1.7 million earthquake vehicles. the auto make are recalled nearly 2 million last month. the problems ranged from faulty starters to engin engine fires. "america tonight" with joie chen is coming up next. >> on america tonight. special coverage on stories the world can watching, raising hopes and sowing confusion about the fate of malaysia flight 370. >> they said the plane was in another direction. in terms of timing, they knew the direction, but covered it up. they haven't given us explanation why they concealed it. >> anger, anxiety for the families. >> and crimea after a

rubber stamp referendum. >> the soul is singing. we are home, we are with russia. >> putin's power play puts the west on deference. what's the next move and can anything stop it ? welcome to a special "america tonight." we note the special interest of our are audience, we focus on both stories this hour. the crisis in ukraine which a national leader warns he fears may be hours away from a shooting war. first on the mist of malaysia air 370. the -- on the mystery of malaysia air 370. the u.s.s. kidd will go back to its normal duties, and malaysian officials reveal a a new time

line which suggest a final communication from the cockpit, all right, good night, may have come before the communications were cut off. search area now covers 30 million square miles, most of the up indian ocean, 15% of the whole planet. bear in mind that the aircraft's black boxes are only bl meant to send -- meant to send signals for 30 days. ten of those are now gone. lisa stark has the story. >> as investigators in malaysia search the home of the plane's captain and co-pilot, authorities say an analysis of the air traffic recording reveals who

spoke the last words from the cockpit, it was the man in the right seat. >> this investigation indicate it was the co-pilot who basically spoke the last time it was recorded on tape. >> that was 27-year-old far arik abdul hamid. investigators revised their time line saying the two communication he systems that were switched off on the jet may have both been disabled in the minutes after that final radio transmission. police have interviewed the family of the captain, fari d, and the flight simulator in his home. >> we have dismantled it in his room and assembled it in our office and getting experts to look at it now.

>> they do not believe he could have been involved in the flight's disappearance, friends say. >> if anything happened in the plane, he would make sure that everyone else would have beneficiary taken care of before thoughts of himself. >> search for plane is anywhere from central asia to west of australia, deep in the indian ocean. >> u.s. china and france amongst others to provide further satellite detail. >> sunday the u.s. added its most sophisticated subhunter the p-8 to the search. the flight's disappearance is a deliberate anlt act have refused u.s. nelings incidence into the renewed focus ton pilots. >> the fbi could have been called, interpol, but my understanding is malaysia isn't really cooperating at all. >> also lie in the

flight's black boxes which if ever recovered may yield few clues. >> it only records data for two hours then overyou writes itself. if it was going on for six or seven hours, we have lost it. >> we know the french have now been asked to come to help with this search. these are frecial officials -- french officials who found the flight that disappeared over the atlantic so obviously they have a lot of experience with deep water searches. >> be a change in the u.s. strategy, the u.s. is pulling the u.s.s. kidd out. is there a sense that things are shifting in the search effort? >> there are senses, there is now such a massive area that

they feel that surface ships aren't going odo the job. they are bringing in aircraft, flying over the ocean, taking a look to see what might be there, the u.s. is still involved. they will have a p-8 poseidon l aircraft up and they will be council mainly an air search, not a search on the water. >> and the other thing is we have said before the black boxes will ping about 30 days. >> right. we're getting there. >> we're getting knowledge close to that. they are only certified to go for 30 days so that's the guarantee. and they do want to get to those boxes. they have to drop some listening devices into the water but to do that they really have to narrow down the search area to figure out where they can drop those listening devices to get close enough olisten for distinctionive pings from the black boxes. >> we want to join the

conversation with john cox with the aviation security and safety institute, captain cox we appreciate you can being with us. what's striking is the nature of the search. you would think we would be narrowing and narrowing a search and now it's growing wider and wider. is there a sense where the search cannot go on, where this becomes hopeless? >> no, i think we're following evidence as it unfolds and the search area is being adjusted appropriately. what we're doing is searching by elimination. we know where we have not looked. we know we have not found adebris field and they continue to expand it based on new evidence. i think we will find a debris field. i think there is a debris field out there. given some time and the quality of the search assets that are being employed i think we'll find this debris field. >> lisa, i want to ask you about that too.

