[ beeping ] >>> a glimmer of hope tonight in japan at the nuclear power plant in fukushima dai-ichi. a power plant is closer to being connected. friday in japan the entire nation paused in the afternoon, the moment when disaster struck one week ago. 7 days later the death toll is more than 7200. 11 poun people are missing. 500,000 are homeless. thousands of people are still without heat and without basic supplies. fire trucks sprayed water on reactor 3 at the fukushima dai- ichi. they raised the threat level to a level 5. it's believed reactor four may have a crack in its floor. that would make it more difficult to refill the coolant pool and the first hint of radiation turned up in sacramento. it was detected by equipment used to enforce the united united nation's test band. it was a billion times below the level of a health hazard. no other traces have shown up. >>> in tonight's edlines. talk aimed at moammar gadhafi from president obama saying the cease fire there must begin immediately. the u.n. security counsel authorized a no-fly zone yesterday. tomorrow leaders will hold an eme

. >> crews are working around the clock at the fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plant. the crews are working to reconnect electricity to the cooling system to cool the rods. other crews are spraying and dumping water on the nuclear few. smoke can be seen from building number 2 right now. the cause is not known but a explosion hit the building on tuesday. it is possible the cooling chamber is damaged. low levels of radiation have been detected beyond tokyo, which is 140 miles south of the nuclear power plant. u.s. is warning americans to leave the country and the government is offering voluntary evacuations. today president obama spoke about the situation in japan. this is video of president obama visiting the japanese embassy. the president wrote a message of condolences. he told americans not to worry about a nuclear plume causing damage in the u.s. >> we do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the united states, west coast, hyor alaska or u.s. territoryies. we do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the west coast, hawaii, alaska or u.s. teratoyy

these are the latest aerial images of the fukushima dai- ichi plant. they are continuing efforts to cool rods while a local power company is trying to restore electricity by cooling pumps. here's more. >> reporter: japanese officials say they will keep trying to cool reactor number 3 at the fukushima dai-ichi attempt even though little has been done. >> translator: in order to start the cooling, we've asked for water-drop operations and the spraying of water from the ground. >> reporter: engineers began looking at ways to get the power back on. officials hope the power is restored -- once the power is restored to the plant, the power will come back on. >> translator: the top priority is to cool down the storage fuel for number 4, number 4 units. >> reporter: meanwhile, several countries are urging their citizens to move across -- across from the area, about 50 miles from the nuclear plant, further than the 12 miles relative humiditied by japanese officials. u.s. government is going to provide japan with a drone and the idea is to give the japanese gove

officials reminded those staying behind to get out of that 50-mile danger zone around the fukushima dai-ichi plant. the reactors damaged by friday's earthquake and tsunami were bombarded today with water mr. from helicopters, police water cannons and fire trucks to try to cool them off and prevent a meltdown, but it's not at all clear if it's working. and in washington, the head of the nuclear regulatory commission said it could take weeks to get these reactors under control. bill whitaker in japan begins our coverage. >> reporter: this new video released today gives the clearest picture yet of the stricken fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plant. >> what we're seeing is that the damage from the fires is very significant. >> reporter: today, japanese military helicopters with protective led-lined cockpits dumped water on reactor three, attempting to cool the nuclear fuel rods. but much of the water appeared to disperse in the wind. police and firefighters also brought in water cannons to douse the reactor but had to pull back after less than an hour when radiation levels became too high. reac

