making news in america this morning. >> closing in on gadhafi. missiles target the libyan leader's compound overnight. u.s. firepower on display. but for how much longer? radiation risk. spreading now to food and water. but at the devastated plant, some improvements to report today. and the megamerger, set to affect millions of cell phone users. what would an at&t takeover of t-mobile mean for your monthly bill? and good morning, everyone. thanks for being with us today. the u.s.-led coalition is not quite ready to say mission accomplished this morning, even after a weekend of pounding attacks that virtually crippled libya's defenses. >> allied leaders insist gadhafi is not the target of the assault. but a cruise missile did plow

into a buildening on his residential compound. >> after that all, what is next? emily schmidt joins us with the latest. good morning, emily. >> reporter: good morning to you. u.s. war planes led most of the assault on libya over the weekend, including 90 tons of bombs dropped by b-2 bombers that were flown in from missouri. but the pentagon says it expects to hand over control of the operation to allies in a matter of days. libya's moammar gadhafi says he is prepared for a long war. two nights of attacks from american and european forces show what he is up against. more than 120 tomahawk missiles launched over the weekend. plus, fighter jets and b-2 bombers. they took out tanks of gadhafi supporters. struck aircraft hangars. an ally strike even hit gadhafi's compound, yards from his tent. the u.s. insists gadhafi is not a target. libya's military spokesman called for a cease-fire. >> i question anything out of -- that gadhafi calls for. he called for a cease-fire and

then told his troops to move into benghazi. >> reporter: the u.s. says the no-fly zone is now in place. though, the pentagon says future american involvement will be limited. >> we will be a member of the coalition. we will have a military role in the coalition. but we will not have the preeminent role. >> reporter: president obama continued with a long-planned economy-focused trip to brazil. he is getting a briefing from afar. >> we've seen the people of libya take a courageous stand against a regime determined to brutalize its own citizens. >> reporter: people in benghazi are celebrating the international support. >> we die or we win. we have no other choice. we die or we win. >> reporter: the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff says he will not predict how long this military offer in libya will continue. or if gadhafi will actually step down. rob and peggy? >> that is a question. moammar gadhafi has ruled libya for 42 years. so, what are the chances that all this will actually make him leave?

>> reporter: well, admiral mullen was asked that. he says that gadhafi is more isolated than ever. but he says that gadhafi would be able to remain in power, if he adheres to the standards and the requirements of the u.n. resolutions. and also, if he honors the demands of the cease-fire. at this point, that is considered to be a big if. rob and peggy? >> see all this continues to play out. emily schmidt, live in washington this morning. thanks. libya's rebel fighters, meanwhile, say the allied intervention is putting them on a more playing field. >> they were almost down and out after a week of pounding by gadhafi's forces. alex marquardt reports from the rebel front lines in eastern libya. >> reporter: gadhafi's ammunition supplies, used against rebels. the burned-out carcasses of a convoy, apparently taken out by european and u.s. bombs on the edge of the rebel capital. the rebels celebrated. >> it's over. >> reporter: in fact, it's far from over.

in the west, the rebel-held city of misratah, continues to be attacked by gadhafi forces. >> they are destroying everything here. everything. nobody's safe. >> reporter: but in the east, there's a palpable change in the atmosphere. >> it's a tremendous boost for the fighters in particular. >> reporter: the fighters desperately need the boost. they're led by a former special forces general, who defected from gadhafi's government. but the vast majority are civilians. they still fight with very little training and outdated weapons. what they lack in experience, they say they make up for with heart. >> we die or we win. we have no other choice. we die or we win. >> reporter: the rebels say that the coalition air strikes make the fight with gadhafi forces more fair. it's gun against gun, with gun against fighter jet. and as happy as they are, many of the rebels are calling on the coalition to arm them with better weapons. it remains to be seen if the coalition wants to get that involved.

amex marquardt, abc news, al baida, libya. an escalating unrest is not limited to libya. opposition leaders in bahrain are begging the west for help against a vicious government crackdown by anti-government protesters. members of in yemen, angry crowds flooded the street, of the yemeni president shot and killed demonstrators.n party are calling for him to step down. we'll have the latest from across the region later on "good morning america." in japan this morning, the staggering pain and loss in that earthquake and its aftermath are now being described in numbers. officials now say more than 18,000 people are dead. and it will cost about $235 billion to rebuild. >> but this morning, better news about that damaged nuclear facility. engineers say they are making progress in restoring power to the plant. and that radiation levels are dropping at the two, most damaged reactors. >> however, leaked radiation from that plant has now entered

