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Conflicting Reports on Japan; U.S. Politics and Nuclear Energy; Nuclear Fears Spread Across Pacific to U.S.; Libyan Rebels Feel Left Out In Cold by International Community; Raid and Arrests on Alleged Sex Abusers Spans Several Countries

Aired March 16, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is now 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. in the west. I'm Carol Costello, sitting in for Kyra Phillips.

We begin in Japan. Workers back on the scene of a damaged nuclear plant desperately trying to keep fuel rods from melting. They were pulled after a spike in radioactive levels. 50 miles from the plant, traces of radiation are turning up in city tap water. Officials in Fukushima City say the amounts found yesterday morning were not harmful and not even detectable later in the day.

This is now day six of the nuclear crisis, and with each troubling new development, international concerns grow. Many experts say Japan needs to reach out to the International Atomic Energy Agency. They say Japan need not only the expertise of the IAEA but also needs to assure the world it's doing everything possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM WALSH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: When this crisis first started, I would go to different web sites trying to find out information. I would talk to my nuclear friends in Japan and the nuclear community here and the IAEA web site had virtually nothing, they were mum. The World Nuclear Association, which is an industry group, right, they're the ones who are actually putting out better data and were more informed and more frequently updating their web site with facts than the International Atomic Energy Agency. Again, probably sensitivities about the government. But when you are reluctant or you are slow, that undermines your credibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Stan Grant has been diligently following all the latest developments of the crisis. He joins us now live from Tokyo. And Stan, are you hearing any more about international involvement?

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting from the International Atomic Energy Agency, because they say for them to get involved they need to be invited in. They have no one in country, no staff in country. So the situation where they need to be invited in. There is a constant flow of information between the Japanese and the IAEA. And the IAEA, of course, has to verify all that information independently. And information here, Carol, is absolutely key. There's been criticism with the flow of information, some contradictions, and conflicting statements and so on. And really this particularly becomes an issue around the question of radiation. That has been the banner headline today. Radiation levels once again spiking and then dropping. Workers were evacuated from the plant, they were later allowed to go back in. And a helicopter drop, a water drop had to be abandoned because of high radiation levels.

Interestingly as well, radiation showed up in the tap water in Fukushima. Very, very low traces of cesium and iodine. Later, they couldn't even measure them. Of course, they say that the water did remain safe to drink. But that's the problem. If you can't rely on the information, people are not going to trust what they're hearing. There is a gap between what they're being told and their fears. Carol.

COSTELLO: Stan Grant, reporting live from Tokyo.

Here is another measure of the nuclear crisis and the grip it has on the Japanese people. For the first time in the nation's history, an emperor has gone on television to address a natural disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMPEROR AKIHITO, JAPAN (through translator): I am deeply concerned that the current nuclear plant situation is critical. I truly hope that with so many people working together to help this situation will not worsen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The emperor also urged his people not to give up hope and said the hearts of the international community are with Japan.

Store shelves stripped nearly bare. No rice, milk or bread. CNN i-reporter Gabriel Rodriguez captured the blight at two stores in Yokohama, Japan. He said the shelves were wiped clean just 48 hours after the earthquake and tsunami. Residents, he said, were fearful of another big quake.

Those are the kind of conditions that Sandra Endo's family is dealing with right now. Sandra is a CNN colleague and she joins us now from Washington. And Sandra, you have family in Japan near that nuclear plant. What are they telling you?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, luckily for us, we just got in contact with them Tuesday night in Japan. And this is after hearing Friday just clinging on to one text message that they told us that everyone was accounted for. But not being able to hear their voices, to know what actually is going on, the conditions of everything was very heart wrenching and unnerving really for days.

There you see a picture of my 90-year-old grandmother and my late grandfather. She survived as well as my cousins and aunties. And what we're talking about is this nuclear power plant right here in Fukushima Daiichi area. They live right here in Fukushima City, which is about 50 miles away from the nuclear plant, they're also housing some evacuees. My cousins' in-laws had to evacuate from this area. Now, they're staying with my other family. But keep in mind, they have nowhere to go. They cannot really escape this area because if, in fact, the situation worsens, they really just have to hunker down and stay at home.

