities still plan to distribute bottles water to parents. a hold on foods imported from the region around that damaged plant. russia joins the united states, australia, singapore and hong kong in imposing restrictions. tiny amounts of radiation from japan have turned up in the western united states. air monitors in portland, oregon, detected trace amounts. health officials insist the amount is so small, there is no health risk. no need to buy those potassium iodide pills. >> there continues to be no health concern, no health risk to people in oregon. i would strongly suggest that people take whatever money they may spend on potassium iodide and send it to a trusted charity to support and provide assistance to the people in japan. >> air monitoring systems in colorado picked up tiny amounts of radiation. again, health officials say it is harmless. in fact, the epa says in a typical day americans get national doses of radiation from the sun that is a thousand times higher than what has blown over from japan. let's go back to japan. we want to show you new pictures from inside the fukushima nuclear plant. they are the first ones we have seen from inside the plant since the earthquake hit two weeks ago. as you can see, they show the damage. the pictures were taken by officials from the japanese nuclear safety agency. the pictures are from the control rooms of the number one and number two reactors. as we told you before, two workers inside that plant were rushed to the hospital this morning. cnn's martin savidge is following that part of the story from tokyo. marty, exactly what happened to these workers? >> reporter: carol, these workers have been working at reactor number three. keep in mind, six reactors out at that nuclear facility. reactor number three has really been the most problematic and the one they are most concerned about primarily because all six reactors out there it is the only one with a plutonium mix with its reactor fuel. as a result of that, it makes it much more dangerous. the three workers were trying to lay down a new power cable because the idea is get the power in, the pumps on, stabilize the circumstance. as they were working, they apparently splashed through a puddle of water that contained radioactive and got radiation burns on their legs. two transported to the hospital and why the third one wasn't taken to the hospital isn't exactly clear. what we do know the exposure is what they would be allowed to get on the job in an ire year and got it in one single incident. it's not supposed to be life-threatening to have this kind of exposure but they were taken to the hospital as a precaution. >> they say pregnant women can drink the tap water now. i'm sure there are many people still loathe to do that, though. >> reporter: they are. this is the concern here. of course, you can tell people over and over, look. it's safe to drink. apparently it wasn't safe to drink yesterday for children under appear of 1 year. but the test today show that the levels had dramatically dropped back down. what is unknown is exactly why you had that sort of 24-hour spike, if it was even that long. the water supplied to the city of tokyo, which is well over 12 million people comes from three different rivers. presumably one or all of those rivers have suffered some sort of contamination but why it would go up and drop back down isn't clear. even if the level has gone down that hasn't stopped the run on bottled water. about every store in town had its shelves cleared of bottled water. people here are too fearful and aren't sure they can trust what the government is telling them so the water went off the shelves. >> martin savidge, thanks. next hour talk to a expert about the risks in japan and here in the united states whether we are painting a fair picture for you. stay with us for that. it is day six of the coalition strikes on libya and this mornings echoes east of the area east of the capital. libya's government claims one strike killed 18 people. state television says civilians are among the dead. coalition officials say it's unlikely that there were any nonmilitary casualties in the attack and allied officials say that even though the offensive has put rebels in a stronger position, moammar gadhafi forces still have the upper hands in the battle for that country. yet, president obama says the united states has an exit strategy that will take effect this week. that has some here scratching their heads. as you know, the president left el salvador early so he could deal with libya. he tried to get into some french doors at the white house and they were locked because he got back early. he did get in but perhaps it's an omen of what is to come. democrat nancy pelosi said her own letter cautiously supporting the president, cautiously supporting him. let's go to white house and ed henry. the president has many lawmakers angry over this and voters aren't sure what is up. what is on the president's agenda today? >> reporter: the president will stay out of the public eye, at least according to his schedule right now. he is having lunch with vice president biden, somebody who is a very important foreign policy strategist and adviser for this president. so we would expect libya will be a key topic on the menu there obviously. then in the afternoon the president is meeting with his senior advisers to go over the strategy in libya a little bit more. i spoke to a senior aide who said as of now, the president is not planning to come out and address the american people and address the world today so explain a little bit more and answer some of those questions that both speaker boehner, as well as some democrats on the hill, have about exactly what is the end game in libya. carol? >> so a lot of people say he should come out and address the public on television in prime time. do you think he'll be forced to do that by, let's say, those angry lawmakers or those confused voters? >> reporter: i think it's going to be determined, frankly, by exactly what happens on the hill over the next few days and, more importantly, perhaps what happens on the ground in libya. as you noted, the white house continues to stick to this line that they are going to turn over to the allies in days, not weeks. they started saying that saturday. so if you start adding it up, days, pretty soon, will run out and start becoming weeks. so if the pressure gets a little bit more intense and they still have not turned this over, you can bet that it's more and more likely the president will then address the nation. i think right now they will do canvassing behind the scenes now he is back here to take the temperature of lawmakers on the hill and see if they can sort of suede some of the concerns they have about answering the questions what is the end game but if they come up with answers there is more pressure to address the nation. >> not only about the end game, ed, but about this exit strategy. what exactly does that mean? does that mean some of our war planes will leave, some of our warships will leave or sit back and do nothing? what does it mean? >> reporter: i think it's tied up in a end game and exit strategy. talking about the same thing. what does it mean when the u.s. pulls back? nato allies are saying they don't have a plan in place to take over for the u.s. and one stumbling block. what happens to colonel gadhafi if he stays in power after this bombardment and pressure what then does the u.s. do? they have made clear that the u.n. resolution authorizing this in the eyes of the white house does not call for regime change and pushing gadhafi out. the white house wants him to go and the president said if he doesn't leave, then what, carol? >> so many up answered questions. ed henry, live at the white house, thanks so much. more anti-government protests taking place taking places throughout the world. yemen legislature voted in favor of a state of emergency and vote came despite an appeal from government opponents who say it could lead to a new, quote, massacre. syria, 15 people were killed during protests demanding government reforms. the u.s. state department says it is deeply troubled by these civilian deaths. syrian state television says the governor of the province where the protests took place has been fired. the director of a human rights group tells cnn syrian security forces fired live ammunition at unarmed protesters. turmoil across much of the arab world has hit americans in their back pockets. here's a look at the fuel prices lately. the national average on gas has held steady overnight and crept up less than half a penny a gallon, keeping unleaded at $3.55 a gallon and oil prices keep climbing. the benchmark u.s. contract closed at $105.75 a barrel. earlier in the day, it passed the $106 threshold and that is the highest level in two and a half years. right now the u.s. is leading the mission in libya but president obama is promising that washington will hand over the reins within days. we will find out how tough it will be for the u.s. to take a back seat. general wesley clark will join us. the silence from the control tower at reagan national airport. the lone air traffic controller does not respond when pilots ask for help in landing. the faa is looking into reports he was asleep. for those of us who have lactose intolerance, let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. 