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Choppers Drop Water on Reactor; U.S. Starts Evacuation of Americans in Japan; Radiation Risks for Fukushima Workers; How Japan Affects the Wallet; Libyan TV: Attack Soon in Benghazi; Missing in Libya: Four New York Times Staffers; Clinton: "Intense" No-Fly Zone Talks; Closer Look at Damaged Nuke Reactors; 180 Plant Workers Risk Lives; Vote to Cut NPR Funding; Japan: American Missing in Japan

Aired March 17, 2011 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happy St. Patrick's Day to you guys, too. Thanks so much.

It is 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. in the West. I'm Carol Costello sitting in for Kyra Phillips.

We begin in Japan. Helicopters and fire trucks move in and pour water on an overheating reactor site. It's the latest desperate attempt to reduce radiation levels at the damaged nuclear plant and so far it appears to be failing.

The U.S. begins evacuating the families of its diplomatic staff. You just heard Wolf Blitzer. And it will help other American citizens get out of the affected area as well. And the U.S. suggests that area may be much larger than Japan is willing to admit.

In the meantime, the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami is rising yet again. The latest numbers, more than 5400 people now confirmed dead. Nearly 10,000 people are officially reported as missing.

In Japan, the sense of urgency is unmistakable and it's unnerving. Helicopters try to douse an overheating reactor and when that operation fails to reduce radiation levels a convoy of fire trucks moves in.

CNN's Stan Grant is following it all from Tokyo.

Stan, bring us up to date.

STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's come to light in the past few hours, there was a briefing by the Nuclear Safety Agency here. They are now saying that there are several hundred workers who are now at the plant.

Remember just yesterday there were 50, they moved it up to 180. Now they're saying there's several hundred. They also had the water trucks operating today, flooding those reactors with water. They say that it's too soon right now to say just how successful they have been. Of course the helicopters also dropped water a little earlier today. The ongoing concern about radiation exists particularly when it surrounds the numbers three and numbers four reactors with those spent fuel rods perhaps dangerously exposed in number four, sitting in a pool of water that some believe may have actually evaporated.

Now this effort of course is going to continue. They are grappling with trying to actually bring the situation under controls so at least they can get in there and have a look at the extent of the damage. And that operation will continue throughout the night and perhaps there'll be more water spraying tomorrow.

COSTELLO: I know it's hard to wrap your mind around it. So some perspective now.

CNN contributor Jim Walsh is our expert on all things nuclear.

So, Jim, based on what we're seeing and hearing today, are you more concerned when you went to bed or less?

JIM WALSH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, to tell you the truth, Carol, I'm happy that for maybe the first time this week I woke up, I turned on the computer and there wasn't some really big news story that was different and worse. So, you know, that's been a tough way to live your week this past week. Certainly tougher for the people of Japan.

But I am concerned that we're sort of in a fundamental dynamic that's going have to be changed. And what do I mean by that? I'm concerned that the radiation levels are rising to a point where they cannot get workers close enough to be able to reduce that radiation and if the workers can't get there to get enough water on that nuclear waste pond, can't get enough water in the nuclear fuel reactors, then the radiation will continue to increase which means the -- the workers have to pull back.

And you know, over and over again, this cycle repeats itself. If that culminates that means the workers won't have any access to what's happening. We're not there yet but I'm afraid we're on that road. And we saw some evidence of it yesterday. It's probably reactor four that has the most problems with its spent fuel pond, but there was only one helicopter that was able to go by -- either zero or one helicopter was able to go by because of radiation readings.

So, instead, the helicopters focused on the reactor pool at reactor number three. So, again, there is this problem. You have to solve the problem. If you don't solve the problem, the radioactivity increases and then you're able to do less about it going forward. So that's the dilemma Japanese officials face right now.

COSTELLO: All right. Thanks for the perspective, Jim Walsh.

In just a few minutes Jim will come back to answer another question looming over this crisis. What exactly is the best outcome we can hope for now. His answer just ahead.

Tens of thousands of Americans live in Japan and evacuations are finally under way for some of them. The U.S. is chartering flights for the families of its diplomatic staff there and Washington is vowing to help other Americans as well.

CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is following this development. She joins us from the White House.

