controversial mtv reality show and one of its most contentious stars. ♪ on the loose. major security breach at a new york zoo. a deadly cobra gone missing with a bite that can kill in a matter of minutes. good morning, everyone. we hope had you a fantastic weekend. well, look who's back. hope you had a great vacation. >> thank you. but i know there's a deadly cobra in new york. >> i'm telling up. >> but i missed all the excitement back here. >> what excitement. we'll go to lunch. also, vice president biden trying to clean up a little bit of a mess that broke over the weekend. he was having a fund-raiser and it turned out a reporter forced a member of his staff into a storage compartment. we'll find out what happened. and big security concerns about the royal wedding about a target to prince william and kate after the weekend's violent protests we saw in london. >> those protests did get out of hand. then there's a ufo sighting. a small colorado towns are to find out what is hovering above it all. we'll get to the bottom of it. we'll go to japan where workers at that crippled nuclear plant are scrambling to pump out hundreds of tons of water. neal karlinsky is in tokyo with the latest there. good morning, neal. >> reporter: robin, good morning. new developments seem to come up all the time, we're getting reports all the time of highly radioactive water leaking uncontrollably we're told from one of the plants this comes as the head of the operations brought to a halt has been removed from the command center suffering from exhaustion. he's at the top of the highly controversial tokyo electric company which is in the eye of the storm, which is why we visited their headquarters today looking for answers. in new video this morning, you can see smoke billowing from reactors two and three, the only visible sign of the catastrophe happening inside. officials say those reactors has damaged fuel rods and may in fact be in partial meltdown. the news comes a day after the man in charge seemed to be under meltdown and prompting an unusually harsh criticism from the government today. such a mistake is not something that should be forgiven or acceptable said this japanese government spokesman. so we went to topco headquarters, the tokyo power company that owned the reactors. japanese media practically live here waiting for detailing during sporadic briefings like this one where we didn't hear many hard questions being asked. the credibility is basically shot according to experts. why should anyone have faith that this company can get the job done without help? we're so sorry to inconvenience everybody, he says. we're trying to stabilize the situation. we're trying to give out the most accurate information." in the hallway outside, we tried again. shouldn't more help be brought in? his response, i agree with you actually, but we're doing our best. we're also getting a rare look inside the execution zone from a daring newspaper reporter who drove through the radiation and right up to the gates of the leaking nuclear plant and he asked to us check him with our geiger counter. >> under the hood. did you have the hood up? >> yes. as you approach the actual power plant itself you begin to feel more and more there. >> reporter: did anyone try to stop you? >> they were making the symbol like this which is -- >> reporter: an incredibly brave journa journey, though. not the smartest one. they believe at least a partial meltdown is going on, and some of the rods have begun to melt. >> we're going to bring in physicist michio kaku. when you hear about what is being reported, the multiple meltdown. what does it mean for radiation levels in japan and the people there? >> i think we're going to see more uncontrolled releases of radiation. at unit two, radiation are 100 times above normal level. workers had to be evacuated. you will get a lethal dose in just a few hours. what it means, water is in contact with melted fuel. melted fuel releases iodine in large quantities and that's what we find in units two and three. i think the facility has been low-balling the numbers, downplaying the risk, you begin to wonder, is homer simpson operating this nuclear power plant? >> you saw in neal's report when he was asking questions on what they're saying to him, michio, the water that is leaking uncontrollably at this point. tell us more about that? >> there could be a breach in contain innoce containment in units one and two, a crack in the outer wall, means there's a contact between the fuel and the outside environment. that could mean the uncontrolled release of very, very toxic fuel. remember, if some point in the future, if we have to evacuate all the workers because radiation levels are high, that's the point of no return. at that point, radiation levels soar, water levels drop and we have a meltdown at three of the power stations. >> as the situation gets worse there at the plant, what does it possibly mean, michio, for the rest of the world? >> i think the rest of the world we have a faustian bargain. faust sold his soul to the devil for unlimited power. and the japanese military, utility is overwhelmed. at some point, i think they should be removed from leadership. a team of top scientists put in charge, with the authority to call out the japanese military. >> my goodness. michio, thank you for your perspective