or 4 storm. new video gist just in of former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn that could be a free man at the end of this hour. a judge moving closer to dismissing the rape charges against him in new york city. and the battle for the white house. if the election were held today, mitt romney would beat president obama and tie rick perry. we break down the numbers. hi, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. we want to get right to it because right now in trip lee it could be the end of the road for moammar gadhafi. take a look. rebel forces reportedly breached the libyan leader's compound that he has in tripoli. thick black smoke is seen billowing above the building and celebratory gunfire is going off a short distance from where richard engel is on location. he is joining me now. he is the nbc chief foreign correspondent in libya today for us. as we watch this unfold in the

center of tripoli, richard, bring us up to speed with the latest. you have been watching this unfold all morning long. just to alleviate the viewers' fears, you are in a safe location from everybody. >> reporter: we are fine. we are not in the -- the important thing is not to be between the rebels and the compound, which is behind us. that is where most of the action is going to be, the fighting is taking place. we are on a rooftop which gives us the perspective to see what's happening down below. we are in a much better position than the journalists who are in the hotel here, the western journalists, they are right in the compound, but since they are being held by gadhafi's regime, it is fair to say they are effectively being held hostage there and not allowed to broadcast or allowed to leave. that's a much more dangerous perspective. and they may not be knowing what's going on outside the walls of their compound. from where we are, we can see what's going on in the city.

all day long starting in the early hours it began with an assault from affair. it began with rocket fire going into the compound, rocket fire coming out. it sounded like there were some nato bombings. we could hear the nato jets in the sky. then we would hear explosions. you can see the bombs explode but from what we put together from the witness accounts there was a nato role in this as well. then after softening the target for a while from affair, then a close assault began. and the close assault was with anti-aircraft guns as the rebels were lowering the anti-aircraft guns flat and firing them at the perimeter walls of the compound. and then just a short while ago we heard that some sort of breach had taken place in the western gate. and that the rebels were able to enter inside this large compound, which has a court-yard in the center, high walls around the sides and many different buildings inside. it is filled with fighters and heavy weapons. who the fighters are remains

unclear. what is happening now is word is spreading with fighting inside the compound itself. no word if they have won or lost. >> richard, as you're talking about the word spreading, we know most libyans are armed already. but as we watch this unfold behind you with the rebels breaching that western wall of the compound, we have been talking for days about tripoli falling. if the rebels do take the compound itself, does it mean that tripoli has fallen? that it is now over and the data fee is out of power? >> reporter: yes, this is the final stronghold in the city. if the rebels take this, then tripoli has fallen. there is still work to do. they will still have to form a government and consolidate their grip on the city. they there may still be loyalists on the loose trying to carry on sniper attacks, but the general control of the city will be in the rebels hands. if this battle is successful,

tripoli will have fallen. >> richard andle, stand by for us as we watch this continue. we'll talk to the founder of aslon media now and the awe or the of "no god but god: the origin future and future of islam." it is great to see you here this morning. we are watching this being reported from richard and seeing what's happening there. we are all on the edges of our seats waiting to learn exactly what's happening within that compound, but we are not certain right now if gadhafi is inside the walls of the compound. but if he is, eventually captured, what do you think will be the process of what happens? do you think they want to hold him accountable or do you think they are going out for his killing? >> well, i think the debate is already taking place amongst the ntc, the national transitional council. obviously, as you know, the ntc wants gadhafi and his son safe.

