we get the story tonight from nbc's ian williams. >> more yefor year he's been a of defiance. the 40-year-old self-trained lawyer has been blind since childhood. he was jailed and put under house arrest with his family. he documented their confinement his every movement was mon tord, visitors prevented from meeting him. yet he was able to secretly plot his escape. friends say he evaded china's oppressive security apparatus by pretending for weeks to be sick, hoping his jailers would lower their guard. and they did. though blind he escaped over a wall. friends drove him from his village to beijing and to what one describes as the only safe place -- the u.s. embassy. though this has not been confirmed by either washington or beijing. >> our reliable source shared that he is in u.s. diplomatic protection. >> reporter: there's no sign of extra security at the u.s. embassy in beijing. if he is there, it comes at an awkward time for the u.s., with secretary of state hillary clinton due to arrive next week. >> when we see reports of lawyers, artists or others who are detained or disa

ian williams, nbc news. >>> tonight, secretary of state hillary clinton is on her way back to the u.s. after a whirlwind trip in the middle east. today in istanbul, the secretary attended a summit to address the crisis in syria and sat down to discuss the situation with our foreign correspondent, andrea mitchell. >> reporter: you have said there will be serious consequences if assad does not stop killing his people. this is the moment, the time for excuses is over, but short of military intervention, what is going to stop this man? >> it's very painful to watch the terrible killing continue by the assad regime. but out of this meeting today, we have agreed on not only more sanctions, but a means to enforce them. we have more humanitarian aid going in. we have an accountability project underway to catalog all of the atrocities that have been done and we have been increasing the various forms of assistance for the syrian opposition. >> clinton announced today that the u.s. will provide communications equipment to help the syrian rebels organize. she is opposing calls from saudi arabia t

brian. >> ian williams line in bejung for us tonight. ian, thanks. >>> when we continue on this monday night, look what's washing up on our shores now from a disaster half a world and over a year away. and this is just the beginning. >>> and later, a love story that has lasted more than 60 years, and the man who is making a difference for the generation that helped save the world. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like

nbc's ian williams has our report from there tonight. >> the fate of this man has become the biggest test for u.s./china rilgzs in years. a challenge delivered white littery to the use doorstep. friends of chen said they then drove him the 300 miles from his village to beijing and he's now in what they describe as the only safe place in china. the u.s. embassy here. no sign of extra security at the embassy today, but the issue is so delicate that there's been no comment from officials here, chinese or american, including the state department's pointman for asia. >> can you tell us what you're here in beijing for? >> this men's crime in the eyes of the chinese government was to expose forced abortions and sterilization under the country's one child policy. the 40-year-old self trained lawyer, blind since childhood, was jailed in 2006 and then put under house arrest. he says he and his wife were beaten. his young daughter harassed. his every movement was monitored, visitors prevented from meeting him, yet he was able secretly to plot his escape. after a tunnel was discovered, he stayed

we're joined this morning on the phone by nbc's ian williams who is actually in bangkok, thailand, right now. ian, what can you tell us? >> reporter: countries all around the indian ocean remain on high tsunami alert following a massive 8.2 aftershock which was actually almost as big as the original earthquake. the thai authorities have said a four-inch tsunami has reached the thai coast from the first earthquake which is far less than some people have feared here and as yet we haven't seen any signs of a major tsunami across the region. as i say, the alerts do remain in place and people are being very prudent, very cautious. of course foremost in their memory is the 2004 quake and tsunami, which killed a quarter of a million people across this region. now, here in thailand, six provinces down the coast were affected by the alert. beaches were evacuated and airports. the airport on holiday island was closed and people were advised to move to higher ground. the quake itself, the original quake as 8.6 on the richter scale and felt right across that region. tall buildings here in bangkok we

nbc's ian williams is in bangkok, thailand. ian this was felt over a widespread area. >> that's right, natalie. it was felt all around the indian ocean. thanks to those alerts, those tsunami alerts are being lifted. and there is an enormous sense of relief here that we didn't see a repeat of that terrible 2004 disaster when a quarter million people died in the resulting tsunami. scientists say this may be what they call a lateral quake. the earth moving sideways instead of up and down which doesn't generate a tsunami of the same sort of strength. we did see a small tsunami four inches, that's all here in thailand. where the alert stayed in place because of those strong aftershocks. now the norths are also breathing a sigh of relief because this was the first big test of an early warning system that was set up across the region after 2004. and people do seem to have heeded the warnings from that system and have moved to higher ground, to have listened to the authorities, and there is relief that that worked. that people got out o