. >>> in japan, workers were evacuated for several hours at the fukushima dai-ichi plant. repairs on the cooling system will take 2-3 more days. were the delay comes as an official -- word comes as an official says the plan appears to be stabilizing be the official death toll hovers around 8600 people were 13,000 still missing. >>> a top official says japan's earthquake warning system likely save thousands of lives. the system can send a text or broadcast a warning as a quake hits that can reach people many miles away. the alert can give students enough time to get under desks. for more coverage of the quake, aftermath, and what is happening in napa, click the tab on our homepage at ktvu.com. >>> a san jose priest is on indefinite leave tonight after being accused of abuse. he is an associate pastor at saint cecilia's. pastors stumbled upon indications of an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old girl in the 19 70s when he was a sign to the church of the epiphany. the father has denied any misconduct and has served at several other parishes. >>> police have released

electricity is reconnected to all six connectors at the fukushima dai-ichi nuclear plants. a magnitude six quake struck northeast japan about four hours ago and has not cost any more damage. cooling could take days or even weeks in more buyers could break out the also today authorities said more than nine dozen people are dead. almost 14,000 people are still missing as a result of the quake and tsunami 11 days ago. >>> chilblains touchdown at the air force base and ken pritchett talk to people on board -- two planes touchdown at the air force base. >> reporter: 250 people, mostly women and children stepped on u.s. soil this afternoon following a harrowing 11 days in japan. >> i was actually more concerned with the radiation than the earthquake. >> reporter: that was a common threads among the passengers who have some connection with the department of defense. this woman and her son lived 25 miles south of tokyo peachey says the quake was scary and the unknowns about radiation were just as bad. >> the wind and how the plane was coming. today there was a chance at a coming ove

. -- at the fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plant in japan. high levels of radiation were also discovered in sea water off shore from the plant. as we told you, uc berkeley researchers who are monitoring found increased radiation and have been testing rain water and right now testing tap water. early testing on milk says increased radiation will not be harmful. >> smaller than the radioactive we find normally in milk. >> the human body is slightly radioactive. >>> in sacramento a committee approved a bill requiring online retailers to collect sales tax from buyers in california. it bill will increase state revenues. opponentsthog bill will put thousands of californians out of work. amazon and overstalk threatened to cut ties if the bill passes. >>> ebay agreed to buy gsi commerce. gsi provides interactive marketing services to companies. >>> the dow lost 23 points today. the nasdaq dropped 12. >> the tough questions pg&e faced about its lapses in safety records. >>> first look inside the fourth bore of the tunnel. >>> drying out and warming up

the government announced a partial nuclear meltdown is occurring at unit number 3 inside the fukushima daicomplex. that comes one day after an explosion inside the complex. on friday, unit 1 exploded. that blast destroyed the building that houses a reactor. but not the reactor itself. >> the growing nuclear threat is now leaving some residents in the dark. japan's power company announced this morning it is going to ration electricity throughout the country with rolling blackouts. they say this disaster is the worst facing the country since world war ii. >> prompting officials to offer radiation screening to people nearby. nine people living near the fukushima plant have already tested positive for radiation exposure. officials say they do not appear to show any health problems, but scientists say it could raise their risk of cancer later in life. >> when you get radiation poisoning, it affects your body chemistry. you get sick. my understanding is at first you get sick to your stomach, then, with all due, you die. but the long term effects of cancer can go on for many decades. >> most what

--hay un nuevo incendio en el reactor 4 de la central "fukushima dai-chi", donde han quedado a la intemperiebarras de uranio altamente radiactivas. --unos 750 trabajadores fueron evacuados el martes despus de una explosin de hidrgeno, pero un equipo de 50 trabajadores se ha quedado en el lugar tratando de controlar la situacin. --se estudia adems la posibilidad de lanzar agua desde helicpteros para enfriar el combustible. --adems del temor nuclear, los japoneses estn padeciendo otros problemas, como la falta de alimentos y agua. --en una ciudad al sur de "sendai", por ejemplo, se podan ver largas colas en el nico supermercado abierto. --adems hay racionamiento de electricidad, que est afectando el trfico de trenes. --las temperaturas tambin estn bajando y se pronostica nieve en algunas reas. cu ---y aqui en nuestra region, la mayoria de los muelles en el puerto de santa cruz ya han sido habilitados take vo luego del tsunami que golpeo la zona la semana pasada... ---especificamente alli, los daÑos sobrepasaron los 22 millones de dolares... ---las olas afectaron los muelles... hundieron al men