they have arrest warrants out for him. the question is will the libyans just give them up or want some sort of trial themselves. this is, of course, exactly what we saw in iraq with saddam hussein who also had an arrest warrant with the icc. it remains to be seen. at this point, the fighting is still raging, not just at the compound where gadhafi perhaps is but also in the district that is still under gadhafi control. by the way, the entire town of sert is still under loyalist control. so we are still a ways away from this being over. >> libya is so different than when we try to compare it to iraq with the people resooifding in libya. it is tribally divided. in iraq it was religiously diversified between shiites and sunnis. explain to all of us as we watch

the people there trying to absorb this and drink this in so desperate for their freedom, how do they trust the filter of corruption from the top? >> yes, well, gadhafi came to power in a military coup and spent the last four decades making sure nothing like that would happen to him. there's no centralized government. there's no strong military base as there was say in egypt. you have about 100 different tribes, different loyalties, the military itself is broken along tribal lines. the national transitional council has former regime loyalists, it has a number of different militia groups that don't get along well with each other or are not communicating well with each other as we have seen over the last 24 hours. you are absolutely right, there's a great deal of fragmentation amongst the libyans. so far they have been able to

unite around the single goal of getting rid of gadhafi. once gadhafi goals everyone expects the fault lines will rise to the surface. >> i just want to point out we continue to watch the screen there. it just went away with us. but we were watching the black smoke billow from the come pound compound. it is an cam example of how the arab spring has turned to summer. in your estimation, is syria next? >> look, if you had told me six months ago that mubarak would be out of power in egypt and that gadhafi would be about to be captured by his own people and perhaps put on trial, i wouldn't have believed you. so as impossible as it may seem for experts like myself and my colleagues to imagine that assad could be toppled in syria, i think we have all learned at this point to stop saying that things like this are impossible. one thing that i will say is that with gadhafi gone hopefully

soon, all eyes basketball on syria. and the entire international community will be focused squarely on bashar. at the very least, those pouring out on the streets who have been mowed down by syrian troops the last few months will be encouraged by the notion that the world's longest serving dictator, it is finally gone and that hassad could be next. >> it does put a white spotlight solely on syria. we'll continue to watch this unfold. thank you so much for your insights this morning. we are following more breaking news out of new york now where former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn could be on his way back to france by the end of this day. just moments ago he walked into the manhattan courtroom. this is him leaving the place he rents in new jersey city.

the state has been set for the anticipated charges set against him. court starts in roughly 30 minutes. he was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid. there are questions about her credibility that left the case wide open. now a judge just dismissed a final motion by her lawyers to go ahead and prosecute him. ron allen is live outside the courthouse to bring us up to speed. ron, how fast do we anticipate all this action? >> i would think it would go quickly, tom. the prosecutors filed the paperwork asking the judge to dismiss the charges. what more do you need if you are the judge to do that. as you said, dsk walked into the courtroom here about ten minutes ago accompanied by his wife and attorneys. i couldn't see the look on his face, but i have the feeling he is feeling confident about

himself. the attorneys maintained that he is incident throughout the entire time and now he'll be vindicated by the judge. the noise you hear in the background is a small group of demonstrators here demonstrating in support of the former hotel. they claim that the dna as one of their signs says tells the story. that a jury should decide this will case. i can tell you from reading the prosecutor's statement to the court. it is really a scathing -- over the course of several interviews over the last few months, they say she admitted lying to them, he or she lied to the grand jury, made false statements and conflicting statements about personal matters, about her personal circumstance and how she came to the country and what happened that night and

crucially what happened in the minutes after the alleged attack. the bottom line is that they do not believe, the prosecutors do not believe, they can convince a jury that she's telling the truth because they don't know what the truth is. they don't know whether she's telling you the truth or not. if you think back in may. may 14th where all this happened. the prosecutors were so sure that they pulled them off the plane and put them in jail. now he'll walk out of here a free man. back to you. >> ron allen outside the courtroom this morning where we'll learn more on the status of dominique strauss-kahn. also, we'll talk about what's ahead for the people in florida and the carolinas who are bracing for the first hurricane that could make landfall in three years. it is packing winds up to 150 miles per hour. a cat 2 storm that could become a monster cat 3 or cat 4 storm

