guys. >> jimmy: ann curry. >> so, good.atest, right? >> yeah. i like the bald. good. perfect. >> jimmy: see, very confident guy. >> yeah. yeah. >> jimmy: we tried to help your alma mater out. >> i noticed, yeah. you did. you did it with such passion. >> jimmy: yeah, we were really good. >> and -- and you -- and the ducks love you for that. i mean, i'm a university of oregon graduate. so i'm a duck. >> jimmy: yeah. yes. >> and it's a frightening mascot. it's frightening. >> jimmy: yeah, really scary. >> and you embraced it. and you wore those really tight pants really well. >> jimmy: very, very tight pants. absolutely, yes. i did like a dance move with the duck for like a -- and i consider that work. it was pretty fun. >> yeah. duckers. >> jimmy: speaking of fun, different things. you recently did the runway. you walked a runway in fashion week. >> oh, that's right. i did it for a good cause. it was about, you know, heart disease. and so, i was wearing read for -- to sort of bring the attention. like my father had heart dise

ann curry, nbc news in minamisanriku, japan. >> and one more reminder for those americans who wish to we've put a number of charities on our website tonight at nightly.msnbc.com. >>> that's our broadcast for this tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams, and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com maybe. depending >>> radiation detection. the bay area science designed to keep your family safe. and the advice of the surgeon general warning us to be prepared. nbc bay area continues coverage of disaster in japan. and good evening, everyone. >> right now, all eyes are on the nuclear power plant where crews working to contain the radiation were

. >> i'm ann curry. just a short time ago japan's prime minister delivered an address to his nation issuing an apology to farmers and businesses damaged by the nuclear crisis. he's been thanking the so-called

chance to say ann curry i admire you and your coverage of the situation? japan, she put my sister on the phone. it was three heartbeats and there she was. it was incredible. >> reporter: purdy arrived back in san jose yesterday staying staying she is in shock over the whole experience. purdy says she admires the strength of the japanese people. and happy she is to be back home, she's planning a return looking forward to help in the recovery. garvin thomas, "today in the east bay." >> purdy and her family set up a foundation to raise money for the relief effort. if you would like to help, go to this website here, savemyagi.org. >>> let's go to nicole lapin now with more from cnbc headquarters this morning. >> reporter: wall street could carry over yesterday's big gains. futures are higher as investors are shrugging off all the bad news. europe's debt problems, unrest in the middle east, they are focusing on earnings and economic growth prospects. oil is still stuck in the same range around $105 a barrel. we are watching that, but europe is higher right now,

to say, ann curry, i admire you and your coverage of the situation in japan, she put my sister on thene. so it was like three heartbeats and there she was. so it was incredible. >> you can't say -- can you. >> reporter: purdy arrived back in san jose yesterday saying she's still a bit in shock over the whole experience. her family says they admire her strength. purdy says she admires the strength of the japanese people and happy as she is to be back home, she's already planning a return looking forward to help in the recovery. in san jose, garvin thomas, nbc bay area news. >> what a remarkable young woman and from desperation to elation for her family. >> changed their lives forever. they want to help change other people's lives now. purpdy and her family have also set a foundation to raise money for the relief effort. if you would like to help you can by doing so online, savemiyagi.org. >> we'll be right back. [ jerry ] look at this! you got a state-of-the-art man-cave, but the savings account of a cave-man! hey sports fans check this out. [ beep ] oops, my bad. earn more with intere

and then i asked her, you know, ann curry, why you are calling me?the phone right over to my sister in the most devastated area of japan. such a welcome thing to hear. >> reporter: and the family here is thanking those who helped out in the search for canon purdy via social media, via any mean thatty this were able to do. they don't know when they'll be able to see canon purdy again. she did lose her passport. it's somewhere under all the rubble there in japan. she is going out on an extended -- or was scheduled to go out on an extended stay over in other countries around japan. they don't know what the future holds for her. but they know that she's alive. she's well. she's safe. and they are relieved. back to you guys. >> and we are happy for them as well. wonderful to hear. a good story amid all the sadness. >> "today in the bay's" george kiriyama is on special assignment this morning. >> he joins us live by phone this morning. good morning, george. >> reporter: good morning and good evening from tokyo where monday night is winding down. we'll be s

