good morning and welcome to "new day." it is thursday the 27th of march. it is just before 6:00 a.m. in the east. i'm michaela pereira alongside john berman. breaking this morning, another big field of possible debris. objects spotted in the southern indian ocean. thai satellites have picked up about 300 objects. >> but even with the sighting of the new possible objects, search planes cannot look for them anymore. they were ordered back to perth about five hours ago because of bad weather, whether that we understand could last until tomorrow. five surface vessels do we main on the water, and a new australian ship is headed out to help. also, the son of the flight's pilot is speaking out for the first time as new reports are

swirling that the pilot is the focus of the investigation. let's go to andrew stevens live in perth, australia this morning. >> reporter: good morning. a very frustrating day again for the pilots on this search. crucial that the ships remain on station given the size of the storm down there. while there's frustration for the pilots, there could be potential new developments coming to us from satellite images. new this morning, thailand's state news agency says a thai satellite a has spotted about 300 floating objects. these pieces located just over 120 miles from the area where a french satellite spotted 122 floated objects, those released on wednesday, that potential debris spotted sunday off the coast of perth, australia.

that's about the distance from washington d.c. to denver, colorado. they scatted over about the size of denver. this is today's aerial search for wreckage called off. severe weather forcing all planes to return to base. beaten up by turbulence in the remote search area. this naval vessel to be outfitted with the underwater robot and listening device to assist in searching for the wreckage. teams are now racing against time as new information suggests the batteries for the plane's pingers may already be dead. a mechanic who expected malaysia

airlines told him the batteries may have been stored improperly. so those storms now ending flights two out of the past three days. what's critical here is the big winds down here are going to be scattering these new finds. this debris was spotted before the bad weather moved in. >> and that is an important point to show. thank you so much. now, as this mystery unfolds, many have wondered if the plane was brought down deliberately. malaysian authorities are looking at captain zaharie ahmad shah. his son, as we mentioned, is defending him. for more, let's get to jim clancy live in kuala lumpur. >> reporter: as we look at this story as it develops, there's

been a real vacuum of evidence. we haven't really had much to go on, and that has fueled speculation on all kinds of theories. the pilots are of course always going to be a factor when you consider any accident, any mystery really like the one we have with flight 370. there's so much speculation that the father may have had personal reasons, personal troubles, all of these other things that were brought up. his son for the first time came out today. the family went into seclusion about talking with police. his son came out and said, whatever i have read have not changed my 'heart, i have ignored these speculations. he went onto say i may not have been very close to him because he was always on duty, but we

understood each other. that was from the son. i talked to the former ceo of malaysia airlines who represented zaharie shah as a bright, young cadet. >> you knew captain shah. some people pointing the finger at him. >> he's an excellent pilot. i think they're going the wrong way pointing finger at him. >> you also knew the co-pilot. >> he also learned the -- he's a good muslim. >> now he stressed what we really need to do is find those flight data recorders. only then, will you be able to clear the pilots and find out what really happened to flight 370. back to you. >> all right.

thaks so much. we'll talk about the pilots in just a second. first, we want to talk about the new news. we've only seen these pictures now for a few minutes. new images from a thai satellite showing some 300 objects just south of where the french satellites spotted 122 objects. now we have two possible debris fields or is it one that's moving? let's break this down here with david and mary. david is the author of "why planes crash." and marry is the former inspector general of the department of transportation. david, i want to start with you here. let's put up this image once again. this new satellite image. spotted by a thai satellite. again, looks very much like a

debris field. what do you see here? >> to me, this is a little different than what we saw yesterday. there's less specificity. as far as the size of these objects. if they were saying it's 75 feet again, then i would be more confident about it. to me, this one seems less likely than the one yesterday because of its size and just the sheer number of objects. >> 300 objects, the ones we're seeing today. this one was taken monday, the day after the french satellite. you're looking at the one that we're just getting in right now. we do not know the size of the objects. but mary, what about the location? 120 miles from where the french satellite took pictures.

does this indicate possibly some drift or if a plane were to end its flight in the ocean like that, is it possible that things could be scattered over 120 miles? >> well, it's possible. and then the drift, i mean, that's a lot of drift in a day. some of the other experts have mentioned currents that would possibly take it a hundred miles in a day. you do get a pretty wide dispursion. once that dissipates, it really gets spread wide and far. i had one accident where weeks later fishermen snagged one of my clients purses. so you never know where it's going to go and what it's going to do. but it's possible. >> two field sightings like this in two days.

very frustrating for the people flying in the planes over the search area now because the news today again, those planes called back. we've heard no word whether they spotted anything. very frustrating, no? >> oh, yes. especially for them. at least i know the folks who worked on it in the united states back when i was inspector general, that's what they want to do. they want to save people. i imagine they are very, very frustrated because that's what they're trained and driven to do. their frustration levels must be pretty high. >> the ships are still out there searching. it could be that they have a very specific area now to identify and they want to stay in the area and maybe they will see something. >> well, and it's important -- even one's of wreckage, they've got to get their hands on it and confirm one way or another. just a few pieces that are the

aircraft could help so very much. since they're staying out there, maybe they will get fortunate. obviously, i hope for their safety. maybe they will get fortunate to pull just a few pieces on board. even from a few pieces, they will be able to rule out some things. >> and of course, david, spotting debris, locating and confirming it, just the first step to locating the black box, the cockpit voice recorder. you have information about that. we thought the pingers were supposed to last 30 days. you have concerns. >> i do. there's a mechanic that currently works on aircraft for malaysia air. he was concerned because he had done a maintenance audit, which is a normal routine. he found that the pingers which

had the battery included in them were put in a room that was very high temperature, very high humidity as opposed to what the manufacturer recommends which is a room temperature environment or in a refrigerator. so he wrote that up. they responded to it. they took those old pingers off. by storing it that way, the life of that battery is reduced to about half-life. subsequently, he went back and checked more recently and found they were still not following that procedure. >> so that means this pinger could not even be lasting the 30 days it's supposed to. that would be awful, awful news. mary, there's a lot of swirling reporting about a new focus allegedly on the pilot. u.s. today reporting that there's an official in malaysia who's got reason to bereave the pilot acted in a premeditated

way. there's no new focus, no extra fingers pointing in his direction, but what do you make of the reporting? >> basically what i see is that there is no evidence. the fbi hasn't surfaced any, and they were the ones looking at the computer. zero evidence. and so the authorities are saying since we have no evidence, it must be the pilots. that's going to put their investigation into serious jeopardy. once they focus in on what they want it to be, then they will make all evidence fit that. it's a dangerous problem in a criminal investigation. you have to fight against that bias. they've already said they have no evidence. since they have no evidence, ah, it must be the pilots. most often that is wrong when they do that in an investigation. >> let's hope the facts will present themselves and people won't get out in front of them

like usa today seems to be. >> so many challenges. first, also this morning, and also breaking, the most powerful world leader meets the world's most powerful religious leader. president obama is at the vatican meeting pope francis for the first time. let's bring in the correspondent who covers the copy. let's start with you michelle. obviously, the importance is what the men are expected to discuss. do we have any idea what was said during that initial meeting? >> reporter: senior white house officials yesterday sort of spelled out what the president wanted to talk about and why he was here in the first place saying that the pope has been an inspiration to him. that they wanted to talk about those issues and values on which they have common ground, social

justice, income equality, the rights of the individual, democracy. if all that sounds very familiar, those are the exact same values that president obama has been es spouzing throughout this trip in dealing with the situation in ukraine. so it seems doubtless that that will also come up, what should be the way going forward. obviously the pope has also been watching that situation. he always plays a role in whatever the topic is going on of the day. both men have expressed some of those same values in their policies. it's not to say that the catholic church and president obama agree on all things. president obama did win the catholic vote in 2008, but they disagree on fundamentals like contracepti contraception, providing that. that's a big topic of debate

just within the u.s. and also abortion, stem cell research, these have all been topics of tension between the u.s. and religious leaders at times. the president says in an interview that he knows they don't agree on everything, but they will discuss these things. they've already been in that meeting over 40 minutes now, going over the time that we thought was allotted for it. >> certainly the men have a lot in common, but have issues that certainly divide them. ben, let's bring you into this and talk about what each man has to gain from this meeting. and in terms of president obama, i mean, he's clearly aware of the fact that the pope's approval rating is sort of sky high. >> reporter: yes, in fact, the pope's approval rating is about double that of president obama. so definitely there's star dust

to be gotten from this visit with the pope. for his part, the pope, this is a man somewhat different from his predecessors. he considers this just another meeting in the day. in fact, he started off the day by holding the mass with members of the italian parliament who we saw streaming out of saint peters at about 8:00 this morning. he also has to keep in mind his american con tich wency. he will be raidsing, we understand questions of abortion, contraception and gay marriage. this in response to the concerns of american bishops who have come out with their objections to the president's position on these issues. and for instance, when u.s. secretary of state john kerry met with his vatican counterpart in january, they did discuss these issues of contraception,

abortion what whatnot. apparently all they spent was five minutes on those issues. so they have wider subjects to discuss. syria, the ukraine, the middle east peace process. >> certainly many topics for the two men to discuss. always a great level of expectation when the leader of the u.s. meets with the pontiff. good to have you here talking with us about the pope. >> question is are approval ratings contagious, right? i think that would be helpful to him. want to move to the ukraine and the serious and growing concern that russia could be planning to invade the eastern part of that nation. there's a new report that has top officials in washington very, very worried this morning. let's go to barbara star at the pentagon. >> good morning, john. this new classified assessment says that it is more likely than

previously thought that russia will go into eastern ukraine, a full-on military incursion. why are they coming to this conclusion now? well, the buildup on that border between russia and ukraine now increasing over 30,000 troops. there are additional russian troops on alert further back in russia. airborne troops, quick response forces, special forces, all of this leading to growing concern. the russians have told the pentagon they're there just for exercises. but they told me last night there is no evidence that they are conducting military exercises, and that buildup that the u.s. sees is now of the scope and sort of formation that they saw more russia went into georgia. the big worry, john, is that they will make a move. now are now so close to the ukraine border they could go

without any warning. the u.s. might only see it as it happens. >> of course, the intelligence committee criticized for not giving early warning. perhaps this is their way of correcting that getting out in front of what happened now. next up on "new day," bad weather has grounded the air search for flight 370. it's the second time this week this has happened. this as we learn of new leads. 300 objects floating in the southern indian ocean. we'll talk to our experts. plus, a grim search in a community reeling after the deadly landslide in washington state. we're live on the scene just ahead. mine was earned in korea in 1953.