by slamming into the east coast. residents in the southern coastal areas of the u.s. are stocking up to stay safe. weather channel meteorologist mike seidel is live for us in west balm peach, florida. it looks gorgeous behind you right now, but obviously residents are paying close attention to what's coming their way. >> reporter: they are because this storm could be the first hurricane to make landfall in the u.s. in three years. and we have not had a major make landfall since wilma back in 2005. that tore through florida. that was a deadly hurricane. meanwhile, let's show you the first of satellite loop. a 100-mile-an-hour category 2 hurricane. once it gets to a faster speed, we expect it to switch to a category 3 by tomorrow. just recently, they upgraded the hurricane watch to a warning in the northwest bahamas. all the turks & caicos are now

under a hurricane warning coming right through there. the it could be devastating with a bugsaw. we'll get a brush by on thursday with issues on the beaches, but we'll miss the brunt of this. landfall is expected on saturday in the carolinas. more than likely north carolina based on the latest projections. and it could come in as a major hurricane up there somewhere between myrtle beach, wilmington or the outer banks. this could still have a significant impact points north including d.c. and baltimore and right up the jersey shore to new york city. looking back, the last time new york city had a hurricane approach them relatively close within 60 to 70 miles was gloria in 1975. this has the potential to be up there as a hurricane. you have to be concerned for new york and new jersey, a lot of rain in august. the wettest summer in philadelphia. you combine 50 to 60-mile-an-hour winds with the saturated ground, that means a lot of trees coming down and

power outages. this is going to impact 65 million to 70 million in some way, shape or form by next monday. the track is not etched in stone, but a landfall will be saturday impacting furious parts by monday. >> thank you so much for that report, mike seidel. we have breaking news about dominique strauss-kahn. he is one step closer to being a free person after the judge is basically rejecting the special prosecutor for the dsk case. then we'll take you back to libya where richard engel is standing by to brief us on what's happening there as rebels have invaded the compound of moammar gadhafi in tripoli and black billowing smoke is seen rising into the sky. could tripoli technically fall in the hand of rebels today? back with much more right after

this. [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a living, breathing intelligence that's helping people rethink how they live. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. ♪ we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's a network of connections and ideas... open and collaborative... extending far beyond the mobile phone. connecting you to a world of intelligent new devices and technologies. from today's best innovators... and tomorrow's. ♪ it's the at&t network... a network of possibilities... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. ♪

and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. 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.

welcome back. we want to take you back to the situation in libya. you are looking at tripoli and the compound of moammar gadhafi with the western wall breached by rebels earlier today. it is roughly after 5:00 in the afternoon there in tripoli. but we are watching this black billowing smoke come out from outside of that compound itself, which is a massive compound. no one is seeing moammar gadhafi. no telling if he's inside the compound or not. richard engel is coming up in moments, but everyone has been saying for days now that tripoli has been in the process of falling. richard is telling us that if this compound goes, whether or not they find moammar gadhafi or

not, it means tripoli has technically fallen. there was celebratory gunfire coming from people in the streets learning of the news and seeing the smoke for themselves in the neighborhoods that surround this compound. and they are firing shots into the air. we'll have much more from our richard engel coming up in moments. it is roughly after 5:00 in the afternoon in libya where in just the last hour we saw this black billowing smoke from the gadhafi compoundful we'll bring you more information as soon as we get it here on msnbc. the congressional black caucus is taking its jobs initiative to florida and right now the doors are open at a jobs fair taking place in miami. and thousands of unemployed americans turned out to look at the jobs fair in cleveland, detroit and atlanta. meanwhile, last night at a cbc town hall in miami, heated debate and criticism of what the president has done for jobless americans. take a listen. >> we got to do some big things. yeah, we should go for a huge stimulus package. let them fight against it. let's put up the fight.

