andrea mitchell, we're back.overing the same issues. >> i was there 25 years ago, which is what's even more scary and i was at three mile island. when you look at the crisis management here. questions are being raised about how quickly as you heard, senator sessions raise that question. and i don't think that's just politics here. because there are all legitimate questions that international allies as well are asking about why not sooner when the rebels were ascendant. because now you really have a situation where they will deny it, because they don't have the legal authority for it. but this is regime change. there is no other option here. >> i want to get more into that. but i want to say, 25 years ago, richard haas, chernobyl was the meltdown in that "time" magazine cover. but again, confluence of crisis for any president, this is a lot to manage at one time. >> a lot to manage, but also it raises the importance of an administration having its priorities. >> you've got a lot to manage with japan. you've got a

brian. >> andrea mitchell from d.c. tonight. andrea, thanks. >>> there's word this evening from the associated press and others that congresswoman gabby giffords who's recovering from that gunshot wound to the head will indeed attend the launch of the space shuttle "endeavour" piloted by her husband, mark kelly. that will confirm what kelly himself told us in an interview here last month.cc1: the launch is set for april 19 at the kennedy space center. doctors treating the congresswoman at a rehab cc1: facility in houston will give us an update on her condition tomorrow.cc1: >>> now to the brutal weather that everybody has had at least a piece of this winter, it seems.cc1: and it just keeps coming. in parts of the midwest, snow and lots of it.cc1: here in the northeast, this huge water pump of a storm taking up the entire eastern third of the country at one time. nbc's ron allen is with us from wayne, new jersey, tonight, with the fear of more flooding there. ron, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. this is the passaic

>> andrea mitchell starting us off tonight. andrea, thanks. >>> on the ground in libya tonight there is new pressure on gadhafi as well. those who want him out, as we said, are moving closer to the capital. and there's high anxiety about what may happen next. nbc' jim maceda is in tripoli tonight. jim, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. gadhafi may have told foreign journalists today that his people love him but anti-gadhafi forces have never been closer to the capital. despite a ring of soldiers and heavy armor around the city, inside libyans were daring to protest. this funeral for a man shot in the head by a sniper turned into an anti-gadhafi demonstration. but just as quickly ended after someone fired a round. and as people here heard reports of opposition forces moving closer to the capital, there were signs of growing anxiety. many are standing hours outside banks to collect a $400 handout from the regime in a desperate attempt to buy support before the chaos strikes. everyone here seems to expect civil war, a

andrea mitchell, rounding out our coverage in washington tonight. andrea, thanks. >>> we have a lot of other news for you. and up next, as "nightly news" continues on a tuesday night, an admission today from japan about the current nuclear crisis. >>> and later, the color of what we eat and drinking and the suspicion that it's affecting the behavior of some of our children. it's an old question, and now it's returned. >>> back now and turning to the crisis in japan. the prime minister said today the death toll has reached 11,000, and that his nation remains on maximum alert. and the japanese government admitted today its safety measures were not enough to protect a nuclear plant against the earthquake and tsunami that ended up crippling that fukushima facility. nbc's lee cowan reports from tokyo tonight. >> reporter: the weary workers struggling to keep japan's nuclear disaster from getting any worse are faced with an uncomfortable reality. the cure could be almost as bad as the disease itself. water is the key to preventing a full-scale meltdown, ei

our chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell, covering in washington. andrea, we'll start with you. i have to assume the big issues here where your bailiwick is concerned is end game. how does this end and who or what takes over at that point, if they have thought it through that far? >> reporter: exactly. those are the questions that senior senators in both parties are raising tonight, brian. what is the diplomatic mission behind this military action. the administration says it's not targeting gadhafi, but the president has said gadhafi should go. if he doesn't go, won't the u.s. appear weak? they also say that in a tribal culture like libya, the administration does not know enough about the libyan opposition. are they opening the door for al qaeda or other terror groups to take hold there. they are also questioning the fact that the arab support seems to be wavering and asking if the u.s. is protecting civilians in libya, why isn't it also protecting civilians in yemen or bahrain. also today we should point out defense secretary robert gates arrived in

more on that angle of this story from our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell in our washington newsroom. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the president tried to reassure americans tonight that the u.s. will turn over the lead on libya in the coming days to an allied coalition. today he did speak to both britain's prime minister cameron and france's president sarkozy, trying to work around objections from turkey, arab countries to have nato be in charge. instead, nato will support the operation, but it will be led by an ad-hoc coalition. the president also argues the intervention has already saved lives just by stopping the gadhafi forces from advancing on benghazi. and he said it's in america's national interest to prevent a humanitarian disaster, when working as part of a coalition, and when the costs are outweighed by the benefits. that seems to be what you might call an obama doctrine for using force. to deal with all this, chuck todd is reporting that the president will cut his trip short by about two hours tomorrow and return to washington.

