pleasanton, looking warm tomorrow. >> fantastic. "nbc nightly news" is next. and we'll see you at 6:00. on this saturday night, debris spotted. a new satellite image today of on this saturday night, debris spotted? a new satellite image today of an unusual large object triggers a massive search off the coast of australia. plus, we're on board a military flight as it combs the ocean for clues to missing malaysia airlines flight 370. firestorm. a rare and powerful convergence of fire and weather all brought on by an invasion of tumbleweeds. fight for life. a family's battle with the insurance company to get their daughter the operation she desperately needed to live. and flying high. the famed blue angels return to the sky. tonight, the spectacular show from the air, the ground, and the view you'll never forget.

and good evening, we have now entered the third week of and good evening. we have now entered the third week of the mystery involving malaysia airlines flight 370 which disappeared with 239 people on board. and today a possible new clue was revealed. a chinese satellite image showing a large object in the southern indian ocean not far from where another piece of debris was detected by a different satellite and revealed earlier this week. we've got all the developments covered tonight. we want to begin with the latest from nbc's kerry sanders. >> reporter: good evening, david. this latest satellite image provided by by the chinese government hoped to be yet one more piece of conclusive information. instead, as you'll see, it's once again leading to a dead end. tonight, as morning breaks in australia, reconnaissance flights based out of perth have resumed. nbc news was on board with the

new zealand air force. >> it's a massive operation. >> reporter: daylight a key to the flight crews as they've now gone low-tech. literally looking out windows for debris. >> we're utilizing now every available asset and that is radar, that is infrared, that is advanced optical enhanced vision. and we're using human vision. >> reporter: guiding their flight paths, that satellite image released by state-run tv in china. whatever that is, it's large. 4 feet by 43 feet. but after six aircraft honed in on the target zone all day saturday, disappointment. no one on board saw anything that matched up. all that was identified in the southern indian ocean was a small wooden pallet and seaweed. >> the search conditions were quite good for a visual search. >> reporter: the chinese satellite image reveals an item only five feet smaller than one of the pieces of debris australia revealed in their satellite pictures six days ago.

those items on the water in the pictures are separated by only 79 miles. >> there is a lot of ocean debris floating around the globe continuously and containers do fall off ships and so there are any other number of potential explanation. >> reporter: word of china's satellite picture came during a news conference in malaysia. the minister of transportation was handed a note after he had already begown speak. >> the news that i just received is that the chinese investigator received a satellite image of something floating. >> reporter: in beijing, malaysian officials met with victims' families. exhausted and despondent. >> we want to know what happened. we what the reality is. we want to ask you. >> reporter: the goal is to ultimately find the wreckage so

it can lead back to one of these, a flight reporter, but when the pinger, which is right here, stops sending out a transmitting signal, well, then it will be like looking for a lost diamond ring buried in the sand on the beach from maine south to florida and back around to texas. david? >> reporter: kerry sanders, thanks so much for the latest tonight. it's daybreak in australia as the search has just resumed with first light on the other side of the world. nbc's bill neely is at the royal air force base near perth, australia, where the search flights originate. bill, what do you have? >> reporter: yes, good evening, david. a fourth day of searching about to begin here in the next few hours. half a dozen mostly australian aircraft will take off from here more in hope than expectation. but perhaps more optimistic than yesterday now that there is a new satellite image and new precise location to aim for and reinforcements have arrived. three chinese aircraft will take off from here. china also sending ships, there are japanese planes, there are

ships from australia, and from britain and australia has asked the u.s. for a refuelling aircraft so those planes can spend longer than two hours over the site. but much depends on the visibility. nbc news was on board one plane yesterday. visibility really pretty poor. the forecast for today even worse. rain, wind, showers, and this will last for 36 to 48 hours. the area that they're searching is enormous. it's about the size of the u.s. state of new mexico. australia trying to dampen down expectations of what can be found. china throwing resources into this search. so a new dawn here, a new day, but the riddle of this missing plane remains. david? >> bill neely in perth australia. we're joined by our long time correspondent robert hager. bob, this is so daunting and forbiddable. do you hold out any hope about this new piece of debris?

