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Possible Meltdown at Nuclear Plant in Northeast Japan; Rolling Blackouts to Conserve Energy in Japan; U.S. Navy Carrier Group Running Emergency Supplies to Japan; Prime Minister of Japan's Call for National Unity; Gadhafi's Forces Retake Rebel Town

Aired March 13, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's now the top of the hour, 4:00 a.m. in Japan. And here's the latest on the recovery efforts there. Japanese officials say it's possible a minor meltdown has already happened at a nuclear plant in northeast Japan. Monitors detected what may have been melting a fuel rod at the plant, but they say there's no sign of dangerous radiation levels in the area.

And Japan has started rolling blackouts and turned off the lights at major landmarks to conserve electricity. The nation is struggling to repair power plants that Friday's earthquake and tsunami damaged. 1.3 million Japanese are still without power today.

A U.S. Navy carrier group is running emergency supplies into Japanese coastal towns. The USS Ronald Reagan was already in the area when the earthquake struck. Japan's prime minister said today, this is Japan's worst crisis since World War II, and he made a call for a national unity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAOTO KAN, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Please, I ask each one of you, please have such determination. And to deepen your bond with your family members, neighbors, and people in your community to overcome this crisis so that Japan can be a better place. We can build together. This is the message I'd like to emphasize to the Japanese people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In other top stories, security forces in Yemen fired guns and tear gas at protesters outside Sana'a University today. At least 110 people reportedly were hurt. Protesters are angry over high unemployment and what they see as government corruption and a lack of political freedom.

And in the U.S., New York police and the NTSB are investigating a bus crash that killed 14 people. There are conflicting reports about what caused the bus to flip and swerve into a pole yesterday. The driver says he was cut off by a semi-truck. But witnesses say the bus was speeding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: The bus turned on its side and as a result, the pole of the stanchion in essence cut the bus in half.

CHIEF EDWARD KILDUFF, NEW YORK FIRE DEPT.: We had about seven or eight people pinned in the rear of the bus that we will to actually cut out by either removing seats or we cut a hole in the roof of the bus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The bus driver was hospitalized with nonlife-threatening injuries.

Residents of northern New Jersey are hoping today could be the start of a drying trend. Days of heavy rain have soaked the state, evacuated residents and Red Cross shelters want to go home. But they're still major flooding in the cities of Patterson and Wayne, where two big rivers crested overnight.

And at a Texas air show, a wing-walking team is critically injured after their aerobatics plane crash-landed. It happened in Brownsville yesterday. The woman was doing her wing-walking act when the plane's engines simply failed. Her husband, the pilot, got the plane to the ground. Both suffered extensive burns.

So, it's been two days since the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. Rescue crews and reporters are just now getting to some of the worst- hit areas.

CNN's Paula Hancocks was the first international journalist to reach a fishing community where half the community remains unaccounted for.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the tsunami alert sounds, everyone sprints to higher ground.

Police abandon their cars. Rescue workers rush people to safety. One man shouts at us, "It's your life, run." Everyone does, including us. Running far higher than any tsunami could ever reach.

Not surprising when you see what the last tsunami did.

This was the town of Minamisanriku, there's little left. House, shops and offices reduced to mangled rubble. The loss of life here thought to be among the worst along the east coast of Japan.

(on camera): At this point, officials have no idea how many people exactly died. In just this one town, there were 18,000 residents here. Some of those residents that did survive the tsunami say that they ran when they heard the warning. But some of their neighbors didn't.

(voice-over): Choushi Takahashi was working as a civil servant in an office near the water. He says the earthquake knocked him off his feet and then came the tsunami warning.

He tells me, "Most people ran away. But some had to leave the elderly or disabled behind on the second floor. I think a lot of those left behind probably died."

This woman says, "I saw the bottom of the sea when the tidal wave withdrew and houses and people were being washed away. I couldn't watch anymore."

This resident tells us there was no time to think about anything. The tsunami just came too quickly.

