Skip to main content

tv   CNN Newsroom  CNN  April 8, 2014 11:00am-1:01pm PDT

11:00 am
move forward in some of the civil rights issues of the day. we're talking about gay rights, immigration and health care, among them. we're going to have four presidents who are going to be here at the lbj library to discuss just that. wolf? >> glad you're there covering it for us. we'll check back with you tomorrow, suzanne. thank you so much for doing this. that's it for me. thank you so much for watching. i'll be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern, two-hour episode of "the situation room." newsroom starts right now. wolf blitzer, thank you so much, as always. great to be with you on this tuesday. let's begin with the hunt for flight 370. really disappointment today in the frantic search to find a source of those pings, deep somewhere in the indian ocean. search crews are still trying to relocate the sounds that they hoped would lead them to the flight's black boxes. u.s. navy locator, tpl, we explained how this works here.
11:01 am
it is onboard australia's ocean shield. it picked up two ping signal detections just over this weekend. the first one actually for more than two hours. the second for about 13 minutes. and cnn has now turned around what those clicks sounded like this weekend. that's what they heard. that's what they're listening for again. relocating these pings. now the main focus. today the search zone is drastically scaled back, reduced to 30,000 square miles. here you have 14 ships, 14 aircraft involved in today's search. they are on borrowed time, as today we keep counting day 33 since that plane vanished. with the 30-day more or less battery life of those black boxes, really more or less out of juice. australia's defense minister said they're holding nothing
11:02 am
back. >> you can be assured that we are throwing everything at this difficult complex task in these -- at least these next several days, whilst we believe the two pingers involved are still active. >> the underwater drone is collecting dust onboard the ocean shield and it will stay above water, not to be deployed unless they hear another ping. that's what they're waiting for. because this then has more sonar to find it and hopefully find the wreckage. will ripley is live in perth, 2:00 in the morning. the headquarters for the search operation. will, we talk about now the narrower, this smaller search area. how are they intensifying the search? and why not toss every possible resource to find these pings? >> reporter: yeah, the search area now one-third the size of what it once was, but still pretty large. we're talking 30,000 square miles. we have two simultaneous search operations, 14 ships out on the water, 14 planes taking off from
11:03 am
perth. many of them taking off from the air base where i'm standing right now. the two searches that are happening, the one above the water, the search for that debris field that has been so elusive as we're more than a month into this. not one piece of physical evidence from flight 370, even though these planes have literally been out and these ships have been out scouring the surface of the ocean. then you talk about the search which is getting so much attention right now, the ocean shield, dragging that pinger locating almost four miles of tow line, very slow and intensive search. as you mentioned, a very important search, because if there's any chance that the black boxes are still emitting a signal, they want that pinger locator to pick it up. angus houston is here now. i want you to listen to what he said explaining why it's so important. >> now, until we stop the pinger search, we will not deploy the submersible. is that clear? we will not deploy it, unless we find -- unless we get another
11:04 am
transmission, in which case we'll probably have a better idea of what's down there, and we'll go down there and have a look. >> reporter: so they need another transmission. but let's just say that we get to the point in a few more days of intensive searching where it's obviously clear that the black box batteries are no longer emitting a signal. that's when we're told they will consider deploying this submersible, the blue fin 21 we've told you about, the one you said is collecting dust. here's the problem, brooke. one day's work for the pinger locator will take the blue fin a full week. so if we get to that point in the search where we have to switch and start using that technology, this will be a slower, more grueling process. >> ripley in perth, thank you. let me bring in my next two guests, ocean search specialist mike williams in seattle. and you recognize this guy as well, jeff wise, joining me from new york. gentlemen, thank you so much for being with me.
11:05 am
mike, i want to -- let me begin on what the correspondent there in perth was talking about, why not use the blue fin. here we've been using -- or they've been using the tpl. this seems like such a great lead, why not -- if they are in the ballpark, for give my lack of proper terminology, why not drop this blue fin in, in the possibility that they could hear the pings? >> well, currently we only have detection of the pings on two lines of position. and we really critically need to detect those pings on a third line of positioning, to really narrow down the search area. >> what do you mean by that? i'm going to stop you there. what do you mean by third line of position? >> okay. well, basically we're trying to triangulate where the pings are coming from. the detections are just -- the detector is not directional. it's getting a signal from something in a range of six
11:06 am
miles. in a circle, if you will. and it detected on another track, the same pings, and yet we have another circle of six-mile diameter. if we could get a different, a third line of position, a direction that the ship is steaming, with yet a third circle, we overlap those circles, and at the point they overlap is the most likely location for the wreckage. >> i get it. the ballpark, the neighborhood is still way too big for them, even though they have this ping. so depending on the triangulation, they're hoping to find the position and drop the blue fin in and find the wreckage. i think i got this. jeff, there's a lot of interference that can impact hearing the pings, ocean noise, oceanographies know that. i spent this morning reading about the frequency that is emitted from these pings, from these black boxes. it sounds to me this could maybe
11:07 am
be it, because the frequency is about the same. am i right? >> well, you know, i guess it all depends on how you look at it. it's not the frequency that you would expect to find. some people pointed out, there's factors that can affect the frequency that the pinger puts out. and that could explain why it's not the same. even though it's wrong, maybe it's not so wrong that it rules it out. >> how wrong is it? >> it's off by about 10%. so it's not wildly off. but you know, there's different pieces of equipment that people put down in the ocean, you know, deep sea exploration equipment for oil exploration, for instance, i'm not saying that's what in this particular stretch of ocean -- >> detecting well sounds for example? >> and there's that. there's man-made things that -- so this frequency that the pinger was designed to broadcast at was designed because it's relatively quiet in the ocean.
11:08 am
the ocean is a very noisy place. there's all kinds of sea creatures and natural processes that are causing noises. this particular frequency is relatively quiet, that's why they chose it so if you have a pinger putting out energy at this frequency, you can hope to find it and it won't be swamped by natural sounds. >> okay. >> but there are still other things, there have been false positives in the past, as you noted. during the press conference last night, one of the things that angus houston pointed out was that the false positives that they have experienced already over the last few days have been traced in part to the noise of the ships themselves. >> the search ships themselves? >> right. >> that's affecting this? mike, what about -- i was just reading about sound and how, for example, in air, sound travels more or less in a straight line. but then sound in water, with temperature, with pressure, with salinity, with saltwater, it can
11:09 am
bend, sort of making this even more difficult to trace. >> that's correct. bend quite dramatically. the effect of temperature, pressure will have an effect on the velocity of sound as it travels through the water. and this will cause the ray path, the direction in which the sound is traveling to actually bend sort of like looking at a pencil in half a glass of water. the same sort of refraction that occurs there. so it can be very difficult to localize. >> if they localize it, if based upon this third line of positioning they hope to attain in triangulation, they nail it, this is the ping from the plaque box, then, jeff, what happens next? do they then put the blue fin, this vehicle underwater to have a more accurate listening
11:10 am
system? is that how that works? >> right. so then we'll be sort of on track with what we did with air force 7, where we've located the wreckage, you send down the autonomous underwater vehicle to go down and scan with sonar to essentially paint a picture with sound, the vehicle returns to the surface, upload the information to the ship, that would most likely swap out the sonar for optical camera, send it back down, take pictures, get a real complete understanding of where the different parts of the aircraft are. then you send down another piece of equipment, a remotely operated vehicle, this is a submarine that's -- you know, you do it by remote control, it has an arm, or arms, and it grabs the boxes, and they get returned to the surface. they're kept in saltwater so they don't corrode. and they're returned, most
11:11 am
likely, for analysis by the ntsb here in the united states. then you wait. because then the ntsb is very tight-lipped about what they're doing, until they're really to release their final report, which they in fact will probably have to do through the malaysians, if they're not issuing the reports themselves. even if everything works perfectly, even if all our hopes and dreams are realized, it's still going to be a while before we find answers. >> a lot of ifs in this story. jeff weiss, mike williamson, thank you both so much for your expertise here. coming up, stunning moments in the oscar pistorius murder trial today. >> i was calling out for the lord to help me, i was crying out for reeva, i was screaming. >> the blade runner breaks down on the stand sobbing, describing the moment he shot his girlfriend. you will hear that, next. ♪ i know a thing about an ira ♪ and i got the tools ♪ to do it my way ♪ i got a lock on equities ♪ that's why i'm type e ♪
11:12 am
♪ that's why i'm tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ i can do it all from my mobile phone ♪ ♪ that's why i'm tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ if i need some help i'm not alone ♪ ♪ we're all tyyyyype eeeee, ♪ ♪ we've got a place that we call home ♪ ♪ we're all type e ♪
11:13 am
so ally bank really has no hthat's right, no hidden fees.s? it's just that i'm worried about, you know, "hidden things." ok, why's that? well uhhh... surprise!!! um... well, it's true. at ally there are no hidden fees. not one. that's nice. no hidden fees, no worries. ally bank. your money needs an ally.