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[ male announcer ] sprint. the only national carrier to give you true unlimited. find out more at sprint.com. trouble hearing on the phone? visit sprintrelay.com. right now, the united states is leading the charge on libya but president obama claims the united states will step back from that leadership role in days. nato is meeting now to figure out the next steps and britain will host a meeting next week to figure out where the coalition is going with the operation. let's talk more about this with general wesley clark. welcome, general. >> thank you, carol. >> so the president says that we have this exit strategy. yet all of these meetings are taking place. it just doesn't seem logical. >> well, he is expressing the intent of turning over the military operation leadership to a different organization. obviously, the u.s. would still maintain control of its own assets and we would plug or assets, our time lines and our requirements into a different coordination mechanism. it could be nato, it could be something else. above that the french are saying there should be a political council that decides on the broad course of policy. it's really a question for the united states. the u.s. military has done fine. we have accomplished the mission that we accepted out of the u.n. security council resolution. it hasn't met the policy objectives of the administration which is to get rid of gadhafi. normally, when you commit military forces you expect them to meet the full policy objective. the political objective is met by military means. in this case, that's not quite the case. the military means have saved lives, they haven't yet proved to be adequate to force gadhafi out of office. so other measures will have to be taken yoped the military. >> what kind of measures? >> there could be legal measures. indicting gadhafi for war crimes. there could be economic measures. there could be arms and assistance to the rebels, or the opposition forces in libya. all of that under the protective envelope of an air umbrella in which the united states is one of several participants. >> those things have not been figured out yet, though. that means that no one has this postwar plan and haven't we been there, done, that and seen what horrible effects it can have. >> right. the normal process for intervening is get it thought out before you go in. have a clear obtainable decisive objective, put the military in and get it over with. in this case, what happened is -- aever encase is different -- it's every chess game is different here. in this case, gadhafi was changing the facts on the ground so quickly that the international community and the u.s. and our leadership felt that it was necessary to stop the humanitarian slaughter that was about to take place in benghazi and then sort out the rest of the operation. they bounded the u.s. military commitment, absolutely no ground troops, get us out of the lead, and then we'll sort of assemble this on the march. it's a very tough process to do this in the glare of publicity while your forces are in the air over libya. >> you say that. this is what it brings to mind. the president has also said absolutely no ground troops involved and no u.s. boots on the ground. since the mission isn't quite gelled and we don't exactly know what the end game is and maybe we don't know what the next step is once this no-fly zone is completely established, might that mean that at some point down the line, we will think about american boots on the ground? >> yes. >> as far as special forces and arming these rebels? >> yes, that is possible. once you intervene and put forces in and once you get the political leadership committed to a goal and then you're not attaining it and if it ever became defined as obama versus gadhafi, then you're on the slippery slope to a much deeper intervention. the administration is doing everything possible to prevent moving down that slippery slope, trying to avoid putting the president out in front, keeping -- saying we're going to transfer the military command, listening to the french as they talk about political leadership, letting nato allies work this. but it is a slippery slope. >> general wesley clark, thanks so much and appreciate it, as always. >> thank you. under control but not out. we will tell you the latest on a massive fire overnight at miami's international airport and how it might impact today's air travel. also ahead, planes coming in for a landing at reagan national contact air traffic control and get no one. no one answers the call. pilots left to fend for themselves. now a federal investigation is under way. e's not thinking about his future. he can't say social security... much less tell you what it means. he doesn't know that his parents are counting on the money they pay in. or that the hard earned benefits his grandparents receive... are secure. right now he's not thinking about his future. but we are. aarp has been working to preserve social security for more than 50 years. join us in a conversation to strengthen it for years to come. the faa is trying to figure out what in the world happened at reagan national airport. two planes coming in for a landing trying to get a hold of air traffic controllers so they could land their planes. no response. the pilots were forced to land on their own. keep in mind, the plane had passengers aboard and the airport is two miles away from the white house. this went down on wednesday. one of the pilots after no response contacted a regional air traffic control to you per. listen. >> american 1900. so you're aware, the tower is apparently not manned. we've made a few phone calls. nobody is answering. two airplanes went in the past 10 to 15 minutes and so you can expect to go in as an uncontrolled airport. >> is there a reason it's not manned? >> well, i'm going to take a guess and say that the controller got locked out. i've heard of this happening before. >> that's the first time i've heard of it. >> yeah. fortunately, it's not very often, but, yeah, it happened about a year ago. but i'm not sure that is what happened now, but, anyway, nobody is in the tower. >> interesting. >> it is. >> all of what they said is true. the transportation secretary ray lahood issued this statement saying today i directed the faa to place two air traffic controllers at ronald reagan washington national airport's control tower on the midnight shift. it is not acceptable to have just one controller in the tower managing air traffic and in this critical air space. i have also asked faa administrator randy babbitt to study staffing levels at airports around the country. so this all ended well. the planes landed safely but what the heck happened? initial reports say the lone air traffic controller on duty might have fallen asleep. doesn't that make you feel enthusiastic about flying? mary skiavo is a former inspector general with the department of transportation. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> what do you suppose happened here? >> well, i think probably what happened is there was lone air traffic controller on duty and he fell asleep. when i was inspector general i had investigated several incidents like this where the traffic controller had fallen asleep but not in washington, d.c. i remember i had one in the midwest where the controller fell asleep and they had to break into the air traffic control tower because it was locked. but here you've got the other question of where was the supervisor. there does have to be a supervisor responsible for the tower and there are a lot of questions to be answered. >> a lot of questions. especially in light of this. this is a great washington post article and says air traffic controllers who direct more than 1.5 million flights annually in the washington region made a record number of mistakes last year. those dozens of errors triggered cockpit collision warning systems. this is serious! >> very serious. the real question here is where was the supervision and where is the faa in terms of consequences? for example, everyone remembers the hudson river midair where a number of people were killed when two planes collided about a year and a half ago. in that case, one controller was talking to his girlfriend about a dead cat. they haven't been fired? >> really? they have not been fired? >> really. no. no. and the supervisor was missing from the tower so the faa has to ask not only what happened with the controller. after all the controller might have fallen very ill. hi a situation where controllers could have a heart attack. there could be something very, very wrong medically with the controller. but you have to ask where is the supervisor? so i think in a case like this and other situations, the supervisors have to take responsibility, too, because they are supposed to be running the place. you and i wouldn't get a pass. >> no. i was just going to say that and ask you about the faa. what is the deal with them? why aren't they handing down harsher punishments? >> well, the problem with the faa -- this has been a problem, you know, for decades -- they do tend to circle the wagons. when somebody gets in trouble they tend to promote them up or out of the situation and then try to deal with the situation later. they have many instances. this is one of the things i investigated when i was inspector general is why is there no -- are there no consequences for off egregious behavior from pan am 103 where the persons responsible for not overseeing security properly didn't have serious consequences. two, air traffic control errors where there aren't consequences. you know, they are not underpaid. they are not low paid employees. they are traffic controllers in the busiest airport traffic control tower. >> i think we lost mary's skype signal. very abouting. thank you, mary, for joining us. i hope you can hear me. air travelers bound for miami today could face some serious delays. that reason tops our look across the country this morning. check out the flames bursting from this fuel facility at miami's international airport. blaze ignited before midnight. if you're flying into miami today, you might want to check your airline for flight status. a tricky rescue early this morning for emergency crews in ft. worth, texas. the driver of this tractor-trailer ended up dangling off an exit ramp off i-20 for hours after crews rescued him and there was a car underneath that truck. they managed to get out. they were rescued and they are safe. near pittsburgh, a funnel cloud spotted in nearby west moreland county. here is what is left after the suspected twister tore through the area. the american red cross says 20 homes were damaged in wednesday's storm. moammar gadhafi forces have taken six days worth of pounding but he's still in power. in fact, his forces still apparently have the upper hand. we will take you to tripoli in a few minutes. your advertising mail campaign is paying off! business is good! it must be if you're doing all that overnight shipping. that must cost a fortune. it sure does. well, if it doesn't have to get there overnight, you can save a lot with priority mail flat rate envelopes. one flat rate to any state, just $4.95. that's cool and all... but it ain't my money. i seriously do not care... so, you don't care what anyone says, you want to save this company money! that's exactly what i was saying. hmmm... priority mail flat rate envelopes, just $4.95 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. even though i'm a great driver, and he's... not so much. well, for a driver like you, i would recommend our new snapshot discount. this little baby keeps track of your great driving habits, so you can save money. 