So, Jill, what exactly are Americans being told?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you have a couple of situations with who -- among the Americans. Number one, late last night, the State Department announced that there is now this voluntary evacuation for the members of -- of State Department, U.S. government employees.

And they are coming from the embassy in Tokyo, the consulate in Nagoya and foreign services institute in Yokohoma. Now there are chartered aircraft as you mentioned. I'll give a couple of details of that in just a second.

The other thing that applies to everyone, U.S. citizens and everyone, is to avoid that zone around the nuclear power plant and as we know, they have extended -- the United States has extended that evacuation zone to 50 miles in contrast to the advice of the Japanese government, which was 20 kilometers or about 12 miles.

Now on the flights, we have not only members of the families from the embassy, but also U.S. citizens in general who live in Japan can take advantage of this, if necessary. There still are commercial flights. But they can go to the airport and get flights to safe havens in Asia -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So, Jill, why isn't the U.S. government simply ordering Americans to leave Japan?

DOUGHERTY: Well, they could. That would be a pretty drastic step because, as you pointed out, there are tens of thousands of U.S. citizens. Now some countries actually have gone that far and have done that.

It's a very sensitive situation, as can you tell, when we have the briefings here, constantly, the U.S. is trying not to -- let's say, insult the Japanese, but trying to be very mindful of the security of its people.

COSTELLO: Jill Dougherty reporting live from the White House, thanks.

As hundreds of thousands of people get out of the radiation zone more than 100 men are staying behind. They are on-site at the damaged Fukushima plant, putting their lives on the line to avoid a full-scale nuclear disaster.

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is live in Tokyo.

So, Sanjay, these men who are bravely risking their lives to kind of control this crisis, what kind of gear are they using and will it work? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, they have some sort of protective gear. I can show you a couple of things quickly, Carol.

I mean a hazmat suit that maybe -- looks something like this. They may be wearing a mask that has some sort of a respirator component to it. They have devices which can help measure the radiation. You know can tell if someone has been contaminated and measure just how much radiation is in a particular area.

But to your question, Carol, for the most dangerous forms of radiation, these gamma rays, there's not much they can do. I mean you can shield yourself behind lead, that would help but obviously they're trying do their jobs, deal with explosions, put out fires, turn valves. All this without power. So they'd be doing this with the flashlights, for example. It's very challenging work.

And these guys, Carol, they know the deal. I mean this is what they do for a living so if the radiation levels are high and they are being exposed, they know that that is happening but they are -- as Jim Walsh was just talking about, they need to be there so that this -- the radiation levels don't continue to rise.

COSTELLO: Yes, somebody needs to be close enough to get the water on the nuclear -- on the nuclear facilities to cool them down.

GUPTA: That's right.

COSTELLO: I know the U.S. government is telling Americans within 50 miles of the plant to move. So what dangers exist for the people still inside that 50-mile zone?

GUPTA: You know I will point out that they say 50 miles. The United States government is saying and the Japanese government is saying 20 kilometers, and that's just an example.

I point that out because there's been an arbitrary nature to this, Carol, almost all along. They are looking at the same data and coming up with different recommendations. The concern for people, if they are inside that evacuation zone, is, you know, acute radiation sickness.

If you get exposed to a lot of radiation very quickly, you can develop symptoms, nausea and vomiting, you can develop bleeding, you can lose your hair, skin problems. All of that just short term.

And in the long term, as people have been worried about and discussed is the concern about increasing your incidence of developing certain types of cancers. So again, no one is saying that the levels have reached that high to cause any of those sorts of health effects outside the plant.

Again, we don't know what the radiation levels are inside the plant. But so for the people, you know, outside of the zone, certainly based on what we know, they should not develop any of those sorts of health effects right now. COSTELLO: And, Sanjay, we know that the military is giving potassium iodide supplements to military personnel. What sorts of side effects could these pills have?

GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting. It's basically a stable salt is what it is. But people could have an allergy to this particular medication. If you have a preexisting thyroid problem, this medication could pose a problem. So you know I think it's something that shouldn't be taken willy-nilly.

Also, you know, the reason it's taken, Carol, is to try and protect your thyroid gland from radioactive iodine that may be released from this plant. That's the sort of goal. But the thing about it is that it gives you a window of protection of about 48 hours.