and insight. i know we'll be talking with you throughout the week thanks so much. we'll turn to the latest from libya. right now warplanes fighting gadhafi, bombing, continuing to bomb the capital of tripoli. and trebles have now advanced and say they have taken control of the city of sirte. this is an important city. this is gadhafi's hometown. a key stronghold. it comes after the rebels have advanced after taking control of ras la nouf. a major facility there. and rebels now control two-thirds of the ole supply in libya. we'll go to alex marquardt now. >> reporter: good morning, george. the coalition strikes were the first that allowed rebels to get within 20 miles of sirte. taking gadhafi's hometown would be a major symbolic victory. the remembers are not slowing down. recapturing town after town in eastern libya, retaking positions they had lost to gadhafi forces in the last few weeks. here, a british fighter jet takes aim at a gadhafi rocket launcher and leaves it flattened. in braga, empty streets and empty story fronts. gadhafi is going to hell, this man said, if he's caught, he'll be slaughtered. in tripoli, again, targeted by air strikes overnight, new images supposedly of gadhafi. libyan tv says he's in that white car surrounded by supporters. he now faces a larger opposition, with nato taking control of the no-fly zone. there's also word of this woman who accused gadhafi forces of gang rape. the government says they've opened a criminal investigation against four men and released herd from custody so she hasn't been seen in public. we just stopped a car coming from the direction of sirte, they said there is fighting going on down there. resistance was expects but the rebels are hoping to snuff it out quickly as they advance into the western part of the country for the first time. >> okay, alex. they had claimed control over it. there's still fighting going on in sirte. president obama is going to address the nation about libya, his first extensive comments since the bombing began. jake tapper joins us. jake, you've got the remembbels making advances from east to west and nato in full command. ma should we expect from the president tonight? >> well, white house sources tell us the president will try to bring the president into the decision-making process, the decision to act, to prevent a massacre from having taken place at benghazi so has not to have another rwanda on our hands and to it the way the president did it, with an international coalition. having nato assume control of the both the no-fly and the civilian part of this. they'll be brought into throws two components. >> when you were speaking yesterday, secretary of state clinton and secretary of defense robert gates, they had to admit they didn't think how it was going to end. >> i can't sit here and tell you exactly how it's going to play out but we believe libya will have a better shot in the future if departs and leaves power. >> and jake, even though it's not a military goal for gadhafi to leave power, it's for the people around him to buckle and give up? >> that's exactly right. there's still so many unanswered questions. in that same interview i asked defense secretary gates will the u.s. have been fully pulled out of this mission by the end of 2011. secretary gates says there's no one who has an answer to that question. and the american people are skeptical and have a lot of questions. this military action has a 47% approval rating. that's allow. usually when the u.s. launches a military action there's a rally around the flag. you see numbers in the 60s and 70s. the president has his work cut out for him, that's why he's speaking to the american people tonight to boost his support and explain why they're there. >> and he will emphasize that no u.s. ground troops will be used. jake, thanks very much. we'll cover the president's address, diane sawyer will anchor at 7:30 eastern. and you can see it on abc. >> anxious to hear what the president is going to say. there was an unusual apology from the vice president's office after a biden staffer ushered a reporter to a storage closet to wait there. it appears that they did not want the orlando sentinel talking before the vice president shows up. >> reporter: the incident exploded on to the blogosphere with headlines like "biden locks reporter in closet. reporter in prison. there was a $500 a plate fund-raiser at the mansion of alan ginsburg. >> i was selected from a pool of reporters. >> reporter: scott powers was hustled past the guests munching on -- >> various appetizers. >> reporter: like caprese crostini, deviled eyes and flat bread. >> it was cramped. >> reporter: he thought they were kidding. they weren't, except they called it a storage room. but powers did get a bottle of water and a staffer posted outside the door. why? >> the protocol is, they didn't want me talking to anybody. >> reporter: he waited and waited. did you have your tin can on the bars? >> i poked my head out to see what i can see. they said, go back inside. we'll let you know. >> reporter: but he was shooed right back in. >> they finally said after an hour or 45 minutes come on out. >> reporter: biden's people apologize noting that pool reporters are often put in hold rooms but this was different. >> have you ever been put in a closet before? >> this was my first