also, rising waters affecting an entire state. it's all expected to get worse today. and inside charlie's world. the drugs and the women. long-time advisers quit. but now, an olive branch from cbs. good morning. moammar gadhafi shows no signs of stepping down, despite mounting international pressure and also defeats at home. >> the flamboyant libyan leader sat down for an exclusive interview with our christiane amanpour. he claimed there were no demonstrators or protesters in libya. and that he was loved by all. >> okay. well, emily schmidt joins us from washington now, with more on gadhafi and more reaction from the white house. good morning, emily. >> reporter: rob and peggy, good morning to you. for two weeks now, protesters have been taking control of cit, after city, trying to oust

moammar gadhafi. but it turns out his view of what's happening is about as different as it can get. despite anti-government protesters closing in around moammar gadhafi's capital city, the libyan leader insisted to abc's christiane amanpour, that there are no protesters in his country at all. >> they love me. all my people love me. they love me all. >> but if they do love you -- >> they will die to protect me, my people. >> reporter: amanpour is the only american reporter to sit down with gadhafi. he says he has not ordered his own people killed. though the u.n. estimates hundreds, if not thousands, have died. >> the international community is concerned about stockpiles of mustard gas or other kinds of chemical weapons. would you ever use those? >> translator: is it reasonable that any sense of a man would use such a weapon against even his own enemy? let alone, his own people. >> reporter: the u.n. ambassador to the united nations says gadhafi is disconnected from reality. >> it sounds, just frankly, delusional. >> reporter: the u.s. treasury department has frozen at least $30 billion in libyan government

assets. and u.s. naval and air forces are moving closer to the country. >> gadhafi has lost the legitimacy to govern. and it's time for him to go without further violence or delay. >> reporter: the united nations says it's too dangerous for international aid agencies to asset the need in libya. the next-best option is delivering the first medicine and food to neighboring tunisia, to help refugees who have crossed the border. moammar gadhafi claims he has been betrayed by the united states. he says president obama is simply misinformed. rob and peggy? >> emily, it's almost like a tale of two countries, right now, depending on which side folks are in. what are they saying about that? >> reporter: when you look at some parts of libya, where anti-government protesters had taken control, we're seeing some shortages. yesterday, hundreds of people lining up to get fuel. they say life there is unbearable. gadhafi must leave. they were angered by his interview yesterday. then, you look in other parts of the country.

in the capital city of tripoli, people lining up for an entirely different reason. they are collecting government handout checks from the bank that equal about one month's salary. the government clearly trying to show that gadhafi is in control there. the protesters maintain, it's just an illusion. rob and peggy? >> emily schmidt from washington, thank you. and christiane amanpour will have more from her interview later on "good morning america." and to our other big story this tuesday morning. a night of severe storms, tearing across one-third of the country, leaving damage and destruction in its wake. some cleanup is now under way. but many rivers are still rising. across the midwest and south this morning, damage from wind, water and tornadoes. multiple twisters touched down monday in indiana, kentucky and tennessee, where at least one person was killed. >> the mother was pinned. the fire department got her out of there. >> the wind was blowing really bad. and you could just hear the whistling and everything. >> reporter: in the wake, devastation. some searched the rubble, hoping

to find anything they could. in chattanooga it looked like earthquake damage was done by high winds, destroying this historic brick building. nearby, high winds brought down trees and power lines, knocking out power to thousands. for others, the problem is floodwater. way too much of it. some neighborhoods now completely inundated. >> basement has about four foot of water in it. it's up to the steps. >> reporter: all of ohio's 88 counties are impacted by the flooding. some rivers won't crest until later this morning. meteorologists say this is all the result of warm, southern air, colliding with cold, northern air, whipping up the second round of dangerous weather in just a week. and now, for this morning's weather from around the country. much calmer in the east today. a few lingering showers or thunderstorms in florida. but in the pacific northwest, some heavy rain in the foothills of the cascades. and as much as two feet of snow higher up. snow across the northern rockies and montana. more snow in northern minnesota from a canadian cold front. >> and seasonal temperatures across much of the country.