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[ cackling ] he's my ride home. how much can the snapshot discount save you? call or click today. the fallout from the disaster in japan is spreading. we talked about automakers shutting down production? japan and the same may be happening at home. alison kosik is at new york stock exchange. what is up, alison? >> reporter: carol, this is more about the ripple effect. now toyota is telling north american plans to prepare for a possible shutdown because of a shortage of parts coming from japan because the factories there have stopped working because of the quake and tsunami. the plants we are talking about are 13 of them in the u.s. and canada and mexico. here in the u.s. most located in the south. kentucky, west virginia and tennessee. 25,000 workers who would be affected would be still paid but keep in mind this is not definite that it's going to happen yet. toyota still assessing the situation but i tell you what, analysts are saying this is probably just the beginning that it could turn into an industry-wide problem. we're seeing this happening to other automakers, too. they are vulnerable, even general motors last week shut down production at plants in shrevepo shreveport, louisiana where they make a couple of their big trucks. one bit of good news. toyota will resume production of much in demand prius on monday. >> the bell just rang and looking good so far. >> reporter: it is! we have green arrows. a labor report that was a bit better than expected. we found out the number of people filing for new unemployment claims fell by 5,000 to 382,000 last week. seems to be the recent trend. we're kind of slowly but in a steady way improving here. there are fewer layoffs but we want to see jobs created and people getting jobs. taking a closer look at the numbers. the dow right now up 43. the nasdaq higher by 16. seems like investors are shrugging off all of the other problems happening in the world at least for now. we have a long trading day ahead of us. >> let's hope they continue to shrug their shoulders. alison kosik, live at new york stock exchange. past 9:30 in the east and 6:30 at night and 10:30 at night in japan. three workers at the fukushima nuclear plant stepped in water and two rushed to the hospital. no word on how they are doing. the government there saying tap water is safe there for babies. trace amounts of radiation from japan in oregon and colorado but trace amounts so small they are not a health threat. day six of the coalition strikes against libya. allied officials say even though the offensive have put rebels in a stronger position, gadhafi forces still have the upper hand. nic robertson joins us now in tripoli. gadhafi troops they say still have the upper hand. is that square with what you're seeing? >> reporter: well, it certainly squares with the strikes we're seeing here in tripoli. there were quite heavy strikes in the early hours of the morning and early in the evening last night and they seem to be focused on military bases. early strikes in the west of the city, although we don't have direct confirmation of what was targeted there. eyewitnesses say they saw smoke rising from what the direction of a military base there. in the east of the city here, what is a massive military air field, the strikes seem to be centered around there and government officials have said fuel tanks in the south of the city were hit, that it microwave communications system in the east of the city here close to that military facility was also targeted and they say that this communications system is vital for the country which seems to indicate that this is part of the command and control coalition forces targeting here. but the fact that these strikes have been hard and heavy on the military base here seem to imply there is an effort to degrade moammar gadhafi's military infrastructure and target some of, is actually active in the battlefield in other parts of the country. >> i want to ask you about civilian casualties. we are hearing conflicting reports and if there are a lot of civilian casualties the arab support we do have might go away completely. what is your sense of the number of civilian casualties? >> reporter: we don't have an accurate assessment of the number. we know that on state television here, the government claims that the targets here are women, are children, are the elderly. it's making -- painting themselves as the victim here. the government has offered and shown us no proof of civilian casualties so far. twice, they have taken journalists to try to show them what they claim as civilian casualties and twice they have failed quite spectacularly. it doesn't mean that there aren't any, but it means the government hasn't been able to show us and the bodies they showed to reuters television overnight in a morgue who i was told were people who were killed in a strike the night before, at least one of them was wearing what appeared to be a military uniform. so these appear to be soldiers. so still, so far, the government hasn't been able to show and demonstrate that there are civilian casualties here. >> nic robertson reporting live from tripoli, many thnanks. deadly violence in syria. we will get perspective on the region coming up. it's called the arab spring. people rising up against their leaders but why are the changes happening so fast in some countries and not in others? in syria, anti-government protests have turned deadly. 15 people were killed in darwa in protests demanding government reform. the state department is deeply troubled by the deaths. state run television say where the protest took place the security forces fired live ammunition at unarmed protesters. where is this likely to lead? here with us is former cia operative robert baird. robert, we haven't heard a lot about anti-government activity in syria before now. so tell us what is going on. >> well, what you're seeing in syria is different from libya in that syria is run by a minority. it's a shia group, about 15% of the population. they have not been particularly well liked by the sunni. in 1982 they took a city called hamad and destroyed the city. what the syrians are afraid of this could spread in syria to the other important sunni cities and that darra is just the beginning and what they are waiting for is friday after mosque. this could very well bring down this regime and there is truly a fear inside the regime that if they don't stop it in darwa, it will. >> why is this important from a united states point of view? because syria is probably much more important than, let's say, libya, as far as unrest in that part of the world and how it affects the united states. >> because it would directly affect countries like jordan, as well as saudi arabia. the syrians and, right now, feel that the saudis -- they had this fear that the saudis are putting money into these demonstrations and retaliation what is going on in bahrain. all of these pieces are very interlocked and if syria went up in flames in any way, it would spread to lebanon and it's a virus that everybody is worried about and syria politically is a crucial country in the middle east. much more so than libya. >> and this is also fueling attentions between saudi arabia and iran. can you get into that for us? >> we're talking about bahrain. the day before yesterday, they canceled all flights from the capital to shia countries. seeing another sectarian divide there which is my feeling is much worse than what is going on in libya because it could bring in iran and saudi arabia into a wider conflict. we're not there yet, but a real possibility it could. >> robert baea, thank you for your insight. appreciate it. as we watch what is happening in libya, some are asking why the people of tripoli haven't risen up against moammar gadhafi the way people in egypt united against mubarak. a lot it has to do with the makeup of people in each country. zane vergee joins us. >> what a lot of experts say these are countries that had some kind of a civil society. there were state institutions like the milt in egypt that was a cohesive force and bigger than the leader itself and they could function and there were openings for the opposition and supporters outside of those countries to try and back them. now, let's look at the map and look at countries like yemen and libya, for example. these are countries that are very tribal in nature. so you have a lot of different political groups, a lot of tribal groups that have different agendas, so the leaders of these countries, the death spots, will try to exploit that to stay in power. kind of like a divide and rule strategy and they are also telling us in the west here, hey, if we go, there is going to be civil war and you don't want that, do you? let's look at bahrain, too, now. because bahrain addresses a lot of the religious differences that we see in this part of the world. so they are dealing with things like a sunni/shia dynamic and an important place there for the united states. they are saudi arabia's neighbor and also an important walk against iran. bahrain has all of these competing interests for the united states. places like syria and libya, you got leaders there that many say will fight until the bloody end. and that in syria's case where saleh he and his people have a tight grip on power. they control everything. when you're looking at the region you have to look at the specifics. the one general thing, carol, that binds everything is that there is no more fear in a lot of these countries so, whereas, people were scared to be out on the streets, they are not any more and why the stakes are so high and we don't know what is going to happen. >> i know. that is the scariest part of it all. zain verjee, live from london, thanks. radiation worries off the west coast. we will check in with rob marciano to see which way the wind blows from japan's crippled nuclear plant. coldwell