tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. other countries are putting programs on hold in light of japan, now the white house says it's moving forward with the nuclear program here in the united states. power companies are required to produce 80% clean energy by 2035 the white house says nuclear power plants are a key part of that program. there are four reactors up for approval this year. but on capitol hill there is concern. they had a moment of silence for japan yesterday, but lawmakers are divided between a wait and see mode based on what's going on in japan and not being reactionary, as some say, creating new policies at this point. the white house brought in the chief of the nuclear regulatory commission to reassure americans that our plants are safe that they are built to withstand earthquakes, tsunamis, but not what has been upgraded to a 9.0 in japan. meantime eight u.s. warships are backing up because of concerns about radiation leaking there. >> tracie potts in washin

>> tracie potts there in washington. tracies, thank you. >>> to japan now where black smoke has been seen emerging from unit three of the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant prompts a new evacuation of all the workers from the complex. officials had reported some progress yesterday after hooking up power lines to all six of its reactor units. however, it may be days if not weeks before critical cooling systems are back up. since crews need to carefully check equipment before turning on the electricity. that development is doing little to allay concerns about food safety. the food and drug administration now says it is blocking imports of produce and dairy products from japan's radiation zone. and officials in tokyo are now warning families against giving infants tap water after detecting higher than allowed levels of radioactive iodine. >>> now here's a look 59 some other stories making news early today in america -- in washington, firefighters pulled a worker from a messy situation after he fell 85 feet down a sewer

we go to tracie potts here in washington. tracie, good morning. >> good morning, everyone.there are 104 nuclear plants ms country. almost a quarter of them are built like those now under a state of emergency in jap pann. the u.s. is actually looking at building more. the nuclear regulatory commission says power plants in this country are built to with stand the most severe shock, but the government is looking at even more of these. four more many progress. 20 applications. the government announced $8 billion in loans last year for new nuclear plants. they're looking for four times that in the upcoming budget. in light of what's going on in japan reason here on capitol hill some lawmakers want to put the brakes on those new constructions, saying this is a time to hold off or review whether or not we're sufficiently protected. others suggest that this is a bad time to make u.s. policy. veronica, you were talking about the aid that's flowing into japan right now. the white house says up to $100 million is available. they're alsoç sending in a coue of large search and rescue t

lynn. >> tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thanks.w here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. home video from a viewer in oregon shows boats tossed around as if they were toys. brookings harbor port was broken apart. officials say the damage ranged from $10 million to $13 million. a disaster assessment team has visited the area to determine if it's eligible for federal relief. >>> military units from across the nation headed to the hoosier state to take part in moch nuclear disaster drills. the dooms day scenario called for an emergency response to a nuclear explosion, which collapsed buildings, search and rescue, as well as decontamination. organizers say preparation is even more essential in light of the current situation in japan. >>> finally, a virginia search and rescue team is on the ground in japan. the fairfax county based crew was deployed to the city of ofunato in the wake of the tsunami. they along with a crew from los angeles have recovered several remains and are still searching through the debris

for more on that, we go to nbc's tracie potts in washington. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. no doubt, the question will be how do we get out? the president said we're not sending ground troops there. he said we want our mission there to back off and for the u.s. not to be in charge of this. within days, he says, but the problem is the french don't want to take over, nato can't agree on whether or who will take over. that has become a challenge. secretary of state clinton said that moammar gadhafi can end this pretty quickly stepping down. it's he and his team who have decisions to make to wrap up and end those air strikes. finally, what does the american public think about this? a reuters poll finds 60% support our involvement in libya, eight out of ten say we should do more to remove gadhafi from power. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, thanks so much. >>> after months of relative quiet, tensions are mounting in the mideast. no reported injuries after israeli aircraft struck suspected targets in the gaza strip. the assault come

for more, we go to nbc's tracie potts. good morning to you, tracie. >> reporter: veronica, good morning. this morning we have reports small groups of covert operatives on the ground, doing one of two things or possibly both, getting information of gadhafi's military sources or getting information about the rebels, the obama administration yet to say whether or not they will arm the rebels. lawmakers saying we simply don't know enough about them. also new its foreign minister defected to london, protesting the civilian attacks there. part of the inner circle of moammar gadhafi questions raised about whether or not that means his inner circle is falling apart and new this morning, london has said he will not be offered immunity in great britain. he was accused of masterminding the lockerbie bombing and in fact helped secure the release of the lockerbie bomber. more on that to come. congress has gotten a briefing from the obama administration about the situation in libya, but they're not satisfied, lawmakers said they heard no

