after he allegedly smashed a window in his dressing room. he could be in legal trouble today, wednesday, march 23, he could be in legal trouble today, wednesday, march 23, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm ann curry for meredith. good morning, everybody. this is a shocking development out of japan. imagine how concerned you would be as a parent if there was radiation in the drinking water that was twice the recommended level for infants. >> that's what millions of parents in tokyo are dealing with this morning. levels of radioactive iodine were found at a treatment center. now parents are advised not to give it to infants. the latest in a live report from tokyo ahead. >> also ahead, richard engel has made his way to the rebel front lines in libya following a fourth straight night of coalition missile strikes. >> a lot of serious stories to talk about. but on a lighter note, have you seen this viral video. this is a 5-month-old boy who can't decide what to make of the sound of his mom blowing her nose. first he's laughing, then horrified. then bursts out laughing again. i think 8 million people have watched this online. we'll watch the little boy and his parents coming up. >> on a more serious note, the dangerousle levels of radiation in tokyo's drinking level. robert bazell joins us again this morning. hey, bob. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. we have to point out that the levels of radiation in the drinking water in tokyo are much lower than they are in many cities in the world. as you point out, infants might be at some risk. it has to be unsettling for parents. there is another indication of as long as the reactor keeps spewing radiation we'll have more problems. at the reactor there is hopeful news but more problems, an indication that this is not coming to an end. at this water plant that serves the greater tokyo area, officials found radioactive iodine twice as high as the standard for infants. parents were told to give infants only bottled water. again today black smoke from reactor number 3 forced workers to temporarily evacuate the site. with radiation continuing to leak from the plant workers hooked up power lines to all six reactors. it could be weeks before the cooling systems are operational. reactor 1 reached dangerous temperatures today. work at reactor 2 halted after high levels of radiation were detected. >> we will continue the water spraying operation. >> reporter: a guard sprayed water on the spent fuel pools. the newly released dramatic video taken last week shows plant workers on the front lines. japan remains a nation on edge. many here worried over the radiation in food. >> traces of radioactivity have been detected on leafy vegetables. >> reporter: the government added to the list of tainted vegetables, cautioning people from consuming them. >> also broccolis and cauliflowers and turnips. >> reporter: the us fda announced it will halt import of produce from those areas in japan affected. >> there have been active aftershocks. >> reporter: this morning two aftershocks struck japan, the strongest in the fukushima prefecture. this as the human suffering continues. fuel shortages, icy roads and power outages hampered relief efforts. the sick and elderly are on the floor of this shelter as medical supplies finally trickle in. just 25 miles from the troubled fukushima plant this supermarket was overcrowded, low on basic necessities. many shelves emptied. residents haven't been ordered to evacuate and are now facing a food shortage. there is no food shortage in tokyo but there is a lot of angst about the leaking radiation. it seems to go on and on in a way that makes people very uncomfortable as would be understandable. >> they need a reprieve in japan. robert bazell in tokyo, thank you. it's 7:05. here's matt. >> moammar gadhafi has spoken out for the first time since air strikes launched by u.s. and coalition forces got under way. richard engel has reached the rebel front lines. good morning to you. what are you seeing there? >> reporter: good morning, matt. we have been seeing rebels moving down the road with anti-aircraft weapons, mostly in pickup trucks. they are trying to take the city of ajdabiya. gadhafi's forces are dug in and fighting back. we have been hearing out of ajdabiya artillery and mortar fire, some landing close to where we are. we are using this armored personnel carrier both for cover and it is evidence of what the western alliance is doing here to help the rebels. this was one of gadhafi's pieces of armor clearly destroyed by a western air strike. >> you know, the no-fly zone has given the rebels reprieve from the forces of gadhafi. do they seem, based on what you are experiencing, organized enough to mount a legitimate offensive and are they hoping that the united states even offers them military assistance on the ground to mount such an offensive? >> reporter: they are clearly launching a counter offensive. i'm watching it now. it is not organized. rebels have been coming down in packed vehicles. they are rushing to the front. the actual fighting is taking place perhaps a mile away from here. we have been hearing the incoming rounds from ajdabiya landing in this area. they want western support. they have air support clearly evidenced by strikes on the vehicle like this. now they want military advisers. they know the ground troops are not successful as they are trying to move forward and take ajdabiya and other towns. it's a haphazard front. they move forward, hear co something coming and move back and then they try again. >> thank you very much for your reporting. president obama is cutting the final day of his latin america trip short to tend to the on going situation in libya. savannah guthrie is traveling with the president. she's in el salvador. good morning to you. is the shortening of the trip a reaction to criticism that the president has been hearing? >> reporter: well, white house aids would tell you no. in fact, as you mentioned, the trip is being cut short only two and a half hours. on the other hand, the main event on the schedule today was a tour of myan ruins. aids are mindful of the juxtaposition of the images, the president seen sight-seeing