the rebels claim two of moammar gadhafi's sons have been captured. [ chanting ] >> get back. k. get back. >> this is sky news video from tripoli. people chanting on the streets that gadhafi needs to go. libya is free. a short time ago a spokesman for the libyan government called for immediate negotiations and a lawsuit to the rebel assault. we are hearing reports that have been confirmed now that the rebels have taken over green square. this is them on the way to tripoli, in western libya. rebel forces say they are now in control of most parts of the capital. this could be the end of the road for the rebels who fought very hard over the last few months to make it into tripoli. the government itself is conceding that parts of the city are no longer under control and also a deadly battle overnight and says that 1,300 people have been killed over the past 12 hours, and you're seeing this rebel army with this mismatched clothing and mismatched vehicle convoys barreling into tripoli, and today celebrating symbolically in the middle of green square in the libyan capital. now, nato s

we are still waiting for moammar gadhafi, wherever he may be. ahead on "american morning," gadhafi's last stand. president obama said he needs to face the facts and get out. what role would the u.s. play in a post-gadhafi libya. a live report from the pentagon coming up next. >> hurricane irene may be heading straight to the united states. reynolds wolf with the forecast, next. [ shapiro ] at legalzoom, you can take care of virtually all your important legal matters in just minutes. now it's quicker and easier for you to start your business... protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. and launch your dreams. purina cat chow helps you well-being. we're all striving for it. nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. if something is simply the color of gold, is it really worth more? we don't think so. chase sapphire preferred is a card of a different color. unlike others, you get twice the points on travel, and twice

where is moammar gadhafi? >> in tripoli i guess. >> in tripoli. >> i guess. >> where in tripoli? >> i wish i know, then i can tell to get him straight away, i think in tripoli, probably in his compound, which is a stronghold, maybe one of the hospital hospitals. >> he's often gone to hospitals like it's a human shield that no one would bomb a shot hospital. >> that's right. >> you think he might be in one of the hospitals in. >> exactly, children hospitals, maternity hospitals. >> you any it's a matter of time before they find him? >> i hope so. i think to find him is a crucial matter. it's important for security. >> what will you do with him, your government once you find him? >> i think the libyan people have to answer this question. let us find him first and then the libyans will take care of him. there are two options i think there is no third one. >> what are the two options? >> he presents to the libyan court or the libyans decide to send him to the icc? >> what do you personally prefer? >> to me maybe i

if you take moammar gadhafi out of the equation, a whole side will collapse and become an easy prey for other side. that is why people are frightened for gadhafi. so you cannot deprive millions of people of the leader they choose and they want and let them or leave them to be easy prey for a vengeful, hateful side. this organized without a proper leadership, you saw them, they killed their own commander of the army. they are penetrated with al qaeda elements. they are very tribal. they are tribalists. so we hold the world responsible. they have already committed the crimes in tripoli. they have burned houses in many cities. they have kidnapped people. they have killed people who were walking the streets because they were well-known supporters of the government. not military people, but just normal civilians. they have attacked shops. they have taken money from shops already. and the fight is not over. we are really fighting them and actually defeating them right now in many neighborhoods. and, yet, although they haven't settled yet, they have already started their wave of crimes. of bur

huge explosions of all kinds around the come pound, the moammar gadhafi compound. it's been under heavy bombing the last several months but more particularly, the last 72 hours as the rebels entered tripoli. but after saif gadhafi made his appearance at the riox hotel the whole situation seems to have changed. we now have electricity. a few hours ago we were sitting in the searing heat because there were no air conditioners or running water. it's pitch black in the hotel. no lights outside and no lights inside and now, the generators have gone back on again and it seems that, at least in this area, this pocket of tripoli, around the rio dpchlt hotel and the gadhafi compound the government have really succeeded in defending this pocket and have re-established their control. control, by the way anderson, they never really lost in this particular area. >> matthew chance there. as both sides fight for control the battle rages on. sarah has been following the fighting between rebels and forces loyal to gadhafi. she spock to becky earlier. >> we left the city is along wit

still cannot confirm if indeed moammar gadhafi is holed up there on the compound. nformation coming from various sources. we talked to a former aide of gadhafi saying he doesn't believe that gadhafi is still on that compound. >>> do we want to head to business now? let's check in now while we're trying to reconnect there out of tripoli, alison kosik, you've been very patient, on stand by -- and i guess still good news to report, i haven't had a chance to see the numbers, but compared to last week, we are in better shape, yes? >> this is despite the report that newly built homes have dropped. so what wall street is thinking is backwards. they think with each piece it could be ben bernanke more reason to step in and possibly help the economy and prop it up. kyra? >> okay. alison kosik, thanks. >>> more from the cnn newsroom straight ahead. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver bet

