that's a problem. >> we wanted to talk to the nrc. we repeatedly requested an interview at any time or day of their choice but we were told they were over booked. we decided to show up anyway and see if we could get answers. a spokesman came outside soon after we arrived. >> you received the agency's response via our director of public affairs. >> yes. >> the answer of the agency. >> no one is going to talk to us? >> no. >> i actually have the exact quote here on your site. it says that the nrc is devoted to open government, open accountable, accessible. >> yes, all of our information is available on our website. >> but you guys are accessible to the public, how come you can't sit down for a five minute interview to explain your side of the story? >> because the subject that you want to discuss is something that is currently a matter of litigation that the agency cannot discuss. >> we don't want to just discuss the entergy plant, sir. we want to discuss overall how the nrc is regulating nuclear power in the united states. >> one reaso

the nrc resisted all that and mandated those fixes be made. flood barriers were put in watertight doors were installed. ft. calhoun was a stellar example of the nuclear regulatory commission taking proactive action to protect people living in nebraska. >> o'brien: so just to be clear, had the nrc not intervened a they had in advance of that flood, what would have happened there? >> the flooding at ft. calhoun may not have triggered a meltdown, but it would have severely eroded the defense in depth. many of the barriers, many of the pumps would have been under water and unavailable. >> o'brien: nuclear engineer dave lochbaum, who monitors the u.s. nuclear fleet for the union of concerned scientists, says the nrc hasn't always been so proactive. >> the biggest concern i've had with the nrc over the years i've been monitoring them is lack of consistency. they're a little bit slow at solving known safety problems. >> o'brien: like earthquakes. take thease of the north anna plant in virginia. these two reactors were among 27 around the country that

the nrc.dating back to 1972. >> 1972 the nrc said we never should have licensed this mark 1 design, period. but they also said, we have got so many of them licensed already, that if we were to change our minds, that would ruin nuclear power forever. >> arnie gunderson is a former nuclear industry executive turned whistle-blower with decades of experience in the industry. he's been appointed the chair of the state panel overseeing the vermont yankee reactor. he says because of design flaws, vermont yankee and other plants like it across the u.s. are one major earthquake, tornado, or flood away from disaster. and that's a fear bordering on reality after massive floods and tornados hit vermont last year. if something were to go wrong at vermont yankee, this would be the damage area, and given its recent history under the ownership of a company called entergy, there is reason to be concerned. so let's go over this list one by one of all these mechanical errors. >> we had six piping leaks in the pl

that oversees the nrc.generation of america's reactors comes up for renewal. >> they have always extended when companies have come in and said, we would like an extension. i believe in over 60 instances, they have granted every one. and that's a problem. that's a problem. >> we wanted to talk to the nrc. over a six-week period, we repeatedly requested an interview at any time or day of their choice. but we were told they were overbooked. so we decided to show up anyway and see if we could get some answers. a spokesman came outside soon after we arrived. >> you've received the agency's response via our director of public affairs. >> yeah. >> the answer of the agency. >> so no one's going to talk to us? >> no. >> i actually have the exact quote here on your site. it says that the nrc is devoted to open government, open, accountable, accessible. >> yes, all of our information is available on our website. >> but if you guys are accessible to the public, how come you can't sit down with us for a five-minute inte

and to support the standardization and the licensing of nrc licensing, so it can be much more economic. that's one example of the steps we can take. >> okay. if you can state your name and affiliation before we answer the questions. gentleman, over to you. >> my name is michael coleman. you had a choice with respect to the facility in lose alamos. can you talk about the reasoning behind that decision? >> tom d'ingis our director. >> this is a matter of what does the country need in order to do its job. we take a look at our capabilities both on the plutonium side and uranium side. and it's very clear when you do that, there is a clear and urgent need to move the functions that we have in uranium work, to move it out of there. because that's a high-risk activity. the defense boards told us that, we understood that. we had to get moving with that. on respect to plutonium, which is what the facility was going to do, we decided to defer that decision. it's not canceled, it's deferred. what that means is we know we have existing capabilities in our infrastructure, we have a radiological bui