coming up later for you -- more fears that the fukushima dai-ichi nuclear plant is raising radiation levels in the sea surrounding it. and a man undergoes a full face transplant. hello. colonel gaddafi's government in libya is telling reporters that foreign attacks that killed many people at ports and at the airport, which it describes as the series -- as a civilian airport. the government also says the last rebel stronghold in the west of the country has fallen to gaddafi loyalists. earlier, gaddafi troops were accused of firing on civilians. there is no doubt that a third night of bombardment is under way. this is the scene in the capitol. attacks on the first two nights were at a series of libyan targets, including colonel gaddafi's compound. but coalition leaders including president obama insisted the mission is not regime change. >> already in the war has come to the heart of the gaddafi's regime, to his own compound. we heard the hard, metallic flood of the missile strike as anti-aircraft firebreak the sky. in the low rumble of the explosion. it turned be building to rubble. --

. >> government and experts are considering but thesefour buildings at the fukushima-dai- ichi plant to stop the spread of the substances. >> a they will spray it with a synthetic resin to try to prevent radioactive dust from being blown away or being watched to see. in a refugee center outside of tokyo, the emperor and others visited the survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. many of them have been holed up here for three weeks now and have stories to tell. >> happen all right, do these new containment measures hold up the prospect of containing the radiation at fukushima. i put that question earlier to a correspondent who joined us in north east japan. pitt -- " >> well, they are still trying to figure out what to do with contaminated water. the contamination levels exceed 3500 times the legal limit today. the president has been hospitalized in tokyo for fatigue and dizzy spells, and he was last seen in public the day after the tsunami, so it seems that there is some disorder within the country. also, we have been hearing about the car -- harsh conditions, some sleeping in stairw

radiation readings 10 million times higher than normal sent emergency workers scrambling from the fukushima dai-ichi nuclear plant on sunday. a correction soon followed as did the inevitable apology. >> i'm sorry for causing so much alarm. the number was wrong, this official says. the real reading is still high. 100,000 times higher than normal. and came from a pool of water in unit two. two workers had to be hospitalized on thursday for burns after stepping in similar pools of contaminated water. those pools are a problem in four of the complex's six reactors. primarily because no one knows what's causing them. top government officials suspect the seepage is from a cracked reactor core in one of the units. the prospects are not improving in a straight line and we've expected twists and turns chief cabinet secretary yukio edano says. the contaminated water is one of them. safety officials had planned to puferp the contaminated water to holding tanks inside the reactor but they are full. and until the radioactive water is removed from the plant's floor, workers cannot run new electric cables tha

una nueva explosin de hidrgeno, la tercera desde el viernes, ocurri hoy en la planta nuclear de "fukushima dai-chi" y hay temor por un desastre radioactivo en japn. --las barras de combustible de los reactores han quedado expuestas y parecen estar derritindose, tras el devastador tsunami de la semana pasada. --los reactores estaban siendo inyectados con agua del mar, como ltimo recurso para enfriarlos. --japn lanz un llamado de emergencia a la comunidad internacional para prevenir una catstrofe nuclear. cu - anchor --la magnitud de la tragedia no deja de sorprender al mundo, especialmente a aquellos que tienen familiares en ese pais. -- hoy hablamos con dos de ellos, que residen en el area de la bahia, y nos cuentan sus temores cuatro dias despues de la catastrofe. -- los entrevisto pilar nino. take pkg take pkg 36;12 es aterrador tamie se esforzaba hoy por trabajar tamie takaesu tiene familiar en japon 27:44 lo peor es tratar de funcionar, porque siempre tienes esa preocupacion que esta pasando pero le es dificil....en japon tiene a su madre, tres hermanos, sobrinos y primos... 30:08 me preoc