My grandmother is saying that the conditions are so bad, they're experiencing many aftershocks. Again, like you've been talking about there's no food, they're scrambling for food, and gas. There's such a shortage of gas that they're only doling it out to emergency personnel. So she says it's a virtual ghost town right now. People are just locked into their homes. Luckily their home is still standing, the outer wall did fall down. They tried to patch it up to make sure the house is encapsulated and sealed from that radiation.

And obviously the good news is they do have water and power back on. But clearly all their neighboring houses have felt a lot of the damages of the aftershocks.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the radiation fears. Because they can't make their home airtight any longer. How worried are they?

ENDO: Well, day after day, Carol, they're hearing more reports of the possible radiation leaks. And now just today saying there is traces of radiation in the water. So obviously very disconcerting for them. They have nowhere to go. Again, all the evacuation centers are filled up, and my 90-year-old grandmother, it's very difficult to transport her. She's kicking and fighting and saying she's going to beat this. But clearly with my cousins trying to get to her from other cities, the roads are just blocked and obviously it's very hard to get around. They don't know what they would do if they have to evacuate. And right now, they're just preserving any resources they have and clearly appreciating all the blessings. But they think it could have been much worse.

They saw dead bodies around them being pulled out of the rubble. Neighboring homes demolished, leveled, and this is a town different from Tokyo, Carol. Keep in mind, Fukushima is my father's hometown. It's a town that I enjoyed many summers going to, running to the ice cream store. And they have businesses where these people have lived for generations, owning their own business and living right on top of them. And that's very much the type of town it is and a very close knit town. They have all come together to try to share the resources that they do have.

But my grandmother always thinking of other people. She says I'm glad your news crews aren't here, I'm glad you're not here. But Carol, there's no other place I would rather be.

COSTELLO: I know. I was just going to say you must be chomping at the bit to go over there. But we're glad you're here in the United States too, Sandra. I must say.

Thank you for sharing your story. We appreciate it.

ENDO: Sure. COSTELLO: Smoke rises above Bahrain's capital. Witnesses say security forces attacked protesters on the streets and doctors in a hospital.

And in Libya, pro-Gadhafi air and ground forces advance in their campaign to re-take rebel-held territory. We'll take you to eastern Libya and Bahrain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Japanese stocks bounce back, but the nuclear crisis is still hitting global markets. Alison Kosik in New York. So Alison, a strong finish in Tokyo, how is it playing out on Wall Street?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We're definitely not seeing a bounce back on Wall Street, Carol. You know, investors here, they're still worried about how things are going to play out in Japan, especially after the Japanese emperor came out on TV, made a statement. And you know what? It's rare for an emperor to be on TV and what it wound up doing is making investors even more nervous.

Now besides Japan worries, there's a lot of other things on Wall Street's plate. For one, there are other global fears. Major ratings companies downgraded Portugal and Bahrain's debt ratings because both countries, the economic outlook for them is uncertain.

Also in focus today, the U.S. economy. We got some really down beat. Home data, new construction plunged 22 percent in February, building permits, those hit a record low and that's a big worry because those building permits numbers give us clues about what future construction is going to look like. So everyone's wondering, you know what, why aren't companies building homes at this point? And you know, analysts are saying Americans are nervous. You know, we've got millions of people out of work and we've got rising food and gas prices. So, sure, there are a lot of moving parts today on Wall Street. The Dow right now down 50 points. Carol?

COSTELLO: Alison Kosik, reporting live from the New York Stock Exchange. Thanks so much.

How much is a safe dose of radiation? We actually get a little bit every day. We're going to break it down for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: CNN iReporters on the scene in Japan sending us pictures and videos of what they're seeing. And sometimes those reports conflict. David Powell sent us this tape of Tokyo residents returning to work on Monday. He says the commuter trains were about 20 percent full despite rolling blackouts ordered by the government to conserve power. Many foreigners are living - actually many foreigners living in Japan have decided it's time to get out. The lines have been growing at Tokyo's airports.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has been talking to passengers about why they've decided to leave. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is Tokyo's Narita Airport. Now it is certainly more busy than normal, but there's no sense of panic among people that are trying to get out of the country today. Now, we've heard from some airlines, they've told us that, yes, they are busier and considering putting on extra planes. We've also heard from Japan's immigration office saying that they have records showing that more Japanese citizens have been leaving the country since Sunday.