and our very own washington veteran, andrea mitchell, has a look back tonight. >> reporter: march 30th, 1981. a routine stop a mile from the white house, until a gunman fires at the president of the united states point blank. special agent jerry parr's training takes over. he shoves the president into the armored car. at first reagan, whose secret service handle is rawhide appears unharmed. >> rawhide is okay. follow-up. rawhide is okay. >> spots were fired at president reagan in washington as he left the hilton hotel. he was not injured. >> reporter: then everything changes. >> he started spitting up bright red, frothy blood. >> roger. we want to go to the emergency room of george washington. >> that's a roger. >> go to george washington fast. >> reporter: dr. joseph giordano was in charge of the e.r. >> when they brought him in the emergency room, he collapsed. there was no discernible blood pressure. we knew that he lost 40%, 50% of his blood volume. a couple of more minutes i think he would have crashed. i don't think he would have survived, to be honest. >> reporter: shelly fieldm

the judges were unanimous in suggesting andrea mitchell and cnn as the winner. drea is donating her award to the university of pennsylvania. go quakers. here is a brief video about her career. >> it is fine. this job -- i love it. >> andrea mitchell is one of the most indefatigable reporters i have ever known. >> you have a connection to haiti. what does it mean to you? >> ander yet is as dedicated a reporter as i know. >> the government was so anxious for this experiment to succeed, that they were willing to overlook some things. >> when i think of the news, i think of her face. she is one of our constant. she is one of our north stars. >> the u.s. is on a worldwide alert. but officials guard against another attack by bin laden. unless saddam hussein backs down, he will be hit and it soon. >> she had a great curiosity and was always looking for a new story. >> it was not easy for andrea or any other woman of her generation. andrea aren't hurt way. -- earned her way. andrea was their morning, noon, and night. she took whatever job was available to her. >> food an

we go to nbc foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell. was the administration divided o this question of whether to intervene militarily? >> reporter: indeed. there has been a lot of internal debate leading to criticism that the administration waited too long to join countries like the french. in the end it became the women foreign policy advisors against the men. although hillary clinton initially resisted the idea of a no-fly zone she was persuaded at the beginning of this week by the arab league's endorsement of military action. and she had intense meetings with a libyan opposition leader this week. she joined susan rice and two other women in the national security council. they have been arguing for more aggressive action in persuading the president on tuesday. this is a rare instance of clinton going up against secretary gates and tom donovan. the bottom line for the president was not to do what george w. bush did which was to lead a muslim nation. also very importantly that susan rice was able to engineer a broader u.n. resolution t

our chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell, is traveling with secretary clinton. >> hi,ice to see you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> reporter: it was a rare escape from formal diplomacy. hillary clinton's walk-about in tahrir square, in the place where egypt's revolution started, she found inspiration. >> it's just a great reminder of the power of the human spirit and the universal desire for freedom and human rights. >> reporter: crowds were friendly, calling out to her, including one man who asked her about libya. >> you must help libya. >> we are trying. >> reporter: despite the advance of gadhafi's forces, clinton still rejects the rebels' appeal for u.s. military aid. >> unilateral action would not be the best approach. it would have all kinds of unintended consequences. >> your husband, the former president, last week said we've got the planes, we should do it. >> well, we do think that among the actions that have to be considered by the united nations, the no-fly zone is one of them, but it's not the only one. >> reporter: further complicating u.s. policy here, s

