good thursday morning. coming up on "early today," breaking news overnight. satellite imagery captures two large objects floating in the indian ocean. could it be debris from missing malaysian air flight 370. >> quite simply, it is credible enough to move the search to this area. >> military is racing to the area to check it out. this is thursday, march 20th, a special edition of "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm frances rivera. we're following breaking news about that missing malaysian

airlines jet. could it be a breakthrough? australia's prime minister saying debris possibly belonging to the plane might have been found in the indian ocean. let's get to nbc's kerry sanders live in our washington bureau. australian authorities stopped short of saying this is part of the wreckage, yet credible enough to divert a lot of assets including military aircraft, maybe warships to that search area. so what does that tell you? >> well, some very high hopes after looking at some satellite photographs that were taken on the 16th. that's four days now. those photographs seem to indicate that there is indeed some debris just beyond, just south of an area where they were targeting a search. this is about 1500 miles southwest of perth, australia, in an area that is about 170,000 square miles. this is just south of that area where they were looking. so very confident, although not saying that indeed it was from this wreckage, from the plane,

very confident they may have found it. the disappointment this morning, however, is that a p-8 aircraft from the u.s. military, a highly advanced aircraft that is used for anti-submarine warfare has been in the area, spent four news for the area with the advanced radar system looking down at that target area, and found no evidence of these two pieces of wreckage. one believed to be about 78 feet long, another one to be about 15 feet long. that aircraft left. the australians had a different aircraft in there, a p-3, it was running into problems because of weather, but they did not see anything that confirmed that there was debris in the same area as well. now, there is a warship from the australian navy that is steaming towards the area. it will take several days to get to this target area, but the good news is there actually is a commercial vessel not far away, and it has volunteered to divert

its course to go over to see if it can see any of the debris. but that is not an easy thing to do. the sea state there is about nine foot swells, 25 knot winds blowing and so unless that ship happens to run right into it, it could be 100 yards off their starboard side and they wouldn't even see it. >> given the fact that imagery was taken a few days ago, so we'll see when those carriers and everything else comes in to find out more. kerry sanders, thank you so much. now to john young who is with the australian maritime safety authority. he spoke to reporters this morning. >> we have four aircraft out there this afternoon. the weather is not playing the game with us. we may get a sighting, we may not. we may get it tomorrow, we may not. but we will continue to do this until we locate those objects or we are convinced we cannot find them. >> is there anything that suggests this is at least part of an aircraft, windows you can

see, markings or any bits and pieces that suggest it is actually from an aircraft. >> the imagery is not that precise. >> like the size of a basketball or a seat cushion or much larger than that. >> much larger than that. the largest image i've seen assessed being 24 meters. another one smaller than that. and a number of other images in the general area of the biggest one. >> is it a common occurrence or something perhaps aircraft crews would they see large pieces of debris like this floating? is there a consequence of storms and things? or is this quite unusually large? >> our experience is that there is debris out there. it can be containers from ships, for example, falling overboard, and other objects of that type. on this particular occasion, the size and the fact that there are

a number located in the same area really makes it worth looking at. but i don't want to speculate about what they are until we get there and we see them. >> even without that speculation, australian government saying that information that from the satellite imagery is promising. families of the 2339 people on board have been without their loved ones for nearly two weeks. annabelle roberts is live in london with more on that. we know they were getting so frustrated with the slow drip of information. and so emotional, especially the images we have seen in the last 24 hours, so how are they reacting to this news now. >> good morning. those images from yesterday, particularly the mother of a man who was on the plane, clearly greatly distressed. they in the past walked out of press conferences or briefings that were designed for the family members saying they're being lied to. they're obviously just really at