And it does seem to me personally as though there is a much higher proportion of foreigners than you would expect at a Japanese airport. One man said he had to leave with his family because he lived too close to Fukushima nuclear plant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just watching TV. And I was just like, let's go. So about 9:00 p.m. on Monday we just jumped in the car and we just headed for the mountains directly away from the nuclear power stations.

HANCOCKS: Another man who works for a large multi-national company told me that it is a very personal decision if you want to leave but all his friends have decided to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe what I've been told. You know, people are evacuating, all foreigners are evacuating, large multi-national companies are evacuating, so you don't really know what to believe. It's just better to play it safe.

HANCOCKS: Everyone we've spoken to so far says their decision to leave has nothing to do with the earthquake, nothing to do with the tsunami. Their decision is purely based on worries about the nuclear plant.

Paula Hancocks, CNN at the Narita Airport in Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Well, the subject of that nuclear plant, if we all get a small amount every day, how much is a safe dose? We'll break it down for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's almost 7:30 in the west, 10:30 in the east, 11:30 at night in Japan. Right now, workers are back at a damaged nuclear plant desperately trying to keep fuel rods from melting. They were pulled after a spike in radioactive levels. 50 miles from the plant, traces of radiation are turning up in tap water. Officials in Fukushima City say the amounts found yesterday morning were not harmful and not even detectable later in the day.

And for the first time in Japan's history, an emperor has gone on television to address a national disaster. Emperor Akihito urged his people not to give up hope and said the hearts and minds of the international community are with Japan.

The nuclear crisis in Japan is basically in the hands of 180 power plant workers who cannot leave for fear of a meltdown. CNN contributor Jim Walsh says the IAEA should step in and help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM WALSH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: But they can't do it by themselves. That's why I'm saying, the government has to step in and IAEA, they're supposed to be protecting all of us here and they are nowhere to be seen. So I think this has reached a point beyond which we can't pin this on the poor 50 men and women who are left alone at the plant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well, and the heroism of the Japanese workers, just one of the more engrossing human dramas of this terrible story. In the last hour, we heard from a journalist who wrote a chilling account of what they're going through. Keith Bradsher is the HongKong bureau chief for the "New York Times." Here's part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I read your article and I'm telling you, I did, I got chills. I just want to read a bit from your article to our viewers. This is one paragraph from Keith's article. He said "They breathe through uncomfortable respirators or carry heavy oxygen tanks on their backs. They wear white full body jump suits with snug-fitting hoods that provide scant protection from the invisible radiation sleeting through their bodies." It's just unimaginable.

KEITH BRADSHER, HONG KONG BUREAU CHIEF "NEW YORK TIMES": These are really difficult conditions under which they're working. For starters, the power plant doesn't have electricity for themselves. So they're working in often darkened halls, working by flashlight, trying to repair badly damaged equipment, periodic explosives of hydrogen gas, which is the same gas that resulted in the demise of the Hindenberg. So again these rather large blasts, bits of the buildings have fallen in and injured.

For example, in one of these hydrogen explosions - 11 workers were injured on Saturday when the walls blew out and the ceiling came down on that reactor. The walls and the ceiling of the secondary container of the building, the outer most building. So they are working under very difficult conditions. And must make it even more difficult is that the community in which many of these workers lived was obliterated by the tsunami that's adjacent to the power plant.

COSTELLO: Did these workers volunteer to stay?

BRADSHER: Tokyo Electric has not said. And they have not provided direct interviews with the individuals. They are the faceless 50, the 50 people who stood behind when the other 750 workers evacuated. Now, that said, nuclear engineers who have - who are very familiar with this particular model and with the Japanese nuclear power plant operator program say that they are certain that this - these would be volunteers. You have a tremendous level of esprit de corps and dedication among nuclear power plant operators all over the world. There's ethos that you stay at your post even when things are going horribly wrong. And in Japan, you have a national tradition of sometimes extreme dedication to people's jobs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Unbelievable. The workers were evacuated earlier when radiation levels spiked at the plant. They have since returned to work. The tests showed the levels had dropped.

