that, too. the bottom line is, this is an accident investigation. we're not going to get all the data. i think we were encouraged by their press briefing. >> make sure you stay with us for the very latest on this plane. goodnight. the area of highest probability as to where the aircraft might have entered the water is the area where the underwater search will commence. >> focusing before the water. the search for flight 370 enters a new phase. we're live in perth for the latest. we're finding out more about the ft. hood shooter and the woman who confronted him. >> we were stepping back and waiting for backup, and she stepped forward. and why america's top diplomat says peace talks are at

a critical point. and signing off. the latest running late night host says he's retiring. you're watching cnn newsroom. we want to welcome our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. our top story, an underwater search for signs of malaysia airlines flight 370 is under way now in the indian ocean. all together 14 aircraft and nine ships will coma area of more than 240 kilometers. but right now they are towing pinger detectors. right now from perth, australia, matthew joins us. we know the batteries powering the signal they're listening for will soon go dead.

>> reporter: yes. that's right. and that's why this new phase-in the search operation has really got under way now. the sub surface operation with the deployment of the submarine, with the australian vessel that has that sophisticated search technology attached to it as well and a british ship with similar capabilities, all working in conjunction with each other in a race against time, essentially, to try and find the pinger which is on the black box flight recorder of that lost airliner. and of course the battery power on that pinger is expected to run out, could run out within the next couple of days, and so there's a sort of time sensitivity to it also. they also just got all these assets in the area. so that's why this phase, this sub surface phase of the search operation has only now just got underway, but according to angus houston who is the retired air chief marshal who's now heading

up the australian led search effort here out of perth, there's still very much a focus, very much a hope that they'll be able to spot some debris from the missing plane on the surface of the ocean. take a listen. >> i think there's still great possibility of finding something on the surface. there's lots of things in aircraft that float. i mean, in previous, previous circuits, life jacketes have appeared, which can be connected to the aircraft that was lost. in fact, one of the most famous investigations of all time, when the british comet jet disappeared over the mediterranean, the key piece of evidence there was a life jacket. >> reporter: they're optimistic that if the aircraft is out there it will be found.

but he also underlined that the search area being looked in now is extremely big and extremely remote. and so far, remember, after 28 days of looking for any sign of this aircraft, they've still found no trace of it, natalie. >> it's really uprenreal that t haven't, but as you say, it's a huge, huge search area. as far as this underwater search for the data recorders, you say maybe just two more days for the batteries to run. how long will they continue to try to pick up a signal? >> reporter: well, two more days officially. what specialists in this field say is that the pingers are certified to last 30 days. so that's in two more days, but in practice, depending on the battery strength inside the pingers, they could last for considerably longer than that. so in two days they're not going to give it up. and the bigger problem is the fact that usually this kind of underwater search technology is

only used when there's a very good idea of where the actual debris, where the actual carcass of the lost object, in this case, an aircraft, has been positively identified. at the moment they're just kind of looking for a needle in a haystack as it were because the search area is so big. they don't know exactly where it is. that's why every day almost we're seeing this search area being refined as they move on to areas that they haven't looked in yet after they discount areas that they've searched as thoroughly as they can. so a huge challenge facing these search teams. >> certainly is. but there is still hope. live in perth, thank you. well, a round of severe weather barrelling through the central united states brought hail, and even twisters touched down in texas.

hail as big as golf balls, you can see right there, was reported in denton, texas. heavy rains caused flash flooding in kansas and missouri. and a number of people had to be vevacuated from their mobile homes due to the rising water there. the ft. hood commander says the shooting spree was likely caused by a psychological condition. the u.s. army specialist killed three people and wounded 16 before killing himself. investigators are still trying to determine the exact motive, but they're already forming a theory about what set off lopez wednesday afternoon. >> there may have been a verbal altercation with another soldier or soldiers, and there's a strong possibility that that in fact immediately preceded the shooting. but we do not have that definitively at this point, but we do have strong indications of that. >> lopez shot his victims with a.45 caliber hand gun that he

