bye-bye. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," high anxiety. japan pulls emergency workers from its crippled nuclear power plant after a surge in radiation. dealing with disaster, a new study reveals how prepared is the u.s. to deal with a major nuclear emergency. and ways of power, newly surfaced video shows the force of friday's tsunami as it hits the oregon coastline. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry.

today, we begin with melting point. a skeleton crew working to prevent an all-out meltdown at the fukushima nuclear plant were forced out of the facility for nearly an hour today. it was following a dangerous spike in radiation that japanese authorities feared was a risk to workers' lives. nbc's dan shenaman reports. >> reporter: authorities in japan have worked to avert a tragedy. the work has centered on damage to the machine four reactor where spent rods were being stored in pools of water. sea water has been pumped into plants one, two, and three, and workers have tried to bring down temperatures in plant five and six. bloo if a fuel rod becomes exposed, it could become fragile, and there's a chance of it breaking when my shock is given. the radiation material, which is normally contained inside the container, could seep out of it.

>> reporter: japan's chief cabinet secretary said japan will ask the u.s. military for help, but he did not elaborate. there are a few dozen workers who volunteered to remain at the facility. they have already faced life-threatening levels of radiation. >> they have already been exposed to levels of radiation that are life-threatening and will in some cases be fatal. >> reporter: the moouk facility has taken attention away from the scope of the humanitarian disaster in japan. friday's quake and tsunami swept entire villages away. rescuers along the northeast coast have found body after body in piles of rubble. the death toll is estimated to be well over 10,000. thousands more remain missing. those that survived had to make due with very little food, water, or heat. dan shenaman, nbc news. back here at home the results of a new study highlight the reason why some are increasingly concerned about how prepared we are as a country to handle a potential nuclear crisis. nbc's tracie potts joins from

yous washington with those details and the latest reaction from capitol hill. tracie, good morning to you. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the american medical association did a survey to find out if our states are ready to deal with a nuclear disaster. what they found is almost three-quarters have minimal plans to monitor radiation exposure. over half had minimal plans at all. one in five, they said, had no plans. now congress wants to know are our nuclear plants prepared? they're asking for full testimony from the nuclear regulatory commission on safety at u.s. plants, especially those near fault lines. can they with stand a magnitude 9 earthquake like we saw in japan? here inç the u.s. a lot of peoe are concerned about radiation exposure. there has been a run on potassium iodide here which protects against radiation exposure. one retailer says he has a backlog of 3,000 orders. lynn. >> tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thanks.

now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. home video from a viewer in oregon shows boats tossed around as if they were toys. brookings harbor port was broken apart. officials say the damage ranged from $10 million to $13 million. a disaster assessment team has visited the area to determine if it's eligible for federal relief. military units from across the nation headed to the hoosier state to take part in moch nuclear disaster drills. the dooms day scenario called for an emergency response to a nuclear explosion, which collapsed buildings, search and rescue, as well as decontamination. organizers say preparation is even more essential in light of the current situation in japan. finally, a virginia search and rescue team is on the ground in japan. the fairfax county based crew was deployed to the city of

ofunato in the wake of the tsunami. they along with a crew from los angeles have recovered several remains and are still searching through the debris. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. they are wonder whiching way the wind is blowing due to the radiation. zoog now that we know there has been radiation. the wind will take it whatever direction the winds are blowing. right now they're blowing out of the northwest at 12. most of the facilities that have been damaged are located right along the kwoes, and if the winds are out of the west or northwest, that's taking the -- whatever radiation is emitting off shore. that forecast holds for tonight, thursday, and friday with a northwest wind, and that will keep everything off shore. it's not until saturday until we get an onshore breeze which will mean radiation, if it's still being emitted, could head towards populated areas. we'll continue to monitor that in the days ahead. the temperatures out there on the west coast have been cool. we're at 41 in medford.