banker. we never stop moving. three workers at the fukushima nuclear power plant have been exposed to radioactivity big time. japan's chief cabinet secretary says the exposure happened when the men stepped in contaminated water at the plant. two of the workers have been hospitalized and the other was not taken to the hospital. we don't know exactly why. but we're hoping those other two are going to be okay. from japan's key owe take news agency is reporting a neutron beam has been detected. what is that, rob? >> people can hurt people and blow things up. that kind of thing. let's refresher course. radioactive material uranium, for example. then you hit it basically with a neutron. then you have some leftover neutrons and tell two friends and split and so on and so on. that is the nuclear reaction. what you're left over is a whole bunch of neutrons here. any sort of leak, let's say this is the reactor don't. if there is any sort of leak or crack, you'll get a beam, a neutron beam that comes out of there. you don't see it. it's like an x-ray beam and you don't see it shoot from your chest. the amount of radiation from in, in theory, what i'm told is pointed at you. it's not something you see, carol, but what it does tell you and tell the folks over there, there are some leakages there that is letting out those -- the neutron beam. >> no wonder people in japan live around the fukushima plant and tokyo and other places are scared, but people are also scared in the united states. let me just say that sometimes it doesn't matter what we say or what the government says or what health officials say, people still don't believe they are safe on the west coast of the united states because we're picking up these traces of radiation from japan. >> you know, i kind of believe it's one of these things where if you look hard enough for something, you're going to find it. this is probably something that is detectible 365 days of the year and it's a little bit higher than what we normally would but we keep illustrating this it's not enough to do any sort of harmful damage. obviously, on the islands of japan, that is a whole other story. it's into the food supply and water supply, in some cases. also, in some cases, we have seen it, you know, kind of hover over the area because winds aren't always offshore. this particular setup is going to bring the winds offshore once again. as that happens is good news for the folks who live in japan. as it moves to the east, again, to have all of this move to the west coast in some sort of unhealthy concentration is a lot to ask unless things go way downhill from here. tokyo to fukushima things offshore the next day or two over the weekend. rain or snow and there is going to be some precipitation with this. rain or know, by the way, carol, not necessarily a good thing for the folks in japan because that will precipitate the radiation into the ground and into the water supply and on to the vegetation. we would like to have strong wind and episodes of precip once in a while and onshore winds for those folks. but for the u.s. it's not a huge concern. >> i get a lot of message oz my facebook page. people are saying if there is no danger and we don't need fear anything, why are we reporting this? why are we reporting traces of radioactivity in the air in oregon and washington state and california? as a journalist, you say, well, because i juwant you to have th information. it's not our job to hide information, right? >> and it's reportable. there are scientists that are going to go looking for it. if they find something, it's our job to share that with them. on the other hand, they're saying it's not harmful. >> exactly. thank you. we're going to get into that later in our show. he survived both the killer earthquake and the tsunami that followed. and now former fukushima nuclear plant worker danny yudi is back home and talking to our david mattingly about the day he'll never forget. >> it kind of, like, slowed down just a little, and then all of a sudden it got worse and worse. >> reporter: which the quake hit, he was in a turbine building attached to the fukushima daiichi nuclear reactor number one. the shaking was so violent, american contractor danny eudy says he didn't need a translator to know what the japanese workers were shouting. >> you know run is run. >> reporter: did you think you were going to make it out of that building? >> i wasn't sure. >> reporter: once outside, eudy says he saw cracks in the ground around the plant. a hillside had shifted onto the road. and one office building had collapsed. he was confident, however, that the reactors were fine. >> to the best of my knowledge, everything shut down had it was supposed to. i was not worried about the reactors. >> reporter: but it wasn't long before his japanese coworkers were shouting the alarm about something else, the massive tsunami, topping the flood wall and hitting the plant. eudy had already run to high ground over a hill and wasn't able to see the wave. but he was able to see what it did. and that affected him deeply. >> it just -- it's gone in a matter of seconds. but there's no precursor, no warnings, nothing. other than when it hits. >> reporter: eudy was evacuated to tokyo within days was back in the u.s. but his thoughts remain with the workers he left behind in fukushima. are those workers, in your mind, heroes? >> no, sir, i don't know about heroes. i would just call them like myself, just workers trying to do the best they can. >> reporter: david mattingly, cnn, alexandria, louisiana. and we have a bit of news just into cnn about the minnesota congressman michele bachmann. she is now forming a presidential exploratory committee that means that this committee will help determine whether she should run for president in 2012. and as you know, she joins a long list of other republican potential candidates like mitt romney and donald trump and sarah palin, although sarah palin has not, of course, formed a presidential exploratory committee, but michele bachmann has. we'll toss it to a break. we'll be right back. om, where customers save an average of $293 a month. call lending tree at... today. 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[ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. we're following a lot of developments in the next hour of cnn "newsroom." let's check in first with ed henry. >> reporter: good morning, carol. the president has returned from latin america facing all kinds of questions about the mission in libya. most importantly, what is the exit strategy? i'll have details at the top of the hour. >> i'm stephanie elam in new york. you know there's some people out there that think the world is going to end in 2012? that means big business for companies that make doomsday bunkers. i'll explain coming up in the next hour. and i'm jason carroll also in new york. you know, some parents are upset, they are saying that a school is going too far to protect a student with food allergies. i'll have the controversy coming right up. >> way too far. thanks to you all. also ahead in the next hour, the crew of the "uss ronald reagan" scrubs every single surface of that ship. it is not your normal cleanup. it comes after the aircraft carrier's exposure to radiation in japan. the word "unlimited" in the dictionary. nowhere in the definition did i see words like... 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[ male announcer ] a world you can't predict... demands a car you can trust. the e-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. let's look ahead at stories making news later today. jury selection is scheduled to begin today in the manslaughter trial of dr. conrad murray. he's the doctor accused of giving the late pop singer michael jackson a fatal dose of anesthesia. this morning at 11:30, former bell, california, city manager and three other city officials will appear in court. they will face more than 50 counts of misappropriation of funds and conflict of interest in relation to allegations they took 6.7 million bucks in city funds. and this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. eastern, shuttle "endeavor" commander mark kelly and his crew will hold a news conference to discuss their upcoming mission to the international space station. cnn will provide live coverage of the event. the final mission of "endeavor" scheduled to launch april 19th. it is 10:00 a.m. on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. in the west. i'm carol costello sitting in for kyra phillips. we're following two developing stories this morning. on the left, libya. it is day six of the coalition air strikes. but in washington, it's president obama who's under fire. today he reaches out and fires back. and we're following japan's nuclear crisis and the latest fallout. traces of radiation are now turning up in the western united states. we have the information you need to know. it is day six of the coalition strikes on libya. and this morning rebels are still in control of misrata and its port. the city has been called the business capital of libya and has seen ferocious fighting. witnesses say moammar gadhafi's snipers are still targeting the city's center. this is the scene from overnight air strikes near tripoli. libyan state tv says its military base went up into flames. coalition leaders cejka dasay g military is weakened but it still has the upper hand in the balgtsz for the country. and they're facing tough questions back home. critics are demanding how far will the attacks go and how long will they last? president obama says the united states has an exit strategy that will take effect this week. let's hope it's better than his enter strategy. he arrived back at the white house a few hours early yesterday only to find the french doors at the white house locked. he's also getting a chilly reception from capitol hill. the house speaker complaining of a fuzzy mission. and democrat nancy pelosi sent her own letter offering only cautious support. today's presidential calendar mostly empty. that's because the president is working behind the scenes to rally congressional support. let's head to the white house live now and cnn's ed henry. so ed, wow. where do i begin? the president, lawmakers angry over this, voters are confused about what's happening in libya. so why doesn't the