11:14 am
11:15 am
welcome back to cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. today was an emotional day in the oscar pistorius murder trial. the paralympic sprinter had to explain what happened the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. over 3 1/2 hours pistorius sat there reliving the horrors of that deadly night inside his pretoria, south africa, apartment. there were several long pauses as he gave his account of the events, many members of the family here in the courtroom. this is reeva steenkamp's family listening to it all. the mother burying her face in her hand. toward the end of his testimony, pistorius himself broke down, sobbing helplessly, for a second day in a row he could not continue.
11:16 am
>> it was at this point that i heard a window open in the bathroom. it sounded like the window sliding open. and then i could hear the window hit the frame, as if it had slipped where it couldn't slide anymore. it was at that point i was overcome with fear and i started screaming and shouting for the burglar or intruders to get out of my house. i shouted for reeva to get on the floor. that's the moment that everything changed. i thought that there was a burglar that was gaining entry into my home. the first thing that ran through my mind is i needed to arm myself, that i needed to protect reeva and i, and i needed to get my gun. in the passage where the closet is to the bathroom, it was at that point i was just overcome with fear, and i started
11:17 am
screaming and shouting for the burglar or intruders to get out of my house. i heard a door slam, which could have only been the toilet door. i started screaming for reeva to call the police. i heard a noise from inside the toilet. it seemed to be somebody coming out of the toilet. before i knew it, i had fired four shots at the door. my ears were ringing. i couldn't hear anything. so i kept shouting for reeva to call the police. i retreated back to that point where i got to the corner of the b bed. i tried to lift myself up. i was talking to reeva. and there was nobody -- no one responded to me. i flung the door open, i threw it open. and i sat over reeva and i cried.
11:18 am
and i don't know, i don't know how long -- i don't know how long i was there for. she wasn't breathing. >> court will adjourn. >> the words of oscar pistorius, day two, taking the stand. we're going to stay on this. quick break. next i'll bring in our cnn legal panel to talk about the testimony, what they made of this, what are the biggest holes in his story. what about his response. how his emotional state op the stand play with the judge. remember, it's the judge who decides his fate here. stay with me. i'm only in my 60's. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out
11:19 am
medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare...
11:20 am
and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is.
11:21 am
11:22 am
. just before the break we heard gut-wrenching testimony from south african olympic athlete, oscar pistorius. he sat there testifying, explaining his version of events the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. he became so emotional, he started wailing and his testimony was cut short. the judge adjourned. is pistorius sincere? is he telling the truth? let me bring in my legal panel, sunny hostin and criminal defense attorney danny sevalo. because we played so much of the testimony, let me begin with you, sunny. we know he has vomited, he
11:23 am
sobbed, his sister has sobbed in court, along with him here. we have the judge the second day in a row sort of calling it quits. what did you make of his emotion and also, do you think that the judge is finding him sincere? >> yeah, i do think that the judge is finding his emotional state sincere, that he is clearly distressed while he's on the witness stand. he does seem to be treating him very tenderly. she asked for the adjournment today. yesterday she said he felt he was really exhausted and needed a break. so you can see that this judge is definitely treating him well. i've goot to tell you, brooke, i've had a lot of defendants and witnesses cry on the witness stand and the judge said, i'll give you a 15-minute break, let's move on. this judge has not done that. but i think his showing of emotion cuts both ways. because he is so emotional, that rather than appear to be credible, perhaps he is now
11:24 am
showing the judge he's this volatile character, you know, possibly i think capable of just flipping off and losing his mind, and committing murder. he's such an emotional person. >> that's an interesting point. >> that i think he looks unstable. >> that's an interesting point to see it that way. danny, juxtaposing his emotion with the notion of this testimony, here he was that night, firing four gunshots through a door without knowing who was on the other side. how reasonable is that? >> well, oscar pistorius hopes the answer to that question is, a reasonable south african would fire those shots into the door. you see, living where we live, we don't have the same context of how high crime an area south africa is. the judge hearing the case does. you hear a lot of this testimony building the case, developing his experiences with crime,
11:25 am
pistorius' personal experiences with crime. but he has to demonstrate them and tell them in a way that the judge can relate to him. because the judge lives in the same country. and if she can relate to that fear, that fear that is the possibility that an intruder could get into your bathroom on any given night, which many of us here after the luxury of not having that fear, then that may go a long way. it may begin to explain to what seems galactically stupid to every other person in the world. >> he was a little boy growing up, his father wasn't around quite so much, the mom had the fear of an intruder as well, kept a gun inside her pillow. perhaps this is part of that fear as he's grown up. sunny, i go back to the fact, here you have this man who clearly didn't think -- we just don't know what he was thinking, not to check to see if his girlfriend is in the bed next to him. i mean, how do you explain that? why not have your first gut
11:26 am
instinct be, let me try to protect her before i see what's happening in the bathroom? >> i think that is the problem that oscar pistorius has. he basically indicated when he woke up, reeva was also awake and said, sweetie, are you having trouble sleeping. i'm paraphrasing. he then gets up and hears this noise. and rather than go back to the bed and check on her, he goes back to the bed and gets a gun, and then starts shooting. so that piece doesn't make sense. because i think even though this judge is a judge, trained in the law, she still has her common sense with her, right? i think she may think, are those the actions of a reasonable person. most people who are with their partner in bed, and hear something go thump in the night, the first thing you do is check the won't that you want to protect. so that, i think, is a really crucial piece. and i'm not sure how the defense really gets over that. >> how would, danny, how would one defend that action? >> well, those are two major problems that he has. first of all, the reasonableness
11:27 am
of not checking for a person next to you in bed. and secondly, firing into that closed door. but i have to add, earlier, a ashleigh banfield pointed out, why didn't reeva steenkamp shout out. they are painting a picture of her panicking and maybe pistorius is confronting a burglar somewhere else in the house. it's a fascinating explanation for why she may not have cried out, after pistorius started shouting. >> it's a thought. we just don't know. we continue on watching for the testimony as it will go into tomorrow. danny and sunny, thank you both very much here. we will take you now back to the special coverage of flight 370. as investigators are listening for those elusive, thus far, pings in the hunt that is definitely not the only thing making noise under the waves. rosa flores has listened for a
11:28 am
pinging signal with underwater microphones, and we'll hear much, much more. and also with the batteries dying on these black boxes here. what authorities are counting on now to lead them to finding this missing plane. stay with me. i have low testosterone. there, i said it. how did i know? well, i didn't really. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody...
