glad you're watching live on msnbc or listening live on sirris xm radio. text us why you're awake or text the word "awake" followed by your response to 622639. we'll read the best responses later in the show. next 30 minutes will be your crametary of state hillary clinton in london to discuss the important question of what comes next in libya. plus -- richard simmons, still rocking the candy striped short-shorts and bedazzled tank tops -- become the in-flight safety spokesman for a major international airline. this is the safety video right here. not kidding. this is not a joke, this is an actual safety video with richard simmons as the host. let's get to the real news live at 5:30 a.m., 30 rock in new york city. president obama has now made his case for american involvement in libya, saying repeatedly that the u.s. intervened to prevent the slaughter of civilians. speaking before an audience at the national defense university in washington last night, the president insisted that not taking action would have been "a betrayal of who we are as americans." >> if we waited one more day, benghazi, a city nearly the size of charlotte, could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world. it was not in our national interest to let that happen. i refused to let that happen. >> some of the headlines this morning, "we had to do it," was the message obama put out invoking u.s. duty in libya. "washington post," "u.s. had responsibility to act." the president did rule out targeting muammar gadhafi, warning that trying to oust him militarily would be a mistake, as costly, said the president, as the war in iraq. >> if we tried to overthrow gadhafi by force, our coalition would splinter. we would likely have to put u.s. troops on the ground to accomplish that mission or risk killing many civilians from the air. to be academy, we went down that road in iraq. thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our troops and the determination of our diplomats, we are hopeful about iraq's future. but regime change there took eight years, thousands of american and iraqi lives, and nearly $1 trillion. that is not something we can afford to repeat in libya. >> the president then touted the military progress in libya, stressing that it is an international effort and that nato would take command of the entire operation on wednesday. the president also referred specifically to the year of foot-dragging that prevented a nato-led coalition from intervening in bosnia for more than a year while civilians were killed there in an ethnic civil war. >> in just one month, the united states has worked with our international partners to mobilize a broad coalition, secure an international mandate to protect civilians, stop an advancing army, prevent a massacre, and establish a no-fly zone with our allies and partners. to lend some perspective on how rapidly this military and diplomatic response came together, when people were being brutalized in bosnia in the 1990s, it took the international community more than a year to intervene with air power to protect civilians. it took us 31 days. contrary to the claims of some, american leadership is not simply a matter of going it alone and bearing all of the burden ourselves. real leadership creates the conditions and coalitions for others to step up, as well, to work with allies and partners so that they bear their share of the burden and pay their share of the costs. and to see that the principles of justice and human dignity are upheld by all. >> so a lot of people wondering what comes next in libya. who exactly are we supporting? the president warned that libya's democratic transition would be difficult. >> even after gadhafi does leave power, 40 years of tyranny has left libya fractured and without strong civil institutions. the transition to a legitimate government that is responsive to the libyan people will be a difficult task. and while the united states will do our part to help, it will be a task for the international community and, more importantly, a task for the libyan people themselves. >> the president generally welcomed what many are calling an arab spring in the middle east and pointing out that the united states would serve as a "north star" for democracy there. >> i know that at a time of upheaval overseas when the news is filled with conflict and change, it can be tempting to turn away from the world. and as i've said before, our strength abroad is anchored in our strength here at home. that u.n. always be our north star. >> while the president did lay out something of a doctrine last night, many are criticizing the lack of details. he offered no idea of when the conflict in libya might end or the cost. in congress there were surprising sonses. you might -- responses. you might find in the papers, "washington post," "what the president didn't do was explain exactly how what's right differs from what isn't. he didn't explain how factors such as milk or oil should figure -- politics or oil should figure into decisions on to whether or not to intervene. he didn't explain which conflicts are worthy of ground troops and which are not. the obama doctrine's outlines are clear." and the the "washington post," "obama may not have changed the minds of those who believe that the libyan operation was unwise or of others who believe it didn't go far enough. but no one can complain that he didn't make a thoughtful, compelling case for his decision to of force in libya. that airs tonight on the "nbc nightly news." secretary of state hillary clinton is in london this morning for an international conference to discuss the future of libya. more than 40 foreign ministers including several from arab states are gathering to map out long-term solutions to the country's crisis this. comes as a senior administration official says the united states will send an envoy to libya to meet with leaders of the rebels who are fighting gadhafi's forces. those robles are now encounter -- rebels are now encountering resistance in gadhafi's hometown. richard engle has been charting their path from benghazi. >> reporter: after advancing almost unchecked for two days, rebels are having to fight for territory. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: in the desert outside sert, rebels fired rock totes attack gadhafi's troops, dug in miles away. gadhafi is making a stand here. sert is his hometown, and a gateway to tripoli. until now the rebels have mostly relied on western air strikes. [ chanting ] >> reporter: the rebels' lightning advance this weekend was more a drive-thru than a conquest. after nato air power obliterated gadhafi's tanks, they retreated, some took off uniforms. others left behind half eaten meals. almost without resistance, the rebels advanced from benghazi through ajdabiya, all the way to the edge of sert, covering 350 miles. now that the rebels are having to fight, their supply line is thin. there's little fuel in the desert near sirte. the rebels fill up before heading to the front. >> we will come to you, gadhafi. >> reporter: the rebels' plan is to capture sirte with western air power clearing the way. link up with the opposition in misurata and then make a final push to tripoli. as western reporters saw firsthand today, misurata remains a battleground at least for now with gadhafi forces fighting rebels to a draw. back in benghazi, the unofficial rebel capital, there were victory parades today with a new sense of optimism. a rebel spokesman told us the opposition needs air strikes to continue for at least a few more weeks. >> we'd like to be resolute, decisive, to continue what they have started because results are beginning to bear fruit. and it seems that the time for gadhafi is getting shorter and shorter. >> richard engle from libya. syria's president is expected to speak to the nation as earle as today to announce the lifting of a state emergency in place nature nearly 50 years. the move is to address complaints against president assad. the authoritarian rule under him. however, witnesses in the southwestern part of the capital say security forces have been using teargas against protesters and firing live ammunition into the air. yet another sign of the growing political crisis that's gripping yemen. at least 78 people were killed yesterday when an explosion tore through an abandoned government weapons factory. witnesses say the explosion took place as crowds of residents were looting the facility for weapons. the blast which appeared to have been accidental underscores an ominous collapse of authority in yemen after six weeks of protests. workers are racing to contain the damage from japan's nuclear crisis, and they are facing a growing list of challenges. traces of plutonium are seeping from the damage's fukushima plant into the soil outside the facility. for the latest we bring in nbc's lee cowan who is live in tokyo. good morning, lee. >> reporter: good morning. yeah, they are very minute traces of plutonium, and while that will can certainly be deadly even in small doses to humans, the government insists that this is in such miniscule amounts that it poses no threat. and most nuclear experts that we talked to said it's not any surprise that there would be some trace amounts given the level of the disaster that's going on at the plants. the bigger issue at the moment now is this balancing act between what to do with all the radioactive water that's leaking out and the need to keep reactors cool. the more water that you put on the roads to keep them cool, the more radioactive debris that you're creating that has to be pumped out, and the government said today they really don't have any solution to exactly how to do that better than just trial and error. they sort of wait until the reactors heat up to some extent, they take water off it when it heats up, put more water on it and then pump it out on the back side. they still haven't pumped the water out enough to get the workers back in. it's going to be a yo-yo back and forth for, experts say, weeks going on. there's no playbook obviously. they're just improvising as they go. >> that's a hellish choice that they're facing. lee cowan in tokyo, thank you very much. at home, a government shutdown is looking more likely as we get closer to april 8, the deadline for congress to reach a deal on funding for the rest of this fiscal year. according to talking points memo, republicans are expected to reject a democratic offer for another $20 billion worth of budget cuts on top of $10 billion already enacted by congress. yesterday, senate majority leader harry reid said negotiations have stalled applause republicans with under pressure, he said, from tea party activists to cut more than $60 billion. >> republicans refuse to negotiate on a final number. that's because the biggest gap in the negotiation is not through republicans and democrats, it's bl democrats, it's between republicans and the republicans. the republican leadership in congress is keeping our negotiating partner from the negotiating table. it's pretty eric cantor put the onus on democrats saying in the scope of our debt crisis, if snyder reid and senator -- senator reid and senator schumer force the government to partially shut down over sensible spending cuts, americans will hold them accountable." still ahead, president obama lays out the argument for going into libya a couple weeks after he goes into libya. where will be the next spot worthy of american intervention? we'll discuss that. and donald trump produces a copy of his birth certificate to make the point that president obama should just show his if he had one. donald's is lovely, heavy paperstock, gold inlay. >> reporter: the blasts were deafening and deadly, striking deep in moscow's subway, teeming with half a million passengers at 8:00 a.m. after six years of relative quiet, terror had returned to the capital. i'm good about washing my face. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] introducing purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. developed with dermatologists... it's clinically proven to remove 99% of dirt and toxins and purify pores. and with natural willowbark it contains no dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. dirt and toxins do a vanishing act and my skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] new purifying facial cleanser from the new line of neutrogena naturals. here's the truth. allstate can also protect your home or apartment, as well as your boat, motorcycle, rv, and snowmobile, and even your retirement and your life. not many insurance companies can say that. but allstate can. now that you know the truth, know this: the more of your world you put in good hands, the more you can save. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. by giving me huge discounts on rooms hotels can't always fill. the more you can save. with unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. where you book matters. expedia. yeah. well we're the two active ingredients in zegerid otc. i'm omeprazole. and i'm sodium bicarbonate. just one pill a day ... gives you 24-hour relief. & one mission. two ingredients heartburn solved. [ snoring ] 5:47 in the morning. a live picture of times square in new york city. let's check weather from nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill? good news and bad news. today is going to be a repeat of yesterday where it was sunny, but it was very cold. >> about 20 degrees yesterday. >> i know. the case this morning, too. windchills are about the same as you head out the door to get the kids ready today. we're in the 20-degree range in most locations. just like yesterday, we'll have a good deal of sunshine this afternoon. that will help at least during the middle of the day. temperatures, highs today, most areas in the 40s. maybe d.c. squeaks into the 50s. we also have a severe weather threat from mobile, new orleans, to houston and san antonio. that's where we could see strong thunderstorms. otherwise, rest of the country's pretty calm. just the gulf coast, some thunderstorms this afternoon. >> bill, you got a couple days until april to warm this up. otherwise, we'll have to go in another direction. >> april fools' day is friday. maybe snow in new england. i'll update that throughout the week. >> this might be your last week. thank you very much. time spr sports. the new york knicks on a six-graham losing streak -- six-week losing streak. they've been horrible. playing at home against the magic. carmelo anthony calling it a must-win game. taking over, hits the three from the wing. he had 19 in the third quarter alone. midway through the fourth, dwight howard is just the man among boys. spin and slam, orlando up two. nine seconds ago, knicks up by three. jason richardson of orlando, hoists the three to tie it at 100. carmelo gets one more try for the win. a little leaner -- does not go. can't get the foul. leaves it short. in overtime, in transition in ot, chauncey billups is going to hit carmelo on the outlet. nothing like a little cherry picking. that was my signature move in basketball. throws it down. knicks up four and pull away. frustration for the magic here. jason richardson -- grabbing anthony, tripping him while scrambling for a loose ball. knicks went on to win the game -- fighting after the incident. knicks win 113-106, snapping the six-game losing streak. carmelo delivered with 39 points. two people whaon osti to barry bonds hav testified against him at his trial. the "san francisco chronicle" reports on its frond page, "bonds' former mistress took the stand saying bonds confessed to her that he was using steroids." contending that other players were doing the same. s she testified that bonds blamed it on steroid use after an injury, causing muscles and tendons to grow faster than usual. bonds who holds the record for the most home runs in a single season is accused of lying to a grand jury about his steroid use. finally, speaking of steroids, it looks like jose conseco tried to pull a fast one. did you hear about this? he was supposed to fight in a celebrity boxing match saturday night in south florida. according to the event's promoter at the seminole hard rock hotel, he pulled the bate and switch, sending his twin brother, ozzie, seen on the right, to box in his place. somebody figured out what was going on ozzie took off his shirt and, of course, had completely different tattoos than jose would have had. come on, jose. the fight was called off and ozzie received a police escort out of the casino. the promoter is trying to reclaim the $5,000 he paid jose to show up. jose conseco, everybody. coming up at the top of the hour on "morning joe," we'll talk to our friend, tom brokaw. and the former governor of minnesota and likely presidential candidate tim pawlenty and bill bennett. we'll ask them what they thought of the president's speech where he defended his decision to go into libya. so what is this new obama doctrine? and when we come back here, we will huddle around the water cooler to watch an actual in-flight airplane safety video. if you're flying on a certain airline, you will soon see this as your safety video. we'll check in with richard simons. [ alarm ] our most effective alliance, nato, has taken command of the enforcement of the arms embargo and the no-fly zone. i am fully confident that our coalition will keep the pressure on gadhafi's remaining forces. in that effort, the united states will play a supporting role. >> the president of the united states making his case last night to the american people for the intervention in libya saying that the u.s. military will take a back seat now to nato command of military operations going forward. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends that according to the associated press, the united states supplies 22% of nato's budget. more than the next largest contributors britain and france combined. nearly 1/5 of the baseline u.s. defense budget is nato-related. amounting to roughly $100 billion every year. enough of the real news. let's huddle around the water cooler to catch up with the next president of the united states, donald j. trump. you know, he's been out wondering where's the birth certificate for the president of the united states. mr. obama. yesterday, he provided his. he said look how easy this is, mr. obama. here it is. certificate of birth, boom. there it is. how you like me now? donald trump. one problem -- if new york city officials -- this is a new york birth certificate -- from the department of health said if it was a real birth certificate it would have a seal and signature of the city registrar. neither of which is here. hmm. new birther controversy for donald trump. he's donald talking last night. >> somebody asked me today could i see your birth certificate. his it in my hands in less than an hour. the fact is that if you look at what's happened with respect to this birth certificate issue, he doesn't have it, he spent millions of dollars on lawyers trying to get out of the issue, they give what's called a certificate of live birth had which doesn't have a signature on it and anybody can get a certificate of live birth. it's nothing to do with a birth certificate. you don't have a doctor or a nurse -- he's the president of the united states, and no doctor, no nurse, nobody's come forward saying "i delivered that beautiful baby." >> that beautiful, beautiful baby. speaking of beautiful babies, let's talk about richard s. in-flight safety video. you go in, put the seat belt on and the video -- here it is. >> in the next three minutes we're going to work hard. work out, get you fit toly! let's go! now it's seat belt time. when the seat belt sign comes on, buckle it in. grab, click, pull. grab, click pull. nice and snug, low across the hips, but not too tight. don't worr