making news in america this morning -- new questions about malaysia airlines flight 370. why was the plane's flight path radically altered from the cockpit? the answers may be thousands of feet down in the indian ocean. midair scare. what caused a big piece of this jetliner's wing to fly off during a flight? happening right now, weather woes. a late winter snowstorm in washington, d.c., making this a tough commute across in mid-atlantic. while storms leave a trail of destruction in the southeast. and quite a ride for one rescuer. wait until you see and hear who got plucked from an extremely dangerous place.

good monday morning. i'm john muller. >> i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. we begin with new developments overnight in the search for flight 370. the search has shifted to a new area as investigators focus on the background of the pilot and copilot. >> tahman bradley joins us live from washington with the new details. tahman? >> reporter: good morning. the search now covers the very deep indian ocean and 11 countries the plane could have flown over. it could take months, or longer, to find the plane. at least 26 countries have joined the search for the missing malaysia airlines jet. the u.s. using its most sophisticated submarine hunter, the p-8. as the search continues, more evidence that the disappearance was a deliberate act. >> there is nothing out there indicating it's terrorist. something with the pilot and the copilot. that has to be drilled down on. >> reporter: abc news has learned that the flight, 370,

that a hard turn of the flight path was preprogrammed into the computer. the data transmission was cut off some time after 1:07. the location transmission cut at 1:21. in the middle of all that, someone radios in the cockpit, all right, good night. moments later, the plane turned hard left. >> if you're intentionally shutting off those systems, there is basically one reason. to vanish. to make it very difficult to find you. >> reporter: but the jet was still communicating with a satellite. experts think the plane likely went down somewhere between these two arcs. the plane is most likely in the south indian ocean. as investigators try to solve the mystery, the focus has zeroed in on the pilots. both men's homes have been searched. authorities are poring over a flight simulator confiscated from the captain's home and two of his laptop computers. >> they'll go back and look for criminal forensics. in that was there a premeditation? >> reporter: abc news has learned that the pilots did not ask for extra fuel for the

flight and made no special questions to fly together. making the idea of a conspiracy seem less likely. marci and john? >> let's talk about the plane's computer that was preprogrammed, apparent lirks to make this left turn. does that make terrorism less likely? >> reporter: you can't rule it out at this point. but we have got to get our hands on the cockpit recorder. authorities desperately want to find that. if we find it, it should shed light on what role the pilots played in all of this. it's worth mentioning, you can turn off cockpit recorders and a pilot would know how to do that. >> tahman bradley, live in washington this morning, thank you. and tahman mentioned, the search now focuses on the southern indian ocean. that san incredibly remote area off australia's west coast. this morning, malaysia gave australia the responsibility of searching that area. it's a region with almost no radar. it can be 15,000 feet deep in some places. the black box batteries have less than 20 days of power left. making this a race against time.

>> all right, stay with abc news for the very latest. "gma" will have more later. and also abcnews.com. throughout the day. our other big story this morning, a late-winter storm system hitting the mid-atlantic. >> here's a look at the white house, more white than usual this morning. flight schedules and rush hour commutes will be a mess across the region as we all wait for spring's arrival on thursday. overnight, in southern new jersey, an unwelcome sight. as snow started falling on atlantic city. winter storm warnings are posted from the ohio valley to the washington, d.c., area. >> it felt like the middle of spring yesterday. >> and now? >> it's freezing. >> reporter: around the nation's capital and suburbs, it's another snow day. for students tired of winter. >> if you had told me two days ago it would be snowing right now, i would have told you you were crazy. >> reporter: after the snow tapers off, january-like wind chills will move in. while winter hangs on in the

northeast, powerful winds, heavy rain, and tornadoes in the southeast. a shopping center in shambles along the alabama state line. >> i was shaking. and i felt like i had to get to the back. >> reporter: about a dozen buildings damaged or destroyed, including a few homes hit by falling trees. >> a loud noise. boom. it shook the top of my house. >> reporter: flash floods in alabama turning a weekend campout into a washout. downpours flooded a creek, forcing an emergency evacuation. >> a flash flood is exactly that. a flash flood. and with this area, even though we only had a km of inches of rain this morning, it floods very quickly. >> reporter: the rainstorms continue today. soaking central and south florida while the mid-atlantic faces yet another whiteout. as i mentioned, spring officially arrives on thursday. it cannot get here soon enough. >> tell me about it. we get details from molly cochran at accuweather. good morning, molly.