Local reports say more than 40 people were found alive Sunday morning. And ambulances rushing the injured out of the disaster zone.

Elsewhere, the elderly are carried out to be evacuated by helicopter. This boat was carried more than three kilometers or two miles to the edge of town. The tsunami spared little in its path. Memories of life before the wave litter the sodden ground.

Residents start the seemingly impossible task of clearing up.

This is still a search-and-rescue operation for now. Emergency teams know that window of survival is closing.

Paula Hancock, CNN, Minamisanriku, northeast Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can see it's cold there. The temperatures have been in the 30s overnight, sometimes 60s in the daytime. But it's been a real rollercoaster ride.

Jacqui Jeras with us now -- because, apparently, some snow is on the way or at least some precipitation?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, about 24 hours from now, we could see a wintry mix, maybe some rain and some snow as those temperatures get close to the freezing mark. We think the rain is going to come in later today, which is Monday already in Japan.

Now, here's the system that we're talking about. And, you know, couple of reasons why weather is important. We're talking about rescue efforts, which are still ongoing, people who could potentially could be still trapped and dealing with these harsh conditions. A lot of people without power, millions of people without power, and when you're talking freezing temperatures, that's certainly uncomfortable to say the least. And in addition to that, we've been talking about the nuclear threat and what kind of impact the winds could be having on conditions.

All right. Here's our cold front. This is our storm system that's moving into the area right now. Rather tranquil conditions, mostly cloudy and then the rain's going to be coming in. The winds are coming in from the southwest now. So if anything were to occur, that would basically be blowing things offshore and we will see a shift in the winds once this front comes through. And we think it will be more of a northwesterly wind, which will also move things offshore. So, that's a little bit of good news.

We'll be watching the wind gust, because there's still a lot of unstable structures which are out there and if winds get too strong, that could cause some issues as well. Right now, we're thinking 10 to 15 miles per hour after the cold front passes. And that's about it.

Right now, winds are relatively light. There you can see they're between five and 15 miles per hour -- at the best, 15 miles per hour closer to where the cold front happens to sit.

Temperature-wise, what's it doing right now? Feeling like upper 20s to middle 30s. So, that is pretty extreme. You saw the people in the video, everyone is wearing hats, wearing coats and bundled up because it is cold. Temperatures will be dropping after that front moves through, with highs only in the upper 30s. So, it's certainly uncomfortable out there.

And we'll be watching the rain showers and maybe a little bit of snow coming in late tonight.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

JERAS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Of course, to find out how you can help the quake victims in Japan, visit our "Impact Your World page, that's at CNN.com/Impact.

Reactor meltdown in Japan, that's the worst-case scenario. Nuclear expert, Jim Walsh, joins me in a minute with the real chances of that happening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The earthquake and tsunami have caused emergencies at two Japanese nuclear plants. Radiation has been released beyond normal levels. And now, a U.S. senator who has traditionally supported nuclear energy in the States is changing his tune. Today, Senator Joe Lieberman said the U.S. should at least temporarily, quote, "put the brakes" on the development of power plants here.

CNN contributor and international security expert, James Walsh, joins us now with more on what's happening in Japan and whether that could potentially happen here.

So, Jim, the U.S. has more than 100 reactors. You know, some are in areas where there is motion, California, parts of the Northeast, and even Missouri.

So, do we need to worry that something like that could happen in the U.S.? JAMES WALSH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, of course, there are earthquakes, particularly -- California is a place where we've had a lot of earthquakes. California is not a state that would have an earthquake at the magnitude at 8.9-quake that Japan has suffered. But, of course, it's going to be a concern.

And we shouldn't be surprised that political leaders are now growing cautious about it. We've seen this in of the past. In 1979 when we had the Three Mile Island accident and even after Chernobyl, you saw people pull back from nuclear power because of the concerns, because people have basic fear of radiation.