So if you take it too early, you may close your window too early and not get protection long enough. So the timing of taking this, if that's the recommendation ultimately, is very important as well.

As far as people in the United States, Carol, I've been hearing that people have been buying this stuff and stockpiling it, and there is really no evidence that radioactive levels will ever get high enough, even in this plume that's traveling across the ocean, that these radioactive particles will ever be significant enough to cause any health effects on the west coast of the United States.

There's really no reason for people over there to be taking this medication.

COSTELLO: It's tough to convince them of that, though, Sanjay. Because the psychological thing that's going on is frightening people to do things they normally wouldn't.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, many thanks. Live from Tokyo.

It may not be dangerous to the United States but the radiation cloud that Sanjay mentioned crossing the Pacific has plenty of people on edge. Coming up in about 20 minutes an American Cancer Society doctor takes the mystery out of radiation telling us why he says there is no need for Americans to panic.

Japan's economy is the third largest in the world and that means your wallet will feel the effect. Everything from gas to groceries to cars.

Christine Romans is part of the CNN Money team.

Christine, how could it affect us?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, let's begin by saying the human toll is just staggering in this country. This is an ally. An economic partner of the United States. And the economic toll we haven't even begun to get a grasp on.

I mean there are forecast up to $200 billion in economic damage in Japan itself. It will undoubtedly be felt in a lot of different ways in the United States. Among them, you've got the yen rising dramatically. The dollar yen sinking as the yen rises and it's to the highest level for the yen since World War II. That's going to make Japanese exports more expensive.

Also you have Japanese production shutdowns. Sony, Hitachi, all of the electronics makers are reporting production shutdowns. That will mean higher cost for memory, memory chips, certain kinds of electronics components to go into a lot of the things that you use like your tablet computer, like your video games, and things like that, so we'll be watching for that.

Also watching the shutdowns for the car makers. Did you know the Prius is made exclusive in Japan. They have about 60 days' supply of Prius. It will most certainly mean there could be some difficulty getting a Prius later this summer.

Also U.S. exports to Japan will uncertainly be hurt because the ports are damaged. We can't get stuff in there. And there will be certain kinds of things that they will not need in the very near term until rebuilding begins -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Understood. Christine Romans live in New York.

Japan's nuclear crisis, crews scramble, the situation seems to grow more dire. So what now is the best outcome the world can hope for?

Our resident expert Jim Walsh returns with his best and worst case scenarios.

And Benghazi residents plead for a Libyan no-fly zone. But while the U.N. works on that, a new warning says an attack on the city is coming soon. An update on Libya's civil war just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Japan's nuclear crisis, the clock ticks, the urgency grows and as of now, crews will continue pouring water on an overheating reactor at the damaged plant. So far this desperate to attempt to reduce radiation has not seemed to work.

So what now is the best and worst case scenario? CNN contributor Jim Walsh walks us through some possible outcome. So should we start with the best possible outcome? I think we should.

JIM WALSH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, let's start with the best possible outcome, Carol. So my best possible outcome that things don't get worse. That we are able to stabilize the situation and then slowly ratchet it down over time.

So there are two problems. One is the reactors one, two, and three have problems inside the active reactor. So what we hope we can keep enough cooling water -- water cooling them that they slowly get cooler over time and then we just entomb them in concrete, you know, like we did with Chernobyl.

No major radiation leaks. It just turns out to be an economic disaster and disaster for the workers on-site. As for the nuclear waste pools at four, five, and six, well, now, it's three, four, five and six, the best possible outcome here is they continue to generate radiation.

But they're able to pour enough water in from fire trucks and from helicopters until they get the power system working and then get coolant in there and then that begins to ratchet it down.

So at the end of the day the best outcome is economic disaster, workers exposed and lots of mental health problems for the surrounding population who have been scared about this.

But certainly not as bad as the tsunami and the earthquake, which will have killed many more people than anything that happens here if we can freeze the current situation.

COSTELLO: It's like mind boggling if that is what we are hoping for. So let's talk about the worst case scenario, what if they can't get this thing under control?

WALSH: You know, I would prefer not to think about that, Carol. But I think the worst case scenario is we continue to have unexpected events every day, hydrogen explosions. The problem spreads not only from reactors one, two, three, and four, but also now begin to involve reactors five and six where there is also a nuclear waste stored.