63 in atlanta. 40 in boston. we're looking at 52 in omaha. 46 in salt lake city. ld be fargo. that's at 12 degrees. the warmest, no shocker here, 83 in miami. the prospect of a federal government shutdown by the end of the week seems to be fading. president obama is now siding with congressional republicans in support of a short-term spending bill. it would cut $4 billion in federal spending. but it would only fund government operations through march 18th. and in wisconsin, some state workers could get layoff notices this week. republican governor scott walker says that those notices may have to go out if his proposal to end state employee collective bargaining rights is not approved today. now, that proposal has sparked weeks of protests at wisconsin's capitol building. and a different kind of protest in sacramento. hundreds of university of california students did a somewhat choreographed dance to "staying alive." this is their protest against the rising cost of education. they say that those costs are making it more and more

difficult to stay in school. >> dancing for a cause. the government has given the green light to the first deepwater drilling permit in the gulf of mexico since the bp oil spill last year. noble energy started drilling four days before the bp explosion. the project was put on hold, though, after the u.s. suspended deepwater drilling. now, the company will be allowed to resume drilling. and in deep space, a hitch during a spacewalk. a computer problem stuck a astronaut at the end of a robotic arm for nearly a half hour without moving. today, on the mission's second and final spacewalk, two astronauts will install a small storage room on the space station. >> not where you want to have a problem. >> no, not at all. >> no thanks. coming up, who makes the best cars on the road? "consumer reports'" latest rankings are out. and the most-talked about interview of the year. charlie sheen unleashed. still more that you haven't heard. [ female announcer ] why watch regular tv when you can experience

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the unrest in libya has caused gas prices to spike. the national average for a gallon of unleaded jumped 19 cents in the past week, to $3.38. that's the second-highest one-week jump on record. prices soared nearly 50 cents in the week after hurricane katrina hit. and you can expect federal reserve chairman ben bernanke to face questions about rising fuel prices when he heads to capitol hill today. bernanke will be giving his

twice-a-year economic report to congress. he is likely to be more upbeat about the economy, but not unemployment, which he expects to remain high. slightly high oil prices are lifting stocks overseas this morning. tokyo's nikkei average climbed 1.2% today. hong kong's hang seng gained 0.25%. and in london, the ftse opened higher. on wall street, the dow jumped nearly 96 points yesterday. meanwhile, the nasdaq ticked up one point. high marks for ford on a "consumer reports" latest report card. the magazine said ford made the biggest jump of any automaker in its annual rankings. improving in both road tests and reliability. but the magazine said that honda and subaru still make the best vehicles overall. well, at&t customers can now sign up to get special shopping alerts when they're near some of their favorite stores. customers will get the mobile deals and promotions by text message when they're near to a store. not bad there. >> get the deals when you need them. next on this tuesday morning, charlie sheen. new fallout from his

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oh, bayer aspirin? i'm not having a heart attack. it's my back. it works great for pain. [ male announcer ] nothing's proven to relieve pain better than extra strength bayer aspirin. it rushes relief to the site of pain. feel better? yeah. thanks for the tip. a fast-moving wildfire has shut down two, major highways along florida's atlantic coast. stretches of interstate 95 and u.s. 1 in lucia and brevard counties will remain closed today. the fire started before noon on monday. and by midnight, it stretched some 10,000 acres. rain could make roads slippery. dry elsewhere in the east. minor flooding could linger in the midwest on i-70 and the back roads from indianapolis to pittsburgh. out west, snow on i-5, near portland. on i-90 across to billings and on i-84 to boise. >> if you're flying today, you can expect some airport delays in seattle and also in miami.

well, it's been tough to miss. charlie sheen's media blitz has produced some results. >> warner brothers now says it will pay the crew of the show "two and a half men," for half of the canceled episodes. though, sheen wants them to be paid for more. >> but the star's long-time publicist has also quit. our andrea canning was the first journalist to sit down with sheen for an in depth interview and ask him about his, quote, rock star lifestyle. >> reporter: what are we talking about? how much? >> i don't know, man. i was banging seven-gram rocks. and finishing them because that's how i roll. i have one speed. one gear. go. >> reporter: you don't worry that you're going to die from taking so many drugs? >> dying is for fools. >> reporter: tell me about the last time you took drugs. >> the last time i took drugs, i probably took more than anybody could survive. >> reporter: how do you survive that? >> because i'm me. i'm different. i have a different constitution. i have a different brain. i have a different heart. >> reporter: sheen denied reports that he had gone back into rehab. in our interview this weekend, he also insisted he was clean now. you're clean right now.