So, I think that's going to play out differently in different countries. China is probably going keep on going, but it's -- you know, it's not a democratically-elected leadership and they're going to keep building. Other countries, perhaps South Korea, which is right across the water from Japan, other countries may want to take a pause here.

So, I think it will play out politically in different places.

WHITFIELD: So, these Japanese reactors currently in trouble. They were likely built with the notion of ground motion. But this was an 8.9 quake and it seems like anything -- it would be difficult for anything to withstand that kind of velocity, that kind of power.

WALSH: I think that's right, Fredricka. And when you go and you look at the design specifications for many of the nuclear facilities in Japan, not just the power plants, but reprocessing plant or fuel assembly plants -- everything else -- they were built to withstand earthquakes, but not an 8.9-earthquake in part because it seems so unlikely. Remember, this is the strongest earthquake that has ever hit Japan.

And, so, you wouldn't -- if you're building these plants and trying to weigh costs and benefits, you're going to have to draw a line at some point and people just thought this wasn't a very likely occurrence. But then the unlikely happened.

WHITFIELD: So, the Japanese government is saying that there may have been a minor meltdown that took place already. Define for us what a minor meltdown is in comparison to a meltdown. And that surely, universally, worries everybody.

WALSH: Right. And in some ways, it's captured in the difference between Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.

In Three Mile Island, you did have a partial meltdown. But that meltdown was contained within the containment vessel. It never escaped to the outside environment.

Whereas, Chernobyl had no containment vessel and so, when you had full-blown meltdown in Chernobyl, it buried down, went critical and then blew up and dispersed into the atmosphere around the globe.

Now, these Japanese reactors do have containment vessels. They're the line of last defense and the hope is that if there was a full-blown meltdown, that whatever happened inside the reactor would be contained within this reactor and would not escape to the outside.

A partial meltdown is bad news. You know, the reactor you know is going to be a dead reactor. But it doesn't have to lead necessarily to the same sort of environmental consequences that we saw with Chernobyl. It's all about containment at that point.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then when we talk to you again the next hour, these two $2 billion nuclear plants had to be shut down as a result of what's taking place. All of this at a time that Japan is facing some major economic woes. We'll talk about with what this potentially could mean for Japan and possibly even beyond.

Jim Walsh, thanks so much.

WALSH: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: In a moment, some more domestic news, including how likely is it that a federal government shutdown could occur this week. We'll tell you, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This week, U.S. Congress is expected to pass a three-week stop-gap funding bill. That would prevent the federal government from running out of money and shutting down on Friday. Debate continues on the bigger budget bill that funds the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Republicans and Democrats don't agree on the spending and cuts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: We're not going to balance America's budget in the next six months. We should be taking care that we don't do things that damage our economy and really slow down our recovery. The notion, as the president said, of cutting hundreds of thousands of children off Head Start at this moment, cutting Pell grants for college students, so that they would have to drop out of school, delaying or stopping research in energy when we see gas prices going through the roof, suspending medical research for six or seven months -- listen, that goes way too far and it goes in a direction not good for this country.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), CALIFORNIA: Every other household had to balance and tighten their belt. American government should as well. This is less than 3 percent, less than 3 percent. These are the same economists who said the stimulus would create jobs.

America today, the corporations have more cash on hand than they've had in the last 50 years. Uncertainty is holding back investment. So, when you look at the Republican budget, not only will we tackle the debt, but we'll tackle job creation, prosperity and liberty.

(END VIDEO CLIPS) WHITFIELD: Aside from budget talks, our Money Team is looking at payments for victims of jailed financier, Bernie Madoff, a new home- buying trend and Wal-Mart's new vision.

First, to Alison Kosik in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred.

Sprint Nextel is reportedly talks to buy T-Mobile. A deal is far from certain, but it would combine the third and fourth-biggest cellphone providers. Reports say the companies have yet to agree on a price.