their wit's end, the lack of information coming through to them. we have heard from beijing and kuala lumpur today that makeshift medical facilities have been set up at the two hotels where most of the family members are congregating as they wait every day for information. we also heard from beijing there are a number of ambulances on the ground there that haven't been seen previous days at the hotels. so, clearly, there are -- this could be an indication either that some further information was expected later today, or that the stress and the weight is really getting to the family members of those people who are missing on this plane. but the toll, the emotional toll on them really obviously is huge. frances in. >> cannot imagine what they're going through. annabelle, can you tell me as far as the latest information, satellite imagery, did they find that out early, earlier than the actual press conference given by australian authorities? >> well, the dates on the images

that have been released by the australian authorities are -- date back to a couple of days ago, it is rather confusing in the press conference because a reporter asked can you give us a precise date of when these photos are taken and the response came from malaysian authorities. the photos were taken today. there clearly is a level of misunderstanding. it would seem perfectly normal for the photos to be taken and then received and then analyzed carefully and corporated obviously. they don't want to put out any information like the possible sighting of debris forward because they wouldn't want to raise hopes and concerns for family members. >> annabelle roberts, thank you for that. let's shift gears and get a check of the weather. nbc washington meteorologist veronica johnson is here this morning and watching our weather in more ways than one, especially with what is happening. >> look at the area all morning long down in the indian ocean. as you know, it is a very, very large area. third world's largest ocean.

right now that debris field is closer to australia than it is to africa. i say that because there are strong westerly winds down there. the wind blows from west to east. so i think that with the stronger winds coming up, right now at 25 miles per hour, expected to increase, we'll see that debris field shift closer to australia. but as they go looking for clues, i really think that they're going to be closer to africa than where they are right now. so that is something that they will be watching and taking a look at very closely. let's look at our weather now and see what is happening across the country. hello, last day of winter, that's what i'm seeing. across the country, snow left lingering here around areas of maine and through new hampshire and vermont. 8 to 10 inches expected by the end of today. that system should be moving out. here is a look at the national temperatures from 42 in new york to 28 in denver. it is the pacific northwest. still getting another system temperatures will drop. that's a look at your

>> so that's the way it is looking right now. not too bad for spring. >> cynara to winter as we know it. thank you so much, veronica. still ahead here, more on the breaking news overnight in the search for the missing malaysian jet. we'll hear from a former faa official. you're watching "early today." for paul ridley there's no substitute for advil. it's built to be as fast as it is strong and fights pain at the site of inflammation. and made for people like paul, who believe nothing should stop you from achieving your goals. not doubt. not fear. and definitely not back and shoulder pain. advil has the strength and speed to help you move past pain and make today yours. advil. make today yours.

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perfect together. what should we do next? i'm liking braids. [ gong ] m'm! m'm! good! i'm liking braids. and started my own dog energy walking business.lding what did you do to deserve that thin mints flavor coffee-mate? it's only one of the most delicious girl scout cookie flavors ever. i changed the printer ink. really? it's actually tricky. you're lucky i like your tie. enjoy our caramel and coconut girl scout cookies flavor. now available in powder. nestle. good food, good life. welcome back to "early today." for more now on the possible breakthrough in the search for the missing malaysian jet, cnbc's matt taylor joins me live from sydney. what more are you hearing from australian authorities this morning? >> well, frances, what we're hearing is that one of those royal australian air force

planes that was dispatched to that new search area, little bit south of where the australian authorities had already been looking for that plane, has been unable to locate any debris. and we're also hearing that the conditions there as the rain and also visibility not helping with the search at this point in time. i would also now be approaching darkness in that part of the indian ocean, so it is likely we're not going to get any more word out of authorities, at least for the time being. of course, where this debris may sit is in a very inaccessible area, in the indian ocean. authorities saying it is about 2,500 kilometers or about 1500 miles southwest of western australia. here, the four aircraft that have been searching since earlier on this afternoon. of course, two from australia, one from new zealand and one from the u.s. the latest one saying they have not been able to locate anything at this point in time. back to you. >> thank you.