>> thanks, john and marci. the next storm system, if you're waking up on monday morning trying to get back to work, we have slippery travel to deal with from philadelphia back toward roanoke. staying south of new york city. flurries. behind this, the northeast turns colder. below average temperatures from buffalo to pittsburgh. still need the heavy coats. meanwhile, in the southeast, showers and thunderstorms to contend with from miami to orlando. back to you, john and marci. >> thanks, molly. new this morning, scary moments for passengers on a delta airline flight. their boeing 757 jet lost part of its wing as they flew from orlando to atlanta. that left gears and wiring exposed. there were no injuries. a passenger tells abc news everyone on board remained calm. the flight returned to orlando. passengers on a plane forced to land due to extreme turbulence found their problems had just begun. once they arrived in helena,

montana. because the sun wing flight was international from canada to mexico, the nearly 200 passengers had to wait inside the plane for hours until a local customs official could be found. ten hours after landing, they finally resumed their journey on a replacement plane. the u.s. and other countries may begin to announce sanctions against russia over their actions in ukraine. in a referendum yesterday, more than 90% of crimean voters said they wanted to join russia. many of the voters not ethnic russians refused to vote. president obama told president putin the u.s. will not recognize the results. breaking overnight. navy s.e.a.l.s in action. soldiers from the "uss roosevelt" boarded a freighter that was seized by three armed libyans. the freighter will now be sailed back to libya under the control of the u.s. navy.

the army general charged with sex wall -- sexually assaulting a female subordinate is accepting a plea deal. attorneys for jeffrey sinclair says he'll plead guilty today for lesser charges. he will face some punishment. but he avoids prison time and won't have to register as a sex offender. coming up, honda announces a recall of nearly 1 million minivans. we'll have details. plus toronto's notorious mayor. new antics on camera. and what will be missing in new york and boston's st. patrick's day parades?

welcome back. if last week was any guide, the uncertain situation playing out in ukraine could make this another rough week on wall street. the dow has gone down for five straight sessions. a sign of hope overnight, asian markets seemed to shrug off the weekend's news. they closed only modestly lower today. nearly 1 million honda minivans being recalled. due to a potentially dangerous defect. certain models of the odyssey van sold from 20050 to 2010 may have defective fuel pumps. they can crack and leak, posing a risk of fire. repairs will be at no charge. new york's st. patrick's day parade, the largest in the world, has lost a sponsor. organizers won't allow gay and

lesbian irish-americans to march. gay rights supporters threatened to boycott. guinness is pulling out. joining heineken. on the sidelines. sam adams dropped out of this year's parade in boston for the same reason. once again, there were no winners in friday night's megamillions drawing. the jackpot is up to about $400 million for tomorrow's drawing. there's plenty of time to get a ticket. your chances of winning, about 1 in 259 million. >> so you're saying i've got a chance. all right. a time-traveling dog and boy at the top of the box office. "mr. peabody & sherman" was number one. a strong second weekend after opening in second last week end. they took in $21 million. >> "300: rise of an empire" was second and "need for speed" stalled out at $18 million. when we come back, rescued from a ravine after 36 hours. one man glad to be alive. and the florida gators ready for march madness.

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[ female announcer ] lactaid. 100% real milk. no discomfort. and for a 100% real dairy snack you'll 100% enjoy try lactaid® cottage cheese. chicago river was green this weekend for st. patrick's day. the tradition dates back more than 50 years. the plumber's union does the dyeing. they worried that the icy river would prevent that dye from spreading. but as you can see, it worked out just fine. taking a look at road conditions. slippery in the mid-atlantic states. dry north of philadelphia. wet roads in the southeast. and if you're flying, airport delays possible in washington, philadelphia, and miami. back to the news now. man who plunged to the bottom of a southern california ravine on friday night was rescued.

>> it took him until sunday to find him and get him out. he was a passenger in a pickup truck that went 400 foot off the road, killing the driver. this morning, he's alive and wake. recovering from injuries. this morning, rescuers used a helicopter to rescue a black labrador named oreo. he became stranded on the rocky hills above portuguese beach in sonoma county. sheriff's deputies swooped down and scooped up oreo. the owner was quote a very happy lady. >> that is just great video. my goodness. toronto mayor rob ford once again caught behaving strangely in public on video. saturday night, the mayor was captured on tape outside city hall, staggering a bit, garbling his speech and swearing. all righty. he was waiting for a taxi cab. the mayor who vowed to quit drinking last november refused

to answer questions. former boston mayor thomas menino is undergoing treatment for cancer. the 71-year-old served as mayor of boston for longer than anybody else. he required last year after suffering health problems. a smokestack came down in a matter of seconds. the 280-foot smokestack and the plant around it that stood vakn't for 41 years was purchased last fall. developers haven't said what they plan to do with the property. researchers about to kick off a four-year nationwide study to see if nutrients in dark chocolate help prevent heart attacks and strokes. >> not the kind of study you would mind being in. right in sorry, no chocolate eating. the study's subjects will take pills. oh, that's no fun. the flavonols will be watched.