no word on the fate or the whereabouts of moammar gadhafi. us from quebec city, former nato supreme commander general wesley clark. general clark let me begin with this. can nato help the rebels find gadhafi? can the cia help? because we know they're in there somewhere. >> if he's talking, yes, but if he's just in a bunker somewhere, burrowed down underneath a house in some nondescript part of the city, probably not. in a given amount of time he'll be found. it seems unlikely he's going to simply hold out there. the way this has to work is the rebels have to find exactly where their limits of control are in the city. they have to push gadhafi's forces back into a perimeter, and continue to constrict that perimeter, and if gadhafi's not there, that perimeter is going to collapse pretty quickly. if he's there, putting his personal charisma on the line behind it, that's how you'll know. >> i know as you were on last night, we were talking and you could see the pictures of the rebels out in green square, martyr's square, the momentum was palpable,

moammar gadhafi, his whereabouts still unknown. nic robertson has more on the gadhafi's, actually interviewed the family over the years. what do you know at this point? >> we know that saif alice llama gadhafi, arrest warrants for him for war crimes now in custody of the rebels. he was, according to his brother, saadi gadhafi, who i met and interviewed both of them while i was in tripoli a couple of months ago. saif was actually running the country, according to saadi. which means with him arrested running the country will be much harder for moammar gadhafi. that, added to the fact that he's holed up somewhere, that he doesn't control the reigns of power, that the rebels have the initiative. wherever gadhafi is, he is in the last phases of his freedom, if you will. the rebels, if they do know where he is, are not saying where he is. but very likely the pockets, he will be in one of those pockets of resistance inside tripoli. it seems that the whole family was caught off guard by the speed of the rebel movement. that's why three sons

a briefing earlier this morning from nato officials in both brussels and naples who said that moammar gadhafi clue as to where gadhafi is right now. so until those rebels actually work their way through that compound, if they're able to, right now it is only a guess as to whether moammar data gadhafi is, everybody is still convinced he's in libya, but that's based on the lack of information he's anywhere else, really. so for now it is a guessing game, but things are rapidly moving on the ground there. and there is progress being made by the rebels. however, u.s. and nato officials are telling us today that there are still pockets of resistance, including inside the compound and outside tripoli where outsi where there are gadhafi forces that are still very active in fur suing or progressing on an of theive campaign. so parts of libya including there in tripoli are still very dangerous according to these reports. >> mick, i want to ask you to stick by me. we're going to bring in msnbc translator for us who's watching arabic websites. i want to touch base with you about what you're seeing, what

after 42 years, it looks like the end of the line for moammar gadhafi. this morning, rebel troops control most of the capital tripoli following a dramatic fast moving nato coordinated offensive. this morning, gadhafi's whereabouts are unknown. rebel forces met little resistance as they swept into the capital. even the elite presidential guard that protects gadhafi surrendered. the capital fell, following a six-month civil war, but not all of the forces loyal to gadhafi have given up. there are reports of heavy fighting near gadhafi's residence. we again our coverage with alex crawford of britain's sky news with the latest from libya's capital. >> reporter: we're right around the corner from the square in relative terms and not too far, a couple of kilometers away from colonel gadhafi's compound and there has been constant mortar shelling and machine gun fire all morning, quite intensive in some stages and clearly there's a lot of instability. i think apart from the fact that many of the rebels will be extremely edgy this morning, there's obviously some el

but out of libya is this question, where is moammar gadhafi.ley peterson reports from libya. >> reporter: in tripoli under pressure from the rebels. moammar gadhafi forces are retreating and scattering. the rebels now control most of the country. moammar gadhafi has the loyalty of tribal areas where he can hide, but rebels are reinforcing their attacks aided with british fighter jets. now, there is growing alarm about moammar gadhafi's weapon arsenals. 30,000 missiles that can down a commercial jet. sources have detected a fall in the missiles in arms market. suggesting that there is a lot of these out there, probably flowing out of libya and perhaps flowing into the hands of terrorist like al-qaeda. according to al-qaeda website, 600 people are among those set free after rebels stormed the main tripoli prison. one thing working for moammar gadhafi is his propaganda machine. a satellite tv channel. today the aired what it claimed is a live report of aboring masses celebrating moammar gadhafi's greatness. in truth, rebels took the square in the

if moammar gadhafi is toppled, what then? could his fall from power have a profound effect on the arab spring? we'll look at that straight ahead. >>> forces to seize balance immediately and make way for a smooth transition. the international will do its part to protect civilians from harm. >>> in addition to the u.n. secretary general, other diplomats are taking key roles now in the libyan situation. turkey's foreign minister is set to fly to the rebel stronghold of benghazi today. officials of the national transitional council, the chair of the alliance of nations has worked to deal diplomatically with the libyan conflict. rebels say they control most of the area. elsewhere in libya, zawiya, two of moammar gadhafi's sons earlier reported as captured by libya's rebels are now actually free. among the two is saif ellis lamb gadhafi. he showed up in one of the city's pro-gadhafi strongholds. >> the events is the arab awakening or arab spring although it's moving to summer. summer is almost over. mass demonstrations have taken p