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cloudy residue 3x better than the competing gel. it's so powerful it even helps keep the dishwasher sparkling. avoid embarrassing moments... at least for your dishes. cascade. beyond clean and shine every time. this morning, officials in washington state say there are 90 people missing or unaccounted for after that devastating landslide north of seattle. it is being blamed for as many as 24 deaths. the search for survivors resumes this morning. we're live in washington with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. the official death toll remained

unchanged in the past 24 hours, but officials weren't likely to get new numbers this morning. while the search effort remains, you can feel the weight of this tragedy starting to take its toll. a mother's unspeakable pain. >> my heart is broken. it's broken. >> reporter: summer raffo was driving on a state road at the time of the slide. rescue workers continue their mission five days after the side of this hill came cascading down on snohomish county. peter salvig on the response team knows this community well. familiar places on this map have a new somber reality. >> this guy lived and his wife died. we were on the school board together for about 30 years. >> reporter: the heavy equipment

used to breakthrough concrete and lumber continues to unearth personal tragedies. >> we can't lose hope. we're here to find those people. >> reporter: governor inslee telling cnn he expects the death toll to rise significantly. >> i don't think anyone could reach any other conclusion. the force defies imagination. >> reporter: this daring rescue of a boy plucked from the mud on saturday is one of several stories of survival. >> i see myself thinking about eli when that's going on. so you want to help. and so you kind of carry that. >> reporter: an event that has touched so many here showing both how fleeting and precious life can be. >> i always told my kids, you know, after you -- after you

call them, it's kind of hard for me, but say i love you because that might be the last time you're going to see them. >> reporter: people in this community have so much love for each other. that's certainly helping everybody to get through this. some 200 emergency responders continue to scour that one square mile of unspeakable devastation and we're still seeing the volunteers pour in ready to help in any way they can. >> thanks so much. the images from there just so haunting in so many ways. >> and the people talking and you can just feel their sadness. it's going to take them a long time to recover from that. that is going to leave a scar on that community. let's get a check of the weather right now. good morning jennifer. >> good morning to you guys. yesterday it was snow we were watching. today, it's the possibility of severe weather. we're focusing mainly on the

mississippi river valley. all the ingredients are there. we are is warm, moist air coming in from the gulf of mexico and with a cold front approaching, it's definitely there. the severe threat today from st. louis. tomorrow anywhere from shreveport down to new orleans. this is a slow-mover, so it could produce a couple of inches of rain as it pushes into the east. the severe threat mainly along the gulf coast. doesn't have a lot of very cold air behind it. temperatures are going to stay in the 70s across the south all the way through this thing into the weekend. atlanta reaching 71 on friday. even in the northeast, same story. rain as we approach the weekend, but at least temperatures aren't going to be all that bad. 61 in new york city on friday guys and a little bit cooler on

saturday. there's your warm weather, but it looks like we'll seattle rain with it. >> it is spring. >> i'll take the 61 degrees. >> i'm going to put on sunscreen. >> and a tank top. next up on "new day," it could be a huge new break in the mystery of flight 370. here's the challenge though, bad weather is making the search by air impossible right now. we'll talk more about this coming up. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] with five perfectly sweetened whole grains... you can't help but see the good. ...and let in the dog that woke the man who drove to the control room [ woman ] driverless mode engaged. find parking space.

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breaking news overnight, new pictures, 300 objects spotted by satellite in the hunt for flight 370. these pictures taken by a satellite from thailand just a day after a satellite from france spotted 122 objects. the thing is as we're getting these pick chiropractors, bad weather has put the air search by airplanes on old. here to talk through the latest challenges in this search is jeff wise. let's put that satellite image up there one more time. this picture again taken from thailand, a satellite from

thailand, showing 300 objects they say, 120 miles from where the frempl -- french satellite spotted. >> this is consistent with the kind of data we've been getting for days now. it's very enticing looking with lots of potential aircraft wreckage. we just need to get on the surface, look at this stuff across up and determine -- close up and determine if it is or not. >> you said too much debris may not be a good thing? >> if you have ten pieces that are 60 feet across, that would indicate that they're not from the plane because the plane has only so much stuff in it. it actually starts to decrease the chances. >> which is why they need to get there and see it by plane or boat. it is such a challenge right now for these searchers. you have all the currents in the area right there, including that

bright current. you can see some of the most powerful currents in the world. that's just a graphic interpretation of how the current could be carrying whatever debris might be out there. then of course there's the cloud cover. so the satellites may see something one day. today, the clouds come in, they can't see bebeneath the clouds. sometimes the satellites can't even see through the clouds themselves. the surface vessels are still out there searching. >> right. but they haven't managed to get to one of these debris fields which is what's so frustrating. as you say, we have cloud cover. we have night falling and these chaotic swirling currents that are tending to maybe change the pattern of the debris on the ocean. so we're not able to consiste consistently follow a debris

field. it's a moving target, constantly shifting and changing. >> if the weather would help. they've had more resources than they've had to bear yet. six ships still are out there. but, again, they're having a hard time because of the weather situation. very, very difficult. now, jeff, i know you've been doing a lot of analysis on this partial handshake again that went from malaysia air flight 370 to the inmarsat satellite. it was the last bit of communication as the plane was flying towards where the search area is right now. you still have a lot of questions. >> right. there are a lot of questions. yes, the flight path leads to the search area. that's why we're searching this search area. this wasn't just a randomly chosen patch of ocean.

it's the end point of this generated flight path. however, that's a theoretical construct. it depends on the data you pit into it, namely, what speed was the airplane flying. you have to assume this plane was flying a certain speed. you can say there's the most efficient speed. if it was flying at a different speed or a different altitude, you would wind up at a different part of the ocean. if we're able to rule out this square, that might say let's look somewhere else. everything's shifting and swirling. it's not like a land search where you can put a grid on the ground and look at every square. everything's moving, everything's shifting. >> i was going to ask, can you ever rule out this area? at what point can you say it's not there in this area they've been searching now seemingly for a few weeks?

the problem is it might not be there today and there tomorrow. >> and vice versa. the longer we wait, the more time elapses, the more the natural dynamics of the ocean are going to pull things apart, take them elsewhere. this wreckage could end up in the atlantic ocean. also the issue of the pinger. day by day, our chances of finding the black boxes are gets worse. >> we thought today was going to be nice, it did not turn out that way. >> thank you john. we begin with historic first meeting of president obama and pope francis. the two shared a smile and a handshake then sat across from one another. they say they talked about their shared commitment to fighting poverty and growing income inequality and issues like same-sex marriage.

some good news if you can call it good news from the scene of a devastating landslide in washington state. the number of people missing has dropped from 90 to 176 the day before. as many as 24 people have died. no one's been found alive in the mud and debris since the weekend. charlotte, north carolina is minus a mayor this morning. patrick cannon resigned after he was arrested on theft and bribely charges. they say they got the mayor to take almost $50,000 in bribes. he could face up to 50 years in prison if convicted. syria is now more than halfway toward removing its chemical weapons. that's according to a new report by the world's chemical weapon watchdog. deadlines imposed after video of a chemical attack shocked the

world last year. the conflict is now in its fourth year. those are your headlines. >> that's done by a deal brokered with the help of the russians. be interesting to see how that operates going forward. >> certainly one of the concerns. christine, good to have you. we've been talking about the search being limited today by air being called off, by ships are still in the water searching. includes continue to come from satellites. we're going to take a closer look at how analysts know what's in these pictures. >> the flight recorders are supposed to ping for about a month, but what if they have gone silent. new developments to tell you about this morning. i guess you can tell them how much you want to pay and it gives you a range of options to choose from. huh? i'm looking at it right now.

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we know this morning that the air search for flight 370 has been grounded. bad weather sending planes back to perth on the same day that new thai satellite images show another 300 objects floating in the south indian ocean. it's almost like they can't get ahead. they're desperate to find the 777's black boxes and then figure out what went wrong. we thought they had at least a week left, but what's the chance those batteries on the flight recorders have already run out. you have a source that tells you that that could have happened. tell is what you're reporting. >> what's happened is this mechanic that's talked to me, he still works on these aircraft, but he's working for a contract

carrier. what we do in this industry is we have cross checks. we go audit the other people to keep ourselves honest in the industry. this guy went over and did the audit of malaysian air. find out that the pingers -- >> inside the flight data recorder. >> exactly. the manufacturer said the batteries were supposed to be at 70 degrees in a dry area. water's what makes them work. when they're stored improperly, the life decreases. >> we talked about this 30-day life expectancy. but if they weren't stored properly that greatly reduces them? >> by half. they said we're going to take these off of the shelf and retire those. when they did, they tested them and found out they only had 15 or so days left. so it was a half-life. they did put new ones in.

but what's most disturbing is he said he did a follow-up on that, said that the process they put in place to put in the refrigerator wasn't being followed. >> the nonchalant is what upsets a lot of people. is there any indication that improperly stored batteries would have been on this flight or on the 777s? >> they do a c check. in the c check, they replace the pinger with the replacement out of the stock. so if indeed these most recent ones had been taken from that stock, there's a good possibility these are the ones on that aircraft. >> is there any chance -- let's take this theory all the way through. faulty battery uses in this, could it also make the flight data recorder fall function? could it cause it to send out

partial pings like the other day. could that cause that? >> i think we're overusing the word "ping" just a little bit. >> we label it as a ping. >> right. so the pings we talk about is when it's communicating with the satellite. let's talk about that as a handshake. >> this is an actual ping. it's more of a clicking. can we play it again? >> not much. >> it isn't much. and you have to be right over top of it. >> the reason they say that is if the box is in a con onor ravine -- canyon or ravine, it will spot that. if it's anywhere within a 2-mile radius, you'd be able to pick that up. typically, it's not. >> interesting reporting.