>> there's a chance that a piece about that size it could be a wing of the plane. but even if it is a piece of the plane, say it's the wing, that doesn't tell you much. if you get all those things going and you know you actually have the plane. doesn't tell you much about what went on here. the point is to somehow get this wreckage on the surface and trace it back to where the plane went into the water. >> kerry was talking about the black box. it's o important. you have to get close dwrouf it to hear the pinging. >> you have to lay out listening devices into the water to hear the pinging so you've got to find out where the heavier pieces hit when they first it this water and went down. >> there is a deadline here. they don't have an unlimited amount of time. >> technically it's another two weeks but i think you maybe could fudge that, get maybe let's say a month more. but then if you haven't located it by then you have to locate these boxes without the pingers and that's a long slog. it's been done. they did it five years ago in an

air france crash off brazil, found black boxes after two years. but that's a real long shot. they had better clues then, too, where to even look. >> bob hager, great to have your expertise. thanks so much. we want to turn now to the crisis in ukraine. there were tense moment there is today between russian and ukrainian troops. it happened at a base in crimea one day after russia formally took over that region. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is there and has the latest. >> reporter: russian armored vehicles today breached a ukrainian air base that had been holding out in crimea. russian troops fired warning shots as they moved in. in the end, the ukrainians had no choice but to surrender. 30 miles away, hundreds of pro-russian protestors took another ukrainian base. that one also surrendered. moscow and its allies are systematically dismantling what's left of ukraine's

defenses in crimea. russian navy today even stopped and seized a ukrainian fox-trot class submarine in the black sea. almost anywhere these would all be acts of war as russian sailors stripped off the ukrainian emblem. it seems russia is trying to humiliate ukraine, but there's not much ukraine can do about it. it's far weaker and many of its own people support what russia is doing. this is one of the biggest cities in eastern ukraine and these demonstrators have come to protest in front of city hall. they're all ukrainians, but they're demanding that russia intervene. they're calling for eastern ukraine to follow crimea and join russia. riot police in large numbers tried hard not to be provoked by the demonstrators. but here, as in crimea, russia and its supporters may be trying to pick a fight. richard engel, nbc news,

donetsk, ukraine. a developing story in the west involving a massive mud slide that tore through homes and on the a highway today in northwest washington state. it happened in the town of oso and we get late details tonight from nbc's joe fryer. >> reporter: good evening, david. the massive mud slide destroyed six homes, killing at least three people and injuring at least eight others. it happened this morning near the town of oso, located about 60 miles northeast of seattle. witnesses say it happened quickly, everything was washed away in a matter of second. the mud slide field is massive, about 40 yards wide, a hundred yards across. the snow hoe militia county sheriff's office said mud and debris are blocking an entire road, state route 530, cutting off a town. debris is blocking the north fork of one of the rivers and the national weather service says the water levels dropped two feet in an hour and authorities say it could take a

week to unblock the river. as for the nine people injured, they were sent to three different hospitals. one of the victims, a six-month-old baby, is in critical condition and was flown by helicopter to slate's primary trau mortar center. researchers are looking to see if any more victims are trapped inside the destroyed homes. one search crew reportedly got stuck in the mud and had to be rescued. it's believed the slide was caused by weeks of heavy rain which has saturated the ground and the risk is not over. authorities are warning people who live in that area along the river to be prepared to evacuate at any moment in case there is rapid flooding. david? in china, first lady michelle obama delivered a strong message about the virtues of free speech in a country has little room for dissent. nbc's kristen welker has our report tonight. >> reporter: from a game of ping-pong to a presidential greeting, first lady michelle obama and her two daughters are on a week-long good will tour of

china. their first visit to the country. it was supposed to be a trip that avoided thorny topics, but while speaking to students s a peking university, mrs. obama delivered a clear message on free speech, the u.s. opposes speech of dissident voices. >> when it comes to expressing yourself freely and worshipping as you choose and having open access to information we believe those universal rights -- they are universal rights. >> reporter: and she got personal. >> my husband and i are on the receiving of plenty of questioning from our media and fellow citizens and it's not always easy. but we wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. >> reporter: it was a rare political statement from a first lady who has largely stayed away from controversial topics. >> to mention in the a way that won't completely offend the chinese but gets the message out. >> each event a choreographed attempt to bolster the obama administration's pivot to asia.