11:29 am
that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor. we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests. showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% testosterone gel. the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy, increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are or may become pregnant or are breastfeeding, should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin,
11:30 am
corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. so...what do men do when a number's too low? turn it up! [ male announcer ] in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal. talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. ameriprise asked people a simple question: can you keep your lifestyle in retirement? i don't want to think about the alternative. i don't even know how to answer that. i mean, no one knows how long their money is going to last. i try not to worry, but you worry. what happens when your paychecks stop? because everyone has retirement questions. ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. to get the real answers you need. start building your confident retirement today.
11:31 am
bottom of the hour here,
11:32 am
you're watching cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. the u.s. navy's tpl is scouring, and now a narrow section of the indian ocean. the search area is smaller thanks to the two possible black box pings which with are now guiding the search. so far, they've been unable to find another ping. one of the reasons is the ocean is actually such a noisy place. other sounds under the surface could be drowning out any other signals coming from those key data recorders. flores took a pinger out on the water to show us some of the obstacles they could be encountering in the indian ocean. >> this is what a ping sounds like. >> very high frequency. >> the critical sound searchers are hoping to hear in the deep and rough waters of the indian ocean. >> it's deep and it's dark. it's salty. it's high pressure. it's hard to work. >> reporter: here in rhode
11:33 am
island's bay, researchers show us the challenges search crews face as they try to hear the ping from flight 370's data recorder. >> this is a hydrophone. >> reporter: we drop an underwater microphone, a hydrophone, off the back of the boat as it moves farther away from the pinger that's already been submerged. and even less than 100 yards away, the ping starts to fade. distance isn't the only problem out in the indian ocean. there are other noises competing with the sound of the pinger, like sea life. one dolphin species sounds like a black box pinger. and this is the sound of rain underwater. let me get away from the loudest part of the boat, so i can show you one of the biggest obstacles that searchers have in the open sea. just ship noise, even here,
11:34 am
listen to how loud it is. there are at a minimum 15,000 ships on the oceans any given day creating even more obstacles for a search that's already daunting. let me add one more complications, and this is how sound travels in water. high-pitched sounds, oceanographers, tell me, don't travel very far, and a pinger is a high-pitched sound. so brooke, when we talk about the depths of the indian ocean, and in this case we're talking about two to three miles deep and the range of this pinger is two to three miles, they said you would literally have to be on top of this pinger to listen to it if you're at the surface. >> rosa flores, thank you for the demonstration. and we talk about the search area for flight 370, whittled down to 30,000 square miles. yeah, just 30,000, just a handful of devices in this
11:35 am
plane. let's look at the underwater devices used. tom, we heard from rosa. how they're using these different pieces of technology, how will this work? >> in a simple sense, think about what rosa said there, you can get the broadest picture from the least precise equipment. the more precise you get, the slower it all gets. you think about what the chinese were using. they basically went out with a small listening device that wasn't really designed for this type of thing. they said they read something. one thing they doubt that is that pinger is really made for shallow water, not really made for this kind of deep water work where you're talking about two and a half, three miles deep. the level we're at right now, you mentioned it a minute ago, that's the towed pinger locator. it can go to about a half mile off the ocean floor here, listening for the ping of the black box. everybody says a much more robust piece of equipment than the chinese had. but even if you hear something, you can't necessarily hear it again and it doesn't exactly
11:36 am
tell you where it is. to get to that level, then you go to something else, which goes even more slowly. like the bluefin 21. that is basically an underwater robot, sort of looks like a torpedo, and it goes along creating a sonic map of everything on the floor. it's not looking for this item down here. it's simply saying, let's map everything down here, and then you can look at the images and decide if you see something that looks like a ship. and if we get to this point, brooke, and we don't know if we will, if they really want to go after something, they would almost certainly at this depth bring in some sort of a robot, and this would have articulated claws, it can open almost four miles deep, and it could grab some of this debris and start bringing it back. we are right now a long way from this. even if we get to this point, very slow, painstaking work. the job will not get faster if they think they're closing in, it will get slower, brooke.
11:37 am
>> let's remember, it wasn't about the pings of a wreckage before, they were able to find the black boxes. they still work even if the pingers don't. tom foreman, thank you, sir. >> you're welcome, brooke. president obama pushes for equal pay, even though it doesn't quite exist in the white house. why the gender gap is becoming a hot topic in politics, next. and just minutes from now, a cnn special report, anderson cooper joins me live with adrian. she lost a leg in the boston bombing, just about one year ago. but that didn't stop her from becoming a dancer. do not miss this live conversation coming up. i'm beth...
11:38 am
and i'm michelle. and we own the paper cottage. it's a stationery and gifts store. anything we purchase for the paper cottage goes on our ink card. so you can manage your business expenses and access them online instantly with the game changing app from ink. we didn't get into business to spend time managing receipts, that's why we have ink. we like being in business because we like being creative, we like interacting with people. so you have time to focus on the things you love. ink from chase. so you can. because the more you know, the more we can help you. cut. lower. shave. chop. and drop your insurance rates.
11:39 am
if you want to save hundreds, talk to farmers. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum ♪ [announcer] the more you know, the more you could save. farmers could help you save hundreds on your auto insurance. call your local agent or 1-800-470-8496 today.
11:40 am
did you know today is equal pay day. the push to make sure men and women get equal pay for equal
11:41 am
work. first of all, the top job for win, back in 1950, was secretary. want to guess what it is now 60 years later? if you guessed secretary, you are correct. the most equal jobs out there is pharmacist. but women still make just 91 cents for every dollar a male pharmacist makes. president obama called for an end to this today and lashed out at his republican critics. >> this isn't just about treating women fairly, this is about republicans seemingly opposing any efforts to even the playing field for working families. >> to discourage paying women less, the president signed two executive orders today, but if you look at the calendar, you'll see there is a reason democrats are making this a priority. chief congressional correspondent dana bash joins me from capitol hill. this is about more than equal pay, isn't it, dana? >> it is about politics. i know you're shocked to hear that. but if you really turn any
11:42 am
corner here on capitol hill, anywhere in washington today, you'll hear this discussion. in fact, if you look at the senate floor as we speak, there have been a number of senate women talking about this issue. they're pushing a bill today on equal pay day, that the democrats say will close some loopholes, and equal pay law signed into law. as you can imagine, there is pushback from republicans, especially female republicans on the tactics used to address this issue. listen to first nancy pelosi the top democrat in the house and then the top republican in the house. >> it's really interesting to see the resistance. and i must say, my sister, my daughter, my mother, they're not less worthy for the respect of the work they do than a man doing the same job. >> so women, women understand
11:43 am
the direct impact of the policies. and the impact they have on them. so on this equal pay day, i would urge us to stop politicizing women, and let's start focusing on those policies that are actually going to help women, and everyone in this country have a better life. >> now, brooke, just to button up the substance what they're talking about, the democrats, the legislation that they have, republicans say that it would unfairly hurt businesses and republicans say they're going to introduce their own legislation to address this tomorrow. but let's look at the politics of this. we found some numbers that are really fascinating, that illustrate why democrats are pushing this so hard in this midterm election year. look at what happened in 2006, the year democrats took over congress, both sides. 55% of democratic women went to the polls. pretty good number. when they lost the house in 2010, 48% went. so women, they so depend on the
11:44 am
democratic side, on women to get out there. in fact, a senior democrat who was really involved in the strategy told me earlier today they're very worried about a double-digit drop in female voters for democrats in this midterm election. they are trying so hard with this message in particular to motivate women to get out there, obviously they hope for the democrats. >> they want the women to get out there and vote quickly, though. i also know, i know you played the sound byte from the congresswoman, but republicans are also accusing the white house of hypocrisy. why is that? >> they are on a number of levels. first of all, the top republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell, a few moments ago came out and ticked off statistics that he said shows that poverty has gone up among women during the obama years. and income has gone down among women during the obama years. that's on the substance side of it. but also on the symbolism side, you see republicans citing a conservative think tank study
11:45 am
that says there's not pay equity, even inside the white house walls. white house officials say that's not exactly true. they argue you definitely see senior women and men working side by side, and that they do get the same pay. equal pay is one thing, you well know, brooke, that there definitely has been a reputation of being an old boys club at the white house, which is definitely different from equal pay. that is still very much there. all of those things combined are part of the republicans' arsenal to hit back on the democrats. >> dana bash in washington. thank you so much. >> thank you. now this. >> part of my ptsd was thinking a bomb would go off. i thought we were going to die. i felt the direct impact. it immediately blew off my left side. when i do it, i feel so free. click, click, flow.