it's certainly going to cause a lot more questioning of how those batteries were stored. thank you so much for this. adds another potential challenge. >> thank you. >> to say the least. >> next up for us on "new day," what do experts see in the new satellite images we're seeing for the very first time this morning? what can the experts see that the untrained eye cannot? the experts will lay it out to us. we're going to speak to a satellite analyst. that's coming up. plus a first for president obama and pope francis. the two of them in the same place at the same time for the first time, but everyone's wondering what exactly they discussed. how can you just stand there? what do you mean? your grass, man. it's famished! just two springtime feedings

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breaking overnight, we're getting new images this morning of what possibly -- could it be debris from flight 370. a thai satellite showing some 300 objects, possibly potentially from malaysia airlines missing 777 the day after a french satellite showed some 122 objects in the ocean.

want to bring in a satellite imagery analyst also a former cia intelligence officer and former vice president of digital globe. you are the man to talk to about this because you look at these images in a way that we would not to the untrained naked eye. we don't see much. what do you see here on these new images? >> i think this is another piece of evidence that is beginning to tell the story. i think what's most important and we haven't really been able to dissect these images quite yet. it's like a radiologist looking at an x ray. we can all look and see a hand or a foot, but how do you interpret that image. >> can you give us insight without giving away government secrets? >> i'll do what i can, sure. >> how do you tell and how do analysts looking al these images determine they're credible, not

a pod of whales or floating pallets or something? >> first of all, you have to look at geography. what is unusual about the size, the shape, the configuration and do they all clump together. while these images may be a little bit difficult to see in terms of the resolution. if you don't mind going to the other images as well. >> it does zoom in more. >> what i see is clearly white objects. this is also part of the problem. >> so some of these things here. >> exactly. the challenge is this. the ocean surface reflects light. so often times you'll see sunlight that reflects off of waves. >> and the satellite would see that too. >> sometimes a white object on a black image may show up. also a difficult problem when you get wind. >> yeah. >> so you get 15-foot waves and

white caps, that can look like an object. >> i'll liken it to when you're on an airplane and you look down -- i'm always looking for whales or dolphins, but you realize it's merely whitecaps. >> if you could go back to the next set of images, it goes back to the french satellite images the day before. >> the 16th. >> digital globe, a u.s. commercial imaging company, that image. then there was a chinese image right here. >> on the 18th. >> then a few days later on the 23rd. >> and then now -- >> then this one from thailand. >> here's the key. all of it in this area. >> that is what i see is most important. is starting to put together the geography, the objects, seeing how possibly this could all be

related. we started at a very, very large area. now we're starting to focus our time and attention in this region. >> our meet logical team has talked about the currents in this area. >> right. >> that this is a place that collects a lot of debris. could that jt be what we're seeing? >> unfortunately, it is still possible. i know this has been speculation before, could these be containers from a ship. you start looking at the sizes and shapes. they are regular shapes. i can -- irregular shapes. i can rule that out. >> this much -- as big of a debris field with that many large chunks, it's unlikely it could be debris from a plane. >> that's a valid thought. no one wants to speculate completely. >> we got to get there and pick them up. >> exactly right. >> thank you so much for that. >> so great to hear from an

expert on that. a lot of news breaking overnight. let's get to the latest right now, our top story. >> the thai satellite spotted about 300 floating objects. >> unnamed source in usa today pointing a finger at the captain. >> he's an excellent pilot. >> we can't lose hope. we're here to find those people. >> it hit so fast that we went down. we were under water and mud. >> at times physically ill, oscar pistorius on the stand to tell his story. good morning and welcome to "new day," it is thursday, march 27th, 7:00 a.m. in the east. i'm michaela pereira. joined by john berman. kate is flying back from australia. we start with breaking news this morning in the on going search for malaysian flight 370. another field of objects.

it was captured by thai satellites monday in the indian ocean about a hundred miles from another field of possible debris spotted by french satellit. >> the thing is the saernl itself hit a snag thanks to the bad weather. the airplanes have been sent back to land, could be there for days. now, about a half dozen ships, they do remain in the water in that search zone. with hope building that flight 370 maybe perhaps could be located, malaysia is preparing to send a delegation to australia. want to go back to andrew stevens right now live in perth, australia with the latest developments this morning. good morning, andrew. >> reporter: good morning, john. you're right. hope is building after the latest satellite pictures from thailand. they are in that specific zone of interest not far from the 122

objects the french satellite picked up a few days ago. both of these pictures were taken before the latest round of bad weather. bad weather has grounded flights now two out of the past three days. that means the debris could have been scattered quite widely by high winds and high seas. that's going to be yet another challenge for when the flights resume. we are expecting it to resume in the next 18 hours or so. they did get some aircraft, some assets down onto the zone today before the search were called off. we were talking to an australian air force pilot. he said he was on station for about two hours. the conditions were tough, and they did not see anything. and this remains the biggest frustration. getting a lot of satellite

images, getting objects spotted from planes, at least two separate sightings, but they still haven't linked up with the vessels actually on the site. the good news is the vessels stayed on site today. still, they can't locate where those objects are. and we spoke to the australian defense chief about that two days ago, the ships are close to where the objects are being spotted. he said, close could be still a couple hundred miles away. so it's still a big zone to search and still nothing to show for it. >> huge frustration. yet to be seen from the air or from the surface of the seas right there. thanks so much. want to go back to talk about the pilots on board flight 370 right now. a lot of new focus is being placed on captain zaharie ahmad shah. they're looking at whether he brought the plane down

deliberately. but u.s. officials say to cnn that while both pilots are being looked at, nothing jumps out yet. now the captain's son is coming to his defense. let's get more from jim clancy live in kuala lumpur. jim? >> reporter: the family of captain shah has gone into seclusion. they voluntarily talked to investigators, but they avoided the media. the media camped out on the co-pilot's lawn. they've been running from the press if anything. they did get an interview with the son, seth sa har rary who said whatever i've read has not changed my heart because as a son, i know who my father is. he says, we understood each other. also talking about him to cnn today was the 81-year-old

founder of malaysia airlines. he told me that he remembers shah as a student, as a cadet with malaysia airlines and he said he was a great pilot. and he said he was a great gentleman as well. he had praise for the co-pilot. he knew the family. they were from his hometown. he said that both men were good muslims. he said he does not believe the investigation of these two pilots is justified. at the same time, it has to be done. let's face it, everybody has been a suspect in all of this. there is no evidence against them at this time. in order to really clear them and understand what has happened, they have to find that flight data recorder and that's why so much attention, so much an anxiety is associated with that search underway in the south indian ocean. back to you. >> all right. great reporting. we have two experts here to examine this information with us. we have david, a cnn safety

analyst and former faa inspector, also the author of a book, "why planes clash." also mary, an aviation attorney. since you're in front of me now, i appreciate that, talk about this discovery, this thai satellite showing 300 objects about a hundred miles away from the objects spotted by the french satellite. encouraging news to you? >> yes, it is because there's so many objects. that's the way an airplane crash debris field looks in an accident on the ocean. they are widely spread. there are pieces bobbing literally miles and miles around. this is a hundred miles away approximately from the oversi t oversight -- other sightings. since they're clust erred in the same area, that's what you would

expect. you would expect a big debris field. the objects get pretty small over time because the surf and the wave break them up. it is encouraging. let's hope they can get them to examine them soon. >> let's talk about that for a second. we want to talk about the search effort delayed about the bad weather. this new reporting that you had about the batteries potentially being improperly stored on the 777s and how this could hamper the investigation. >> it can. the good thing about it is we can start to understand about whether the pinging is going on or not. remember flight 447, the original search with the tower. we're towing this along and they covered an area. then they said subsequently, well, it can't be in that area because if it were, we would

have picked up the pings. when it came back after the next winter and started searching around and they had no luck. now, let's finally say, maybe they weren't working in the first place. they searched the area and they found the boxes. >> that's the key. they had an area to search. we haven't even zoned in on a specific area. we have a rough area. with the new satellite images being a hundred miles away from the images we say yesterday, it is focusing it more. >> that's right. they had the data that we are missing. air france did have the data download services. it's called system status up dates where the plane relayed information continuously including in the problem part of the flight when the plane was in trouble and started going down. so they knew exactly where it went down, and here we don't have it.

the best thing we have is that partial ping. it's a lot to hang on, just a blip of data. that maybe in fact where the plane went down. even if they can't find the debris, if i was running the side sonar, i'd put them there where the partial ping was heard. >> mary, i want to talk to you about, people are looking at the usa today report that their reporting is indicating suspicion of premeditated actions on the part of the pilot. obviously, investigators were looking at the pilot early on, the pilot and the co-pilot. i want your take on this. also talking about the co-pilot not having enough expertise to fly the plane solo. your thoughts on that? >> the important thing you don't do in an investigation -- i was a federal prosecutor and worked with the fbi for years before i

became inspector general. while everyone is a suspect until you rule them out, what you never do in an investigation is announce someone's guilty. what happens in the investigation then is you make the evidence fit. you cognitively say in your mind, well that's the guilty one so the evidence must point to him. it's going to color their results and look over other evidence. i wish they wouldn't do that. it's not a good thing. >> you're agreeing with mary? >> absolutely. in the investigations i've done, every day, you have a meeting. you talk to everybody and cross check each other, is this real data or not. not from your perspective but someone else's. >> it must be so infuriating to think we've got this new data from the satellites, we can't fly the planes today because of bad weather. they make this decision

prudently. they don't rush on this, but they had to call off the air search. it seems we can't get these things lined up. >> two factors going on here. yesterday was a clear day. there's always clouds on the satellite images. it's hard to get good satellite images. i'm encouraged -- he said it was a clear day, really going to get good satellite images from yesterday. everybody's so upset about how long it takes to get the images to i us. that satellite is following the earth with daylight. it waits for the daylight, so at night, it down loads that information to a space station. you have to wait 24 hours for those full images, it's a lot of information in there, to get from the satellite to the spaceation then to where it needs to get processed. >> good to have you point it out.