from my political standpoint as well, can a search like this which by the way is an expensive undertaking for all the nations >> certainly. >> how long can a search like this go on? it is kind of unprecedented. >> obviously it is unprecedented. you want answer he for the families who are suffering at this time. you want answers for the aviation industry and folks who are being involved in investigating terrorism. you can't get that answer unless they find the black boxes and the wreckage. they are going to be loath to end this search until they really feel there is no hope and that's going to be quite a while. >> captain cox, so much much what we have heard, has we all wonder and think what is going on in there. a lot of focus in the last

couple of days has been on the transmissions from the aircraft or maybe the lack of transmissions and whether it could have happened sort of simultaneously or through -- whether it had to be involved for example with human intervention. did somebody have to turn it off. knowing what you know about these cock pits, is it -- cockpits, is it clear that somebody had to turn off these communication device he, did a human hand have to be involved? >> let's take them in the three parts that we know. one is the communications radio. what we 92 is it was not -- know is it was not utilized after the last transmission. it may have failed, it may not have been set to transmit, in other words the transmit switch, or it could have been deprived of electrical power. the same thing with the transponder. the component itself could have failed or it may have been switched off. we have no way to know on either

of those whether the human intervention actually occurred or not. what we do know and what is the most compelling piece of evidence so far that we have got is one of the data systems called the acar system, it sends out data on a regular basis, it had been doing that up to nearly this last known points. it stopped transmitting the data but it continued to talk to the network. that means it had electrical power and the component was functioning. for that to occur in all likelihood required human intervention. that's one of the strongest physical pieces of evidence that we have so far. >> so many of us think we know what's going on, i think i've heard from everybody in the world that everybody knows what happens here. but to underscore this point is it possible that someone in the cockpit whether it's a pilot or somebody else could have turned off all the switches by hand?

>> it is conceivable that that would have occurred. could have occurred. the -- one of the things that i think it's very, very important after being an accident investigator for something over three decades. we must keep an open mind here. there's nothing off the table. so we know that we don't know a whole lot. we are following evidence one piece at a time. it may very well prove in the end that there was human intervention. but we don't have enough evidence yet to support that as the only possibility. >> and lisa as captain says nothing can be taken off the table here but when we hear people talk about it a lot of people ask it so i have to pose it. is it possible that this aircraft has landed on the ground somewhere? >> if you clearly look at the two halves they're looking at, one is over the water, the other is over land. so conceive ably, if it flew for seven and a half hours it could have landed somewhere but the

thought was it would have been picked up over radar. the best guess is that it did not land somewhere, that it is at the bottom of the indian ocean somewhere. that is their best guess but until we find it joie we really don't know. >> captain cox on that point, until we find it we see so much confusion here. are is it because there are different ways, for investigation acknowledge does that drobt what has been so -- contribute to what has been so much confusion here? >> there is an international convention, international affair yaition organization known as ikao, called annex 13, this investigation is now being paralleled by criminal investigation. but it's being conducted in accordance with icao annex 13. >> everything is being conducted

within international standards is what you're saying? >> that's correct, that's correct. if we look at the airports that are available that have been characterized as a possible place for them to land, an airplane the size of a 777, one of the slights would pick it up. it's not easily hid, there are some hangars, i agree with some people i think if it were on land based on the radar, based on the fact that the satellites would have picked it up, we have looked at a large number of these airports, i don't think the evidence supports the idea that it's on >> unfortunately. thank you so much, captain john cox, also with us, al jazeera's lisa stark, appreciate you being here. our special coverage of malaysia air 370 continues after a break with misery in waiting. the unanswered questions, and confused questions, pushing

families to the breaking point. and an "america tonight" investigation to watch for: invisible children and the system that's failed them. >> the protective investigator never laid eyes on those children. there was no visual. >> so the investigator never went into the home? >> that was a violation of dc lf regulation. >> florida's can abandoning its most vulnerable. sheila macvicar two part >> the ukraine crisis as tensions esalate >> russia for all inents and purposes showing no signs of backing down. >> crimea's vote rejected by the west...