43 in seattle. storm system has been pushing on shore for the last two days. a big storm it was, and now it's just a moisture plume. cold front is trying to head through california and montana. at the current time a lot of clouds. don't count on a lot of sunshine on the west coast, and there are areas of steady rain. it will be more scattered this afternoon, but the heaviest of it is now up here in the central cascades. sacramento is getting a little bit of a break. heavy snow outside of reno and tahoe and outside of mount shasta too. further up in the pacific northwest, yesterday reports of hail formed during the afternoon. that's what we thought could happen with some of the thunderstorms. it's a similar scenario today. scattered showers out there. maybe a stray thunderstorm or two. your forecast today, more unsettled weather. much of the west. we do keep that moisture out of arizona, though, and in southern california, but you will see mostly cloudy skies. that's a look at your a lot of

this storm. especially in the central sierras. we've had rain every single day on the west coast this week. st. patrick's day, well, you'll have to wait and see. >> all right, bill. thanks so much. well, coming up will worries 4pq!out japan bother stocks, dr commodities and even tamper with the price you pay at the pump? early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, bieber meets fever at the wax museum. coming up, the knicks cannot keep pace at indy. the bulls earn respect, and march madness begins with the early four. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top

headlines this morning. security forces in bahrain launched a large scale assault against thousands of anti-government protesters today in an effort to move them out of the main square in the country's capital. there are reports of at least three protesters and three policemen killed. the action comes after bahrain's king declared a le-month state of emergency and instructed the military to suppress unrest, ripping the island kingdom. moammar gadhafi's forces have retain a strategic eastern city in libya that's just 100 miles from the opposition capital in benghazi. that key victory comes as colonel gadhafi warns rebels, quote, there are only two possibilities, surrender or run away. many a speech broadcast from the capital last night, qadhafi called the decision rash and accused western nations of wanting to steal libyan oil. before meeting with egypt's new prime minister today, secretary of state hillary clinton took a

walk in the epicenter of the protest revolution that eventually brought down egyptian president hosni mubarak. she calls this thrilling to see where this happened. palestinian president mahmoud abbas just announced he will not be running for re-election. residents in florida's miami-dade county have overwhelmingly voted to remove mayor alvarez from office after he raised property taxes and increased the salaries of tkpun. and more proof of the extraordinary power of japan's earthquake and tsunami last friday. a photo provided by the u.s. navy shows one home completely just floating by itself in the pacific ocean. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,855 after tumbling 137 points yesterday. the s&p dropped 14 points. the nasdaq fell 33.

taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei surged 488 points while in hong kong, the hang seng gained 22. the prospect of a nuclear meltdown in japan crippling the world's third largest economy reeked havoc on markets earlier this week. but there are signs this morning from tokyo things may be calming, at least for now. the nikkei closed more than 5.5% higher today, recovering some of the massive losses sustained over the last two days. tuesday, the dow jones fell almost 300 points right at the opening bell. things looked so grim before trading even began, the new york stock exchange invoked a special rule to smooth volatility. intel and cisco dependent on japanese factories for products and parts had steep falls. insurer aflac which does 75% of its business in japan also fell sharply. nuclear related stocks continued to be battered.

blue chip general electric which has moouk ventures with japan's hitachi fell mother 1.5%. stocks climbed back later in the afternoon thanks mainly to a statement from the fed after its latest policy meeting that the economy was gaining traction. japan sent commodities into a tailspin. oil tul bethlehemed more than $4 a barrel in the two weeks after hitting its all-time record. gold has hit $48 an ounce. the national average price pump for gas fell tuesday for the first time in nearly a month. wheat, corn and sugar contracts all fell by 5% or more. subaru and toyota are cancelling most overtime ask scaling back production in north america. finally, netflix was the rare winner on the day, soaring almost 8% as market research showed it trouncing rivals in home digital movies, so a bright spot there. the bulls flex their muscles, the pacers muscle the

knicks, and the buck's woes continue. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. in weather, irish eyes must be smiling. your warm st. patrick's day forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this

is "early today." in sports, the good news for tuesday's ncaa basketball winners is they're officially in. but the bad news, they will now face some of the top seeds in march madness. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. we are all familiar with the final four. but now there's the first four. four playing games to tip off march madness, unc asheville and little rock got the tourney started with a great finish. matt dickey knocked down the three to tie. ten seconds to play. trojans with a shot from the win. matt moves in from the corner but his three was off the mark and we headed into o.t. dickey and the bulldogs headed into the extra frame. they won it 81-77. they'll play number one pittsburgh tomorrow. game two, not as close. many of the, it was a blow-out. clemson led from start to finish against uab. they had a big lead and went on to win it 78-52. clemson will play fifth seed west virginia in the bracket. there are two more games tonight and the big dance starts tomorrow afternoon with the