ann curry in japan for you. ann, thank you very much.talie. >> that's a frightening situation. rescue efforts are continuing on the coast of sendai. the scene is grim but there are stories of incredible survival. ian williams is in yamagatu, japan, with more. god northern to you, ian. >> reporter: good morning, natalie. rescue teams are only just beginning to reach some of the worst affected areas close to sendai where the tsunami laid waste to entire coastal towns. this is what remains of the coastal district, once home to 10,000 people. here they had half an hour between the quake and the tsunami. 30 desperate minutes to get out. it's hard to imagine that until friday this wasteland was a busy residential neighborhood. they have no idea how many bodies are buried here. for now the priority is simply to gain access to some of the worst affected areas. clearing a path through the debris. in their wake, rescue teams made slow, methodical progress. the dogs trained to detect bodies still alive. there have been none today. some of those who

ann curry in akita, japan, tonight. ann, thanks. >>> we'll continue the broadcast in just a moment. when we continue, with people asking what all this means for japan, wait till you see what it did to chernobyl 25 years ago and what it's like there today. we'll take you back there tonight. >>> and later, what else we've learned in the seven days since the ground shook across japan. i've had asthma for 11 years... ...but my symptoms kept coming back... ...kept coming back. then i found out advair helps prevent symptoms from happening in the first place. advair is for asthma that's not well controlled on a long-term asthma medicine, such as an inhaled corticosteroid. advair will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. advair contains salmeterol which increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. advair is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine like an inhaled corticosteroid. once your asthma is well controlled your doctor will decide if you can stop a

our colleague, ann curry, is in minamisanriku, which just a few days ago looked the way you'd expect a small populated village to look tonight. it's all but gone. ann, good evening to you. >> reporter: good evening to you, brian. it is tuesday morning here at minamisanriku, and this is what is left of it. it is one of the most devastated towns in the hardest hit region of this epic disaster. thousands here still do not know what has happened to their missing loved ones. nbc news obtained this new home video of the tsunami as it struck. you can hear people yelling "hurry, run" to the victims below. as the wave four stories high raged six miles inland in the coastal fishing village of minamisanriku. 10,000 of its 17,000 residents are still missing. this woman, unable to find six members of her family, dissolves the first time she sees what happened to her home. her uncles and whole sister's families are missing and she's worried she well never see them again. despite exhaustion, hunger and cold, many others pushed on, trekking miles looking for loved ones. this father and daughter found

we want to go now to the city of akita where our own ann curry is tonight. ann, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, brian. that's right, some japanese are now openly saying they doubt their government is telling them the truth about the nuclear risks. from the very young to the old and frail, just about everyone here has been touched by this crisis. and government reassurances, especially about the risks of radiation, are wearing thin. [ speaking foreign language ] to say that it was safe to stay here, were they joking, asked this man? confusion, anger and distrust are spreading. people here are increasingly concerned about their most vulnerable. many elderly have crowded overextended shelters, unable to travel any further from the danger zone. many with pets have hunkered down in special evacuation centers. crowds flocked aboard buses out of sendai, a city especially hard hit by the quake and tsunami, now low on water, food and gasoline. across the country, people are riveted by the latest news, but increasingly skeptical about what they're heari

ann curry is in minamisanriku, the small fishing village. it looked like this before the disaster, now it is a wasteland. ann, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. that's right, matt, even without the nuclear threat, japan's disaster is already deepening. with 2,500 confirmed deaths and 15,000 people missing and yet another terrible discovery today. along japan's coast, a grim task. troops working steadily to recover a reported 2,000 bodies that began washing ashore today. also today, we saw our first convoy of military vehicles in the ravaged area. this while much of the country and the world focus on the safety of the nation's nuclear power plant while people living near the puck shim -- fukushima reactors are being scanned for radiation, half a million other people are living in shelters and with limited access to tv, radio or current newspapers, these women tell me they know little about the nuclear problems. what do you know about what's happening at the nuclear power plant? [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: this woma