bought privately after passing a background check. there's no indication he intended to use the weapon before the day of the shootings. at the moment they are down-playing any connection to terrorism. >> the background checks we've done thus far show no involvement with extremist organizations of any kind. but as general milli said to me last evening, and i know the chief and i fully support, we're not making any assumptions by that. we're going to keep an open mind and an open investigation, and we will go where the facts lead us. >> lopez killed himself after being confronted by a military police officer. she is being hailed as a hero who saved lives. brian todd has more about that. >> reporter: yvonne lopez first opened fire in the medical brigade building. he then walked into the transportation building and

fired again, then moved into a parking lot, his destruction while terrifying could have been so much worse had it not been for one female mp. >> she clearly performed her duty exceptionally will. >> reporter: officials won't release the mp's name saying she's germain to the investigation. but she's likely with the 720th mp battalion. they say she arrived in the parking lot four minutes after the first 911 call. he says lopez approached her and put his hands up then reached under his jacket and pulled out his gun. >> she determined that as a threat and engaged him with small arms fire, at which time the shooter did a self-inflicted gunshot wound. >> most officers would have stepped back and waited for backup, but she stepped forward. >> reporter: phillip carter was responsible for base.

she had gone through 18 weeks of training, carter says including on a range involving a scenario called shoot/no shoot. >> they're designed to create that split second impulse. >> reporter: in 2009 it was two civilian officers that stopped nidal hasan. >> it's an honor that i can't even explain. >> reporter: philip carter says that the mp thatst stopped lope is problemly inexperienced. >> imagine that you're making the right call in a matter of seconds. it's incredible she did what she did. >> reporter: she will likely be slated for promotion. kimberly munly ended up losing her job as a police officer at ft. hood. she was a siecivilian officer a her contract was not renewed.

america's top diplomat is urging israelis and palestinians to avert a break down in their latest negotiations. we'll tell you what's posing the latest threat to the peace talks. also the ukrainian president and sniper attacks in kiev.

welcome back to cnn newsroom. there is new concern about the state of the u.s. brokered peace efforts. a seemingly frustrated john kerry is calling on mideast leaders to lead. he says israel and the palestinians must make some fundamental decisions. >> i think it is a critical moment, obviously. the dialog remains open. there was progress made in

narrowing some of the questions that have arisen as a result of the events of the last few days, but there's still a gap, and that gap mwill have to be close and closed fairly soon. >> as cnn's reporter report now, the prospects seem far from promising. >> reporter: it's been going from bad to worse all week. and now what's left of the brokered middle east peace efforts is in tatters. they said israel would not go ahead with the plan to release palestinian prisoners and will reassess its involvement in the process. this followed a stormy meeting between palestinians and american negotiators and described as very, very ugly.

mahmoud -- john kerry appears to be wearing thin. today he said facilitate, push, you can nudge, but the parties themselves have to make fundamental decisions and compromises and kerry has facilitated, pushed and nudged tirelessly since starting the effort last summer. all, it may turn out, for nothing. ben wedeman, cnn, jerusalem. russian security forces have detained 25 ukrainians on suspicion of planning a terror attack. they say the suspects allegedly planned to attack at several locations in russia and some

were given their orders from the ukrainian service. russian intelligence officers were involved in planning forces against the protesters. they accuse viktor yanukovych of ordering snipers to fire on the protesters. moscow has long denied involvement. cnn has more on the report. >> reporter: they presented very little evidence publicly. they did show diagrams and booklets made up and showing trajectories of bullet shots and firing lines, that kind of thing, but didn't really give any of that key evidence to show why they thought russia's security service was so closely involved in this, because not only is the ukrainian government including accusing 12 members of the riot police of taking part

in killing protesters, acting as snipers perched on rooftops, but they say that 32 members came into the country prior, and those are the ones said to have fired on the orders of president vect viktor yanukovych. they say they were flown to crimea so they could avoid detection. >> 12 members of the ukrainian security forces have been detained as part of the investigation. in saudi arabia, a last minute payment of so-called blood money will save a woman from execution. she has been on death row for several years after reportedly admitting to killing her employer and stealing some $10,000. she said it was in self-defense. she was facing execution unless

the dead woman's family was financially compensated per local custom. now it has been announced the sum will be paid. the u.s. government launched ha social media site in cuba. what officials are saying about the program coming up here. also baby makes three. they soon head off on their tour.

