making news in america this morning, new developments overnight in the missing plane mystery. why the united states is pulling its warships from the search and what was uncovered about the passengers' cell phones. escalating tension over ukraine. one russian official openly mocking new sanctions calling out president obama on twitter, plus, president putin takes another step towards expanding russia's border. close call. new video this morning, a train coming within inches of hitting a person trying to cross the track. and back to the ballroom, the early favorites, the changes and the highest score ever for a "dancing with the stars" premiere.

good tuesday morning. i'm john muller. >> and i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. we begin with the u.s. military changing its approach to searching for the missing malaysian plane. >> the military is pulling its warship from the "uss kidd" to the international effort. they are now going to rely on aircraft and submarines as the search area expands and the investigation becomes more complex. >> abc's tahman bradley is live in washington with the latest. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: marci and john, good morning. this is truly unprecedented. 26 countries including the u.s. now involved in the search. as we've been saying, satellite data have given the experts a sense of where to look, but the water is so deep. the search for flight 370 has expanded to an area of roughly the size of texas. planes and ships are scouring the extremely deep and remote southern indian ocean. officials say this is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. >> the sheer size of the search

area poses a huge challenge. there is very little radar cover, and it's wide open space. >> reporter: investigators still don't know what happened to the giant 777 with 239 people on board, but all signs point to a deliberate act. >> with the turns that this airplane made, even if we don't know the altitudes, someone was very definitely in control of this airplane and knew what they were doing. >> reporter: adding to the mystery, malaysian authorities have offered contradictory information on the time line of events. one senior u.s. official now tells abc news, the malaysians are putting out disinformation designed to keep things secret. what we do know, that investigators have zeroed in on the captain and co-pilot. authorities now say it was the co-pilot who radioed, "all right, good night" shortly after takeoff. investigators are analyzing his voice for a change in demeanor. >> speaking too fast, the voice goes up. your voice box restricts when you're stressed out, things of that nature. >> reporter: hijacking still hasn't been ruled out. the chinese say they've checked into the background of all of

the 154 chinese passengers on board and have uncovered no links to terrorism. there's speculation the plane may have landed after it was diverted, but so far investigators have not found any phone calls, web posting or any communication from the cell phones of the people on board the plane. marci and john. >> all right, tahman bradley live in washington. thank you. in beijing today, angry relatives and friends of chinese passengers on the missing flight confronted airline officials demanding they do a better job. >> most of the missing passengers are chinese. as the complaints from relatives grew increasingly tense and emotional, the airline officials quickly exited. after the meeting, the relatives voted to create a union representing the families and the organization of a hunger strike. >> and stay with abc news for the latest on the mystery of flight 370. live team coverage coming up on "good morning america." well, new developments in the crisis in ukraine. the u.s. and european allies have launched a first round of sanctions, but the kremlin just announced president vladimir putin formally notified

parliament of crimea's proposal to become part of russia. clearly the first round of sanctions already are not abc's martha raddatz reports. >> reporter: vladimir putin is claiming victory. with his troops poised on the border, it looks like crimea will soon be his. president obama hitting back. >> we're making it clear that there are consequences for their actions. >> reporter: the sanctions he launched targeting among others a who's who of putin's close associates, 11 in all, hitting them financially, freezing their u.s. assets, but the reaction from russia, the deputy prime minister tweeting that "some prankster came up with the list and even the state department was unable to say whether any of the russians on the list had any u.s. assets." amping up the confrontation further, a popular russian tv anchor boasted that russia is the only country capable of turning the u.s. into

radioactive dust, a face-off between the world's top nuclear powers. martha raddatz, abc news, washington. a 20-year-old california student is in federal custody facing a terrorism charge. prosecutors say nicholas teausant was arrested near the canadian border on his way to syria to join islamic extremists. the fbi says during its investigation, he told an informant about his plan to attack the l.a. subway system. teausant enlisted in the national guard, but he failed to meet academic requirements. a police photographer who was at oscar pistorius' home the morning of reeva steenkamp's death is being cross-examined this morning. on the stand yesterday he claimed nothing at the scene was tampered with as investigators began their work. also a gun expert testified yesterday about pistorius' love of firearms. he said pistorius asked him to purchase several weapons for him including an assault rifle and three shotguns. the army general accused of sexually assaulting a female subordinate will be back in court today for a sentencing