you don't know whether you can win unless you do the fight. >> this whole thing of a ship rises and it lists all boats is a bunch of bull. the point is we were already 10% unemployment. now we are 16% unemployment. so we don't need what everybody else has, we need that and then some. >> joining me now is california congresswoman laura richardson who you hear speaking at last night's town hall. congresswoman, great to have you on this morning. you said the black community needs more, needs a greater focus. do you think that the president has done enough so far and do you think he actually is capable of doing more now before potentially being elected a second time? >> first of all, thomas, thank you for having me. has the president done enough, has congress gone enough, we all need to do more? why do we need to do more? right now unemployment in the nation is 9%, but within the african-american community it is almost 16%.

with young adults, it is 39.3%. so have we done enough? no, we let politics get in the way and need to help people get jobs. >> when we look at what's taking place in florida, specifically, miami-dade, the county there with the unemployment rate at 13%. but going into the urban areas, congresswoman, that number skyrockets to 26% in little haiti, 27% in overton and 29%, unbelievably, in liberty city. in the next jobs bill, the pmt is proposing -- are you concerned it won't reach far enough to get to the struggling urban areas where we are seeing the numbers reach almost 30%? >> absolutely. and that's why the congressional black caucus is here today. we see the writing on the wall and the writing on the wall is we are not doing enough to be able to help the average american person. we have done a lot of to helps and banks, they are all surviving with money and yet are not hiring people. so when the president comes back

in september i'm looking forward to his reflection and ideas, but we have to do more and there also needs to be accountability. we had a stimulus bill and spent $787 billion, almost $70 billion in transportation. we were supposed to create new jobs, but what, in fact, happened is people who already had jobs were able to keep their jobs. we now know that new people, people you see behind me, many are mature americans who have the degrees and experience but haven't been employed. we need a bigger bill, we need more opportunities for people to work, we need manufacturing tax credits so people can get jobs. and we need to make sure that everyone is at the table and there's accountability. no sending in a report and not knowing who got hired. we need to make sure people who don't have jobs are first in line. >> congressman, real quickly. the tone of the team there, is it hope or desperation?

>> it is both to be honest. as i walked in, it almost brings tears to your eyes to see women pushing baby strollers, mature americans as i mentioned, and then looking at the young people who spent four and six years going through school and now can't find a job. but the hope is, imagine, 140-plus employers right here behind me who have jobs in hand. and an employer cannot participate in the fact they are not prepared to hire people today. the hope is this is better than they have seen before. and it is certainly better than going online to get a job. people are meeting real people and have a good chance for the congressional black caucus and americans in florida. >> we want to take you back to tripoli now where we are watching the events unfold there as the gadhafi compound has been invaded by the rebels with a breach on the western wall. nbc chief foreign correspondent

richard engel is a mile outside the gadhafi compound. bring us up to speed as we hear the gunfire there. >> reporter: what we are hearing now could be significant. we are hearing some gunfire, but we are no longer hearing shots coming out of the compound. it appears that this could be a preliminary report that the fighters inside the compound are no longer putting up resistance. there are report that is the rebels inside the compound itself have entered even into gadhafi's private residence within the complex itself. so it's maybe too early to say, and we are not on the ground to confirm it, but we are hearing something we have not heard all day, which is silence coming out of the compound. if you listen to it, there's really not much going on right now. and that is felt to be significant, perhaps the rebels have stopped fighting within the compound and this battle could

be either over or ending. >> explain the scope and the size of the compound when we refer to it as the place where moammar gadhafi lives. this is much more in scale than simply a large scale home. i mean, this is an entire little city within the city of tripoli itself. >> reporter: gadhafi effectively lived on a military base. and there were tanks inside this complex. effectively like the white house, but he put the white house inside a military bar rack surrounded by high walls -- unclear what that is, some celebratory gunfire, perhaps. it is surrounded by high walls. the walls are built to be defended militarily. when you drive around the complex, there are small holes in the walls with little metal gates on the hole or metal latches on them so people inside can put guns out of them and fire to defend the complex. it was built for defensive

