in ukraine, we stand ready to impose further sanctions. >> the president's executive order includes two of president vladimir putin's top advisers. will be applied by the treasury department and will involve the freezing of assets and travel bans. the sanctions come just a day after crimean voters overwhelm league voted to secede from ukraine in a referendum. the u.s. has called it illegal. president obama spoke with president putin on the phone after yesterday's vote and told him the u.s. and its allies will never recognize the referendum and warned him the u.s. would react with economic sanctions. some of which we are seeing today. 96% of crimeans voted to secede from ukraine and join russia. but the votes were carried out with heavy russian military presence. joining me now, "time" magazine's chief foreign affairs correspondent michael crowley who recently returned from ukraine. thank you so much for your time here. i think that pretty much people

expected this action by the u.s. the president coming out early this morning with more details here. what is your initial reaction? >> well, as you said, i think this is what we expected. the administration was warning that if this vote proceeded, essentially the barrel of a gun as they say, they were going to be consequences. i think the really interesting -- these sanctions are interesting. they are dramatic as a senior administration official said on a conference call this morning, i believe they are the most substantial sanctions imposed on russia since the end of the cold war. somewhat historic. where do we go from sneer some really big questions looming. >> which is exactly the point. where do we go from here? these sanctions predicted and perhaps the response from vladimir putin will not be a withdrawal of troops from crimea. by the way, troops who still don't even show their faces in many cases. he now has the ability to hide behind this referendum. >> yeah, this whole thing is a

throwback to kind of totalitarian era we thought was largely behind us except north korea. uniforms without insignia, a vote of 95%, 97%, pretty fraudulent. the interesting question is the white house has kind of loom you can see this almost as a warning shot across the bow. they finished this process. crimea said we want to be with you. will putin allow a vote that says you are part of russia and and then the west, the u.s. and eu will be under pressure to impose stronger sanctions and suddenly this escalates. >> zbigniew brzezinski. let me play what he said on "morning joe." >> we need to warn the russians

this will have very serious consequences and by not hesitating to give arms to the ukrainians if they need them and if they want to use them because otherwise how they're supposed to defend themselves? they are vulnerable economically, and militarily. >> so there you have it. michael, the perspective there, but the vulnerability, of course it seems also extends again to the options available to the united states and what its western allies are able to do. >> well, that's right. i think at this point, the administration has got to be quite reticent about supplying arms. that's a dangerous and dramatic escalation. and i think that, you know, short of putin actually making an incursion into eastern ukraine, which he could do. there are russian troops amassing across the border. talk of ethnic russians in ukraine being under threat. not a lot of evidence of that, but i don't see that happening unless and until we actually see russian forces move in. and even then, you know, i think you really have to ask yourself,

this is a president who has a lot of other things on his plate. i don't know that he wants to get into kind of a proxy war is what that would be in ukraine with russia. but, really, again, the question is what does putin do next? does the vote to take the next step and absorb crimea as part of russia, that's an escalation but the really big escalation would be an incursion into ukraine. essentially more of a full-scale military invasion than we've seen which, by the way, would almost certainly involve bloodshed. ukrainians kind of let crimea go. they would not let that happen at either their military or partisans in the country. it would get violent. >> michael crowley, thank you for your time. the stock market reacting to the news regarding crimea. up triple digits. for more we turn to bertha coombs. are you there? >> i am here. >> okay. some interesting analysis as to why we're seeing the dow up, i believe 161.

is that a result of the referendum, the anticipation of the sanctions? >> it's a little bit of relief. we've gotten some good economic data. and one of the things, we've seen all this tension in emerging markets, a lot of investors are taking safe haven in the u.s. and as we see good data, that really helps fuel that. also some markets in europe did better and markets in russia have really rebounded on the back of these sanctions. and partly because it's not as bad as some had feared it would be. for the moment, we're seeing these sanctions taken against individuals. not against russia itself which would be much more impactful in terms of russia's economy and russia's economy is having some issues at this hour. so some folks are seeing a little bit of relief. heavy, heavy selling last week. a few people maybe taking a little bit of bet off of the table if you will and sort of take something time to watch and see what the next steps are. mr. putin will be addressing his

parliament tomorrow. we'll see whether he escalates things further. >> bertha coombs, thank you. the dow is up 161 points already this morning. we're following breaking news also out of california. just a short time ago, a strong earthquake rattled l.a. in farkct, here's a look at the cithe seismograph. it's been downgraded to a 4.4. it hit about 15 miles from downtown l.a. let's watch the moment the quake hit actually captured on local television while the anchors were on air. >> whoa. >> an earthquake. >> big earthquake right now. >> big earthquake. >> really strong shaker right now. >> very big. you can tell. >> looking at the seismograph right now. this is a big jolt. >> let's get the latest from miguel almaguer in los angeles.