a lot of people have suspicion that it's just them not wanting to show their cards right away, giving data that's not as clear, doesn't have the clarity that we would want to see. >> there's technological limitations and, again, just plain clouds. >> those pesky things, the clouds. we appreciate both of you joining us. we'll have much more on the breaking news in the search, but right now let's talk about a historic first meeting this morning between president obama and pope francis. what happens when the most powerful world leader meets the world's most powerful religious leader? it's hard to hear, but try. naubl [ inaudible ] >> that was just the very beginning of the meeting. they went onto talk for quite a

long time. let's bring in our white house correspondent and cnn international correspondent that covers the pope. michelle, the president just got out of the meeting with the pope. i understand it lasted a little bit longer than we were all expecting. any reed out on what went on? >> reporter: according to the detailed schedule that the white house puts out ahead of time, we were expecting maybe 30, 40 minutes. we were told it lasted 52 minutes in private. no read out yet as to what was discussed, although some details came out prior. they said they were going to talk about shared values. vals that president obama -- values that president obama calls universal. social justice, equality, diplomacy. those are values president obama has tried to refer to repeatedly in further policies at home in

the u.s. and explaining the u.s.'s stance on the crisis in ukraine. it's doubtless that crisis came up during these discussions. common ground we know was going to be discussed. as to whether they got into issues that the u.s. and the church don't always agree on and the president in particular -- the president acknowledged that they don't agree on everything. so we'll have to see later on if a read out is put out on what was discussed exactly. started out pretty formally. you see the ornate pictures. interesting to see president obama on the other side of the big wooden desk. he's been a sort of rock star during this european trip and meeting with other world leaders. as one dutch paper put it, he stole the show. now he's sat down with the rock star of the catholic faith. you saw the warmth between them as it ended. they were shaking hands and sharing smiles as well as

laughs, john. >> also mention that there are areas of disagreement between the vatican and the united states specifically, i should say with the obama administration on the areas of abortion and the contraceptive mandate within obamacare. what are the chances you think that pope francis proactively discussed these things with president obama? >> there's no question about it. in fact, he did bring up those subjects proactively keeping in mind for instance that when secretary of state john kerry met with his vatican counterpart in january, he did discuss these issues then. but that particular meeting went on for an hour and a half and they discussed abortion, contraceptives and gay marriage for only about five minutes.

in a sense, even though the american bishops have expressed their opposition to such matters, here in italy for instance, the national health service provides free abortions and free contraception. so this goes on in the pope's front yard. so there's not an awful lot he can do except voice his objections harding what goes on across the atlantic in the united states. >> all right. thanks so much for being with us. it was a very interesting picture to say the least. i also wonder if they talked about twitter. could have been made a big immakt on social media today. want to go to washington state now. they have reduced the number of people missing in the huge mudslide north of seattle. they reduced it now to 90. that's nearly half of what it was. as many as 24 people have died.

we're live in arlington, washington. 24 people in a small community. that means everybody knew a victim, anna. >> reporter: everybody knows everybody here. that's what's making this tragedy so heavy for this area. officials tell us they expect the number to continue to go down, but we also expect the death toll to rise and we're awaiting new numbers this morning. now, we are seeing the hope that once was so strong in this community starting to fade as the grim reality is really sinking in. there are some 200 emergency responders that continue to comb through the debris that spans one square mile. such challenging work. they haven't been able to get in and actually recover several of the bodies we know they believe they've identified at this point. so that, again, will raise the death toll.

at this point, the area very tightly controlled. we're hearing frustration from residents so desperate to go help, but they've been told to stay away. investigators still worried for other people's safety and not wanting to have additional work on their hands in terms of rescue-type efforts. but we are learning more about some of the lives lost. we're learning of the navy commander and the school librarian. a lot of families still waiting for answers. >> the sun just about to come up there. the search will continue for them. it will be so difficult. >> such an important thing to put a face to that number and a name to that number. librarian librarians, navy commanders, these were people in that community. let's get a look at the headlines right now. >> thanks. serious concern in washington this morning that russia is about to invade ukraine and

maybe press on for a land grab in the baltics. they say an invasion looking more likely. one big red flag, the excessive number of russian troops near the border and their capabilities for quick military moves. one u.s. official says the buildup is similar to what russia did before sending troops into georgia. new details. the washington post reports managers were already under strict orders to avoid more embarrassments to the agency after a march car crash involving agents in miami. a super visor told a group of the agents to stay out of trouble on saturday night. by sunday morning, one agent was found passed out. a full report from an internal investigation into the bridgegate scandal in new jersey. a lawyer hired by governor

christie is expected to put out over 300 pages revealing what he discovered from the two top aides. and this could be a game-changer for college sports. a federal agency clearing the way for north western university football players to create the first ever union of players. it falls squarely within the broad definition of employees. they say they are disappointed by the ruling. that ruling found that these players work more than they study, they act more as employees than as students and should be recognized as much. >> they spend more time on the field than the classroom. they spend more time on the field than most workers do. >> and they work more than 40 hours a week. >> a lot of schools are watching

this. >> ex-sploetive ramifications for college sports. next on "new day," the search planes sit idle now, the investigation into the captain of flight 370 seems to be picking up steam. his son saying anyone who thinks his dad is a fanatic or a hijacker is just plain wrong. benefiber is clear, taste-free and dissolves completely. and unlike other fibers, you'll only know you're taking fiber by the way good digestive health makes you look& and feel. benefiber. clearly healthy. i've quit for 75 days. 15 days, but not in a row. for the first time, you can use nicorette even if you slip up, so you can reach your goal. now, quit on your own terms

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now. planes are grounded because of bad weather, though ships are still outlooking. this is coming as investigators keep coaming through the -- combing through the backgrounds of both pilots. there are conflicts reports this morning. we are hearing from the captain's son who tells the strait times that his father was not a hijacker, he has full faith in his father. let's bring in tom fuentes and former ntsb managing director. i want to start with you, tom. usa today has this article out that has a lot of people talking suggesting that an official involved with the investigation malaysia says the sole focus is on the pilot.

it appears rather then. it says only the captain p possessed the expertise to fly the plane. they haven't seen this kind of evidence to suggest it was him. what have you seen? >> good morning, john. the evidence is not only thin, it doesn't exist. i have very senior officials from the malaysian government telling me -- and told me this before the usa today article came out, that the investigation is not focused or zeroed in or greater suspicion on the pilot or co-pilot. they don't rule it in or out, but they said there had been no indication to implicate either one of them and that the investigation continues to do that. after the article came out, i heard again that the article is false. and this is what the government is saying there. it's false to say they zeroed in

on the pilot. as analyst have said, the police, if they had announced something like that or said they had zeroed in would be wrong, but they haven't done it. the evidence to it basically is not there to say it. they found nothing incriminating in any of the hundreds of interviews they've done with family members. not just the son and immediate family, but coworkers, neighbors, everybody else that knew both pilots. they found nothing incriminating in the search of their residents. no notes indicating suicide. nothing in the financial records, phone records or anything to indicate members of an extreme is group. they're saying nothing that's been developed. they expect to get the fbi report by the end of the week, which would be tomorrow or very soon after. even that, there still has not developed anything to actually

cause them to zero in on the pilots. so this report keeps going out. it's gone out for the last 24 hours on cnn as if it's a fact, and i'm being told it's patently not true. >> well, we're being sure to report your reporting, which is why we're glad to have you here this morning, tom fuentes. that line of reasoning that tom flat out discredits, one of the possibilities would be some kind of suicide mission. he went up there to deliberately crash the plane because he wanted to kill himself. you did investigate a situation where you do believe that took place into egypt air. what led you to finally believe that that was a pilot suicide, and is there anything similar about these two cases? >> we did do the investigation into egypt air. we did determine that the most probable cause to that accident

was the intentional act of the co-pilot. we had within a few days of the tragedy, we had reports and verified incidents that the co-pilot had been severely disciplined the day before, that he had been told by his chief pilot that this would be his last flight, that they were going to remove him from the flight line. we verified that over weeks of investigation that this guy not only was in -- had the frame of mind and the skill to do it, but once we got the voice recorder back, it was laid out in such clarity that we knew that this tragedy was caused by the co-pilot and that there was an actual struggle in the cockpit between the captain and the co-pilot as the plane went down. >> so you had facts to suspect it and you had facts to confirm

it, neither of which we have the case of malaysia air flight 370. >> that's exactly right. and tom is completely correct. i mean, these kinds of unsourced rumors spring up in an investigation like this where it is pain stakingly slow and painfully throw because of the facts and it's really unacceptable. we just don't know yet whether there was action on the part of the pilot or the co-pilot. hopefully we'll be able to find out, but it's very unfair. >> tom, quickly, this type of miss direction, does it actually get in the way of finding out the facts? >> well, it gets in the way of the credibility, and the malaysians are fighting that now. they haven't had to deal with that as much on the police side. i want to add, if i could clay fie, the police are not saying

the pilots have been cleared. they haven't zeroed them out, but they haven't zeroed them in. the report that they're convinced the pilot did do it, that's the part that's false. they are completely open to any possibility yet. they continue to gather as many facts as they can't. they haven't developed any of the negative facts which would justify the opinion that they have zeroed in on the pilot or think he did it. >> got you. we are expecting to hear the fbi report in the next day or two. great to have you with us to understand what is known and what is not known. and what is not known very important in this case. all right. next up on "new day," we'll continue to separate fact from fiction concerning flight 370. based on the information we do have, can some theories be discounted. and we'll take a look at the