tracy potts, nbc news, washington. >>> the shaking is not over in japan. aftershocks continue. we're in the tokyo area this morning with descriptions of what's happening there. >> we've been feeling aftershock after aftershock. 6.2 magnitude. we were told that it felt like a 6.2. the place is rattling. at one point i felt like i had to go under the desk to make sure nothing would fall on top of me. that got our attention here at the hotel. i was on the third floor when it happened. my other colleagues were on the ninth floor. they said it was shaking pretty good up on the top floor. there have been lines of people stocking up on food and water in the supermarkets in tokyo, trying to stock up on food and water. as well as gasoline. long lines at gasoline stations. north of tokyo. back to you. >>> we're getting more estimates at the damage here at home. in santa cruz a wave caused $17 million in damage to the harbor, $4 million in damage to private boats. right now no boats are allowed to travel in and out of the harbor. one dock holding 40 boats ripped away completely and floate

nbc's tracie potts from washington has more on that. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning.e state department says there is a sebs of urgency about this today. top security official lsz meet at the white house to consider their military options, which include a no fly zone, and something secretary of state hillary clinton says the u.s. cannot do alone. it needs the backing of the international community. whether that be the united nations, nato, the arab league, the african or european union. some here on capitol hill worry this would be an act of war. they're trying to get in humanitarian supplies, and as you mention, lynn, president obama has spoken with british prime minister david cameron by phone. he says they looked at the full spectrum of options when it comes to military intervention. cameron now says they have got to work together to get qadhafi out. >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. >>> meanwhile, there has been another flare up of violence in a country that seemed to be making progress. egypt. officials say at least six -- 11 people have been killed in cla

lynn. >> tracie potts from washington.racie, thank you. >>> meanwhile, as moammar gadhafi struggles to maintain power in libya, u.s. officials are calling him delusional. after he denied attacking his own people. underscoring his lack of touch with reality as his regime crumbles throughout the country, qadhafi told interviews, "all my people love me." jim meseda has more. >> reporter: despite a ring of soldiers and heavy armor around the city, inside libyans were daring to protest. this funeral for a man shot in the head by a sniper turned into an anti-gadhafi demonstration. and just as quickly ended after someone firing a round. many are standing hours outside banks to collect aç $400 houndt from the regime in a desperate effort to buy support. everyone here seems to expect civil war, and the government stokes the fear. >> hundreds of thousands, and i repeat hundreds of thousands of libyans will be killed and destruction everywhere for possibly years to come. >> reporter: throughout libya, battle lines are being drawn. t

tracie potts is live in washington this morning with what you need to know. tracie? >> what appears to be white smoke began to rise from the number 3 reactor. >> reporter: helicopters are now dropping water on japan's nuclear plant. >> we believe the secondary unit is destroy and not water in the melt pool. >> reporter: japanese deny that but authorities believe it's overheating. the u.s. believes radiation levels there are extremely high with conflicting reports coming from japan, the state department is warning americans to leave or at least stay 50 miles away. 30 miles further than the japanese record. >> we're advising the american citizens listen to the state department. >> reporter: some fear that's not enough. >> 50 miles is not a safe distance to be in an emergency like that. >> reporter: the state department's organizing charter flights out of tokyo for what so far is a toll tear evacuation. president obama called the prime minister to promise continued support. this morning, new numbers on casualties. 23 injured, missing or hospitalized at the plant. nearly

"today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington, d.c. tion at the plant surged so high overnight that workers were taken out. what are the safety officials saying this morning? >> reporter: well, they only had too be out for less than an hour. they did go back to work. they are desperately trying to cool that unit by any means they can. pumping in sea water, dumping water from the air. it appears damaged though it was off line at the time. also elevated levels of radiation were detected this morning. that's why they ended up having to leave. these are the last 50 workers, the other 750 had already been evacuated. there was a fire at the reactor this morning, it was out in 30 minutes. but again, a really volatile situation there. as they try to cool down the reactors. not only have they detected radiation in the area, but also now in the water at fukushima. officials there say it's healthy, that they are watching it and they are concerned. finally today, japan's 77-year-old emperor made an unusual appearance on television there, talking ab

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on that. acie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. vice president joe biden is right in the middle of that place there by the white house to negotiate these budget cuts between democrats and republicans. the white house offering another $6.5 billion of cuts, but most of them programs that were already set to be reduced or eliminated. democrats don't want education to be touched at all. the white house also offering $44 billion in cuts from the president's most recent budget proposal, but republicans say that's not really a cut. the budget hasn't been approved yet.ç they are all trying to prevent another government shutdown come march 18th. now, you mentioned the new numbers. later this morning we will find out whether or not more jobs were created in this country last month. the new unemployment numbers are coming out soon. economists predict good news. they say while the unemployment raut may go up slightly from 9%, they're predicting as many as 200,000 jobs were created. lynn. >> tracie, th