Bernie Madoff's victims to set to get their first payout of recovered funds. They were bilked out of $20 billion in the largest Ponzi scheme in history. The first payout is expected to be $2.6 billion, pending court approval. A total of $10 billion has been recovered. Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence -- Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Alison.

There's a new number one in town: Subway is now the world's largest restaurant chain, beating out McDonald's. Subway has had strong growth overseas and has opened restaurants in nontraditional locations like car dealerships, bowling alleys and even a church in New York.

A growing number of home buyers are paying with cold, hard cash, 32 percent of home bares paid with just cash in January. And it's happening a lot in California, Phoenix and Las Vegas. You can usually get a better deal with cash and it speeds up the process.

Poppy Harlow has a look at what's coming up in business news -- Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Thanks a lot, Steph.

Well, when you think of Wal-Mart, one word that may come to mind is big. But now, the retailer is downsizing, literally. Next week, Wal- Mart will break ground on Wal-Mart express store in Arkansas, with more to come throughout the year.

Now the difference is size. The express store will average 30,000 square feet, while a typical Wal-Mart superstore is about 180,000 square feet. The smaller store will focus on groceries and scale back on some of the general merchandise.

Now, the move comes as Wal-Mart's U.S. sales lag and there's steeper competition from competitors like Target. We'll keep you posted on all of it on CNN Money.

Fred, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, ladies. And in a moment, back to our coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan -- what's it like for Americans worried about their loved ones who work and live in Japan. We talk to one wife, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Japanese officials say it's possible a minor meltdown has already happened at a nuclear plant in northeast Japan. Monitors detected what may have been the melting of a fuel rod at the plant, but they say there's no sign of dangerous radiation levels in the area. The Japanese ambassador to the U.S. says that was a minor event.

CNN's Candy Crowley asked about the possibility of a bigger meltdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ICHIRO FUJISAKI, JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: As for the meltdown, yes, there could have been a default of part of the fuel rod, or partly, it could have melted as well. But, I have to say, it was not a sizeable core reactor. So -- which you would call it meltdown generally. So, it is not that situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And in a few minutes, we'll talk to an expert on nuclear plants.

Twelve hundred people have been rescued in Japan so far. The official death toll after Friday's earthquake and tsunami now topping 1,500 -- and that number is expected to rise as teams go into the harder-hit areas.

Supermarkets and convenience stores in Japan keep running out of food, even in Tokyo, about 200 miles away from the epicenter. A CNN iReporters across Japan have been sending us pictures of bare store shelves. One iReporter wrote to us saying every time a delivery of food arrives, it's gone within an hour.

And back in this country, increased scrutiny today for the operator of a tour bus that crashed on a New England highway, killing 14 people. The NTSB is working with New York police to determine why the bus flipped over and slammed into a pole yesterday. And we'll have a live report on the investigation in about 10 minutes from now.

And in Texas at an air show, a wing-walking stunt was almost deadly for a husband-and-wife team. The woman was walking on the plane's wing over Brownsville yesterday, when the engine blew. She scrambled back inside and her husband, the pilot, crash-landed the plane. Both survived, but they are in critical condition with extensive burns.

A 60-year-old Japanese man has been rescued after spending two days at sea. He stayed afloat clinging to a piece of a roof. The tsunami swept him miles out to sea, along with his house. The Japanese maritime defense vessel spotted the man waving a home-made red flag. He told his rescuers that he thought today was the last day of his life. His wife was swept away in the tsunami.

While northeast Japan copes with the tsunami and earthquake disaster, life in Tokyo was slowly returning to normal. One of our iReporters, David Powell, has been sending us photos from across Japanese capital. And he said there are signs the city is returning to normal, like magazines being backed on newspaper stands. But he said some things are still not quite right, like sold-out bread shops and empty toy stores.

And we continue to closely monitor the situation with Japan's damaged nuclear plants.