>> here in crimea, a lot of them say the west should just butt out... >> new santions looming >> mr. ambassador will those sanctions work? >> things could easily get out of control >> will crimea break away? what's russia's next move? and how will th u.s. respond? >> we're making it clear that there are consequences for their actions... >> for continuing coverage stay with al jazeera america your global news leader.

>> for all the suspicions and speculation about malaysia air flight 370 at its heart, this mystery is about the people on board who are missing and are missed. 239 souls on board that flight from kuala lumpur to beijing, what happened to them? more than two dozen countries are searching for them. "america tonight"'s sarah hoy has the story. >> you know what it's like to lose a 50-year-old son, i know that my son is with god. >> there's been no trace of flight 370 since it vanished

more than a week ago. with the fate of the passengers and crew of the missing flight still unknown, relatives of the missing, journey a roller coaster. ever since the plane missing from kuala lumpur to beijing, two men with stolen passports, search area expanded, deliberate act. a pilot signs off the radio with the casual all right, good night. for some family members of the missing the lack of hard information has only brought anguish. the mystery behind the plane's disappearance pushed one father of the missing to his break point. >> translator: the point is that we care about our relatives. where have they gone? they have been missing for such a long time. they are speaking nonsense. they haven't rescued people as fast as they should have. after seven or eight days they said the plane was in another direction. in terms of timing they knew the

direction of the plane when it first happened but they covered it up. they still haven't given us explanation as to why they covered it up. >> waiting for word about their loved ones, for some it's of no value. >> translator: this is really not about whether they provide us with a hotel or not. we just want our family members. our relatives. we don't want anything else. we are all suffering so much, and we're extremely angry. >> reporter: despite the lack of clues, she hopes her father will return home. she turned to twitter, come home fast, dad, it's the only thing i want. and until today we are still waiting for you dad. read another. as the international search effort including some 26 countries continues to come up

empty-handed, the airline told relatives of the passengers and crew to prepare for worst. as grieving family mems wait for answers, dms members wait for answers, hope the missing malaysia airlines plane will be found. refocused this investigation. and given hope to family members. >> translator: you could say that this is good news. in the overall view of the situation it's good news. this means that there's still hope that our relatives are alive. ing. >> "america tonight" sarah hoy, rejoins us tonight. we saw that mother at the beginning of your report, obviously so heartbroken, believing her son is gone. that's not true for everyone. something people believe. >> the news this may have been a hijack something deliberate give families hope. this family in texas, they are

really expecting a miracle, so much so they have set up a him. this is a springboard resurgence of energy, our family are not lost, they want a real reason, there's no bodies, there's no planes. it's hard to hold onto something, they have a little glimmer a little flicker. >> sarah hoy, thanks so much. >> after the break, our mairnts "america tonight" focuses on the crisis

>> a special "america tonight": our in-depth coverage now on the crisis in ukraine and the vote that leaves crimea's future and that of its people hanging in the balance. >> in recent months, as the citizens of ukraine have made their voices heard, we have been guided by a fundamental principle: the future of ukraine must be decided by the people of ukraine. that means ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected and international law must be upheld. >> that's president obama speaking at the white house on monday as a showdown between russia and the western powers looms ever larger. in crimea the vote overwhelmingly on sunday was to become part of the russian federation. and while the u.s. and european union slapped sanctions,

russia's vladimir putin officially recognized crimea as an independent republic. "america tonight"'s sheila macvicar with more. >> crimea ns celebrate a new beginning. >> our fathers and grandfathers went to war together. i think this is the right decision, 100%. >> that seemed to be one sentiment delivered in sun's referendum. under the eyes of russian troops. 97% of crimeans voted, voted to join russia. in a statement monday russian president vladimir putin confirmed the vote, calling crimea sovereign and independent. president obama declared the opposite. >> as i said yesterday, the referendum yesterday was a clear

violation of ukrainian constitution and international law and it will not be recognized by the international community. >> reporter: on monday, the arguing that a unilateral declaration of a territory does not violate international norms. the vote it self was contentious and fraught with irregulates. irregularities. >> ton whole, the event passed in what one might call good natured absence of exuberance and strong emotions. >> reporter: other observers like local journalist ibrahim, using only his first name, said the vote was a sham.