welcome back to cnn newsroom. the u.s. is denying it tried to overthrow the cuban government by using a twitter-like service. washington acknowledged the existence of the program but said the purpose of the project was to create a platform to help cubans communicate with one another. it came to light after an associated press report. u.s. officials say it's not the case. >> congress funds democracy programming to empower cubans to strengthen civil society. these appropriations are public, unlike covert action. in implementing programs in non-permissive environments, of

course the government has taken steps to be discreet. this is not unique to cuba. >> there was nothing classified or covert about this program, discreet does not equal covert. having worked with the cia and now here, i know the difference. >> covert or not, american attempts to undermine the cuban government goes back decades. there was of course the bay of pigs fiasco when a ragtag group of exiles were funded to help overthrow the government. there were many plots on castro's life, many with plots that sound like they are from a james bond movie. we're talking a poison-coated scuba diving suit. the u.s. spent $24 million on a program that flies a plane over the island to broadcast

american-sponsored programs. but the cuban government jams the signal, so it is doubtful that any of it reaches its intended audience. we want to get more now on the severe storms across the u.s. golf ball sized hail and tornados ripped through parts of the central u.s. on thursday, and the storms could still threaten millions of people come friday afternoon. we've, actually sometimes we say golf ball sized hail, but we've actually seen it. it was golf ball sized hail. >> yes, it was. >> and it's a big swath of states. >> in the last 60 minutes, we've seen some 1400 lightning strikes. you take a look at the areas that we're talking about being impacted. of course one of those regions around st. louis, this is bush

stadium, playing the cincinnati reds on thursday. but lightning strikes left and right. tornado reported on the outskirts of st. louis as well into the evening hours there. but overall, 198 reports of storm-related damage. about 150 of them are related to hail and here is the perspective as far as what we have in store across this region. how oddly enough, the hail report comes out of denton, texas. plenty of dents to go around. we're talking about this size hailstones and one of our reporters sharing these photos saying hey, the hailstones, you see it on the corner of your screen, most of them are pretty small. then you get some this large. this is just north of dallas showing us some ominous clouds coming in across this region. this was actually a minor league baseball game. had to be postponed after the

third inning as spectators and players were take ofn off the fd because active weather was moving in. memphis, tennessee about to get in on the action. as very, very active thunderstorms coming in. so far in 2014, we've only seen 70 reports of tornados. we should have roughly 145 when you tabulate those numbers. look what happens statistically in the month of april. peak season comes in may and then eventually in june. and you see conditions taper off into the winter months. this is what we have in store for us. the numbers typically prove to be true. at this point, high pressure remains offshore. and we do have an erica where we have some 33 million people under a slight risk for severe weather on friday afternoon into saturday morning. the main threat going to be large hail. we're not talking about golf ball size for the vast majority,

but still, the possibility of damaging hail and an isolated shot of tornados stretching from birmingham into atlanta eventually on in to cincinnati. quick aly want to show you what happening across the indian ocean. some low clouds. hard to pick out on this satellite depiction, but low clouds as low as 1,000 feet. many of these aircraft can fly as low as 300 feet. but there is a tropical cyclone trying to form west of this region. look what happens as we get into sunday and monday, and the winds with the storm system also going to be encroaching on the search zone next week. so the weather looks okay the next couple days. could be threatened by sunday and monday. >> the next two days are critical, too, because they're really searching for those underground pingers. thank you. we want to tell you about a special meeting between two of

the world's most notable public figures. hmm, who might that be? pope francis we're talking about and britain's queen elizabeth. they metz and exchanged gifts. the pope gave the queen a blue or orb. and the queen gave the pope some kpis key. the duke and duchess go on a trip with prince george. he almost upstaged his parents in the family's official portrait recently. we have more for you. >> reporter: it was designed to whet the appetite, a portrait of a family, preparing for its first trip together overseas. there's no doubt he'll be the star of the showdown under. it's long trip for an 8 month