ann curry reports live on the latest developments surrounding japan's crippled nuclear reactor. >>> anderedith vieira takes you behind the scenes on a tour of the home where prince william and his bride to be, kate middleton, will live after their big day. >>> 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. the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

damian trujillo was with this family this morning hours after ann curry made the connection. >> reporter: the phone call came in just before midnight. >> do you have my sister? >> reporter: i have your sister. >> oh, my gosh. it's her. she's on the phone. >> hi. >> are you okay? >> yeah, i'm totally okay. i'm absolutely -- i've been fine the whole time. >> reporter: megan walsh earlier tweeted curry to help find her sister. they hadn't heard from her since the quake. she was at a school near the epicenter. >> we tried to reach out to anybody that checked in with twitter who was on the ground and tweeted back and said, here's a picture of my sister. please, if you see her around, get her name on a list. we just really wanted a list or -- >> we were on the computers all the time. i guess i thought we'd get an entry in facebook or something. >> reporter: instead, she got to speak with her missing daughter, missing no more. in san jose, damian trujillo, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, damian. thousands of families have been ripped apart but there are also families reunited like the ones we

ann curry reports live from the hard hit region of sendai, the area devastated by friday's deadly tsunami nate berkus and petra kvitova talk about how they escaped a deadly tsunami in 2004. >>> now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific monday.

ann curry reports live from japan where fears of a nuclear meltdown are mounting. >>> harry potter star daniel radcliffe talks about bringing his magic to broadway in the hit revival "how to succeed in business without really trying." now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry.

i was on the phone with ann curry, which i never thought would happen, first of all.nd then i asked her, you know, ann curry, why are you calling me some luckily she was able to pass the phone right over to my sister in the most devastated area of japan. it was absolutely a shock and surprise and such a welcome thing to hear. >> reporter: the family is not sure when they'll see canon purdy again. she did lose her passport in the earthquake. it's still under the rubble of somewhere in japan. and she was also going on an extended trip to india and other parts of the world out there. and so the family here is just glad to know that she's okay. they're thanking everybody via twitter or via facebook. and any means that they can think of to thank everybody for what they've done to make sure that they know that canon purd is okay in japan. >>> some good news there. thanks a lot, damian. >> one of many wonderful stories as well, emotional reunions over the weekend of family members and loved ones escaping danger in japan returned to u.s. soil. we've got video from honolulu in

ann curry reports live from japan as officials there scramble to cool those damaged nuclear reactors.>> and tips on making the perfect irish feast, whipping up last-minute snacks and paring the best beers on this st. patrick's day. plus, a special holiday performance. >>> 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. the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com [ female announcer ] the counter. in most homes, it gets all the action. bring it. getting it clean again is easy with bounty. in this lab test, one sheet of bounty leaves this surface cleaner than 3 sheets of the bargain brand. ♪ why use more when you can use less? ♪ super durable, super absorbent, super clean. bounty. the one-sheet clean picker-upper.

ann curry is back from japan, in for meredith. what an extra job you did over that on what had to be a difficult trip. >> it was difficult for everyone involved. i think we are all thinking of the people that are still there and especially there japanese. we'll have the latest from japan including the latest evacuation of the workers from the nuclear power plant and also the detection of radiation on spinach and milk coming up, matt. >> also ahead the u.s. army is issuing an apology for disturbing photos that portray abuse allegedly committed by u.s. troops serving in afghanistan. they were published in the german newspaper derspiegel and some show soldiers posing with dead afghan civilians. there are fears the images could generate more outrage in the arab community cane to the abu ghraib scandal in 2004. >>> let's begin with u.s. air strikes in libya. we have three reports starting with nbc's pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. u.s. officials insist moammar gadhafi isn't the target o

lester holt in is tokyo and ann curry is on her way to sendai. that's coming up at seven:00. we'll also check back with george kiriyama who's in japan later this hour and we'll have a report from japan on the desperate search for survivors there. >>> right now we'll change it up a little bit and check in on the weather around here. rob, what do you have? >> well, we did see temperatures today that were actually pretty mild by our standards. we had some mid-60s earlier. right now san jose 60 degrees. we've got a southeast wind close to 8 miles per hour. breezy in oakland, some light rain nearby. currently 59 degrees. as we take you back to san francisco, notice the wind direction south of 15. we've had pretty mild air coming in from the south throughout the day today. some of our weather headlines will have rain at times this evening. look out for high surf on the coast. yes, more rain will come in as we get our way towards tuesday. right now pretty good line of showers here dropping into vallejo and napa, off to the west of san francisco. we've been watching this line of rain