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welcome back to "new day." so glad you could be with us. let's get inside politics right now with john king. how are you, my friend? >> a busy and a colorful day. let's get right to it. with me to share their opinions. want to begin with a scoop robert has out this morning. rand paul, you say he's rolling this out to make an important

point. >> that's exactly right, john. you see rand paul today trying to flex his political muscle. show that he's been reaching out to wall street. he's trying to show he has the libertarian activists behind him, but also trying to build a model of a campaign more like mitt romney. >> there's skepticism from the republican establishment. i have to check the calendar every now and then. the prospective candidates are so busy. to sort of thump your chest a little bit, are there also some risks? >> a little too soon. this is a very ambitious, lots of names and people involved here. 2016 is a long way from now. you've seen rand paul trying to reach out to younger voters to

see how this strategy dove tails with that is going to be an important test if he wants to be taken seriously. >> is part of the play to test the other guys to see if they will react? >> when i sat down with paul's camp, there seems to be two reasons why they're coming out now with this. one, they want to show the establishment that he's not his father. but at the same time, they really are aware that they're getting tagged as not having a national level operation. and they want to get ahead. they know it's going to be a very difficult nomination fight in 2016. >> one thing you didn't mention is jeb bush. he's going to spend time in vegas tonight with someone who spent $92 million of his own money in the last campaign. a lot of the establishment thing

chris christie has been wounded by bridgegate. they want jeb to run. how important is it for him to get a sense for how deep the money will be? >> there will be no cameras in that weekend. this weekend is a very private, very closed event. this gives him the opportunity to speak to other republicans, to speak in front of a very deep-pocketed donor, as you noted and get a tap of is this the right time for me to jump in. he's one of the people many republicans are watching. i think he'll be a very attractive candidate. >> i suspect that most, but not of what happens in this meeting in vegas will stay in vegas, but not all. there's a mama grizzly endorsement. that's sarah palin. she's endorsing one of several republicans in a crowded senate primary. we talked about the big misstep

yesterday. she's backing jody who's already gotten a lot of attention for this, perhaps the most colorful ad yet of 2014. >> when i get to washington, i'll know how to cut pork. let's make them squeal. >> never heard the word "castration" in a political ad before. let's make them squeal, cutting pork. now the governor of new mexico do this shooting, showing herself out shooting guns back a couple campaigns ago. how important is the combination of a provocative ad and then a palin enforcement. >> last year actually hosted the first republican senate primary debate in iowa. i spent a lot of time with many of them, including jody earns.

so this ad is very important, so is the panel endorsement. she's trying to move away from that and count herself more as a tea party warrior. >> doesn't say republican. it says conservative. the conservative base often doesn't like that party label. >> that branding is super important in a state like iowa. hard right conservatives make up such a big chunk of the voting block that comes out in a primary. she is one of six people runn g running. it's a crowded race. having that palin enforcement, billing herself as a conservative could be huge for her as she's looking to close the gap and make waves. >> she's one of six in the alabama congressional district, there's also a crowded field. watch how he illustrates his

point kwiegt colorfully. >> we're down here to have a little fun today and talk about two serious subjects. the second amendment and see how much damage we can do to this copy of obamacare. ♪ >> some -- that's will brook in alabama. some democrats say we need to fix obamacare. some republicans say repeal and replace. i guess the slogan for that ad would be what, decimate. >> fix it, don't shoot it. it remind me of the climate change legislation. i think republicans have to be worried though. where is their alternative plan? it's still brewing in the house

right now. democrats, even though they lost florida '13. they're not ready to run totally from the president and this law. >> is it enough in a crowded field? >> i'm not really sure it's enough. it will get people in the national republican conversation talking. there was a similar ad. i'm not sure frankly it's enough to move that many votes. >> let's close on the president's meeting with pope francis. it's their first meeting. the president himself called himself a great admirer. they hope this image together helps the president sell part of his domestic agenda back home. how important for this president that is struggling at the moment. the pope has approval rating of 80%. can it help at home? >> he has moved away from the

traditional issues that you associate with the vatican. has talked about reaching out to the poor, those kinds of topics that dovetail nicely with the things that the president is talking about right now. i think it gives him a unique opportunity. >> is there a francis bump? >> i think so. among catholic voters, francis is very popular. i don't think it's going to get a huge bump for the president in terms of his messaging. i but i think catholics will respect that he went over there and meeting with him. >> thanks for coming in early. back to you guys in new york. we've seen all these great pictures, the swiss guard out in the courtyard. i want to share a picture with you. this is one of the greatest professional days of my life. i got to meet pope john paul ii. he has since passed, obviously.

they came and brought us in for a brief audience. he blessed us, gave us rosary beads. it was a wonderful moment. >> that is the moment of a lifetime. >> you'll never forget that. >> i love that pick chiropractor. >> -- picture. >> not so much gray. just saying. next up on "new day," weather grounds planes in the on going saernl in the southern indian ocean. we get a fresh lead though in the hunt for flight 370. satellite imagery detecting hundreds of objects near where the plane may have gone down. we break down the theories. plus the oscar pistorius murder trial start today, but the blade runner is expected to testify in his own defense when court resumes tomorrow. could this be a game-changer? a live report from south africa just ahead. [ female announcer ] hands were made for playing.

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the breaking news in morning, new satellite images of possible debris in the southern indian ocean. these images taken by thai satellites. 300 pieces of debris spotted in these images here. this is all in the search for flight 370. what could have happened to that plane. the problem is planes have not been able to verify it this morning. nine planes did reach the search area. they had to return to base because of bad weather. six ships were deployed and they do continue their search. it will make it much more difficult to find the objects that were taken on monday. still so many questions about what happened on board flight 370. these questions remain unanswered. we want to talk about the theories. here to walk us through the facts right now to see what lines up, our aviation analyst and contributor, jeff wise.

there are two prevailing thoughts here. number one, it was some kind of catastrophic mechanical failure. number two, it was a deliberate action in the cockpit by a pilot or someone who broke in there. i want you to make the case for why it could be each one. let's start with the idea that it was mechanical failure. they made that dramatic left turn to avoid some catastrophe or maybe because of some catastrophe. the co-pilot said, all right, good night. as far as we know neither the co-pilot nor the pilot had any clear motive. in your mind, what is the most compelling case for catastrophic mechanical failure? >> clearly, you know, something happened when the plane deviated from its planned route to beiji beijing. made this dramatic left turn

over the sea. that's when things started to happen. >> so of these arguments, dramatic left turn the most compelling to you? something big was going on. something radical had to be done. all right. let's look at the other argument here in general terms. this theory, that it was some kind of deliberate action. they diverted from the flight path. there was zero communication after the, all right good night, and then of course, the idea that they changed altitudes. also, jeff, in your mind what's the most come peopling case that -- compelling case it was a deliberate action? >> clearly, somehow it got on a new heading. it does not look like someone turning around trying to find safety. it was a straight path. with a little bit of this. listen, not only we're not issuing a distress call, the

acars stopped working. too much was happening. this argument would have it. >> so this with a little bit of this? >> yes. >> all right. i think i know where you fall. explain to me now what you think your best guest is what happened. >> my best guess ask that some deliberate action was taken to divert this plane from its course to take it in a very intentional and deliberate manner to the west, ultimately to the south. to what end, we have no idea. the funny thing about this case is that the beginning of it doesn't really seem to match up with the end of it. you start out with what seems like a carefully planned and well-executed maneuver, then ends in a long flight out over the ocean and ultimately crashing into the sea. >> you say some of the arguments for the mechanical failure also work against it. explain. >> look at this transmission,

all right good night. that doesn't sound like someone who is struggling with fire or some other malfunction would say. there's no indication of panic or concern. the fact that there's no clear motive doesn't -- it's not positive either way. so the absence of any evidence for catastrophic fail yier, you also have to take into consideration the safety of the 777. it's a robust, well-built platform. all modern aircraft are so redundant that they don't spontaneously come bust. these -- we're talking about acars, radio transmissions. that somehow these are all spontaneously fall and over ride their own fallbacks -- >> you don't like the idea they said, all right good night, if something was wrong, you don't

think they'd be saying that as next up, we're taking you to perth for the latest on the bad weather break. can planes try to hunt down these new clues? we're hoping for that tomorrow. plus, oscar pistorius is set to take the stand in his own defense. could this be a game-changer in his murder trial? we'll take you live to south africa next. i've quit for 75 days. 15 days, but not in a row. for the first time, you can use nicorette even if you slip up, so you can reach your goal. now, quit on your own terms with nicorette or nicoderm cq.

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welcome back to "new day" to the latest in the oscar pistorius murder trial. court will be back in session tomorrow.

pistorius himself is likely going to be the first witness to take the stand as his defense takes over. robin kern ow has been at the courthouse since the start. good to see you, robin. >> hey there, michaela. there's only one person, isn't there, who knows what happened that valentine's morning. now that the state has rested their case, oscar pistorius has a lot to answer for. at times stoic, at times physically ill. oscar pistorius in court for more than three weeks as the state made its case for premeditated murder. the prosecutor waiting until this week to reveal what legal analysts say is his strongest evidence. >> i'm scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me. >> a police expert reading texts between the olympian and his girlfriend reeva steenkamp, including this one sent just days before he shot and killed her. >> -- for dating you and be

attacked by you. the one person i deserve protection from. >> pistorius claims the shooting was a tragic mistake. that he thought steenkamp was a burglar. in cross-examination, his defense tried to put those messages from steenkamp into context. the experts admitting that 90% were loving. but was it enough? >> his state's case has been heavily circumstantial so far. those texts are the first piece of compelling evidence we have to establish some sort of motive from which his intention can be inferred. >> reporter: the defense plans to put pistorius on the stands to tell his story. one challenge by expert witness after expert witness. most damning for him, the ballistics expert. placing reeva steenkamp in a defensive position when the olympian shot and killed her. some of the most chilling testimony, neighbors who heard reeva steenkamp's screams. >> the intensity and the fear in her voice escalated, and it was

clear this person's life was in danger. >> now when oscar pistorius tykes that stand, legal experts say it's not just about sticking to his story. it's also, of course, about his emotional state. particularly under cross-examination. michaela, john, back to you guys. >> robyn, thank you. next up on "new day," we're going to go back to the breaking news. the search for flight 370. new images from a thai satellite. some 300 pieces of debris. could it give new insight to what happened to flight 370. ses from the best angle i could. it's how i look at life. especially now that i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. i was taking warfarin but wondered, could i focus on something better? my doctor told me about eliquis for three important reasons. one, in a clinical trial

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zero visibility. severe turbulence and severe icing. >> nasty weather grounds search planes as thai satellite spots as many as 300 objects. could they be from flight 370. plus, renewed speculation about the captain. his son now speaking out. the leader of the free world face-to-face with the leader of 1 billion catholics. we take you live to the vatican. survivors of the deadly mud slide in washington speaking out. one woman caught up right in the middle of it. now the governor tells cnn the death toll is expected to rise. your "new day" continues right now.