old george, but the little pribs's father william went on a strikingly similar tour at the same age. the family will certainly be fitting a lot in. the first glimpse of him will be on monday when they arrive in wellington new zealand. they have a mission to meet as many people as possible, including relatives of the 185 people who died in the christ church earthquake in tlifl. expect to see the duke and duchess of cambridge getting involved in outdoor pursuits. and experiencing traditional married culture. kate hasn't been to either country before. so they'll be taking in all the sights. in australia, that will include sidney opera house and an exercise on the beach. and perhaps an appearance for

prince george at the zoo in sidney the where an enclosure has been dedicated to him. the added star power of two future kings is expected to test the strong republic. with huge crowds expected at every public appearance. cnn, london. the scientists say they believe they have found an ocean in outer space. it is on saturn's moon enceladus. they say it's made up of saltwater and as deep as 10 kilometers. they say it is the most likely place besides our solar system that could support life. something to ponder. just ahead, more on the search for the missing malaysian airliner. and why today's weather is raising hopes for some kind of

breakthrough. also, reliving a nightmare at ft. hood military base in texas. imagine if everything you learned led to the one job you always wanted. at university of phoenix, we believe every education- not just ours- should be built around the career that you want. imagine that.

you're watching cnn newsroom. hello, i'm natalie allen. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. here's a check of our headlines. two ships are scanning for pings from malaysian flight 370. the hope is to peck up a signal before the batteries go dead. today's operation has 14 aircraft and nine ships searching. so far, no debris. severe weather moving across the central u.s. has spawned a number of tornados. this one touched down just outside of dallas, texas. the town of denton, texas was hit with hail the size of golf

balls. five more soldiers wounded by army specialist ivan lopez have been released from the hospital. others had their conditions upgrad upgraded. lopez killed four people, he wounded 16 before killing himself. some of the equipment being used to listen for the so-called black boxes on flight 370 comes from the u.s. navy. the man in charge of that spoke with our paula newton about its operation and chances for success. >> this terrain is not as mountainous as some terrain. so you can adjust the dipt as you need to for gradual change. so i have confidence in our

ability to move the equipment. >> reporter: is it a shot in the dark? the equipment's there, might as well give it a shot? >> absolutely. that's a good characterization. there's a lot of smart people that did the analysis that determined it was likely on this course. it's the best information we have on that. but certainly, it's a broad search area. our will ripley joins us live just off the australian coast. and certainly, will, time is running out for any chance of perhaps of finding these data recorders. >> reporter: yeah. absolutely, because, natsly, as you've been all righting, as we've been reporting for weeks now, they only have a certain battery life where this ping is emitted and we are now down to literally a handful of days that this equipment may still be emitting a ping. and we deents know the physical condition of the data recorders.

are they damaged? we just don't know. but the only thing that we do know is that we have a lot of equipment in place to listen for these pings. we have a british submarine, a british ship, both of those equipped with sew that are equipment. we have the united states navy pinger locator listening for that ping noise. and i wanted to take you inside this charter fishing boat that we are at. we about 1700 kilometers from the search area. i wanted to show you. lots of boats have technology that uses sound to basically scan the bottom of the ocean, even a charte fishing boat like this. i want to show you this screen in particular. this is called the echo sounder. it's not sonar. but you can see what it's doing is using sound waves to bounce against the bottom of the ocean. this is what the bottom of the ocean looks like where we are right now. just 27.7 meters deep. pretty flat here. i'm going to ask our captain ray