purposes. and it has many buildings inside, it has intelligence buildings, commander control buildings, his private residences are in there, there are bunkers and tunnels underneath the complex. so it is a very elaborate structure, but one always built with the idea that something like this could happen and that it would come under attack. >> richard, explain that you are uncertain if that was celebratory gunfire or not. how are libyans communicating what the information is, or are they watching from in front of their homes on the streets to see the billowing smoke coming from the compound to think that maybe something advanced the situation where the rebels have taken it. >> word is spreading by word of mouth, rebels are moving around in the streets talking to each other. some of the fighters have radios between the vehicles. the mosques are playing a key role and if you can see some of the women have loud speakers in them. and the preachers inside of them have been giving battle and

trying to give encouragement to the people. they were the first people of means by which we heard an attack had begun on the compound that perhaps there was a breech of the compound, that the rebels were attacking it in a movement from two sides. they were relaying this afgs. so there was not a lot of electronic communication. cell phones here almost don't work. there's certainly no internet. so they are relying on loud speakers and word of mouth. >> richard engel, we'll come back to you throughout the hour. it is almost 5:30 there in libya. it is 11:30 here on the east coast. we are back with much more on msnbc after this.

a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. morning starts with arthritis pain... that's two pills before the first bell. [ bell rings ] it's time for recess...

and more pills. afternoon art starts and so does her knee pain, that's two more pills. almost done, but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve because it can relieve pain all day with just two pills. this is lisa... who switched to aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. for a day free of pain. living with the pain of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis... could mean living with joint damage. help stop the damage before it stops you with humira. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira's proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live or have been to a region

where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist how you can defend against and help stop further joint damage with humira. if something is simply the color of gold, is it really worth more? we don't think so. chase sapphire preferred is a card of a different color. unlike others, you get twice the points on travel, and twice the points on dining, and no foreign transaction fees. call now or apply at chasesapphire.com/preferred. we are following the

fast-moving breaking developments in tripoli where gadhafi's forces are reportedly putting up little or no resistance as libyan forces breached the libyan leader's come point compound. it could be just moments before his 42-year rule closes for good. and breaking news in new york where come next dominique strauss kahn could be moments away from leaving the country with his freedom handed back to him. and we are tracking hurricane irene that could hit land in the united states as a devastating category 3 or 4 storm by this weekend. does your buisness have the financial control it needs?

here's what you can the expect from regions. a bank that provides you with real business expertise. check. a professional optimization of your cash flow with a regions cashcor analysis. check. cash management solutions and the smart lending options you need to grow your business. check. plus, it all comes with award-winning service to help you achieve more balance. interested? let's talk. looking good. (bike bell)

i opened the first sammy's back sammin 1966. box. my employees are like family. and, i want people that work for me to feel that they're sharing in my success. we purchase as much as we can on the american express open gold card. so we can accumulate as many points as possible. i pass on these points to my employees to go on trips with their families. when my employees are happy, my customers are happy. vo: earn points for the things you're already buying. call 1-800-now-open to find out how the gold card can serve your business. welcome back to breaking news out of tripoli where it is after 5:30 in the afternoon there. in libya you can see the billowing black smoke there in the skies coming from the moammar gadhafi compound there.

it is like a military barracks as our reporter was telling us, but breaches have been made on the western wall there with rebels going in to the compound itself seeking moammar gadhafi. whether he is there or not is uncertain, but according to richard engel, if the compound is taken, that means that tripoli has technically fallen. but the search for moammar gadhafi goes on. this is a man who is a billionaire dictator. joining me now is michael who is on the money trail for us. michael, libya, as we all know, one of the wealthiest countries in the region because of their oil. they are the 12th largest oil exporter. and moammar gadhafi has been hording money for decades now. how long could it really take to uncover the financial trail to find him if the rebels can't, how quickly will the money turn him up? >> well, look, one answer may well be in the compound we are looking at right now because i have talked to libyan disdents, people close to the transitional national council in the last day