closet. >> reporter: powers finally went to work showing this picture to his editor. for "good morning america," matt gutman, abc news, orlando. >> i'm just thinking of the next assignment. >> one can only imagine -- never heard anything quite like that. >> at fund-raisers like that, you may be put in a bedroom, a small room, but a storage closet, that's why they had to apologize. let's get to sam. welcome back, sam champion. good to see you. >> thank you so much. good morning as well. ladies and gentlemen, i'd like to ask for your patience and indulgence, please. spring has been a bit delayed. let's talk a little bit about what's going on. here's why. there's the jet stream moving across the country from omaha to st. louis to boston there's a definite chill in the air. the blocking system here keeps that cold air in sprays, warmer to the south. but it looks like spring will not be found for at least a week. you've got cold air, get used to it. strong storms in oklahoma city, also in florida. large hail and we've seen the hail move in and systems are in central florida today. a little bit more going on in the northwest. light snow hitting in the mountain area. and scattered showers. we'll talk more about san francisco this morning. >> we apologize for this delay in spring and hope you'll travel with us again.e for this delay george. >> okay, sam, thank you very much. now, the hunt for a deadly snake on the loose from the bronx zoo here in new york. the 20-inch egyptian cobra escaped from its enclosure at the reptile house over the weekend. while zoo officials say they're confident this snake is confined to a safe area, linsey davis reports that some zoo visitors are still nervous. >> reporter: calling all snake charmers, a deadly cobra on the loose. >> today, we're going to blow this dump! >> reporter: it's a real life animal escape skating from the film "madagascar." this venomous egyptian cobra somehow managed to slither out of its enclosure. after they learned that the deadly 20-inch snake escaped, it was closed. did i mention it was deadly? >> they're escape artists. >> reporter: now he tells us. but wait, there's more. >> egyptian cobras, i don't want to sound alarming but that whole family kills about 50,000 people a year. >> reporter: in 2003, the u.s. department of agriculture filed a complaint in court after thrive animals in five years, climbed, crawled and crept their way out of their exhibit at the los angeles zoo. in 2009, this chimpanzee at a zoo in japan was so eager to get his freedom, he fought for it. back in the bronx, the frantic search has closed down the reptile house, as a result, we did find some crocodile tears. >> he had his heart set on seeing the snakes today. >> reporter: but again, zoo officials say they're confident that this snake is in a contained, nonpublic, isolated area inside the reptile house which is especially good news considering its venom is said to be so deadly it can kill an elephant in three hours, a human in a day. zoo officials say don't panic. >> if they're confident, how come they can't find the snake? >> you know, i'm kind of looking around here just to make sure. they say it's likely to come out when it's especially thirsty or hungry. it just keeps getting better. >> okay, linsey davis, thank you very much. >> thanks. we're going to have that little colorado town on the map for being a ufo magnet. last week, the people of lafayette, population of 26,000, looked up and saw a strange triangular formation of lights. the video has gone viral so clayton sandell went there to see what's up. >> reporter: one things for sure -- >> what is that? >> reporter: -- people in lafayette, colorado, don't know what they saw last week hovering above their homes. >> i don't think it was an airplane. >> it was this weird energy. >> reporter: lester valdez saw the light, along with all of his neighbors. >> i have never witnessed anything like that. >> reporter: he said it was like those tiny ships of "close encounters of the third time." >> they kind of got into a pattern. >> reporter: leroy vandervet and his song nick managed to capture them on camera. >> it was completely quiet. no noise at all. >> reporter: leroy doesn't know what it was, but he is sure that it wasn't a satellite, wasn't a helicopter and he says it it wasn't an airplane. they say there must be a perfectly good explanation. >> the idea of it actually being an alien spacecraft is pretty weird. >> reporter: beyond that, it's still a mystery, we tried calling the faa for help. they refused to speak with us. it is possible this is all a hoax, after all, lafayette isn't too far from where balloon boy's ufo took flight. >> oh, my gosh! >> reporter: for now, it's clear this is an unidentified flying object but is it really extra terrestrial? >> e.t. -- >> reporter: clayton sandell, colorado. >> a little bit of everything -- ♪ >> -- teen mom star takes down one of her rivals. there's a popular tv show encouraging this behavior. and protesters targeting kate and prince william's wedding day. e together with positively radiant spf 30. with active naturals soy, it's now proven to visibly transform all five factors of radiance; tone, texture, blotchiness, dullness and brown spots. so now the definition of radiant skin... you're looking at it. 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