>> sure. >> reporter: when you look back at the last time you used drugs, are you disgusted with yourself? >> no. >> reporter: or do you think, how could i have done that? >> i'm proud with what i created. it was radical. >> reporter: you're proud of that party moment? >> of course. >> reporter: why would you be? >> because i expose people to magic. i expose them to something they're never going to otherwise see in their normal, boring lives. and i gave that to them. >> reporter: what about the people who supply you with drugs? are they out of your life? >> again, i cannot speak about things that are sort of, you know. i just -- that's really nobody's business. i think you know the answer to that. you know? >> reporter: he feels these done nothing to be punished for. and he's angry at cbs. are you going to sue? >> well, i mean, wouldn't you? i don't have a job. i got a whole family to support and love. and people beyond myself, people a lot more important than me, are relying on that money to

fuel the magic. >> reporter: what are you going to sue for? >> tons. they're going to actually put on a scale. a little more. a little more. add some gold. add some golds. all your toupees. bingo. i don't know, man. i'm going to sue for what i'm worth and what i deserve and what they think they can take from me. but they can't. i'm not issuing a challenge. this is another teaser. another, you know, sound byte thing, whatever. but i'm just going after what's right and what's real. not what i believe. so, i'm here to collect. you know? >> reporter: for now, it's unclear whether it will get that far. but sheen is making it quite clear. he's intent on playing this battle out in public. i'm andrea canning, in new york. >> andrea will have more on "good morning america." and then, tonight on a special "20/20," meet the two women sheen calls his goddesses. one is a former porn star. that's tonight at 10:00 eastern, 9:00 central. >> unbelievable stuff. in other news now, the california couple charged with holding jaycee dugard captive

for 18 years has now given a full confession. phillip and nancy garrido are acknowledging they snatched dugard from a sacramento street in 1991. dugard had two daughters, both fathered by garrido. discussions for a plea deal are still ongoing. prosecutors are seeking hundreds of years in prison. well, the first prominent figure is expected to announce a republican bid for the white house this week. former house speaker, newt gingrich, will announce the formation of an exploratory committee. gingrich made his name back in 1994 as the first republican speaker in four years. one of the famous pinup girls of world war ii has died. actress jane russell became a star after her sensational debut in the movie "the outlaw." it was this publicity shot from the movie that showed russell in a low-cut blouse that attracted all the attention. she went on to star in nearly 20 other films in the '40s and '50s. jane russell was 89 years old. u >> a true beauty. well, time for some of last

night's hoops action. one game was real close. the other, not so much. details, now, from espn news. >> good morning. i'm don bell with your espn news update. and we start with the big east. a great game in south bend. notre dame, taking on villanova. there's ben hansbrough. senior day for senior day for the irish. first half we go. hansbrough, the nba-style three. he had 30 points. his brother, tyler, he's in the nba. he loves it. notre dame, up 29-15. how about tim abromaitis? he had 9 threes, 30 points. notre dame up 31. just over 4:30 to play. hansbrough again. his dad was emotional. and why not? notre dame wins big-time, 93-72. the association. deron williams making his home debut for the nets. pick it up in the second quarter. steve nash, to robin lopez. kris humphries with the rejection. that's right. accent denied. that was a little payback from

earlier in the game when he got dunked on. 12 seconds left. nets down by four. anthony morrow. makes the three. nets down by one. the suns give it back. seven seconds remaining. morrow, what are you going to do? he's fouled by steve nash. the two-time mvp making an awful play. so, people on their feet. morrow hits three free throws. jay-z, beyonce, they love it. nine seconds remaining. channing frye, sticks the three. he is clutch. suns up by one. nets, six seconds to make something happen. deron williams, driving. he had 18 and 6. won't get one here. humphries the tipback. it's good. or is it? they have to review it. right there, the ball in his hand. it was disallowed. suns win 104-103. that will do it for your espn news update. i'm don bell. now, back to you in the studio.