With all of these talk of leaking radioactive vapor and shifting winds, Americans are a tad jumpy, more than jumpy in some places like California. We want to bring in meteorologist Rob Marciano to tell us which way the winds are blowing and the winds are blowing and why Americans should just chill out a little bit.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They should chill out but I can understand it because a lot of our storms that hit California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia can originate all the way from Japan. I mean, it's out there but it's you know, 4,000, 5,000, in some cases 6,000 miles away, but the jet stream takes it in this direction. What we're looking at here in Japan is the direction that we want, which is out to sea.

But the difference between radiation and radioactive material is that the radiation comes from the radioactive material. In order to get that radiation to you, you have to be pretty close to that radioactive material, which means it needs to be transported all the way from Japan to the U.S. or even Hawaii or Alaska and that's thousands of miles and that's a long way for that stuff to travel. And because of that, we don't think that's even remotely possible at least at this stage of the game.

Now, Japan obviously has that problem. Good news today with this strong, strong system that's moving through, strong northwest winds. So everything is going to be blowing out to sea. As this guy, this high gets in place, we might have a little bit more of an onshore flow later on in the week. But right now, conditions are very good for that.

As a matter of fact, for the over shore flow, as a matter of fact, it's so strong, Carol, winds are blowing 40 miles an hour in some cases. And we've seen pictures of it. We've got snow. It's a cold wind so weather is not ideal for the efforts that are going on out there. But as far as -

COSTELLO: But just the bottom line, things are bad in Japan, but not in the United States.

MARCIANO: You got nothing to worry about here on the west coast of the U.S.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob. We appreciate it.

MARCIANO: Got it. COSTELLO: In the United States, nuclear energy has long been a political hot potato. CNN's senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash looks at how the disaster in Japan will impact the nuclear industry lobbying on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's a reason Alex Flint is moving so fast to get to Capitol Hill. He's a top lobbyist for the nuclear energy industry, walking the halls of Congress, trying to reassure lawmakers watching Japan. He's worried support for U.S. nuclear power could unravel.

ALEX FLINT, LOBBYIST ON NUCLEAR ENERGY INDUSTRY: It is going to be nonstop for several hours here up on the Hill, and then we're running 24 hours a day right now.

BASH: Flint, a former top Senate aide turned lobbyist, is taking industry executives to closed-door meetings all over Capitol Hill.

FLINT: All we're doing is sharing information. We've got a set of frequently-asked questions about the situation in Japan.

BASH: This briefing drew 150 congressional staffers. CNN was allowed inside only after it was over.

FLINT: We think that we've got procedures in place that make us prepared if something like this were to happen in the United States.

COSTELLO: Flint is careful not to sound like he's pressuring lawmakers at such a sensitive time, but there is no question he's tried to hold on to bipartisan support for nuclear power that has been building over the years.

Yet already, some powerful backers of nuclear energy are wavering.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (I-CT), CHAIRMAN, HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: It would be irresponsible not to stop, step back and learn some lessons, if there are some, which I'm sure there will be, from what's happened in this disaster in Japan.

BASH: Senate Homeland Security Chairman Joe Lieberman wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to wait for more information about Japan's crisis before approving pending permits for new U.S. nuclear plant beyond the 104 now operating.

And now in question on Capitol Hill, $36 billion in loan guarantees President Obama requested for more nuclear power plants, which the industry desperately needs to expand.

The president says nuclear power should be a key source of energy. His energy secretary urged lawmakers not to make rash judgments.

STEVEN CHU, ENERGY SECRETARY: It's probably premature to saying except we will learn from this.

BASH: Other top lawmakers agreed.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: We ought not to make the American, U.S. domestic energy policy in the wake of a catastrophic event.