president come out and say something publicly today? >> reporter: well, he has nothing planned today, as you know. but let's remember that on saturday when all of this started, he spoke to the american people. he spoke to the world about it. he's had a couple of news conferences since then and answered some of our questions about it. but as you know, there are a lot more unanswered questions in the minds of not just republicans but some democrats from the hill as well. in fact, when you add up the number of questions in speaker boehner's letter, there's about 16 different questions about this mission. so it's clear there are a lot of lawmakers who still feel they haven't gotten enough answers. i think it all mostly boils down to what you're talking about, which is what is the exit strategy? what is the end game? how is the u.s. going to get out? we've heard from the white house it's days, not weeks, for the u.s. to turn this over to allies. but given the fact that nato is struggling to figure out how to take the ball and run with it, how to deal with the no-fly zone moving forward, there's still a lot of gaps about whether the u.s. can safely hand this over and all will be well. the white house pushback is essentially, look, they have these questions, but the president sat down with leaders of both parties here at the white house last friday before all this began. and if they had these questions, they should have presented it to the president last friday, carol. >> so i was just going to ask you, i know he did that, and he publicly told us he was going to do that. he was going to consult with members of congress. but there are many lawmakers really angry about this. he's trying to shore up congressional support right now. but what if he can't do that? what if congress goes into absolute revolt? what happens some what could happen? >> reporter: well, certainly especially you put your finger on it in terms of a revolt with the democratic side. look, the republicans have been after this president on his agenda domestically, foreign policy from practically day one of this administration, obviously. but the fact that democrats who have carried his water on so many issues are saying wait a second. this is sort of a check the box kind of consultation. we really were not fully informed about this entire mission. maybe there should have been votes on the hill, et cetera. i think that's his problem right now. what happens if it doesn't get better? he's going to have to do some of that behind-the-scenes work and probably in the days ahead add public statements as you suggested to try to not just rally congress but rally the american public and show that he, in fact, does have a game plan moving forward, carol. >> ed henry live at the white house, many thanks. in just about ten minutes we'll hear from john avlon from "the daily beast." he says the crisis is being sav s savaged and his legacy is being written. cnn's nic robertson is in tripoli. nic, it says the coalition strikes have helped the rebels, but gadhafi's troops still have the upper hand. is that what you're seeing on the ground there? >> reporter: it's very hard for us to see in tripoli because the military bases that are being targeted here are not directly immediately involved in the actions at the front which would be misrati and further east. but definitely military bases here are being targeted. and we're hearing from opposition members inside misrata that gadhafi's forces have eased off their attack. saying only one person died overnight. and a doctor said that there was an effort to restore electricity to the hospital there in the city. last night government officials here told us they were working to restore electricity and water and communication supplies to misrata that they claimed had only been damaged in the fighting, and that's why these services weren't available in the city. but it seems in another city, gadhafi's forces are still continuing to fight against the rebel forces there. >> there are experts here saying that libya's quite different from egypt in the sense that this is going to -- this may turn into an all-out civil war. i'm sure it already is. but if it continues that way and there's no clear leadership to replace gadhafi, does that mean that the coalition will have to move to other means? for example, helping arm the rebels, training them? i mean, what will happen? >> reporter: well, there are a huge number of unanswered questions at the moment. one of them that we can see and that we continue still to hear from government officials but does seem to be apparent on the ground is that the army, while it's taken a pounding, is still far from defeated. what government officials tell us and what we've been able to see to a certain extent and what government officials have been telling us for weeks now is that if gadhafi feels that the army is defeated, then he will unleash the tribe, so to speak. and there are tribes in the east of the country, a tribe that his wife is from on the east of benghazi, for example. so geographically, there are tribes in the far east that could potentially rise up against the rebels. and there are tribes in the rest of the country that gadhafi could potentially throw into the front line. and so far these are very heavily arm tribes. one of the largest hire, highly represented in the military. in one of their villages, many people including many women and young people had weapons there as well. so really those haven't been thrown into the front line. but one of the questions and challenges that will face the coalition as this situation becomes more complex is some of the civilians that will be caught up in the fight willing pro-gadhafi civilians. on the far side of the front line, if you will, in the east of the country. and that will also present the coalition with a challenge as the conflict here becomes much harder to read and as it becomes a much broader conflict, particularly when you get to that civilian fighting, civilian phase, pro-gadhafi, anti-gadhafi civilians, tribes, call them what you will, this could potentially become very messy, but it's not there yet, carol. >> nic robertson live in tripoli, thanks. in syria, anti-government protests have turned deadly. 15 people were killed during protests in ending government reforms. the u.s. state department says it is deeply troubled by these civilian deaths. syrian state television says the governor of the province where the protest took place has been fired. the director of a human rights group tells cnn syrian security forces fired live ammunition at unarmed protesters. now to the other major story we're following, the japanese nuclear crisis. and here's what's new this morning. two workers from the fukushima plant are in the hospital after radiation exposure. total of three workers at the plant stepped in some radioactive water. two of them had radioactive burns on their legs. no word yet on their condition or why the third man was not hospitalized. officials say new tests show that tokyo tap water is again safe for babies. pregnant women and nursing mothers are also told to drink from the tap. previous tests raised concerns about radioactive material levels. and more countries are banning or placing a hold on foods imported around the damaged plant. russia joins the united states, russia, singapore and hong kong in imposing those restrictions. the "uss ronald reagan" is just one u.s. navy ship in the waters off japan. crew members have been helping deliver humanitarian aid. there was another critical operation on board the aircraft carrier to keep the crew safe. >> reporter: right now every piece of hardware, every aircraft and every piece of machinery used to move that aircraft is on the front of the "uss ronald reagan" and you can see a lot of the crewhands. you're wondering why are they all sitting around? we'll show you. look what's going on back over here. water, lots and lots of water. just being sprayed all over the deck right now in what is probably the biggest cleanup effort you're ever likely to see at sea. now, earlier today as part of this effort up at the bow, it got even more incredible to watch. as the crews went to work with the foam, with the brushes, there was music going. the idea here, though, is all about safety. >> what we're doing right now is just like they contaminated the ship. >> reporter: why all this remarkable effort? you may remember back on the 13th, this aircraft carrier and some of its helicopters passed through the radioactive plume from that damaged nuclear plant. as a result of that, there was some limited exposure to the crew and some of the aircraft. and possibly the ship. so this is all designed to clean it, scrub it down, use brushes, use foam, clear every possible surface, then check it with special machines such as geiger counters while keeping the crew in protective suits. it's extreme measures, but it's always designed to keep the crew safe and to keep the ship operational. i guess we'll get back to work here. we've got a lot to do. >> go to it, marty. tiny amounts of radiation from japan have turned up in the western united states. air monitors in california, oregon, washington and california and hawaii all detected trace amounts. health officials insist the amount is so small there's absolutely no health risk. and no need to go out and buy those powe ttassium iodine pill. >> there continues to be no health concern, no health risk to people in oregon. i would strongly suggest that people take whatever money they may spend on potassium iodine and send it to a trusted charity to support and provide assistance to the people in japan. >> the epa says in a typical day, americans get doses of radiation from natural sources like the sun that are about 100,000 times higher than what's being blown over from japan. so i know you're still asking this question, how much radiation is there really on the west coast? we will break it down for you. we'll have many experts coming in. that's coming up in the "newsroom." planes coming in for a landing at reagan national contact air traffic controllers and get no response. the lone air traffic controller does not respond. the faa is looking into reports he fell asleep. to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. motrin pm. uncovering hotel freebies flike instant discounts,ss. 