And then we get into the cycle that you and I talked about earlier where it gets so radioactive that they have to withdrawal the workers and then, at that point, you're crossing your fingers and hoping things work out for the best.

COSTELLO: Well, I hope it doesn't reach that point. They are sure trying. Jim Walsh, many thanks.

Libyan state TV warns Benghazi residents an attack on the city is coming soon and four "New York Times" journalists covering the civil war are missing. All of the news from Libya, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We'll have more coverage from Japan in a couple of minutes. Let's turn our attention now to the latest on Libya's civil war.

Four "New York Times" journalists are missing in Libya. They are Anthony Shadid, Tyler Hicks, Stephen Farrell and Lynsey Addario. Newspaper editors tell us they've last been in touch with the journalists about 48 hours ago.

The "Times" has been unable to confirm second-hand reports that members of its reporting team had been swept up by Libyan government officials.

Libyan state TV is telling residents of Benghazi that the rebel-held city will soon come under attack. It's not clear whether pro-Gadhafi forces are within striking distance of Benghazi. So they have been clearing out rebel forces enroute to the city. Inside Benghazi, opposition supporters fear the world has turned against them. We'll hear from another opposition voice in next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Libya's former ambassador to the United States will join us.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton believes there is still time to impose a no-fly zone in Libya despite the advancement of pro-Gadhafi forces. CNN's Wolf Blitzer sat down with Mrs. Clinton for an interview during her current tour of the North African region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: He is moving ahead and so is the international community. There is a greater urgency and intensive effort in reaction to the Arab league statement on Saturday.

What we are seeing in New York right now, is intensive negotiations over what the international community could agree to that would protect innocent people in Libya and try to prevent Gadhafi from wreaking havoc, murder and mayhem on his own people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Wolf will have more from his interview with Secretary Clinton on THE SITUATION ROOM. Of course, that is at 5:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

In Japan, the desperate fight to contain radiation, a series of damaged nuclear reactors goes on. We'll get a status check on which reactors are experiencing the worst problems.

Radiation from Japan is heading for the west coast and that is making a lot of Americans anxious. Even though experts say we're safe. So, coming up, we're taking on radiation rumors, separating fact from fiction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's a little before 9:30 in the east, 6:30 in the west. Here's a quick update on Japan's furious efforts to fight off a nuclear disaster.

Crews are attacking a damaged and dangerously hot nuclear plant with water to cool it off and reduce radiation levels. So far their efforts don't appear to be working.

The U.S. is evacuating the families of its diplomatic staff from the country and it will help other Americans get out of the affected areas. The U.S. suggests that area could be a lot bigger than Japan says it is.

The United Nations atomic watchdog chief says the situation is very serious. At least 20 people have gotten sick from possible radiation contamination.

Right now, Japanese officials are dumping water from helicopters on the number three reactor. They are also spraying it from the ground. I know. It's tough to follow all that is going on at Fukushima. CNN's Tom Foreman is here to clarify.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the closest picture we have up until this point of what is essentially the battleground against these nuclear reactors and look at the extent of the damage here.

Damage to the superstructure here and damage to the metal work in here and damage to the piping down here. You can see one of the challenges that these workers are facing even if they can get electricity and water in here flowing in plenty of supply, how do you get it where it belongs and how do you keep it in here?

It's like pouring water into a cracked tea cup and move beyond this and look at the overall picture what has happened here. Number one reactor over here has a tremendous amount of damage, hydrogen explosion early on.

We move to number two. They've had damaged as well and an explosion and possible damage to the container itself. Number three the one we were looking at a moment ago an explosion there, a possible structural tear. Important to note, this is the only one that actually has plutonium in it in addition to uranium, which makes it much more dangerous in many ways.

Here is reactor number four, the one we have been talking about so much. They have had explosions there. They have had fires there and the real issue continues to be these rods right up in here, the spent storage rods, and whether or not they have been exposed with no water on them and nothing to protect them at all from the elements.

If that's the case, if this water level has, in fact, as U.S. officials think drain completely off, you're talking about tremendous amounts of radiation coming out from here. Radiation so high, you saw the helicopters flying over earlier trying to drop water on it?