. >> the nrc has been completed.t delivered a regime of safety oversight and accountability that our communities, rightfully, deserve. >> who could forget the unforgettable scene in japan, with so much loss of life and the nuclear regulation committee chairman is himself worried, as you mention, casting the only vote against the georgia expansion. he says he does not believe all the safety criteria we now understand we need have been put in place. there are currently 104 nuclear power plants in the united states that provide 20 percent of our electricity, so, the question is, could the approval signal a resurge ensure of nuclear energy production, something president obama says he is committed to? it may but it is too soon to tell and it will definitely senator as the first valuable test in years of whether the industry can grow and newer technology can be put in blaze that can keep workers and residents at or near facilities out of harm's way. what we hope. >>shepard: thank you. and now, to michael, the foam directo

the chairman of the nrc was the lone dissenting vote on this. house republicans accuse him of being not responsive to others on the commission. does he have a point or is this a sign that he has to rethink it? >> i have not seen what statement he made to explain or justify his vote against this. everything i have read on the proposal would indicate it is a good thing. and have permitted these plants to go ahead. we depend heavily on electricity being generated from nuclear power. 20% of our electricity is produced from nuclear power. it did point to stay at that percentage, we have to build some new nuclear power plants. i am glad they have gone ahead and approved that. it is consistent with the loan guarantee program we were talking about earlier. it has significant support for these particular plants. all of the folks -- many of these folks -- critical of the loan guarantee program when it applies to solar energy are not as critical when it applies to nuclear. >> do you think enthusiasm for nuclear guarantees could save the program? >> i hope

. >> the nrc's process has been thoughtful, it has been thorough. and it is complete.t delivers a regime of safety oversight and accountability that our communities rightfully deserve. >> and that's the president of the plant trying to disway those concerns. despite the potential for that positive economic impact of jobs. the safety issues come up et cetera specially after three mile island and the fukushima disaster in japan, shep. >> shepard: the nuclear regulators were they unanimous in favor of this. >> think about it since 1978. five members of the regulatory commission voted and interestingly as you mentioned there was one dissenter. who do you think it was. the nrc's chairman who has publicly expressed his concern that we still don't have all the safety regulations we need to proceed. shepard? >> shepard: jamie colby in new york city. jamie, thank you. wall street ended the week with its worst day of the year sphoomplet it wasn't horrible. look, it slid 89 poipghts. the nasdaq off 23. s&p 500 ended its first losing week of the year. all in reaction to one chaoti

the nrc is, in general, and efficient knowledgeable and constructive regulator.al pressures to -- we may sometimes think the epa is too intrusive and it may sometimes be but do we really think that businesses will get all the environmental pressures without some government pressure? i don't think so. it is fascinating to hear the political rhetoric. some people think that the only good things and all wisdom comes from the government. that is horse manure. you have other people who act as a private actors in the marketplace always act with such wisdom and responsibility and we know that to be equally nonsense. somehow, we have to keep struggling to build the systems that give private enterprise as much room for creativity and motion as we can, while still having government providing rules of the road, providing property rights, and preventing egotistical access. there is no alternative but struggling to make both work. >> at one time, you annoyed your colleagues, some of your colleagues and i think the u.s. chamber of commerce over cap and trade. you were somebody

the nrc approved a request for two reactors near augusta, georgia. the vote clears the way for officials to issue an operating license for those reactors and they could begin operating as soon as 2016 and 2017. >>> syria's violent crackdown on anti-government protestors continues to escalate. forces loyal to the president al-assad have surrounded the city, the center of the 11 month uprising, for nearly a week the army has been trying to crush pockets of violent resistance there. groups say more than 60 people were killed on thursday alone. >>> our time coming up on 4:35. at 4:40. a $25 billion settlement which will help homeowners who are in trouble reduce their debt. jessica will break down the mortgage deal in your -- money. >>> new hope for a possible cure. a new drug for cancer may also help alzheimer's patients. >>> we're back with your weather first in two minutes. you are watching 9news now. >>> 4:37 on this friday morning. and we are looking at some sunshine to start the day but increasing clouds. we're going to have some snow showers and ra

we can't wait for the nrc.ssential to underscore that it is not clear that this event had anything to do with earthquakes. it's likely just faulty equipment. and plant officials are reassuring the public and their workers that there's no danger whatsoever. however, after what happened in japan, people are understandably nervous. david wright, abc news, at the san onofre nuclear power station in southern california. >> again, the danger here is -- seems to be minimal, and they didn't have to -- there are no supply problems out there with this hit. but you can imagine with so many major population centers near these plants, what tragically could happen one day if a big one should strike. it's frightening. >> including a very large military base in the area of san onofre. >> it really is scary. >>> in other news this morning, three days of mourning are now under way in egypt following a fatal stampede of soccer fans. this all took place after the home team won an upset victory over egypt's top club. get this, at l