nbc's andrea mitchell is tweeting that nato reaches a split decision so far. they will take the lead on a no-fly zone, but they won't take the rest of the u.n. mandate. her comments to come. waiting to hear from secretary clinton. we know secretary clinton will be headed to london next week as part of the conference on lib -- libya there. she will also speak to members of congress in a classified briefing expected to happen on the house floor next wednesday along with defense secretary gates, the national intelligence director, james clapper, and michael mullen. when congress reconvenes next week. we are expecting shortly hillary clinton on the latest on libya. >> we are expecting to hear from secretary clinton at about 6:15. obviously delayed a little bit. in the meantime we will take you to the pentagon to a briefing held this afternoon by vice admiral william gorfy -- gortney. this is about 25 minutes. >> good afternoon, everyone. thank you for being with me. let's get to it. on the slide to my left, you will see a quick snapshot of what we've been doing th

we want to begin our coverage with our chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell. good evening. >> reporter: after another day of high-stakes, diplomatic wrangling, the u.s. has gotten the allies to agree nato will take command of the libyan military operation, at least the no-fly zone. the president back in the white house after his trip to latin america met with his national security team today. as the pentagon announced the u.s. is drawing back from leading the operation. >> nearly all, some 75% of the combat air patrol missions in support of the no-fly zone are now being executed by our coalition partners. >> reporter: despite that claim, americans have been flying 70% of all combat missions this week, leading to questions from congress about america's role. in a letter to the president, house speaker john boehner complained that the administration has not clearly defined the libya mission. today press secretary jay carney responded, but would not let cameras record the briefing. >> and we have in a very substantial way consulted with congress and we'll continu

it is my honor to welcome andrea mitchell. [applause] >> thank you so much.hank you for bringing us here together today. in i want to acknowledge them and walter isaacson, the head of the aspen institute. he has some key members of congress here. senator mary leandro and also david price, the ranking member of homeland security. and peter king, the chairman of homeland security. welcome all, and other members of congress. think you all for coming. -- thank you all for coming. i want to get immediately to the three secretaries. i am not sure whether all three of you have been together on a platform before in testimony or another venue. it is great to hear you -- have you here today. secretary of paul lozano is the third secretary and former governor of arizona has seen the challenges of every level of national service. in her second term she became the third secretary of homeland security and a leader on homeland security issues in the first woman to chair the national governors' association and the first female attorney general of arizona. michael chertoff wa

we begin with nbc's andrea mitchell on what it is the u.s. military is now a part of. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. armed with the u.n.'s approval of military strikes and a no-fly zone, the president gave moammar gadhafi an ultimatum. an immediate ceasefire or face military action. and tonight there is no sign gadhafi is backing down. this is what the u.s. and its allies are trying to stop. gadhafi forces pounding rebels in the western city of misrata. the rebels claim this video was taken today even after gadhafi's government announced a ceasefire. in fact gadhafi seemed determine to carry out a bloody threat he issued on the radio last night, to retake the rebel stronghold, benghazi. he said he would show no mercy and no compassion. all this prompted a grave commander in chief to issue a blunt warning. >> these terms are not subject to negotiation. if gadhafi does not comply with the resolution, the international community will impose consequences. the resolution will be enforced through military action. >> reporter: president obama spoke sho

it is vioxx op -- it is my honor to welcome andrea mitchell. >> thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you, president. thank you georgetown university, the school of foreign service, and as people campus, this historic building. also, the co-sponsor, as then into the homeland security project. i want to acknowledge them and also walter isaacson, and we have key members of congress here today, senator mary landrieu, and also david price, the ranking member, and peter king, chairman of homeland security. john pistol, thank you for coming. let me know if i have missed anyone, but i wanted to get in the to our three secretaries. at not sure if you have been together on a platform before, in testimony or in another venue, but it is great to see here today. i was crippled by the fact that secretary of paula town, who obviously is the -- napolitano, the current secretary, has seen the challenges at every level of our national service. she became the third secretary, the leader as the governor on homeland security issues, the first woman to chair the national governo

it is vioxx op -- it is my honor to welcome andrea mitchell. >> thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you, president. thank you georgetown university, the school of foreign service, and as people campus, this historic building. also, the co-sponsor, as then into the homeland security project. i want to acknowledge them and also walter isaacson, and we have key members of congress here today, senator mary landrieu, and also david price, the ranking member, and peter king, chairman of homeland security. jo pistol, thank you for coming. let me know if i have missed anyone, but i wanted to get in the to our three secretaries. at not sure if you have been together on a platform before, in testimony or in another venue, but it is great to see here today. i was crippled by the fact that secretary of paula town, who obviously is the -- napolitano, the current secrery, has seen the challenges at every level of our national service. she became the third secretary, the leader as the governor on homeland security issues, the first woman to chair the national governor's

nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell now with the very latest. >> reporter: this is what the u.s. and it allies are trying to stop. gadhafi forces pounding rebels in the western city of misrata. the rebels claim this video i don't was taken friday even after gadhafi announced a cease fire. in fact gadhafi seemed determined to carry out a bloody threat to retake the rebel strong hold benghazi. he said he would show no mercy and no compassion. all this prompted a grave commander in chief to issue a blunt warning. >> these terms are not subject to negotiation. if gadhafi does not comply with the resolution, the international community will impose consequences. and the resolution will be enforced through military action. >> reporter: president obama spoke shortly after briefing 18 congressional leaders, including many wary of yet another military engagement in a ththir muslim country. but in benghazi, rebels cheered the u.n. decision to come to their rescue. >> very happy. >> reporter: as the fighting continues, the president is sending his secretary of state to paris

secretary of state hillary clinton told nbc's andrea mitchell the u.s. government is following the developments minute by minute. >> we're doing everything we can to assist american citizens because their health and safety is obviously our highest concern. >> reporter: on wednesday concern over the troubled nuclear plant led the u.s. government to issue its own recommendations for u.s. citizens in japan. nuclear regulatory commission chairman broke with his japanese counterpart on how safe the area near the fukushima plant is. the japanese have so far said that people only need to evacuate if they're 12 miles from the plant. those 19 miles away have been told to stay inside. but on wednesday they said americans should stay 50 miles away from the endangered nuclear plant. four times farther than the japanese evacuation order. >> we determined that in the united states, we would issue an evacuation of people out to about 50 miles. >> reporter: in an interview with nbc news, the nrc chairman said he made his decision after talking to the nrc's own group of

andrea mitchell is there this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this was get out of a motorcade. she wanted to see the place where the revolution started. she was greeted by friendly crowds including a man who shouted, you must help libya. i asked how she felt. she said she was inspired by seeing where democracy had flourished. i asked if it would come to libya and she said, we face challenges. in fact, today libyan rebels say they are fearing being crushed by gadhafi forces advancing on them. right now the administration is saying all pressure to intervene militarily. >> andrea mitchell, thank you very much. >>> security forces in bahrain unleash waefd of violence on protesters driving them from pearl square and killing at least two people. the king declared a state of emergency allowing soldiers to battle the anti-monarchy unrest. it was unclear whether or not the 2,000 troops dispatched from saudi arabia were part of the assault. the top u.s. commander in afghanistan says the u.s. is on track to begin pulling troops from that country in july. g

>> andrea mitchell, thank you. kathleen and jack flynn's son j.p. was killed in the pan-am bombing. good morning to both of you. thanks for coming back. >> good morning. >> give me your reaction to the developments here. >> well, it's about time that the united states stood up and realized that this is a serious thing against gadhafi. we should have done this a long time ago. >> it did not take long for this former justice minister to defect, leave the country and immediately finger moammar gadhafi for directly ordering the terror attack on pan-am flight 103. what level of proof do you need to see? what would be sufficient in your mind, jack, to prove to you that he ordered this bombing? >> kathleen and i went to the trial every day. >> for al magrahi. >> yes. we saw the evidence. it was obviously that al magrahi was down the hall from gadhafi. he took orders from gadhafi and the bomb and everything was made by him and gadhafi's right here. so it was obvious that he was the right-hand man who did this for mr. gadhafi. >> clearly these people are now speaking freely and moammar gadha

nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has the latest on the cold case. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. next week will mark four years since robert levinson disappeared. now a ray of hope. word from secretary of state hillary clinton based on secret talks that there are indications he could be alive in southwest asia but u.s. officials don't know specifically where he's being held. being held. the 63-year-old former fbi man was last seen in mysterious kish island off the coast of iran in march 2007. family and friends say he was working for a private business client. then he dropped out of sight until now. his frantic wife, now encouraged, spent years looking for clue, even traveling to iran, appealing to congress for help. >> i know my husband is missing. i want him home. >> our father is the greatest human being in the whole entire world to us. we're in so much pain living without him. >> reporter: they found an ally in the secretary of state. >> we continue to request iranian cooperation in resolving this matter and in ensuring his safe return