stephanie gosk, nbc news, tripoli. >>> we learned today, the month of august was the worst ever in terms of american losses in the war in afghanistan. there were a total of 66 u.s. service members that were killed in afghanistan this month. nearly half of them when the taliban shot down the chinook helicopter killing 30 american troops. most of them, members of the navy s.e.a.l. team. and by the way, speaking of our fallen veterans, if you haven't seen this picture, if you've ever loved a dog, this one puts a lump in your throat. this is a lab named hawkeye, at the funeral of jon tumilson, one of the navy s.e.a.l.s that was killed when the helicopter was shot down. he was walked up to the casket and laid down after heaving a big sigh and that says more than we can. >>> when "nightly news" continues on a tuesday night, important news about the number one cancer killer for women. what could be a breakthrough drug for some of them and for some men, too. >>> and later, the science that now just might justify an american addiction. >>> we're back with news about the biggest cancer killer of a

stephanie gosk joins us from tripoli. what more do we know about this heavy fighting reported?> well, thomas, what we know is this is a rumor. it seems like a report that was overblown. as we go forward in the next few days, weeks, you can probably expect a lot of these rumors. there's such urgency to find gadhafi, it's of such importance at this point that it's that kind of enthusiasm that probably will generate false leads. there has been some fighting around -- some gun battles, a fierce gun battle near the corinthia hotel. there have been sporadic fights around the city, and we expect that because there are pockets of loyalists still moving around this city. >> stephanie, you talk about this sporadic fighting, what else is the city like for the residents not involved in this. is it calm for them? or is it sporadic looting along with the violence and the those loyal to gadhafi. >> reporter: the city isself has clamped down. people are staying inside their homes. there are checkpoints everywhere. it's pretty remarkable how quickly the rebels moved into the city and started or

let's bring in stephanie gosk who is on the phone. i was on the there earlier at around 10:00 eastern time when the rebels broke through the western gate and it went from there. describe the assault as you know it. >> it looks like it was a coordinated assault. and what we've been learning about the rebels over the last six months are there are not a lot of coordinated assaults but in the last week that's what we've seen and it was a coordination at all of the gates at the compound in one account, thousands of rebel forces surrounding the compound. and they engaged in a brutal firefight for hours and then eventually prevailed and you only had to look at the faces of the rebels to realize how significant and important it was for them today. practically speaking because this was one of the last bashes of control in the city for gadhafi loyalists. but symbolically and psychologically, this was gadhafi's home, he gave speeches. the center of his power. it was also a military compound and a lot of ways, a fortress of his and by taking it o

nbc's stephanie gosk is in libya's capital. this is somebody, a lot of people particularly in the new york/new jersey area. is his son saying he would not be in a coma if he could still get access to his medicine? >> reporter: that's a little unclear. in fact, his son's story is a little unclear and maybe doesn't stand up to what we've seen on today. we were outside the house today, there were no signs of looters. generally looters don't open up doorknobs and sort of walk in cleanly and walk out. there were no signs of looters in this neighborhood at all, which this is an upscale, gated community. we didn't even see any graffiti on the walls there. so it had at least the perception of being well protected when we were there. you know, they released megrahi, scottish officials, from his life sentence for humanitarian reasons two years ago. and they said he was at death's door, dying of cancer. one month went by, he didn't die, a year went by, two years, and he is still alive in this house here in tripoli. and a lot of people are

for more let's bring in nbc news correspondent stephanie gosk on the phone from tunisia.as on the phone earlier today around 10:00 eastern time when the rebels broke through the western gate, and then it went from there. describe the assault as you know it. >> reporter: well, what they did, coordinating assault and what we've been learning about the rebels over the last six months there aren't a lot of coordinated assaults. in the last week that's exactly what we've seen. a coordination at all the gates of the compound in one account thousands of rebel forces surrounding the compound, and they engaged in a brutal firefight for hours, but then eventually prevailed. you only will to look at faces of the rebels to realize how significant and important it was for them today. practically speaking because this was one of the last bastions of control in the city for gadhafi loyalists, but also symbolically and psychologically. this was gadhafi's home. where he gave speeches. this was the center of his power. it was also a milliitary compou and in a lot of ways a fortress of hisb

stephanie gosk joins us, because, what can you tell us about this offensive, because nobody knows where gadhafi is. >> no, they don't know. and in is the end of the ramadan period, and when this period is over, that these forces still loyal to gadhafi face an attack. two places. one is sirte, gadhafi's hometown, east of here, and then southeast of here, the city walo be shown the support that gadhafi has here, and there were hundreds of people in a parking lot to shoot off the guns in support of him, and what gadhafi is banking on at this point is that those people remain so loyal they are not enticed by a reward or promises of am necessarity, and thamnesty, but until they get their hands on moammar gadhafi, the rebels have a shadow cast over them. >> and there is a report that gadhafi's wife and some of his children be returned to libya and saying that algeria had an act of aggression when it allowed to family to sneak into the country or go into the country. >> well, there's a bit of a mixed message coming out of the national transitional council on this issue, tamron. there was a spo