BASH: But nuclear energy lobbyist like Flint are taking nothing for granted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now, Carol, I wanted to show you just how much that particular industry group has spent on lobbying. We're talking about the Nuclear Energy Institute. About $2 million last year in 2010, to be exactly 1.7 million. Now that is nowhere near the hundreds of millions of dollars that is spent by big oil, for example. But it is significant because it is a bump up from what they had done in the past.

If you look at just five years earlier in 2005, it was $750,000. So the nuclear power industry definitely has been spending more money here because they do see that the prospects of - at least historically - for actually getting this done, getting more U.S. nuclear power plant reactors actually built has been growing because bipartisan support has been growing. Carol.

COSTELLO: I understand. I mean I've heard rumors coming out of everywhere there are plans for 200 more nuclear plants to be built across the country?

BASH: There are plans for probably about that to be built. The hope by the supporters of nuclear energy to build those. There are a lot fewer permits actually right pending now before the NRC. But the question right now is whether or not those permits are even going to get done. The other question as I pointed out in the piece is money. The nuclear energy industry desperately needs the backing of the U.S. government to actually build these - these power plants across the country. Because investors, you can see what's going on in Japan, investors are worried and wary of getting involved. But they won't have the backing of the government. Those are some of the things that are in question right now.

COSTELLO: Understood. Dana Bash reporting live from Capitol Hill. Thanks very much.

Still on Capitol Hill today, energy secretary Steven Chu, yesterday he told lawmakers that Americans should have full confidence in the nuclear facilities here. And the strength of the construction. He's expected to repeat that message today and he will face more questions at a budget hearing this morning.

We've been talking about how jumpy Americans are over the nuclear crisis in Japan. And now increasingly they're taking steps to protect themselves from radiation that most experts say will never reach the United States. This is where the potassium iodine used to be in an Arizona pharmacy. And it's literally flying off the shelves. People want it because it can protect your thyroid glands from absorbing excessive amounts of radiation.

Same story, drug stores across California, Washington state and Oregon and western Canada. Pharmacists say they're struggling to keep up with demand. Internet retailers report the same sales rush. But keep in mind, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says Americans are not at risk for increased radiation exposure. That's echoed by the Los Angeles Health Department which says residents who ingest potassium iodide out of concern of possible exposure from the situation are doing something, which is not only ineffective but could also cause side effects. But there are some mixed messages from the surgeon general who told reports in California that she had not heard about West Coasters are stocking up but she called it a precaution, and said she's keeping a watchful eye on the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REGINA BENJAMIN, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: I'm not sure that there's a level of need right now. And certainly the health officers are monitoring, we at CDC are monitoring and certainly will alert the public if there's ever, you know, a real threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But we'll say it again. Government health officials say they do not expect the levels of radiation to rise above what we're exposed to every day. Your cell phone, your TV, even the ground, they all send off radiation.

Deb Feyerick is live in New York to actually - Deb, you have a look at what is normal and what isn't. So, calm our fears.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, listen, Carol. It's everywhere, it's all around us. Exposed to very low doses every single day. It's in the air, in rocks, soil, cigarettes, secondhand smoke, fertilizers, yes, those TV sets all around us and of course, X-rays. When you go and you get an X-ray.

Now, even when you fly, you're actually exposed to certain levels of radiation. A flight from New York to Los Angeles, for example is about half the amount of a chest x-ray. And even that is very, very small.

What's happened over the time is the body has learned to absorb, process, and effectively neutralize background radiation. The amount of radiation you and I absorb every year registers an average level of 6.2. And that's the measurement, millisieverts. Half of that comes from X-rays when you go to the dentist, for example.

Nuclear plant workers are allowed a maximum exposure of 50, that's 50 millisieverts. Now, readings at the facility in Japan were registering at 400. The body would absorb that amount in just two- and-a-half hours, and that could be deadly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. JAMES THRALL, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN COLLEGE OF RADIOLOGY: This is not like resting on the sidelines of a football game. Once you've had that amount of radiation and you've reached the limit, it's a cumulative effect. So, just imagine you were in the sun and you realized you had a horrible sunburn so you came into the shade. Well, you would be very foolish to go right back out into the sun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Clearly, the people who are working at that plant, they really don't have a choice. Chances of any dangerous levels of radiation coming here to the United States are very slim, according to experts.