CNN's Stan Grant is in Tokyo, where he reports the word "meltdown" is beginning to be used more openly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a word that no one has really wanted to utter, but it is now being spoken, and that is "meltdown." We've heard from nuclear safety officials here, saying that they're working on the high possibility of a meltdown in reactor number one at the Daiichi plant in Fukushima and also the possibility of a meltdown in reactor number three.

Now, this all comes about because of the continued heating of the reactors. They've been pumping in seawater to try to cool them. They say that this doesn't appear to be making too much of a difference. They're not noticing a change in the water gauge, despite pushing that water into the reactor that they've been battling now for two full days, to try to bring the situation under control.

It has raised the prospect of a meltdown, this radioactive material escaping into the atmosphere. They're now saying any may have to release some of the steam from the reactor and that may increase the radiation level.

Now, as a result, they've put this 20-kilometer exclusion zone around the area, more than 200,000 residents have been evacuated. A number of people have tested positive to coming into contact with radiation and that number, according to officials, could, in fact, rise. Iodine is being handed out to people to guard against the impact if it, indeed, they do come into contact with radiation.

Now, all of this very much a race against time. These officials are now working around the clock, trying to get this reactor to cool down. Thus far, they haven't been able to, but also working with the International Atomic Energy Agency, to do that as well.

This is having a knock-on effect on power supply. We know that Japan relies on the reactors for a big part of its electricity supply.

Well, they're now talking about having to bring in rolling outages. The government says it is looking at that and drawing up a plan to have these rolling outages to conserve electricity and all the while, still trying to pump enough water into those reactors to avert the possibility of more of the meltdown continuing. Stan Grant, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A big investigation taking place on U.S. soil involves a bus and a crash in the Bronx. So, who is telling the truth? There are conflicting stories about what happened. Federal investigators are on the scene.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's a day of confrontations in the Middle East.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: Here you see riot police firing tear gas at protesters in Bahrain's capital. Government officials say the crowd was blocking a major highway and refused to leave. Other witnesses say the protesters were leaving when police fired on them.

In Yemen, witnesses say security forces fired guns and protesters outside Sana'a University. At least 10 people were wounded, another 100 sickened by the tear gas. Protesters are angry over high unemployment and what they see as government corruption.

And forces loyal to Libya's Moammar Gadhafi are back in control of al Brega. Libyan state television reports the troops retook the town after days of fighting. But opposition leaders tell CNN there are forces left calling it a tactical retreat.

Gadhafi's forces also control the nearby town of Bin Jawad.

And CNN senior political correspondent Nic Robertson toured the recaptured town and signs of fierce fighting were hard to miss.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Driving east, the detritus of war -- mile upon mile of rocketed vehicles, discarded weapons and ammunition, littering the roadside -- evidence of a rapid rebel retreat, outgunned and outsmarted by government forces advancing from the west.

The first stop on this government-organized trip: Bin Jawad.

(on camera): This is Bin Jawad police station. It's not clear exactly what happened here. But it's the first signs of any real battle that we've seen. As we've been driving on the highway coming along from the west, we've seen occasional checkpoints manned by two, three, four, sometimes a dozen or so soldiers or policemen.

And in a town here, we've seen most stores closed, some signs of looting. But this police station here is the real first sign of battle we've come across.

Inside is pretty smashed up as well. The windows are here, the front reinforced glass all destroyed, blown out -- pretty blown up. Shots are being fired outside, celebrity shots being fired by soldiers there. They've just been coming back from what appears to be the direction of the front line, some sort of impromptu celebration just for the cameras here.

Just a few days ago, this town was still in rebel hands. You can get an idea of the ferocity of the battle for it. This looks like the tail fins from a Katyusha rocket buried in the front of this house here, underneath children's shoes.

(voice-over): Few houses hit, most by rockets fired from the west, in advancing government forces.

Driving on eastwards, another 40 miles, the sky fills with dense black smoke. As we get closer, unmistakably clear, an oil storage tank at a Ras Lanuf refinery burning out of control. Officials are blaming it on rebels.

