was a very sleblelective releas information from the compound. that seemed to have one purpose and that was to diminish bin laden in the eyes of the muslim world, to belittle him, almost. you see this picture of this vain old man sitting in front of a tv set with a clicker watching himself in his glory days, the fact that he's got the white beard in real life and then contrasted with the dyed beard he uses for his videos shows his vanity, shows how he tried to cultivate his image. that was the purpose of all this. the other purpose there, though, we talked about before, was the comments about ayman al zawahiri, by the u.s. intelligence briefer designed also to sort of belittle him, talked about what -- how unpopular he is and al qaeda circles, how he's a control freak and a micromanager and he's going to have a fight on his hands if he wants to be the next leader of al qaeda. clearly designed both to diminish him and also to maybe psych him out to get him to do something that might, you know, allow u.s. intelligence to track him down all the quicker. >> speaking about who might take up that mantle of the leader of al qaeda central, one of the perspective new leaders of al qaeda central is facing charges in chicago. you're following that too. >> yes. the most dangerous terrorist americans have never heard of, he is on -- he's at large, of course, but there is that very interesting trial coming up next week in chicago against a chicago businessman charged with -- charged with both the mumbai attack and the attack on a -- a planned attack on a danish newspaper, kashmiri is at the center of that second attack. he is behind it. he is somebody u.s. officials are watching very closely as a potential next leader of al qaeda. >> national investigative correspondent michael isikoff. thank you. >> thank you. >> the white house decided not release images of bin laden after he was killed, but it seems there was no hesitation of releasing the videos we have been talking about. what does the administration think the impact of the videos will be? pete williams joins us live from d.c. pete, so, they did release video, but not pictures. >> no, still pictures, right. as far as the volume of this information, it is going to take weeks if not months to go through it all. now, a good deal of it is on computer storage media on either computers or hard discs or what they call thumb or jump drives. and, of course, not in english, but it can be translated. one of the things that the government has going for it is that the national security agency regularly harvests vast amounts of data so i think in addition to having human eyeballs go over all of this, it seems highly likely that they'll feed all of this data into the nsa computers for them to sort through, look for word pattern recognition, look for links, look for the kinds of data that they normally sift for, so that will be of some help to the government here, but they're basically looking for five things as they go through this in a very broad sense. first of all, location of any high value targets. people we have already known about that were leaders of al qaeda, where are they now, can they be arrested. second, identity of new al qaeda, people we didn't know were in al qaeda, better idea of who's in the network. thirdly, of course, any potential plots they find. interesting one here, sources of money, who is giving money to al qaeda. because those are important people to find as well. and then, of course, obviously they'll be looking for any possible connections to pakistan, either civilians in pakistan who were supporting bin laden or helping to conceal him or if, indeed, any of this exists, any connections he may have had to officials in pakistan. >> good yield to lot there. how long might this take? >> months, certainly. you know, we got a very quick readout from the discussion of possibly attacking trains because that was in a notebook that was found and that was very easy to get to quickly, but now they have to decrypt a lot of this stuff on the computers. none of it is in english. it has to be translated. this will take a long, long time. we don't still -- at least i -- if somebody in the government knows, we don't know, to have a good sort of overall look of how much of this stuff is, you know this is a lot of data here, how much of this is video and that can soak up a lot of data. how much is video, maps or graphics, how much is just endless recitations from the koran and how much is actual what you might call actionable intelligence. we know a fair amount of it is, what percent of the universe is, we don't have a good handle on that yet. >> we shall see. you have the latest for us. pete williams, thanks so much. a new poll by nbc news showing the vast majority of americans thinks pakistan was complicit in hiding bin laden. 72% say pakistani leaders did know where the al qaeda leader was holed up and withheld that information. 13% say pakistan did not know and more than half of those polled feel strongly the obama administration should not release a photo of bin laden's corpse. 24% strongly feel the photo should be released. as we mentioned, pakistan's prime minister has ordered an investigation to find out if officials in his country knew bin laden was hiding there. the compound is located in abbottabad, 35 miles away from pakistan's capital city islamabad. and that's where peter alexander is standing by live for us. how are pakistanis reacting to the release of these videos so far. >> reporter: yeah, richard, it is a good question. i think that the pakistani people in general are skeptical if not suspicious of the u.s u.s.' -- still don't even believe that bin laden was killed in this raid, let alone that he was -- but the government here acknowledges this was an intelligence failure, but they say it is a failure that the entire world should share the blame for. with the new release of those videos you've been discussing, we are seeing these five individual videos with the audio removed, and as we have noted, they show bin laden less as than world famous notorious terrorist, but more like a prisoner in his own home. they are the latest in a long line of osama bin laden videos. but these tapes the u.s. government wants you to see, armed only with a tv remote, a gray bearded bin laden appears to be an old man, watching videos of himself. as one observer