tonight on "nightline," shake shock. it's the biggest earthquake in the east in at least 65 years. buildings are smashed. sky scrapers rock. even the white house quivers. as thousands evacuate offices and nuclear plants are shut down, is there more to come? plus, final battle. american-backed rebel forces crack through the warms of the gadhafi compound in libya, and come one step closer to victory. we're on the scene, as mayhem

breaks out. and grace notes. ♪ like a rhinestone cowboy >> he's a founding father of crossover country. glen campbell. now an extraordinary and raw interview. he opens up about his final act. >> it's a brave thing. >> i don't know how brave it is. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfcfden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," august 23rd, 2011. >> good evening. we begin tonight with that 5.8 magnitude earthquake outside washington, d.c. today, which grabbed the attention of millimeters on the east coast. one indication, twitter counted more than 5500 tweets per second. so many people were on their cell phones that some service went out. the white house was evacuated and all the national monuments were closed for safety inspections.

lala tonight, the national park service reported a crack was discovered in the top of the washington monument. here's abc's david muir with the east coast unexpected case of the shakes. >> reporter: we were pulling into the train station in washington, d.c. when the station suddenry began to wildly shake. officers yelling to us and to everyone to get out. passengers ran to safety. there were immediate fears here that this was something worse. >> grounun started shaking. people started screaming, running around. >> all of a sudden, everything just shook. things fell off the table. and then everybody scrambled. >> reporter: what we then realized was that millions of americans had felt the same thing. it was 1:51 this afternoon. >> stay from the front of the building. >> reporter: when that giant rumble sent fear through entire cities. our camera at the white house swaying. helicopters hovering over washington. the national cathedral damaged. part of one of the pinnacles falling to the ground.

this woman tweeted "i'm holding a piece of the national cathedral in my hand. kws in northern virginia, cars smashed with falling bricks. in baltimore, part of a warehouse collapsed. and in new york, where this country will soon mark ten years since 9/11, it was the first thing so many people felt in their gut. >> it's scary when you're all the way up there, you know, on the 14th floor. it's not easy. you have all these thoughts running through your mind. scary. >> reporter: and in washington, where the capitol, the pentagon and the trarain station were al evacuated, it was that same fear, that this was something else. >> ten-year anniversary of 9/11 and i don't think you can help but think about some terrorist activity. >> reporter: this was one of those workers whose mind was racing for a time. she was in her office building whenenhe quake hit. we met her on the packed subway as she raced out of the capitol. at first, did you fear what? >> fear that the building was going to collapse because i was on the 11th floor. >> reporter: just happy to be

going home? >> yeah, i'm happy to go and see my son. >> reporter: the quake was felt all along the east coast, from massachusetts all the way down to north carolina. and as far west as chicago. at the moment the earthquake hit, new york city's d.a. was holding a press conference. you could read it on his face. workers with the d.a.'s office raced off the platform, the press moves swiftly from the room. this was one of the strongest birth quakes ever to hit the east coast. one of this magnitude, extraordinarily rare here, even meteorologists were caught by surprise. >> why is everything shaking? look at the lights. >> it's an area which has had several threes and fours. the largest we've seen was a 4.8 back in the 19th century. >> california is fractured. one one fault line goes, the damage is limited to within a few miles. but the northeast moves as one

block, the north atlantic plate. and so damage goes all the way to canada as a consequence of an accident, i mean, earthquake that can take place near virginia. >> reporter: the epicenter, mineral, virginia, about 90 miles from the capital, where the earthquake was caught by a supermarket security camera. and nearby, another store where the ceiling collapsed. >> sounded like a freight train was coming through and the ceiling started falling. >> reporter: at the north anna nuclear facility just miles from the epicenter, two nuclear reactors automatically shut down, forced to use emergency reserve generators for power. the facility built to survive. >> here in the northeast, they're not that frequent. 100 times less frequent. we have less data points. so, we are working in the dark in some sense. people here in the northeast treat it as a joke. bum we have to realize that things do happen. >> reporter: tonight, so many

families home and going to bed, just hours after those frantic cell phone calls to loved ones, telling them, we're all right. >> i'm fine. i'm fine. thank you so much. >> reporter: and those moments when so many feared far worse, grateful, in the end, that this was an earthquake instead. i'm david muir for "nightline" in washington. >> indeed. we received many calls from our friends on the west coast saying, we have a thing or two to learn about earthquakes. just ahead, dramatic developments in libya, where american-backed rell forces have cause for celebration this evening. you could save a bundle with geico's multi-policy discount. geico, saving people money on ore than just car insurance. ♪

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>> the world witnessed incredible scenes out of libya today, where american-backed rebel forces finally penetrated the inner circle of leader mow j mar gadhafi's compound. but the man himself nowhere to be found. i'm joined now by abc's jeffrey kofman, who is in tripoli. jeffrey? >> reporter: good evening, cynthia. what a day it has been here. what a week it has been here. the revolution in this country seemed caught in a stalemate for months, but suddenly in the last few days, major advances by the rebels, with help from the u.s. and nato in the skies, cull min napted today in the storming of gadhafi's compound. as for gadhafi, we don't know where he is, but he allegedly, apparently spoke on local radio tonight, vowing to fight back, saying that his retreat from his compound was tactical. but given the scale of the defeat he has faced over the last few days, it's very hard to see how w can come back.

it was early afternoon when the rebels broke through. triumphant day for a rag tag army that has been backed by the u.s. and europe. a two-square mile forbidden city that was both home and military headquarters more moammar gadhafi. this country's brutal dictator who tortured his people and taunted the world. we're now approaching. i've been through these gates just a couple of weeks ago with gadhafi's government minders taking us through. they told us what we could shoot. th what a different feeling it is today. these kids celebrating, the rebel flag -- if you show a flag like that around here a couple of weeks ago, you would have been shot on the spot. they wanted everyone to believe they loved gadhafi.