nbc's stephanie gosk is live in tripoli. stephanie, all these rumors. what is the best sense you have, the best ground troops on where gadhafi is? >> reporter: the truth is, andrea, i have no idea, and i don't think anyone really does. the rebels thought they had an idea earlier this afternoon in the neighborhood of abu salim. this is a neighborhood that's very close to gadhafi's compound, and the suspicion was that his officers and perhaps even gadhafi himself and his sons escaped through tunnels and actually found themselves in that neighborhood. there was a heavy gun battle there today, and there are rumors circling around that gadhafi himself was there. so far, that's proven to be untrue. there were other fights around the city as well. there was a gun battle at one of the hotels here in town that used to be run by the government. the owner is said to be quite a gadhafi loyalist, and there are a number of western journalists there. we've known this was going to happen. it's a real statement on the fact that this city right now is not stable, and it'

our colleague stephanie gosk saw more. >> there's electricity, there are telephones, it's even wide enough for golf carts that gadhafi used to rides around all the time. it's not clear if he used this one, but he will not be using one any time soon. these stairs lead up from the tums, it must lead up somewhere into gadhafi's house. but it tells how paranoid he was, clearly they sealed it off for security. >> reporter: the tunnels may have helped gadhafi escape, but now with a bounty on his head, it seems every rebel in libya is looking for him. richard engel, nbc news, tripoli. >>> when we come back, back here in this country, an update on our top story, getting ready for what could be and it's no longer an overstatement, the most devastating storm a lot of people along the east coast have ever seen. >>> an update tonight, we want to update you on the arrival of hurricane irene. we're talking about 16 million americans being impacted up the even seaboard. this also means that new york city, which doesn't get hurricanes may be getting a rare hurricane make landfall. jim cantore is on lower

>> stephanie gosk, live in tripoli. thank you for that. >>> we want to get you to millville, new jersey, where we have new video coming in. it looks like a dam has breached. big problem with hurricane irene is all of the water that has flooded the region. we are going to be talking to folks from psg&e there in new jersey coming up sometime this hour. again, live pictures out of millville, new jersey, the water that has coming in from hurricane irene. keep it right here on msnbc. we will be right back. that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? honey nut cheerios. want whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. it's a win win. good? [ crunching, sipping ] be happy. be healthy. can i try yours? while i took refuge from the pollen that made me sneeze. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my wors

>> stephanie gosk in tripoli for us. thanks very much.ring in the national security correspondent at "the new york times." so, game out what the next -- are we looking at days now at this point to when whoever remains loyal to gadhafi is simply negotiating a way out? >> as you heard the rebels are trying to sort of change the dynamic a little bit by giving this deadline. clearly they are unsure about exactly how to address these final pockets and so they're hoping that a deadline will force some of gadhafi's loyalists to switch sides. but so it does look like, you know, we're days rather than months away from the end of this, but as your reporter said, there still is no real clear picture on where gadhafi everybody thought it was only going going to be days or weeks away this took months. is that plan that they were starting to come up with, the european leaders, the libya, the transnational council folks attended that conference, i believe it was in london is that plan starting to be enacted now, finally? >> they are trying to go through

stephanie gosk live at the libyan capital and first with the news that some of gadhafi's family members are no longer in libya. >> well, the rebel forces have been looking for the entire family and this is a good chunk of them crossing over the border, but they are not the number one or two. moammar gadhafi and his son saif wanted by the hague. they are pursued vigorously by the rebel forces. they don't believe they are in the capital any longer and the capital has been quiet and very little fighting, and talk that he may have gone south to the town of bin waled, and there could be fighting there in the coming days, but this is his wife and daughter and two of ohis sons. >> which is obviously big news there that you point out, because these are not the two individuals that the rebels are focused on. they want colonel gadhafi and his son, saif, but let me ask you about the development with the lockerbie bomber. he was supposed to be, if you will, on death's door two years ago and many people have been outraged that he has been living in a gated community in libya, and now with the regime

our colleague stephanie gosk saw more. >> there's electricity and tell phones and wide enough for golf carts. it's not clear if he used this one, but he won't be using it again any time soon. these stairs lead up from the tunnels. we can see just how paranoid he was as insurrection was going on. clearly they sealed it off for security. >> reporter: the tunnels may have helped gadhafi escape. but now with a bounty on his head, it seems every rebel in libya is looking for him. richard engel, nbc news, tripoli. >> those the rebels didn't find gadhafi when they stormed his compound, they found a carefully assembled album filled of pictures with former secretary of state condoleezza rice. in a 2007 interview, he calls her my darling black african-american woman. gadhafi said she was proud of the way she gave orders to the air rabe leaders. >>> when we come back, steve jobs turning silicon valley into a tourist attraction. >>> and we're watching more low clouds spilling across the bay right now. we're in the mid 50s right now. san francisco got the fog coming in. we also have more 90s showin