hearing. while detailing his guilty plea deal to a military judge, jeffrey sinclair seemed to choke up, his first public show of possible regret. sinclair admitted he failed his accuser and caused her emotional harm. well, the white house says more than 5 million people have signed up for insurance under the new health care law. that still leaves a million to go over the next two weeks for the administration to meet its goal of 6 million enrolled by march 31st, and it's the last day to sign up. it's still unclear whether people who started their application by that date will get an extension. the early morning earthquake that rocked southern california took most people by surprise including our colleagues in l.a. >> thank you. coming up, real problems for a troubled -- >> earthquake. we're having an earthquake. >> the 4.4 magnitude quake knocked over bottles and cans on store shelves and shattered some glass, but it didn't do any major damage. seismologists say aftershocks are likely to rattle the area for days to come. well, at least southern

california is enjoying beautiful sunny weather, but that is not the case in the upper midwest where it will snow from the dakotas to northern wisconsin and rain from nebraska to southern wisconsin. also, a few lingering showers around d.c. and into the northwest. now, temperatures are finally starting to look like spring with mostly 50s and 60s. one exception, still chilly 30s and 40s in the upper midwest and the northeast. could tonight be your night? the mega millions jackpot expected to reach $400 million. that would be the third biggest in mega millions history. it would be the seventh biggest u.s. lottery payout ever. >> the lump sum payment after taxes would be 224 million big ones. >> not too shabby. >> not at all. all right. think kids have more homework today? well, coming up, the surprising comparison between today and back in the old days when we were in school. and tragic loss. the fashion world shocked by the death of designer and mick jagger's girlfriend, l'wren scott. new reaction overnight from celebrities. plus, motherly instincts. a woman puts her life on the

line to save her twin girls.

♪ when you recognize something isn't right,

make the call to the veterans crisis line at 1-800-273-8255 and press 1. all right. welcome back. new trouble for general motors with another massive recall. the auto giant has issued new recalls involving 1.5 million vehicles because of problems that include air bag and brake issues. ceo mary barra rushed out a new video admitting that something went terribly wrong in the company. last month gm recalled 1.6 million cars for defective ignition switches. those were linked to 12 deaths. she promises to fix the safety defects and the company's response to them. fast food protests by labor groups are planned today in 30

cities. lawsuits filed against mcdonald's last week in three states detailed practices the company allegedly uses to keep wages down. mcdonald's says it plans to investigate. the protests are part of an ongoing campaign to raise the minimum wage and unionize fast food workers. well 28 attorney generals are pressuring five major retailers with pharmacies to follow cvs and end tobacco sales. walgreen's, walmart, safeway and rite aid are reviewing the request. kroger had no comment. according to one study, pharmacy cigarette sales have been on the rise while overall sales have declined. reports say apple is releasing a smaller version of its iphone 5c today. it is believed the new version will have 8 gigabytes as opposed to 16 and 32 that the originals have. the 5c hasn't sold like the apple company thought it would. the new one would allow for a lower price. and nasa is marking the 24th anniversary of the launch of the hubble space telescope in a very special way. the agency has released a series of infrared images showing what

it says are stars being born. >> all this was taking place 6400 light-years away. nasa says the pictures offer a hint at what another satellite slated to be launched in four or five years will deliver. those are gorgeous pictures. >> absolutely. when we come back, an overturned boat. new video of a man and his pet rescued with no time to spare. and fish tank troubles. diners forced to leave their meals behind after a big problem with an aquarium. the day we rescued riley was a truly amazing day. he was a matted mess in a small cage. 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, you can find it all on angie's list. we found riley at the shelter, and found everything he needed at angie's list.

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tropicana. we put the good in morning. ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor if th...they' ll wanna eat gonnit right away. and country crock stirs in easily, to give mashed potatoes that rich buttery flavor your family loves, every time. welcome to crock country. washington, d.c.'s renowned cherry blossom festival is set to start on thursday, but the trees are sporting a new coat of snow, and temperatures are still unseasonably cold. but for now, botanists say the trees have not been damaged by the wintry conditions, and they should be in peak bloom by early

april. >> that's what they all say. >> yes. a few lingering showers around the d.c. metro area could slow your morning commute. prepare for heavy snow on the roadways in the midnorthern tier. rain from nebraska to wisconsin. and if you're flying, airport delays are possible in minneapolis all day and in miami this morning. the rolling stones have canceled tomorrow's concert in perth, australia, following the death of mick jagger's girlfriend, l'wren scott. >> the model turned fashion design er originally from utah was found dead in her apartment of an apparent suicide. scott designed clothing for a-list celebrities like madonna, nicole kidman and the first lady michelle obama, but reports from the uk say her business was failing and she was embarrassed to be more than $6 million in debt. new video this morning of the coast guard rescuing a man and his dog. they are right here, check them out, sitting on top of their capsized boat. this is rough water along the coast of texas. the rescuers tossed him a line and got him a life jacket. they were dragged across