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. pure... and also delicious. like nature valley. granola bars made with crunchy oats and pure honey. nature valley -- 100% natural. 100% delicious. is a powerful force. set it in motion... and it goes out into the world like fuel for the economy. one opportunity leading to another... and another. we all have a hand in it. because opportunity can start anywhere, and go everywhere. let's keep it moving. ♪ st: uld switching to geico reon car insurance?moreg. host: is the pen mightier than the sword? 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[ professor ] good morning students. today, we're gonna... the faa is trying to figure out what in the world happened at reagan national airport. two planes coming in for a landing tried to get ahold of an air traffic controller so they could land their planes. no response. after hearing nothing, one of the pilots contacted a regional air traffic control tower. >> the tower is apparently unmanned. we called on the phone and nobody's answering. so the aircraft went in and just says uncontrolled airport. >> that's interesting. >> reports say the lone controller fell asleep. the pilots were forced to land on their own. keep in mind the planes had passengers aboard. and reagan national is just two miles from the white house. as you might imagine, that makes air travelers quite nervous. >> it scares me a little. i'd like to think that i wouldn't be asleep at the wheel if i was driving. wow. >> let's face it, there's too many planes stacked up there to not be paying attention. >> transportation secretary ray lahood issued a statement say it is not acceptable to have just one controller in the tower managing air traffic in this critical airspace. i have also asked faa administrator randy babbitt to study staffing levels at other airports around the country. john boehner is calling the libyan operation a fuzzy mission. dennis kucinich is upset and a political scientist is saying this is how you don't take a country to war. hello, john. >> hello, carol. >> so we talked earlier with larry sabato. he said this is exactly how you don't take a country to war. books will be written on this. do you feel it's that bad on the part of president obama and the way he sold the war to the public? >> well, i think the fog of war also applies to when people project partisan politics on war. but there's no question, president obama's taken a lot of heat and a lot of questions from both the right and the left about this. and one of the things that's interesting is the fact that so many members of his own party, you know, a lot of the usual suspects from the bush era are criticizing president obama for this action. you've got dennis kucinich ta talking impeachment. he's got a lot of answering to do. >> so what should the president do? he's meeting behind closed doors today. he's shoring up congressional support. he's meeting with joe biden. but what should he do as far as voters are concerned? >> well, i think he does need to clearly maybe the case for why the u.s. intervened in libya in a way that is a little clearer and directed towards the domestic audience that he didn't do when this initially kaured because, of course, he was overseas at that time. i think that's part of what he needs to do. he also needs to do some fence mending and bridge building. but at the end of the day, this was a decision by the president to intervene militarily to prevent a greater humanitarian crisis. there are going to be a lot of folks who are ideologically confused about why the president took this action. some democrats saying this starts looking like bush's third term. but i think the president can be consistent. he made the point in his nobel peace prize address that he believes that force is justified on -- can be justified on humanitarian grounds. and that's the case he needs to make more clearly to the american people. >> the other thing that i think americans are concerned about is the cost of this. i mean, we have estimates that this could cost the united states a billion dollars. i mean, why can't the arab league pay for it? why can't air ar countries pay for this? they got on board with this. isn't that sort of the agreement that george h.w. bush had in the first gulf war? we paid very little for that. >> well, you know, you raise a great point. obviously at a time of deficits and debt, people are concerned about the costs of going to war. and increasingly, george h.w. bush's coalition building around the first gulf car. and bill clinton's multilateral leadership around bosnia are becoming examples of the good war, both how you conduct them and how you pay for them. so i think those questions do need to be answered. the obama administration is making the case it's acting within an international multilateral coalition. so it does make sense to spread some of those costs around eventually. and the arab league, as you said, did initially call for the imposition of a no-fly zone. and there is every expectation that france and president sarkozy will continue to take the lead after this face of the intervention is complete. but there are a lot of questions. there are a lot of reasonable questions the american people have about this intervention. and it's up to the white house and the president to answer them clearly. he's the commander in chief. >> we'll see if he comes out of the white house today or tomorrow. i bet he will. john avlon, many thanks. click over to cnn.com and read john's opinion piece on all this. it's called "guess who's really angry at barack obama." lindsay lohan refuses a plea deal. the latest courtroom drama that just won't end. that is helping business rethink how to do business. ♪ in here, inventory can be taught to learn... so products get routed to where they're needed most. ♪ in here, machines have a voice... so they can tell headquarters when they need refilling. ♪ in here, money works smarter... so financial institutions can turn dreams into realities. in here, medical history is brought to life... so doctors can see a patient's medical records -- even if they're away from home. it's more than advanced technology. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities, creating and integrating solutions, helping business, and the world...work. rethink possible. aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's never been easier to get the whole grain you want from your favorite big g cereals. from cheerios to lucky charms, there's whole grain in every box. make sure to look for the white check. t adththod it's dif - alcium crhea this just into the cnn "newsroom." an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 struck myanmar according to the u.s. geological survey. rob has more information for us. take it away, rob. >> yeah, this thing, we've got two reports. one of it has it pretty far deep by about 150 miles. the other one has it pretty shallow. so right now the usgs will flesh this out. see how far inland it is? it's 60 miles -- it's right on the border there, actually, pretty close to parts of thailand. the most important thing, it's very far away from the indian ocean. so this is not going to generate a tsunami. it is large enough, typically 7.0 or higher would be large enough to create a tsunami if it happened underneath the ocean, and more importantly if it was under a thrust fault. so we don't anticipate a tsunami from this. but a very, very strong quake, no doubt, folks felt it regardless of the depth. the question is, you know, what kind of damage are we getting from this? it is certainly enough to do damage. how populated this area is, i really don't know. a strong quake nonetheless not associated with the fault lines in japan. >> gotcha. i know you'll continue to get information for us. thank you, rob. >> you got it. tributes pour in for elizabeth taylor. "showbiz tonight" anchor a.j. hammer joins us with a moving moment during an elton john concert. show us, a.j. >> yeah, carol, elton john took some time during his show in pittsburgh last night to remember his friend, elizabeth taylor. let's take a listen. >> today is a sad day because today i lost a friend and you lost a hero. god bless you, elizabeth. god knows how we're going to replace you. this is for you and your beautiful memory and for all the people you helped and saved. ♪ close the door >> that must have been tough for him to get up there and perform last night. tributes to elizabeth taylor are everywhere. she's on the cover of every newspaper in the country. some headlines are asking if she is the biggest star ever. and i say there's a pretty good chance of that. and for now the funeral plans for taylor have been kept private. but a spokesperson for the family told "showbiz tonight" that plans for a more public memorial will be announced later. moving on now to some other celebrities who are trying to help other people that something obviously taylor did so well. justin bieber and rihanna are among those joining u2 to record a charity album to help victims of japanese earthquake and tsunami. universal music is recruiting other stars including lady gaga for the digital album which could release in just a few days. and funds raised will be donated to the japanese red cross. and one last story i want to update you on this morning, lindsay lohan has turned down a plea deal, and she is saying she's not guilty of stealing a necklace from a los angeles jewelry store. her attorney released a statement to "showbiz tonight." here's what she's saying. ms. lohan has maintained her innocence from the moment this case was filed. and she has never wavered. though many advised her to follow the safe route by taking the deal, the truth is ms. lohan is innocent. she has a strong defense. and we are confident that a jury will listen to the evidence fairly and acquit her. so carol, get ready. more lindsay lohan courtroom drama is on the way. >> it's never ending, a.j. it just goes on and on and on. >> on and on. >> keeps you in that seat, though. a.j. hammer, many thanks. >> yeah, it does. on the entertainment world, a.j.'s got it tonight on "showbiz tonight" at 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on "hln." we're down to the basketball sweet 16. jeff fischel is here. three marquee teams play tonight? >> duke, connecticut and florida, they've all won two titles in the last 12 years. fans are fired up to see them. but we're also keeping an eye on one of the cinderellas. you know the giant killer, butler university, last year they made it to the championship game, came oh, so close. it looks like the bulldogs have their magic working again. matt howard scored at the buzzer against old dominion right there to win. and then their next game against pitt, one of the craziest final few seconds you'll ever see to beat the number one seed. howard free throw with less than one second left was the difference. tonight, the bulldogs face wisconsin. now, the biggest star in the tourney has to be all-american jimmer freddette. his byu cougars take on florida tonight. fans are starting to make 2012 signs. a song is even devoted to him, and it's huge on youtube. ♪ you're old man crushing ♪ jim many fredette ♪ no defense can faze >> this song is called "teach me how to jimmer." it's huge in provo, utah, right now. you know what? fredette's even inspired a sharpshooter from his hometown. 