japan's food supply. inspectors have found elevated levels in spinach and milk farmed near that reactor. and also in tap water as far away as tokyo. but they say the levels are too small to be harmful. and none of the produce has been shipped to market. and still, amid all of the . the seemingly miraculous rescue of an 80-year-old woman and her wreckage of their home after nine days. the boy had finally pulled himself free and shouted from the roof of their house. the two had survived on food from their kitchen, where they were pinned. >> unbelievable. back here at home, a standoff and shoot-out in wisconsin has left one police officer dead and another critically injured. [ gunfire ] now, that is just some of the gunfire exchanged over six hours in a quiet fond du lac neighborhood. officers dodging bullets from a sexual assault suspect barricaded in a house. 28-year-old officer, craig

burkeholtz, was shot and killed. and a canine officer and his dog were also wounded. the suspect was found dead after apparently shooting himself. spring is getting off to a stormy start in california, with another two feet of snow in store for the sierras. this is in addition to the three feet that came down in the mountains over the weekend. this triggered an avalanche warning and also shut down some highways. also, drenching rain that triggered flooding in the sacramento area is menacing the southern end of the state. >> rough time for those folks. but it is spring. after a long winter. now, for this morning's weather from around the country. that heavy rain stretches all the way from l.a. to vegas and phoenix. showers as far north as seattle. meanwhile, some snow in the mountains around l.a. up to a foot of snow in the southern rockies. showers and thunderstorms from the upper midwest to the ohio valley. some rain from philly to boston, mixed in with snow into northern new england. >> still pretty chilly in boston. 41 degrees there. 52 here in new york. 75 in dallas. 77 in kansas city.

and 51 in minneapolis. phoenix hovers near 70. albuquerque hits 75. and 56 in salt lake. 52 in boise. and coming up next, the talk of the business world this morning. at&t's multibillion-dollar bid for rival, t-mobile. what it could mean for millions of wireless users. and new, overnight, the latest guidelines for keeping your kids safe in the car. even where your teenagers should sit.

a possible megamerger is shaking up the wireless world this morning. at&t is making a bid to purchase t-mobile usa. if that $39 billion deal goes through, at&t would become the nation's largest wireless carrier, giving americans only three, major carriers from which to choose. that could mean higher rates. but having access to t-mobile's technology may mean better service for at&t customers. >> let's hope so. asian markets were mostly higher today, thanks to good news about japan's damaged nuclear plant. tokyo's nikkei index is closed for a holiday. hong kong's hang seng is up in late trading. and in london, the ftse opened slightly higher. on wall street, the dow gained almost 84 points on friday. but finished the week down 186 points. the nasdaq added 7 points on friday. but lost almost 72. japanese automakers plan to

resume parts and that then more cars at factories this week. but it may be months before the auto industry returns to normal. among the problems are rolling blackouts and damaged infrastructure. boeing biggest passenger jet is one step closer to being put into service. the 747-800 made its first test flight yesterday across the state of washington. the massive jet will be able to carry more than 460 people. big load. it is set for delivery by the end of the year. and there was no limit on "limitless" this weekend. the sci-fi thriller, staring bradley cooper, opened at number one, with $90 million in box office sales. the western, "rango" came in second. and "battle: los angeles" came in third. coming up next on your monday morning, inside libya's capital, as missile strikes surround that city now. and the mystery surrounding the death of the world's most famous polar bear. ng

delays in san francisco, l.a., vegas, phoenix, salt lake city, boston, new york and philadelphia. the pentagon says this weekend's allied onslaught of firepower against libyan defenses has been, quote, very effective. >> the coalition iadamant that moammar gadhafi is not the target of those attacks. however, a cruise missile

did explode in a building on the leader's residential compound. the rest of the strikes concentrated on wiping out radar and infrastructure. allan little from the bbc reports from tripoli. >> reporter: in tripoli, the sky is lit up for a second night of anti-aircraft fire. it feels that the city is under attack. tripoli itself is not under attack. those guns were responding to missiles or fighter planes, bomber planes, heading for targets outside the periphery of the city. what those targets are, we simply don't know. the mood here has hardened. state television showed bodies in the morgue. they showed wounded in hospital beds. but think how the air strikes have tipped the military balance. if the rebels in the east in what amounts to now a safe haven, can get themselves the military capability that they can use with discipline. and if conditional gadhafi's ability to operate militarily is constrained by air strikes, he