showed him at multiple are multiple voting stations voting early and often. >> they said why you not voting as your own station, he said i'm voting here,. >> the u.s. has beings knowledge suggested sanctions pointed at key leaders. finalize sanctions against top russian and crimean officials involved in the referendum. >> we think about what the response should be and there should be a response. we are also trying to extend most strong possible signals, a signal of trying to ensure that they understand the seriousness of the situation. >> reporter: crimea is operational ethnic russian. the vote's outcome is sure to heighten tensions among ukrainians.

ukraine's new government has begun gathering its own military forces. >> translator: looking at the aggression in crimea which the russian federation is covering up with a farce called a referendum and the danger danger represents, i have called upping forces. >> the solution must be diplomatic and not military. the next moves are president putin's and two big questions. first will he order retaliation and sanction he against the individuals, and what shape will that retaliation take, and second will he extend an invitation to crimea the join the russian federation. joie. >> how effective are they at this point and what else can ukraine ask for? >> they are already described as pretty toothless, which is the white house and the are european

union have rejected. a group on this list politician he, the deputy of the crimean parliament, the head of the ukrainian navy who defected to russia and two very senior advisors of be vladimir putin. the list is very well chosen. some are surprised that the be european union and the united states have agreed on this list, if there's maneuver, if you have to crank it up, which people think in order to get russian attention that is necessary, there is room the go further up the list. for example none of the big oligarchs, the business leaders who have got all the money who are very, very close to putin, none of them are on the list. you have to also remember from the european point of view there is a lot of business at stake with russia and there's a lot of gas at stake with russia. >> that is other question.

if you are going to ramp up would anyone ask for any military sanction any military kind of intervention to be imposed here or is this really thinking about other economic possibilities? >> there is some talk of nonlethal military aid to ukraine which could be things like mres, combat rations for troops in the field. there could be some other kinds of perhaps training assistance but very much on the non-lethal side. of course ukrainians know they should not be asking for any kind of political tri intervention because they will -- military intervention because they will not get that. >> in terms of the energy resource. >> energy is one source. of course europe is very dependent on russian gas. although that has changed over the last few years, we are fortunately at the ends of the winter, there are strategic gas

reserves in europe so it is not as painful a card at is otherwise would be. but there are ways to target russian business. but remember since the collapse of the former soviet union there are new and big ties between western business interest and interest in russia. there's a lot of investment. >> on both sides of the equation there, sheila macvicar, "america tonight" correspondent, thanks so much. we're joined via skype andrew chevchenko, thank you for being with us again. in the wake of this referendum in crimea, what is the worry, what is the concern for people in the rest of ukraine? >> well, i think most of the crimea and throughout the whole ukraine we are really worried that we might be just showers away from full scale military conflict. and these so-called referendum which was called in the crimea,

did not do anything good in that sense. we see more and more escalation, more and more pressure from different people on the ground. and i think be as of the moment now everyone understands that the only proper solution of this crisis is quick military deescalation. the troops should be withdrawn and then the position he and the diplomats should do their work. >> why do you think things are so close to a shooting war at this point, why are you so concerned about that, what evidence do you see that that might be the case? >> i think what the croo courtrs crimea is like these days, we have thousands of military on the ground. we have thousands of soldiers that stay in the ukrainian bases. we have prorussian military, we have career thugs brought from outside, local criminals, we