10-year-old joseph girard is the state free-throw champ. this kid at one point made 51 free throws in a row. fredette said he hasn't even done that. he never won the state free-throw-shooting title him. but this kid has done it. >> get that kid a scholarship. >> he's on his way. >> thanks, jeff. still ahead, worries about the disaster in japan sending sales of doomsday bunkers through the roof. [ male announcer ] ten people are going to win the chevrolet, buick, gmc or cadillac of their choice. push your onstar button and you could be one of them. even if you're not an onstar customer. ♪ just push your blue button and tell the advisor you want to enter the onstar push on sweepstakes. ♪ but do it soon. no purchase necessary. see rules at onstar.com to enter without a blue onstar button. ♪ [ male announcer ] what are you gonna miss when you have an allergy attack? benadryl® is more effective than claritin® at relieving your worst symptoms and works when you need it most. benadryl®. you can't pause life. workers at the crippled jp knees nuclear plant are back there today after an evacuation prompted by billowing smoke. we have new pictures. these are from inside the fukushima plant. the first pictures we've seen since the earthquake hit two weeks ago. workers are trying different methods to keep more radiation from seeping into the atmosphere. two of the plant workers were hospitalized after stepping into a pool of radioactive water. a third worker also stepped in the water, but he was not taken to the hospital. we don't have any word on their conditions, but the two in the hospital have radiation burns on their legs. now, despite reassurances, some people on the west coast of the united states are still worried about radiation. so we want to put this into perspective. in one year, the average amount of radiation you get from an old computer monitor, not the flat-screen one, is .01 millisieverts. a round trip to new york is triple that. for one excess x ray, that number of is ten times our computer monitor rate. here's another reason to quit smoking. smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for a year, we actually have to shrink our baseline because the number goes up to 53 millisieverts. that's how much is in a pack of cigarettes, radiation i'm talking about. right now the current levels of radiation on the west coast, an average of about .000125 millisieverts. that's too small even to show you. radiation oncologist paul song, you heard those numbers. and i'm sure you know all about those numbers. very minute traces showing up on the west coast of the united states. yet people are still worried. why don't we can't calm their fears? >> i think, as you mentioned, the numbers don't point anything for us to be alarmed by. i think certainly if you're a worker in the plant, you have to be very concerned about the big doses of radiation. but here in the u.s., the amount of radiation that we're getting exposed to is really a fraction of with a we can -- >> we don't have enough -- our little skype signal isn't quite good enough. so we're going to try to get back -- oh, he's gone for good. darn. i really wanted to do this segment because so many people are still so afraid of these traces of radiation that they're showing up on the west coast. and please believe that they are not dangerous. hopefully we'll try to work something out. let's go to stephanie elam now. you actually have reports of these so-called doomsday bunkers. the sales of doomsday bunkers are going through the roof and it's because of these fears. >> partially because of these fears. partially because of other bigger fear people have, carol, that the world's going to end next year. i had no idea that this was a truly big belief out there. >> oh, yeah, it is. >> a lot of people apparently believe this. so because of that and because you have these massive events that are not manmade that are just out there in nature and happening and they are happening it seems back to back to back in the collective psyche of people, bunkers to help protect you, make you live throughout the fallout shelters, they're selling like hotcakes. the u.s. companies are selling doomsday bunkers, they said that sales are up between 20% and 1,000% for these. and people are paying anywhere between 10,000 bucks for them to $20 million. the one you see there, that's an average size one, they're saying. we actually called to talk to he have ckevin thompson. they say they usually make four a year. they already have orders for 12 so far. and they're slated to make 16 this year. he thinks that 70% of the jump in the sale of their bunkers has been because of the doomsday 2012 believers. andes that you know what? these are not places that people don't go to. they actually use them as multipurpose rooms and maybe guest quarters, which i don't know how you'd tell somebody, hey. >> a party in a doomsday shelter. >> right. go downstairs. it's really comfortable. and we'll see you in the morning when you come up. it will be great. you have a good time down there. maybe they use it as a man cave. very different ways that i think you would go about that. the single-family homes are 4500 square feet. the multifamily home can be as big as 10,000 feet. carol, the idea of coming out afterwards if there was some massive event and being the only person alive is kind of scary to me. i think i'd rather just -- >> planet of the apes. you never know. >> scary. let's talk about something more sane, shall we? air fare -- i guess this is insane, too, because air fares are going up. >> yeah. it is insane. and it's more tangible kind of insane, though, carol. when you take a look at it. united and continental, they're coming together. they're operating as two separate airlines, but they are coming together. they've raised their base round-trip fares by 10 bucks on many of their u.s. domestic routes. and this is according to the ceo of farecompare.com. he tells us that if this sticks, it would be the seventh hike already this year. there have been eight attempted, one did not go through. we did hear last night that delta and usair matched. all because they're trying to offset fuel costs. we talk about oil prices and how expensive oil is. we've seen gas prices rising here in the united states. well, same thing goes for jet fuel. it's been very expense everybody. so that's part of the reason why they're doing this. we'll have to keep our eyes on it to see if it actually sticks. as we get into the summer, that's usually when people travel more and when air fares tend to go up. don't expect things to look much cheaper. i hate to tell everybody that. plan for a few extra bucks into your budget there for that. >> or drive. what am i talking about? >> no, the gas is still expensive. >> stephanie elam, many thanks. 6-year-olds ordered to leave their lunches outside and rinse their mouths out three times a day. stringent rules to protect a florida first grader with a life-threatening peanut allergy. some parents aren't happy. we'll have a live report on the controversy next. muscle lossut you can ht with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. 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[ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! to london starts with arthritis pain... and a choice. take tylenol now, and maybe up to 8 in a day. or...choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. enjoy the flight. let's get a look at stories making news across country this morning. check out the flames bursting from this fuel facility at miami's international airport. wow! the blaze ignited just before midnight. it is now under control. a very tricky rescue early this morning for emergency crews in ft. worth, texas. the driver of a tractor trailer ended up dangling off the exit ramp off interstate 20 for an hour. as crews tried to rescue him, two others in a car were trapped underneath that truck. they were rescued, and we believe they're okay. and near pittsburgh, a funnel cloud spotted in nearby westmoreland county. here's what's left after the suspected twister tore through the area. the american red cross says 20 homes were damaged in wednesday's storm. a florida school is under fire over stringent classroom rules designed to protect a first grade girl with a life-threatening peanut allergy. jason carroll is here with details. and this little girl's allergy is affecting all of her classma classmates. >> absolutely, without question. affecting them one way or another. the school says that it is required actually by federal law to provide accommodations for this first grader. but some parents say enough is enough. >> they're trying to take away all our rights. >> reporter: protesters picketing outside a school in edgewater, florida. their signs showing how a medical problem for one of the school's students has turned into a controversy that has some parents calling for that student's removal. >> we are not attacking the child or the parents. >> reporter: at issue, rules the school put in place to protect the 6-year-old girl who has a life-threatening peanut allergy. lunches must be left outside the room. students must wash their hands before entering the room and after lunch. at one point students were also required to rinse out their mouths. parents