We measured it. They are roughly between 60 and a hundred meters above this. That's how high they have to be away because this radiation would potentially be lethal at 60 to a hundred meters. So simple truth is as we look at this equation, one of the real fears is that we simply have such a hot zone in terms of radiation.

And it's hard for the people who are trying to fight it to even get close. If they get close, they can't stay there long and it's difficult to fight an enemy if you can't get up next to them and engage the battle.

COSTELLO: After hearing that, 180 workers, they remain inside the plant. They continue their desperate attempt to prevent more radiation from escaping. Experts say they may pay the ultimate price for their efforts. As the wife of one of those plant workers explains, their job is taking an emotional toll on their families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): My husband is in the midst of things. There are a lot happening and is prepared for the possibility of radiation exposure. All of us, his family is supporting him.

We accept things to one extent and want him to do his best. There was an e-mail reply and the content was rather intent. Live fully. I will not be able to come back is what was it said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The International Atomic Energy Agency reports at least 20 people have fallen ill due to possible radiation contamination in addition to 19 injured and two missing at that damaged Fukushima plant.

If a United Nation's agency has it right a plume of radiation from Japan could reach Southern California tomorrow. Experts say the levels would be low after a journey across the pacific. The x-factor is the wind. So let's check in with Rob Marciano just to calm people's fears about this.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We did this yesterday and we're going to do it again.

COSTELLO: Well, you hear stuff like a plume of radiation, you get scared.

MARCIANO: Right. What they did was run a computer model that took, you know, basically an air mass and moved it across the ocean, which we know that is what happens when we take air from Japan, because everything moves from west-to-east.

The concentration of that air mass, the radiation of that air mass, they didn't really factor that in. So it was basically more of a theoretical model.

Here are some of the winds. Every bright spot that you see here, that's where the winds are the strongest here. And everything as you can see here in a roundabout way is making its way to the west coast. So if there was a massive plume of radiation with massive particles carried high in the atmosphere, it would make it all the way here.

But you got to remember what happens with this stuff is the radiation hits the particles above. Those particles then have to be carried to the west coast. That's a lot to ask. And by the time that happens there's a lot of disbursement.

So, you think about Chernobyl. That radiation got up into the atmosphere and that traveled the globe a couple times. So -- and by the time it got over the U.S. it was nothing, it was less than a chest x-ray. So we're terribly concerned about that because of this.

Obviously, in Japan we're much more concerned. We've have finally northwest winds blowing all of the radiation offshore. Next couple of days, things may get a little bit more stagnant and the winds may very well settle down, if anything, maybe come onshore a little bit. So that will be more nerve-wracking, I think, Carol, some Saturday and Sunday.

But for the U.S., again, even though the wind direction does bring whatever comes from Japan over here, by the time it disburses and the levels of radiation is pretty much harmless to the west coast.

COSTELLO: They're also worried in Hawaii about the tourism industry. They're afraid that, you know, all of these rumors flying around will hurt the tourism industry.

MARCIANO: Yes. I mean, it's -- we had that with the oil spill, didn't we? And honestly, remember, I think we had computer models from some agency that took the parts of the oil spill wrapped it around Florida and brought it all the way up to Ireland. I remember that happening. Similar type of scare. And that never came to fruition because, you know, what happens in theory and what happens in reality are two different things.

COSTELLO: OK. I hope people remember that.

Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: OK, Carol.

COSTELLO: So as Rob said, the United States is not supposed to see a dangerous radiation spike, but people get nervous looking at photos like these out of Japan -- radiation scans and big white suits and face masks. So we have enlisted a doctor from the American Cancer Society to debunk some radiation rumors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We can't say it too many times. The government says the United States will not see a dangerous radiation spike because of Japan's nuclear crisis. But radiation is an invisible threat and that could make it really scary.

So the EPA is sending out dozens of extra air monitors to environmental officials on the west coast, Alaska and Hawaii, to show people that it's telling the truth. The air you're breathing is not threatened by Japan's crisis.

Still, radiation is a mystery to most of us, so here to demystify things is Dr. Otis Brawley. He's the chief medical officer with the American Cancer Society.

Thank you so much for being here. I have so many questions for you. And I just want to -- there's a lot of like really strange questions people have about radiation and I'm going to start with those so that you can like demystify.

DR. OTIS BRAWLEY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: Sure.