a team on the ground in libya tonight, chief foreign correspondent richard engel and our own stephanie gosk who got there late this afternoon. we'll begin with richard in central tripoli. richard? >> reporter: good evening, lester. libyans are now offering a reward for gadhafi, nearly $2 million for him dead or alive in addition to amnesty for anyone who turns him in. as fighting continues near gadhafi's compound, libya's long-time leader himself is now in hiding. in a radio address, his first statement since he was forced from power, gadhafi calls on his remaining supporters to rise up. go cleanse all of tripoli, go out and clear it of all the rats, he said. the tables have turned dramatically on gadhafi. now he's the rebel on the run trying to foment resistance. the rebels have taken tripoli, but not secured it. today they set up check points. and fired on suspected gadhafi loyalists. but the rebels have no central command and their political leadership is hundreds of miles to the east. in benghazi. a degree of chaos has set in here, there are simply too many gunmen and no central control

nbc stephanie gosk is in edinbur edinburgh, scotland, with det l details on this. stephanie, good morning. >> good morning, matt. this is supposed to be a private understated affair. the queen's granddaughter, 13ette in line to the throne, marrying her rugby boyfriend mike hindle. with that guest list, how could it be? on an unusually sunny scottish day a crowd that was supposed to number only 1500 was actually closer to 6,000. they came to see the royals decked out for the second time this year in their very best. some of the largest cheers after those for the bride and groom were for william and kat tlcath. their wedding only three months ago, support for the royal family that isn't letting up. at least not here. >> wanted to see cambridge again. people love seeing the queen. they love royal occasions because everyone is out in their refinery and wonderful pomp and circumstance. >> reporter: the hats as well as the dash of brilliant blue from princess beatrice. quite a change from the hat she chose for prince william's wedding but there was also a nod to tradition

nbc's stephanie gosk joins us live from tripoli. good morning, stephanie. >> reporter: good morning, chris. we knew the pockets of gadhafi loyalists were still in the city and we're seeing evidence of that today. not too far from here about a mile or so away at one of the government-run hotels, there are a number of foreigners staying, actually, there's been an intense gun battle under way, exchanges of gunfire. we were at the babb al aziziya compound, and there was exchanges of gunfire, and gadhafi loyalists control, and there were a number of rebels that we spoke to that were actually organizing themselves to go into the neighborhoods, so there's still some fighting going on. but undeniably they have control of this city. it's quite remarkable. we arrived jyesterday, a short period of time how the rebels secured the city with checkpoints every 20, 30, 40 yards down the road you're running into another checkpoint and it happened extremely quick-. chris? >> stephanie, thank you. we have just in a group of rebels have surrounded a com

stephanie gosk is live in tripoli for us. what's the latest? >> reporter: chris, there's been additional fighting on a furm of different fronts here in tripoli and outside of tripoli. nato has been targeting some locations outside of tripoli in the city of cert. this is a gadhafi stronghold. it's the home to his tribe. he's thought to have a number of loyalists there ready to fight for him. there is an impending battle in that city. there are rebel forces approaching from both directions that want the loyalists in that city to surrender instead of fight. if they do fight, it could be quite a battle. also to the west of us here in tripoli along the coastal road that leads to tunisia there's been some fighting. gadhafi loyalist fighters have control of the border area. it's obviously a very important artery into this city and important for getting supplies in. also today we had battles that have been going on for a couple of days. there's a lot of instability in the country. the hunt for gadhafi continues. as long as he's out there and his loyali

nbc's stephanie gosk is live in libya's capital today. what can you tell us?nteresting news. there was a rumor earlier in the week that six blackmer sads had slipped into algeria. it was unconfirmed. no word on saif al-islam and muammar gadhafi. his family considering it too safe to be here for them. algeria is listed as a possible safe haven for muammar and his son as well. >> i wanted to ask you about the terrorist convicted in connection with the bombing of the pan am flight over lockerbie, scotland. rebel leaders saying that he will not be released to the west to finish out his sentence and now his family says he's in a coma. what have you heard? >> reporter: well, once the gadhafi regime was toppled a number of u.s. lawmakers called on the national transitional council to extradite mcra he again back to the courts to answer what they consider unanswered questions in this case. the national transitional council said they're not going to do that. there was a furor two years ago when he was released from scottish prison. he was serving a life sentence there.