ruby to explain how ships use sound technology on a daily basis. not just for searches like this but you use it as a fishing vessel as well. >> this one here, we've split the screen in two. one shows us the actual contours of the bottom. and because we use it for fishing, we want to know exactly what's on the bottom. so in this one we're looking at the last three meters of the bottom. and the other one shows the definition of the bottom, the up and down. so this one's flat, which is exactly what is on the bottom. and this is up and down, the depths. >> you mentioned the sonar equipment, it's extremely expensive, it's a lot different technology. the equipment that some of the british ships are using are side scan sonars. so the sound waves are bouncing out to the side of the ship. that will help them detect debris floating on the sitop of the water. >> how's the weather supposed to

be in the next couple days? >> reporter: weather conditions are being described as fair. clouds about 300 meters above the surface. which does allow the planes to get low enough to do a visual search. we believe the visibility is about 10 kilometers in either direction which isn't per effect, but it's a lot better than some of the conditions than we've seen of late. as we've seen repeatedly in this part of the ocean, it's difficult to predict. can you have great bother one employment, horrible weather the next. >> will ripley off the coast of perth, australia. relatives of the missing passengers of course are desperate to know what happened to their loved ones. many no longer trust malaysian authorities. when they're told there are no answers right now. here's joe johns. more about that. >> reporter: it's been weeks since mh 370 disappeared, and

the malaysian government is still struggling to meet the needs of the passengers' families. >> we owe to the grieving families to find, to give them comfort and closure to this rather tragic event. and the world expects us to do our level best. >> reporter: waiting for word on the fate of the plane, the chinese families are channeling their frustration and anger. >> we want evidence, we want the truth, we want our family back. >> reporter: they have now made public questions so tough the authorities can't or won't answer, which makes the families suspicious. distrust is not uncommon for the relatives of passengers in airliner mishaps as authorities work to uncover the truth. >> the reality is there is generally less going on than what meets the eye on this. there's the fog of the investigation, how hard it is to get facts right.

but at this point, the trust is zero with family members. >> reporter: even though malaysian officials have released transcripts from the cockpit the families have demanded more. they have demanded communication and an illustration of the flight path and a comparison of the analysis of the last satellite picks. they want calculation formulas of the last flight position over the intd yan ocean and why these calculations could vary by as much as 1,000 kilometers. the families were brief the by officials at malaysia and china. but the briefing failed to satisfy the families who issued an angry statement titled we fooled once again. they said they did not receive direct answers. >> some of them cannot be answered. but that's part of establishing

a level of trust with the family members over time of saying listen, we don't know the answer to that yet. we're going to try and find out that answer, but as of today we just don't know. >> reporter: the malaysian government continues to insist it is doing what it can to keep the families informed. but it's difficult to draw the correct conclusions until the plane is located. joe johns, cnn, kuala lumpur. there are families in ft. hood, texas asking lotting of questions as well about what happened there. the mass shooting has kindled debate about psychological evaluations in the military. ivan lopez had a history of anxiety and depression. the army's top officer says it's very difficult to weed out potential problems. >> we do quite significant

screening today, but it doesn't mean it's right, and it doesn't mean we can't improve it. we have to constantly evaluate this. this is something that we are going to have to deal with for a very long period of time. and that's the consequence of 13 years of war. >> the 2009 massacre at ft. hood prompted changes in security at u.s. military bases. but as our reporter tells us, there's no sure method to prevent tragedy from striking again. >> reporter: for more than a decade, ft. hood has carried the burtd and anguish of wars across the world. but the violence at home has once again struck at home. this retired colonel knows all too well. in november 2009 she was at ft. hood when major knee dal hassan launched his attack. >> there was tremendous sorrow

and grief. and it was surreal. how could this happen again. >> reporter: after the 2009 ft. hood shooting the department of defense issued a report calling for better response and promoting information sharing between government and military investigators. >> we saw some benefits and gains made out of that ft. hood, first ft. hood experience, but something happened. something went wrong. and we need to know what that was. and if we failed in some way against our current policies we need to be honest with ourselves and with you and hold ourselves accountable. >> reporter: aft ft. hood shooting in 2009 they said one of the biggest problems was to identify internal threats and identify individuals likely to commit violence. but the same problem exists

today. in 2011, jason abdel was involved. >> we just don't have fluff peop -- enough people to take care of the problem. >> reporter: here at ft. hood alone in the last six years, 85 soldiers have committed suicide. ft. hood soldiers are often warned to avoid speaking with the news media, but one soldier did speak with cnn who discussed the stressful life at ft. hood as a black hole. >> it can be miserable. and we have a lot of people in behavioral health and nobody really understands how bad somebody's mental stability is or how hard it is to keep your sanity here being at ft. hood. >> reporter: ed lavandera, ft.