could become very vulnerable, very soon, even in the areas we think of as his heartland. >> moammar gadhafi insists this will be, quote, a long war. but does he have the muscle to go after the u.s. and its allies? brian ross investigates, coming up later today on "good morning america." sarah palin is in israel today, where she will meet with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. yesterday, she visited jerusalem's western wall, one of the holiest sites in judaism. palin is on her way back from india, where she delivered a paid speech entitled, "my vision for america." there are rumors that her vision includes a run for president. there will be all talks at the berlin zoo to find out what killed a beloved polar bear. knut became an international star, after he was abandoned by his mother and then nurtured by zoo keepers. thousands visited him every day. and knut memorabilia made that zoo millions. he died suddenly saturday, leaving fans to mourn. parents are getting new

recommendations on how to buckle up their kids. doctors and government safety experts now say that children should ride in rear-facing car seats until their 2 years old, instead of just 1. booster seats should be used until the age of 8 or until a child is tall enough for a regular seat belt. and all children 13 and under should ride in the backseat. recent studies show kids 2 and under have a much higher accident survival rate in rear-facing seats. well, more and more men are opting for a bit of nipping and tucking. new figures show 13% of all plastic surgery in the u.s., was actually done on men last year. up from 8% in 2008. some of the most popular cosmetic fixes for men, face-lifts, ear procedures and liposuction. there we go. >> very interesting. millions of americans were glued to march madness action over the weekend. we get the very latest highlights now from mike yam at espn news. >> good morning. we start with the ncaa

tournament, where vcu has to be feeling vindicated at this point. criticized for heading into the tournament. could make a real mark if they knock off purdue. second half, rams up by 16. make it 19. bradford burgess burying the triple. vcu heading to the sweet 16 for the first time in school history. tenth seed florida state matching up against notre dame in round number three. white, down low. ten points for him. seminoles in control. they're up by 20 at this point. michael snare, for three. he had 13. three of four from downtown. notre dame, upset shock. they're going home. speaking of big east teams, marquette and syracuse, two big east squads. the 3/11 matchup. darius johnson-odom, for three. ties the game with a triple. he had 17. and scoop jardine, still syracuse procession. and the three seed, the orange,

going back home. marquette, back in the sweet 16 for the first time since '03. when dwyane wade actually led that golden eagles squad. shawn miller and the fifth seed arizona taking on texas. cory joseph tried to inbound. gets called for the five-second violation. that's before he called the time-out. big turnover. derrick williams, big bucket. the pac-10 player of the year had 17. hits the free throw, as well. j'covan brown, driving. it came down by one. can't get it to go. and arizona, they win this thing, by one. and that will do it for this update. i'm mike yam. >> as long as the tar heels are in it, i'm happy. >> but the team you picked to win it is out. >> pitt didn't do it. one team member is not advancing to the next round with his team. >> butler's mascot, a popular bull las vegas will not be at the tournament. >> the ncaa banned live mascots from march madness but may give

an exception if the team makes it to the final four. let's see if they do. >> that bulldog doesn't miss many meals. >> no. >> big bulldog. up next, the stories we'll be following later today, including the return of one of tv's hottest shows. i've had asthma for 11 years... ...but my symptoms kept coming back... ...kept coming back. then i found out advair helps prevent symptoms from happening in the first place. advair is for asthma that's not well controlled on a long-term asthma medicine, such as an inhaled corticosteroid. advair will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. advair contains salmeterol which increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. advair is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine like an inhaled corticosteroid. once your asthma is well controlled your doctor will decide if you can stop advair without loss of control and prescribe

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the pentagon says a weekend of punishing assaults on libyan defenses has been very effective. the next step, limiting the u.s. role and turning over the reins to the coalition. president obama will be in chile later today, where he plans to answer questions on the military operation in libya. he'll also address a latin community, praising them as models for the world. officials at japan's damaged nuclear power plant are scrambling to find out what caused a cloud of smoke to rise up from reactor number three this morning. workers were evacuated while they try to get to the bottom of it. and it's another stormy day in california. the sierras get another two feet of snow after a weekend storm dumped more than twice that amount. also, heavy rain and flooding is on tap for the southern end of the state. the ballroom is hopping once again as the new crop of celebrities hit the floor. kirstie alley and sugar ray leonard are among those vying for the mirrorball trophy. season 12 of "dancing with the stars" kicks off tonight at 8:00, right here on abc. for some of you, your local news is next.

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and finally this morning, when enough is enough. a bullied teenager turns the table on his tormentor. >> the confrontation in an

australian schoolyard has now hit youtube. and people all around the world are rooting for the underdog. more from jeremy hubbard. >> reporter: this is the schoolyard bully beatdown that went viral. a tiny 12-year-old, picking on his larger scale mate. repeatedly punching him. then, 16-year-old casey heynes