>> she is talking about that fitting wan broader framework, a foreign policy framework of the administrati administration. >> the push came against the somber backdrop of the malaysian airlines flight which mrs. obama addressed the first time. >> my husband has said the united states is offering as many resources as possible to assist in the search and please know that we are keeping all of the families and loved ones of those on the this flight in our thoughts and in our prayers at this very difficult time. >> reporter: as the first lady continues with her travels in china, some competing headlines. the latest documents from edward snowden's leak show the nsa hacked into one of china's largest telecommunications companies viewed as a threat to u.s. business. an nsa rep says its activities are deployed only against "valid foreign intelligence targets." david? >> thanks so much.

back home now, a lot of folks keeping a close eye on the weather once again tonight. it's spring officially and it looks it here in d.c. there's a potential for heavy snow as a big storm develops over the next couple of days. it could bring snow from maine -- the carolinas up to maine with possible blizzard conditions in parts of new england. i know i'm sorry, don't blame the messenger. when "nightly news" continues on this saturday, the fight of her life for a girl who needed surgery but ran into an obstacle sofa mill dwroor so many. and later, a powerful symbol of america at its best. the blue angels soaring once again. symbol of america at its best, the blue angels soaring once again. dad, it says your afib puts you at 5 times greater risk of a stroke. that's why i take my warfarin every day. but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate)... ...was proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke.

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of a 12-year-old girl from texas who is recovering tonight after surgery, the first step in dealing with a rare condition after brain surgery that left her constantly hungry and unable to control her weight. but that was only the first obstacle she would face. her story has captured worldwide attention and we get the very latest from nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: growing up near san antonio alexis shapiro's smile used to be what most people noticed. >> what we used to do as a family, everything changed. >> reporter: but two and a half years ago she had a benign tumor removed. it damaged the part of her brain that regulates appetite and weight. her diagnose -- hypothalmic obesity. >> everyday life is a challenge for her. >> reporter: her weight grew to more than 200 pounds. she's only 4'7". >> she's already hungry and it's not her fault. it's her brain and her body telling her she's starving. >> reporter: doctors said she'd keep putting on two pounds a

week unless she had a gastric bypass but the insurance company denied the request. that denial drew worldwide attention and support for alexis poured in. $84,000 raised online. >> the support that we've gotten has been amazing. >> reporter: perhaps even more amazing, the insurer, tricare, then reversed its decision telling nbc news the initial request had "no information indicating that this patient had a rare disease." >> i just really hope that this surgery will be a life changer for her. >> reporter: so friday in cincinnati the 12-year-old was wheeled into the o.r. for the long-awaited surgery. but less than an hour into the procedure came the unexpected. her liver was too large to continue as planned. the hospital live tweet it had developments. "moving forward with staged approach. sleeve gas directmy today,

gastric bypass at a later date." >> we remove just about 80% of the stomach. >> reporter: tonight alexis is recovering in a pediatric icu. doctors will reassess whether she needs a full gastric bypass in six to 12 months. >> hope has been the only thing that has gotten us through. >> a new normal her family hopes will bring back the life they wasn't had. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, atlanta. we are back in just a moment with the story behind this remarkable scene out west. news, for retirement. but when we start worrying about tomorrow, we miss out on what matters today. ♪ at axa, we offer advice and help you break down your retirement goals into small, manageable steps. because when you plan for tomorrow, it helps you live for today. can we help you take a small step? for advice, retirement, and life insurance,