hopefully as time passes, the weather will improve, visibility as well as other assets joining them will help. thank you. joining me on the phone is john mcgraw, former deputy director of the faa's flight standard service. thank you for being with us this morning, sir. >> you're welcome, frances. >> let's start with this. what is striking me are the ups and down of the information coming in here. first we get information, satellite imagery detected what could be debris but the p-8 poseidon aircraft that came in this morning has found nothing. that may not necessarily mean that the debris is not there, correct? >> that's correct. this is typical of accident investigation where you have these bits of information that come forward. typically much shorter time frame. because this has taken so long, it is a log more agonizing for everything. >> i can imagine so given the time stance on the images, a few days ago. how much can change and shift given the weather, given the patterns? this debris actually being there or anywhere in the vicinity for

that matter? >> well, they will continue to search by satellite, so it is not like they're going to stop searching. and they have a pretty good idea of what the drift patterns are down there, and, of course, they'll be watching that closely. it will take time. it is a huge ocean, even though they narrowed it down it a particular area. and it is going to take a lot of time. they are going to need visibility to nail down whether this is part of the airplane or not. >> you'll be watching this very closely. john mcgraw, we appreciate your perspective, thank you. we'll be back with some of the day's other news including the latest on a crisis in ukraine. [ woman #1 ] why do i cook?

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now for a look at the other top stories making news this morning. in her first news conference as head of the central bank, janet yellen announced the fed could end its bond buying program this fall and start raising interest rates as soon as next spring. president obama says the u.s. will not take military action in ukraine. instead, the president is offering economic support to ukraine's new government. he added it wouldn't be good for ukraine if the u.s. engaged with russia militarily. and for first time in over a decade, detroit may increase the cost of their current parking signs. since 2001, the city has been paying $32 to issue the end process parking violations. tickets are currently $20, the lowest -- the newest lowest parking ticket could cost $45.

in new jersey, former public works inspector thomas rica pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars in quarters from the parking meter collection room. he swiped 1.8 million coins over a two-year period. he'll get five years of probation and will pay back the full amount in that time. just ahead, your early morning sports highlights including two more teams that entered first round of the ncaa tournament with big wins. you're watching "early today." maybe traveling for work sounds glamorous, but have you been on an airplane lately? oh. [ man ] man, this thing's got a lot of onions. it's good, though. i really wouldn't survive it without this scarf. it's like a little bit of home i can stuff in my bag. mmm. and i have tide plus febreze, which now gets it fresher for longer, so i can stay happy even when -- do you need a napkin? yeah. napkin! okay. oh! oh, my gosh. getting ripe in here, huh? whew! [ ding ] [ female announcer ] tide plus febreze. that's my tide plus. [ female announcer ] tide plus febreze.

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now to some of our sports headlines this morning, a frightening chain of events on the diamond in arizona. the cincinnati reds pitcher aroldis chapman took a line drive in the face during the kansas city game. the batter smacked the pitch back into his left eye knocking him to the ground. alert and talking, medical staff cart him off the field. the 26-year-old was hospitalized for what is believed to be a laceration or contusion. you know he'll have quite the shiner from that. two more teams closed first round of the ncaa men's basketball tournament with big wins. cal poly moves on after beating texas southern 81-69. up next, the midwest regional number one seed undefeated, wichita state. tennessee rallied in overtime and eventually beat iowa 78-65. they now play the midwest sixth seed, umass. and a hat trick when it comes to the highlight of the

season here. the tampa bay lightning player zoned out, netting three goals on three shots. the lightning beat toronto 5-3. and the knicks winning streak still has a pulse. with new team president phil jackson in attendance, new york beat indiana 92-86 for their seventh straight win. now for another quick look at our forecast from nbc washington meteorologist veronica johnson. thanks for being with us on this first day of spring. >> exactly. couldn't have picked a better day, right? a lot of folks are saying the same thing across the country. look at how quiet it is with the exception of i think two little areas. the one right here across new england. still getting showers and snow showers. and then back in the pacific northwest, in fact, what we're going to see over the next couple of days is more cold air dropping in. but not much until we get through the rest of the week with relatively mild temperatures. fairly quiet, we have been watching visibility throughout the mid-atlantic, they have been low, they had dense fog advisory this morning. that should be lifted soon. so, again, we have snow showers and one little system that is