i don't think the nrc would like me experimenting in my garage, but i would say that this isn't -- it doesn't open up -- it still doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking for other good ideas, because we are very interested in, if nuclear is going to be part of this century's mix, we would like to not use 1% of the fuel. energy content of the fuel, to generate a certain amount of electricity if we can use 20%. 20 times more, so you have a similar -- you got 20 times more electricity. so this is hanging out there and we would like to develop that. >> we're all in agreement of that. >> right. so we do feel that it does make sense to invest in new technologies. we're going to have to come back a little bit and try to figure out why some of these earlier ones don't go into the mini pilot scale. >> the one question i had, why was the announcement made in georgia, since as you know the inl in idaho has one of its strong missions the actual work that you've described? >> well, i happen to be in georgia and, you know, yes, i can't be in two places at once. that happened to be georgia and oak ridg

now, the nrc says the deal worth about $7.9 billion should not change operations or leadership with either company. >>> and bge will be back at it again at 7:00 this morning trying to get the gas restored for people in southwest baltimore. the gas has been out since thursday at millington avenue after a pipe burst. crews have been trying to restore the gas in the 300 block to the 900 block that people have lost. >>> new this morning, the federal government is once again turning their focus to distracted driving. >> and this time they're now proposing recommendations to car manufacturers and with a breakdown of what's going to be suggested, we turn things over to abc 2 news' linda stow. linda, what do they want? reporter: charley, we've learned the guidelines will affect electronic devices in your car at the time they're manufactured. it's any kind of device that requires visual or manual operation by drivers. it could also mean that drivers are not allowed to text or dial numbers while the car is moving. the national transportation safety board is proposing these guidelines. they also so d

conceptual form at how we can strategize with our international partners and how we can go back to the nrc and the decadal service group and go to academia and industry and find out how do we synergize in order to give us best science return for our dollar and also support the continuing path thas challenge of being able to put humans in the martian vicinity in the mid-2030s. it will be several months before say, okay, we've met with the europeans, we've met with the science community,e' music so here's the strategy we want to do and here's some concepts of things we can do. it won't take rsuse 've got to lay out a plan if we are going to realize -- if we're going to0 mission window which ission. so, it will be months, not years. >> eric, thank you. go o >> hi, i'm with "science" magazine. i saw in the budget numbers that there's already been quite a bit of money spent on the mars orbiter. i think something like $30 2011. now, since that is not going to apply in 2013 because back to mars is canceled, what is the public going topent? basically two questions, how much money has already spent

we can't wait for the nrc.e can't wait for government. >> reporter: now, it is important to underscore, it is not clear that this event had anything to do with earthquakes. it's likely just faulty equipment. however, after what happened in japan, people are understandably concerned, diane. >> all right. the latest, now, from david wright, in california. thank you, david. >>> and we turn to the rollercoaster day for governor mitt romney. 24 hours after his landslide win in florida. here is the final count in "your voice, your vote." this morning, the governor was taking a victory lap. but tonight, he's under fire for something he said. abc's david muir tells us what they're saying behind the scenes in the romney camp. he's in las vegas. hello, david. >> reporter: good evening to you, diane. not only is the campaign firing back tonight. the governor, himself, after his own words, today. he says they're being taken out of context. but tonight, he's being taken to task over what he said about the very poor. >> flor

. >> how concerned are you that if republicans and the nrc [unintelligible] in states where voters tend to be more socially conservative. >> what i can tell you is that women in general largely support the ability for women to have access to contraceptives. and i don't think they are going to like having someone represent them that wants to take away that right. i am concerned that the republicans are using women's right to look at over here so the american public does not see that they are blocking us from passing legislation to put this economy back on track. >> [unintelligible] >> i have not heard what tim >> one of the candidates tim kane has great -- raised issues. we are today, we believe strongly and will fight strongly to make sure that women in this country have access to contraceptives. >> this is a benefit that has been granted to the women of this country. about half are women have come and we want women to have it, and the president does as well. any move to take that right away means that women are going to lose a financial benefit, $600 a year in their pocket. that is a l

the nrc hasn't approved a new plant since the partial meltdown of the harbor plant in pennsylvania.n aide to gabrielle giffords is running for her seat in a special election. ron barber was among those shot when a gunman opened fire in a tucson grocery store last year. barber said gabrielle giffords asked him to run for the democratic nomination. a cruise returning to fort lauderdale early after another virus at sea. nearly 200 members on board the ship became ill with the noro virus. this is the third time this has happened in the past few weeks. go to foxnews.com for more headliance. >> greta: caught on camera, shocking kidnapping attempt. it happened right in the middle of a georgia walmart store. it shows britney walking around the store and man appears and tries to carry her off. she fights back and kicks and screams and man suddenly let's her go. police are calling the seven-year-old girl a hero for getting away. she says she did what she learned in school. they are talking about the terrifying experience. >> i mom. >> i was afraid because i thought she was scared but when she