11:46 am
>> what an awesome story. she is the woman who refuses to let the boston terror attack take away her dream of dancing. guess who gets to join me next, adrienne herself and anderson, standing by live. guys, we'll talk about this amazing documentary coming up tonight. stay right here.
11:47 am
11:48 am
11:49 am
tonight a cnn special report
11:50 am
will show you a comeback that starts off in terror and ends in triumph. it's about 32-year-old adrianne haslet-davis. the two bombs ripped apart the boston marathon finish spart. haslet-davis, a professional dancer lost part of her left leg. through her video diaries you'll see how she overcomes this tragedy, walking, dancing once again on a prosthetic leg. but her new normal has dark moments as well. she and her husband explain how the wounds are more than physical. >> they lit fireworks over the harbor. and all of a sudden, we heard explosions, and i started screaming and crying. call 911!
11:51 am
>> can we please have someone stop setting off fireworks, please? >> i had gone through many, many stages. not only of ptsd, but also of mourning the loss of my leg. i'm so over stumbling over steps. >> adrianne haslet-davis and anderson both join me. thank you for coming on. adrianne, what we saw, so chilling, you with your husband,
11:52 am
in the fireworks scene. you allowed us, you allowed cnn to show very dark, very raw moments. why share this? why say yes? >> you know, it was really important to me to be able to show not only the positive side, and, you know, what people really saw bedside when anderson and i met the first time, but it was important for me to show the dark sides as well. and it's no secret when you go through something like this, there are many dark sides. >> anderson, she mentioned when she first met you, you and i were in boston for quite a while last spring. we talked to quite a few people. but adrianne, talk about the first time you two met. >> she kind of let us come to her hospital room. and it was a couple days after the bombing, really. we met with her mom first, and adrianne and her husband, adam. i was blown away by adrianne's strength, by her determination not to let this define her, not
11:53 am
to let this alter her life. she knew it was going to alter her life, it already had. but not just to walk again, but to dance again. which is something she loves. it's her joy. it's what she's done professionally. and we just wanted to, you know, see more of adrianne, learn more about her. she's bravely agreed to let us follow her on what has been a -- obviously an incredible journey for her. tragedy and tremendous triumph. she's let us come along for both of those. >> tremendous triumph. we'll get to more of the dancing. part of this special, there's a scene where the prosecutors, they want to hear from you, they want your opinion on the man who allegedly set those bombs off. and you with are asked then if you think he should get the death penalty. in the piece, you say you hadn't made up your mind. have you now? >> i have. you know, i thought long and hard about it. and i just took some personal
11:54 am
time to decide what i really wanted. adam and i, which we talk about in the piece as well, had made the decision not to talk about it beforehand what the other would let the prosecution know. and it wasn't until we talked to the prosecution that he and i looked at each other and we had the same answer, and that's what we support the prosecution to seek the death penalty in this case. >> can you describe the evolution, how you came to that conclusion, and why? >> you know, it's a really personal decision. it's not anything i took lightly. i really wanted to make sure that it was something that i could live with for the rest of my life. and i really do support it. the journey to reach that was a little personal. but i will say that it -- he did this, and he did something horrific and tragic. if he can't face the consequences of that, then he shouldn't have done it. we all know he shouldn't have done it in the first place, but he had to have known what he was doing. >> i also think it's one of the
11:55 am
things, about adrianne, and other people, she doesn't use the name of the person who is going to be standing trial. she doesn't use the name of that person, nor any of their family members. i think that's really powerful statement about where the focus for adrianne is and where the focus for a lot of the survivors is, and should be for us all. >> i got it. what about this, anderson? i know, adrianne, jump in, m.i.t., this is pretty fancy stuff, from what i can tell. there are scenes with you dancing, and just tell me a little more about the big feat of technology, which apparently didn't stop anderson from stepping all over your toes. >> i think i literally stepped on her brand-in you prosthetic, which i apologize for enormously, because i'm such a bad dancer. adrianne started about talking again from the get-go. i said to her in the hospital room, i'm a terrible dancer, but i would love to take a dancing
11:56 am
lesson from you when you are dancing again, not thinking she would follow through on it. >> but she did. >> she did. so she very kindly, very gently gave me a dance lesson. it's painful for me to watch this because i'm such a bad dancer. but it's an extraordinary thing. one thing that adrianne discovered is the limits -- there have been tremendous strides, and advances in technology for prosthetics, largely due to the war in iraq and afghanistan. but it's for repetitive motion, for walking, for running, for dancing there are different kinds of stresses on a foot. adrianne has developing with an m.i.t. lab, a revolutionary prosthetic. >> it feels really just incredibly close to the real thing, to feel the foot move and to watch my foot move as i dance is incredible. the feeling is indescribable. i feel fortunate to be face to face with the advancements. >> that's incredible. you're incredible. i have 8,000 other questions for you, but i have to leave the two of you there. hopefully they'll be answered in this fantastic special tonight,
11:57 am
survivor's diary tonight. anderson and adrianne, thank you so, so much. we will be right back. i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there.
11:58 am
what does an apron have to do with car insurance? an apron is hard work. an apron is pride in what you do. an apron is not quitting until you've made something a little better. what does an apron have to do with car insurance? for us, everything.
11:59 am
12:00 pm
top of the hour. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you for joining me here on this tuesday afternoon. right now, the u.s. navy scouring the narrow section of the indian ocean searching for the flight 370's black boxes. it is capable of hearing any pings nearly four miles deep, but so far, the ocean has proved to be silent. no repeat of those two ping detections from just this past weekend. the first one for more than two hours, the second for just about 13 minutes. we can now play this for you, though, the exact clicks that the ocean shield, this australian ship, heard.