(on camera): Exactly how far government forces have advanced beyond the oil fire, exactly where the front line is, remains unclear. But what is clear is that the government is on a roll -- and the rebels are recoiling, retreating, it seems, almost as fast as they can.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Ras Lanuf, Libya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Different stories of a deadly bus crash in this country that took place in the Bronx. So, who's telling the truth? Federal and local authorities are hearing from the bus driver, the passengers and the witnesses in New York. More on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We'll get back to our extensive coverage of the disaster in Japan in a moment. But, first, there are plenty of questions today about a tour bus crash that killed 14 people in New York this weekend. Investigators are looking into the history of the company that operates the bus involved.

Our Susan Candiotti is sorting through the conflicting theories about what happened -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well there's a lot to be done here, Fred, that's for sure. At this point, nothing is being ruled out as a cause.

But among the possibilities: was the bus going too fast. Did it get clipped by a passing truck? Was the bus driver impaired in any way? Did he fall asleep? Was there something wrong with the bus?

Well, the National Transportation Safety Board visited the crash scene today, where in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, a tour bus on its way back to New York from a casino trip in Connecticut lost control, hit a thick sign post which then sliced through the buck lengthwise, killing 14 people. Witnesses have told police that the bus was going at a high rate of speed down I-95 before the accident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we saw the logo on the back of the bus, we're like "World Wide Tours, he just passed us about 15 minutes ago at -- that's the guy that passed us, about 15 minutes ago at a very high rate of speed." And that's when Joe was like, "I'm calling the cops."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now, the bus driver told police he was forced to swerve out of the way of a passing tractor-trailer. Investigators are checking out both vehicles for damage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR MICHAEL KOPY, N.Y. STATE POLICE TROOP COMMANDER: We have identified at least one other vehicle. That vehicle is being transported to another location for a similar inspection. At this point, given that those inspections have not been completed, it would be premature to discuss what, if any, actions another vehicle may have had in this accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Authorities are also looking into the background of the driver, and his employer, World Wide Tours.

As we first reported Saturday, Department of Transportation records show the company had two accidents with injuries since October of 2009. And five violations for fatigued driving in that same time period. Now, the company has not responded to our calls asking about its records.

World Wide Tours does say that it is cooperating with the investigation.

Now, police tell CNN the bus driver was once convicted for driving with a suspended license. That was in 2003. He currently has a valid commercial license. Now, as of this morning, he is still in the hospital, we've been unable to speak with him.

At the crash site, someone left flowers to remember the 14 people who were killed and 18 others injured. All the passengers starting their trip to have a good dime at a casino and it ended, Fred, in tragedy.

WHITFIELD: Oh, so sad. All right, thanks so much. Susan Candiotti in New York, appreciate that.

Turning back to Japan in a moment. CNN iReporters are capturing the pictures and the sounds and are showing the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. As Japan grapples with some high radiation levels, of course, people here in the U.S. are wondering how it might impact U.S. soil.

Jeanne Meserve with us now with the report on the latest findings from the federal government.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, we all know there have been releases of radiation from those Fukushima nuclear power plants in an effort to bring down the pressure and keep the plants safer. And the question has been: could this have any impact on the U.S.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has now weighed in and said, no, they do not expect that any harmful levels of radiation could reach the U.S. They say that the releases so far were small and appear to have been taken out over the ocean by the prevailing winds. And then they go on to say, "Given the thousands of miles between the two countries, Hawaii, Alaska, the United States Territories and the U.S. West Coast are not expected to experience any harmful levels of radioactivity."

Now, there could be enough of radioactivity that will register somewhat on some of the measurement gauges. But they say not enough to be considered harmful.

Of course, it's a more immediate concern for the people of Japan. You have seen some people there diagnosed with radioactive exposure. You've seen evacuations. The government is talking about distributing iodine to try and prevent the health effects. So, very serious for them.