. >> the nrc process has been thoughtful. it has been thorough and it is complete. a regime of safety oversight and accountability that our communities rightfully deserve. safety comes first. that is our simple, clear, no excuses policy. >> reporter: why is the person from the company talking about this? there is still a lot of concern about safety but westinghouse says they have at least 20 other reactor projects on boeing and this one will be online in 2016, 2017, bill. bill: why have we not seen approval going back to the late 1970s? >> reporter: the last one approved followed just a year prior to the partial meltdown at three my island. that certainly raised a lot of radiation fears and brought orders for nuclear reactors to a halt. you have to add continuing safety concerns. how much more condition we be reminded after japan's fukushima disaster. remember the dramatic images depicted a nuclear reactor failure could have. that was sentiment by the one vote against this by the nrc's chairman who expressed concerns over the lessons we've learned over three decades

. >> we can't wait for the nrc or the government. >> meteorologist sand sandhya l for spencer christian tonight. a little rain today. not enough to make any real difference at all. >> we had less than a tenth inch here in the bay area. came and went quickly and now we are left with dry conditions. >> not even enough to clean my car. >> you have to wash your car, physically wash your car. mother nature is not doing it again tomorrow. just a little splash and dash kind of event. no rain in sight until early next week again, dan. show you a live picture right now. the view from the high definition emeryville camera as we look across the bay there. visibility is actually good across the entire bay area except half moon bay where they do have fog and visibility has dropped to about three miles. so, in the morning, you will be dealing with some area of fog. temperatures right now, in the 40s and the 50s. and we do have some high clouds going through. partly cloudy tonight. patches of fog. look for sunny and mild weather tomorrow. and our dry pattern will last right through the weekend. it is

the nrc says worst of the violations happened last september.f of the control room indicators were lost because of an electrical room fault. they will be keeping a closer eye on the plant. >>> a rare snowfall for parts of tucson, arizona. the valentine's day snow came down hard for a short time but then, poof, it was gone. >> whitney houston has the number one song on itunes right now, and she has seven of the top ten albums on amazon. her death has given interest in her music in a very huge way. james walker is an entertainment attorney and author of "the business of urban music." good to see you. >> good to see you. >> you talk about whitney houston and her rise to fame extensively in your book. >> yes, i do. >> this has happened after michael jackson, it's happened after a number of great stars. they die, posthumosly they're able to enjoy giant proceeds from sales. do you see that records will be broken in the case of whitney houston already. >> i definitely think so. first i want to say my prayers go out to their family. i've met them throug

the nrc approved the request for two reactors near augusta. georgia. the vote clears the way for officials to issue an operating license for the reactors and they could begin operating as soon as 2016 and 2017. >>> syria's violent crackdown continues to escalate on anti- government protestors. protestors loyal to bashar al- assad have surrounded the city. for nearly a week the army has been trying to crush pockets of violent resistance there. human rights groups say more than 60 people were killed on thursday alone. >>> some local parents got a brutal wakeup call when they found their daughter was close to death. >> coming up at 5:19. what they say nearly killed her and what they want other participants the learn from their ex-- parents to learn from their experience. achoo! the seasons change, but we still may suffer from nasal allergy symptoms. they can hit you year round... indoors or out. achoo! oh to have relief. prescription nasonex is clinically proven to help relieve nasal allergy symptoms... including congestion, runny and itchy nose and sneez

. >> nrc process has been thoughtful. it has been thorough and it is complete. it delivers a regime of safety oversight and accountability that our communities rightfully deserve. safety comes first. that is our simple, clear, no excuses policy. >> reporter: that's what the company's president jon, addressing concerns that have come up. if you keep in mind the last approved construction of a nuclear plant came a year prior to that partial meltdown at three-mile island, raising the radiation fears so substantially that nuclear reactor production really came to a near-complete halt since then. then add to that the graphic images of japan's fukushima disaster which heightened the concern over potential reactor accidents. the nuclear regulatory committee's chairman who cast the only vote against this georgia expansion, even expressing his concern this week that we may fall short of all the safety regulations and implementation we need to create this cleaner energy in a fully-secure and safe environment. now to give you some perspective, jon, there are 104 nuclear po