. >> i'm ann curry. just a short time ago japan's prime minister delivered an address to his nation issuing an apology to farmers and businesses damaged by the nuclear crisis. he's been thanking the so-called fukushima 50r, the workers who stayed inside the plant trying to cool the reactors. >> the most recent concerns surfaced thursday when three workers waded into water at reactor 3 and were exposed to excess radiation. two suffered severe skin burns. now crews have to determine if the leak is coming from the reactor core itself. let's get to nbc's chief science correspondent robert bazell in tokyo. bob, what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, good morning, matt. i can tell you that at the very least this is a major setback in the efforts to contain the reactors. at worst, it's the beginning of a release of more radiation into the environment. >> now, about reactor number 3 -- >> reporter: the apparent leak is in reactor 3 which has been the most troubled at the fukushima site. today prime minister ka

ann curry is on her way to sendai. that's coming up tonight at 7:00.a who's in japan. we'll do that of course at 11:00 tonight. right now we want to check in, change gears a little bit. we're checking in with lawrence scott and disappointment at st. mary's. >> when you see images like that, the ncaa tournament doesn't make too much sense but st. mary's looking at their march madness hopes taking a different turn. the selection sunday has folks scratching their heads tonight. we'll dive into why plus what's next for the gaels as we hear from head coach randy bennett. >>> as you get your brackets ready, we world series world see rematch round 2 in arizona. the giants visiting the rangers. sports next. >>> good evening. this is the danger of not winning your conference tournament when you're a mid-major program. st. mary's thinking the credentials were there but the ncaa selection committee had other ideas and the gaels' bubble status was bigger than most bracketologists had us believe. they watched the brackets unfold late this afternoon waiting and wait

. >> i'm ann curry in for meredith. the fighter jet crashed overnight west of benghazi. >> we're being told the cause was likely mechanical. we'll get right to the story. jim miklaszewski has the story. jim, what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning. those airmen were flying east of benghazi when their f-15 fighter jet experienced mechanical difficulty. despite the crew's attempts to save the aircraft, they were forced to punch out and the f-15 fighter jet crashed into the desert. now, once the air with their chutes were deployed, the two airmen became widely separated. one of the airmen, when he landed, was in immediate contact with search and rescue helicopters. and he was quickly plucked from the ground and taken to safety. the other airman somehow fell into a group of armed rebels. and while he was in no danger apparently, he was asked to separate himself from those armed rebels because the helicopter crews quite frankly thought it was too dangerous to fly directly into a group of armed men. he, too, was event

matt lauer along with ann curry and al roker.irport. two passenger jets forced to land on their own, because the pilots of those planes could not reach anyone in the control tower. officials now believe the lone controller on duty may have fallen asleep at the time. we're going to get the latest on that story. >> shocking. well, that's a good question. and no camera or something to kind of keep an eye on the lone controller. >>> anyway, also coming up this morning, more on the legacy of elizabeth taylor. tributes have been pouring in for the screen legend, the last of hollywood's goddesses, she has been described and also a dedicated humanitarian, praised for her grace, style, talent and work for aids research. we'll be talking to one of her long-time friends about her life and legacy. >> what a legacy. >>> then, you know it's smart to buy big sizes when you go to the big box stores, but are you afraid to fry fresh food in bulk? we'll show you with a little planning, you can save both time and money in the long run. >> i'm always