But the federal government is saying they do not expect any harmful effects here. The NRC and other government agencies are monitoring the situation. And the NRC has sent two experts in this particular type of a reactor over to Japan to help with the response.

Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jean Meserve. Appreciate that.

Meantime, there are a lot of Americans who are in Japan who are trying to find their way back home. One very unique situation is that of Danny Eudy. He worked at one of those troubled Japanese nuclear plants. He's trying to make his way home.

His wife is here, Stateside, and she's been worried sick. But just moments ago, we understand that Janie Eudy did get a chance to talk to her husband Danny by phone. Janie is with us now.

So, what have you learned about how he's able to get home?

JANIE EUDY, HUSBAND IN JAPAN (via telephone): I don't know the exact plans or everything right now. But I was assured and talked to the G.E. corporate, one of the representatives that assured me that they were gathering all the workers and they were making arrangements to get them back to the States. And they would, you know, let us know as they progress on.

And then I did get to talk to Danny. He sounds good. And the great news, he's alive.

All of his co-workers are together. They did have a few hours' sleep. And they're all looking forward to coming home to their families.

WHITFIELD: OK. About where is he in Japan right now?

EUDY: As far as I know, they're somewhere in Tokyo.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, he is at least made it about 200 miles south to Tokyo after being at that nuclear plant where there was trouble. Has he told you anything more about what he thinks happened there?

EUDY: No. Not really. He's just all I've told you before. And until I get to see him and talk to him and to know really what's happened. I know they're all traumatized. It's a lot to go through all these disasters at one time. It's got to be a lot to take in.

WHITFIELD: Did he give you an idea, you know, when you might be hearing from him again? Is he trying to call you, just to, kind of, you know, allay your worries? Or does he have a cell phone that you've been able to make a connection with him?

EUDY: No, he just spontaneously, when he can, he calls. He knows I'm worried. And I was just trying to get the word out facts and circumstances if there's any other family members out there that's worried about any of them who was working on the same job, that they, G.E. Corporation is gathering all of them together. They are making arrangements to get them home. And you know, through the embassies, their passports and all, their clearance to get back to the States.

WHITFIELD: All right. Janie Eudy, thanks so much. Thanks for your time, and all the best to you and your husband as he tries to make his way back home. Hopefully, you'll see him somewhere within the next 48 hours. It takes almost 24 hours to get back to Louisiana, right?

EUDY: That's right. It's quite a long haul to get here.

WHITFIELD: It is. All right, thanks so much. All the best. Appreciate it, Janie.

EUDY: All right. I thank everybody for all their prayers and good thoughts. Thank you, ma'am.

WHITFIELD: And we're back, with how social media is connecting people in that disaster.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: People all over the world are using social media to offer financial support and encouragement to Japan's quake victims.

CNN's Reggie Aqui is here right now.

Reggie, tell me more.

REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, again, Fred.

Yes, we're going to start with this hash tag, "Pray for Japan." It's all over Twitter right now. What we have been watching over the past few hours or so, a lot of people not necessarily talking about the news in Japan but talking about how people across the world can contribute to the Red Cross and other organizations. They are asking people to use their phones to text message so that they can instantly donate a few bucks to these charities that are trying to help folks in Japan.

And something that I thought was really interesting, someone decided to take the time and translate some of the Japanese tweets coming out into English -- so we can see what the people in the affected areas are thinking.

This one I thought was particularly noteworthy. It says, "My 2-year- old was putting his shoes on himself saying, 'I'm going to arrest the earthquake.' I realized that inside a tiny body, there's a lot of courage and justice. Everyone, let's stand strong and get through this."

I also want to show you something that is on our Web site right now. And this is just -- it's really very simple. It's just images, just still images taken from the areas that have been affected.

This one happened to strike me. You can see what is happening as night falls in Japan. People who are living in these shelters now, neighbor helping neighbor. And there's obviously a big concern for those who are sick and those who are senior citizens.