seawater near japan's fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plant measured the highest radiation levels since tsunami crippled the plant nearly three weeks ago. seawater samples 300 yards away from the plant contained more than 3,300 times the legal limit for radioactive iodine. a nuclear official in tokyo voiced concern, but said it doesn't pose an immediate threat to public health. >> ( translated ): the readings are now higher, so we need to be vigilant and we have to make efforts to prevent any further leakage into the sea. but these numbers are in the same order of four digits as previous readings, and as i have said before, and have confirmed with the japan atomic energy commission, the area within 20 kilometers of the fukushima dai- ichi nuclear reactor has been evacuated and there is no fishing going on there. therefore it is unlikely to affect residents in the vicinity. >> sreenivasan: also today, officials from tokyo electric power company publicly acknowledged for the first time that four of the plant's six reactors will be totally written off. the cost of decommissioning just one

. >> reporter: helicopters carrying water buckles hovered over the fukushima dai-ichi power plant. the cabinet secretary says the problems are not simple enough to be fixed by water duchess. another fire and high radiation levels temporarily forced crews to leave the complex wednesday morning. but they were ordered to return several hours later. about 50 workers have been trying to cool fuel rods to prevent a nuclear meltdown. earlier in the day white smoke was seen rising from one of the reactors. thousands of worried residents are fleeing frustrated with the lack of information. >> it's very traumatic and the main thing is we don't know what to do. >> reporter: the united nations and the u.s. government have both sent teams of experts to japan to deal with the nuclear crisis. more than 90 governments are also providing humanitarian assistance. but hard-hit villages are getting snow and temperatures are below freezing. shelters are filled to capacity with the homeless. >> i have been here for five days. it's holding 1,000 to 2,000 people, all the schools turned into evacuation cen

. >> reporter: after a day of sharp spikes, radiation levels at the earthquake stricken fukushima dai-ichi nuclear plant are said to be falling. but this morning there are reports of a new fire at the plant. people throughout japan are on edge. >> ( translated ): they say we are safe but it makes me wonder. it is really safe? >> reporter: japan's prime minister, naoto kan, tried to reassure his country but he said more radiation leaks are likely and ordered those in the danger zone to seal themselves indoors. american sean scisle says his plan is to get out while he can. >> last night we packed bags in case of an emergency and, you know, just better safe than sorry. we're probably going to be getting out of fukushima prefecture either late tonight or early tomorrow. >> reporter: the crisis has centered on four of the six reactors at the dai-ichi plant. since friday, hydrogen buildup in reactors one and three caused explosion which released radioactive material into the air. but even more troubling had been the problems at reactors two and four. continuing efforts to keep the nuclear materi

fire today burned spent fuel rods containing radioactive material inside the fourth reactor at fukushima dai-ichi nuclear plant located in one of the hardest hit areas. more than 200,000 people within a 20-kilometer radius of plant have been evacuated. and within 30 kilometers away they have been warned to not go outdoors. just 50 workers remain at the plant to carry out crucial cooling work. soul nuclear experts say the -- some nuclear experts say the situation may be too dangerous. >> you're accumulating now at rates where it's going to start impacting even the workers i think over a prolong period. >> reporter: also today a reported 5.8 to 6.0 earthquake aftershock hit an area. while it wasn't in danger of a tsunami, there are other concerns. >> those areas that have strong jolts, there is a high possibility of a landslide. >> the nuclear crisis in japan has touched off a scramble for potassium iodide in the bay area. the pills can prevent some radiation damage but there are mixed messages tonight on their usage. the u.s. surgeon general on a bay area tour suggested that it would be a goo

explosive and that causes a large explosion as we saw yesterday whether the radiation is coming from fukushima dai ichi reactor number one or number three or more locally it is a very important question to solve i would hazard to guess that it is coming from fukushima daiichi number one now there are different types of radiation being released into the atmosphere a good news is that a lot of the steam which exclaimed in the explosion from reactor number one building yesterday is relatively light isotopes these isotopes cannot really cause the long term damage to human health a more serious problem is that they have also detected isotopes of iodine and cesium in the area around the fukushima explosion or these are much heavier isotopes and that means that if they get into the human body or if they get into the soil with water supply they can cause long term radiation poisoning. all right the second reactor blast at a nuclear plant did not damage the reactors contain there were reports from japan saying the possibility of radioactive release remains low and eleven were hurt with those earlier missin