first of 16 games at 12:15 eastern. nba, pacers and knicks went down to the wire. under 15 seconds to play. anthony drove the baseline and tied it with the lay-up. team high 29. indy with the last chance and that's all they needed.ç danny granger fade away with .3 seconds left. that's your game winner. pacers beat the knicks for the second time in three days, 119-117. atlanta's joe johnson a new look against milwaukee. sported the headband for the first time. after this performance, he may never take it off. 28 of his 36 in the first half. hawks soared past the bucs. 110-85. now to chicago. it was ironic the bulls wore green jerseys when they leapfrogged past the celtics. it doesn't matter what color you wear against the wizards. bulls win easily 98-79. the queen of soul, aretha franklin, ready to dance. chicago getting plenty of

respect in the east. they now have the best record in the conference. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. >> narrator: early today sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. it is whether it is an actual show or just a rant, charlie sheen's tour sells out. early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, a dancer makes his hometown proud. your early morning entertainment li adarhes ranest ae ht.igad heyou're watching "early today."

welcome back. active weather once been. thunderstorms, on and off rain. we're talking anywhere from central california north ward. if you are many the mountains, have you a chance of snow. especiallity highest elevations. we're dry in l.a. southward san diego, tucson, phoenix. clouds will be on the increase even there. then for st. patrick's day, more of the same. it's not going to rain quite as hard. temperatures will be a little warmer too. hopefully seattle will get a dry day. still showery weather through much of the central west coast. if are you watching us on kscct in sitka, alaska, learn about the oldest city in the northwest, back to its earliest settlers through photos and artifacts in all about sitka, and that's your pacific event of the take. >> bill, thanks. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. courtney cox may be uncertain about the future with her estranged husband, david arquette.

but one thing is certain. she tells "hapaars bazaar" saying she doesn't want to date any time soon. maybe for the meantime, that's a good thing given her description of herself saying, i don't like to go out, i'm not great at small talk and i don't like to go to parties. actor sean williams admitted himself into a treatment center for undisclosed health and personal insurance. charlie sheen is bringing his live show the violent torpedo of truth tour to five more venues. finally, madam touseau's unveiled justin bieber's wax feck tuesday in new york, amsterdam, and london where the singer got to check out his statue many person. like my growing teen boy, bieber seemed especially pleased that he was taller than his wax counterpart, which, you know, in real life he is only about 5'6", so hopefully that gives him a little bit of confidence.

not that there's anything wrong with that. >> just because there's someone i tower over. >> 5'5" in eighth grade. that was the last time i was ever measured. that was it. hair was really high that day. >> bill karins. funny. and this comes to us from anchorage, alaska, where in the city of nome, one man and his team of four-legged friends gave the state reason to celebrate. john baxter and his crew of huskies finished first in alaska's legendary iditerod race. he's the first alaskan native to win the race since 1976 breaking a 35-year drought and giving alaska a long awaited homefield win. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your@o nbc station.

well, if you are going to cliff dives, this is the way to do it. for the first time, they were held at the famous easter islands. thousands watched as contestants plunged below into the waters, each one had points for successful summersaults and twists. one grandmother's excitement for the royal numb talls is more like an object session. she has collected 10,000 pieces of royal memorabilia since she was a little girl.

it seems her royal obsession cled tloed a career opportunity. a reporting job for the upcoming nuptials. dog lovers in manhattan have officially thought of everything. there's now a solution if you feel guilty leaving pooches in new york city apartments. a doggy nightclub. while the owners are away, the pups enjoy music, upscale treats, and bowser beer. and if they're too tired to go home, they can stay at the in-house hotel, complete with a complimentary head scratch. where do i sign up? >> and the theme song? zi move it. ♪ who lets the dogs out >> i thoou that was coming. i know you so well, bill karins. >> maybe bow wow will perform too. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in washington, a house committee will question the transportation security administration about the safety of its airport full body scanners after recent testing showed higher levels of radiation in some machines.

in connecticut, jury selection is expected to begin for the second of two men charged with the murders and the deaths of jennifer petit and her two daughters during a home invasion in 2007. and on capitol hill, the red cross will offer cpr and first aid training in honor of congresswoman gabrielle giffords and the heroic actions that ç saved lives in shooting in tucson. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. find out the latest details on the disaster in japan after dangerous radiation levels forced workers out of the fukushima power plant for nearly an hour. and jenna bush hager gets a sneak peek backstage as celine dion launches her las vegas spectacular. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry.

thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.