the water and into the coast guard boat and everyone is doing just fine. in redwood city outside of san francisco a man barely missing being hit by that commuter train going full speed. surveillance cameras are rolling when he and some friends apparently ignored the rail guard's arms and the train's whistles and decided to run across the tracks. a massachusetts mom says it was just instinct that caused her to throw herself behind her moving car to save her children. mindy tran strapped her children into their car seats then went to lock her front door but the car started rolling down the driveway and was headed towards traffic. that's when she jumped behind her car, which stopped when it rolled onto her leg. >> my babies are my everything they're my everything, and i don't want to see my babies in the hospital. i knew at that time it was either mine or theirs. >> mindy's left knee was crushed and right leg was dislocated. she has a long road to recovery ahead and says she is just happy her daughters were spared.

an annual study about high school homework suggests concerns about teens being overworked might be misguided. the study shows the share of 17-year-olds doing up to two hours of homework a night only slipped from 27% to 23% over a nearly 30-year period. sorry, kids. as one researcher says, the number of you being overworked is really, really small. >> parents get overworked helping the kids sometimes. i know about that. tv pitch man kevin trudeau will spend the next ten years behind bars. at his sentencing, the judge called an unrepentant huckster who was "deceitful to the core." trudeau was convicted of criminal contempt after a court order barred him interest running false tv ads. his infomercials ran at least 32,000 times. he had made millions hawking his weight loss book. a judge in los angeles ordered chris brown to spend the next month in jail. the judge said he was concerned about comments brown made in rehab about being good at using guns and knives. brown was arrested and getting -- he was arrested after

he got kicked out of a malibu facility where he was undergoing court ordered treatment for some anger management, substance abuse and issues related to bipolar disorder. the owner of the indianapolis colts will be in court next week facing drug charges. jim irsay was arrested late sunday night after failing roadside sobriety tests. police found several prescription drugs in his vehicle. he was bonded out of jail yesterday afternoon, and irsay admitted becoming dependent on painkillers 12 years ago but says he had overcome the problem after treatment. and with march madness about to grip the nation, the ncaa is facing a new federal lawsuit. it claims the organization should allow college football and basketball players to get some of the money they make for their schools, and it calls the ncaa an unlawful cartel that makes billions of dollars by limiting athletes' compensation to scholarships. the suit seeks monetary damages and a declaration that the ncaa's practices violate antitrust laws. all right, the first two march madness play in games

take place tonight. consult your bracks to see what teams are involved. as for the nba, we get highlights from our friends at espn. good morning, welcome to our "sportscenter" studios. this is neil everett. i'm stan verrett. things aren't going well for the 76ers. >> you think so. they lost 20 in a row, that tied a franchise record but they wanted the record all to themselves, and they went into indiana and actually philly played -- had a nine-point lead in the first and took the lead in the third. had a chance to tie it with about two minutes left. couldn't make it happen. lance stephenson wore green shoes because after the game he said he wanted to represent the irish. good for him. he had 19 in the first half. >> he doesn't look irish. >> lance o'stephenson finished with 25. and paul o'george with the dunk there. that's 21 losses in a row for the 76ers. sorry, dude. clippers had won 11 in a row and had some problems in denver. third quarter, chris paul, blake griffin for the alley-oop.

griffin had 26 points. shot 7 for 25. 18 rebounds. ty lawson, pump fake, never go for the pump fake especially with a foul. nuggets up after the free throw. randy foye, foye lost. all in double figures. the streak over for the clippers, 110-100. >> yeah, get out of denver, baby, go. >> yeah, who was that? >> bob seger. >> bob seger. all right. we're going to get out of denver and everywhere else and go. that's all we got. back to you. >> thanks, guys. san francisco 49ers coach jim harbaugh seems to be enjoying his off-season. but that hasn't stopped him from being our "play of the day." >> yeah, check it out. he's doing a little push-ups there with a female walrus at a six flags park in california. harbaugh was in coaching mode too calling out up, down, in sync with those push-ups. >> the walrus weighs more than 1700 pounds so getting a little much-needed workout. >> good one.