debating whether the rules infringe on the rights of students and take time away from education. >> i guess it's not fair for one kid to have a set of standards that the rest of the kids got to abide by. >> it's protecting the safety of the child. everybody has the right to an education, so i don't see what the problem is. >> reporter: a district administrator says the rules must be enforced because the student's allergy is considered a disability under the americans with disabilities act. more districts could soon face a similar situation. the centers for disease control says food allergies are on the rise. from 1997 to 2007, reports of food allergies increased almost 20% among children under 18 years old. >> it's always necessary to have precautions for a young child who has a food allergy. there might be specific procedures that need to be in place to really ensure that that child doesn't end up eating a food that they're allergic to. >> and carol, one theory of increased allergy, the body isn't attacking as many germs, and as a result, we're becoming more success septembsceptible t intolerances to certain foods. administrators are meeting with those parents who are concerned about the rules to try to reach some sort of an agreement here. we'll have to see what happens. >> it's a tough problem on so many levels because this little girl with the allergy, she must be feeling these protests. and i'm sure the other kids aren't so easy on her. and then the other kids have to go through all these procedures to make sure this one child remains safe. if the school has to obey the law, is there anything the school can do? i mean, do the protests matter? >> yeah, i mean, you know, at the end of the day, you have to look at it this way. the school does have to obey the law. the little girl in question here does have to be protected. and so you have to really look at are these rules really putting these students out? i mean, some of the parents here are saying, look, it eats up in terms of education time. but if you look at the extra time it takes to wash hands or rinse out a mouth, i mean, i think some people are arguing it doesn't really take that much time. we'll have to see what the administrators can do to try to reach some sort of an agreement with some of these parents who are clearly upset. >> yes, they are. jason carroll live from new york, many thanks. get this. growing sperm in a lab could be the key to fighting male infertility in cancer patients. we'll tell you about a promising new study. [ sneezing ] ♪ [ male announcer ] what are you gonna miss when you have an allergy attack? benadryl® is more effective than claritin® at relieving your worst symptoms and works when you need it most. benadryl®. you can't pause life. researchers in the field of sperm production have accomplished a feat long thought to be impossible. their research is raising hopes in the treatment of male infertility in cancer patients. senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins us from new york to tell us more about this new study. this is a british study, right? >> actually, it's a japanese study. and it's so interesting, carol, what they did. they took mice or they took more specifically male mice and they went into their little -- into their mice testicles. and they cut some tissue from the testes and took the sperm stem cell out of that tissue, put it in a petrie dish, added other ingredients and voila, they had real-life sperm. the thing about stem cells that's so interesting is the stem cells have sort of all the basic ingredients for making the final product. but all they needed was the stem cells and some nutrients to keep it going. and they got actual sperm. >> and i know this will be welcome news to many cancer patients, but this is really in the preliminary stages because it's only been tested with mice, right? >> right. it's been tested with mice, but what's so exciting is that in the past when they've tried to make sperm, they've made sperm, but then they couldn't get a female mice pregnant with these manufactured sperm. but this time they did. they took the sperm out of the petrie dish, they put it inside a female mouse, and they actually got baby mice. so as you said, for example, men who have had cancer treatments that have rendered them infertile, this could in the future help them, but boy, they're going to have to do lots of studies before they put that to the test in people because who knows? maybe you'd get someone with a lot of genetic defects so it's going to take time to make sure this is safe to do. >> understand. elizabeth cohen in new york, thanks. in the world of politics, donald trump who's been talking a lot lately about the job president obama is doing. yes, the donald is really thinking about running for the job himself. more on that later. er: this pasr alone there's been a 67% spike in companies embracing the cloud-- big clouds, small ones, public, private, even hybrid. your data and apps must move easily and securely to reach many clouds, not just one. that's why the network that connects, protects, and lets your data move fearlessly through the clouds means more than ever. i was young, i was in shape, and i had a heart attack. you need to do the preventative things that you need to do for your heart health. for me, it means an aspirin regimen. before you begin an aspirin regimen. speak to your doctor. when we turn lobster into irresistible creations like our new lobster-and-shrimp trio with a parmesan lobster bake, our decadent lobster lover's dream and eleven more choices. right now at red lobster. a company-wide memo about the meeting? uh-huh. this is the meeting. we are the company. don't sweat it. i just switched us to sprint, so e-mail, web...on 4g... it's all unlimited. 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[ male announcer ] switch to sprint and get unlimited 4g data on a wide range of devices. sprint 4g, it's business without limits. trouble hearing on the phone? only on the now network. visit sprintrelay.com. looks like congresswoman michele bachmann is getting more serious about a presidential run. cnn has learned that the minnesota republican will form a presidential exploratory committee and file the paperwork in early june. but we're hearing she might put that committee together even sooner so she can be part of the early republican presidential debates. the first debate is in may. also on the subject of presidential politics, donald trump has a speech planned in iowa, fueling speculation that he wuants to pursue a run. he will address the lincoln day dinner on june 10th. the latest research poll shows trump getting double-digit support should he decide to join the republican race to unseat president obama. now, the very idea of donald trump running, possibly running for president, has comedian lewis black in a lather. >> we've tried every option and flavor. stupid president, smart president, white president, black president, doesn't work! >> so why not try donald trump? donald trump also appeared on "the view," and he jumped into one of the campaign's more silly issues during the appearance. let's listen. >> are you a bertha, donald? >> let me just add, i was a really good student at the best school. like a smart guy. they make these birthers, why doesn't he show his birth certificate? >> why should you have to? >> because i have to and everybody else has to. >> a lot of people could answer that question. donald trump, well, donald trump, a man who's fired a lot of apprentices have a chance for the biggest job in the entire world? comedian and cnn host pete dominic joins us now to talk about donald trump's chances for a potential run for president. but first i want to talk about this birther thing. now you have three possible republican candidates for president bringing this up. michele bachmann, mike huckabee brought it up, the question where president obama was born. is that a prerequisite for republican presidential candidates? >> i don't think any of those people you just mentioned don't think the president's american. birtherism is clearly rooted in racism. he's one of the others. and i don't think any of them really believe it. but they're playing to the crazy part of their base. this donald trump -- i men, i think donald trump might be on a drug. and i think that drug is called charlie sheen, carol. i mean, yeah, we're running huge deficits and maybe trump would be good as president because he's run some deficits himself. you need both hands to count the amount of times he's filed for bankruptcy and gotten married. you only ned your eyes, carol, to know he'd be the first president since george washington to be wearing a wig. it's all a joke. i think he wants to go to iowa and open a casino called the trump birther. we'll see how that works out. >> oh, my goodness. you can't dismiss the fact that in this cnn/opinion research poll, i mean, he's got 10%. he's in double digits of people believing that yeah, maybe he could possibly be president. >> yeah, i mean, i feel bad for mitt romney and tim pawlenty and mainstream gop kancandidates fo president. but we all know there's enough disdain and dislike of president obama, i think mickey mouse would probably get a double-digit percentage. whoever runs on the republican ticket is probably going to get 60 million votes, that's for sure, whoever it is. and people really don't like president obama and the job he's done certainly on the right. so whoever's polling is going to get a lot of votes. donald trump, i don't think will be the gop candidate. he's trying to get publicity. the hypotheticals as a comedian to think of trump as president, he got in a frazzle about his feud with rosie o'donnell. how's it going to go with ahmadinejad? the hypotheticals are endless. i love them as a comedian and political commentator. >> we'll see what happens. pete, thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you, carol. next hour in the "newsroom" with suzanne malveaux coming in for a landing and silence from the tower. two planes landed at reagan national airport without help. should you be worried about flying? suzanne will speak with a commercial pilot. plus -- it takes a lot of money to wage a war. find out how much it's costing for the military operation in libya. 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