>> was it good? >> that was a game. coming up next, we're just 48 hours before a possible nfl strike. can it be averted? and on top of that, watching the waters rise. flooding, now impacting millions in the midwest. calls. i want someone to bring the make-up counter to me. i want to be the first to discover the latest. and get a little advice from my avon representative whenever i ask. this is beauty that delivers from avon. see how avon can deliver extra income for you. go to avon.com or call 800 for avon to become a representative. heaven comes to earth. rich, creamy, thick dannon greek,

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stories we'll be watching this tuesday. libyan leader moammar gadhafi remains defiant, despite mounting pressure for him to step down. forces loyal to gadhafi have failed in their attempt to retain a key city, held by the opposition. wisconsin governor scott walker unveils a two-year state budget today. it's expected to include major cuts in education spending and assistance to local governments. it comes amid threats that some state employees could receive . opening statements begin in the case of the motivational speaker charged in the death of three people at his sweat lodge. james arthur ray has been charged with manslaughter for his role in the ceremony. he faces up to 35 years in prison. the nfl players and owners meet today. they could lock out the players if they don't reach a new collective bargaining agreement when the new one expires on thursday. the backup quarterback for the tennessee titans is due in a

new york courtroom today. chris sims had a plea deal that on charges that he drove while high on marijuana. in ohio, melting snow and heavy rain are filling rivers in every county in the state. coming ut later, on "good morning america," charlie sheen is not the only troubled star opening up about his personal life. lindsay lohan is also offering a revealing look at her plans to turn her life and career around. for some of you, your local news is coming up next. >> and for everyone else, we'll be back with the newest cost of "dancing with the stars." i do a lot of different kinds of exercise, but basically, i'm a runner. last year. (oof). surgery.knee that needed surgery. but it got complicated, because i had an old injury. so i wanted a doctor who had done this before. and unitedhealthcare's database helped me find a surgeon. you know you can't have great legs, if you don't have good knees.

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and last up this morning, a new set of dancers is set to take the stage for the 12th season of "dancing with the stars." >> can't wait. just like the first 11 seasons, they come from all sorts of backgrounds. george pennacchio has the newest lineup. >> sugar ray leonard. >> reporter: boxing legend, sugar ray leonard, is excited to put on his dancing shoes. >> i just want to do it. i got to do it. >> reporter: leonard has a lot of competition. and here they are.

>> i know i'm going to get ragged a lot, from a lot of guys in the locker room. but i'm in it to win it. >> i sort of crawled out of my cave to do this. yeah. i'm excited. >> i hope i make a really good first impression because they -- a lot of people don't know me. and i'm excited to grow up and put on a shorter skirt. >> i'm a great actor. i'm going to act like i'm good. it's a lot of hard work. >> i'm thinking if i crash a little bit, they're going to want me to succeed. and this show puts a positive spin on stuff. >> practice makes perfect. and that's what i'm going to keep doing is practicing. but i look really good at practice. >> reporter: also onboard, krok's psycho mike catherwood. >> ribbing is an understatement. it's going to be brutal form morning. but oh, well. >> i'm not going to cry if something hurts. you'll never hear me complain. if i complain, i'll probably have to go to the hospital. >> reporter: supermodel petra

nemcova couldn't make it. but you couldn't miss wendy williams. >> reporter: all the stars have time to get ready before they first take the dance floor on monday, march 21st. in los angeles, george pennacchio, for abc news. >> that's an lineup.lineup. >> they're going to need a tall dancer for wendy williams. somebody tall. >> you're putting your money on who? >> i think ralph. >> i'm going sugar ray. >> he looks good. >> we'll see in a few months. >> all right. sounds good. >> "dancing with the stars" returns to abc on monday, march 21st. >> can't wait for that. that is what is making news in america this morning. >> get more news throughouou ♪ good morning, everyone. i'm jenelle wang live in the news room. in the headlines, a three-day hearing surrounding the deadly

san bruno pipeline explosion set to begin 90 minutes from now in washington d.c. what federal investigators are looking for. >> the news, a surprise admission in the jaycee dugard kidnapping