12:01 pm
now the race is on to relocate those pings. today the search zone is drastically scaled back, reduced to 30,000 square miles. as for the underwater drone here, pretty impressive sonar equipment here. the american bluefin, it will stay out of the water unless they hear another ping to narrow the search even further. >> now, until we stop the pinger search, we will not deploy the submersible. is that clear? we will not deploy it, unless we find -- unless we get another transmission, in which case we'll probably have a better idea of what's down there, and we'll go down there and have a look. >> another big revelation from this search task force, the exact frequency of those pings we just played for you. let me bring in will ripley live
12:02 pm
in perth, 3:00 in the morning there. will, the ping detected by the ocean shield was not the same frequency we would expect to hear from a black box. what are crews there saying about that? >> reporter: yeah, remember when we first got the word that those chinese ships that potentially heard a ping, and we heard the 37.5 kilo hertz, and then we're hearing that these pings were like 33, and 33.2. and so you're wondering, what gives, why is it not the same number? well, the manufacturer of the black boxes says that that -- it still makes this a credible lead. there's still a very good chance those frequencies would have come from an in-flight data recorder or cook about it voice recorder. two factors. battery life is one. if the battery is old or the frequency can change. also the depth at which the signal is being emitted, then the water pressure surrounding the device, that can also change the frequency that's detected on the surface. so they still feel very much that these two pings that were
12:03 pm
detected over the weekend are certainly a credible lead, which is why they're scouring this area so closely right now. >> will ripley, thank you so much. we want to broaden out the discussion on this search as crews are working tirelessly, listening for another ping. the process is pretty much as complex as they come. former inspector general for the u.s. department of transportation joins me from charleston, south carolina. mary, nice to have you back on. i think i know the answer, but i think a lot of people out there probably are wondering, the fact that these two different pings detected over the weekend, this is a huge lead. so i know that we heard from mr. houston saying they're not going to deploy this underwater vehicle, this bluefin, until they know precisely the area. but time is running out. why not? >> well, because they want to take another chance and have another try at finding the pings again. if they put the bluefin down and they got a lot of equipment
12:04 pm
noise going on, they're probably making their best efforts to just try a day or two more to try to get the pings again. because if they can narrow it down, they can get that area down, perhaps as small as, you know, i know it sounds like an awful lot, but if it was just an area maybe six miles by six miles, then it's down to 36 square miles. it would be such a big improvement if that's all they had to do, because they'll have to put that ser missible in and it will literally have to map the ocean floor square mile by square mile. >> they want to hone in on that area. so as they continue dragging this tpl along, what did you make of will ripley's point? here we have -- it's all about frequency, right? they're listening for a certain type of frequency from the pings from the black boxes. the frequency detested over the weekend was slightly, maybe just 10% off of what they were looking for. does that discourage you? >> well, it does. but you know, i want to like the
12:05 pm
explanation. >> don't we all. >> it's supposed to be 37.5. but, you know, frankly, it's all we have. so if the experts and the pinger manufacturers say that over time, and both the battery degradation and the water, the effects of the saltwater can cause it to be slightly off of the property frequency, you know, that's what they're going on, and that's what we have to go with. ordinarily it is 37.5. but if the manufacturer says it's still good to go at 33.5, then sounds like a good lead. because it's the only lead we have. >> it is the only lead we have. let me again, because we have obtained the actual pings from -- i shouldn't say pipngs, the clicks, whatever it was detected over the weekend, we have it. let's roll it again.
12:06 pm
>> to my untrained ear, i'm listening to that and want to sort of pull my hair out because i have no idea what i'm listening for. what would one be listening for? >> sure you do. >> tell me. >> you do, because it's not anything in nature. there's no fish, there's no whale that makes a sound like that. and it's this repetition, it's every second, it's like the grandfather clock, it's like the alligator in the peter pan movie, that swallowed the alarm clock. the repetition. but they didn't just get one. they got two, which means it sounds to me like they got both the pinger from the black box, cockpit voice recorder and from the flight data recorder. and that was encouraging, too.
12:07 pm
so i think angus houston is right on when he says we want to go back out and listen some more before we put all kinds of stuff in the ocean which would make it impossible to listen. maybe those batteries can hang on for just another day or two. >> but again, remind us, i keep going back to airfrance flight 447, because we know they never had the pings, right? this was two years later. they had the debris a couple days out. it was two years after that plane went down that they found some of the wreckage, some days later. they found the black boxes because of science improving. and looking at more of the data over those two years. and finally, sending the submersibles down. but remind us how they found the wreckage, once again? >> well, because airfrance had those, what they call system status update messaging. what the plane did itself, it was wonderful, within hours of the plane going down, we had these printouts from the plane, and the plane itself told airfrance, told back at their base, their airline base, that
12:08 pm
it was having trouble. its air speed was deteriorating, as the plane was literally stalling and fall out of the sky. the plane tried to save itself, the boeing 777 does this, too, it will try to save itself and shut down other systems. while this airbus was shutting down systems to try to save itself, and the air speed was deteriorating, it sent messages back. every time it sent a message, they knew. so they went right back to the location where it sent those messages, that's where they looked, and that's where they found them. >> but we don't have all those messages in this case, do we? >> no. because malaysia did not subscribe to the service, and that has never been made mandatory. because we have black boxes instead of glass boxes. if we had glass boxes, they're downloaded all the time, we would know where to look. but we have to change the law to
12:09 pm
do that. much more on the missing plane this hour. you've heard a lot about it. we continue talking about the pings. we'll take you to the lap, show you the science, just the raw science behind how they work, and how the sound is actually detected in these deep ocean waters. plus, the bladerunner takes the stand for a second day of emotional testimony here. today, oscar pistorius describes the moment he shot and killed his girlfriend. >> before i knew it, i had fired four shots at the door. my ears were ringing. i couldn't hear anything. >> next, what he said about the moments leading up to the deadly gunfire, and how that could impact his fate.
12:10 pm
frequent heartburn? the choice is yours. chalky. not chalky. temporary. 24 hour. lots of tablets. one pill. you decide. prevacid. ♪ 24 hour
12:11 pm
humans. we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back, offering exclusive products like optional better car replacement, where if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call... and ask an insurance expert about all our benefits today, like our 24/7 support and service, because at liberty mutual insurance, we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, so we do everything we can to be there for them when they need us. plus, you could save hundreds when you switch,
12:12 pm
up to $423. call... today. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? hiwe just love scouring flea markets for special treasures. but with my type 2 diabetes, we now spend all our time at the pharmacy. with med-care, i don't have to! they deliver everything i need right to my door! with free shipping! plus, med-care takes private policies, medicaid, even my medicare! sleep apnea machines, nebulizers, med-care has all the finest medical supplies. the best part...med-care saves us money! med-care allows us the time to do the things we love. med-care. we deliver a better life.
12:13 pm
oscar pistorius back on the stand today, telling the court what happened the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. day two of his testimony proved to much to bear. in the end he broke down sobbing uncontrollably for a second day. he could not continue. and the judge ended court early. >> at this point i heard a window open in the bathroom. it sounded like a -- the window sliding open. and i could hear the window hit the frame, as if it had slipped where it couldn't slide anymore. i was overcome with fear, and started screaming for the burglar or intruders to get out of my house. i shouted for reeva to get on the floor. that's the moment that everything changed.
12:14 pm
i thought that there was a burglar gaining entrance to my home. the first thing that ran through my mind was i needed to arm myself. that i needed to protect reeva and i, that i needed to get my gun. the passage where the closet is to the bathroom, it was at that point that i was just overcome with fear. and i started screaming and shouting for the burglar or the intruders to get out of my house. i heard a door slam, which could have only been the toilet door. i began screaming again for reeva to phone the police. and then i heard a noise from inside the toilet that i perceived someone coming out of the toilet. before i knew it, i had fired four shots at the door. my ears were ringing. i couldn't hear anything.