COSTELLO: OK. So we see people getting on to planes in Japan and we fear that those people will bring radiation back to the United States on their clothes and on their purse. Is that possible?

BRAWLEY: It is possible for them to bring it on their clothes, yes. However, those people are being screened before they get on the airplane and federal authorities -- federal immigration in the United States has been wonderful in looking for radiation for the last 10 years and people coming into the country.

I've actually had patients who had nuclear medicine bone scans or thallium stress tests who actually have been detained by immigration officials because they set off the monitors at airports. So, I'm not worried that someone is going to get through immigration and into the United States with radiation on their clothing.

COSTELLO: So, we should not worry about that?

BRAWLEY: Should not worry.

COSTELLO: OK. Some people are also worried about radiation particles making it to the United States and actually like getting into the sands of California or Hawaii.

BRAWLEY: Yes. The amount -- you know, the radiation is being dispersed in the atmosphere. The amount that will get to the United States will be detectable, but it's going to be in such small amounts that it's not really going to harm anyone. The radiation that we might get may very well be greater if we go out to the beach for one day as opposed to what we're going to get --

COSTELLO: You mean from the sun?

BRAWLEY: That's right. Ionizing radiation from the sun is a very common source of radiation for all of us on a daily basis. So, it's evidence that we really shouldn't be as afraid of radiation as many people are.

COSTELLO: OK. Another question that I've heard. What about that stuff in Japan falling into the ocean and infecting fish? Like, could it end up in seafood that is sold in the United States?

BRAWLEY: It's likely not to happen, number one. If it were to happen, there's going to be checks and balances to make sure that fish is safe and is not radioactive. It's very likely that this will not happen. I can't overstress that. It's not going to happen, but if it were to happen, we would find out first.

COSTELLO: OK. So, tell me about a real concern, something we should be worrying about.

BRAWLEY: Right now, I think that the things that we should worry about, quite honestly, is over concern about this, number one. And then there is a lot of other very practical things we do that increase our risk of having bad health. Smoking. Sitting out in the sun and getting a suntan is far more dangerous than anything we will get from this nuclear disaster.

COSTELLO: So, you would like to see everyone chill, take a deep breath.

BRAWLEY: That is wonderful wording.

COSTELLO: Don't run out and buy those potassium iodide pills.

BRAWLEY: Yes. People can harm themselves with the potassium iodide pills. Not only can you have an allergic reaction to them - and by the way, they only work for about 48 hours and you might choose the wrong 48 hours. And number two, they can cause cramping and cause cardiac arrhythmias, they can cause harm. People should only take potassium iodide if instructed to because there is a radioactive iodide emergency.

COSTELLO: Got you. OK, so we're going to take a deep breath. Dr. Brawley, many thanks. Fascinating stuff, and we will take a deep breath and chill out.

(LAUGHTER)

BRAWLEY: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Today to be another tough day for NPR, National Public Radio. First, an executive is taped slamming the Tea Party, and then the CEO resigns. And now NPR could lose federal funding. That means some people could lose their favorite radio programs. We'll talk with a couple of lawmakers on opposite sides of this issue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: House Republicans plan to vote today on taxpayer money for National Public Radio. Some say NPR shouldn't get a dime from the government. In truth, it doesn't get much money. Just $50 million. Local radio stations use that money to buy programming from NPR. If they don't get that money, no "Morning Edition" or "All Things Considered" for their listeners.

NPR got back on the political radar after a conservative activist secretly taped an NPR executive slamming the Tea Party and saying public radio would be better off without federal money.

CNN White House correspondent (sic) Brianna Keilar is following the vote on Capitol Hill. Fill us in, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is going to happening this afternoon. Possibly in the 2:00 p.m. hour, Carol. But this is part of a continuing effort by House Republicans to de-fund NPR. They voted to do this in that big spending bill that passed a few weeks ago, but it didn't clear the Senate. So, this is another effort.

But not only would it be to de-fund NPR, it would also say to local public radio stations they cannot use federal funds to purchase any kind of programming, NPR programming which, obviously, is quite a large chunk of what they would purchase to put on their air. But also other programming. And it really is that video that was secretly taped by Sean O'Keefe that has given so much momentum to Republicans as they push this forward.