moammar gadhafi's whereabouts are unknown now. lier there were explosions near the leader's bab al aziziya compound in southern tripoli. the european union is calling on gadhafi to step down from power. the rebels say they captured three of colonel gadhafi's seven surviving sons. prosecutors for the international criminal court say they hope to put saif gadhafi on trial, but a libyan rebel spokesman said the libyan people should be the ones to decide whether to handover gadhafi's sons to the icc. >>> it's been startling for all of us watching from afar to see the libyan rebels move so quickly to tripoli over the weekend. how could it have happened so fast? jonathan mann spoke with nic robertson in washington. >> reporter: tripoli had, while we were there, while the nato bombing began and gadhafi's forces still controlled the capital, a ring of steel around it. the brigade there was controlling the capital and was able to draw on munitions from multiple bases from inside the city which have become nato's principle targets inside the

and where is moammar gadhafi? that is the big question right now. who has ruled libya for 42 years. there was an audio message from gadhafi earlier on state tv. he vowed to fight until the last drop of blood. there are numerous news reports out of libya that some of gadhafi's security forces have resigned. we have another resident in libya on the phone. i understand that you are really only about 15, 17 kilometers to the west of tripoli. what have you seen over the last few hours? >> i just came back home from outside. i was cruising around in the area closest to tripoli and everything is fine. people are happy. they said that have never seen this happy before. and now revolutionariies along with residents are doing checkpoints to make sure things are safe. gadhafi had thrown a lot of weapons in the streets in the past six months. and now it's an effort to keep the residents safe and their belongings so they are doing that while everyone is celebr e celebrating and everyone is on the streets and they are raising the flag and they are happy. everythi

they said they had mohammed gadhafi, one of the sons of moammar gadhafi, in custody but then he escaped, then saif al islam gadhafi, they had him, then he showed up at the hotel with all the international journalists last night. do you believe what these representatives of this transitional national council are saying? because their credibility is right now sort of weak. >> well, wolf, we have definitely found them to be credible and responsible. we have been in close contact with the leadership in benghazi but clearly in the situation as fluid as this that's evolving rapidly, there's going to be confusion, there is going to be misinformation, and those that are on the ground in tripoli may or may not be in full and timely communication with leadership outside of tripoli. so i don't find this particularly surprising, but generally speaking, we have found in all of our engagements with the tnc that their leadership is reliable, is principled and is working to do the right thing. >> how worried are you, when i say you, i again mean the united states government, about the stockpile of chem

he told me he said moammar gadhafi remains in tripoli. d it was a trick luring the rebels in to tripoli, he said that now gadhafi forces had broken the backbone of the rebellion and given them a hard time. and then the door closed and he sped off in an armored convoy into the night, into the capital. so these reports that he was in the custody of the rebels and they were poised apparently to hand him over to the international criminal court. >> so matthew, let me try to separate truth from propaganda. for sure he was riding around freely. he says that his father is in tripoli. but what about the part that they pushed the rebelses out, that this was all a as far as? do y farce. >> do you see any sign that the rebels are not in control of the 90% that we were told they were in control of? >> it's really difficult for me in this hotel to give a good assessment as to-to-whto what e rebels are in control. they're definitely not in control of this area, nor have they been from the start of this crisis. this is where gadhafi's main com pain is lo

not one indictment has ever been issued against moammar gadhafi. not one indictment has ever been issued to anyone in the gadhafi regime. our government has never tried to prosecute him. all the energy of the u.s. government and the u.k. government frankly has been to do commerce. moammar gadhafi years ago was actually rewarded for everything that he had done with billions of dollars of oil contracts. you should go to my website, betrayalforoil.com and see what has happened in order to pursue justice and accountability with moammar gadhafi. what these people have done, the freedom fighters have done right now up until this point in only six months is phenomenal. >> excuse me, may i ask you just very quickly, because we're running out of time here. if you had a choice in the way that the american s.e.a.l.s had a choice with osama bin laden of killing moammar gadhafi or bringing him back to justice, which would you prefer? >> moammar gadhafi should be brought to justice and i think that it's important that the u.s. government does not try to broker a

meanwhile, where is moammar gadhafi? the head of libya's rebel-led transitional government told reporters he has no idea where gadhafi is, or even if he is still in tripoli. terrell? >> joel, if the rebels control most of the city, you would think they could just arrest gadhafi's son. is it that simple? >> well, even if the claims that the rebels control 90% of the capital are correct, that still leaves significant areas that are still in the hands of gadhafi loyalists. and they are rebels on the run there, ducking for cover under heavy gunfire. they haven't given up, terrell. at least not yet. >> joel brown in washington this morning. joel, appreciate the update. thank you. >>> the revolution in libya has renewed calls for the lockerbie bomber to be returned to scotland and put back in prison. pan am flight 103 was blown out of the sky over scotland in 1988 killing 270 people. libyan abdel basset al megrahi was released from a scottish prison and returned to libya in 2009. it was believed he'd soon die of cancer. now new

