care workers are stigmatized themselves. extraordinary situation. with regard to numbers, they've gone up over the last few days. a little good news. the rate they're going up appears to sow slowed down a bit. a month and a half before we know the outbreak is over. we're nowhere close to that as of yet. back to you. >> courageous worth. thank you, dr. sanjay gupta. watch him at 4:30 eastern right here on cnn. hello again, everyone. i'm fredricka whitfield. the top stories we're following. a drone attack in yemen kills 10 suspected al qaeda militants and at least 3 incident civilians's what we're learning this hour. plus, anguished families face-off with officials as more bodies are found aboard that sunken south korean ferry. meanwhile, the captain faces charges that could land him in jail for life. and six weeks after it went missing, and still no sign of the missing malaysia airliner.

the latest on the intensifying search for flight 370. a drone strike killed at least 15 people today according to yemeni defense officials. a high-level government official says ten were suspected al qaeda members. earlier officials says 12. the strike hit a truck in southwestern yemen, an area known as a hot bed for the terrorist organization. live for us now at the white house, sunlen, that yemeni official also said this was a joint u.s./yemeni operation. what is coming from the white house? >> reporter: the yemeni government is confirming this but the u.s. government still is not. the without won't make comment or confirmation for that case on their involvement in this drone strike. i should point out likely it was done by either the cia or pentagon, and sources in the region say the strike was really targeting three well-known al qaeda operatives working at a

training camp in southern yemen. they had been watched and targeted for quite some time. i want you to take a listen to what form 0er ambassador to iraq chris hill said today about the importance of this strike. >> i think it sends a very powerful message, first of all, of our technical capabilities, obviously, but also of our will, and i think one thing we really have shown through the bush administration and the obama administration is a real will to deal with these people. >> reporter: now, i should say that the u.s. is the only known country to have carried out these sorts of drone strikes in yemen, and so far, fred, this year there have already been eight of those attacks. fred? >> all right. sunlen, and then several civilians were also killed, and we just mentioned, some discrepancies over the numbers. what's the late jest. >> reporter: we do have confirmed that three civilians were definitely in a car, according to sources in the region. they were in a car right by that truck targeted and unfortunately were lost as well. you know, this is often a

sensitive part of drone strikes, of course. the casualties that take place, and president obama has spoken, fred, a lot about this in the past. especially last year around may of 2013 where he talked about the revised u.s. policy for drone strikes and specifically talked about the loss of casualties, how it's a balancing act with, of course, protecting u.s. interests in our counterterrorism policy. fred, baaing to you. >> sunlen, thank you so much at the white house. talk more about this drone strike. i'm joined by cnn law enforcement analyst are and former fbi assistant director tom fuentes. tom, yemeni officials saying it was a joint operation, but the u.s. won't comment, as we just heard sunlen say. what's your instinct tell you? >> well, i'm sure it was a joint operation, fredricka, because often they have the intelligence and we have the missiles. so it's as simple as that. the u.s. has been using predator drones firing hellfire missiles more than a decade in yemen,

and, again, that's not anything new. just when they get the right intelligence, have the right targets, they go for it's in this case sounds like a vehicle possibly with innocent people just happened to be traveling near the target vehicle at the time of the strike and some innocent people were killed also. >> how important, significant, is this strike, in your view? >> well i don't know. we don't know, we don't have confirmation hour important the individuals were that. in the vehicle. they were claiming to be targeting three higher ups, but we're not certain that that's been verified -- well, it's not been verified yet. we're not certain if they were in the vehicle, and that takes a while sometimes to confirm who actually was in the vehicles that get struck. >> and even if they were not high-level al qaeda members, but in some capacity are connected to the terrorist organization, does it still make an impact? >> some impact. again, this is one of the most

aggressive groups, if you will. al qaeda and the arabian peninsula has been targeting the u.s. for a while. the underwear bomber in 2009, the printer cartridges attempted to be mailed to the u.s. a couple years ago. so this group has been continuing to attempt to directly attack the u.s., where other groups around the world, sometimes do, sometimes are more interested in their local political situation. >> uh-huh. all right. tom fuentes, thanks so much in washington. >> you're welcome. now to that urgent race to find more surrivers on that south korean ferry that capsized this week. the death toll rose to 36 today. at least 266 people are still missing. most of them students who went to the same high school. they were on a field trip to a resort island when the ship rolled over. hundreds of their parents are gathering on jindo island, where they are watching the search for their children by video. they're also giving dna samples

to help identify anyone who is found. some survivors say people on the ship were told not to move for their own safety. but the captain says he feared passengers would be swept away in rough waters. he, his third mate and a crew technician all made it off the ferry and now face charges. a lawyer says the captain broke a law, which states, a captain must stay with the ship until all personnel are all safely off it. the captain says he was in a cabin, not at the helm of the ship when it capsized. the third mate was instead. paula hancocks is at the head of the search. >> reporter: the two large inflatables really the only sign of where the sunken fairy is. more than 6,000 ton ferry is beneath the waves. you wouldn't know it was there if it wasn't for the sheer number of vessels on the water. i've counted more than 100 ranging from the very large national warships down to the small private fishing vessels. everybody wants to be involved if there is any chance they know