back to you. >> that was ian williams reporting. last time her party won a landslide victory during general election was back in 1990. the ruling army hunta annulled the results of the election and kept power for 21 more years. >>> two sailors are recovering after some rough waves in the clipper round the world yacht race. footage from the past weekend shows big waves hitting one of the vessels. the coast guard rescued the sailors yesterday after a wave slammed into their yacht about 200 miles off the coast of california. they suffered some broken bones and sprains. two other crew members were also hurt but they were able to stay onboard. the yacht is expected to reach the finish line in oakland sometime today. they will be glad to be finished with that i bet. >> when you think about yachting is that what comes to mind right there? >> no. >> i think about it like this. >> a different kind. >> thurston howell iii comes to mind. >> exactly. >>> so we got a big change again. >> you know what? we had a very, very warm march. i think tem

ian williams has reaction to the quakes that rattled nerves. >> reporter: the u.s. pacific tsunami early warning center has canceled its alert for the indian ocean, that's been grant r greeted with enormous relief after the 2004 quake and tsunami that killed more than a quarter of a million people. >> i was sitting in the chair and the chair -- i thought it was shaking and the office people were running out, screaming and everybody was screaming that it was an earthquake happening. >> reporter: tall buildings swaying in bangkok and singapore. 300 miles from the epicenter, terrified people ran to the streets. it was followed by a massive aftershock, almost as strong as the original quake thankfully there are no reports of widespread casualties or damage. experts say the quake so powerful what they called a lateral quake, meaning the movement was side ways not vertical. they say that reduced the chances of a destructive tsunami. the quake was the most serious test yet of the early warning system set up after the 2004 tsunami and they do seem to have succeeded in getti

ian williams, nbc news, bangkok. >>> the coast guard is searching for a fourth crew member missing in a yacht race off the california and mexico coasts. three other crew members were killed late friday or early saturday when the 37-foot yacht apparently collided with a much larger vessel. >>> and a wayward dolphin is still stranded in narrow wetlands along the southern california coast. wildlife experts say it was headed toward the ocean saturday but was frightened by a pair of other dolphins and suddenly turned around. that's the news. now back to jenna and janice and a good doctor. >> oh, now you've got tom on board! i see you recruited tom. >> i'm also a veterinarian. i can handle that dog, too. >> want to do the weather, too? >> sure. no, maybe not. >> okay, all right. >> janice is back. >>> i'm back, i'm back, to talk a little bit about the weather across the nation today. of course, right in the middle of the country is where we'll see more severe weather, mostly wind damage and hail is what we're most concern mostly wind damage and hail is what we are mostly concerned with from

ian williams in bangkok, thailand.een trapped underground for almost a week. they'd been stuck in the mine since a partial collapse last thursday. >>> the special prosecutor looking into the shooting of florida teen trayvon martin says she will make an announcement in the case by friday. neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman says he shot martin in self-defense. the special prosecutor will decide if zimmerman should be charged. meantime his attorneys say they are no longer representing zimmerman as a client, saying they don't know where he is. >>> republican mitt romney says rick santorum will keep playing an important role in party politics. on tuesday santorum suspended his presidential campaign but vowed to state in the fight to defeat president obama. santorum and romney agreed to meet soon. meanwhile newt gingrich and ron paul say they are still in the race. >>> this morning at the white house the president is intensifying his push for the so-called buffett rule. the measure argues wealthy americans should

nbc's ian williams is in beijing this morning. ian, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. the fate of the blind human rights lawyer, one of china's most courageous dissidents, has become a big test of u.s./china relations, just two days before hillary clinton is due to visit. he announced his escape in a video posted on youtube, accusing officials of brutality against him and his family. the 40-year-old self-trained lawyer has been blind since childhood. he was jailed and then put under house arrest after exposing forced abortions and sterilizations under china's one child policy. he videoed his family's confinement. during which he says he and his wife were beaten, his young daughter harassed. his every moment was monitored, visitors prevented from meeting him. yet he was able, secretly, to plot his escape. friends say he stayed indoors for weeks pretending to be sick, hoping his jailers would drop their guard. and they did. though blind he escaped over a wall before eventually rendezvousing with supporters. friends of chen say they then drove him the 300 miles from his v