have the crimean tatars who say they are going to defend their soil to be martyrs and their destiny on their land. and we hear about serbian groups, so the situation is so tense. and it was all spurred by the russian military intervention. i think we have been quite lucky not to have a direct military conflict so far but the situation is extremely risky and it is challenging not just for ukraine, not just for the people who live in the crimea but it's a challenge for the whole region and for the whole world. >> on that point in particular, what have you seen from both the west and particular from the united states, is the pressure enough to stop this from escalating further? do you think that the sanctions would be enough? what is enough? what can stop this from getting worse? >> well, first of all, we really are thankful to the free world

for a strong moral support, and emotionally solidarity with us. it matters a lot. now, the challenge is how to convert all of that into practical steps which will help us solve the cries he. i think economic -- crisis. i think the economic sanction he have been extremely successful and sanction he which will make russia to think twice, on all the further steps. on the other hand it's way too short of something which would really stop military escalation. i think we should be prepared for some prevention steps which could prevent putin from going any further in the mainland of ukraine, and shall think how to make putin the withdraw the troops from the peninsula. >> member of parliament in ukraine, andre chevchenko, thank you for being with us by skype. in our studio this evening, and

dr. lozansky, we have heard quite bit on the ukrainian side. i would be interested to understand a russian perspective about the importance of crimea and why there has been such an emphasis on the crimea. >> it's not just the crimea, the whole of ukraine is very important to russia and of course crimea is an important part of that. but you see if you look at the ties, family ties, historic culture, religious, and even economic ties, those two countries so intertwined to try to break those apart russia cannot afford it. >> historically, the simple part we know as schoolchildren the charge of the light brigade and that story about crimea, but it is part of a larger mayo narrative. >> much larger. because crimea was part of

russia for 200 years but ukraine 400 years, all of russia started, many ukraine started russia. someone from outside is trying to separate them. russia was thinking eu was trying to separate them. that's what probably start they had crisis. eu invited six former soviet republics including ukraine to sign agreement. break some agreements between ukraine and russia and russia simply could not do that. they did not pick up this fight, fight started from eu and that's too bad. russia offered to be part of this. why you want to separate those six countries from unite us acknowledge ukraine, eu, u.s., russia kind of work together for the benefit of everyone involved.

>> and mr. putin also was offering a trade union that would put ukraine on the other side. >> well he said first that we don't mind that eu is signing this agreement but we want to be part of this as well. and the agreement itself not only would separate europe and russia economically but would move ukraine to nato and russia would not allow that. >> a tie of ukraine also to the port area. it's a very important port. >> it is the only warm port. >> warm water deep water. >> only one that is warm. russia pays over 100 million, every time a new government wants to be part of nato and not only crimea, even ukraine itself two different countries, eastern ukraine leaning towards russia. western ukraine

leaning towards europe. >> the next area of importance would be in eastern ukraine? >> it all lies in u.s. u.s. is a major player. for instance, if they decide to break ties between russ around ukraine, but form a different kind of union, u.s., russia, ukraine play a different role, everyone not trying to step on foot, make everyone satisfied then it will work. but if we will -- the west will try to keep separating ukraine in russia then russia will cause some trouble and we don't want that. >> so that could mean forces in eastern ukraine? >> i don't think it's probably at this stage. but again, i would say that washington plays a key role. washington has to decide whether it wants russia to be part of the western alliance or whether it wants to weaken and isolate russia so it's all

washington. >> doctor, thanks for being here. >> my pleasure. >> after the break, changes in crimea from home lands to last names. what crimeans are vowing to each

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>> it was my dream to get a high school diploma. >> award winning film makers create create unique perspectives. >> everybody's different here... >> just gotta tell ya, it was just a very magical moment... >> al jazzera america presents... on al jazeera america >> the conflict in crimea is more than just political. the division between ethnic russian he and ukrainians who have been living together for generation he run deep, very deep, in some cases, down to the kitchen table. nick schifrin has a story about the family caught in the trouble. >> in any other place, they would end up star crossed father. on this peninsula on this weekend these two households got to exchange their vows twice. once to each other.