of finding survivors. two helicopters in the air i saw earlier. four crane, floatable massive cranes are here as well but not part of this operation at this point. and we know there are divers right now trying to get inside this submerged vessel to see if they can find any survivors at all. one thing we're noticing in the past hour is an oil slick on the top of the water, and a very strong smell of oil in some areas. it's not clear at this point, though, whether this is actually related to the ferry. unfortunately this afternoon the weather conditions are deteriorati deteriorating somewhat, jeopardizing the search and rescue operation. the swell of the sea is a lot bigger than a matter of hours ago and now we don't see any divers in the area where the ship is submerged. you see the two big inflatables there? that's where the ferry is under the water. there is a concern that this search and rescue operation is being jeopardized again this saturday by the weather. paula hancocks, cnn, in the yellow sea of south korea. still ahead, does the

captain really always ge down with the xwlip from 'the titanic" to the man who could end up facing life in prison for leaving his ferry. a history of what captains do when disaster strikes. plus, up next, the latest in the search for flight 370, and why investigators are saying it may be time to regroup. oh! the name your price tool! you tell them how much you want to pay, and they help you find a policy that fits your budget. i told you to wear something comfortable! this is a polyester blend! whoa! uh...little help? i got you! unh! it's so beautiful! man: should we call security? no, this is just getting good. the name your price tool, still only from progressive. ♪ hooking up the country whelping business run ♪ ♪ build! we're investing big to keep our country in the lead.

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you'll get a warm welcome in the new new york. see if your business qualifies at startupny.com all right. we could be in for some big changes in the hunt for flight 370. searchers say the underwater drone searching for the plane could finish within a week. for six days the bluefin 21 has been captures clear and sharp images of the ocean bottom, but has yet to come up with any trace of the plane. malaysia's acting transport mince sister says the searchers will likely have to re-assess the situation in the next few days regardless if anything is found but have no plans to give

up the search. 12 ships, scouring a search zone narrowed dramatically. what does this mean for the next phase of the search? let me bring in our panel for this hour. rob mccullum, vice president and williamson and associates and thomas is the president of teledyne marine systems. good to see you both. the bluefin search device has gone on six missions without finding anything connected to the plane. is this a case where we're seeing the limitations of the technology? or are we -- looking at a situation where they're just not searching in the right zone, rob? >> well, we don't know. if they're searching in the right area or not. we know that they're searching where the pingers were heard, and that's a very good sign, but the sound can travel a reasonable distance. so it may be a case that over the next couple of days, we'll hit it lucky. in terms of the right technology, you know, there are

a limited number of tooling you can use at that depth for this purpose. bluefin has a relatively small range, but has good resolution. so if they're in the right place, they will find it with this tool. >> so you're still feeling fairly confident that the pings that they heard were that of pings that would be associated with black boxes? not necessarily false positives? >> i'm not confident in that at all. you know, i knew the people on-site, that they're equipped with the information to make those decisions. only those people. there are only a certain number of things that those pinger sounds can be, and if they are from mh-370 and they're in the right place, then the bluefin will find the target. if it's not, of course, it means complete redrawing of the search area. >> and so, you know, thomas, do you believe searchers are at that juncture where it's time to redraw the search area?

start from square one? >> well, i think that they probably have some more time to search. correct in saying, the bluefin is a slow and relatively high resolution search tool. it does a great job at imaging the bottom with the side scan sonar onboard. in they're in the right spot, triangulated off the apparent signals correctly, then they're in a box that has a high probability of detecting something. comes back to, are they in the right area? if they're feel they're not in the right area that will make the problem a lot harder. the acoustics from the blacks boxes are most likely gone so then it's a scour of the ocean floor. >> because our understanding has always been, right? there was about 1,700 miles between these four pings that researchers felt were the real thing? pings associated with any black boxes, and so is it possible, rob, that perhaps the distance may have been greater?

is it possible that there's anything in that ocean that could have emitted a very similar sound? >> the answer to the question is, yes. there could be something else. i think the first two pingers, two pinger signals that they e heard, by far the best bet that we've had all the way through. i'm not so confident in the latter two. but the bluefin only takes a certain amount of time to search within pinger range, the acoustic range of where those pingers were heard on the first two occasions. so once they've searched this area, then it's back to the drawing board and it's going to be a much broader scale sewn ar search. >> thomas, in your view, how many more days or maybe even weeks do you give the bluefin before it's time to do something else? >> well, so if you look at the search rate, it's about, survey rate is about 40 square kilometers a day. you start doing math around the

17 clomtder range. if you desire to really search that whole area, it's still weeks ahead of work. if the -- the team that's actuallydata, they have a must better insight into what they've seen, feeling the semp area is smaller, it could be a matter of weeks. we're speculating because we only see the snippets of information released to the public. >> all right. thomas, and rob, thank you gentlemen. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. still to come in the "newsroom," another dead body found on mount everest, raising the death toll now on what was already the single deadliest accident. more on the search for possible survivors, after this. but first, we want to introduce you to this week's cnn "hero." a chef who helps families in need. >> please join me in honoring cnn hero bruno cerrato. >> reporter: when the bruno was honored as a cnn hero in 2011,