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the latest on this. acie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. good morning, everybody. we learned overnight that these will be voluntary evacuations, even though the airports have reopened, commercial flights are available, the u.s. state department will be organizing charter flights out of tokyo and other locations in japan to get americans out. the u.s. believes that the radiation levels, especially around the fukushima daiichi nuclear plants are extremely high. in addition, they have told americans to stay 50 miles away, much further than the japanese recommend. this is conflicting advice, but the white house says the u.s. is using a different standard of evaluating the information that they're getting. now, at the plant, the u.s. is concerned the nuclear regulatory commission chair has told congress they believe that there is no water left in pool four, the japanese deny that. that would mean there is nothing to stop a meltdown. helicopters are now dropping water on the plant. the internati

tracie potts joins us with more on that from washington. cie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. here's the very latest. qadhafi was on state tv this morning after a fierce gun battle between government forces and rebels retaking one city in libya. also this morning u.s. warships are in the suez canal now headed towards the mediterranean on stand-by. secretary of state hillary clinton is saying that the government, the u.s. government, may consider prosecuting qadhafi for ordering the lockerbie bombing. she says that the administration could seek justice. victims have been asking the obama administration to reopen that investigation. ex official that is have recently left the libyan government say he personally oraled thad bombing. also, the united nations has suspended libya from its human rights council. the first time that's err been done, citing gross and systematic human rights violations. that is not permanent, but libya would need to be restored to full status. lynn. >> tracie, thanks so much. >>> the senate is expected to

tracie potts is live with the latest. coming home early to deal with this crisis and the political fallout. >> reporter: right. to deal with congress, some members, democrats and republicans, none too happy thai he went ahead and authorized this military action without consulting them first. in fact, some suggested that he overstepped his congressional authority. one congressman from ohio wants a resolution to stop the action immediately saying that this is possibly an impeachable offense. the president also having to deal with many questions about an exit strategy. and new this morning we learned a couple of developments, the u.s. has bombed that f-15 fighter jet that went down on monday night, we told you about that. it crashed. that is standard operating procedure when there is sensitive equipment like that to bomb it and basically leave nothing there. also, new this morning from the pentagon they say that this campaign of just a few days at this point has been successful, that moammar gadhafi seems to have very little

nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the breakdown. good morning. >> reporter: this new poll tells us one thing for sure, americans are concerned about money the debt and the deficit. take a look at the numbers. a concern over the federal budget deficit, 80% of those who responded said they are concerned a great deal or quite a bit, but interestingly, what do americans want to cut out of the budget and not cut some they don't want to touch medicaid, medicare, social security osh education. some of the biggest areas of the federal budget. now, when it comes to the state budget issues we've been watching in wisconsin and other states, americans overwhelmingly think that it's okay for public employees to pay more for their retirement benefits. 68% said that's acceptable. what they don't think is acceptable is eliminating collective bargaining rights for the public employees. taking a look at collective bargaining, 77% over three-fourths say that workers who are public employees should have the same collective bargaining rights as those in

"today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington, d.c.here the white house is still saying full speed ahead when it comes to pursuing nuclear power. tracie? >> reporter: at least for now, brent. the white house says nuclear power is a key part of the president's energy program. he's asked power companies to produce 80% clean energy by the year 2035. nuclear power being a big part of that. there are four new reactors scheduled to go online or at least to get approved to begin construction later this year. that approval process later this year to join the more than 100 others we already have. there are 20 more applications in the pipeline, and the white house says at this point there's no reason to move backward but to move forward with that process. but there are some here on capitol hill who dis agragree. given what's going on in japan around the uncertainties and performance of the reactors under such a large earthquake, we need to wait and see and learn the lessons from this tragic event and then decide whether to move forward. others s

live from capitol hill, tracie potts for "today in the bay." >> like always, very vocal about it. ank you, tracie. >>> a bay area youth football league is under scrutiny this morning as a coach faces accusations of child molestation. 28-year-old michael hagan is charged with molesting one of his players during a three-month period last year. he coached in the oakland youth program but was recently fired. he's scheduled to enter a plea next week. >>> day four of the barry bonds trial will get underway in a few hours. mike murphy, the giants' equipment manager, was on the stand yesterday. steve hoskins says greg anderson admitting to ejecting bonds with steroids. he also told the jury he saw bonds walk into a room with anderson who had a syringe with a needle. bonds claims he never knowingly used performance enhancing drugs. >>> the three joe's of the tea party movement are making their way here today. joe miller will join joe the plumber who you may recall making headlines during the 2008 presidential election and arizona sheriff joe arpiyo who calls himself america's toughest sheri

we go to tracie potts in washington. >> make no mistake, the u.s.s still very involved in the operation. the u.s., britain and france will still be conducting the toughest parts of this operation but it does mean the u.s. is now not acting alone. the nato secretary-general has now announced they will be taking over the operational phase. they've made the political decision as nato says, they'll spend the weekend working oumt the details, these more than 20 western nations, plus a couple of arab countries also that have signed on to enforce the no-fly zone over libya, and nato secretary-general was very clear about that, they will be enforcing the no-fly zone and the arms embargo and nothing else. he says they should be ready to take this over in about two or three days. secretary of state hillary clinton making the announcement here for the u.s., saying we can now begin to reduce our participation in this operation. the u.s. has flown about 70% of those missions so far, that should begin to go down. in fact, she says there are already fewer american