the study will be sponsored in part by mars candy company. >> i'll just eat the chocolate. >> yeah, me, too. what will be the water cooler item of the day? march madness. >> march madness. the teams have been chosen. it's nearly time to play. with what to look for, here are our guys at espn. >> good morning, america. welcome inside "sportscenter." i'm scott van pelt. here are the number one seeds. florida, top seed overall. virginia number one in the east. arizona out west, and wichita state, still unbeaten. but the shockers haven't played team that made the tournament since december. look at the potential road to the final four. the knock of then is who have they played, who have they

beaten. if they're going to win, they could face a potentially brutal road. you see in the 16 game. then you get blue blood kentucky as an eight. the reigning champs, louisville, the team that most folks feel is the most inappropriately seeded as a four. you could get michigan, you could get duke as well. you could get arizona. you could get florida, you could get virginia. the gist is, if you're going to win it all, you have to beat somebody pretty good along the way. here's their coach, gregg marshall. >> i think it's a tough bracket. but all brackets are tough. you don't know how they'll fall. you have to take it one game at a time, as we did last year. we played a number one seed, a number two seed. and eventually ran into louisville. who was the top overall seed. played them very well in the final four. we know it will be tough. we're prepared for that. it doesn't matter. if you have one off night or play poorly one night, you won't get to the second round. >> for all the analysis you need on the tournament, check out a live "sportscenter" at 9:00 a.m. on espn. you could listen to espn radio, too, we talk about it there. >> all right. the hawks from st. joseph's university are in march madness.

and a junior member of their team is our "play of the day." >> this is pretty cute. check him out. philip martelli. the grandson of the coach. he had everything he needed to help grandpa lead the hawks past vcu. >> he had the blazer. he had the tie. he had the drawing board for writing out plays. he can look forward to a trip to buffalo to see the team take on uconn. on thursday. he even has the body language down. >> rubbing the chin. look how long that tie is. wow. >> know what he's going to be when he grows up. up next, "the pulse," caught on camera. when the owner's away, the dog and cat will play. and tonight is the night. what's different in the ballroom as season 18 of "dancing with the stars" begins. we'll tell you. . om the best angle i could. it's how i look at life. especially now that i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem.

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all right, time to check "the pulse," stories you'll be talking about today. if you ever wondered what your pets are doing when you're not at home, take a look at this dog. he looks naughty. >> he's looking around. checking to make sure the coast is clear. then he goes to town on the bed. first he'll scope it out. look at this. rubs himself all over. just about every inch of the bed. obviously, not a case of while the cat's away, the dog will play. the cat is sitting right there, watching it all with a dead-pan look as if she wouldn't be caught dead acting like that. a sophisticated lady. >> that's the dog's equivalent of na-na-na. i'm on the bed and you don't know. if getting up close to a shark is on your bucket list, you might want to reconsider after watching this video. >> scuba diver jason was wearing his gopro when a shark appeared

and started circling him, getting right if his face. he was able to fend it offer with his spear but, wasn't easy. that shark wasn't giving up the. >> that would get my attention for sure. >> oh, yeah. for all of you needing a change of pace from "the bachelor" monday nights, check out "dancing with the stars." it kicks off tonight. >> the cast includes drew carey, diana nyad, billy dee williams, candace cameron. for one week, the stars switch partners based on viewer input. and there's a new band, a new co-host, erin andrews. >> got any ideas? for all the betters out there, the vegas bookies picked meryl davis to win it all. the mirrorball trophy. >> that wouldn't surprise me. she's got the skills already down. they did so well at the olympics. >> you got the skills. >> they didn't ask me. >> me either. but i don't have the skills so it sort of makes sense. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, major

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good monday morning and st. patrick's day. thanks for jointing us. >> i am eric thomas. >> top of the morning to you. >> now, mike nicco has the forecast. >> good morning, everyone. this is live doppler 7 hd showing the clouds bringing a cold front through the bay area. unfortunately, there is no radar returns, a dry front. it is going to significantly drop the temperatures with sunshine and breezy conditions we are looking at mid-to-upper 60's inland and bay neighborhoods and low-to-mid 60's at the coast. the temperatures are up to 13 degrees cooler than yesterday. here is sue with the commute.

>> we got road work out there and high winds on the benicia bridge and the san mateo bridge. eastbound 80 the lanes are closed until 5:00 this morning and westbound you will find the lanes closed for road work westbound 80 from golden gate field into powell and 880, northbound, at 98 and the san mateo bridge has high wind advisory. kristen and eric? >> a major thoroughfare in contra costa county is closed after a pedestrian was hit and killed by a car that left the scene. nick is on the scene. nick? >> this started at midnight and investigators are still on the scene in concord off of 5th. you can see what i am talking about with evidence markers on

the street because investigators are still collecting evidence. look at some of the video, concord police are vetting a hit-and-run vehicle and pedestrian collision on willow pass. the victim was struck while walking westbound on the sidewalk. the vehicle was driving eastbound on willow pass and this happened just before midnight. >> our investigation revealed that the victim was struck and killed by a vehicle which fled the scene. we have witnesses but the description of the suspect vehicle is vague. it is only described as a pickup truck possibly two tone pickup. >> police are still investigating exactly what kind of vehicle that may been so they can release the information to the public. the driver did leave the scene. the drive did not step. they are speaking to witnesses and looking at surveillance video they have collected in the neighborhood from residents and