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a chance anymore of collecting the $1 billion offered by warren buffett for predicting all the games correctly. it took only 25 games for all $11 million people to be eliminated. mercer upsetting duke didn't help -- not me, not for anybody. and by last night it was all over when memphis beat george washington. of course, there is always next year. meanwhile, this year's tournament goes on. on "meet the press" tomorrow, millions captivated by march madness. there's also a big debate going on about whether student athletes should be paid to play. we'll take on this issue tomorrow with exclusive interviews. education secretary arne duncan, ncaa president mark emmert along with former duke basketball player reggie love, also former assistant to president obama. and we have more tonight on an p extraordinary scene that took place in recent days in colorado where firefighters found themselves witnessing a rare event, a fiery whirlwind fed by an invasion of tumbleweeds. and all of it was captured by a

firefighter with a camera. we get more tonight from nbc. >> reporter: it was supposed to be a controlled burn but this was anything but. when a dust devil kicked up in a wildlife refuge near denver. >> how many times do you see that? >> not real often. >> reporter: picking up hundreds of fiery tumbleweeds and placing firefighters directly in their path. >> there's nothing we can do except get out of the way and wait for it to calm down, i thomas rogers has been fighting fires for seven years and was behind the camera when the bust devil spun out of control. >> it was definitely interesting to see. i'm a fire buff as well as a weather buff and here i had a weather event and fire event coming together. >> reporter: dust devils usually form on clear, sunny days when hot air near the earth's surface rises quickly through cooler air above causing a twister effect. this time all those tumbleweeds and the controlled burn were added to the mix, kicking up a

dangerous combination. dry fiery tinder flying through the air. >> you get that hot air within the fire rising then you take the winds from the environment and that allows that whirlwind to set up. this doesn't happen off. >> reporter: a reminder of how unpredictable fires -- even those that are deliberately set -- can be. >> any time there's heating, unstable atmosphere, high winds, the fire danger is very high. with wind probably being the biggest component. >> reporter: this time, the dust devil lasted for just five minutes. no injuries and firefighters were able to stop is the spread and get it back under control. but many out west fear this might be a sign of things to come -- a dangerous fire season following a record dry winter. nbc news, new york. and up next here, a famous shade of blue returns to america's skies. > and up next, ♪ roundup and up next, ♪ i'm the protector of my patio ♪ ♪ killing weeds where they grow ♪

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blue whizzing through the air. >> the blue angels. >> reporter: the work of military jets, better known as the blue angels. >> it makes me proud to be an american to see these guys fly. >> the fighter jets, seeing them, wanting to show my kids what it's all about. >> this represents the best of america. the best of the best. >> this performance at the los angeles county air show marx a return to the size for the navy's popular aerial demonstration squad. kids are clearly captivated. the sky a sketch pad for their imaginations. >> i'm like dad, dad, i want to be this when i grow up. i want to be that when i grow up. >> reporter: lieutenant kbhan r commander dave tickle was a kid when he first saw the blue angels, now he's their lead pilot. >> it shows you the pride the american public takes in the military. >> reporter: the blue angels were essentially grounded last year thanks to budget cuts during the sequester. that meant absolutely no performances at any air shows.

the impact was huge. >> there's disappointment. >> reporter: dennis dunbar worked on several air shows last season in places that count on military jet teams. >> in m shows cancelled all together. i was fortunate that ours didn't but we struggled through it and we're back. >> back in the air for the big finale, the blue angels break formation to cheers from the crowd. and then on the ground -- >> thank you so much for coming, it means a lot to us. >> hey, buddy, did you have fun today? >> yeah. >> all right. >> reporter: lieutenant commander tickle meets his young fans who can now see firsthand the sky is always within reach. joe fryer, nbc news, lancaster, california. good to have them back. that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm david gregory in washington. lester holt will be back tomorrow and i'll see you in the morning on "meet the press." have a good night.

a quiet south bay neighborhood turned into a crime scene. deputies fire on a suspect. why deputies feared for their lives. first it was target, now niem niemeiman marcus. how to make sure your information is safe. new hope in the search for the missing plane from malaysia

and 239 people onboard. we'll show you the new satellite images that have more ships and planes aiding in the search. good evening. i'm terry mcsweeney. diane dwyer is off tonight. tonight a man is in jail in santa clara county after forcing a morgan hill neighborhood into lockdown for several hours tea today. he took off before being hunted down. kimberly tere joins us from the sheriff's office on the investigation. >> reporter: the sheriff's office is looking into exactly what led that suspect into the neighborhood to begin with. the call came in about 5:30 this morning. a resident on the 6600 block of croy road called to report a suspicious car in the driveway. three sheriff's deputies responded and when they encountered the suspect, it was almost as soon as they arrived.