or so, they all emphasize getting access to the files is the key to a lot of the unanswered mysteries around the gadhafi regime, both where the money is and also what it has been up to and its ties to terrorism going back over the years. still very much a major topic for u.s. and western officials. but look, it is important to make one distinction. there are billions of dollars that have been frozen by the united states and european and libyan assets. those are the libyan investment authorities, that's the sovereign wealth fund. those are outside the control of the gadhafi regime for months now. and presumably they will be turned over to the transitional council if it indeed takes power as we seem to expect it to. the other question is gadhafi's personal wealth and how much of that can be located and found

and can it be distinguished from some of these libyan government wealth funds. after all, he's been head of state for 42 years. and that is still very much and open question. estimates all over the map on how much gadhafi's personal wealth is ranging from $30 billion to $250 billion. that's one good key, we don't really know the answer. >> when we talk about the country's assets of moammar gadhafi, england, tunisia, south africa, uganda, how does the national council go about retrieving the money from those countries? >> well, first of all, a lot of those are aware of the libyan investment authority funds that are invested in property in the english country side, for instance, in london, again, that is -- those are assets that are frozen and could be turned over to the transitional council. but one step they have already taken is hiring a top washington

law firm that signed a contract just last month. this is the transitional council now. and they are pretty high-powered law firm advising the transitional council among other things, where to find the wealth and how to get their hands on it. so i think we are going the see private investigators hired by the law firm and others trying to track down the money and sometimes these can be successful. >> michael, just to update everybody in tripoli, libya, where we are watching the black smoke continuing to billow into the sky. this is coming from the gadhafi compound in tripoli, basically a military barracks where he's resided for decades now, but rebels breached the western wall there. and we are hearing they were able to go in and fighters have put up some resistance, little to none now, roughly after an hour of the fighting that's been going on there. our reporter richard engel is not seeing or hearing much of the gunfire continuing. however, there has been

celebratory gunfire going on in the streets. richard was also telling us how there was word of mouth traveling on the streets, rebels running through the city, they were spreading the information on the compound being breached. no word on whether moammar gadhafi was inside the compound or not. we talk more about the money and what libya has in terms of the country. the bank currently holds -- this is the libyan central bank, holds 144 tons of gold worth more than $6.5 billion. if the rebels take control of the transitional council, who has access to that kind of gold, to that type of power, so to speak? >> it is worth remembering that it is an asset only appreciating in value over the last few months as the stock market has been going down and gold is going through the roof. but again, if if transitional council is recognized by other

nations, including ours -- we already have, so the presumption is that the transitional council is going to get access to it. the question is who is in the transitional council, what kind of government are they going to form and how much support they are going to have from the country right now. these are all big unanswered questions. obviously, we have not had democratic elections. nobody has been elected to transitional council. and securing the country side, secu securing and establishing law and order is essential to, i think, resolving all these issues because we need a legitimate functioning government in order to get access to those funds. >> and how much help do you think the international community needs to deliver to provide libya with the access to the type of stability that they are seeking since they are in such desperate need for that type of discipline in the governmental structure?

>> well, they are already taking steps with the european union unfreezing the assets and turning them over to the transitional council. i think you can expect that the united states government is doing the same thing. i mean, there's going to be very aggressive steps to support the transitional council, the big question will be are they going to be able to establish the legit macy in tripoli. >> i think a lot of people are confused when seeing gadhafi's name. nbc news has a way that we spell it, other institutions, news organizations, they have a different way to spell it. data gadhafi is spelled differently and has been over the years, lodgisticly, does it provide more difficulty in trying to track down where his money could be internationally? >> well, i think a lot of that is differences in arabic transitions into english. but look, my assumption is that