their wedding was friday afternoon. it was hastily arranged. that's the second union. they're turning their backs on ukraine and uniting for a russian future. >> a great part of crimean people are russian, i'm for crimeans and if they vote for russian federation that would be great, i think. >> reporter: the majority of crimea agrees. now that the the votes are counted and the parties have ended, they have to face the future. we talk to five 20 -- somethings. >> i'm for ukraine.

i want to stay ukrainian. >> and some for russia. >> he's very smart. i hope he will help us, help crimea. >> christina is a dancer who believes russia provides more economic opportunity. >> we didn't see too much future that's why most people want to leave, want to be with russia because it really true, last ten years, yes. russia so very, very good group. >> people, i really believe that yesterday, we did a right choice. >> polima works in i.t. like her mother she was born in ukraine but she identifies more with russia. >> it's like my past. >> you just want to irritate them. well, it's -- the result is quite simple.

>> victor is a musician. he expresses the sentiments of man crimeans. he hopes they provides protection for many proeuropeans in crimea. but the prorussian activists have attacked ukrainians. >> can you explain me our situation? yesterday i was not allowed to enter the polling place. the guy stopped me, he knows me very well that i'm an extremist and i want to enter. so is it okay? >> why did you want to go there and what did you say to them? >> i'm a citizen of crimea and there are votes right now.so what, i can't enter a polling place? >> kate is an activist and artist. because of those prorussian

militias, she feels she must leave crimea. >> come to you and ask you to show him your things, your passport. i don't want to live like that. >> i will not leave crimea because i grew up here. i love crimea. >> irvin a medical student and a member of the minority muslim tatars, he worried that russia might repress him like the soviets repressed his grandparents. >> what am i going to do, how am i going obring.my children? like am i going to be in russian army or something? i don't think it's going to be easy for me to accept all these changes. >> but the changes are coming. and most crimeans agree with victor when he dismisses u.s. criticism of the referendum. >> you have your family, i have my family. if i come to you and i start

lecturing what you're supposed to do or what i think to do i think you have the right to tell me thank you for your opinion. good-bye. >> and that is majority view, especially for a new couple. >> and do you know whether it's a boy or girl? >> yulia is six months pregnant. she's confident about her baby boy's future because she's convinced he will be born a russian. nick schifrin, al jazeera, alusta ukraine. >> as a president repairs old wounds, meet staff sergeant consider this. the news of the day plus so much more. answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> it seems like they can't agree to anything in washington no matter what.

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>> scared as hell... >> as american troops prepare to leave afghanistan get a first hand look at what life is really like under the taliban. >> we're going to be taken to a place, where they're going to make plans for an attack. >> the only thing i know is, that they say they're not going to withdraw. >> then, immediately after, an america tonight special edition for more inside and analysis. >> why did you decide to go... >> it's extremly important for the western audience to know why these people keep on fighting... ...it's so seldom you get that access to the other side. >> faultlines: on the front lines with the taliban then an america tonight: special edition, only on al jazeera america >> welcome to aljazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. russian state media said valentine's day has signed crimea as an independent state.

nearly 97% of crimeaians agreed to break from ukraine on sunday. >> i believe there's a path to resolve this diplomatically. >> president obama signed a vote with sanctions against russia and officials, and he wants more sanks if they continue. f. >> i still no sign of flight 0 that disappeared last week, but authorities about of that the copilot was the last to speak to air traffic coach. >> . >> a major scientific discovery, linked to the big bang theory. ripples from the big bang. cosmic inflation explains how the universe expanded. an oil tanker off of the coast

of cyprus, carrying oil out of libya. they were intending to sell it on a global market. i'm john seigenthaler, and consider this is up next. >> russia is facing international sanctions over actions in ukraine, is there any real weight behind them >> also, the missing malaysian airline flight - could it really undetected. >> an inside look at the navy seals, and the orchestra conductor bringing people together torn apart by war. hello, i'm david shuster, welcome to "consider this," and here is more of what is ahead.