But for those in Japan, the lasting danger is not necessarily the radiation in the air. Nuclear fallout on the ground. That is the problem. At Chernobyl, people got sick because radioactive particles got into the food supply, the food chain. Cows consumed contaminated grass and water, then thousands of children ended up drinking milk from those cows. They came down with thyroid cancer.

Something else to keep in mind in terms of overall exposure. You see the pictures, you see the devastation there. Well, Dr. James Thrall, who you just heard from, points out explosions at the facility are not atomic explosions, and that does make a difference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THRALL: Nuclear reactors are not designed so that they can even explode the way a bomb does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: You know, we think of Japan, we think of Hiroshima, those pictures, horrible after the event that happened. This is different. But one thing is certain, the area around the plant, that is now a hot zone. It is going to take many years, up to five to 10 to clean up radio active isotopes in the soil. If there's a lot of radioactive cesium, for example, the cleanup of that area and restoring it back to effectively health and life is going to take even longer, Carol.

COSTELLO: It's just such a scary situation still. But thanks for explaining. We appreciate it. Deb Feyerick, live in New York.

Getting out of Japan. We'll take you to Tokyo's International Airport where long lines greet thousands who are trying to leave.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now, to a developing story we've been following for weeks. The movement for change and its violent repercussions in parts of the Arab world. Today in Bahrain's capital, witnesses say security forces attacked protesters in the streets and also staff in a main hospital. And in the fighting in Libya, witnesses say pro-Gadhafi forces are close to taking control of a key gateway to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. An opposition leader in Libya says pro-Gadhafi forces are bombing their way into Misrata, a city on route between Tripoli and the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

CNN's Arwa Damon is on the phone right from eastern Libya. So, it appears that the rebels are fighting an increasingly losing war.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): They are heavily outgunned and certainly not much they can do against this sustained aerial bombardment that they are receiving and have been receiving for weeks now from pro-Gadhafi forces. The fighting right now centered around the city of Ajdabiya, some 100 miles to the west of the stronghold of Benghazi.

We tried to enter that area; we were stopped at a check point outside the opposition fighters. They're telling us it quite simply it was too intense. It would not be safe enough for us to advance. Eyewitnesses telling us about sustained air strikes that began at around 9:30, 10:00 in the morning. Others speaking of pro-Gadhafi forces having taken up sniper positions inside this critical city. One eyewitness telling us an entire family had been killed, either by one of the air strikes or the sustained artillery bombardment that has been going on.

This city, of course, is very key because it's the last major city before the stronghold of Benghazi. Opposition fighters say that they are doing all they can with the weapons they have. They have been extremely disappointed with the response of the international community by and large and, of course, with the response of the United States. They feel as if global leaders are betraying them. But they have taken this fight for democracy, for freedom as far as they can, and the international community is not standing with them. And it is going to be their blood that is going to be spilled at the end of the day, Carol.

COSTELLO: Arwa Damon, reporting live from eastern Libya this morning. Thanks.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Egypt this morning. She made a surprise visit to Tahrir Square in Cairo. And you'll remember that was ground zero for the popular uprising that toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak. She also urged Egyptians to seize this opportunity and move forward as an Arab democracy.

Wolf Blitzer will sit down with the secretary this afternoon, and be sure to tune into "THE SITUATION ROOM" starting at 5:00 p.m. for a full interview. I'm sure he'll ask the secretary about the situation in Libya and the possibility of a no-fly zone.

The Army private accused of giving information to Wikileaks. He spent months in solitary confinement, stripped of his clothes so he won't use them to commit suicide. We'll talk to one psychiatrist who says this amounts to torture.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In today's "Building Up America" report, we found one city that's using pro basketball to make itself a more attractive place to live. Oklahoma City lured an NBA team to the city by building a new arena using funds from a voter-approved one percent sales tax. And for the past two decades, money from that same tax has also been used to build museums, schools, and more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICK CORNETT, OKLAHOMA CITY: We're creating a city where your kid and your grandkid is going to want to live. The past paradigm has been that people went to where the jobs were. And what I believe is that in the future, the people are going to go to the cities where they want to live, and the jobs are going to follow the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And now Oklahoma City enjoys one of the lowest unemployment rates of any city in the country. And sales tax revenues, they're soaring.