. >>> and in a moment, we'll be going to the region of the middle east for stephanie gosk who will beorting on developments in libya. stay with us. we'll bring you that live report. [ male announcer ] this is the network. a network of possibilities. excuse me? my grandfather was born in this village. [ automated voice speaks foreign language ] [ male announcer ] in here, everyone speaks the same language. ♪ in here, forklifts drive themselves. no, he doesn't have it. yeah, we'll look on that. [ male announcer ] in here, friends leave you messages written in the air. that's it right there. [ male announcer ] it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. 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. [ announcer ] who could resist the call... you had me at "probiotic." of america's number-one puppy food brand? with dha and essential nutrients also found in mother's milk. purina puppy chow. >>

stephanie gosk is live in tripoli with the latest. what is happening in the compound and i know the rebels believe that gadhafi is in there, but what is latest, steph sn ny? >> well, it is a rumor, and we can expect more and more as they are continuing to look for gadhafi. but it is interesting a gun battle took place in the neighborhood alongside of the gadhafi compound, and the theory is that the officers and the fighters escaped from the compound through a network of tunnels into the neighborhood, and that is where they are hold up, and that is why they thought perhaps gadhafi and his sons might be there as well. there was a heavy gun battle this afternoon between the rebels and loyalists. the almost really the last bastion of real loyalist control is this one neighborhood. there were sporadic gun battles around central triple, and there had been 24 hours of relative peace here, but it flaired up again, and there was a hotel near here where there was a gun battle between both sides and the hotel caught in the middle and a bunch of

stephanie gosk live on the border of libya and tunisia, and as i mentioned we are waiting to hear from president obama any minute now and we will hear from the president as soon as the statement is released. meanwhile kristen welker is in martha's vineyard and has been covering the president and his family since they are vacationing there, and what can you tell us about this statement we are awaiting? >> well, president obama is holding a conference call with his national security council as we speak. they are discussing the situation on the ground in libya, and likely discussing when and if gadhafi does leave. as you mentioned the president is expected to speak momentarily, and white house officials telling us at this point they have no reason to believe that gadhafi has left libya, and we are waiting for the president to come out to speak, and he has been hesitant to do so, because information on the ground is so murky, and so the fact that he is coming out to speak likely represents the fact that they have gotten solid information about what exactly is happening there. and the presi

stephanie gosk joins us on the phone from tunisia near the libyan border.ith us. you were in mbenga -- mbenga sa early in this. tell us what you have seen in the arc of this rebellion. >> once the wheels started coming off, they came audiotape quickly. no one thought it was going to be as easy as it was to go into tripoli last night. they are essentially unchallenged. gadhafi had an iron-clad grip that slipped away almost immediately. we saw the celebration and jubilation in green square, which they have renamed martyr square. going back to the early days, there was an expectation not just among libyans but the international community that this day was going to come sooner than it did. the ease with which the rebels took over eastern libya gave hope that it would spread to tripoli. it turned out not to be the case. there was a lot of frustration and talk of stalemates. in the matter of days, it fell apart. >> mike barnicle is here with us. >> what is going on at the border? are people trying to get out of libya or going back into libya? >> reporter: we have

our colleague, stephanie gosk saw many. >> it's wide enough for gulf carts. this one. he won't be using it anytime soon. these stairs lead up from the tunnels. must have been back up into gadhafi's house. you can see how paranoid he was as this indirection was going on around the country. they sealed it off for security. >> reporter: the tunnels that may have helped gadhafi escape but now with a bounty on his head, every rebel in libya is looking for them. >> that was richard engel reporting from tripoli. many people, as they go to philadelphia, nick is going to libya. >> i'm heading there tomorrow. one step ahead of the hurricane. >> you were talking during the break before that piece was on about an interesting aspect of the operation in libya. >> we intervene originally to prevent the massacre in benghazi. i would love to see in your reporting how many civilians died and who knows, we could have an insurgency now. we may see a lot more deaths to come. i'm interested to see how many innocents were swept up in this, how many innocent people died. the moral q

. >> that was nbc's stephanie gosk reporting from tripoli.it has no plans to extradite al megrahi. >> where's gadhafi, by the way? did you run into each other? >> i don't know how he got there, but he's got these tunnels, i understand. one of them led to savannah -- >> all right. i'm going to business before the bell. cnbc's simon hobbs live at the new york stock exchange. simon? >> oh, we are open for business down here. and, in fact, you know, because the financial district is so low-lying, it's surprising little damage we've seen around here. the exchange is all open, nyse, open to be trading and the big houses, jpmorgan, citigroup, they're all open. some people might work from home today because some of the trains are not running, obviously. i guess you'll get more people up there than you'd guess. a lot of the insurance stocks will bounce today because of the cost of irene was not as bad as expected and they moved down in advance of that. home retailers should do well today. and you may see because of the high deductibles that people now