savannah, back to you. >> ann curry in japan, thank you.adhafi's forces declared a cease-fire in the war against anti-government rebels. that announcement comes one day after the u.n. security council authorized a no-fly zone and other military actions to protect civilians there. earlier today gadhafi's forces pounded the last rebel stronghold in western libya with tank and artillery fire. >>> the u.s. government will be up and running through april 8 now that congress approved another short-term budget with $6 billion in spending cuts. the legislation will buy time for negotiation on a longer-term budget with republicans asking for still deeper cuts. >>> former haitian president jean bertrand aristide returns to haiti today from exile despite u.s. protests that his arrival in port-au-prince could disrupt an already rocky presidential election. a run-off vote is slated for sunday. he's lived in exile in south africa since his ouster in 2004. he says his homecoming is not politically motivated. >>> federal health officials have documented th

ann curry is in akita, japan, about 200 miles to the northwest of the fukushima plant. she joins us now by phone. ann, when we spoke a couple of days ago you were telling me people in the affected region had so much to deal with that the nuclear side of things wasn't yet on their radar. has that changed in the past couple of days? >> reporter: it actually has very much so. especially because i was talking to you about the people who were in the evacuation centers, matt. at that time i was talking to you, they don't have access to telephones and televisions and news, so they are not finding out about things. now word of mouth is causing them to be more aware of it. they will not know if there is a major problem until -- because it will be delayed getting to them. certainly they are hugely concerned. you mentioned that we are in akita. our news team, out of an abundance of caution today, traveled further away from the troubled nuclear reactors. everywhere, people are concerned. people are talking about this drama playing out in fukushima. perhaps the people -- the japanese

i'm matt lauer along with ankle ann curry who is filling in for meredith.we have one of the hot actors around. matthew mcconaughey is here. he has a long and impressive track record. by the way, played a lawyer about 15 years ago, remember "a time to kill"? >> yes. >> now he plays another lawyer in "the lincoln lawyer." we'll talk to matthew in a few minutes. >> looking forward to hearing about it. the trailers on this movie are very cool. also this morning talking about spring is coming. so spring cleaning is coming. we have elizabeth mayhue helping us figure out how to make it fun. >> and we have an inspirational story of a family adopting children in need. in fact, they went to ethiopia and fell in love with kids who had hiv. how they have accepted them into their home. jenna bush hager is here to share their incredible story. >> looking forward to that. >> and barbara corcoran is here to answer your real estate questions. >> first, can we say hello to blair underwood? >> yes! >> good morning. [ cheers and applause ] >> how are you? oh, mr. president. ho

i'm matt lauer alongside ann curry and ann roker.f these stunning photos at life.com. and coming up in this half hour, we'll talk to a man who was married to taylor for six years, former u.s. senator, john warner. >> and she also had four children, and one of them, her son, michael wilding has said, my mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest with great passion, humor, and love. though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world. >> and as we've been talking, she was one of the first advocates for aids research. worked tirelessly, raising millions of dollars to fight aids and also trying to de-stigmatize the disease. and that work won her a third special oscar for her charitable works. her good friend, elton john, released this statement this morning. "we have just lost a hollywood giant. more importantly, we have lost an incredible human being." >> let's begin in los angeles with nbc's miguel almaguer. miguel, go

. >> now we head to ann curry at the news desk with the headlines of the morning. ann? >> thanks, matt. good morning. we begin in yemen where the president turned on the united states tuesday, blaming his closest ally for encouraging growing protests against him. the move didn't quell protesters who packed the streets by the hundreds of thousands on tuesday night. pakistan's minority affairs minister was killed this morning in islamabad. gunmen opened fire on his car. he's a member of the christian minority and had recently called for the national law to be changed. the u.s. government will likely stay open for business after the senate votes today on $4 billion in spending cuts. nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins us now with more on the story. hey, kelly. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. congress did buy itself more time. another two weeks to keep the government's operations going and bills paid. the gop-led house passed the extension with the $4 billion in cuts because they came from a list of presidents that he could go along with. so