while the u.s. military is involved in action overseas. the trip has been dominated by the president trying to do both dual tracks. trying to go forward with the schedule of the trip but that meant a lot of times he was dashing in and out of meetings with latin american leaders for calls on national security. i think the white house is ready to come back and deal with some of the criticism from congress over how this military action has been executed. >> members of congress on both sides of the aisle are critical that the president didn't consult with them before committing u.s. military resources. you can't put the genie back in the model. does the administration fear damage has been done in terms of the relationship between the president and congress? >> reporter: you know, i think they recognize that had they been back in the u.s. while this was unfolding perhaps they could have mollified some of the critics in congress. on the other hand they say, we did consult with congress. the president convened a meeting in the situation room friday with congressional leaders before he left to brief them on what was coming up. a top national security aid called congressional leaders saturday after the action commenced. he's getting it from all sides. there are liberal members of the party. even conservatives to support action in libya aren't happy with the way it was executed, aren't sure there is an end game and think it started too late. others think he didn't sufficiently consult with congress. >> savannah guthrie, thank you very much. newt gingrich was speaker of the house from 1995 to 1999. always good to see you. thanks for joining us. >> good to be with you. >> over the weekend you said you wanted the president to answer four questions so you could understand why he committed military resources to libya. the first, what is his standard for deciding to intervene. have you been able to answer that question? >> no. the standard he's fallen back to of humanitarian intervention could apply to north korea, sudan, zimbabwe, syria, yemen, bahrain. this isn't a serious standard. this is a public relations conversation. >> on thursday last week, moammar gadhafi said his troops were headed to benghazi and he was going to go into closets and find people. it sounded like he was promising a real slaughter. should the president have done nothing during that moment? the u.n. asked for help. >> first of all, the president of the united states doesn't report to the united nations. he works with the u.s. congress. i think the fact that this president has not, in a serious way, consulted congress is not looking at american interests. the arab league wanted us to do something. the minute we did, the arab league began criticizing us doing it. i think two wars in iraq and afghanistan is a lot. i think that the problems we have in pakistan, egypt, yemen go around the region. we could do this in all sorts of places. the sudanese government has been killing people for years and somehow all the major powers have waited thinking about it. i'm suggesting there is no standard here. the president said on march 3 gadhafi has to go. well, they are now saying this is a humanitarian intervention which is nonsense. if this is not designed to get rid of gadhafi then this makes no sense at all. >> two of the other questions you wanted the president to answer -- what is success? and what are we prepared to achieve that success? should getting rid of moammar gadhafi be the definition of success? what should we be willing to do to accomplish it? >> the president said publically that gadhafi should go. he's the one who said that. >> are you in favor of that? do you think moammar gadhafi has to go as a result of this military intervention? >> i think -- let me draw a distinction. i would not have intervened. i think there were a lot of other ways to affect gadhafi. there are a lot of allies in the region we could have worked with. i would not have used american and european forces. >> we are there now. should it be part of the mission? >> having decided to go there, if gadhafi doesn't leave power it will be a defeat for the united states. it will lengthen our engagement, increase costs. at least according to the morning papers the white house refuses to tell congress whether they will ask for supplemental to pay for the war. i'm suggesting they are in an argument with allies over who runs the war. they are not willing to tell congress how much to pay for it. they can't agree on what the goals are. this is about as badly run as any foreign operation we have seen in our lifetime. >> let me take it a step further. if you think now success has to be determined by the removal of gadhafi, how far should we be willing to go? he stood on a balcony at his residence in tripoli last night and said, i am here, i am here, i am here. based on that information it would only take seconds for a cruise missile to join him there. should we kill moammar gadhafi? >> i think when you are facing an enemy trying to kill your people you should take whatever steps are necessary to defeat him. we had no come ppunction about trying to target hussein. we should be clear that gadhafi is going to go. we are obviously now in this. that doesn't mean we should put in ground forces. we should help equip the libyan rebels. it means they ought to have coordinated air strikes. they ought to do what's necessary to win. i would let the military determine what's necessary to win. the cia and others help engage in it. i'd try to get arab allies in the fight. >> good to have you here. thanks for your time. >> thank you. >> here's ann. >> the calendar may say it's spring but a powerful storm system is dumping snow from montana to the northeast and it spawned dangerous tornadoes. the weather channel's mike seidel is in fargo, north dakota, with details. hey, mike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. over a foot of snow has fallen so far in north dakota. parts of two major interstates were shut down and temperatures are back below freezing for the next week. this was just the cold side of the first spring storm of the season. a rough start to spring in the nation's mid section. at least half a dozen tornadoes