hood, texas. up ahead, hear why man over the people who evacuated in chile now say they're too scared to go back home. also a 9 month old is booked and fingerprinted in court. the bizarre scheme is sparking a an about face. [ male announcer ] this is the cat that drank the milk... [ meows ] ...and let in the dog that woke the man who drove to the control room [ woman ] driverless mode engaged. find parking space. [ woman ] parking space found. [ male announcer ] ...that secured the data that directed the turbines that powered the farm that made the milk that went to the store that reminded the man to buy the milk that was poured by the girl who loved the cat. [ meows ] the internet of everything is changing everything.

cisco. tomorrow starts here.

a programming note for our international viewers. connect the world start at its new time on sunday at abu-dhabi. starting starting on sunday. in february, there were 215 calls to u.s. poison control

centers because of the liquid nicotine that's used in e cigarettes. more than half of those involved children under 56789 officials say they're attracted to the liquid which is flavored to taste like banana and bubble gum. they recommend e cigarette users pay close attention to where the liquid nicotine is stored. in chile, thousands are afraid to return to their homes after aftershocks rattle the coast. shasta darling ton has this report for us from one of the hardest hit areas. >> reporter: we're here on a road to a small town in northern chile that was cut off by the earthquake on tuesday. and just when workers had opened up the road so they could gain access we had a large aftershock wednesday night that sent boulders tumbling into the road

again. you can see there's a huge crack split here. the bulldozers have just passed buy cleaning the boulders off so we could get access to this small town. while people here didn't have to worry about tsunamis, they did have to worry about getting supplies in. they do have generators for electricity, but they haven't been visited by a single official. they feel abandoned, to say the least. and they have a concern that there's a reservoir right above them. every time there's an aftershock they also have to move to higher ground. we ourselves were in the aftershock on wednesday night. we were evacuated from our hotel, went with a lot of residents to higher ground. and many people carried backpacks and bed rolls. they actually spent the night outside on the one hand so they could be safe from the possibility oflizing waters but also so they didn't have to worry about falling buildings or debris. and what we keep hearing over and over again is they don't

know when this is going to end. they were already feeling pretty considerable foreshocks. now there have been more than 100 aftershocks and experts saying this might not have even been the big one. they don't know what's ahead, and it's still a very tense situation near northern chile. cnn, chile. it's called the ring of fire, shasta looks like she's standing on the ring. more about the earthquake. you were just telling me during her story, that's one of the driest spots on earth. >> yeah. where she was yesterday is the driest place on earth, drier than death valley. parts of it actually, evidence suggests haven't seen rainfall since the 1700s. we know it's dry. over 100 aftershocks. the ring of fire, i want to share it with you.

one third of our planet's surface area is right there in front of you in the pacific ocean. and the ring of fire, we're talking about the plates diving into the continents or directly underneath the continents. and that's where 90% of the planet's earthquakes occur. 75% of our volcanos across the rick of fire. that's where the name comes from. 80% of the largest quakes in the world also occur across this region. that's why folks in chile have really been rattled in recent days. that 7.6 has been moved offshore. the epicenter was not south of iquique, which we know initially was there. we've 7, we've had four 6s. so you would expect several more to go through the next couple weeks and months. you sigh upwards of thousands

when you hook into the four scales. i do see quakes still coming across japan associated with the 2011 quake. i want to share an interesting story taking place across london. london, one of those larger cities known to have rather good air quality, because weigh know the dubious distinction it has for all the rainfall that comes down across this region, but the perspective in the last couple days, absolutely disgusting and we know sitting at the 717 air quality index. that is considered unhealthy. in the last several days it pushed up into the unhealthy katz gore. that is one of the most unhealthy air qualities london has experienced in a long time. the ambulance service saying a 14% increase in calls dealing with respiratory health in the last several days. and a lot of people wondering where this is coming from.