. >> reporter: a dangerous spike in radiation levels forced workers out of the fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plant. but a short time later officials say the levels came back down and the operation resumed. crews have been desperately trying to cool the reactors since last week's earthquake and tsunami damaged the plant but a string of explosions and fires have made that job much more difficult. just yesterday, smoke billowed from one reactor after a blaze broke out. japanese officials insist there is no reason to panic but some residents aren't so sure. >> they say we are safe but it makes me wonder, is it really. >> reporter: here in tag sake less than 150 miles west of the nuclear plant people are going on with their lives but like many in their area, people wonder about the amount of radiation and where it's headed. in tokyo where low levels of radiation were detected, store shelves were wiped out after people stocked up. >> no water, no food. >> reporter: japan is fighting disaster on so many fronts. the earthquake, tsunami and humanitarian crisis, the growing nuclear nightmare and

crews at the fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plant were able to run power lines to all six reactor units. after running tests, the next step is to fire up the cooling system to the reactors, which have been overheating. concerns about contamination are spreading as traces of radiation are found in food and sea water. meanwhile, the vice chairman of japan's electric company visited a shelter to apologize to homeless fukushima residents. >>> and the u.s. military is considering whether to pull all of its servicemembers and their families from areas threat and by radiation. this morning, hundreds of military family members who voluntarily evacuated from japan arrived at travis air force base. the flights were arranged by the defense department. most of the parents and children have frightening memories of the quake. >> everybody was falling over. it was that strong. it was just -- it felt like the earth was ending. >> the military will continue these voluntary evactuations as long as needed. other evacuee flights have been arriving in seattle since saturday. >>> coming up, lots of barking o

fukushima >> reporter: japan's nuclear nightmare continues, a second hydrogen explosion at the fukushima dai-ichi nuclear complex in just three days injured 11 workers. like saturday's initial explosion, today's blast destroyed the reactor's exterior though officials say its core is intact. this was followed by news another reactor in the complex is also overheating so the prospect of a third explosion is looming. and all three dai-ichi reactors have nuclear fuel rods that have been exposed to some degree, so they're teetering on the edge of a meltdown. japan's nuclear authorities are scrambling to contain the mounting problems posed by fukushima's damaged reactors. still, they insist they're in control. "this will not be the same situation at as chernobyl" explains the chief cabinet secretary yukio edano. authorities say radiation levels at the dai-ichi complex are under the legal limit but the u.s.s. "ronald reagan's" crew tells a sobering story. 17 were exposed to a month's worth of radiation during a one- hour search-and-rescue mission and had to undergo decontamination, though none were

can hope for relatively small scale disaster as i mentioned only one out of a six reactors at fukushima dai ichi seems to have exploded or not the reactor itself or the building around it yes of course depending on the prevailing winds and the road and the sea conditions that radiation will be carried elsewhere in the worlds. i don't want to speculate without having more facts but i would personally like to be cautiously optimistic that given the nature of this reactor given the fact that it is a light water boiling water reactor cooled only by water without this radioactive material we don't know. it either not carried too far or that the effects of that damage will be will be contained and this from not be a situation comparable to charitable when radioactive dust clouds reached europe north america and japan is that the cost of it was me that say three tectonic plates it's definitely prone to earthquakes and you have a nuclear power plants for my first question is can it has been decided it's been designed to withstand such quakes and the second question is is the risk is that such a gre