gadhafi has been trying to hide his assets and squirrel them away. he's come up with more creative ways than different spells of his name. there are a lot of different ways this can be done, and that's why i go back to the point about the importance of getting access to the files, if they are still entact and hasn't been burned or destroyed. that could resolve a key to answering a lot of these questions. >> it has a lot of i ripple effects in the story in and of itself. we just saw rebel trucks traveling through the city streets there seeming to be celebrating the activity taking place within the come pound. michael, i think for a lot of americans and people around the world watching this, they can't help but think about the lockerbie bomber released on compassionate grounds and went back to libya because he was dying of cancer who has now lived well beyond the doctors expectations of when he was going the die. do you think there's going to be some type of re-examination of

whether or not he should be returned to jail? >> interesting question. actually, just yesterday, thomas, the top white house official samantha power, very involved in the crafting libya policy had a conference call with the families of the lockerbie victims, that's something this white house has attempted to do for quite some time. and it was an interesting moment because it was just element exactly two years ago that the convicted lockerbie bomber was released from prison. a main point that came up on the phone call was by the family members seek iing white house commitment to try to find him. if not necessarily to retry him, to question him about what higher-ups were involved in ordered that terror attack. >> michael, thank you for joining me. anyone just tuning into us, we

have been watching over the hour what's unfolding in tripoli as we see black smoke billowing out of the gadhafi compound there, a military barrack there in the middle of tripoli. but the western wall of the compound was breached in the last hour. it is getting closer to 6:00 p.m. now. richard engel says many are coming out with celebratory gunfire after the word started to spread that the rebels had invaded the compound. no word officially yet on the moammar gadhafi was inside the compound or has been captured. we'll have a live report from the pentagon coming up for you right after this. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker... whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ way to go, coach. a mouthwatering combination of ingredients...e for you! i know you're gonna love. [ barks ]

yes, it's new beneful healthy fiesta. made with wholesome grains, real chicken, even accents of tomato and avocado. yeah! come on! [ barking ] gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. another healthful, flavorful beneful. you know that comes with a private island. really? no. it comes with a hat. you see, airline credit cards promise flights for 25,000 miles, but... [ man ] there's never any seats for 25,000 miles. frustrating, isn't it? but that won't happen with the capital one venture card. you can book any airline anytime. hey, i just said that. after all, isn't traveling hard enough? ow. [ male announcer ] to get the flights you want, sign up for a venture card at capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? uh, it's okay. i've played a pilot before. what's in your wallet? [ cat meows ] ♪ [ acoustic guitar: pop ] [ woman ] ♪ i just want to be okay ks ]

♪ be okay, be okay ♪ i just want to be okay today - ♪ i just want to know today - [ whistles ] ♪ know today, know today - [ cat meows ] - ♪ know that maybe i will be okay ♪ [ chimes ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about... and save money with multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need... and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage... or visit travelers.com. over time, my lashes thinned. after 40, i didn't have enough lashes. i'd heard of latisse® but had questions. my doctor said... latisse® is the only fda approved prescription treatment for inadequate or not enough lashes. now with latisse® my lashes are longer, darker, with more than double the fullness in 16 weeks.

if you are using or have used, prescription products for eye pressure problems, use latisse® under close doctor care. latisse® use may cause increased brown pigmentation of the colored part of the eye which is likely permanent. eyelid skin darkening may occur which may be reversible. if you experience eye problems or have eye surgery, consult your doctor. common side effects include itchy eyes and eye redness. i trust latisse® and i use it too. my lashes changed as i got older. now i use latisse®. more than double the fullness in 16 weeks. are your lashes thinning as you get older? why wait? ask your doctor about latisse® from allergan, a company with 60 years of eye care expertise. welcome back to msnbc, everybody. it is almost noon here on the east coast. it is almost 6:00 p.m. in libya where we continue to watch what's unfolding there in tripoli. this over the last hour has developed right before our eyes. black smoke billowing from