dan, what are you finding out with regard to what the rebels are saying about surrounding moammar gadhafi apartment complex? >> reporter: i have been down the complex this morning and there is a firefight going on at one end of it. whether it is over the custody of colonel gadhafi or not is impossible to tell at the moment. we have to be skeptical about the claims from the rebels. yesterday, they told us they thought they found him and they all head off in the pickup trucks with guns and later we realized that was a false alarm. we have to be cautious about thinking that this could be him. clearly, there is some sort of firefight going on there. i think it is the western end of the former gadhafi compound. it is a huge area, this compound. it is likes six square kilome r kilometers. it is massive. there is a mixture of bunkers and house of resistance, which is a shrine to his resistance forming from the 1980s. a normal an accommodation there. we were around the houses and some have been ransacked. no sign at the moment if his forces are in the compound. the fighting is just beyond the com

celebratory gunfire rang out as rebels carted off weapons, knocked over statues of moammar gadhafi. e, reuters news agency reports gadhafi was heard on a local radio station. it reports that in his radio address, gadhafi says his withdrawal from the compound was a tactical move. >>> on the eastern front rebels say they've overrun an oil town of ras lanuf. a rebel spokesman tells royaltiers there was no damage to the oil facilities there. it was the scene of intense battles earlier in the conflict, you may remember. and rebels report only minimal damage to oil facilities in brega a town they took on monday >>> the price of new york crude oil moved up again. prices had eased monday as there were hopes the toppling of gadhafi would allow libya to resume oil production quickly. when news came it may take longer than first thought the price moved up. nymex crude rose $1.02 to close at $85.44 a barrel. it was a different story in europe. there was no movement on brent oil. it was flat at a little over $109 a barrel. but that is still down from the $116 just weeks ago. >>> libya's oil produ

moammar gadhafi now slipped out of sight, but the pentagon has no reason to believe he left the countryi remained bitterly defined. >> translator: this destruction, get out and lead, lead the people to paradise. get out, get out of the mosques. get out -- get out of the mosques and lead the people. >> gadhafi was heard on libyan state television which actually went dark today. rebels say they are now in control of the station. >> a popular libyan tv news anchor who angrily flashed a gun on the air has been arrested. she said i kill or die today. they suffered her in her car outside a coffee house. and three of gadhafi sons are in custody today, including the son groomed to succeed him. fighte fighters grabbed another son, and he was on the phone at the time for a live interview with al jazeera, you could hear rebels burst into his house. and gadhafi's regime on the brink of collapse now. there are dramatic events reshaping the future of libya. we have this report that was filed a short time ago. >> reporter: we're not in green square, but half a mile from green square, and we saw green

>> could moammar gadhafi be there. tunnel underneath that hotel. >> a lot of attention on this one hotel and not just because matthew chance and his colleagues and other journalists are staying there. something's going on. we're continuing to stay in touch with our people on the ground. another developing story, officials say we could still feel more aftershocks from yesterday's 5.8 magnitude earthquake in virginia. there are reports that it was felt in 22 states, from maine to georgia to illinois and into canada. this morning, the washington monument remains closed. structural engineers will evaluate cracks found at the top of the 126-year-old landmark and figure what to do about it. >> the national cathedral closed today. three of the four spirals on the main corner cracked and fell. pending further investigation several government buildings remain closed including the departments of homeland security, health and human services, labor, interior and agriculture. the earthquake's epicenter about 90 miles southeast of w

what should happen if moammar gadhafi is captured? moammar gadhafi does remain at large. has evaded capture to pop up on the radio like he did today. he called the rebels rats. his spokesman said earlier we will turn libya into a volcano of lava and fire under the feet of the invaders and their treacherous majors. they say this kind of rhetoric closes the door to a peaceful surrender by gadhafi. >> someone needs to shoot him in the face, and i don't know that there's an alternative. >> libyan rebels have put $1.4 million bounty on gadhafi's head captured dead or alive. still, knowing the eyes of the world are upon them, still they should they would offer gadhafi a fair trial if captured alive. the international criminal court and hague wants gadhafi, too. we know what a criminal trial in the hague would look like. if it took place in libya, would it resemble that trial or saddam hussein's trial in iraq. remember he was found guilty and hanged. a videotape from his execution showed people taunting him and it was an international controversy. the talk-back question today, w

the opposition telling cnn that moammar gadhafi's compound is under attack right now. e compound. gadhafi right now remains at large and no one knows for sure where he is but his son did come out and say his father is safe and in tripoli. >>> u.s. markets open in 45 minutes. stock futures trading higher ahead of the opening bell. investors looking ahead to friday for bernanke's big speech in jackson hole. they hope plans to help out the struggling economy in america. >>> irene is passing north of the dominican republic. she is then expected to grow to a category 3 storm or stronger as it approaches the southeastern united states later this week. >>> a 24-year-old woman injured in that devastating stage collapse at the indiana state fair has died. megan toothman had been on life support since the august 13th accident. six other people were killed when the stage collapsed. >>> a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit mexico last night. reports of rock slides along a highway and damage to structures. >>> next year's presidential election could be a nail-biter. according to a poll pr