he was serving pasta to nearly 200 low-income children a day in anaheim, california. >> the pasta is ready! >> reporter: since being awarded, bruno's program has grown significantly. >> who wants pasta? [ cheers ] >> now we are 1,000 kids a day. every single day. monday through friday. >> reporter: reaching kids in three more cities in orange county. >> each time i serve a meal, each time i serve a kid, i know i give security to a little kid and they have a full stomach before they go to bed. >> reporter: but bruno does more than just filling their stomachs. >> i request one item. to share the table together. that means emotionally, as a family sits together, eating together. [ speaking in foreign language ]. >> reporter: his group has gone beyond food. he's helped move 55 homeless

families out of motels and into their own apartments. >> what is this? >> i love it. >> you see the life changed complete. change life completely. >> my goal is to go around the nation. how can i stop when children are starving? the day that children are not starving, i will stop. >> pasta! >> all right. and perhaps you know somebody like him, and someone you think who should be a cnn hero. nominate at cnn heroes.com. (dad) just feather it out. that's right. (son) ok. feather it out. (dad) all right. that's ok. (dad) put it in second, put it in second. (dad) slow it down. put the clutch in, break it, break it. (dad) just like i showed you. dad, you didn't show me, you showed him. dad, he's gonna wreck the car! (dad) he's not gonna wreck the car. (dad) no fighting in the road, please. (dad) put your blinker on.

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nick valencia joining me with more. >> good afternoon to you at home watching and you, fred. ukraine, so much for peace. the deal that had been brokered is being ignoredrussia says they're there due to political instarpt-the-stability. all this wine separatists in donetsk dug in aimed at resolving the crisis and preventing an allsout civil war.

ignoring you kas to lay down are as. the number of fatalities in what was already the deadliest accident on mount everest rose again today when search and rescue teams found the body of the 13th sherpa guy. an avalanche struck at 25,000 feet. three others remain missing. the deadliest year on everest 1956. hospital officials say a 15-year-old boy is still in critical condition after this month's stabbing spree at a pennsylvania high school. 16-year-old alex hribal slashed his way through franklin regional high seriously injuring 22 students. prosecutors charged him as weren't adult. check out this video here. imagine driving and seeing a mysterious fireball light up the sky. russia says officials have not identified the object seen racing over northern russian. no reports of damage or injuries

from the blast. last year a meteor exploded injury morgue than 1,400 people. dashcams are popular in russia to prevent insurance fraud and corruption and managed to catch amazing video like this. >> and the driver managed to stay on the road. >> right. completely unfazed. >> no wiggling or anything. >> no problem here. >> what did i just see? nothing. >> as you should, i guess. >> thanks. appreciate that. >> see ya, fred. now to a real-life mystery playing out from the u.s. to the middle east. an american plane has been found at an iranian airport. problem is, with u.s. sanctions in place, no americans are allowed to do any business there. here's cnn's suzanne malveaux. >> reporter: an american bombardier c lch air craft captured in a photo by the "new york times" sits at the airport in iron. an american flag on its tail.

is someone breaking the law? >> the iranian transactions and sanctions regulations prohibited the exportation of goods services or technology directly from the united states or indirectly or by a u.s. person to and would generally prohibit air kraec air dpraecraft to iran. >> you can travel to iran, but you have to get permission from the government, you know, and clarity as to the things you can do and the things you can't do. one of the first questions here will be, whoever made this trip, that they apply to the treasury department for permission, with a clear understanding how you can spend money in iran and how you can't spend money in iran. >> reporter: adding to the mystery. initially a spokesman for the airport quoted an iranian media saying no u.s. plane landed there at all.

according to federal aviation records, this plane with tail number n604ap is owned by the bank of utah held in a trust for a group of investors. we got in touch with the bank, which confirm it owned the plane, but doesn't operate it. and didn't say why it was sitting in iran or who flew it there. a spokesman said the trust relationship is confidential, and additional information must come from the beneficiary. the bank's trust agreements do not allow aircraft to be used in any illegal activity. we were able to track the plane's recent whereabouts through aviation websites. last october, the aircraft was spotted in ghana and the uk. in january, switzerland at the time of the world economic forum. february, back to the uk, and the next month, returning to ghana. now the iranians are saying through their government news agency that the u.s. plane was chartered by ghana's presidential office, and was

carrying a high-ranking ghanaian delegation, but the question u.s. officials will still be investigating is since it was an american plane, whether any trade laws were broken, because as we told by the state department, the administration generally prohibits u.s. registered air dpraecraft from to iran. suzanne malveaux, cnn, washington. still ahead, the death toll climbs in that ferry that sank off coast of korea. the blame could go to the captain. alexandra field joins us now. >> reporter: so many questions about what this captain did when everything went wrong. so what is a captain required to do and what have other captains done in similar situations? we'll take a look coming up after the break.