some of that's actually coming in from the sahara desert. and we know the winds here have been coming from the south. so you can blame some of it from the sahara desert and some of it from industry in the region. >> thank you. a stunning scene in a pakistani courtroom this week. a 9 month old booked and fingerprinted. authorities had ordered the father to appear in court along with his older teenage son for allegedly attacking police. instead the little boy was brought to court. the court granted bail to the baby but did not dismiss the case. they're ordering to suspend an inspector for registering the complaint against an infant. that is hard to watch. that's just not right. it's the end of an era for american late night television. we'll tell but funny man david letterman saying good-bye.

well, he has been a fixture for so many of us for so many late nights, but after more than 30 years on late night tv, david letterman is ready to retire. say it ain't so. the talk show host announced his decision thursday saying his last show will be sometime next year. the 67 year old -- he's 67? says he wants to spend more time with his family. >> i said to my son harry, two months ago or so, i said you know, the cliche when somebody rae tire, spend more time with my family. it's a lovely sentiment, but it almost makes you laugh. i was goofing around with harry. i said what if i retire. why would you retire? and i said, well, because then i would be able to spend more time with the family. and harry looked at me and said which part of the family?

>> i'm sure harry is on board with his dad. letterman's shows have won 14 emmies. dave got his start in television as a weatherman in indianapolis. a new study may change the way you look at the supermarket cereal aisle. it claims the cereal boxes are looking at you. here's cnn's jeanne moos. >> reporter: it has come to this. we are analyzing the body language of cereal boxes. is your breakfast making eyes at you? we've got our eyes on your eyes, captain crunch. you too, sugar bear. we see you. >> making you cuckoo for coco puffs. >> reporter: adult cereals are placed on higher shelves. kids on lower ones. it's as if from down that's correct the characters interest

trying to establish eye contact with kids. what are you lookin' at, you silly rabbit? characters on adult cereals looked straight ahead, meeting adult gazes. don't look at me that way, you're all cereal offenders, especially you, tone eye. >> they're great! >> reporter: now i won't ever be able to walk down a cereal aisle again without filing eyes on my. it's known that direct eye contact between humans encourages trust, but would that hold true for direct eye contact with cereal box characters? 63 participants, really, we're not making this up, were shown the rabbit from trix, either with his eyes down or looking straight at the viewer. a filing of connection to the brand was 28% higher when the rabbit looks straight at the test subject. >> silly rabbit, kix are for

kids. >> reporter: but does all this smack of deliberation? >> i don't think this is necessarily a deliberate strategy. >> reporter: he may be looking down at this bowl of cereal, kelloggs told cnn we do not intentionally position our characters on packages. at least at the deli you won't have a million eyes drilling holes in you. >> wasting time. let's study something else. i left the doctor, study this rash i got going on. that's what they should study. >> reporter: even the leprechaun from lucky charms is rolling his eyes on this one, unless our eyes are playing tricks. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. the cast of the australian production of the lion king gave fellow passengers aboard a flight recently a musical treat. ♪

>> how cool is that? they gave an impromptu performance of "circle of life" on the airplane. think were on their way from brisbon to sidney' where the show is playing to packed houses. maybe they sold a few more tickets on board that plane. thanks so much for watching. early start is coming up next for viewers in the u.s. for viewers elsewhere, stay with us for world business today. ♪ ñ

breaking news this morning in what could be a pivotal point in the search for missing malaysia airlines flight 370. overnight, australia announcing it has now taken over the search for the vanished jetliner. new technology helping australia dramatically narrow the search and finally send black box detectors into the water. live team coverage, ahead. inside the mind of a killer. new information this morning on the gunman who murdered three soldiers and injured 16 more. the latest information on that deadly rampage that has left ft. hood just reeling. we take you live to killeen, texas. breaking news this