what about moammar gadhafi, gosh, i read the transcript of your interview. iewing him was kind of like interviewing yoda. gadhafi, this man who has manipulated his people for 42 years, held his people back for suspended animation. going forward, fareed, assuming things go well, what with about potential? what is libya's potential? >> libya's potential is huge. it has really been ruled by a mad man. it is important to step back and say that this is an extraordinary event. the libyan people have been able no overturn a 42-year-old tyranny, one of the worst in the world. one of the maddest regimes. the whims of this guy became law. his sons were given the country to plunder. once you get rid of that, yes, there's a certain degree of chaos and instability because he never built any institutions. he didn't allow for civil society. but if you step back and say to yourself, what is the potential? libya is the largest country in africa, physically. it has a small population. seven million people. it has the most extraordinary petroleum reserves. it should be the rich

so far nobody has heard from moammar gadhafi in the last hour or so. are wondering where he is and so are the rebels. >> rumors are flying around about gadhafi that he's escaped to algeria, africa, that he's hiding out in tripoli. we are standing by to get accurate information. sara, hold on for a moment. general wesley clark is joining us now. general clark, nato obviously very much involved in this operation. the nato air power. but ground forces as well training the rebels. what can you tell us about what nato troops have done on the ground as opposed to in the air to help the rebel forpces get rd of the gadhafi regime? >> it's clear that the french and british advisers and others are in there helping them plan and organize this. what you have seen in the last four weeks is a dramatic improvement in the ability of the rebels to maneuver on the ground. it's the maneuver augmented by air support that could go after the forces of gadhafi. >> hold on, general. we have tape of sara doing a report. i want to listen to her report. >> reporter: ten minutes

of courts, we still don't know at this point where moammar gadhafi and his family, where they are. er here to the right, you are seeing the fire inside gadhafi's compound. we're trying to go in to see we are told that the whole place has been secured by the rebels. and there are cars driving in and out but there is still gunfire. you can see another large fire burning right now inside of the compound. but this is an historic day. >> sarah sidner reporting from inside -- what was the compound of moammar gadhafi. >>> meanwhile, fears are rising over libya's chemical weapons. as the regime is now falling apart, could the arsenal fall into the hands of a vital link terrorist? there's one man very concerned about it. the chairman of the house intelligence committee mike rogers. he's standing by live right here in "the situation room." hi there! that's not going to satisfy you. it's time for a better snack. here, try this. it's yoplait greek. it has two times the protein of regular yogurt. you'll feel satisfied. [ female announcer ] yoplait greek. it is so good. it's pretty good! >>> seni

the long-time leader moammar gadhafi is under siege from rebel forces right to you. e rebels say two of gadhafi's sons have in fact been captured. this is one of them, saif al islam gadhafi. the international criminal court at the hague has an arrest warrant for him. we are just getting a statement in from two influential u.s. senators, both republicans. senator john mccain and senator lindsey graham. they've issued a lengthy statement. both of them have gone to libya to meet with the opposition in recent months. the two senators saying the end of the gadhafi regime and libya, it is a victory for the libyan people and the broader cause of freedom in the middle east and throughout the world. they go on to say americans can be proud of the role our country has played in helping to defeat gadhafi but we regret that the success was so long in coming due to the failure of the united states to employ the full weight of our air power and in the end, the two senators conclude by saying ultimately our intervention in libya will be judged a success or failure based not on the c

in just six months, the 42-year reign of moammar gadhafi has unraveled.arlier this year, we were inspired by the peaceful protests that broke out against libya, and the basic and the joyful longing for human freedom echoed the voices that we had heard all across the region from tunis to cairo. in the face of these protests, the gadhafi regime responded with brutal crackdowns. civilians were murdered in the streets, and the campaign of violence was launched against the libyan people, and gadhafi threatened to hunt peaceful protesters down like rats. as the forces advanced across the country, there existed the potential for wholesale massacres of innocent civilians. in the face of this aggression, the international community took action and the united states helped to shape a u.n. security council resolution that mandated the protection of the libyan civilians and unprecedented coalition was formed that included the united states, our nato partners and arab nations, and in march, the international community launched a operation to stop gadhafi and his admin

from 42 years of moammar gadhafi's dictatorship. on the highway to tripoli from the west, some rebels carried flags. others drive in cars and trucks. all armed. all excited. with shouts of "god is greatest." they firmly believe after six months of war, victory is close. thousands of rebels who used to fight in small, disconnected groups are now united. some are driveing. but most are just walking to tripoli. on this front line in motion, we find 29-year-old lab technician. he's already walked 15 miles today and won't stop, he says, until he reaches gadhafi's compound in tripoli. >> i'm one of the people that's going to -- to keep our country free. >> reporter: but there are dangers fighting along an exposed highway. there's little cover. as we film, shots ring out. close. right now it stopped. it seems we're caught in the cross fire of at least two snipers. the rebels fan out, looking for the snipers in a nearby orchard and buildings. they don't find them. with a frontline this fluid, this uncertain, the wounded are just patched up