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disaster off the coast of south korea. earlier the country's coast guard brought these bodies to port to be identified. some parents have already given dna samples to help with the process. the ferry was carrying 475 people, most of them students and teachers, when it sank wednesday. they were on a class trip to a resort island when the ship rolled over. the ship's captain was one of at least 174 people rescued, but he also faces charges as well as some very tough questions, including, why he allegedly broke a law that requires him to stay onboard until all appearance are safe. i spoke with a maritime lawyer about that. >> the duty of a captain in this circumstance goes way back past moby dick back to the medieval sea codes, back to 1,000 years ago. this is a particularly sad case. you have to look after the passengers, its your obligation. you can't abandon a ship. to see this happening in this

circumstance, reflects, i think, poorly, on this -- not only this captain, i mean, he's got his hoodie on, looking downing, he's disgraces. the issues are broader and deeper than just pointing the finger at one person. you've got to look at the ferry company itself. the marine company, their training, their safety culture? were there lifeboat drills? muster drills? were these children sent to the muster stations before the ship? >> cnn's alexandra field joins me with more. what other allegations is this capital facing? >> reporter: a slew of them, fred. abandoning ship, negligence, causing bodily injury, failure to seek rec keys from our boats, all charles the captain in south korea is facing. shocking, that the captain would leave the boat with so many still trapped onboard and it isn't the first time we've seen something like this happen.

the captain of the sunken south korean ferryboat under arrest. he's facing charges and fierce criticism. >> the real question is, why did he not stay onboard and not go down with the ship? but supervise until every accounted for passenger was off the vessel? that is -- a crime under korean law, and that is arguably a violation of international law. >> reporter: among the captain's charges, failing to do the right thing to guide the passengers to escape. yes, there's the old maritime adage that the captain goes down with the ship, but it doesn't always happen. francesco xa teen oh captain of the concordia is standing trial for monies slanslaughter and ab ship. 34 people died. >> i don't think you can rely on

the people onboard and their training but directing the people onbort. >> reporter: this captain trains cadets on a 565 foot long vessel "the empire state." saving lives depends on clear communication from the captain and the crew. >> bottom line, where you find people are amazed how quickly things escalate or how fast a ship could sink. >> reporter: women and children first, was the evacuation order first heard on the sea back in 1952. the kmapd referred to now as the birkinhead drill coming from the captain of the berirkinhead who went under with it and famsly, on "the titanic" where 1,500 passengers perished. so did captain edward smith who nerve every live the supposed unsinkable ship back in south korea if convicted of all charges the captain faces five years to life in prison. he has spoken out saying he

didn't direct more passengers off the boat because he was concerned about the temperature, conditions and the fact there weren't rescue boats nearby, fred. >> terribly tragic. alexandra field. the loved ones of those onboard flight 370 waited six weeks for answer to no avail. they're not giving up, though, asking tough questions to malaysian officials and demanding a response. first, do you snore at night? you could be one of the million of americans with sleep apnea. something super bowl champion aaron taylor actually suffers from. our dr. sanjay gupta with this week's "human factor." >> reporter: super bowl champion aaron taylor's job as guard, to be big and strong to defend. first at notre dame, two-time all-american and then for the green bay packers and san diego chargers. some of the same things that got him to the nfl may have also been affecting his health. just like 60% of former linemen

according to a 2009 mayo clinic study. >> waking up more tired than i thought i should have been. waking up feeling like i was hung over. i had a headache, my throat hurt. trouble concentrating. irritable. >> what kind of sandwich is that jrt he had a history of sleep apnea, a life threatening illness caused by obstruction of the airway during sleep, he never thought he's deal with it himself. >> bigger guys with bigger eck ins like myself are the demographic that did get it. it's not solely a big person's disease state, but throughout the night, 20 times per hour for 20 seconds per time i wasn't breathing. that night after night after night after night is what led to all the problems that i had. >> reporter: once he was diagnosed with sleep apnea, he made working out and eating healthy a priority. and taylor started using a breathing device kauped a cpap to help overcome. he says it took a while to get used to the device but it was

worth it. >> pressurized air delivering it through an interface through my nose while i'm breathing keeping my throat up, to breathe continuously uninterrupted throughout the night. >> i'm aaron taylor. >> reporter: now he's a college sports analyst on the road calling games around the country. >> a lot is required not only physically to do my job but from a mental capacity. in i'm under nourished or undernourished from a sleep standpoint, i can't do my job. i've seen the difference it's been able to make and it's drastic. the result has been my kids get their daddy back. my employers good a good employee back. my wife gets a good husband back. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn reporting. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪

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the search for flight 370 is at a critical juncture arnold the next phase could come soon. the underwater drone scanning the ocean floor for signs of the missing jet to finish its search within a week. officials from australia and malaysia will likely regroup and

reconsider other search options in um canning days. 11 military planes and 12 ships scour, the search zone today. six weeks after malaysia airlines flight 370 went missing the heartbroken families are still waiting for answers, calling out officials, compiling a list of specific questions and demanding a response. here's cnn's jean casarez. >> the whole bloody wires you're lying to us again now. >> reporter: their frustration bubbling over, the relatives of those onboard malaysian night mh-370 want information and they want it now. that may be why a malaysian delegation is traveling to beijing to meet with the families on the ongoing search. the families have a list of 26 questions that they want answered, including what is in the flight log book? maintenance records, and the recording of air traffic control that very night. >> it's very personal. very personal, from each

person's idea of what happened, from the very beginning. >> reporter: martin knows what they're going through. he lost his sister on air france flight 447 in 2009. he flew from brazil to malaysia to help survivors saying they've become like family. >> start to help people, embrace people that you don't even know where they live what they do for a job or anything, and you start to help these people, people who are crying very loud, and in very bad shape, and suddenly you feel like -- oh, i know this man. >> reporter: and with no evidence so far on the fate of the plane, some loved ones say the investigation is being mishandled. >> whether it was catastrophic or the plane taken intentionally, we still believe there are options to be explored