ian williams, thank you so much for reporting on this breaking story. our fingers crossed that actually you're right that perhaps nothing might happen. it is now 7:04. now here's carl. >> ann, thanks. we could be just hours from learning if george zimmerman will be charged in the shooting death of trayvon martin. this after several new twists in the case, including a decision by zimmerman's attorneys to drop their client. nbc's kerry sanders is in sanford, florida, once again. kerry, good morning. >> well, good morning. the special prosecutor may have reached a decision on whether gunman george zimmerman will face criminal charges or not. but there is now an equally pressing question, where in the world is george zimmerman? in an extraordinary public address tuesday, george zimmerman's attorneys announced they are no longer his lawyers. and then dropped this bombshell. >> we want to announce today, as of now, we are withdrawing as counsel for mr. zimmerman. we've lost contact with him. up to this point we've had contact every day. >> reporter: the lawye

joining me now is ian williams. so plain explain the backer to. this highlights the sophisticated underground. >> surprisingly so. and there are few facts but plenty of intrigue. dissident sources have said to us he's in what they call the safe place. and they say there is only one safe place in beijing for him, the u.s. embassy. or at least some sort of did diplomatic safe house. but that said, officials, chinese and american, are refusing to confirm that. the secrecy surrounding whatever's going on is intense. in fact the state department wouldn't even confirm that their point man on asia, kurt campbell, had arrived in beijing, although he was spotted by journalists to whom he refused on comment. now, the train if you'd like, the dissident network that managed to get him to freedom does seem to have been a long more effective than we thought. one friend of chen described the escape as the chinese version of the "shawshank redemption," you'll recall that film and the meticulous way in which that particular character escaped. well, it seems that h

earlier we spoke with nbc foreign correspondent ian williams in thailand by phone this morning.e said the quake was felt all around the indian ocean. >> reporter: the tall buildings here in bangkok did shake. it wasn't as bad here as it was in other parts of southeast asia. we had a report of at least one building, though, in the city center being evacuated. so it was felt pretty extensively. >> now, we have heard reports of a small tsunami, about 4 inches high, reaching thailand, but so far no reports of any major damage. >>> 6:31 right now. almost a month after sierra lamar disappeared, police continue to cull through tips as a community continues to search. bob redell is live in morgan hill where volunteers will gather this morning to scour the fields for clues. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning to you, laura. in just over an hour here at burnett elementary, the klaas kids foundation will launch another one of its volunteer searches to look for sierra lamar. you can see by the sign they do need your help in canvassing the south county for clues and evidence surroun

for more of the earthquake, we're joined by ian williams from nbc news. an hour ago. can you give us an update on what has happened since that time? >> well, the thai authorities are reporting that they recorded a four-inch tsunami reaching the coast of thailand from the first earthquake and they've now extended the tsunami warning following the massive 8.2 aftershock which was almost as big as the original earthquake. warnings, alerts remain in place right across the region. the size of the quake, the u.s. geological survey revised it down to 8.6 but it was still massive, and the epicenter of the original quake being about 300 miles from mandarache. experts say this was a latter ral quake, not a vertical quake. this means it may be a small tsunami but nothing on the scale of the 2004 experience. of course, it's that experience that is concentrating everybody's minds here. as a result, that's why the early warnings were set out and appear to be quite effective, certainly here in thailand where six provinces evacuated their coastal areas. the holiday islan

ian williams is in bangkok this morning. >> the good news is that the pacific tsunami warning center had now cancelled the tsunami watch, the alert it had for all of the indian ocean, although some local alerts do remain in place. that e that's ---tlnl there were some small tsunamis created by the quake. it was a massive 8.6 quake, the middle of the afternoon indonesian time. that was followed by a couple of aftershocks, which were almost as big as the initial quake and kept those stum warnings in place and the early warning system has worked and there is a real sense of relief here. >> ian williams joining us this morning from bangkok. we appreciate it. meantime coming up, defending your portfolio against return of volatility. take another look at futures, we are poised to snap a five section losing streak, we are looking higher across the board. much more "squawk on the street" straight ahead. arrival. with hertz gold plus rewards, you skip the counters, the lines, and the paperwork. zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be tra

if you think about burke-ian philosophy and you think about americans that knew about burke, you can certainly understand why somebody said, well, hey, this is not william and mary, and it is not george the iii, but this looks like the way to move forward without radical change. the secret to to our success and to our foundation is that we got past that with a pretty radical change do you ever wonder what would have happened if george washington said, hey, okay, not a bad idea? might have worked, might have worked, but i think at that point we had understood that we could make the change, we could keep the traditions, we could embrace the progress without going back to a king. anyway. what would burke say about that? i guess burke was alive when washington was offered the crown. i have not seen in the readings anywhere what he said, but maybe that's what i want to do. maybe if i get the one question