>> this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> good morning. welcome to "new day," thursday, march 27th. it's 8:00 in the east. i'm alongside john berman in for chris cuomo. another possible big field of debris has been spotted by satellite in the indian ocean. thai satellites picked up about 300 object pos tentially linked to the plane. 120 miles west of where more objects were spotted earlier this week. >> search planes were out today but they were called back because of the bad weather. they'll have to wait before they go out again to search the area. six ships are still out on the water searching. let's get more now on this potential debris spotted. malaysia is preparing to send a delegation to australia, including navy, air force, airline and aviation personnel. andrew stevens has the latest

for us from perth. hey, andrew. >> reporter: hey, john. good morning to you. good morning, michaela. very disappointing day for the air search here. it was called off, but some of those aircraft did manage to get down those far southern reaches and get some time over the search zone. a couple of hours. we spoke to an australian plilo. they said the conditions were very poor down there. very poor visibility. sadly, they've seen nothing. that's been the story endlessly. they're not relocated by the vessels on the ship but having said that, there was perhaps the potential new breakthrough from these new satellite pictures. new this morning, thailand's state news agency says a thai satellite spotted about 300 floating objects in the southern indian ocean. a possible debris field linked to flight 370. these pieces located just over

120 miles from the area where a french satellite spotted 122 floating objects. that image released on wednesday. that debris spotted sunday. more than 1500 miles off the coast of perth, australia. that's about the distance from washington, d.c. to denver, colorado. the objects scattered over 154 square miles. about the size of denver. this is today's aerial search for wreckage called off. severe weather in the southern indian ocean forcing all planes to return to base. the reconnaissance teams beaten up by turbulence, icing and low visibility in the remote search area. ships will continue searching despite the rough seas. the australian naval vessel "ocean shield" on its way to perth to be outfitted with the u.s. unmanned underwater robot and listening device to assist in the search. the full search effort expected to resume friday.

they are racing against time as new information suggests the batteries or the plane's pingers may already be dead. cnn's safety analyst david susi says a mechanical inspector told him the batteries may have been stored improperly. >> so the search is expected to begin tomorrow. but at this stage we don't know exactly when because it's still pretty rough weather we're getting reports from down in the search zone. it's important, too, to remember since this latest satellite image came out from thailand, there's been two days of nonflying because of the weather has been so bad there. so any of this debris could well have been scattered over quite a wide area given the strong winds and the high seas and also the normal currents there. so all that combines to make the job a really,raphy tough job even harder. >> every day they're not flying and searching is certainly a setback for them.

let's talk about locating the plane. the big question all along has been whether it was lost by accident or perhaps taken down on purpose. "usa today" is reporting the malaysian authorities have narrowed their investigation to captain ahmad shah. u.s. officials tell cnn both pilots are still being looked at but that nothing is jumping out so far on either of the men. now the pilot's son is defending him. for more on all of this, let's get to jim clancy live in kuala lumpur. >> michaela, his son seth came out for the very first time. the family has been in seclusion. came out for the very first time and he said, i'm not paying any attention to all of the speculation. he said, i know who my father is. and he said, we understood one another, even though his father was gone on long trips that his first interview that we know of, that anyone in the family has

granted since this plane disappeared on march 8th. meantime, the former ceo of malaysia airways coming out as well and remembering captain shah, the senior pilot on this flight, as a man who always had questioned, even as a young cadet, he said it was obvious he had a love of aviation. and he, too, doesn't believe the accusations, the innuendo, the speculation if you will, about his role in the disappearance of flight 370. but everyone says the same thing. we need to find the data recorders. we need to prove the case. you need to find out what happened in that cockpit. board that aircraft. what caused it to go missing and go missing so far off course. at the same time tonight, everybody is waiting and watching to see what comes of that search down in the southern reaches of the indian ocean. it's going to be tough. people know we're running out of time. back to john berman. >> jim clancy, thanks.

let's talk more about that search aided by these new satellite images, perhaps 300 objects in the southern indian ocean. we want to talk about this. miles o'brien is a cnn aviation analyst and a science correspondent for pbs newshour. mary schiavo is the former inspector germ of the department of transportation. also an aviation attorney and represents victims and families after airplane disasters. miles, let me start with you here. yesterday when we got the french satellite images of 122 possible objects, your first reaction was, wow. so today, we have this thai satellite picture, 300 possible objects. is this also a wow? >> yeah. it adds an exclamation point to the wow, i think, john. that's a debris field. i don't know what else to call that. i'm not a photo analyst, but what i see there is a pattern of debris that's very similar. and we've been talking a lot about garbage in the ocean, which is a problem, obviously.

and the separate issue we can discuss later. but i'm going to assume looking at that image that if it was in fact, a bunch of garbage from various sources, it would look lie little dissimilar. so what i see there is something that seems to be somewhat metallic and shiny. looks like airplane wreckage to me. i also see some surfaces that look like they're aerodynamic. >> this is about 120 miles from the object spotted by the french satellite. these pictures were taken one day apart. mary schiavo, you've investigated accidents before, air disasters. is there any design, any model, any consistency when a plane or flight ends in the ocean about what happens to the debris, how it breaks up, what it looks like? are these images consistent with that? >> the images are consistent. and i echo what miles said. when the plane hits the water, it's not a soft landing. only captain sullenberger and

jeffrey styles could do that. it breaks apart as if it hit cement. and then the current starts carrying the parts far and wide. i had one next the pacific and week later they were -- fishermen were finding parts and they found my client's purse weeks later. so it does widely disperse and the currents take it widely apart and will break it up even more. >> the satellites were taking these pictures on sunday and monday yet today on thursday they had to call the planes back because of bad weather. it shows the frustration, the difficulties in this search. miles, i want to talk about another element of this that many people think may be the most exciting clue to date to do with the satellite data, the handshakes and partial handshake perhaps at the end of the flight for flight 370. you've really been digging in to this data. you have some questions. and if not questions, you certainly think there's a lot

that's either missing or not being told. i wonder if you can explain this to people like me who don't have the technical background you do about what we should be looking at here. >> first of all, you know, they did a great job turning a satellite that's a data acquisition satellite into a tracking satellite using fancy mathematics. they haven't released the underlying mathematics. they've turned it over to the authorities in malaysia. it's proprietary information. i do understand all of that. but there are reasons -- the whole world wants to know what's going on here. and there are reasons to release some of this data. what we know, however is this half handshake or whatever you want to call it. these handshakes are not unlike your cell phone just trying to find a cell phone tower. this satellite device is just trying to communicate, hey, i'm here and i'm available. and so what happens, though is if for whatever reason it loses its lock on the satellite, just like your cell phone if it loses

its cell tower will try to seek it out again. we're seeing a series of these pings where it's trying to reacquire its connection to the satellite. and that could occur if the airplane was moving in some sort of drastic way or if there was some sort of power surge that reset that satellite transmitter device. that last handshake as we call it, it didn't complete if you will is one we want to look at. it probably takes us very close to the site of the wreckage. it may not be the haystack. could be the farm, though. >> certainly the site at impact which of course is so crucial here because the wreckage we may or may not find is depree that may or may not be connected to flight 370 could be very, very far away from that moment of impact. and mary, that's what i want to focus in on right now because the black box is the holy grail here. it will tell us potentially what was going on mechanically in that plane. the flight data recorder, the

cockpit voice recorder maybe could give some sense of a conversation of what might be going on in that cockpit, although it may only be the last two hours of the flight. what should our hopes be reasonably now for ever finding this black box because, look. this was 20 days ago now. the signal could be running out if it's running at all. set our expectations. >> well, i think if they go to where the half handshake is what we'll call it was if that was the point of impact, the black boxes don't float. and the part of the plane that -- one is back in the tail and the cockpit voice recorder might not have any data or might not have any voices at all because it's the last two hours and if the pilots were incapacitated or deceased there would be nothing except the sounds of the engine and maybe a few clicks if the airplane did things automatically if that's the case, if there was no more talking. but the flight data recorders, a modern plane will have over 1,000 parameters, closer to 1500

bits of data about the engines, control services, communications, the problems, what broke, what was working. and usually you find it near the point of impact because it does not float. goes try to the bottom. so that's where i'd search if the debris field comes up empty. i'd go back to there and put the submersibles in there. >> search by site and by submersible which is how they may be left to do it if the ping wears out. >> i want to leave with the one quote you gave us. wow with an exclamation point on this new satellite image. this debris field found by thai satellite. we hope to learn more about that going forward. michaela? >> john, thanks. president obam and pope francis' highly anticipated meeting one for the history books. they met for far longer than the 30 minutes scheduled. what exactly did they discuss? michelle kosinski is following the president. she joins us live from rome.

