Engineers working on restoring the cooling system to Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are making progress, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano. He told reporters today, "The situation there is stabilizing somewhat."

If you had any doubt about just how out-of-control Japan's nuclear situation is, take a look at Tokyo Electric Power Company Managing Director Akio Komori, who broke down after a press conference about the stricken Fukushima power plant.

The effort to cool Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant by dropping seawater from helicopters and repairing water pumps is not going well, and engineers suggested today that the entire site might need to be buried under sand and concrete, as was done at Chernobyl 25 years ago. A plant official told reporters today, "It is not impossible to encase the reactors in concrete. But our priority right now is to try and cool them down first."

The Japanese attempt to cool the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant entered a new stage on Thursday morning, as military helicopters dumped sea water on two reactors, hoping to control the temperatures and avoid the release of radioactive steam. But the U.S. government remained pessimistic, and offered to assist any American citizen looking to leave Japan.

There aren't many options left for the nuclear crisis at Japan's Fukushima plant. There may be no more water to cool the no. 4 reactor, leaving the rods indefinitely exposed and certain to melt down. The Japanese emperor, who is "deeply concerned," has made a rare address to the public. Meanwhile, bankers are hogging all the planes out of the country. Here are the latest updates from the Japanese earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown disaster.

Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis escalated on Wednesday, as authorities acknowledged that a second reactor at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may have been compromised. All but 50 workers have been evacuated from the complex as radiation levels surged and emergency workers struggle to deal with a fire at yet another reactor.

Another fire has broken out at Japan's troubled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Flames were reported at the facility's No. 4 reactor, which first caught fire 24 hours ago. Now concern is mounting over two other reactors at the plant.

The clean-up from Japan's earthquake and tsunami will take forever. Cars, boats, and heavy debris are strewn about the grid of flattened houses and stripped buildings. These photos from the past 24 hours show the true scale of this mess.

The good news, which is not really "good" news much at all, is that Japan's Fukushima nuclear reactors didn't all fully melt down in the last 12 hours. That may sound cynical, but if you were following the fast developments in last night's news, a total nuclear catastrophe really did seem imminent. It's still unclear, though, how much radiation is leaking into the air, and another mid-size (6.1 magnitude) earthquake did strike southwest of Tokyo overnight. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasuries are soaring! Here's the latest news.

Amid all of the horrible destruction and human tragedy in Japan following last week's earthquake and tsunami, finally a bit of good news: A 70-year-old woman was found alive in her home in Iwate prefecture by rescuers after it had been washed away in the tsunami. She is suffering from hypothermia, but remains conscious in a hospital. Hopefully she's able to recover quickly. [AP/MSNBC]

Click to viewPeople around the world have been struggling to comprehend the tragedy that hit Japan on Friday. Even Fox News personality Glenn Beck! "I'm not saying God is... causing earthquakes," he told his Monday radio listeners. "I'm not not saying that either."

After an early-morning explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station damaged one reactor's steel containment vessel and spurred the removal of emergency workers, officials expanded the evacuation zone and braced for "much larger emissions of radioactive materials." How bad are we talking? "It's way past Three Mile Island already," physicist Frank von Hippel tells The New York Times.

It's Tuesday morning in Japan now, and the country's damaged nuclear reactors still face the prospect of melting down. The desperate move to cool overheated fuel rods with seawater has run into some problems. The death toll is above 10,000. As if this weren't enough, estimates are already trickling in for the country's staggering reconstruction costs. If you have the masochistic need to read any further, here's a roundup of the latest news.

Another explosion hit the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant, injuring six as authorities scramble to cool the nuclear reactors and contain a partial meltdown three days after the facility was devastated in a massive earthquake and resultant tsunami. Elsewhere in the northeast, thousands of bodies were found washed up on shore. Here's a roundup of the latest news.

As Japan struggles to contain partial meltdowns at two nuclear reactors, over 200,000 people have been evacuated from the immediate area. An explosion is feared at another reactor, and both were experiencing some level of core melting. Meanwhile, officials said the death toll in Miyagi prefecture is over 10,000. The prime minister has doubled the number of deployed troops to 100,000. Here's a roundup of the latest news, with updates throughout the day.

It's still unclear if the Japanese nuclear plant that exploded this morning is experiencing a meltdown or not. But it definitely is leaking radiation: Three out of 90 people tested in the town of Fukushima "show excess exposure to radiation," reports the Los Angeles Times. "The people had apparently been exposed as they waited outside a school for evacuation by helicopter."

Here are some new photos of the devastation following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. [Images via AP]

With rescue efforts underway following Friday's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the nation is under a new threat from an explosion at a nuclear power plant. The prime minister has dispatched 50,000 soldiers to the country's north, in addition to navy ships and aircraft. Also, Japanese TV is reporting that 9,500 people are missing from one town.

The Japanese earthquake is having truly global effects. Rescue workers are searching for a California man who was washed into the sea by a tsunami when he was trying to take pictures of the incoming wave in northern California. Four others were swept off an Oregon beach earlier today, but managed to make it back to shore. The lesson for people living in beachfront communities on the West Coast? Stay inside and watch it on TV.

Japan is still trying to account for the total damage from last night's devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami. The death toll is still rising, and, ominously, there may be a radiation leak at one of the country's largest nuclear reactors. Meanwhile on the other side of the Pacific, tsunami waves reached America's west coast today without taking much of a toll. The latest news updates are below.