described, like an aging actor, imagining a comeback. his surroundings are sparse, hardly a million dollar mansion. american officials insist up until his death, bin laden remained an active leader of al qaeda. even as he avoided detection for more than five years in a military town just two hours outside islamabad. president obama believes bin laden had a support network inside pakistan. >> we don't know whether there might have been some people inside of government, people outside of government, and that's something that we have to investigate and more importantly the pakistani government has to investigate. >> reporter: other newly released videos shows obama fumbling his prepared statements, looking off camera for some sort of direction. we showed the videos to a former head of pakistani intelligence, who dismissed the clips as meaningless. >> this doesn't prove anything. it doesn't prove he's still in charge. >> reporter: is it possible that osama bin laden lived in abbottabad for more than five and a half years without the help of anyone within the pakistani intelligence or military? >> i am absolutely certain that it is possible. and i am absolutely certain that the military or the isa did not provide him any advice. >> reporter: the u.s. wants access to bin laden's three wives, currently in pakistani custody. the youngest, amal, reportedly told authorities the family lived here, just an hour and a half outside islamabad as early as 2003. this is a rural farming village, a place where villagers say everyone knows one another. they say it is impossible that a 6'4", foreigner, a man with a large family and familiar face like osama bin laden would ever have hidden here. no one would dare give him shelter, this man explains. this nation is still suspicious about the u.s.' version of events. with many unconvinced bin laden was even killed. the prime minister's remarks were made before the parliament, but he spoke in english. it appeared -- made one important point during that visit as well saying that he is -- the compound to be leveled where osama bin laden lived. they want to make sure it doesn't become a shrine in itself. >> thank you very much. 2345nato's secretary says i will not change the mission in neighboring afghanistan. right now there are 130,000 nato troops in afghanistan. most of them are americans. nato is expected to hand over control to afghan troops in two years. i spoke with general andrews rasmussen, the secretary-general there. what is your take on the links that may or may not exist between pakistan's government and osama bin laden as he lived in -- within their borders? >> certainly there are a lot of questions to be answered. and i'm confident that it is also in the interest of the pakistani government to seek convincing answers to these questions. my bottom line is this, we need a positive engagement of pakistan, if we are to ensure long-term peace and stability, not only in afghanistan, but in the whole region. so we want to engage pakistan in a constructive process. >> let's turn to libya right now. obviously a lot of sorties being managed by nato at this moment. gadhafi currently still alive and in the country. and still firmly in power, some might say. if this is a stalemate as you have described in the past, in some of the language you've used, what is the solution? is it political and/or more military action perhaps on the ground? >> we will keep up the military pressure. it is around five weeks ago we took responsibility for this operation. and we have made significant progress. since then, we have carried out more than 5,500 sorties out of which almost half have been air strikes. so we will keep up that high pressure. but we have to realize that there is no military solution solely to the problems. we need a political process that further isolates gadhafi and his regime and also supports the opposition. >> secretary-general, but russia and china have some concern. they have come together and they have said no troops on the ground. and they're concerned about nato going down that road. is there a trust deficit here with some of the international community and nato? >> we have no intention whatsoever to put boots on the ground. the u.n. security council resolution excludes the use of troops on the ground. and we have no intention to go down that path. >> nato secretary-general anders rasmussen, thank you for spending time with us today. >> you're welcome. there is a reason it is called the mighty mississippi and right now the river is just hours away from cresting. inches from record-setting levels there. how officials are getting everyone out of town. plus, everyone has dreams including oprah winfrey. wait until you hear what she wants to do after her last show wraps up. this one works. ooh, the price sure doesn't. i'm tired of shopping around. [ sigh ] too bad you're not buying car insurance. like that's easy. oh, it is. progressive direct showed me their rates and the rates of their competitors. i saved hundreds when switching. we could use hundreds. yeah. wake up and smell the savings. out there with a better way. now, that's progressive. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. the new blackberry playbook. that's good for our country's energy security it runs all this at the same time. ♪ why can't every tablet do that? over 100 firefighters in california are battling a three alarm blaze at a hunting park commercial building right now. that's near los angeles. officials say a hazmat team is on site to determine whether any of the smoke is toxic. so far there have not been any evacuations in this area. soybean oil has been fueling this fire. the cause of the fire still unknown. the mayor of memphis saying his city is facing the rising mississippi head on. emergency officials are stepping up their patrols as the river comes closer to cresting. floodwaters inundated more than 1300 homes. nbc's janet shamlian is live in memphis. janet, water up to your ankles, it goes much deeper on that famous street that you're standing on. >> reporter: you're right, richa richard. this is the legendary beale street. you hate to make fun of it, but we have the first wake ever on beale street from this large tug behind us. now, the mississippi at this point is usually a half mile wide. right now it is three miles wide. and the river is still rising. it is going to crest late tonight