Listen to what Eric Cantor, the number two House Republican, says about why this is needed.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Frankly, yes. Walk a bit of a fine line.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is very clear that we would be better off in the long run without federal funding. And the challenge right now is that if we lost it altogether, we would have a lot of stations go dark.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KEILAR: OK, so sorry. That was actually part of the video that was secretly taped by Sean O'Keefe and that was that fundraiser saying that federal funds would -- NPR would be better off without federal funds. This has been seized by Republican leaders as they say, hey, at a time when we are strapped for cash, if they are saying they don't need federal funds and they would be better off without it, this is something that we should really look at cutting.

But, of course, there is kind of an argument here that Democrats are saying that this is an organization that provides programming, that millions of Americans -- in fact, NPR says 27 million Americans a week listen to their programming. That this is an important service that is really needed, Carol.

COSTELLO: And Brianna, you mentioned that the House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and what he said last week about the vote and this undercover tape from Sean O'Keefe. So here is Eric Cantor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), MAJORITY LEADER: First of all, you know, the -- the statements were that NPR realizes it doesn't need taxpayer funding. That's what the statement was about. And so perhaps, you know, the -- the truth finally came out and -- and we are going to proceed along those lines because that's what was said and indicated by that organization. As far as the individual and the statements that he made, I think that they stand for themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Congressman Doug Lamborn is the bill's chief sponsor and it's a safe bet he will vote to cut off NPR. Congressman Earl Blumenauer of Oregon says, leave NPR alone.

And welcome to both of you. Thanks for being with us.

REP. DOUGH LAMBORN (R), COLORADO: My pleasure.

REP. EARL BLUMENAUER (D), OREGON: Thank you.

COSTELLO: So Congressman Lamborn, let's start with you. Is this about money, is it about politics? Is it about the tape? What motivated you to sponsor this bill?

LAMBORN: Well, I introduced a bill in the last Congress to do this way before any of this even happened with Juan Williams or anyone else. So I view this as a spending issue.

Our deficit this year is going to be $1.6 trillion and we have to be serious. Americans want us here in Congress to stop doing business the way we have been and to get serious about getting our spending under control.

So let's start with a program that can survive on its own.

COSTELLO: And Congressman Blumenauer, do you agree with that?

BLUMENAUER: I'm sorry, technically I couldn't hear what he was saying.

COSTELLO: He -- he's saying that this is about cutting the budget and $50 million is too much to ask for a public radio at a time when we really need to shrink the deficit.

BLUMENAUER: Well, first of all, this proposal, if it's passed is not going to save one dime of federal spending. But the point is it goes far beyond this. He would prohibit these stations from using any federal money to buy any content. Not just NPR. But -- companion, the American Experience, the car guys. This is far beyond that.

Furthermore, it is going to hammer the small rural areas. I've got a list of the stations here that rely heavily on this funding. This is something that is absolutely inappropriate.

The American public overwhelmingly supports NPR. The doctored tape that was edited to purposely mislead is a very flimsy read on which to base this assault on an institution that Americans love and they need.

COSTELLO: And -- and Congressman Lamborn, just a point because Senator Saxby Chambliss who is a conservative Republican came and out said hey, a lot of conservatives listen to NPR and they will be pretty upset if -- if federal funding --

(CROSSTALK)

LAMBORN: No. No, people can listen to NPR all they want to in the future.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: But not if they live in these little towns because they won't be able to buy NPR programming so no, they won't be able to listen to NPR.

LAMBORN: Yes, they will. Yes they will.

COSTELLO: How?

LAMBORN: If they can just adopt the free market approach to life and go ahead and raise money privately, they don't need federal funds. So we don't need to have federal funding because they can survive in the open market, they can survive in the private sector, and they will be able to continue to spend all the money they want to on programming.

It's just that the federal taxpayers won't be the ones footing the bill. They could -- NPR should be national private radio. They can survive. They have a quality product. So let them survive and go on with life as it is like everyone else does, surviving in the free market with competition.

COSTELLO: And -- and Congressman Blumenauer, I know you can't hear Congressman Lamborn and that's ok.

BLUMENAUER: Oh no, I got -- I got -- I got what Congressman Lamborn said to you.

COSTELLO: Ok. Ok.