ann curry has all of the headlines. hi, ann. >> hi. good morning.load of airmen in germany appears before a judge today. this is one of the first shootings in decades of u.s. service members in europe. security officials say the gunman, a 21-year-old from kosovo, has confessed to targeting members of the amain military. the victims were about to be deployed to afghanistan. german officials are treating the attack as a possible act of terrorism. >>> overnight war planes rocked eastern libya. as conditions deteriorate, hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to the borders with egypt and tunisia. three dutch marines were captured by gadhafi's forces and arrested while attempting to rescue dutch workers from libya. >>> negotiations could begin as early as today as the white house where congressional leaders are to broker a long-term funding solution to keep the u.s. government up and running. on wednesday, the president signed a bill to maintain funding at least through march 18th. >>> the army private suspected of supplying wikileaks with classifi

ann curry is at the news desk good morning. >> good morning. we turn to the outrage in wisconsin where the republican controlled senate voted to cut collective bargaining rights for public employees. nbc's john yang joins us with more from madison. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this morning's paper tells the story. capitol shocker. democrats left pondering their next move now that republicans seem to figured out a way to outfox them. >> this is a violation of law. >> reporter: with wisconsin's 14 senate democrats still out of state, republicans abruptly ended the standoff over public workers wednesday night using a procedural maneuver to vote on key parts of the bitterly contested bill. [ shouting ] >> reporter: the debate that went on for three weeks was over in just 30 minutes. thousands of protesters had a one-word chant -- shame. for weeks it's been ground zero in a battle over union rights. in an 18-1 vote with no democrats present republicans removed the spending measures but kept sharp limits on collective bargaining rights fo

on the plaza i'm matt lauer with meredith vieira and ann curry.to the royal wedding. >> how many days now? >> 31, we think. >> how many? 31. >> we think. >> we are headed to london and we are not the only ones. what is london doing to prepare? what can you expect when planning a trip to england? that's all coming up. >> also this morning, you have baked for bake sales? >> i have. many, many times. >> really? sometimes we make one that's a winner and sometimes not. we always win with sandra lee. she has advice on how to kick it up a notch and make money for a great cause. >> absolutely. >> also we continue the celebration of 60 years of "today." this morning the women of "today" talk about their proud history on the program. first can we say hello to justin, the latest contestant voted off "biggest loser couples." >> good to see you. >> you started out at 365 pounds. what do you weigh now? >> about 220. >> 140-something pounds? >> yeah. >> unbelievable. how do you feel? >> i feel great. it's awesome. feels really good and it's exciting. i have lear

let us start this morning with ann curry who is in the city of akita in northern japan. ann, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you, matt. as you report the situation is still very serious. the japanese government is staying on message, saying that the radiation levels are stable. but the u.s. has its own experts on the ground and has a very different assessment of the risk. meantime, there were more extraordinary measures taken today to get those reactors under control. >> the helicopter has begun the aerial spray. >> japanese helicopters staged water drops over the crippled fukushima daiichi plant earlier where the situation is far from under control. reactor two compromised and leaking radiation. reactor three critical. spent nuclear fuel rods sitting in almost no water and at risk of melting. >> the helicopters have been collecting water, sea water. >> reporter: helicopter flyover an effort to cool the reactor by reflening the water in the pool where the rods are stored. also planned, an assault from the ground sending in 11 water cannon trucks. reactor

. >> first a check of the morning's top stories from ann curry at the news desk. good morning. >> happy friday. >> happy friday. >>> in the news this morning, rebels in east libya are holding onto their positions despite more air strikes overnight from moammar gadhafi's government. president obama delivered the strongest condemnation of gadhafi's regime so far saying the embattled leader must leave now and u.s. intervention could become necessary. richard engel is in tripoli with more on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. witnesses tell us there are clashes under way on the outskirts of tripoli but the government remains in control of tripoli itself. it also restricts the movements of foreign journalists here and clearly doesn't want the world to see the violence. as journalists in tripoli gathered to leave our hotel this morning the order came. no coverage of anti-government demonstrations, not today. >> our image abroad is already bad because of unprofessional media reporting. one extra day will not harm us. >> reporter: the officials told repor