and many are actually over land, not over the sea. >> reporter: even if and when the answers do come, if the families finally do learn what happened to their loved ones, the outrage may linger. >> yes. this is something that i understand is very bad for them, and they are completely, in my opinion now, emotionally very, very destroyed. >> reporter: those who have been through it say, take that emotion, and advocate for your family member. so that flight 370 is never forgotten. jean casarez, cnn, new york. so what else should be, could be done for these families? let's bring in our panel for this hour, rob mccullum, ocean search spermist are and vice president at williamson and associates. tom fuentes, cnn law enforcement analyst and also panel member from teledyne. a list sent to the airlines asking for among other things,

airplane logs, maintenance history records. is there anything wrong with giving them what they're asking for? tom, you first. >> i don't know if it's wrong, but i can pretty well predict they're not going to get any of it, or very little of it. the malaysians have said that it's part of their investigation. they refuse to give any information that relates to the investigation. so i don't think seal say any of it. >> traditionally, that kind of information would not be handed over to victims, victims families, et cetera. thomas, in your view, is this the exception? is this the case when authorities feel they've got to give these family members something, and maybe meet some of these demands? >> it's hard for me to tell that. this is a very hard situation. right? you've got a potentially criminal investigation going on. you've got data that can be misinterpreted's it would be a unique situation where you really would turn over that situation, i think. >> rob, you heard from one of

the family members who said, why not maintain searches over land simultaneously? why wouldn't that have been done, if we're talking about some of the lessons learned, or, you know, how you try to appease these family members? why not maintain some sort of land searches while these underwater searching are also being conducted? >> well, i think that the honest answer is that there is no indication that the aircraft is anywhere other than in the sea, and the debate at the moment is about which part of the sea, which very small area, it's come to rest. but i think that information is the south that will help families to recover in the long run. so it is important that they're given as much information as they can be given. what is very important is to keep that separate from the people who are conducting the search operation. because that would just prove a distraction. >> and when you talk about information, then what kind of information should be conveyed to the family members that

hasn't already? because certainly they're not pleased. many of these family members are very frustrated and feel a lot of information is being -- kept away from them, and they also feel like they're getting misinformation. rob? >> well, i think, as i said, i think information is what will help repair these wounds. and so the information that they're asking for is -- is highly technical, and in the long run, may not be the most advantageous. >> uh-huh. >> they should have -- access to information, but they should also have access to someone who can interpret that for them, and to explain what has been done what is being done and what will be done in the future. >> so, tom, even though there's, you know, still no evidence of wreckage and it's time to even reflect on lessons learned, what has been -- what could be redone, if there was that

opportunity? in your view, as it pertains to family members, what is the lesson learned? how could it have been handled differently so you wouldn't have so many frustrated family members? >> i think the early problem for the malaysians was they made a determination that their policy would be not to give out information until they confirm it, and corroborate it, and the problem is, you just can't. there's just too much mystery to the whole thing, and after a couple of days, they began to lose credibility with the families. same thing was happening in beijing in the airport. the families that were awaiting that arrival of the air -- the plane were told, oh, come back in a couple hours. maybe by noon we'll have something to tell you. so they were being put off by chinese officials as womell in that airport, and later after the malaysians received a lot of criticism, to more or less change the policy say, okay, we're going to put stuff out and then that began the array of information concerning the radar

and which direction the plane turned or what altitude and all that, and then they kept correcting it. when they did -- first they don't put information out. then when they finally do, the next day they're correcting it. the day after they're correcting again. and they went from a bad situation to worse in terms of the relationship to the families, and the credibility of the government with those families. >> and so, thomas, in your view, in this upcoming week, lahard t believe we're at 44 days, encroaching on 45 days and beyond in the search for this plane. in your view, in the upcoming week, what can be conveyed to these family members since authorities are not likely to meet their 4rilisted demands, b what can be extended to them to offer comfort at this juncture? >> well, with the with the ongoing searches in the south indian ocean first of all data from that needs to be

shown. the diligence of the search team is part of the message. this is an international coalition coming together, spending an incredible amount of money to find that plane. so, you know, if you think of or put yourself in the shoes of the community, it is a -- it's a huge effort to try to say there's sympathy. there's desire to try to solve this problem. that's a pretty strong message. >> uh-huh. and then just before we go, tom, so monday apparently is officially day 45 and that also opens the window for any kind of lawsuits whether these family members will pursuit it, et cetera. is it your feeling that's when it all gets starts in a very, i guess, official way, or do you think -- >> yeah. >> -- it's just a matter of people demanding and waiting what officials can tell them and that comes somewhere down the line? >> i don't know about that part, fredricka. but i would agree with what tom has just said completely. you can't explain, even during

the criminal investigation it's very important to tell people that there's an intensive investigation ongoing, that it's going to be exhaustive, that it's going to persevere, that it's going to be deliberate, that it's going to follow every logical lead to the end of the earth. that can be told. and that part of the message has been missing. and when the acting transport minister says, well, in a couple days we're going to reassess, he's hinting at that they're going to quit. that's what -- if you're a family member, you might take that to mean, well, we're about to quit. we don't find anything in a couple days, we're out of here, and that's exactly the opposite message that everybody wants to hear. >> tom, thomas, rob, thanks so much, gentlemen. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. and we'll be right back. [ telephone rings ] [ shirley ] edward jones. [ male announcer ] with nearly 7 million investors... oh hey, neill, how are you? [ male announcer ] ...you'd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. kevin, neill holley's on line one. ok, great. [ male announcer ] and we do. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing.