moammar gadhafi making plans to leave the country. joining us from libya, richard engel. e can you tell us about gadhafi? >> it's clear from where i'm sitting right now -- those reports he may be planning to leave the country are coming out of washington. what i can tell you from the ground is the battle intensified dramatically after the last several days. the war turned a corner. we are only about 30 miles from downtown tripoli. the rebels have never been this close to tripoli itself. the rebels control about 75% of this area. they are fighting as we speak to take over the remaining 25% of this city. the rebels cut off all the access roads leading in and out of tripoli. families are leaving the city. tripoli is encircled. people are nervous. they think it implies gadhafi is, too. >> richard, if he's not leaving immediately and the rebels are only 30 miles away, where does that leave him over the next couple days? >> there are concerns here there could be a desperate act, he could fire off the remaining rockets, he could try to do a massacre and leave the country in flame

>>> we're hearing reports of pockets of fire in tripoli, even though rebel fighters captured moammar gadhafi'swent on the radio calling death or victory in the fight. and we turn to two experts, nicholas burns and now teaches at harvard, and with us dartmouth college professor dirk vanderwall, the author of "a history of libya." the ivy league is well represented here tonight. gentlemen, let me start with you, nick, a senior nato official saying it's almost over. i'm wondering how, looking at it from afar, how close you think we are to the end of this. >> well, candy, it looks like gadhafi intends to fight on, but he's on the run. he's lost his base of power. his security and police forces have literally melted away, so it's hard to believe that he can sustain a counteroffensive against the rebels for a considerable period of time. he's essentially lost this war. and i think it's probably only a matter of days, perhaps a little bit more than that, before he's apprehended and the remainder of his family are apprehended and brought to justice. i think the rebel alliance is going to have to compl

the manhunt for moammar gadhafi continues as libya's rebel forces surround the missing leader's tripoli compound. there is still fierce fighting in the capital. all of this as one of gadhafi's sons thought to have been captured makes a bizarre appearance. nbc's brian mooar has the latest from washington. brian, good morning. >> reporter: hi, lynn. a spokesman for the rebels says the fight will not be over until they get gadhafi. libyan rebels have overrun gadhafi's seat of power, some with no more than axes, spear guns, and sheer determination. this morning the country and world are looking ahead to a new libya. on vacation in martha's vineyard, president obama saluted the libyan people. >> your vefrlgz your own, and -- revolution is your own, and your sacrifices have been extraordinary. now the libya that you deserve is within your reach. >> reporter: six months after the revolution started, gadhafi's regime is all but crushed. >> it was messy, but it worked in the sense now we have the rebels in tripoli and the regime of moammar gadhafi is over. >> reporter: still some loyalist refuse

since then, the whole african nation has been in turmoil. >>> moammar gadhafi has ruled libya for 42 years. he's the longest serving head of the state in the arab world. >> reporter: gadhafi took power in 1969 at the age o he led a bloodless coup against the king. he was initially a fierce opponent of the west. and he's long been accused of repressing any opposition. in 1988, libya was blamed for the bombing of an airliner over the scottish town of lockerbie. the united nations imposed economic sanctions. in 2003, libya accepted responsibility for the lockerbie bombing and said it would abandon its plan to develop weapons of mass destruction. libya's relations with the west improved in later years, thanks to its oil and gas reserves. gadhafi made his first speech at the u.n. general assembly in 2009, but he was still defiant. he criticized the u.n. and threw a copy of the u.n. charter to the floor. several days after the fall of egyptian president hosni mubarak in february, there were anti-government demonstrations in libya for the first time since gadhafi took power. the protests gai

despite reports moammar gadhafi's son was in custody, this shows him apparently still at large and apparently still defiant in a crowd of pro-gadhafi supporters. joining me live on the phone from zawiya is washington post thomas erdbreak. first can you describe what the situation is like in zawiya and what you've been able to see over the course of the evening? >> well, there's not much going on despite the national council arriving, that is the rebel council based in benghazi, which is about 1,000 miles to the east here. that's the first time they have come here in the vicinity of tripoli. >> in terms of the late reports that we've had, we have had reports earlier today that gadhafi's son was in rebel custody, that he had been arrested, that, in fact, a traitor among the ranks in the gadhafi loyalist military had turned him over to rebel forces. we are seeing footage that appears to be him this evening. have you heard anything about the voracity of these reports and what we are seeing tonight? >> yeah, i can confirm he's free. hi a talk with a high-level rebel commander today and he already