hammered five counties in south central iowa tuesday. golf ball-sized hail rained down. that was only the beginning. dangerous tornadoes left trailers flipped, sheds battered and a family home left in the path of destruction. >> we saw it rotating and headed for the basement. you could hear the tree hit the house. >> we saw the clouds lowering and they swirled in, made a big circle. >> reporter: the same system caused major problems throughout north dakota tuesday. an icy storm moved into the southeastern part of the state. sleet and snow made driving treacherous. interstate 94 was shut down between fargo and bismark. early evidence of a rough start to spring. this storm pushed back the deployment of 4 million sandbags from fargo and morehead to the banks of the red river. flooding is expected and will be happening in mid-april. there is a one in three chance that it could be record-setting. ann, back to you. >> mike, try to get inside. you look cold this morning. thank you very much. what's in store for today? we have al upstairs with more on the storm and where it's headed. good morning, al. >> good morning. back where mike is you can see the tailing end of the system. they're going to see more snow as we look at the snowfall amounts again. nothing too terrible. another one to three inches. as we move to the east, you will see we have a risk of strong storms. a really strong risk for parts of kentucky, west virginia, southern ohio and the eastern -- western parts of virginia where we could see tornadoes out of the system. rain is working its way along a cold front. rainfall amounts from one to two inches. the big story will be snow to the north. we are talking about areas picking up six to nine inches of snow through the central great lakes. as we continue east, so far not a lot of snow in new york city. you do see snow starting to fill in. we are looking north and west of the city. parts of new jersey into upstate new york. anywhere from six to nine inches locally. up to a foot of snow before this is over. we haven't even talked about the west coast. we'll do it in a few minutes. >> sure doesn't feel like spring. al, thanks so much. we'll get the rest of the forecast in a moment, matt. >> to the news desk where natalie is filling in for ann. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. it is the deadliest day of protests yet in southern syria as at least six people died in new anti-government demonstrations. activists report security forces attacked protesters seeking shelter in a mosque. a u.s. soldier who was part of a rogue stryker brigade in afghanistan is expected to plead guilty to murdering civilians today. the images showing the brigade posing with the bodies of civilians were published this week in german paper der spiegel prompting condemnation from the u.s. military. according to the associated press the materials remain dangerous for tens of thousands of years and long-term storage isn't certain. the u.s. nuclear industry says the waste is being stored safely. egypt's stock exchange re-opened taf a two-month hiatus due to revolution in the country. cnbc's melissa lee has the latest. good morning. >> hi, natalie. for egypt trading was halted after the exchange because declined triggered circuit beakers. in the united states investors are focused on economy data and new home sales for february due this morning. economists expect an increase of 2% compared to a 13% decline in january. pilders of new homes are facing tough competition because of the glut of existing homes already on the market. natalie? >> thank you. yet another injury for the accident-prone "spider-man: turn off the dark." an actress was injured during a battle scene on stage. she's a replacement. her predecessor left the show after sustaining a concussion during a preview. we'll see if the show ever opens on broadway. >> all right, natalie. >> has there ever been a broadway show more talked about before the opening than this one? >> has there ever been a broadway show with an injured reserve list? >> now batting -- mr. roker, what's going on? >> we were talking about the snow in the northeast. in new jersey, they are seeing good snow. this looks like the dead of winter at this point.is looks l winter at this point. and our friends out west have been getting hammered as well. we are talking about a lot of rain, flash flood watches for parts of central california, ground's already saturated. can't take any more rain. and we've also got winter storm warnings for the sierra and cascades. rainfall amounts over the next 48 hours, we're talking about two to three, some areas five inches of rain. up to a foot of snow in the mountains, and guess what? we've got a parade of storms off the coast that's going to bring another two storms over -- right on into the weekend, and maybe a third out there even as well. so the west coast is not getting a break either. that's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. good morning, it's chilly, we have patchy drizzle showing up on raidar, though a few showers to the west and north, the patchy drizzle will be here from time to time. right now it's 46 at reagan national, a chilly and damp day. later this afternoon, up around 60 in the metro area, but warmer to the south, and also a possibility of some strong thunderstorms that's your latest weather. ann? >> thanks, al. coming up, is singer chris brown in more legal trouble after he allegedly flew into a rage after a tv interview? first, this is "today" on nbc. i never wear the same thing twice. not together, anyway. i'm in t.j.maxx every week. i used to think it was old school, but it's not. i get this season's designer clothes that i absolutely need... and i still get to eat. fashion direct from designers. savings direct to you. that's right. i'm a maxxinista. t.j.maxx. let us make a maxxinista out of you. coming up, should cell phone companies be forced oh alert you before you exceed your plan's monthly limit? we'll hear from a man who got an $18,000 bill. >> plus talk and mixed emotions. the baby was both horrified and then thrilled by the sound of mom blowing her nose. we'll meet him after your local news. 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