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co: until you're sure you do.you need a hotel room bartender: thanks, captain obvious. co: which is why i put the hotels.com mobile app on my mobile phone. anyone need a coupon? i don't. all right, this weekend the emmy-award winning cnn original series "parts unknown" takes viewers to the hidden world of high rollers for a city known for overindulgence. host anthony bourdain told us all about it. >> we tried to show the hidden vegas of the very, very high end for the vast villas and amenities that are available only to people who are flown in and are likely to spend, you know, $10 million or $20 million over a weekend. >> wow.

>> addresses within the casinos that even the front desk don't know exist, wouldn't know where to send a visitor. and then at the other end we're looking at the off-the-strip vegas of the longtime natives, residents, all of those tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people who clean the rooms and deal the cards and what it must be like to be them that encourages visitors to come and behave really, really badly to live with that and growing up seeing human behavior at its very worst and most foolish, it creates a special kind of person. >> was it the consensus that the special kind of people embrace this and say this is the way it is, this is part of the survival of the fittest or is there any real reservation on their part that they kind of wish vegas wasn't the vegas that it is? >> i think a lot of them are happy to be there but have a

very, very cynical world view. they've heard a lot of stories and seen what people all backgrounds, everywhere on earth, what they are capable. and it is a question we asked again and again and again, and there is a deep, deep cynicism about the basic goodness of human animal i think in the longtime vegas resident and you can hard i had blame them. >> i know you want to watch now! the all-new episode of "parts unknown" airs sunday night 9:00 eastern right here on cnn. i'm fredricka whitfield in atlanta. thanks so much for being with me this afternoon. we've got the coverage continued in new york in the "newsroom" after this.

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lemon, thank you for joining us. right now we are tracking four major stories happening all over the world. in south korea the death toll climbs as more than bodies are recovered from that sunken ferry. the captain of the doomed ship gives his version of events after being charged for abandoning his shim before all the passengers were off. in yemen, what could be a big hit against al qaeda. a drone strike reportedly kills at least ten suspected al qaeda militants. a source tells cnn three well-known operatives are among the dead. in ukraine, the mission to avoid an all-out civil war as russia, the ukraine, the u.s. and eu sign a pact to help ease tensions but will that deal hold up? a live report in just a moment. and the hunt for malaysian airlines flight 370 is entering a crucial phase. the blue fin 21 underwater drone will finish scanning the search zone within five to seven days. after that the entire search

operation may need a reboot. you'll hear the options being considered. that is all coming up. but we begin in the yellow sea off the coast of south korea. the ferry that capsized four days ago is no longer poking above the water. large floating bags mark its location. despite pumping air into the hull, the ship continues to slip deeper and deeper beneath the waves with hundreds of teenage victims still trapped inside. the death toll now stands at 36. divers recovered three more bodies. family members are providing dna samples to help with identification. the captain and two crew members now face numerous criminal charges including abandoning ship, negligence and causing bodily harm. the captain was one of the 174 people rescued in the very first hours of this tragedy after being arrested and charged, he appeared in handcuffs to offer his explanation of events.

a tearful confession there for the anxious families on shore, the ordeal of recovering their loved ones is agonizingly slow. our kyung lah joins us now from the port city. you still hear of a rescue being attempted here. the ship's now under the waves. i know they've been pumping air in there. is there any realistic reason

given to family members that there might still be victims alive inside that ferry? >> reporter: they're not willing to go beyond saying that they are still trying to find survivors, in part think about who they are talking to. they are talking to hundreds of parents whose children are trapped underneath that vessel. and so what we're seeing here is an absolute continued 24-hour search operation. we can actually see the night flares being shot into the sky, jim. they are about 12 miles away from where i'm standing here at this port. you can see them being shot up. that they are still trying to access this ship. but the conditions here are extremely rough. the water, very cold. about 50 degrees. the ship is completely submerged. divers have been trying to accession the various cabins. they did -- after a full day of trying, they did manage to break

through one of the cabins with an ax and pull out three bodies. it's very grim here. the bodies are returning right nearby where the parents are waiting and then they have to be identified. it's extraordinarily difficult both at the search site as well as here at this port, jim. >> a really difficult balance between maintaining hope and not raising unrealistic expect atios i madimagine. is there any word on when the sea crane lift might begin? and why are they waiting? >> reporter: the parents haven't decided if they should be used and part of it the parents aren't sure if moving to the crane officially turns this into a recovery operation. one of the south korean divers actually spoke yesterday and what he was saying is that they need the cranes. they need some of the pressure inside the ship to be alleviated, because even if there are survivors on the

vessel, on the sunkle vessel, that they can't get to them because of the amount of pressure on the windows so they want this vessel to be lifted. but the process of the cranes trying to lift something that's 6,000 tons, it is not a simple or fast process. so, the parents here, they actually are taking votes on whether or not these cranes should be used. right now it's split down 50/50. jim? >> and they are leaving it up to the parents to decide when those cranes are used? >> reporter: they're actually trying to ask the parents whether or not these cranes should be used. >> i see. >> reporter: what we're seeing now is more of a give-and-take between the government as well as the parents and we even saw this yesterday when the coast guard came out and they were briefing the parents directly. because one of the biggest complaints here the parents have felt the government is holding back information and not talking to them enough and not trying hard enough to get to the children. >> gosh, similar frustrations to the search for the malaysian