rebels are making moves here in the east of the country to take the stronghold of cert which is moammar gadhafi's hometown, candy. >> fred, what can you tell us about what that is aimed at? it seems to me when i listen to a businessman offering $2.5 million for gadhafi, is that aimed at the prospect that there are still people willing to hide him, or is that aimed at kind of getting folks out looking for him? >> reporter: well, it's basically both. i think one of the things that it's mainly aimed at is that a lot of people here in libya believe that, yes, moammar gadhafi certainly isn't coming back, he's on the run, his government is finished. but they don't think this chapter in libya's history, this very dark chapter as many, of course, see it will never be closed unless moammar gadhafi is, in fact, captured or killed, so in that regard it's aimed both at people set out trying to find him and also, of course, to those people who at this point in time at least do still seem to be protecting him. moammar gadhafi himself, of course, has gone on the air in the past couple of days even as his govern

a place that nobody could get into, unless they were close friends or allies of moammar gadhafi if all of these people are lies rising up against this regime -- excuse me, against the rebels, where are they? why didn't they stop them from getting in the gadhafi compound, why didn't they stop them from getting to the middle of the square, why didn't they stop them from cutting off all the roads? where are they? that's the question that rebels have in mind. they believe they are not coming. >> hold on. we have contact from matthew chance. what is the situation where are you in that hotel? >> reporter: in terms -- not much to report in terms of what is happening outside the perimeter outside of the hotel. i know you're speaking to sara. i don't have any qualification from what's happening here. we're still in the very kind of grim situation, where we're in a hotel, we're on the top floor of the hotel. we've corralled ourselves into the top floor. gadhafi loyalists still very much in control of this hotel and the immediate perimeter around it. beyond that, i can't give you any good indicat

despite reports that moammar gadhafi's son was in rebel custody, this tape emerged of him tonight showing him apparently still at large. apparently still defiant in a crowd of pro-gadhafi forces. joining us live on the phone from zawiyah is washington post reporter thomas. can i ask you what the situation was like in zawiyah and what you've seen over the course of the evening? >> reporter: national council arriving, the rebel council based in benghazi which is about 1,000 miles to the east here. and this is the first time one of their represent ties actually coming here in the vicinity of tripoli. >> in terms of the late reports that we've had, we have had reports earlier today gadhafi's son saif was in rebel custody, that he had been arrested. that it, in fact, a traitor among the ranks in the gadhafi loyalist military had turned him over to rebel forces. we're now seeing footage of him that appears this evening. have you heard anything about the veracity of these reports? >> yeah, i can confirm that he's free. hi a talk with a high-level rebel commander and he told me earlier that saif

outside the white house and in parcel bration, generations of libyans express joy as moammar gadhafi's regime crumbled half a world away. >> it's a good feeling. the taste of freedom. >> gadhafi is the worst man on this earth. >> he lies. he kills our people and now it's time for him to step down. >> reporter: on vacation in martha's vineyard, president obama was getting regular updates throughout the weekend. >> wait until we have more information. i'll make a statement. >> reporter: in that statement the president said the momentum against the gadhafi regime has reached a tipping point. tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. the six-month civil war tookal startling return with rebel troops pushing into the capital of tripoli. this morning they were reported at the doorstep of gadhafi's compound. a government spokesman begged for a break to negotiate a peace. >> each side actually is terrified of the other side. so let's suspend all military operations, all violence right now. >> reporter: for libya, a turning point. but the fighting isn't over. and president obama is calling

unfolding in the country's capital today, rebels mount a charge against moammar gadhafi. there are reports of resistance from gadhafi loyalists. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engle is in tripoli. richard. >> there is an incredible feeling of optimism now in tripoli. people are streaming into the city, firing their guns in the air. families are arriving slashing victory signs out of their air. this is a moment people never thought would come and it developed very quickly again yesterday. it all began with rebels in zawiya decided that zero hour had arrived. they just decided to walk to tripoli and by the thousands people left zhou zawiya and gads troops simply melted away. they decided they have not going to fire on their own people. on a personal note, the reception we've been getting are incredibly warm. people are so excited and they have a new future ahead of them. people came out of their homes, they were giving us food and giving us water. crowded hoisted me up in the air to show how excited they were that this moment has finally arrived. it's not over

hours later though still no moammar gadhafi. e rebels did overrun gadhafi-held positions and set fire to several camps which had been abandoned rather quickly. rebels also took a number of prisoners, some believed to be african mercenaries recruited by gadhafi's defenders. dozens of bodies were found in the streets, some with their wrists bound. we warrant to go to arwa damon. she's only western reporter live at tripoli airport. arwa, what is the latest there? >> reporter: the artillery pounding here has been quite intense, not just artillery but ground rockets being fared as well, various bursts of gunfire. there's a plane on fire at the tarmac. we were able to get out there earlier when it was still daylight, and to be able to do that our crews had to crawl up into the control tower and stay crouched down only filming through a small sliver because rebel fighters told us that there was a sniper in the area that had been targeting them regularly. and we had been seeing the fight intensify, especially at sunset when rebels broke