"today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington this morning with a look at who will take thecomes to enforcing the no-fly zone. good morning, tracie. >> reporter: good morning. after four tough days of negotiations, nato, the alliance of western countries, agreed to take over the management of this no-fly zone over libya. the secretary general announced that that, in fact, is all they will do, managing the no-fly zone and enforcing the arms em bargo, that's their mission. it will take two to three days to implement that. but now over the weekend they plan to work out the operational details. it was announced here in the u.s. by secretary clinton who says now the u.s. can begin to reduce its participation. so far we have flown about 70% of the missions, but she says we are already starting to see fewer american planes in the skies over tripoli. what does this all mean? well, it means that the u.s. will not have the sole decision-making role or responsibility, but we still have a pretty large role in these attacks. in fact, the u.s. will have joint responsibility along with bri

"today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington, d.c. the u.s.ing the rebels politically, but the obama administration has not decided exactly how much to help and if that's going to involve the military or whatever. >> reporter: that's right. in fact, brent, the president has said we haven't ruled it out, but we have not yet decided whether or when we'll warm the rebels mainly because lawmakers on capitol hill are saying we don't know a lot about them. they are fragmented groups and disorganized, not under one central organization. there are questions with some of them about ties to al qaeda and other groups. lawmakers say, look, let's slow down. we can back the rebels and opposition forces but don't need to hand over guns and artillery until we have a better idea of who we are working with. that may be one thing that the cia is doing on the ground. we know they are helping and working with the rebel forces according to reports that came out this morning. they may also be gathering intelligence to feed nato regarding the air strikes intelligence

i'm tracie potts for "today in the bay." >>> 6:the 44 now.day four of the barry bonds trial, the jury got a lesson on the side effects of steroids. the testimony came from larry bowers, the chief scientist for the u.s. doning agency. he outlined on taking performance enhancing drugs and the role of balco. balco in burlingame provided the steroids dispensed by bonds' personal trainer. no court session today as trial resumes on monday. >>> the giants will be without cody ross for the season opener. he's headed for the disabled list after an mri in his right calf. we showed you the highlights the other day when he injured that. he could misup to three weeks. if that does happen it would include the first two weeks of the regular season. don't forget, our special on the giants tomorrow night at 7:00 right here on nbc bay area. we have an in-depth documentary on the team called "posed for a repeat" that takes an inside look at the giants as they defend their trial and talk about spring training. it is the most important camp for some of the player

tracie potts for "today in the bay." >>> thank you. >> 6:44 right now.plant shutting down in japan is causing people to snap up the hybrid models here in the u.s. one dealer sold 60 prius' a month ago. toyota, honda and others hope to resume production of the hybrids next week. >>> a peninsula community is coming together to try to save a teenager's life. bryce was recently diagnosed with a plastic anemia that is a require condition that causes the bone marrow to stop making enough blood cells and platelets for the body. over the weekend burlingame's synagogue held a marrow drove for the san mateo teenager. >> while we are waiting bryce is getting some supportive therapies to help his immune system try to fight back. he was just in san francisco packard for a treatment called atg, and we won't find out for another month or two whether or not that's working to help his immune system to keep him supported until we find a match. >> this is so simple to find out if you are a match. totally painless, just a cheek swab. go to the national marrow donor program

tracie potts is live with what he told the country and more.d morning. >> reporter: good morning. today we are hearing that same theme, some of the same comments from secretary of state hillary rodham clinton. she is in london meeting with a number of nations at a conference talking about how to deal with gadhafi and how to get him out of power in libya. she said in her opening comments that we need to pressure and isolate his government. the president following up from what the president said last night that military action is not an option. not the way to get gadhafi out of power. not what we should be doing. but he did justify why we took action in libya saying that he refused to wait for images of slaughter and mass graves before doing something on a humanitarian basis there in backing up that nato action. nato will now be in charge as of tomorrow, but this military action is still going to cost us. new numbers today from the pentagon show we have already spent $550 million in libya. most of that money for things like missiles. after nato t

today in the bay's tracie potts live on capitol hill. so the u.s. is no longer in charge but the president says it's going to be a bumpy ride. >> reporter: he did. because he's talking about what do we do and how do we get moammar gadhafi out of power. that's why he sent secretary of state clinton to london. she's back today testifying on capitol hill with the defense secretary. justifying what we've already done and talking about and answering questions about the way forward so to speak. how do we get out of this. the president doing rounds of tv interviews and in person saying what we need to do is apply political pressure, sanctions, diplomatic options to as he put it tighten the noose around gadhafi's government. some republican leaders not comfortable with that. john boehner has said that's not a strategy. hope, he said, is not a strategy. today he hopes to get some of thinks questions answered as secretary of state clinton and gates come before members of congress to answer questions in a closed door session. >> thank you. >> 6:43. workers are