airlines flight. thanks very much, kyung lah. a u.s. drone strike appears to have hit its target in yemen. three well-known al qaeda operatives are among ten suspected militants killed in that strike officials say. they say it hit a pickup truck carrying the civilians and three civilians were also killed. it follows video evidence of the largest and most dangerous gathering of al qaeda in years. the u.s. is the only country known to have conducted drone strikes in yemen. i'll be speaking to christopher hill about the significance of this particular strike. to ukraine where the war of words between kiev and russia and the west continues to heat up. two days into an international pact designed to ease tensions in ukraine but so far there is little indication that any progress has been made on the

ground. pro-russian separatists are rejecting calls to leave the public buildings they seized in cities across eastern ukraine. they also refuse to lay down their arms. the eastern region remains locked in a stalemate as 40,000 russian troops wait near the border. russian president vladimir putin will not recall his troops saying they are there due to ukraine's political instability. and he said today his government plans to give awards to the russian troops who took part in supporting crimea's self-defense forces last month. this news just in to cnn -- a western official confirms the u.s. will conduct military exercises in eastern europe. i spoke to this western official just a few moments ago. about 150 soldiers will take place in operations in poland, one in poland, another 150 soldiers in estonia, about the size of a company. the exercises will take place in the coming weeks as part of a continuing operation, in other words, they will be rotated in

and out on a continuing basis. the operation directly tied to what's happening now in ukraine. it's meant to be a show of force and the west's and america's commitment to its nato allies that border ukraine including poland and estonia. i want to go now to get the latest on the ground in ukraine. cnn's frederik pleitgen is live there now. fred, one of the key elements of this pact is for the separatists, militants, to depart and disarm. we haven't seen any evidence of that yet. are you expecting that to happen soon? are they waiting for word from moscow to do that? >> reporter: well, certainly at this point, jim, there's absolutely no indication that they plan to leave those occupied buildings anytime soon. in fact, what they're doing is making counter demands to that geneva communique that was reached. they don't feel bound by it and they've come forward and said they want the interim government in kiev to resign because they say it's not legitimate at all.

they demand what they call nationalist groups like the right sector disarm as well before they would give up their weapons. so at this point in time it seems as though the communique is in a lot of trouble. it seems there are different interpretations as to what it actually means, whether you ask the russians or the ukrainians and then there are the people who are occupying the buildings who simply are not playing ball at all. the government in kiev is trying to deescalate the situation. one of the things it's done over the easter holidays, i'm actually standing in front of one of the oldest churches in kiev, over the easter holidays they called for a one-sided troo us and they won't conduct military operations and they want things to settle a little bit but that's not been mirrored for the people occupying the government buildings. they are not getting much in return from the people occupying the buildings in the east of the country. >> the u.s. and the west

threatening new sanctions if the agreement isn't acted on in the next couple of days. coming up i'll talk to the former u.s. ambassador christopher hill about the rising tensions in ukraine and prospects for ending them. the blue fin 21 is scouring the floor of the indian ocean searching for any sign of flight 370 but only for another five to seven days. then what? we'll have a live report from perth next. oh! the name your price tool! you tell them how much you want to pay, and they help you find a policy that fits your budget. i told you to wear something comfortable! this is a polyester blend! whoa! uh...little help? i got you! unh! it's so beautiful! man: should we call security? no, this is just getting good. the name your price tool, still only from progressive. ♪

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right now the hunt for malaysian airlines flight 370 is an extremely critical phase. we've learned about a key deadline, the blue fin 21 underwater drone will finish its search mission in five to seven days. experts have shrunk the search area to focus the mission more. >> the narrowing of the search for today and tomorrow is at a very critical juncture.

>> so, here is the bottom line -- if the blue fin 21 comes up empty next week, it will be time for all search crews hunting for flight 370 to stop, regroup and reconsider the whole search operation may need a reboot at that stage. so, i want to bring in aaron mclaughlin who is at the search base in perth, australia. as we hear this news, is it good news, is it that they have greatgreat er confidence that they are close to finding it or if they don't find it in the next week or so they're looking in the wrong place? >> reporter: hi, jim, as far as we know there's no new information or data that they're using. what they are doing right now is zeroing in on the area of the second ping. the second acoustic detection that lasted some 13 minutes, it was the strongest signal acquired by that toad pinger locator of the four pings that it had detected.

what they are searching right now is a six-mile or ten kilometer radius around that area. and according to my math so far they've searched some 42% of it. and australian officials telling cnn that they'll finish the rest in another five to seven days, but that's if the blue fin 21 performs as it should and if the weather holds. now, at the end of that, as you mentioned, they're going to have to figure out next steps if they so far have no sign of missing malaysian flight 370. but that being said, at the moment the focus very much being on the task at hand. this is the area where they believe based on very limited information that they have that this is the most likely place that they'll find the black bock and it is critical that they can either rule it in or rule it out in their search, jaim? >> either we'll find out that they're close or they have much more work to do, thank you very much to erin mclaughlin. does a strong new al qaeda