away from russia that is if the wind doesn't change direction after radiation levels spiked at fukushima dai ichi nuclear watch at seventeen our weather stations across russia is to have been constantly carrying out checks we're now in the city of that is russia's largest for a city on the pacific ocean this city is only a part hundred seventy miles away from local residents are taking new chances. on top of official records are also more new story radiation levels on the road from the current situation many to go ahead and take their safety in their own hands that's why i'm buying the scones to watch your diet has been sold out at pharmacies across the city of lady bus stop and the cheapest geiger counter costs as much as seven hundred dollars but especially say it's not enough to just because that's a device you also need to be taught how to use it properly. this device to text gamma rays and x. rays and she also has an additional radiation detector the biggest problem in japan right now is the radiation dose in the air with this divorce you can detect the level of radiation on your clothe

after the earthquake and tsunami and now new radiation leaks have been found in and around the fukushima dai-ichi plant. from tokyo, here's lucy craft. >> reporter: workers are scrambling after the discovery of more highly radioactive water around the fukushima nuclear plant. the pools of water must be drained to prevent further contamination of groundwater and sea water. meanwhile, soil samples around the plant have turned up trace amounts of plutonium used in reactor number three. however, officials insist the plutonium did not pose a health threat. in fact, some of it is decades old residue from nuclear weapons testing. the latest setbacks are fueling a collapse of confidence in the government's handling of the nuclear crisis, a scenario familiar to dr. robert gale, a leading authority on radiation accidents. >> i think that people don't... they don't necessarily trust... they certainly don't trust people from the company. they know that people from the government are really just reading out data they're given. it's not reasonable to expect a politician to have a fundamental understanding

actually sit atop the reactor containment so they're on the roof and right now the rooftop pools fukushima dai ichi one and three are looking to the surface of the pool with all this waste is looking up at the stars well actually they're looking up at the rising sun because it is morning there but you know if the accident as the accident continues to unfold certainly the the scope of the catastrophe could be international with no question we're particularly concerned though about unit three because it's powered by a plutonium oxide core box we like to call it pox rather than marks but it is in fact plutonium or oxide and if this start it has a lower melting temperature for one thing but if it goes certainly we should be having monitoring stations all in california tony and is the most toxic substance on earth one single atom of plutonium in your body can theoretically cause cancer i remember years ago talking to john gottman. back in the early seventy's i knew one of my he was that a brilliant man and he said. one ounce of plutonium is properly distributed which would be almost impossible to k

another frightening discovery at japan's nuclear power plant, plutonium has been found at the fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plant. this could mean a turn for the worst. >> it has gotten out, either in the water or from a reactor core breach. it's not a good development. >> officials say water in a tunnel near the plant was found to contain radiation at 100,000 times normal levels. high levels were also discovered in sea water. the list of u.s. states reporting race amounts are growing with maryland and south carolina on the list. we should make it clear, that experts say the levels are so small they pose no threat. coming up, the latest on the impact here in the bay area. >> several genotype from a sworm of minor earthquakes. four earthquake struck near the geysers. according to the usgs the smallest was 1.0. no reports of injuries or damage. >>> the california public utilities commission held a hearing today to see if pg&e was in contempt. pg&e officials testified why they should not be held in contempt. if they vote to hold pg&e in contempt it agreed to a $3 million fine right away and

delivered from france ten years ago and only in the last hours we heard confirmation that unit two at fukushima dai ichi is also most suffering a cold feeling so we have three reactors on a site with six reactors half of them are effectively now scrapped and the question is what is happening to the fuel how much of it is malton or melted and it's continued to melt the japanese government recently in the last two hours have said these things going on the state is they're working on the basis that some of the fuel is continuing to melt and as you know the reporting that they're comping in seawater no into three of those reactors so that's a crisis at fukushima put her to just what i will let let let let's take off for a minute then just trying. for a second you know they're also telling us that the containment structure in reactor one where there seems to be the biggest problem the ongoing problem is still intact so that therefore means there's been no major nuclear incident there's no. there's several layers of containment the so-called. dry will continue and that's the outer structure but clearly a