tracie potts with a look at what has come out so far. i know it's early but what are they saying?> reporter: today we expect to hear a lot more about oversight. did the california public utilities commission due what it was supposed to do before this explosion in managing pg&e. let's talk about what we earned that first day of grilling after pg&e and others yesterday. we learned new details, apparently the gas flowed for an hour and a half which worsened the damage. the first representative sent out got stuck in traffic and then did not know how to shut down the valves. the dispatcher said this would be the ultimate headache. and the other focus whether pg&e resisted adding shutoff valves to its system. a top safety official even after the explosion said there were no safety cold fronts to that. pg&e's response to the hearings, that they have done a lot, reduced pipe line pressure, checking for leaks, beefing up safety, improving record keeping. we'll hear more from them today and also from the public utilities commission. regulators whether they did their job we know that federal

tracie potts is live on capitol hill. the u.s. no longer in charge of the mission.hy is the president saying it's going to be a bumpy ride? >> reporter: because at this point we're still involved in the mission, laura. he is going around giving interviews in person, trying to make the case for, first of all, why we're there and also what his strategy is at this point to get moammar gadhafi out. today he's sending secretary of state hillary clinton and the defense secretary robert gates here to capitol hill to talk to lawmakers who are none too pleased about the fact they didn't get a chance to vote on this. but also they have a number of questions and they'll meet face-to-face 18 closed hearing. the president echoing what we heard the secretary of state saying in london yesterday, that they want to apply political pressure, diplomatic solutions, use sanctions to try to, as he put it, tight at any noose and get moammar gadhafi to step down. some republicans don't think that's a good strategy or a strategy at all. the house republican leader said that hope in terms of

tracie potts reports live from washington. the biggest danger remains in the area around the plant. >> absolutely. here's the latest. reactor three, one of those that was online at the time of the disaster, they are trying to cool it down this morning. there six japanese fire engineers and they are dousing fire on this facility to make sure it doesn't over heat and release radiation and the other big concerns are the spent fuel rods these are part of the reactors that were not online and were containing fuel that had been used. they are partially exposed we are told, some of them only half full of water. it is the water that keeps them cool and pres them from overheating and releasing the radiation that. effort continues. as for the americans who are there, we understand as of this morning there were 600 americans who were trapped in an area north of sendai, the epicenter of the earthquake. the u.s. was sending buss to try it get them out. they were having difficulty getting to a more populated area because of the devastation

tracie potts is live in washington, d.c. this morning. travel warning really stronger twhan the japanese are recommending. efforts continue to, try to cool down the reactors. >> reporter: yeah, very much so. the same thing with germany and australia and other countries. who have decided that it is much safer to stay much further away and perhaps even to leave japan. overnight the state department decided to issue a travel alert saying that you should not travel to japan, and also that americans who are already there should consider leaving. so today they'll start organizing charter flights out of japan for people who can't get commercial flights. by the way, those airports are open, they are now available again. the japanese responding saying that there is no reason to leave tokyo, which is 170 miles away from the site. although elevated levels of radiation have been detected there and around the country. some japanese experts now cannot agree according to the government on whether or not there is enough water or any water left in that nu

tracie potts is live on capitol hill this morning.sident obama is coming home early from south america to try to deal with this crisis and the political fallout. >> reporter: that's right. he'll be back this afternoon. not only to deal with how to get us out and when but also to deal with congress. some lawmakers here on capitol hill very upset that they were not consulted before he authorized this military action. some in fact saying he overstepped his constitutional authority, one ohio congressman suggesting this could be an impeachable offense. although he also qualifies and says that that's completely different than moving forward with impeachment proceedings. but the rhetoric very strong here against president obama from some democrats and republicans about not going to congress first. kucinich from ohio wants a resolution to stop the military action in libya right now. other supporters say he needs to come back now and get an authorize of force. meantime, the questions about how long we'll be there, secretary of state hillary cl

tracie potts live in washington, d.c. with more.y, laura, good morning. this affects a lot of californians especially the 51% of women who are in the civilian work force and i'll tell you why they are disproportionately affected. the university of toronto took a look at men and women, americans, who work and the technology they use too stay connected to work when they are home. cell phones, iphones, blackberries, ipads, lap tops, what they found is both men and women are doing a pretty good job of balancing their work life and home life using technology but that it's creating a lot of stress, especially for women. when they dug deeper these researchers found the more contact men and women had in terms of calls, e-mails, text, the more stress they had as well. women seem to have a lot more guilt than men and according to the researchers that leads to the stress. >> brent did call me a text-aholic the other day. >> she can't stop. >> american businesses are ready for higher fuel costs this time around but the consumers are getting ham

tracie potts is live in washington, d.c. tracie, the u.s.s backing the rebels politically but the obama administration hasn't really decided whether to actually put guns in their hands or just how much to back them militarily. >> reporter: that's right, brent. the president says we haven't ruled it out but we have not decided to do that. and, in fact, the cia is reportedly working with these rebels and getting information on them. lawmaker here's on capitol hill say we simply need to know who they are before we start handing over those arms. lots of questions about whether some rebel leaders have ties to al qaeda or other terrorist groups. now the cia is on the ground. this report first coming from the new york times now backed up by the associated press. also they are on the ground, small groups of covert operatives getting this information and working with those groups. also key today, the foreign minister from libya, part of gadhafi's inner circle defected he's in london and apparently is not going to get immunity according to the british