BLUMENAUER: Your technical people fixed it and I couldn't disagree more. It is true NPR will go on. It will always be available in New York and Chicago and Los Angeles and even little Portland, Oregon. It's not going to be available for many of the smaller rural stations across the country that don't have the resources and there isn't a free market private alternative.

There -- you searched 500 channels on satellite TV and cable and you won't find any stations that are programming to our kids; what they want to do is sell to our kids. There is no private market for what public broadcasting provides best. That's why we have invested in it for a half century. That's why we need to continue doing it.

And the majority of Republicans agree. Not just 78 percent of Americans overall, --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Well --

BLUMENAUER: -- but 66 percent of the Republicans agree. Keep the funding or even increase it.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: We'll see how the House -- very passionate about this, both of you. Thank you, we'll see what -- how the vote comes down in the U.S. House today. And thank you both for joining us this morning.

BLUMENAUER: You bet.

COSTELLO: Still ahead, an armed robbery attempt and a shoot-out at a convenience store. As the bullets start flying, it was all caught on tape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: With each passing hour the death toll rises in Japan. Right now more than 5,400 people are confirmed dead since Friday's quake and tsunami. Almost 10,000 remain missing. Countless people are homeless, as you know.

In the meantime, search and rescue teams continue to look for survivors. Japan's prime minister says at least 15,000 people have been found. Hundreds of them were marooned at an office building northeast of the hard hit city of Sendai.

Several Americans are also missing in Japan. We know some of them are young teachers whose parents back home are desperately trying to reach them. Twenty-four-year-old Taylor Anderson from Virginia is one of them. She's been teaching in Japan for three years. Her parents have not heard from her since last Wednesday. They don't know where she was when the quake hit.

Now they want to go to Japan and search for her themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY ANDERSON, DAUGHTER MISSING IN JAPAN: I did ask the consulate if I could go -- and -- with them. And at this point they said no, I shouldn't because they -- even their people have trouble getting in. But that is what -- we would like to do, we would like to go there and try and find Taylor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Also missing, 25-year-old Edward Clemens. He's been teaching English in Japan for about two years. His mom lives in Chicago. She says Clemens posted a Facebook message saying he did survive the earthquake but he hasn't been heard from since the tsunami.

And then there's Jessica Besheker, she's also an English teacher in Japan. Her mother is in Dover, Delaware. She talked with CNN's Anderson Cooper last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN NAGYISKI, DAUGHTER MISSING IN JAPAN (via telephone): The only thing we've had is a Facebook and the Twitter posting right after the earthquake happened. And that's the last contact we have actually seen posted or heard from her.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC360": So you know she was ok after the earthquake, but -- but you just have not heard from her since the tsunami.

NAGYISKI: That is correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We're following a lot of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Stan Grant live in Tokyo with the latest. STAN GRANT, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Carol, dropping water from the sky and the back of water trucks on the ground to try to cool these nuclear reactors, while at the same time the United States and Japan are disagreeing over the extent of the radiation risk. All that next hour.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jill Dougherty at the White House. The U.S. government now is using charter planes to fly Americans who want to leave Japan out to safe haven locations in Asia. I'll have more of that at the top of the hour.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Tokyo, Japan. Right now, workers are working tirelessly at these plants to try and keep radiation levels from going up. It's remarkable work. People are calling them true heroes. I'll have their story and what they're going through at the top of the hour.

Also ahead, frightened and home alone, an 83-year-old woman escapes Japan's tsunami on her bicycle. We'll have her story next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The fight over collective bargaining rights is not ending with that vote in Wisconsin. Michigan's governor is now grappling with a huge rally in Lansing. And that tops our trek across country. Union members angry over a proposal by the governor to tax pensions and void union contracts. The Michigan protest follows weeks of labor unrest in Wisconsin.

Next, to Nashville. Surveillance cameras captured this wild shoot-out during a holdup at a convenience store. Two armed men walked inside the market. They demanded money. You see what happened. Bullets started flying when the store manager and another worker pulled out their own guns.

It was no fool's gold at an auction in Sacramento, California. The highest bidder paid $400,000 for the world's largest existing gold nugget. The 100-troy-ounce rock was discovered near a famous gold rush mining camp in California.

And finally a polo team from Philadelphia has made history in Virginia this week. They became the first all-American polo team to win a national title. The team is part of a non-profit program that gives urban youth riding lessons in exchange for work.