12:15 pm
so i kept on shouting for reeva to call the police. i retreated back to a point where i got to the corner of the bed. i tried to lift myself. i was talking to reeva. there was nobody -- no one responded to me. i flung the door open, i threw it open. and i sat over reeva and i cried. and i don't know how long -- i don't know how long i was there for. she wasn't breathing. >> court will adjourn. >> the voice of oscar pistorius,
12:16 pm
day two, inside that courtroom. let me bring in hln host nancy grace. she hosts the 8:00 p.m. hour on our sister network. nancy grace, nice to have you on. i know you have made no secret that you're not a fan of pistorius here in this case. but when you saw him, you know, breaking down, sobbing here again today, does that change your opinion at all of him? >> it does not change my opinion of him. it does, however, change my opinion of what may happen in the outcome of this case. the law is this. whether we like the law or not, the law is, that -- and i quote -- one may immediately regret the deed, but that does not negate or change the intent to commit the act at the time of the incident. yes, it hurts me to hear anyone crying the way he did on the stand. it's hard breaking, in fact.
12:17 pm
he came off the stand, he had to lie down. his shrink came and was stroking his face in the courtroom to get him calmed down. i don't know who could listen to that and not feel some of his pain. but i don't know how much he's crying for reeva or how much he's crying for himself. so what we've got to go back to, under the law, is what was happening at the time of the incident. remember, this is on direct. when he gets on cross-examine, i think we may hear a different story. >> a couple of different points i want to get to that which heard from his testimony. one question, and i think how oscar pistorius would answer this, but to you is it ever reasonable -- he fired the four gunshots through the the door without knowing who or what was behind it. how reasonable is that for the judge to hear? >> well, i know this is going to be odd coming from me, but from a defense angle, it is in his house where he's firing the shots. he knows that it's only him and
12:18 pm
reeva there, according to him he thinks reeva's still in the bed. so under those circumstances, you have a right to fire to protect yourself in your home. however, the other testimony does not jibe with what we just heard him say. according to multiple other witnesses, and yes, they were cross-examined, but according to many other witnesses, they heard arguing between a man and a woman before the gunshots. they heard a gunshot, then a woman screaming, and then three other gunshots in quick staccato. if they are to believe, his story is a lie. if his story is to believe, then their story was misheard. >> what would be his motive for doing this? >> his motive for lying? number one, i say there's never
12:19 pm
a good motive for murder. the state is not required to show motive, but we do know this. we know this was the early morning hours of valentine's day. and in the week preceding that, i believe she had had an innocent coffee with an old boyfriend. pistorius had called her during that, and was not happy that she was having coffee with this guy. there are discussions of texting an old boyfriend. jealousy. we also know he was a hot head when it comes to guns. having fired them in public places before, and his friends always took the fall for it. in a restaurant, in a car, threatening somebody else with a gun. and he always got away with it. this time it went too far. also, very quickly, he states that he was on the balcony adjusting a fan. shutting the window, came back in, the room was dark. he heard the noise, he's on his stumps, he's at eye level with the mattress. the gun is under her side of the bed. he had to look right into the bed to get that gun.
12:20 pm
>> and the question is, why not, you know, one question would be why not protect her or think about where she is before grabbing the gun and going to the bathroom. that's one question. >> it's a credibility issue. the trier of fact typically a jury here, but here the judge, the trier of fact is who should be believed. the neighbors who heard the argument between the two of them or pistorius crying. he vomited and cried all the way up until the time he took the stand. they had to keep pulling out the trash can so he could vomit and dry heave the whole day. >> we'll see how he does with cross-examination. nancy grace, we'll keep this conversation going. watch nancy grace on hln each week night at 8:00 eastern. the key to finding the black boxes from flight 370, which could be thousands of feet below the ocean surface. those black box pingers, how do they work? we'll take you to a lab, show you the real science behind this coming up.
12:21 pm
investigators haven't heard any of those pings since the two they heard over the weekend. so now what's the strategy for this narrow search? we'll talk to an ocean expert, live, coming up. ameriprise asked people a simple question: in retirement, will you outlive your money? uhhh. no, that can't happen. that's the thing, you don't know how long it has to last. everyone has retirement questions. so ameriprise created the exclusive.. confident retirement approach. now you and your ameripise advisor can get the real answers you need. well, knowing gives you confidence. start building your confident retirement today. it's red lobster's lobsterfest! all promotions!
12:22 pm
the year's largest selection of lobster entrees, like lobster lover's dream. hurry in and sea food differently. go to red lobster.com for ten dollars off with purchase of two lobsterfest entrees. making moves that would put an adult in the emergency room. yet all they really want to do is grow up. it's funny, everyone i know wishes they could go back and feel younger. sound familiar? then test drive one of these. current non-gm owners and lessees use your $1,500 allowance to lease the 2014 cadillac ats for around $359 a month with nothing due at signing.
12:23 pm
12:24 pm
we have been talking so much about pinger locators, and signals, in the quest to find this missing flight 370. now we're looking at how they
12:25 pm
work and what they can really tell investigators. randi kaye traveled to the largest manufacturer of black box pingers to tell us. >> reporter: if search teams in the indian ocean are hot on the trail of flight 370's black box, this man would know it. he's president of the largest manufacturer of black box pingers. >> it is activated by this water switch. and on this side is a lithium battery. >> reporter: he invited us to sarasota, florida, where they turn out about 100 of the underwater airplane beacons dai daily. authorities believe it was one of his team's pingers onboard the doomed flight. he also told us authorities allowed him to listen to the pinger sounds just detected over the weekend. >> so you actually heard the pinger sound that the ship picked up? >> they sent us some data. >> how did it sound to you? >> just like one of our pingers. >> reporter: what does one of their pingers sound like? listen.
12:26 pm
so it's instant. as soon as it hits the water, it starts pinging. >> it doesn't take a lot of water to activate. it's designed that way. >> so if this were in an airplane, and hit the ocean, this would start immediately, this pinging sound? >> if it was not damaged in the incident. >> reporter: in perfect conditions the pinger's pulse can travel as far as 2 1/2 nautical miles. ocean caverns and cliffs, even vegetation can get in the way limiting that distance, though. before any beacon is shipped from here, its sound output is measured in one of these huge 50,000-gallon tanks. it's lowered into the tank through the floor above. surrounded by hydrophones, ultrasonic readings are recorded on this computer. this pinger is from twa flight 800. it went down off the coast of new york back in 1996. this company made this pinger, but after it was recovered, they got it back. now, this one was found in
12:27 pm
shallow water. but they are designed to function in water as deep as 20,000 feet. but what about the frequency? crews at sea picked up a slightly lower frequency than the pinger's stt frequency of 37.kilo hertz. they said water temperature can shift the frequency. it's so distinct, right? there's nothing else that would sound like this with this frequency? >> the 37.5 killo hertz was selected because of the background noise in the ocean. >> reporter: randi kaye, cnn, sarasota, florida. coming up, look at this. live pictures out of an aviation accident lab in california where they investigate airline crashes. so if flight 370 is ever found, what can experts learn examining pieces of the plane. we'll explore that coming up. qu, how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon
12:28 pm
to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. ow
12:29 pm
12:30 pm
12:31 pm
bottom of the hour, i'm brooke baldwin. australia searchers picked up two signals in the indian ocean. now the race is on, so to speak, to find them before the trail goes cold. finding these black boxes from hopefully the wreckage. right now, the u.s. navy's tow pinger locator is scouring this now narrowed section of the indian ocean searching for the black boxes. so far, the ocean, since this weekend, has been silent. >> you can be assured that we are trying everything at this difficult complex task in these -- at least these next several days, whilst we believe the two pingers are still active. >> the search is going on in a totally unforgiving place, one of the most remote areas on the planet.