making its way out of here. winter storm warnings remain throughout the day. they'll see eight to ten inches of snow throughout main. temperatures, 28 in denver, 37 in billings, colder air coming in. back to you, frances. >> thank you so much, veronica, appreciate it. now to entertainment, animated hit "frozen" already crossed the billion dollar mark. it sold 3.2 million blue rays and dvds in first day of release and it became amazon's best-selling kids movie of all time. tell me about it. on replay in my house. it is a third highest grossing film really ever released. yeah. i believe it. warner bros. under fire for casting rooney mara as tiger lilly in the peter pan remake. a petition has been signed that says it is wrong to tell children all role models must be white. and olympic figure skater johnny weir announced he and his husband are ending their marriage of two years.

on twitter, weir wrote, my heart hurts and i wish him well. and we have a stylish new trailer for "hit men", peggy and crew all ready to go. love the slow mo effect of that. >> makes it look so glitzy, doesn't it? just want to get into it. >> just like the glam world they lived back in the day. >> right. >> that's nice. >> i stopped watching it a long time ago. >> too much dvr space being taken up. veronica, thanks. i'm frances rivera. this is "early today." we hope it is your first stop of the day here on nbc. hi. i just finished an energy audit of this building

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welcome back. recapping our top story breaking overnight, the u.s. navy and australian authorities are headed to a remote part of the indian ocean to check out what may be debris from that missing malaysian plane. nbc's tracie potts is live in washington following all the developments this morning. tracie? >> reporter: frances, a couple of them have already turned back saying they were unable to find anything in part because of visibility issues. we're talking about a very remote part of the world, the most isolated part of the world, one australian official said it takes four hours by plane to get there. australian satellite spotted what they call new and credible evidence, two images that could be parts from the missing malaysian flight. 4300 miles away from where that flight disappeared. >> this is a lead.

it is probably the best lead we have right now. but we need to get there, find them, see them, assess them, to know whether it is really meaningful or not. >> reporter: the australian air force, new zealand and the u.s. navy spent four planes to the area overnight. the navy headed back this morning after finding nothing. the first ship is scheduled to arrive there today. this morning authorities confirmed 18 ships and 29 aircraft continue to search both sides of the indian ocean off malaysia. >> we must never, never give up hope. >> reporter: the search for 239 missing people is taking its toll on relatives waiting in kuala lumpur, with no answers. but now one more clue as to what happened to that plane. now, we were told of the four planes that went down there, they would be able to cut through the visibility issue, but apparently that was not the case with australia's royal air force because they did report back and in fact they tweeted

this morning that the visibility issues down in that area was a problem. the weather, we're told, is nice as veronica said, but visibility did seem to be a problem for them. >> tracie, with that in play, any indication the time frame for when they might find out whether this is the actual debris? there are so many moving factors here. >> reporter: there are. and, you know, it could be a couple of days because while they're sending the planes down there, there are also some ships headed that way. the malaysian authorities said a merchant ship is supposed to arrive later today. but part of the royal navy fleet is going to take them a couple of days just to get there. they have got the technology to be able to look under the water, and see if there is any further debris, but it could be a couple of days before they even get to that remote area, that new search area. >> yeah, couple of days, couple of excruciating days, especially for the families with the up and down of the information they have been getting. tracie, thank you. keep it here for more news, weather and sports. i'm frances rivera. thank you for watching "early today." have a great one.

breaking news at 4:30 a. possible break in the search for the missing malaysian plane. right now military planes are scouring the ocean west of australia looking for any sight of two large pieces of debris. those scene in these satellite images, that could belong to missing malaysia airlines flight 370. good morning to you. it's 4:30. i'm peggy bunker. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. we're going to get you caught up on the latest surrounding the missing jet but first we want to check the forecast. it's the first day of spring. >> good morning to you. happy spring bay area. it's going to be a nice day. part of the reason why is because we're starting out nic