hi, michelle. >> hi. really remarkable to see those pictures. rare look inside the papal palace. a palace this pope has declined to live in saying it's too ornate for him and goes against his values that he wants for the church. in his words, being poor among the poor. it was interesting to see president obama on the other side of that big wooden table as the pope's guest. we don't know exactly what they talked about inside for nearly an hour. but we have heard a little bit about what they wanted to discuss. when president obama gave an interview here to an italian newspaper, he was almost spelling out his own policies in a way that he seemed to feel they aligned with the pope's values. talking about his efforts to raise the minimum wage, saying that closing the income gap is not just an economic issue but a moral issue. also talking about his efforts to emphasize human rights and use diplomacy in dealing with the situation on ukraine.

so the meeting, it looked like started out formally in the beginning. as they were leaving, you could see warmth between the two men. they were laughing at times. smiling and shaking hands. the president cracked a few jokes in there. they also exchanged gifts. and the pope gave president obama a booklet of his writings and obama said, oh, i could probably use this when i'm deeply frustrated in the oval office. it might give me some strength and comfort. he also said the pope may be the only person in the world who has to deal with more protocol. as they were leaving, president obama asked the pope to pray for his family and pope francis said that he would. >> michelle kosinski with a beautiful shot there outside st. peter's. one of the things on the president's mind, the situation in ukraine. there's serious and growing concern this morning that russia could invade the eastern part of that country. a new classified intelligence report has top officials in washington very, very worried.

our barbara starr at the pentagon has the details. good morning, barbara. >> reporter: good morning. the russians have been telling the pentagon, don't worry. it's all just military exercises we're doing. now a senior u.s. military official tells me the intelligence shows no evidence, none, that the russians are actually engaging in exercises. instead what the u.s. has seen is more than 30,000 russian forces on the border with ukraine. a build-up of additional forces further back in russia. altogether it will give the russians, if they decide to move if they do, the ability to move so quickly there would be no warning that it's coming, u.s. officials say. they have armored vehicles. they have airborne units special, forces. the complete capability now to move into ukraine. and it's because of the build-up, no sign of doing military exercises. no sign they are going back home. this is what's leading to the growing concern that they may be

about to make their move, if vladimir putin orders it. john? >> very little the u.s. and european allies could do to stop it. bra barbara starr at the pentagon. officials in washington say the number of people thought to be missing and presumed dead has dropped to 90 from 176 just though day before. as many as 24 people have died. no one has been found alive in the mud or debris since the weekend. but workers on the scene insist this is still a rescue operation. we're learning more about two firefighters killed in the line of duty in boston. 43-year-old lieutenant edward walsh. 33-year-old firefighter michael kennedy died wednesday in a massive fast-moving nine-alarm fire at a brick brownstone. there are reports this morning the two went into the basement where the fire is believed to have started. they were trapped there when strong winds caused a backdraft. the cause of the fire under

investigation. convicted terrorist seoul sulaiman abu ghaith was convicted in new york wednesday. the highest ranking al qaeda suspect ever tried in a u.s. civilian court. he gave a series of fiery speeches following the 2001 attacks warning of a storm of planes to come. he faces up to life in prison. bank of america agreed to pay $9.3 billion to settle claims it sold faulty mortgage bonds. the lawsuit filed on behalf of fannie mae and freddie mac which bought the securities ahead of the financial crisis. settlement includes $6.3 billion in cash with the rest going to buy back some of those securities. homeowners have long said they'll not be made whole ive years after the fact. the settlement too late for many of them. >> still the ripple effect is astounding. >> the struggle to come back from that is a really hard prospect for folks. no resource being spared in the hunter for flight 370.

it's a race against time to find this jet before the black box stops pinging. but could it already to be late? we'll have the latest on the search and some new leads just ahead. and to washington state where there is so much sadness in snohomish county. but a tremendous story of survival. this woman was buried in her house. somehow she survived. that remarkable story ahead in her own words. [ man ] every corner, every week! let me just say something. we all got a choice to make. and we can keep focusing on the bad... dwell on the bad, talk about the bad... or, or...we can focus in on the good. i want to give it up for good. give it up for what is good. what can be good.

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welcome back to "new day." 100% devastation. that's how washington's governor is describing the landslide that buried a community just north of seattle. killed at least 24 people. we know 90 remain unaccounted

for. robin youngblood's house was destroyed by the landslide. she was actually inside it when it hit. but somehow she managed to survive. she shared her remarkable story with our anderson cooper. >> robin, first of all, i am so glad that you are okay. walk us through what happened saturday morning. i understand you were sitting in your living room with a friend. all of a sudden, you heard this huge roar. >> i've never heard anything like it before. i said, what the heck is that? and we walked over to the window. there was a wall of -- it took me a second to realize it was mud and it was racing like 150 miles an hour across the far end of the valley. and i said, oh, my god and then it hit us. >> what happened when it hit you? what did it -- what did it feel like? could you actually see the mud as it came up to the house? >> i didn't see it hit us. it hit so fast that we went

down. we were under water and mud and we have mud in every orifice and the house was moving. and i just remember thinking, okay, creator, if this is it, i might as well relax. and i just let myself go limp. >> how long did it go on for? >> couldn't have been more than 30 seconds. >> that fast? >> from the time it hit us until we landed. >> and i understand it actually ripped your house off the foundation. >> my house is match sticks. there's nothing left. it ripped the roof off. and that's -- i thank god for that because if the roof had still been on, the house would have filled up with mud and water. we would have drowned. the only way we got out was the stuff out of our nose and mouth so we could breathe. but i was able to stick my way through debris and get up to the top and call for my friend from

holland. my student who was with me for a week. and she was pinned under a tree that had fallen and i couldn't get to her. there was nothing to stand on. so i just yelled at her to dig herself out somehow. even if she was hurt. better to be hurt and alive because i can see that the house was going to fill up with mud. >> so you were actually -- i mean underneath the mud? you were completely covered? >> yeah. there wasn't a dry place on my body when we got in the ambulance. they had us strip down. everything was sodden. we were in hypothermia by then. >> i understand the house was actually moved a long distance. about how far? >> a quarter of a mile. >> that's extraordinary. your house was moved a quarter of a mile in a very brief amount of time. i mean, you were so lucky to be

alive. >> don't i know it. i have no idea how that happened. and i have a hurt finger and lots of bruises and a torqued back but no broken bones. god knows how that happened. >> god knows how that happened. >> what perseverance and strength. >> it's so beautiful she got to meet the rescuer that pulled her out. bad weather grounding the search by air for flight 370. but resources from around the world being used to try to find some trace of that plane. is it enough, though, and can crews get to it before the ping on the black box goes silent. stay with us. hey mom. yeah? we've got allstate, right? uh-huh.

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debris, including this. some 300 objects spotted on a satellite from thailand. check out this image right here. the question is, how bad is this day, now another day lost by the planes. still some boats in the area. six search vessels scouring the situation over there. we're joined by cnn aviation analyst and contributor to slate and ryan abernathy, an assistant professor at the earth observatory at columbia university. i want to put out this picture again. the new satellite image taken by a thai satellite showing some 300 pieces of possible debris. this was found, now, about 120

miles or so from the picture we saw just yesterday of 122 objects of possible debris taken a day earlier. all right, ryan. show me where these debris sightings were. these possible debris sightings from the satellite and the significance. >> so the two early sightings or the three earlier sightings were the more northern dots. the new point is significantly south of there, 100 miles or so south of there. >> this was the very first picture we got from a satellite showing some possible debris in the search area which is that square. the second dot right in the middle is where 122 pieces of debris were found by the french satellite. this third dot, the picture we're just seeing today, some 300 objects of debris. is this where the currents could be taking it? >> yeah. so what's happening now is we have aeddies in this region. and they are pulling this material around and they are pulling some of it to the north

and the new observations indicate that they are also pulling some of it to the south. >> just to be clear. we see 300 possible objects a day. about 120 miles from where we saw 122 objects before. could they have drifted that far apart in one day or are what we seeing perhaps by the currents dispersal over -- in the 20 days we have now? >> what i think we're seeing is probably the original crash material that has been spread to many different locations. i doubt that the images they are showing the same material. i think it's different pieces. >> that may have spread out over the last two weeks. f it if it's the debris, we don't know yet. why don't pea wee knwe know yet? all the search planes have been unable to locate this by air. we have the currents which have been moving this in a vast area. the bright line is a very strong current pushing things around. so the planes and what not, can

be flying over areas where it's spread out for some time. you can see that graphic image of where it could be floating. how it floats away. then there's the cloud cover that's moved in and caused all kinds of problems, making it difficult for planes to spot anything from the sky and also could delay further satellite images right now. every day that passes, how much more complicated is it? >> this debris is going to get further and further away from the starting point. more and more dispersed. the error box that's going to result when we try to work backwards is going to get larger and larger. we're really working against time. conditions are not favorable. nighttime, cloud cover. it's been frustrating trying to locate on the surface this stuff that we're seeing from the air. >> let's talk about tracking back with this information we have right now, ryan. knowing what you know about the currents and how the seas move back here. we have three data points now from satellite imagery. could you trace a line going back to find maybe a point of impact?