And these folks are in Tamura (ph). This is after they were evacuated from the area near the nuclear plant in Fukushima where we still aren't not sure what the fate will finally be there, people who are trying to be safe and to get out of harm's way.

There is a special part of our Web site called "Impact Your World." This is a section where you can go and find out how to make a contribution to help the folks who have been affected by the tsunami and earthquake in Japan. It's also the place where we have links to Google and their person finder.

And, Fred, when I was talking to you yesterday, I think that we were at about 68,000 or so records, people either looking for someone who or having information about someone. Look at this number now -- 124,000 individual records of people trying to find other people that they are concerned about.

I'm going to leave you with this last tweet -- again, translated from Japanese into English for us on Twitter.

And it says, "Walked for four hours just to get home. Everyone was walking home silently, diligently. People working at the shops were doing their job.

The Internet managed to hold, despite of the enormous overflow. Emergency shelters are opened and trains were quickly restored. What a tough country."

And I think that we can all agree that Japan is doing a phenomenal job trying to put the pieces back together, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Reggie, those words are profound but so are the images you are about to see because within an instant, when people received the notice that a tsunami was on the way, they went to higher ground immediately. Just take a look.

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WHITFIELD: And they are the lucky ones. Nearly 1,600 people are now confirmed dead in Japan. As rescue workers and reporters reach the hardest hit areas, expect that number to grow even more.

Here's CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Minamisanriku, Japan, about three miles from the Pacific Ocean. Never in my career of covering natural disasters have I seen a town so utterly pulverized, just completely mowed down. But this is not from the earthquake, this is from the tsunami. And we know that because this is where the water stopped on its way from the ocean.

If you go just a half a mile away from here, a half a mile to the west, there is absolutely no damage whatsoever in the nearby neighborhoods. But here, there's nothing left. We see cars, we see trucks, we see motor homes, trees, personal belongings of people all over the place. And they come from all over this town of 20,000 people.

Now, there are still thousands of people unaccounted for. That doesn't mean they are all dead, doesn't mean they are all hurt. It's hard to keep track of people.

But the fact is, there are still many bodies under this rubble. Throughout the day today and yesterday, ambulances were coming in and out, they heard people screaming. They took them out.

Right now, we hear no more voices. We're being told by emergency rescue officials they don't believe there's anyone still alive in the rubble. But as we said, there are still people who perished in this earthquake and the tsunami.

I think what's really unusual about the situation is we drove across the country from the west coast of Japan to here on the east coast and we saw virtually no damage whatsoever until we got to this spot three miles away from the Pacific Ocean.

We are still feeling aftershocks here, causes a lot of anxiety in Japan as it did in Haiti last year after January 12th earthquake there. The aftershock continued for a long time. Many people to this day refuse to go in their homes in Haiti scared that those homes will collapse from the aftershocks and that's the situation here in Japan -- a lot of anxiety after the 8.9 earthquake and tsunami that just killed so many people.

This is Gary Tuchman in the earthquake zone in Japan.

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WHITFIELD: Japanese officials say it's possible a minor meltdown has already happened at a nuclear plant in northeast Japan. Monitors detected what may have been the melting of a fuel rod at the plant, but they say there's no sign of dangerous radiation levels in the area.

On CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" today, Candy Crowley asked Japan's ambassador to the United States about efforts to cool the reactors.

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ICHIRO FUJISAKI, JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: It is better to put in clear water. But we do not have enough supply of clear water there. So, we are putting in seawater.

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": But it's not necessarily a sign that things are dire. It is a sign that you don't have the kind of water you'd like to use?

FUJISAKI: We do not -- if there's clear water, it would be better for reactor itself. But in order to cool down the seawater, it would have the same effect as clear water. And the effect we are trying to get is trying to get the reactor to cool down.

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WHITFIELD: In just a few minutes, we'll talk with an expert on nuclear plants. And we'll actually talk about the economic impact all of this will have on Japan and beyond, too.