12:32 pm
it's giving search teams almost no margin for error. alex is the research of conservation at the aquarium. welcome back. >> thank you. >> let's begin with the depth of this part of the world. for reference for people, when you think about the "titanic," for example, they were talking about a depth of 12,000 feet, and it took them 73 years to find the "titanic." they're dealing with 15,000. how do you even know what's going on down there? >> thankfully technology's come a long way. >> that's a plus. >> since the "titanic." you should never underestimate how difficult it's going to be to work in this area. we're talking about pressures that are pervasive and incredibly strong. it would crush concrete. we're talking about 7,000 pounds per square inch, of everything you send down there. it makes doing anything down there tremendously difficult. i love the elegant cnn animation
12:33 pm
you guys have been running showing the ship and tow pinger locator, but it really doesn't show the full scale how deep we're talking about. it really is beyond the pale of what most people can wrap their heads around. the crazy thing is, this is the ocean. this is the ocean in most parts of the world. it's not particularly special to be two or three miles deep. that is what the ocean is like. that sticky bottom makes it difficult once you get to the bottom as well. >> even the fact that they have narrowed the search area, it seems to be moving eastward, which is closer to shore which is greater for the planes, so they can maximize flying time, but it doesn't help. >> no, it makes it harder. you're in the area near the plateau towards antarctica, so we're now actually deeper than we were when we were on the southern part of the track. in that sense, it's a little bit harder. but the truth is, once you're in
12:34 pm
perpetual darkness -- >> perpetual darkness. >> that means the ship can operate on a 24-hour cycle. it's not flying a plane over the area where you need daylight hours to be able to do that. when you're deploying a submersible or submarine device going into the inky depths, it doesn't matter if you deploy at 1:00 in the morning or 1:00 in the afternoon. it's dark either way. >> they're honing in on the pings that could be related to the two black boxes, that's what they're trying to find. maybe wreckage way far deep down. but you know about the current in this part of the world. is it possible that -- what's it been, four weeks, five weeks now, that that junk may be long gone? >> it's possible that we're dealing with quite a big debris field. but that's a two-edged sword. it can help you find it because it's larger, and the debris is spread over a bigger area. your chances of encountering that are better. the currents are not the primary problem. the primary problem is the depth and pressure and lack of tools that can routinely go to those
12:35 pm
kind of depths and allow you to work at those sorts of pressures. there are precious few tools on the planet that can do that. it will make things extraordinarily difficult. >> so discouraging the more you learn about the searches in that part of the world. hopefully they can find the pings again. thank you so much. >> my pleasure. coming up next, piecing together wreckage from a downed plane. if flight 370 is ever found, if they find the debris we were just talking about, the wreckage, an aviation accident lab like this one could be key in figuring out what happened, working backwards to answer those questions. so next, we'll take you live to california and talk to someone who looks at this type of wreckage each and every day. so ally bank has a raise your rate cd that won't trap me in a rate. that's correct. cause i'm really nervous about getting trapped. why's that? uh, mark? go get help!
12:36 pm
i have my reasons. look, you don't have to feel trapped with our raise your rate cd. if our rate on this cd goes up, yours can too. oh that sounds nice. don't feel trapped with the ally raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. he was a matted messiley in a small cage. ng day. so that was our first task, was getting him to wellness. without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. from contractors and doctors to dog sitters and landscapers,
12:37 pm
you can find it all on angie's list. we found riley at the shelter, and found everything he needed at angie's list. join today at angieslist.com
12:38 pm
12:39 pm
when and if flight 370 is ever found, the task of putting the pieces back together, this wreckage, to retrace, to figure out what led to this crash will be a lengthy one. because all the parts and the pieces have to be put back together just like a puzzle. to stephanie we go live in los angeles, inside the university of southern california's aviation institute accident lab. tell me what they do there, stephanie? >> reporter: well, brooke, it's amazing. they've got wreckage of other plane accidents here. they're saying when you take a look at accidents, you learn so much from it. when you learn what something looks like, you don't for get it. michael barr is a aviation safety expert. when you look at the cockpit of this plane, for example, when does your investigation begin? >> actually, when i cross the field and first see the airplane, the wreckage, i'm starting my investigation right
12:40 pm
there. it's telling me how the airplane impacted, where it impacted. >> so looking at this, this cockpit is decimated. it is extremely decimated when you look at this. what can you tell from this one? >> it tells me it hit on the right side of the nose. it was probably a high-angle hit. the nose bent to the left. i want to confirm that by looking at the fuselage. >> when you take a look at the investigation, and you look at the fuselage, are you examining what the humans are doing at the same time you're breaking this down? >> i break this down just to mechanical, the parts. someone else will look at the human. i'll break this down into subparts. a small bite at a time. don't get overwhelmed by all that you see. >> i have an untrained eye. this is extremely overwhelming how much damage happened to this plane. but to you, it's not that way, right? >> no. no. i know how it hit. i know approximately the impact, as far as the force.
12:41 pm
i can go back and look at the wings and tell by how they're bent and malshaped. sooner or later, i will break this down to find out if there's any mechanical problems, in this case. there was absolutely no mechanical problems. this aircraft stalled, icing conditions, and it was a human error, and not a mechanical error. >> when it comes to many plane accidents, do you need to discern if it was human problem or if it was mechanical problems? >> i would say it's never easy, but i could do the majority of the time, i will come up with probably a 90% to 95% chance of what happened in this aircraft accident. >> you can do that even if you don't have all the parts? that's a part of the puzzle, if you will, that makes it hard? >> i will never have all the parts. never. about you the more parts i get, it's like a mosaic. the more bits i can put in the mosaic, the better the picture will be, the better i can come up with an understanding of what happened. >> and so brooke, when you think about it, talking to mike, he
12:42 pm
was saying when you look at all these pieces, everyone wants to find the black boxes, those flight data recorders. really, when you take a look at all of this together, it tells him so much in their investigation, that they can learn from that, so that if they find the wreckage but don't find the black boxes, they still might be able to do it. >> i have another question for you. did we lose her? oh, we see you. >> i'm still here. >> i was hanging on michael every word. as he talks about this mosaic, with the 777, this is a major, major jet, finding all those pieces, a, i'm wondering what a challenge that is, and b, trying to figure out the genesis of the crash, water versus land. >> water versus land? what brooke wants to know, when you look at all of the pieces, how you compare that to this is a much smaller plane, all of those pieces together, and also a plane that crashes on land
12:43 pm
versus the water. >> the crash op land is much easier, because the parts stay where they landed. in the water you're working with currents and winds. so the pieces won't be where they have the initial impact. so water is much more difficult. the deeper the water, the more difficult. we have other accidents that happen in shallow water. we got most of the pieces back. but deep water, we have a very, very hard time doing that. >> also because of the silt at the bottom of the ocean, as well, and how pieces could be buried in there, too, brooke. it's amazing that they've learned so much from these wreckages, and they're able to take so much from it. each part that they see, they can look at things immediately before they even touch the plane. and can tell you what happened. an amazing science. >> it is incredible. illustrations all around you. and people like michael being able to backwards retrace how these planes went down. stephanie elam, thank you very much. the aviation institute accident lab here. much more on the missing plane. also head, president obama today
12:44 pm
signing not just one, but two orders aimed at helping women earn equal pay for equal work. and it comes as a new report shows that's not necessarily the case at the white house. we'll look into that, next. it's red lobster's lobsterfest! all promotions! the year's largest selection of lobster entrees, like lobster lover's dream. hurry in and sea food differently. go to red lobster.com for ten dollars off with purchase of two lobsterfest entrees. making moves that would put an adult in the emergency room. yet all they really want to do is grow up. it's funny, everyone i know wishes they could go back and feel younger. sound familiar? then test drive one of these. current non-gm owners and lessees use your $1,500 allowance to lease the 2014 cadillac ats for around $359 a month with nothing due at signing. gundyes!n group is a go.