that was not the case. inside, part celebrations, part venting years of anger at gadhafi's brutal repression. the crowd exacting its revenge. burning buildings. looting anything and everything that they could carry. remember, when saddam hussein's statue was toppled? well, this is libya's version. stomping on the dictator's golden bust. >> at last we got rid of this man. but today we are free. free, free, free. and libya is going to be one of the best country has in the world. >> reporter: do you really think it's over? >> it will be over tonight. tonight it will be over. he's finished. he's nothing now. >> reporter: the name translates loosely as gates of splendor. but it's more garish than grand here. for gadhafi, it was the backdrop to entertain world leaders here. he made most of his public speeches from here. this is the heart of the

compound. this bichlding was bombed 25 years ago on orders of president reagan after gadhafi tried to kill a number of american troops. that fist holds an american war plane and it was used as a propaganda backdrop. people with the government were cheering and singing their love for gadhafi. that's what he wanted us to report. but it's clear, there was a very different story to be told here. just look at the faces of these young guys. their future was held in gadhafi's fist, not that airplane. for one day, at least, today, they have a future of endless possibility. for older libyans, it's a story of lives robbed of freedom. the man they hold responsible for that, moammar gadhafi, has disappeared. no one seems to know where he is hiding. >> we have been hearing about this place for 22 years and this crazy maniac. where is he today? why did he run away?

we're going to get him. we're going to get him. and we're going to judge him. him and his children, one by one. in front of the whole world. he's finished. >> reporter: from everywhere in tripoli, you could see the huge plumes of smoke. a fitting symbol for the end of a brutal dictatorship. people cheered and celebrated in the streets this is one arab country that loves americans. >> thank you, thank you, obama. thank you mr. president obama. >> reporter: this was the dictator in february, just after this revolution began. appearing in public, on his golf cart, to prove that he hadn't fled the country. this, we think, is that same golf cart, today, paraded mockingly through the streets. one of the spoims poils of war. back at the km pound, as dusk

arrived, the fun was replaced by fear. the party's come to a quick end. there is tracer fire over our heads and people realize that while they have won, there are still pockets of gadhafi resistance and this is not a safe place. so, we are leaving as everyone else is. and tonight, there are reports of street fights in tripoli and other cities. the rebels are so close to victory, but they're not there yet. i'm jeffrey kofman for "nightline" in tripoli. every time a local business opens its doors or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities, so we're helping them with advice from local business experts and extending $18 billion in credit last year. that's how we're helping set opportunity in motion.

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in 1994, almost six years after he left office, president ronald reagan announced he h h been diagnosed with alzheimer's. putting a courureous, public face to a devastating disease. today, one of america's most beloved musicians shared his story in an extraordinary and exclusive interview with my co-anchor, terry moran. >> reporter: let's begin this by just listening to "wichita lineman." ♪ i am a lineman for the county ♪ >> reporter: it's got to be the best song ever written about a telephone engineer. jimmy webb wrote it, glen

campbell made it a hit and he sung it thousands upon thousands of times all over the world. ♪ i hear you singing in the wires ♪ >> reporter: and he's still singing. ♪ i am a lineman for the county ♪ ♪ and i drive the main roads that's a great song. >> reporter: and it's just one of so many great songs glen campbell has sung and played for 60 years and more. ♪ like a rhinestone cowboy >> reporter: "rhinestone cowboy." ♪ it's knowing that your door's always open ♪ >> reporter: "gentle on my mind." and that's him playing one of the most famous guitar licks ever on the beach boys "fun, fun, fun." >> i have been blessed. i really have. i figured it out that i'm not that bright, but god gave me a break. >> reporter: a life in music. but now glen campbell has been

given a challenge. he's been diagnosed with alzheimer's disease. >> i hadn't got it yet. i don't know -- in fact, i don't even know where it came from. >> yes, you've been diagnosed with alzheimer's. >> what? i haven't felt it yet. i've always been forgettabful anyway. but it's -- well, i guess -- i'm only what, 78? >> 75. >> 75. oh. well, i got a couple more. >> reporter: that's glen's wife of almost 30 years, kim woollen. she's becoming his memory. his connection to the life they've shared. and he knows that. >> i tell you, boy, the verse in the bible that says, if a man finds a good wife, he's found a good thing. and i found a good thing. or she found me. did you find me or did i find you? >> i think we found each other. >> reporter: the disease is progressing but glen campbell's

still the same happy go lucky music man the country took to its heart so many years ago. ♪ some days i'm so confused >> reporter: the music is still deep and strong. alzheimer's.ght now, than the ♪ i need the ones i love lord >> reporter: now, he's released one final album, "ghost on the canvas." and he wants to go on a farewell tour, to say good-bye. ♪ one thing i know >> reporter: while he is. ♪ the world's been good to me >> reporter: you know, glen, it is a brave thing to continue to perform. a lot of people get a hard diagnosis and they focus on their health. >> i don't know how brave it is. i didn't accept anything else. like looking around, when it is going to get here. >> reporter: right now, though,

glen's still singing, still giving the gift he was born to give. and his children are buy his side in his band. ashley on keyboard, shannon on guitar, cal on drums. alzheimer's is a hard journey, but there is a grace to be found in it. as we say good-bye, we see just how much those who live with this disease mean to us, how wonderful eaea and every life is. ♪ i am a lineman for the county ♪ ♪ and i drive the main road that's a g gat song. >> but the famous line from it is -- >> i need you more than want you. and i want you for all time. wichita lineman, still on the line. ♪ still on the line ♪ still on the line ♪ and i'm doing fine