moammar gadhafi cease compound inside tripoli. we refer it to the compound or the military barracks where gadhafi has lived over the last decade. a fortified compound that was breached, the western wall of it breached by rebels earlier today. and fighting then ensued. we heard the gunfire that was coming from the compound. richard engel reporting that then the begun fire trailed off presumably because the fighters on the inside had given little resistance to rebel fighters inside the compound searching for moammar gadhafi. no word on whether or not moammar gadhafi is in the compound or whether or not he's been captured. but people on the streets there, we have been hearing celebratory gunfire from the people of tripoli. we have seen rebel trucks driving through the streets as well with them celebrating. we'll check in with our nbc chief correspondent to fill us

in on what the pentagon is saying as we watch -- we were talking earlier as we have been talking about for days now of libya falling, this would mean it has fallen for certain. >> well, nobody here at the pentagon is willing to say that. they are not going into percentages. they don't have boots or eyes on the ground there in tripoli. so they like everybody else are pretty much relying on the ongoing and active media reporting at the scene itself. so, in fact, there was a briefing earlier this morning from nato officials in both brussels and naples who said that moammar gadhafi is history, but we don't have a clue as to where gadhafi is right now. so until those rebels actually work their way through that compound, if they're able to, right now it is only a guess as to whether moammar data gadhafi is, everybody is still convinced

he's in libya, but that's based on the lack of information he's anywhere else, really. so for now it is a guessing game, but things are rapidly moving on the ground there. and there is progress being made by the rebels. however, u.s. and nato officials are telling us today that there are still pockets of resistance, including inside the compound and outside tripoli where outsi where there are gadhafi forces that are still very active in fur suing or progressing on an of theive campaign. so parts of libya including there in tripoli are still very dangerous according to these reports. >> mick, i want to ask you to stick by me. we're going to bring in msnbc translator for us who's watching arabic websites. i want to touch base with you about what you're seeing, what you're reading on the different websites throughout the mideast. >> al jazeera they're showing live video of the rebels

inside -- the gadhafi compound. it's a huge compound. it's a gadhafi regime. he was running the country for 40 years from that place. the rebels declared that under the rebels' control. some early reports not confirmed yet that there are in the house of gadhafi and they raised the rebels banner. the libyan flag, the new flag. they have raided gadhafi's house. nothing to confirm that. we hear those people are inside gadhafi compound. >> alfred, we know that the influence of social media had such a big influence on the arab spring. are you monitoring any of the social media websites to see what's being said? >> yes, on the facebook, on the twitter they are saying they are close. right now as we speak it's just happening. i have to monitor more. right now as we speak, rebels inside the compound. i think it takes some time just

to communicate. >> alfred, we'll continue to watch. according to the websites that you're watching control has been taken over the compound itself raising up the new flag, the new colors there. we're going to be back with much more on msnbc talking also about what's going on with dominique strauss-kahn as well. now in a manhattan court where sexual assault charges filed against him by a hotel maid are expected to be dismissed. we're back with much more on msnbc. after this. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea,

gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. and replace your old mayo [ female announcer ]e it's time to raise the bar with the full flavor of kraft mayo with olive oil. ♪ made with half the fat and calories of hellmann's real mayo... ...kraft mayo with olive oil is the new standard in mayo.

breaking news on msnbc. it is official that dominique strauss-kahn is a free man after the judge has now officially dismissed the charges against him. the judge saying that the respondentities of the district attorney is to determine whether the case is credible.

the court understands that there are others with different views on this. but they could not deem this to be a credible case. one reason the court decided that no special prosecutor would be handed over to this so quickly was for possible appeal process. he's going to stay the execution of this order until appellate division can decide on that. but formal charges against dsk have been dropped. it does not mean that there will not be a civil lawsuit against the former imf chief. we also have news from libya. black smoke has been billowing from the gadhafi compound. according to al jazeera they are claiming that the rebels say they have control of this compound. we're going to have much more on msnbc. my colleague contessa brewer takes over for the next hour. so here's five bucks

to help you buy v8 juice. five bucks. that's a lot of green. go to v8juice.com for coupons. you can count on us. all your important legal matters in just minutes. now it's quicker and easier for you to start your business... protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.