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welcome back. i'm jim sciutto in new york. pro-russian separatists are digging in this weekend refusing to give up control of government buildings they seized in eastern ukraine. their defiance contradicts a deal that russia agreed to in geneva this week calling on the armed groups to vacate the buildings and set down their weapons. meanwhile, there's new information this hour about a potential u.s. military role in the region. let's talk about this increasingly tense situation with christopher hill, he's former u.s. ambassador to iraq, now the dean of international studies at the university of denver. ambassador hill, thanks so much for joining us. we reported just a few moments ago that the u.s. is going to start military exercises in

poland and estonia. nato allies, of course, bordering ukraine, they're relatively small in nature, about a company each, 150 each, but i'm told by this western official they're meant to be rotational, in other words, they won't be a one-off. how significant a show of support for nato allies in the region do you think this is? >> i think this is very important. it's not so much important for deterring the russians. i don't think the russians are going to attack poland again, but i think it's very important for the polish people to know that membership in nato really means an attack on them, it's an attack on all, and that they can count on our support. and, you know, this goes back 75 years in september when britain and france had an agreement with the poles and when the germans attacked them, they dutifully declared war on germany, but nothing happened. so, i think it's very important as reassurance to these members of nato on the eastern -- eastern flank. >> now, looking at this deal

that was negotiated in geneva, it's already been two, three days now. the pro-russian separatists which u.s. officials say are operating under orders of moscow are not freelancing as moscow claims, they've refused to put down their arms. why is that happening? and do you expect that that will change in the coming days? >> you know, this is very reminiscent of some of the things that went on in the balkans. milosevic was certainly an instigator of this stuff, but once do you don't necessarily have minute-by-minute control. there's no question the russians started this dance. there's no question they have the greatest leverage in bringing it to an end, but i do think there's a question whether they can stop it on a dime. so i think we're quite right to be pushing the russian government on this, with the understanding that things may -- that some of the people in donesk and elsewhere may be kind of feeling their oats and may be

doing things on their own. so, we'll have to see in the next couple of days what this really means. i think the russians understood when they signed something, they took on some responsibility for trying to end it. but it may not be that easy for them, and, of course, i think one has to allow for the fact that they've been pretty cynical about this kind of thing in the past and they could be doing that again. >> fair question, because i was going to ask you, is it your sense that moscow is trying to control them and cannot or that moscow is dragging its feet on complying with this deal? >> you know, as often in these situations, it's a little bit or i should say a lot of both. so, i think the russians have been about as cynical in their handling of ukraine as you can imagine. i mean, listening to the u.n. security council discussion a few nights ago and hearing the russian ambassador say things like they should get on the telephone, i mean, he knows better than that. so, i think they really handled this very cynically. however -- however -- and, you

know, having gone through this in the balkans, i know that people who use these nationalist symbols which is what putin is doing and what milosevic did find that they get dragged along a little by the ivents themselves. >> thanks very much, ambassador hill, please stick around because we'll bring you back after the break for your thoughts on the strikes on al qaeda in yemen. stay with us. we'll look at a strike that's claimed to kill several senior militants of al qaeda in yemen right after this. ♪

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now let's turn to the u.s. drone attack in yemen. yemenmy defense officials tell cnn ten well-known al qaeda operatives are known killed in the strike. it follows the largest and most dangerous gathering of al qaeda in years in yemen.

back with me now former ambassador to iraq chris hill. looking at this attack and you have a number of attacks happening and yemeni officials say several were senior officials. how severe does this strike appear to you at least in the early stages? >> first of all, we've done it before and we'll do it again. i don't think it's significant in and of itself. we'll have to get a sense of how many senior people we were able to get. but i think there is a significance about its timing, that is, al qaeda just brazenly has this meeting and then a couple of days later the u.s. goes after some of their senior leaders and presumably with some success. so, i think it shows two things -- one, this war on terrorism is not over and, two, we are pursuing it vigorously. and for people who look for differences between the bush administration and the obama administration, they shouldn't look in this area because i think both administrations have been very vigorous about going after these people. >> no question.

interesting you made that connection. so, you think that there was a bit of a message here after something of an embarrassment, right, with this video that we're seeing now on the screen showing this meeting that took place, something to show a sign of strength after that embarrassment? >> possible. but, you know, these are often targets of opportunity. often they're events that have followed months and months of surveillance. so, i'm not in a position to say they were trying to make a statement. but certainly a statement was made and heard. >> now, just one brief question before i let you go. it also just to remind our viewers al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has its targets set on the u.s., its eyes set on the u.s., a sign this is still a serious threat. >> it is a serious threat. they do have their -- they are set on the u.s., but don't forget, of course, there's a broader sectarian conflict going on in the middle east, al qaeda being an extremist sunni, you know, outlier has been

responsible for killing more shia than americans. so, there's a big sectarian dimension to this. >> okay. well, thanks very much, ambassador hill. i'm jim sciutto. "cnn newsroom" continues at the top of the hour. right now, stay here for sanjay gupta. welcome to "sg md," we've got a lot to get to today, including this -- parents in trouble for using marijuana legally. we'll explain. plus, bob harper he's going to stop by, he'll tell us about the food you need to get fit. but first as you may know i'm just back from africa where i had the frightening experience of reporting pretty close up on this disease that kills up to 90% of the people it infects, it's ebola, and the safety measures these doctors have to take to treat people to keep it under control, they are just remarkable. you're about to go inside an isolation ward in guinea. there's a reason you may not have seen images like this