500,000 Japanese in Shelters

With the northeast ravaged by an earthquake and tsunami, half a million have moved to temporary shelters, according to Japanese media, while rescue workers struggled to supply the hardest-hit communities with food and water. The official death toll has surpassed 1,800, though it’s certain to rise even further. Meanwhile, the nation's economy is teetering on the edge of financial crisis, and the death toll is continuing to rise. Tokyo Electric Power Co. had planned power outages during Monday to conserve energy, but then changed its mind when they saw that energy demand was lower than usual. And as the stock market plunged 6.2 percent, the Bank of Japan offered to bolster short-term money markets with roughly $269 billion.