The fuse was first lit in Wisconsin, but the bargaining rights controversy is beginning to burn "Cross Country."

(VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's what it looked like at the Tennessee state capital in Nashville where hundreds of public employees rally for better wages and bargaining rights while staring down state police who were trying to stop demonstrators from disrupting committee meetings. Seven people in all were hauled off to jail.

In Ohio, similar shows of pro-union support where state workers there facing off against senate bill No. 5, a measure that if approved, would curb their collective bargaining rights. Critics call it union busting.

And check out this close call on I-70 in St. Louis. Police trying to get a handle on post-accident traffic get their squad car -- well, you see it right there. In a replay, if you look closely -- this is the replay, you can see one of the officers jumping the median rail to safety as the cruiser goes spinning out of control. Amazingly enough, nobody was hurt. The officers are just fine.

Army Private Bradley Manning, the man accused of giving Wikileaks classified documents, has spent the last nine months in solitary confinement. Guards at the brig make him sleep naked at night because they're afraid he might use his clothes to kill himself. One psychiatrist tells CNN this amounts to torture and could do Manning a lot more harm than good.

Terry Kupers joins us from Berkeley, California. Welcome, thanks for being with us.

Can you hear me?

Oh, we can't hear you, though. Um, we're going to go to break, and we're going to fix Terry's microphone, and we'll be right back. Sorry about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: OK. So, let's give it a go again. Army Private Bradley Manning, the man accused of giving Wikileaks classified documents, spent most of the last nine months in solitary confinement. One psychiatrist tells CNN that amounted to torture and it could've done more harm than good.

Terry Kupers joins us from Berkeley, California. Welcome once again.

TERRY KUPERS, PSYCHIATRIST: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. And I'm glad I can hear you now. Private manning is no longer in solitary confinement, I understand. They -- he has one hour a day where he's out. And for most of the day he can communicate with other prisoners. So is that better?

KUPERS: Well, social contact is better. Also, there's the issue of meaningful activities. Human beings need to both be in contact with other human beings and have meaningful activities. He has been entirely deprived for a very long time, seven or eight months. And that is known to cause mental illness, and the prevalence of suicide in those kind of conditions is extremely high. So for those reasons, it's a very stressful situation for him.

COSTELLO: But military personnel would say that the threat of suicide was there, that's why he was forced to sleep naked because he was trying to kill himself with his clothes. So, what do you do?

KUPERS: Well, if he's truly suicidal -- and his own attorneys are saying he's not, that that was trumped up. But if he is truly suicidal, then what he needs is to be removed from conditions that are known to cause suicide, such as solitary confinement, and to be put in treatment. It isn't OK to strip him of his clothes. The Constitution guarantees humane conditions for people. And this was a violation.

COSTELLO: But this is a military prison. It's not -- like a prison that normal people go to when they commit crimes in the United States. Many people would argue that this man is a traitor to his country, and he's being treated accordingly.

KUPERS: Well, always, there's some rationale for human rights abuses for torture. And that's what the military is claiming here. They're claiming they're preventing suicide when actually they're putting him in the precise conditions that cause suicide. And they're depriving him of rights that United States citizens have even if they're in the military. The Constitution still applies.

COSTELLO: So, what do you suggest? Should he be treated differently than other prisoners who have been accused of similar crimes?

KUPERS: Well, nobody has been accused of crimes like Bradley Manning's. He has not turned information over to any foreign government. Rather, he has released documents. A lot of people are saying he's a whistleblower.

This is something that needs to be determined in court. He is pre-trial. But he is being put into conditions that are considered an eighth amendment violation. That is they constitute cruel or inhumane treatment. And by international standards, they constitute torture. This is not OK. He hasn't been convicted of anything.

COSTELLO: Well, I'm sure military personnel would beg to differ. But thank you for your perspective. Terry Kupers is live from Berkeley today. Thank you.