"today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington, d.c. radiation at the plant surged so high overnight that those workers that have been in there were taken out. what are officials saying this morning? >> reporter: this morning there was another fire there. it was out in 30 minutes but again, a continuing saga and dangerous situation especially for the 50 workers that you mentioned. everyone else had been evacuated before today. the 50 workers left who frankly are risking their lives had to leave because of elevated radiation levels. they were only gone about an hour. they came back, again there was a fire again this morning and they are still trying to cool off the reactors to prevent this from being a total meltdown. earlier this morning japan's 77-year-old emperor made a rare television appearance, the first since the quake saying he was deeply hurt by what happened and hopes that many are found safe. he told people in japan don't abandon hope. also today they have detected elevated levels of radiation in the water at fukushima though

tracie potts is live in washington, d.c., with reaction from the president. acie, i know the japanese leaders are asking for assistance. has the president talked about that? >> reporter: well, we know from the pentagon at least six ships in the vicinity are moving toward japan. they are going to be part of what you can imagine is going to be a massive humanitarian aid effort. they don't have a sense of what the massive damage is from this yet. in terms of ships in hawaii, because of the waves just starting to hit there, they are going to stay in port as well as those down in san diego. the state department telling us: that they have moved their embassy out of tokyo just as a precaution that they are not aware of any americans hurt, and early on the pentagon this morning told us that all u.s. service members in japan are accounted for. so that's certainly good news for people who have family members who are working there. but as i said, president obama has now directed the federal emergency management agency to start working with california and with other state

tracie potts is live in washington, d.c., this morning with a preview of that bullying prevention conference, this is a big issue for the white house to take a serious look at it. >> reporter: it definitely is. the fact they have the conference is raising the awarest. let me give you a statistic to put it in perspective. according to the national education association, 160,000 students skip school every day in this country because they are afraid of a bully. that's part of what they want to talk about today. this morning we are getting more details about exactly what's going to happen today. they are bringing together all stakeholders, students, parents, teachers, community groups and other organizations to not only talk about the problem but what can be done about it. they want to talk about programs that work. for example, these are some of the ones we have learned about just this morning, using artificial intelligence to detect online bullying. a new facebook initiative that will allow social reporting to happen much, much easier. and using civil rights laws to enforce some laws that are

"today in the bay"'s tracie potts is live in d.c. few new travel warnings from the state department. stronger than what the japanese are recommending. >> reporter: right. the united states saying don't travel to japan. if you're there, consider coming back home. those flights are available. airports open, and also as you mentioned, the u.s. now said there should be a 50 mile buffer zone around that nuclear plant while they try to cool down the reactors, bu there is elevated radiation in the air. the japanese have said that people could stay 20 to 25 miles with the distance of the plant. the u.s. disagrees and the japanese this morning, quite frankly, said their own experts are in disagreement about whether there's enough water there to cool that number 4 reactor. the u.s., they say they understand it's taking the more conservative view of the danger of that situation. the head of the nuclear regulatory commission here continues to say our facilities are safe, but also agrees there is no water in that pool number 4 based on the inform

tracy potts has a closer look. >> reporter: we have 104 of them here in the united states.hey generate 20% of our nuclear power. nearly every state has one. now the nuclear regulatory association is assuring americans that these plants have been built to withstand severe shocks, but shocks as strong as those in japan, they really haven't been tested to that degree. now we're looking at building even more. four applications slate ed to start in a few year. the obama administration firmly behind this. they've been pushing for more nuclear facilities. now they've announced $8 billion in loans for firms to build them. he's asking more more than eight times of that. the explosions, the evacuation, the concerns about leaking radiation. here on capitol hill, some lawmakers are saying, look, let's back up, let's hold off on approving or considering any more nuclear plants until we review what we already have. are we sufficiently protected? others say that this is not a good time to make u.s. policy while we're in the middle of this crisis. i should also tell you the nuclear regulat

tracie potts is here with a look at what's ahead this morning. >> reporter: good morning, everyone.hen the presidents meet today one of the big issues on the agenda will be the drug trade and the violence at the border. we recently saw a drug agent killed just over mexico with a gun that turned out to be from the united states. that's big on the agenda today. mexico was pressing the u.s. to try to stem the demand for drugs from this end while the united states wants mexico to put many more resources in controlling the violence. you also mentioned immigration, more than 12 million undocumented immigrants are believed to be in this country. 2.5 million right there in california. that's something they will talk about. immigration policy, mexico said to be in with some of the latest policies, for example, arizona cracked down on immigration. finally they will talk about the economy, thou two nations that share a border can work together on trade and on tourism. the presidents are expected to meet privately today to take questions from reporters and president calderon will meet with john