you want to have its standardized and licensed by the nrc. there are a number of companies that are doing this. to support the standardization and licensing, it could be much more economically done. that is one example of the steps we can take. >> if you could stay your name and affiliation before. >> i'm with the washington bureau. if you had a choice of facilities, the tennessee facility, it sounds like postponing the work for five years. can you talk about the reasoning behind that decision? >> would you like to? >> this is not a matter of new mexico or tennessee. this is a matter of what the country needs to do its job. we took a look at our capabilities on the plutonium and the iranian side. there is an average and need to move the functions we have in the building in uranium work, move it out of there. it is a high risk activity. we understand that. we had to move on that. with respect to plutonium, we have decided to defer that decision. it is not cancelled, it is deferred. we know that we have existing capabilities in our infrastructu

secrets of a number of companies that are doing this, and to support the standardization of licensing of nrc licensing. so it could be much more economically done. that's one example of the steps we can take. >> okay, if you could stay turning an affiliation before the question. >> my name is michael coleman. i'm with the washington do. you had a result with the facility at lost almost or the other facility at tennessee. tennessee sounds like a postponing the workout lost almost a fight is as i understand. can you talk about the reasoning behind that decision? >> i think, tom, would you like -- >> this isn't a matter of new mexico or tennessee. this is a matter of what does the country meet in order to do its job. we took a look at our capability in both in the plutonium site and the uranium sector it's very clear when you do that that there is a clear and urgent need to move the functions that we have in the 9212 building in germany market, move it out of there because that's a high-risk activity. defense board has told us that. we understand it. we have to get moving on that. with respect

the chairman of the nrc actually objected to it.a natural disaster. first one of those reactors should be up and running by 2016. it could be the crowning glory of her career. actress naomi watts cast to play princess diana in "caught in flight." the biopic will focus on the last two years of diana's life before she died in that tragic car accident at the age of 36. believe it or not, this is the first major film about the princess' life. watts says she's honored to be a part of it especially since the awes aussie born actress was actually born in england. that doesn't make sense. even for friday. if you're born in australia, you weren't born in england. we'll figure it out and get back to you. >> part of the united kingdom. >> didn't the british take their prisoners and put them in australia? >> the british empire. i don't know. >> the only battle i know about is the one that's going on at cpac today. >> i smell a transition! >> that's what i'm trying to do. the battle for the conservative vote heats up today as mitt romney, newt g

strategize with their international partners, how we can go back to the science community in the form of the nrc and that the cato survey group in how we can go to academia and industry and find out how do we synergize in order to give us science return for our dollar and also support the continuing path that we are are on to meet the president's challenge of being able to put humans -- in the mid-20s to 30 so it will be several months before that team is able to come in and say okay we have met with the europeans, we met with the science community. we are all in the same sheet of music so here's the strategy we want to do in here are some concepts of things we can do. it won't take years. trust me, because we have got to be able to lay out a plan if we are going to realize, if we are going to be able to capture the 2020 mission window which is optimal for mars missions so it will be months, not years. >> thank you. >> hi. you mentioned science magazine. i saw in the budget numbers that there has already been quite a bit of money spent on the mars orbiter. i think something like 30 million. now

>> the new nuclear unit, the nrc vote is thursday will be 3500 in construction and 800 permanent jobs with an average salary of 80-90,000. >> right, and you said -- >> 21 million by 2020. >> 21 million new jobs. now, that is our goal. and we ought to put that out there as a goal, and we know we've got about eight years to get there, right? so what is that, about two and a half million a year about to go -- how do we do that? now, it's going to take immigration because we need the smartest and brightest in the world to come here and help us. look at our graduate and doctorate programs in the s.t.e.m. areas. there are so many foreign nationals outpacing americans even here now. we want to attract them, and as steve indicated, we've actually move inside the house towards that end. we have started to lift country caps on highly-skilled immigrants wanting to come and work in this country. we ought to do more of that. we've got entrepreneurial visas. we ought to expand that program. it will take talent, actual human capital. and we've got to go and say what kind of capital formation, what k

steve, but, look, we can all agree you need to create how many new jobs -- >> the new nuclear unit, the nrcote thursday will be 3500 construction and 800 permanent jobs with an average salary of 80 to 90,000. >> and you said by the year -- >> 21 million we need by 2020. >> 2020 we need 21 million new jobs. now, that is our goal. and we ought to put that out there as a goal and we know we've got about 8 years to get there, right? and so what is that? about 2.5 million a year about to go, how do we do that? now, it's going to take immigration because we need the smartest and brightest in the world to come here to help us. look at our graduate and doctorate progress in the s.t.e.m., there's many outpacing americans here and we want to attract them. we moved in the house towards that end. we started to lift country caps on highly skilled immigrants who want to come and work in this country. we ought to do more of that. we ought to expand the advisories. it will take talent and it will take actual human capital and we got to go and say what kind of capital formation -- what kind of risk is going