12:45 pm
not just a start up. an upstart. gotta get going. gotta be good. good? good. growth is the goal. how do we do that? i talked to ups. they'll help us out. new technology. smart advice. we focus on the business and they take care of the logistics. ups? good going. we get good. that's great. great. great. great. great. great. great. great. great. (all) great! i love logistics. the owner of a vehicle, with a bumper sticker, "turrible" your lights are on. you wanna get that genius? not mine. on the passenger seat, there is a collection of charles barkley highlight dvds. must be a big fan. and the license plate reads "sir charles." i'm gonna get some drinks with my capital one venture card. be right back. earn unlimited double miles with no blackout dates from the capital one venture card. forgetting something, sir charles? what's in your wallet?
12:46 pm
celebrations at the campus of the university of connecticut today. uconn took home the championship last night with a win over kentucky. the number seven seated huskies made an unlikely run to the championship, capping off a win over kentucky. after the game, uconn star point guard took quite a slice at the ncaa. he was banned from the tournament last year. lost scholarships for failing to meet academic standards. and it pushed the team to work that much harder. >> how do you describe this one? >> honestly, hey, i want to get
12:47 pm
everybody's attention right quick. if i could have your attention! ladies and gentlemen, you're looking at the hungry huskies. this is what happened when you banned us last year. we worked so hard for it. >> and tonight, uconn's women's team will play for the national championship. the same school, winning both men's and women's tournaments has only happened once. uconn in 2004. more news, in 90 seconds.
12:48 pm
12:49 pm
. president obama today called for equal pay for women, signing two executive orders to encourage that and calling out anyone who says there is no such thing as a pay gap between men and women. >> they say it's a myth. but it's not a myth. it's math. >> kerry is signing away. a problem, the conservative think tank pointing out, according to this recent study, that women earn 88 cents for every dollar that man makings. this is happening at the white house. jake tapper, give me a perspective on that, one. also, two, tell me about how
12:50 pm
much this is about getting ladies to the polls? >> i'm sure they would argue that this is about equal pay per se, but you're right that the message that the white house has delivered has been clouded to a degree by this study indicating that the average man at the white house is paid $73,000 while the average female is paid $65,000. white house press secretary jay carney was asked about the study yesterday. here's what he had to say. >> i think that those studies look at thing the aggregate of everybody on staff. we as an institution have aggressively addressed this challenge and obviously, though at the 88 cents that you cite, that is not 100 but it is better than the national average. >> now, the national average, we should point out, is the average salary that women make versus
12:51 pm
the average salary that men make. it is not what women make for the same exact job as men make and that's why a lot of critics are saying that the white house explanation as to why there is a disparity is the same basic explanation around the court that women make choices, a lot of women are more likely to leave the job for some years to begin a family, start a family. >> sure. >> and similar explanations. of course, discrimination plays a role as well but a lost criticism of the 77 cents on the dollar figure because of what we see with the white house figure. >> i was surprised, in looking at what else came out today as far as the leading job for women, is that it's the same as it was 60 years ago at secretary. did you know that? >> i did. i learned it from your show earlier today. one of the thing that is interesting is we were talking to senator marco rubio tu bay
12:52 pm
and he said that he thought the opportunities that there are for women, especially when it comes to educational opportunities, now, that's not as much of a quick fix, of course, as legislation at a splashy white house event. that has to doll with years and years of making sure that opportunities are there for women and women and girls in math and science where they are often discouraged from focusing their careers. but, no, it's remarkable that secretary is still the number one job. >> it s i didn't even know it was still okay to say secretary. but i digress. jake tapper, thanks for tuning in. >> i always do. >> we'll do the same with you at the top of the hour on "the lead". microsoft has cut the cord with windows xp which means much less to individual users than it does to banks and retailers. so 95% of atms still use xp,
12:53 pm
which without the support of microsoft, is likely to suffer more cyberattacks, such as the one that we all experience, we all reported on from target late last year. tech specialists say that users should upgrade as soon as possible. coming up next, a man tries to help a young boy after a traffic accident but he is attacked the minute he gets out of his car. this victim, beaten so badly he is now in a coma and that si ta attack has outraged a lot of the people. one of the teenagers that is accused was in court today. we'll talk about that next.
12:54 pm
he thought it was the endn for his dof the conversation.d... she didn't tell him that her college expenses were going up. or that she maxed out her card during spring break. when the satellite provider checked his credit,
12:55 pm
he found out his daughter didn't pay her bills. but he's not worried. now he checks his credit report and score at experian.com, allowing him to keep track of his credit and take a break of his own. experian. live credit confident. a seven day cruise to alaska or the caribbean from just $549. that's seven days to either marvel at mayan ruins... savor the very best local flavors... or sail in glistening glacier bay. with a cruise line voted best in alaska. a seven day cruise to alaska or the caribbean from just $549. call your travel agent or 1.888.book.now for this limited time offer. princess cruises, come back new.
12:56 pm
12:57 pm
many. well wishers have donated 1 $30,000 to a grandfather in michigan. he hit a boy who dashed in front of his truck. he stopped, got out to check on the child, and then was beaten so badly, doctors put him in a coma to help him heal. three of sus suspected attackers were in court today. cnn's miguel marquez reports. >> the court is going to set bond in the amount of $500,000. >> reporter: 17-year-old charged as an adult for his alleged part in a brutal group beating, part of the incident caught on grainy surveillance video. the attack left the 54-year-old in a coma. police are being looking at whether he was beaten because he's white.
12:58 pm
>> the issue of race is being looked at. it's not the only thing. it's not the sole focus. >> reporter: he was beaten ever his car struck a 10-year-old. he moved quickly and suddenly into his oncoming vehicle. when the 54-year-old tree trimmer stopped to help him, he was attacked, say police, by at least half a dozen african-american men. >> it's hard to just see him laying in the bed not knowing who we are, where he is, or what's going on. >> the case, another tough blow for detroit, a city struggling with economic decline and urban decay. this, another shock to the city. >> we have another larger population of this city that cares. >> reporter: its own citizens questioning this horrendous beating and race in this predominantly african-american city. >> if this were to perhaps have been reversed, there would have been marches and rallies.
12:59 pm
>> reporter: the relatives of a 16-year-old being held can only hope that utash recovers. >> we pray that he comes back to his natural state. >> it is a hope shared by the children of this father of four. >> i just hope that he comes out of this and remembers his grandchildren. >> reporter: now, four people total have been held in connection with this beating. there may be other arrests. the charges they could face is life in prison. the 10-year-old that he hit, he is back home recovering from a leg injury. brooke? >> miguel, just quickly, do you have any idea -- do doctors have any idea how many more days they may have to keep him in this a coma? >> they don't. his condition has not changed in several days. they are hopeful but that is all they are. brooke? >> miguel marquez, thank you so
1:00 pm
much. we spoke with one of the boston bombing survivors and she has an incredible story with anderson cooper hosting this documentary. watch tonight at 10:00 eastern. it's called "the survivor diaries." that's it for me. thanks for joining me. in the meantime, "the lead" with jake tapper starts right now. does it strike anyone else as a little odd that russia is warning ukraine of a coming civil war when russia is the one amassing at the border? and russian troops poise menacingly at ukraine's border. we'll ask our guest, possible 2016 presidential candidate, marco rubio, will a warship and more threats from the u.s. get ru russia's attention? also, it was the most promising lead but searchers lost the sl