tracie potts is live in washington joining us with the very latest. aura, good morning. some lawmakers on capitol hill, democrats and republicans, say first of all president obama should have consulted them before authorizing this military action in libya, not after the fact with the letter that he sent to congress. they are also concerned that this is an unclear mission. questions being rayed raised about the purpose of the no fly zone. whether or not the goal here is taking out moammar gadhafi. president obama said he needs to go, but he also said that's not the purpose of our planes now flying over libya. also, questions being raised about who are these rebels that we are trying to assist. could some of them have been the same rebels that crossed over from libya into iraq to fight our soldiers there earlier in that war? so president obama answering lots of questions here on capitol hill. also this morning, let me bring you up-to-date on that f-15 jet that crashed in libya overnight. this happened late last night. it was a mechanical failure. the pen

"today in the bay" ice tracie potts is live in washington with the very latest for us. good morning, tracie. >> reporter: hey, laura. here's the latest news, first of all, the f-15 fighter jet that went down last night in ben ghazi, both pilots ejected safely. they are in u.s. custody with minor injuries and it was a mechanical failure, not that the plane was sht down. here on capitol hill president obama is facing criticism from democrats and republicans over what they call an unclear mission. lots of questions, like what is the purpose of this know fly zone, how long will we be there, is our mission to take out moammar gadhafi? the president said he must go, but that's not the point of this mission. and who are the rebels we are assisting? could some of them have fought against american soldiers in iraq? lots of questions being asked this morning, not to mention lawmakers frustrated that president obama did not come to them first. some democrats and republicans say he overstepped his congressional authority. finally, after a third night of attacks the u.s. commander on

"today in the bay's" tracie potts is live on capitol hill where lawmakers are demanding answers from e president. tracie? >> reporter: good morning, everyone. lawmakers here want to know when are we going to get out of this and why are we in it in the first place? house speaker john boehner sent the president a letter detailing lots of questions that he and his party and others here have about this mission in libya. he says that the administration is sending mixed messages, that there's no clear exit strategy, and now questions about what all of this is costing american taxpayers. they are also calling for hearings here on capitol hill about what's going on in libya. and new this morning, we have information from a new poll that finds 60% of americans say they back the decision to move in and enforce this no fly zone over libya. in fact, 20% of those strongly support it. also, almost 80% of americans say we should really be doing more going after moammar gadhafi taking him out of power in libya. as for president obama, about one-fifth say he's doing a good job, he's been decisive. alm

and "today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington, d.c., with what's behind this spike andsee it affect consumers and restaurants. gas is in the equation somewhere. >> reporter: no question, brent. gas is costing more and so it is costing more to transport your fresh fruits and vegetables from the growers to the distributor to your local grocery stores, to your restaurant. that's part of the equation. but the other reason you are going the see these prices rise if you haven't already is because of the weather. mother nature just did not cooperate with growers this past season in florida, in texas, in mexico, particularly with tomato farms. you'll see those prices spike because of the frost. they are in short supply and are already seeing restaurants and fast food places limiting tomatoes. in some places you have to ask for them if you want them. at other places they simply are not available. that is affecting what you pay. the government tracks these things. the agricultural department has found in the past week prices for virtually every type of tomato have gone up over th

tracie potts is live in washington with how the bay area stacks up. good morning, try zee, tracie. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. that's true in the bay area where the average person holds just over $4,000 in bank credit card debt. we are not talking about retail cards or stores here. only bank cards. that amount is actually down just over 3% from a year before. lots of other cities in the country ranking above san francisco specifically when it comes to debt. now, as you said, the average nationwide is about $4,200. and the federal reserve now says credit card debt is going down at its lowest level in over six years. although borrowing overall is going up, mainly because more people are buying cars. lots more auto loans last year than the year before. the auto industry starts to rebound. also credit reporting agencies are finding people use their credit cards differently, those in their 20s typically tend to make minimum payments. those over 50 tend to use their cards less and undergraduates, college students, tend to have the highest balances.

tracie potts is live in washington despite wary lawmakers, the white house is still saying full speed ahead when it comes to pursuing nucleara5 power. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. for now the white house says this is something we need to continue to pursue. it's a big part of the president's energy plan. he's asked power companies to produce 80% clean energy by 2035, nuclear power being a big part of that. the white house saying now for now we're moving forward but here on capitol hill some are concerned about that say that given what's going on in japan, the instability apparently of some of these reactors, how they are built, what they can withstand, we need to wait and see before we move forward with approving four new reactors later this year. they are all slated for approval, at least to begin the construction process by the nuclear regulatory commission this year. however, others here on capitol hill who say this is not the time to develop a reactionary policy. some companies have decided to scale back. germany, switzerland, thailand all looking at either suspending or