or early tomorrow, somewhere around 48 feet. that's 14 feet, richard, above flood stage. and just inches below the historic level set in 1937. they haven't seen flooding like that in almost a century here. some 3,000 homes and businesses are impacted by this. they went door to door over the weekend asking fo ining people evacuate. but they can't issue mandatory evacuations here. there are shelters open, but they're waiting to see how high this water goes right now. it is really taking its toll on memphis and, richard, as you know, it is all moving downstream from here, next up is mississippi. >> janet, have they given up? are there any lines of defense at this moment, sand bags or anything? >> reporter: the army corps of engineers they have been out, they're inspecting all the levees. they put it in great perspective as to how much water is actually coming through here. here is what they had to say. >> to use an analogy, in one second that water that is going in front of us right now or behind us right now would fill up a football field 44 feet deep. in one second. >> reporter: so how do you fight that? that is quite an opponent. this system of levees was set up after those floods in the 1927 and 1937, and so far you know it depends where you live, how you feel about all this, a lot of people are going to be just, you know, they will have lost everything by the time the water starts receding. one more note, richard, it is not going to go down quickly. it will be a slow process and they're expecting rain at the end of the week. >> janet, how have the people been reacting to all of this? we see the headlines, it is absolutely devastating, yet some parts of the south, they're dry. they have a drought and over there in tennessee, it is absolutely wet. >> reporter: i live in texas. we would kill for this water right now. texas is in extreme drought. and here they have got too much water. it has been such a tough time for the south, not to mention the tornadoes of something like two weeks or ten days ago now. but you see a great sense of community here. what you can't see behind me is all the volunteers and officials, people who are working around the clock, have given up their days off. i will add that not everybody who has been asked to evacuate has. and as i said, those are volunteer evacuations. some people don't want to walk away from everything they own and you can understand that, richard, but it could put lives in danger. >> it is so tough. very tough decision for them. janet shamlian in memphis, thank you very much. arizona state lawmakers want to build more fence along the mexican border, even if the federal government is against the idea. wait until you hear how they plan to pay for that. an amazing story of survival. 49 days trapped in a vehicle in the wilderness with only trail mix, beef jerky and snow. elliott nelson owns seven restaurants within blocks of each other in tulsa, oklahoma. the establishments range from mexican, japanese, a deli, even a bowling alley. it is a balancing act. the good news is he's his own competition. the bad news, he's his own competition. for more, watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. too much on your plate? no matter when you get around to booking, hotels.com will have a great last minute deal waiting for you. like at the hotels.com 48 hour sale. this tuesday and wednesday only. hotels.com. be smart. book smart. ever wish vegetables didn't taste so vegetably? well, v8 v-fusion juice gives you a full serving of vegetables, plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. v8. what's your number? britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta. not tonight." ♪ a group of arizona lawmakers want to build a fence along their border with mexico, with or without the federal government's help. they're announcing a new plan to collect online donations to pay for this fence. and to use prison labor to build it. a state senator says governor jan brewer signed a law making that plan a possibility. police in california say they have arrested a 28-year-old man for trying to storm the cockpit of a san francisco bound flight. the suspect is a yemeni national and witnesses say about ten minutes before the plane was about to land, he ran to the cockpit, yelling and making no sense and pounded on the doors. police say flight attendants and passengers jumped in to subdue him and the plane landed safely after that. the suspect has no known ties to terrorism. police are still investigating his motive. and could oprah winfrey be headed to broadway after her talk show ends this month? the chicago tribune says winfrey is meeting with producers and directors in new york and reading staread ing stacks of scripts. she vealed last month it was her dream to perform on broadway. u.s. officials say the information taken from bin laden's compound was the most significant amount of intelligence ever collected from a senior terrorist. what they're learning from the al qaeda leader. plus, natalee holloway's mother joins me next to talk about the search for the truth and how she's helping another family. but first for you, a look at what's hot on the web. the story of a 56-year-old canadian woman who survived seven weeks in the wilderness on little more than trail mix, beef jerky and snow. she was found by hunters on friday night in northern nevada, nearly 50 days after her taking off on a road trip with her husband. their vehicle was stuck in the mud. she reportedly lost about 30 pounds and did not think she would have survived for more than another few days. her husband is still missing. he left the van on march 22nd to go to try to find help. fim japhil jackson says he d his last nba game and it did not go so well. the dallas mavericks whooped his l.a. lakers 122-86 last night, completing a sweep of the two-time defending champions. phil jackson won 11 championships and has never had a losing season. not a way to go out, though. after five years co-hosting the "today" show, meredith vieira announced this morning that she will be leaving next month. >> i really had a great time, but time is one of those weird things, you can never get enough of it and it just keeps ticking away. i know i want to spend more of mine with my husband, richard and my kids, ben, gabe and lily who are rolling their eyes going no more time, mommy. >> an emotional moment. ann curry