day. a radiation surge sent levels to 300 times normal just south of the stricken fukushima plant. levels dropped as the day went on. u.s. nuclear officials reported all the water has boiled away from a pool holding spent fuel rods-- a claim the japanese denied. but the plant owner said it's close to connecting a new power line to restore the plant's cooling system. sarah smith has more on the day's nuclear developments. >> reporter: helicopters carrying water to try to cool down an overheated nuclear reactor look like a pretty desperate last measure. it looks even worse when the choppers get turned back because there's too much radiation in the air already. you can see the smoke or steam that's pouring out of reactor number three. that's the most worrying development of the day. >> ( translated ): it burst out as smoke. it was very concentrated and when it was measured, it was highly radioactive. >> reporter: the power company now has to admit how dangerous the situation is, showing pictures of what two fires have done to reactor four. inside here, a small number of workers are lef

plutonium was detected at several spots outside the fukushima dai-ichi power plant, the first confirmedusly radioactive substance. officials said the traces of plutonium posed no immediate threat to public health. it can cause long-term damage and may be carcinogenic. the death toll has topped 11,000. the nuclear emergency highlights what is the medical-. few treatments are for radiation. there are newer developments including rapid testing that could spot doses with merely up in your part of blood and an injunction that has saved monkeys. >> mark: latest on the refinery [ male announcer ] hey michelle, whatcha doin'? i'm serving delicious athenos hummus to my friends. i've got -- [ male announcer ] that's great. let's see what yiayia thinks! you dress like a prostitute. did she just call me a pros-- [ male announcer ] noooo, yiayia would never do -- prostitute. [ male announcer ] never mind that, michelle. at least yiayia approves of you serving athenos hummus. mmmmmm! because only athenos is made the greek way, with 100% olive oil. athenos. maybe the only thing approved by yiayia. [ w

minutes before coming on the air i learned about the problems at three reactors at the fukushima me fukushima dai any nuclear power plant these are two separate nuclear power plants not that far apart but two reactors in crisis one three at the other and those latter three i just learned about and i've been following this. twelve hours ago more than that so the news that's coming out in the last hour is very alarming actually walk us through this chain of events starting with the quake until now what had happened in regards to these nuclear sites the best information we have is that the earthquake itself the eight point nine quake knocked out the primary source of electricity to all the safety systems and cooling systems in these reactors which is the electrical grid so since that was down all of the reactors turned to backup power supplies mostly emergency these are generators but in many cases that has led to this crisis those emergency diesel generators have failed to operate normally one story that we heard today is that perhaps the tsunami itself knocked out the emergency diesel giant genera

>>> in the last 30 minutes we've learned that smoke is now rising from reactor number 2 at the fukushima dai-ichy in japan. earlier this 0 morning -- early this morning, smoke started to react from number p -- from number 3. the smoke is a sign that overheaters are reacting. officials spent all weekend trying to keep the reactors cool by spraying sea water on them. and they are urging not to overreact to the radiation turning up in vegetables and some water supplies. >>> we have video of an 80-year- old woman and her 16-year-old grand son being rescued -- grandson being rescued. both were conscious but weak. they survived on the food in their refrigerator. is officials estimate the death toll will now exceed 18,000. it could take five years for japan to recover. >>> 7:18. today, the california senate holds a hearing about the lessons california can learn from california's quake and tsunami. this is part of tsunami and awareness and preparedness week. the hearing will focus on the safety of the nuclear power plants and natural gas pipelines. now, representatives from the san onofre and diablo