they are inside my house. >> reporter: moammar gadhafi's son escaped. that shows they still have support and why it's important moammar gadhafi be got. he believes the people of libya will never go back to the old days. >> they know now -- seen a way out of it. >> reporter: it is also planning community events to help send aid to the people of libya. robert handa, ktvu channel 2 news. >> gains extend beyond territory. they took control of the government tv station. the nation's logo still appears there as you can see, rebels say they arrested a news anchor, a woman who held up a gun on air over the weekend. that anchor has not been harmed. >>> stocks slightly higher today. >> good news comes after a four week losing streak. after an early gain of 200 points the dow closed at -- the dow jones industrial average rose 37 points to close at 10,854.65. nasdaq rose 3.54 points to 2,345.38. one thing the wild swing of the stock market has effected, ipos. 17ipo deals have been canceled, postponed own withdrawn. prior to this month this year had been expected to

the capture of moammar gadhafi . again, gadhafi is hiding somewhere. his son, saif, reappeared tonight and they join us from tripoli with matthew. how did he appear to you? he seemed pretty confident. >> yeah, he did. he seemed very relaxed. he seemed looking quite good, actually, for a man who was supposed to have been in custody for the last 48 hours. he said that was a trick and made the point the rebels have come into tripoli. he said that gadhafi forces had broken their backbone and given them a hard time before the door closed and he drove off. he drove off in a motorcade into tripoli. clearly into an area which is very much under control of the forces of his father. >> and you say -- he said the opposition had fallen into some sort of trap. what did he mean? the opposition has been claiming besides they captured him, but they control 90% of tripoli? >> yes. they are saying that. i think there are questions tonight about to what extent that's the case. it's very difficult for us here in the hotel to verify what -- how much of tripoli is controlle

officials tell us that as long as moammar gadhafi and of his military remain on the loose, the u.s. and nato air strikes will continue to hammer libyan military positions and gadhafi himself would be a target. u.s. officials are convinced that he's still holed up inside libya, at or near his compound inside tripoli. but a bigger concern is gadhafi's stockpile of 20,000 shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles that are capable of bringing down airliners. stockpiles have been looted and u.s. officials fear that many of those missiles have been smuggled out of the country, perhaps into the hands of terrorists, brian. >> an ominous note before the celebrations get out of hand. jim miklaszewski from the pentagon, thanks. >>> when gadhafi first came to power, nixon was in the white house. he's been regarded as an eara earant're -- irritant and a murder and a terrorist by u.s. presidents for the last 42 years. jim maceda has more on gadhafi's decades of rules. >> reporter: tonight moammar gadhafi is a hunted fugitive. for the u.s. and it's allies, it marks the end of a four-decade saga. by the

." >>> rebels are still in control of moammar gadhafi's compound but gadhafi supporters are not giving up. our crew reports incoming sniper and mortar fire there, plus heavy resistance in other parts of the city. gadhafi still nowhere to be seen but he is being heard. arabic networks saying he is walking around in tripoli and calls rebel forces criminals and traitors and rats. more and more the rebels do believe he is still in or near tripoli. in fact, they think two days of fierce fighting near the airport could be pretty significant. we are covering every angle of this story with multiple correspondents on the ground. sara sidner is in tripoli central square and we have arwa damon and frederik pleitgen and zain verjee. let's get to arwa damon right near the airport on the latest on the clashes. >> there were grad rockets fired at the airport complex earlier today. the fighting around here has been quite intense. and the rebel commander who led the assault on the airport believes that that fighting is directly linked to the whereabouts of colonel gadhafi himself. >> translator: the cl

no sign of moammar gadhafi. rice on his head. $1.4 million reward is being offered by the rebel government for his capture dead or alive. this report was filed a short time ago from near gadhafi's compound in tripoli. >> reporter: we are here and have been a witness huge plumes of smoke that we believe are coming from the area around the area. there appears to be a fire fight still going on in that area. our team that has been there was not able to get all the way inside. they did see people coming from one part. they are not sure if it was rebels or gadhafi's forces. they were armed and the situation is a security threat in and around here. now we are seeing very large plumes of smoke from the south of the square which is in the same area. the situation is always changing here in tripoli. one moment everybody says rebels have control of 90% of the city and next moment we hear there is serious problems in sections which they already said they had control of. things change very quickly. we do know the city has bee

and where is moammar gadhafi?e'll take a look at the potential hiding places. >>> and finally, hurricane irene, potential, destructive, getting stronger. much of the united states east coast is now on alert. [ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. [ professor ] good morning students. today, we're gonna... >>> forecasters upgraded irene to a dangerous category 3 hurricane today. now, winds are hitting 115 miles an hour as irene rips through the southern bahamas right now. irene could hit the u.s. east coast this weekend. people have been told to leave north carolina. even if it doesn't make landfall, power outages, wind damage are all likely. that's what the bahamas are likely to see today. the islands are expected to feel irene's fu