ann curry is at the news desk with the headlines this morning.ood morning once again. libyan leader moammar gadhafi may be digging in for his last stand with his forces sealing off the capitol of tripoli. rebel fighters controlled the eastern half of the country and fought off overnight assaults in two key cities. al he's refusing to step down a former justice minister is beginning to form an alternative government. >>> at least two deaths are blameled on tornadoes that touched down in tennessee, indiana and seven other states. these were the first tornado fatalities of the year. storms caused flooding in ohio and other parts of the midwest. >>> the house is expected to vote on a bill to keep the federal government running for two more weeks. cuts $4 million in spending. >>> timothy geithner testifying on capitol hill asking for an overhaul of fannie mae and freddie mac within two years. the mortgage giants cost taxpayers $150 billion since 2008. china is trying to prevent small anti-government protests from spreading by cracking down on foreign

ann curry is at the news desk. >>> we turn to forces in northern africa where forces of moammar gadhafi are closing in on the stronghold of zuawi this morning. richard engel joining us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. gadhafi says his forces and all libyans would fight against any western imposed no-fly zone. the rebels, however, say they desperately need a no-fly zone for protection as gadhafi's troops continue to attack rebel strongholds. tanks are closing in on the town outside of tripoli. rebels have been cut off, isolated. according to witnesses, relentlessly attacked for more than a week. witnesses say gadhafi forces are, quote, leveling the town and killed dozens. in the east, gadhafi's forces are also driving back motivated but undisciplined rebels. and warns the advance will intensify >> today we killed -- tomorrow we will kill you. >> reporter: in tripoli moammar gadhafi is in control. foreign journalists are confined to two luxury hotels. our movements are restricted. and her monitored. tuesday gadhafi visited one of the hotels for an interview with turkish and

. >> now a check of the rest of the top stories from ann curry at the news desk. good morning, annie. >> good morning, meredith, matt and all of you. in a stunning reversal president obama signed an order to resume military trials in guantanamo. just two years after vowing to close the controversial facility. the order creates a formal system to keep detainees in prison there indefinitely. >>> forces loyal to moammar gadhafi launched four more air strikes today. richard engel has more this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. those air strikes are having a dramatic impact on the rebels in the east and there is now a danger that the rebels could lose more of their strong holds. gadhafi's forces continue to attack from the air in eastern libya to block the advance to tripoli. a no-fly zone would help but according to libyan officials it would be an act of war, providing air cover for an armed revolt against moammar gadhafi. international involvement in this war has already proven complicated. three dutch marines who tried to evacuate nationals rema

i'm meredith vieira along with ann curry and al roker.that, but 8.9 earthquake. the worst they've ever seen and that was followed by the tsunami waves up to 33 feet high. several hundred bodies found in northeast japan, 200 to 300, more than 100 others confirmed dead. at least 350 people still missing and more than 50 aftershocks in japan. >> registering 6.0. >> pretty devastating to watch this image. you're looking at the tsunami hitting parts of japan and moving as fast as a jumbo jet. reports that these things can move at something like 500 miles per hour. >> they can travel a real distance because of that. >> the waves generated by the tsunami are hitting california. jeff ranieri is in california. good morning. >> good morning, meredith. we're continuing to watch the water behind me. we are in a low-tide psychoal and the water really doesn't look too much different than an average day here in san francisco, but, as we've already heard, some of this higher wave action already hitting portions of oregon and moving to the south. we are u

i'm ann curry. tonight the story of a young woman found nearly dead in the middle of the road. with little evidence to go on, investigators needed to find out what happened from the victim herself. the problem was she couldn't remember. here's josh mankiewicz. >> how would it feel to have ut, brlife-altering injuries but to have the memories of how you got those injuries wiped out the instant you received them? how would it feel to have a gulf in your mind that stands between you and justice? nobody 11, 2009, 1:30 a.m., a moonless night over the wheat fields outside pullman, washington. as bob katy dove home from the bar he owns, albian road was pitch black and dead quiet. >> as i came off the road, initially what i thought i saw in the road was somebody's mcdonald's bag and their drink that they had thrown out the window. >> just trash in the road. >> i thought it was trash in the road. i wasn't going to pull across the side of the road to see garbage. i was just going to drive over it. >> but as he got closer he noticed it wasn't garbage at all. >> as i got 20 yards away, i r