. >>> emergency workers stormed out the fukushima dai-ichi radiation plant, after they thought radiation had sparked 10 million times higher than normal. they later apologized saying the numbers were inaccurate. the employees were struggling to pump contaminated water from the plant, when some of them noticed the reading. while the water was contaminated with radiation, the extremely high reading was a mistake. officials are in the process of taking another reading for better accuracy. >>> radiation from that damaged nuclear power plant is now being detected thousands of miles away in nevada. a monitoring station in las vegas detected trace amounts this week. officials stress the radiation detected does not pose any risk to human health. >>> coming up, we're going to give you a look why it may be tough to drive around this morning. >>> if you love to get online with the "new york times," you might want to read up today. tomorrow is going to cost you. >>> taking a live look outside at the bay bridge toll plaza. things are moving smoothly. roads for the first time in a while are dry. >>> g

his cousin, seen here, lives on the farm, which is within 20 miles of the threatened fukushima dai-ichi nuclear plant. they've been forced to abandon it, and the 30 dairy cows ease raised since their birth. >> he's looking at losing everything. it's really awful. he's looking at losing all of them. >> reporter: his daughter, seen here is now pregnant. and has gone north with her father away from the nuclear plant, and the land that has been in the family for 20 generations. >> it's going to be a lock road. >> our ties to japan and the japanese people are very long indeed. >> reporter: bay area support is pouring in. >> we will be open. >> reporter: the association plans to collect money at a vigil this thursday night for a buddhist temple feared destroyed. >> we don't know, because there's no communication. >> reporter: communication is limited. financial support is coming in to donation boxes. donors say it's a small way to help for such a big problem with an uncertain outcome. >>> the japanese quake prompted one bay area fire department to pull out the big guns to remind people to pre

his cousin, seen here, lives on the farm, which is within 20 miles of the threatened fukushima dai-ichi nuclear plant. they've been forced to abandon it, and the 30 dairy cows ease raised since their birth. >> he's looking at losing everything. it's really awful. he's looking at losing all of them. >> reporter: his daughter, seen here is now pregnant. and has gone north with her father away from the nuclear plant, and the land that has been in the family for 20 generations. >> it's going to be a lock road. >> our ties to japan and the japanese people are very long indeed. >> reporter: bay area support is pouring in. >> we will be open. >> reporter: the association plans to collect money at a vigil this thursday night for a buddhist temple feared destroyed. >> we don't know, because there's no communication. >> reporter: communication is limited. financial support is coming in to donation boxes. donors say it's a small way to help for such a big problem with an uncertain outcome. >>> the japanese quake prompted one bay area fire department to pull out the big guns to remind people to pre

. >> government and experts are considering but these four buildings at the fukushima-dai- ichi plant to stop the spread of the substances. >> a they will spray it with a synthetic resin to try to prevent radioactive dust from being blown away or being watched to see. in a refugee center outside of tokyo, the emperor and others visited the survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. many of them have been holed up here for three weeks now and have stories to tell. >> happen all right, do these new containment measures hold up the prospect of containing the radiation at fukushima. i put that question earlier to a correspondent who joined us in north east japan. pitt -- " >> well, they are still trying to figure out what to do with contaminated water. the contamination levels exceed 3500 times the legal limit today. the president has been hospitalized in tokyo for fatigue and dizzy spells, and he was last seen in public the day after the tsunami, so it seems that there is some disorder within the country. also, we have been hearing about the car -- harsh conditions, some sleeping in stairw

smoke rising from parts of the fukushima dai-ichi plant was the most visible sign of ongoing trouble, but the real threat lay beyond public view at unit 2 highly radioactive water, first discovered last week, has now escaped the reactor containment building. it was found today in deep utility trenches used for pipes and wiring with an opening just 180 feet from the sea. water has also pooled inside the reactor's basement where radiation levels were measured at 100,000 times above normal. the japanese government acknowledged its likely the reactor suffered a partial meltdown. in fact, on sunday the radiation level was initially reported to be even worse. >> the water contains 10 million times the usual level of radioactive substances. >> brown: hours later the tokyo electric power company said it had miscalculated and apologized. but the mistake forced employees to flee unit 2 for hours on sunday and interrupted their efforts to jump-start cooling systems. today the government's chief cabinet secretary sharply criticized the utility. >> the measurement of radiation is necessary to secu