1700-pounder, nice. check this out at the -- excuse me, at the t-rex cafe, this is in downtown disney last night, dinner guests treated to a little extra excitement. >> a giant fish tank burst spewing water causing what one witness called chaos. employees rushed in to try to help get everybody out of there, but no surprise here. as many as 15 people insisted on staying snapping pictures and video on their smartphones straight to facebook, those videos go. you know. >> fresh catch of the day right there. >> right there. up next, "the pulse." a new season of "dancing with the stars" under way. who scored big and who won over the crowd on the first episode. and the newest cat becoming an internet star. no surprise why in this one. one for each number. so-called smartphones have two, maybe three buttons max. that's neat, but what do you do when you want to dial a four? it's not so smart then, is it? (laughter) nice phone, dude. thanks! smart phones make life easier.

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♪ she's dancing. she's feeling it. time to check "the pulse." we start with opening night at the ballroom. >> "dancing with the stars" has returned for its 18th season. 12 new celebrities showed off their moves and already there are some standouts. ice dancer charlie white and his partner, sharna burgess scored a 27. that is the highest ever for a premiere. >> wow. candace cameron bure

from "full house" and mark ballas scoring a 25 and danica mckellar and her partner val scoring a 24. we'll hear from them in just a moment. angus t. jones who walked away from his job playing jake on "two and a half men" says he does not regret it. back in 2012 jones called the show filth and urged people not to watch it. >> now he's explaining himself a little more calmly. >> i was a paid hypocrite because i wasn't okay with it but i was still doing it. i think it's putting some perspective on that time that i had and my thoughts that i -- the thoughts that i had when i was in it and when i decided to leave. >> jones is now in school and he's focusing on his christian faith. finally, anyone familiar with the hard rock hair bands of the '80s should like this little furry friend we're about to show you. >> oh, yeah, check out the crazy 'do. he is cool. lives in japan. 7 years old. obviously rocking the best mohawk on youtube right now. >> he doesn't even know it but he's already gotten over 350,000 views as of this morning.

rock on, babe. >> rock on. too cool. here, kids jump. ♪ kids dream. ♪ kids giggle... ha. kids remember. ♪ and right now when you book a royal caribbean cruise, kids sail...free. no one brings a family together like royal caribbean. book now and your kids sail free, plus get a free upgrade. call 1-800 royal caribbean for this limited time offer. how did edward jones get so big? let me just put this away. ♪ could you teach our kids that trick?

[ male announcer ] by not acting that way. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. it's how edward jones there's no dip in that bowl. they're new pringles tortillas. so good, they don't need dip. why do you have to have imaginary dip? well, everybody else was dipping, i thought... can i have some of your dip? please! mmmm... not bad, right? i'll have some more! that's a double dip! you... double dipped... ok, now i'm going to have to wash this entire -- new pringles tortillas. you dip 'em or don't. pringles!

live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good tuesday morning at 4:28. i am kristen sze. >> i am eric eric thomas. the guy over there is mike nicco. >> good to see everyone this early tuesday morning. quiet. no clouds. no precipitation. dry air. cooler when you step outside this morning. from the exploritorium camera we look to a clear san francisco and bank of america building. it will be sunny. warmer than yesterday. low-to-mid 60's at the coast. upper 60's to mid-70's around the bay and low-to-mid 70's inland. take sunglasses. a bright day. sue has the traffic. >> it is light.

we have road work in sunnyvale connection to 85 has a detour for another 30 minutes until 5:00. road work in the concord and pleasant hill area southbound 680, the three left lanes until 5:00 and a look at san mateo bridge, traffic is flowing nicely with tail lights in the when direction and all is light. early and and light. >> an antioch man is in custody accused of driving the pickup truck that hit a pedestrian in concord and leaving her to die. >> police yesterday were looking for a suspect connected to the crime. we only knew a woman, middle aged, was struck and killed on willow pass road and the driver took off. now we know would the driver is, according to concord police. this is the suspect, 29-year-old

tyler larson of antioch. police arrested larson believing he is the man responsible for running down a woman on sunday on willow pass road. according to sources larson was driving a black 1997 chevrolet pickup truck traveling east on willow pass road. our cameras there were as investigators and california highway patrol collected evidence connected to the suspect vehicle. we were first to tell you about surveillance video near the scene that captured images of the 46-year-old woman leaving the parking lost a store minutes before she was struck and killed near the intersection of north 5th and willow pass ready. the pick-up was examined and it is determined the this was the car they were looking for. arson was arrested on felony hit and run and the truck has been seized as