"today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington, d.c., with a look at what we can expect on the witness stand today. tracie a new york congresswoman in charge here has called everything. >> reporter: he's been call adhere row to a bigot, but he says it is his charge to investigate when radicals target a community. and in this case it's the muslim community. today he'll bring together the relatives of a couple people believed to be radicalized. they will testify about the problem before lawmakers. we have seen protests before and against this in the last few days. king says he has criticized the muslim community for not helping law enforcement root out the potential terrorists within their community, but leaders say that's not the case. they want to see some proof. in fact, they cited a duke university survey to find 40% of terror plots were thwarted because of inside information because muslims cooperated with authorities. so expect to see a lot of controversy today as lawmakers, quite frankly, debate whether or not they should be having this hearing. laura? >>> very interesting

"today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington, d.c., with how this could affect your tab att is pretty pricey out here, tracie. >> reporter: it is pretty painful. you are are seeing well over $4 a gallon in some areas. the average in san jose right now is $3.91. same in oakland. that is as of early this morning. the white house is looking at what some consider a drastic option, releasing some oil from our strategic oil reserve. it is 727 million barrels of oil are stored underground along the gulf coast. the largest reserve in the world. the last time we tapped into it was after hurricane katrina and rita in 2005. but now the white house chief of staff says that all options are on the table, including tapping into this reserve. the violence in the middle east, the fear that has pumped oil prices well over $100 a barrel, and gas prices averaging $3.50 or more all over the country have the white house looking at a variety of different options, including this. now, they haven't specified what the other options are, nor have they told us when they will make this decision. >> i h

"today in the bay's" tracie potts is live in washington with what a budget delay means for the economyreporter: hey, laura. good morning. the white house is now saying that if, in fact, democrats and republicans can't come together to come up with a permanent way to fund the budget for this year, it is this year's budget that we are talking about, then that leaves a lot of up certainty, continued uncertainty for businesses. and that is not a good sign for an economy that's already in a fragile recovery. so where we are right now, democrats today in the senate expect to vote on a plan to cut about $6 billion from the current budget from spending. republicans want to cut $61 billion. they have approved that in the house and will vote on that today in the senate. neither one of these is expected to pass. the white house has jumped in the middle trying to bring them closer together, but now that vice president biden is out of town they have senior staff overseeing that process. and interestingly, even some democrats say the democratic plan doesn't go far enough. but they don't like the rep

tracie potts is live in washington with the latest for us this morning. >> reporter: good morning, everyonethis was a big speech for president obama. he was justifying why we went into libya with military action in the first place supporting the enforcement of the no-fly zone. the president said we did what we said we would do. he said he refused to wait for images of mass graves and slaughter on television before taking action. but looking forward he doesn't think it is the right thing to do to go after moammar data fee personally or go after his government. he says that would be a mistake. the coalition would fall apart. we would have to commit ground troops, which he does not want to do. what he does want to do is pursue this through diplomacy, in other words, put political pressure on gadhafi's government. he sent secretary of state hillary rodham clinton to talk to 35 other countries about how to do that. >> thank you. 5:44 now. >>> thank you, scott. spring is finally here with the weather to go with it. brent and i and the triplets are appearing in our first fashion show this weekend

tracie potts is live with more on america's commitment. >> reporter: good morning. bit of breaking news out of libya this morning. the turkish ambassador here in washington confirm that is the four new york times journalist that is were captured in the middle of the fighting over a week ago have now been released to the turk irk ambassador in tripoli. he says that they will be crossing the border into turkey later today. now, turkey is suggesting that the united states, britain, france and the other countries involved should wrap this military action as soon as possible. secretary gates, defense secretary gates is saying it is a matter of days before the u.s. turns us over to the british, the french or nato. although nato is currently divided over weather and looking into enforcing the no fly zone. the u.s. has said repeatedly its goal is not to take gadhafi out but to enforce the no fly zone and stop him from killing his own people. the united nations say that is the international community has to be united on this. this is a humanitarian emergency. back to you. >>

"today in the bay" cease tracie potts is live in washington, d.c., with what to expect today. >> reportery, brent, good morning. more testimony from pg&e from regulators overseeing pg&e and people affected by this explosion. the testimony seems to be centering around did the utility do enough to let people in the area know and officials in the area know of this possible danger. the san bruno fire chief testified yesterday that no one told him that that pipeline ran directly under the neighborhood where 38 homes were destroyed, that it was half hazardly marked. pg&e is under fire for not connecting enough with local authorities. the utility says it had annual training and max of resources online. they sent out a survey to customers, 1500 of them, only 20 responded. the utility now saying that's unacceptable and they do need to do more to let people know of that potential danger. expect more testimony today, not only from pg&e executives but also from the california public utilities commission. brent? >> thank you for the update. >>> 5:45 right now. the trouble is mounting this morning for