>> we have satellite data also of the ocean currents. we can measure something about the currents from space. so using those measurements you could work backwards from these points and try and figure out where the original crash location is and i sure hope somebody is doing that. >> jeff, your area of expertise where you've been diving into are these handshakes between flight 370 and the satellite which showed the flight down in the southern corridor. that's coming down right here and then that last partial handshake which could indicate maybe that area of impact, correct? >> exactly. what we're trying do is match up these different sets of clues. electronic on one hand. debris on the other. trying to get them to intersect to give us a solution. >> and right now you still think, jeff, because you've been concerned they're not looking in the right place or there's a possibility they're not looking in the right place. given that they keep turning up these possible debris fields, does that give you more confidence they might be looking in the right place? >> until we can actually get

this debris and get it on a ship, take a look at it it's not really evidence one way or another. it's just potential evidence. that's not really going to -- >> great point. only potential evidence until you get your hand on it. really a pleasure to have you here. appreciate it. let's get to christine romans for the five things you need to know for your new day. >> 300 more floating objects have been spotted by thai satellites about 100 miles from the search area from malaysia flight 370. the aerial search was called off today because of bad weather. number two, 90 people are missing or unaccounted for in the deadly landslide near seattle. that's about half the number reported yesterday. this landslide is blamed for as many as 24 deaths. authorities still searching for survivors in the mud. president obama meeting pope francis for the first time. the two talked privately for nearly an hour. and they traded gifts, including a handmade chest with seeds from the white house garden. a new intelligent report has

washington worried. it says russia likely will invade the eastern part of ukraine and might even try land grabs in the baltics. there are more employees than students, so says a national labor relations board office. the ruling gives northwestern university football players a green light to unionize. the school plans to appeal. we are always updating the five things to know so go to newdaycnn.com for the latest. >> thanks, christine. next up -- much more on the plane's search, including what neurs new satellite images could show. an expert will help us break them down. climbing mt. everest, tough enough. getting down no easy feat. one climber's answer? jump. you heard right. we'll speak to the daredevil next.

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so this morning we want to introduce you to someone with real guts. >> that's a way to put it. >> or real nuts. joey is an explorer like none other. he's climbed all seven of the highest mountains in the world and then flown off those peak.

he'll be the first person to fly from the summit of mt. everest. he's here to tell us bhoer his daring/nutty adventure. you look sane to me, son. >> i feel pretty sane. >> let's talk about this. you're going to climb everest, which is a feat in and of itself. >> yeah, i'm going to climb from the bottom of the top just like everybody else. the very tip top. and then i'm going to change out of my climbing suit into my wing suit and jump and fly down. >> which is chilly. >> yeah. >> you have to change clothes. >> i'll have a little tent at the top and get inside. >> and then fly down. >> and fly down. it's going to be fluid like that? >> pretty much. once we get to the top. as we get to the top, the live show starts. everything is happening. it's all choreographed to be at exactly the right time. >> the mountain is going to decide that time. you can't say on may 15th i'm going to jump down because just climbing mt. everest is a huge,

huge undertaking. you're going to have to stop and may have to start over again. >> everything that we're doing is weather dependent nepgood news is in nepal, mt. everest, some time in may, the monsoon comes in and changes everything. the wind drops down. several multiday windows of weather that we'll pick one at the beginning and get ahead of all the other people there. >> you know, i know a lot of people think what you do is very, very brave. but aren't you taking the easy way out? you are climbing to the top and not using the energy to climb down. >> that's true. that's true. >> that's one way to look at it. >> and it will be interesting because i'm going to fly down in about ten minutes. something like that. and my team will still be up on the mountain. it will take them two to three days to descend. so i'll probably be back here in new york by the time they get back to base camp. >> what's the biggest risk? i imagine a number of risks but up there is it the wind that

will blow you right back into the mountain side? >> it is something we're considering. the wind conditions are really good because they come from the same direction, but if the wind is too much, it could prohibit me from jumping. >> how do you train for a feat like this? >> he's not on earth. >> on earth, how do you train for this because the conditions aren't going to be exactly like that. the elevation, the winds, et cetera. >> we've been doing a lot of extensive training in switzerland and utah and colorado to test all the different pieces of equipment, different types of suits. obviously we have to get to the top. fit innocence a really big deal. i have a really simple program but it's really intense. >> you have been climbing. how does a kid from the flatlands of louisiana, how do you end up loving jumping off of them? what is that -- >> i think probably because it was such a flat state that i chose to find some --

>> i am from iowa. i'll never do what you do. >> that's overcompensating a little bit. >> what do you make of the people doing the illegal b.a.s.e. jumps. what do you make of these illegal jumps? >> i think a lot of b.a.s.e. jumpers are those guys against the rules. i've never even jumped off a building. i'm a guy who likes the mountains. >> you draw the line. >> i don't want to get into any trouble. for our jump we have all special permits for everything we're doing on everest. it's on the right track. >> so that is live. when can we expect to watch this? >> some time in may. hopefully right in the beginning of may. >> i admire you bravely. i think you are also insane, but i think i like you very much. >> best of luck. >> this is quite an adventure. i'm sure you'll be tweeting and social media along the way. >> of course. >> ten minutes on the way down. thank you. >> nice to meet you. next up -- new images may

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possibly, from malaysia airlines, the 777 that's missing. this a day after french satellite showed some 122 objects in the indian ocean near the jet's likely flight path. we're bringing in steven woody, a senior intelligence officer and. good to have you back with us. let's start looking at these new images. tell us what an analyst would look at and how they'd determine this is credible and then make the decision to send out search teams? >> sure. first and foremost, what you have to do is start seeing the geography of all of these. you are seeing objects. you may see bigger objects that appear. but if you would, most significantly you go and start looking at these other images as well. if you wouldn't mind going to the image on the 23rd. >> in this case as we zoom in here, these were taken by the

french company airbus defense. it's another piece of the puzzle. this is a story that's been happening all, really, for the last couple of weeks. forensically, putting together this story where you're seeing objects and unusual items across many areas. can you tell this is part of an airplane? >> i can't. >> neither can i at this point. what it does do is helping us narrow down a search area. if you go to the map, this starts to show the whole timeline of how this information is unfolding. we've talked about the distance and how far and how remote this area is. look at this image on the 23rd. the first thing that i notice are clouds. this is a very difficult thing to now go through this imagery and find objects because the weather has been so horrendous. but what we're starting to piece together to the best of my training and my analysis is we're now starting to see a pattern. >> we certainly are seeing this area, it's a zeroed in area. >> back to the clouds for a second. we had a really clear day yesterday. is there a hope satellite

imagery because more satellites are being glaut brought in to h. >> digital globe happened to cover a large portion of this region yesterday when it was completely clear. the imagery will be interpreted, looked through. i would be willing to assume that there are government agencies and commercial companies that are going through this data right now. >> can we talk about the difference between the government and the commercial enterprises that have the satellite. governments are going to be a lot less willing to necessarily release those satellite imagery, will they not? >> i think there's prudence that has to be involved. people want to be extremely careful for a couple of reasons. there may be national security implications and people don't -- governments don't want to release the state of the art of what they can do. that's the beauty of commercial data. i can use the imagery to explain what's being seen. >> is it fair that lack of willingness to share the military satellite imagery would have decllayed the investigatio

early on? >> i don't think so. i think it's more the scope of this area. look how large it is and the difficulty of going through methodically to try to find these objects. you are getting waves, white caps, glint off the ocean from the sun. these are not easy things to find and it still takes people. >> is this about the grade of clarity we should expect to see or will it get more exact or -- >> i believe as more data comes in and as more imagery is being collected and as more information comes in, the guest you just recently had, ryan, speaking about the ocean currents. that's what all source analysis does. it's how you start bringing in all this information forensically. one of my former colleagues called it csi from space. you need to bring it all in. not just the satellite imagery. >> but we need people in the search area to get to that. that is the key, right? >> steven wood, thanks for coming here and joining us. >> coming up on "new day," a

miracle in chicago. a star high school basketball player, victim of gun violence, but he turned his misfortune around. we'll show you how coming up next in the good stuff. i've quit for 75 days. 15 days, but not in a row. for the first time, you can use nicorette even if you slip up, so you can reach your goal. now, quit on your own terms with nicorette or nicoderm cq.

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it is our thursday edition of the good stuff. in honor of our series "chicagoland" want to bring you a bit of the good stuff from the windy city where many are calling tiquan's story inspiring. he was one of six people shot at a party on chicago's west side. the question after that bullet pierced his leg wasn't when but if he would ever play again. then less than two weeks after the shooting, he stepped back on the court and did this. >> yes! >> a three-pointer with just three seconds left on the clock. not only was it the game-winning shot, but it propelled his team to the state semifinals. >> that day, without -- it seemed like the whole world was crumbling down. i couldn't imagine nine days later he'd be in the position he was in, hitting the game-winning

shot. >> the spartans are just two games away from winning the state championship. it could be their first. many of his teammates say his triumphant return is all the motivation they need. >> it was a real inspiration, him coming back, making the shot. >> how about that? >> amazing, right? >> those are the kind shots we want to see young men and women taking. those are the shots. >> two weeks later. tune in tonight at 10:00 p.m. for "chicagoland." watch it here on cnn. >> just because he bounces back from that shouldn't obscure the causes behind it. they have to get on that. "chicagoland" you can see the battle they are up against in fighting the violence around this school every day. it's a really interesting series. i hope everyone gets to watch. we have some big news. we have some big news. why is it? we're launching our new flip forward magazine. look at those three attractive people on the cover.

flip forward is an app that allows us and you to dive deeper into the issues and the topics we feature on air. all you have to do is download the flipboard app. then in the search bar, in the top right-hand corner, search for new day. six letters that could change your life. >> attractive john berman will not -- >> search for my name. maybe a photo of me will pop up. i can't negotiate yguarantee yo. go to newdaycnn.com to learn more about this. it's really terrific technology and very, very exciting. >> before we head out, one last note. if you'd like to watch him jump off everest you can see that on the discovery channel in may. you know we'll be tuning in. >> i'll be tuning in and crossing my fingers. time for "newsroom" with carol costello. >> thanks. have a great day. "newsroom" starts now.

happening now in the "newsroom," breaking overnight. new satellite images. and new hope for the families. >> the satellite images could be invaluable. >> 300 new objects found floating in the ocean. >> so whether it's a ship or the aircraft, it's hard to say until they actually pick up a piece. >> and this morning, defense for the plane's pilot growing louder. >> you knew captain shah. some people point a finger at him. >> he was an excellent pilot. >> for the first time, the captain's youngest son speaking out, addressing those who call his father a political fanatic or a hijacker. this morning's search called off. >> shutting down and packing it up. >> the wicked weather. >> zero visibility means nothing. couldn't see anything out the windows. >> may not be able to see the wingtips of the