KUPERS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Breaking news to tell you about now. More than 200 sexually abused children have been rescued in a worldwide investigation. That's according to European police.

Atika Shubert is joining us live from London. And Atika, tell us about this. This had to be a huge operation.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It definitely was. It's one of the biggest investigations we've seen of its kind. It's about three years in the making. It was called Operation Rescue. It involved 13 different countries, but ultimately started in Holland. That's where the Web site was identified as BoyLover.net. This was a discussion forum about sexual experiences with young boys.

That was infiltrated by local police. From there, they were able to track several suspects and then notify other countries where they were then able to make arrests. And, in fact, they were able to identify more than 600 suspected offenders and able to make more than 180 arrests in various countries. And they say they were able to identify more than 200 of the children that they found in videos and photographs and other images of child abuse -- identify those children. And they say those children have ultimately been safeguarded.

COSTELLO: Atika, you might have said this and I missed it. But were any suspects rounded up from the United States?

SHUBERT: The United States was one of the countries involved. So, we do believe that, yes, some suspects may have been arrested in the United States. We don't know exactly how many. Apparently, many of the suspects were actually arrested here in the UK. But again, there was 13 countries involved.

And I should point out, this is an investigation that is still ongoing. So there may be more arrests yet to come.

COSTELLO: Atika Shubert, reporting live from London, thanks so much. Also this morning, a Pakistani government official says a CIA contractor facing murder charges has now been released from jail. The official says victims' families did not want to pursue charges against Raymond Davis. Davis had been held in connection with the January shooting death of two Pakistani men. Davis has maintained the shooting was in self defense.

Much more Japan coverage ahead on CNN, including a look inside the nuclear industry. Michael Freelander is a former operator of U.S. power plants. He will share his insights in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We have just learned that Delta Airlines has donated $1 million to help the Japanese people. But overall the level of support has been pretty reserved. A newspaper that reports on nonprofit groups says Americans donated about $46 million four days after the earthquake. Compare that to Haiti; four days after that quake, more than three times that amount had in. And four days after Hurricane Katrina, Americans had given more than $108 million to the Gulf Coast.

Life has changed dramatically for hundreds of thousands of Japanese people forced into shelters by the earthquake and tsunami. Many say they're surviving simply by helping one another. Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, went to one shelter where residents find comfort sharing everyday chores.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via translator): This is the Matsibua Kominan (ph) in Kasama City in Miyagi prefecture, where 450 people are now sheltered. Many people have lost their homes in the tsunami.

The women living in the shelters are cooking here. They say that helping each other is encouraging them to get by. This woman says that there are many people who have lost their houses, and they're in the same road and therefore they are cheering each other up and encouraging each other as they live day by day.

The people at the shelter said that they are looking for what they can do so they can go through and get through these troublesome days. Says that if people help each other, there will be a bright future ahead. He says that that is the hope that people here share.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: If you want to donate money to the relief effort, it's simple. Just go to CNN.com/impact. And there's a list of ways that you can help.

Japan's nuclear worries has the attention of lawmakers in Washington. It tops our "Fast Forward" look at news today. Later this afternoon, California senator Barbara Boxer, who chairs the Senate committee overseeing nuclear safety, meets with her counterpart from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to see what, if any, implications the Japan crisis may have here in the United States.

In the meantime, that same hour, first lady Michelle Obama is set to break ground on her third kitchen garden at the White House. Spring is here.

An hour later at the Wisconsin state house, Governor Walker holds a news conference with school superintendents from various districts to discuss the impact of the budget repair bill on their school districts.

And now it's time to toss it to Suzanne Malveaux. And I'll join you, Suzanne, in just a couple of minutes.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Great. You know, the first lady, they have spices at the garden too, not just veggies.

COSTELLO: Oh! Basil and stuff like that?

MALVEAUX: Yes! Pretty impressive. Honey, they have honey, as well. Beehives.

COSTELLO: It's a successful garden; I'm impressed.

MALVEAUX: Yes. Pretty cool. All right, Carol. See you in a bit.

COSTELLO: Sure.