varying reactions to it, but what's the reaction there? >> there have been no reports of any significant damage at l.a.x. or structural problems for homes or most major buildings in our region. that's the good news. the l.a. fire department is on a heightened state of emergency just in case. they are responding to any phone calls they receive. but at this point there's been no significant damage. here in los angeles, the 4.4 earthquake is not something that's totally unusual. we are told this is somewhat of a typical type of earthquake we experience in our region. certainly a shocker to many folks. it happened at 6:25 this morning local time. many people were asleep or in bed at home. and there was a -- certainly a very steady jolt that was felt for several miles at least 40-mile swath of land. rattled many people out of bed. there was no damage but a reminder we live in earthquake country.

this is the most significant earthquake we've had in several years nepgood news, no damage, tamron. >> miguel, that is good news. appreciate the update. we're also following significant new developments in what is now a criminal investigation into malaysia airlines flight 370, including the tense focus on the pilots. with more than ten days since the boeing 777 went missing, here's what we're learning today. investigators say or believe it was the co-pilot who spoke the final known words from that plane, quote, all right. good night. but it is still unclear if those words did, in fact, come after the plane's automatic tracking system was switched off. it's fueling speculation that one or both of the pilots may have been involved in the plane's disappearance. some 26 countries are part of this unprecedented hunt for the boeing 777 and australia is now agreeing to take the lead in scouring the southern indian ocean. the search effort has been extended into what officials

describe as two corridors where the plane may have flown after it lost contact. one arches toward central asia, possibly as far north as kazakhst kazakhstan. the other toward the southern indian ocean and australia. this comes as malaysian police continued searching the pilots' homes over the weekend and they discuss what portion of the investigation they are focused on this morning. >> they checked the homes of the pilot and co-pilot again on saturday, the 15th of march. the pilot's flight simulator was taken from his house with assistance of his family. the simulator was reassembled that police headquarters. over the past two days, we have been recalibrating the search for mh-370. ittin remains a significant, diplomatic and logistical challenge. >> tom costello joins me now. i see the map behind you. we know the search area. but the reality is, i think, for a lot of people, tom, that it's

like a mission impossible. >> you know, that's a great explanation or a great description of what they are up against. here's why. these two arcs they are working, this is the northern arc. it would go up somewhere in here. this is the southern arc that would go somewhere in here. they now know the countries all in this region, most of them anyway, have said there's no evidence that the plane came over their territory. they've checked their radar tapes. they don't see it. which then brings us back to the southern region, down to the southern indian ocean. now australia is moving their assets. they are moving of ships and helicopters and some planes into the indian ocean to search for any signs of the wreckage of that plane. but it's now been ten days as you know. so -- and most, by the way, most u.s. sources we've talked to do not believe that it is up here in the north. they do not see that. that means most likely, according to most experts, the plane headed to the south. headed to the south. the southern indian ocean. this is a vast expanse of ocean

down here. 28 million square miles of water. it is huge. and so the challenge now is to see if they can pick knup pieces of debris or wreckage or any signs in the south indian ocean. they've been checking and will check any signs for isolated air strip. so far no suggestion that's a real probability or a possibility in that area to the west of australia. and the australians, by the way, taking the lead on searching that part of the indian ocean saying they think it's their responsibility to help in the search effort. so here we are now, ten days. and a 777 still missing. and all they have to go on is this idea that maybe, maybe it flew in -- and they think, based on the satellite pings, it flew in one of these arcs. and now the challenge is to try to triangulate that as best they can. they think they've maximized that satellite data the best they can. so they are really at this point back to a search and rescue

effort, although rescue at this point seems unlikely. >> tom costello, thank you. we'll update our audience later on on more information on the search for that flight. right now there's plenty of snow in the d.c. area. just days before spring, we're live on the ground in d.c. where the weather shut down the federal government for the fifth time this season and d.c. is not alone. plus, a witness in the oscar pistorius trial said the defendant had, quote, great love and enthusiasm for guns. but the big question in south africa and for those of us watching this trial, when will oscar pistorius take the stand? and right now, new york city's st. patrick's day parade marching on, but the new mayor of the city and some major sponsors like guinness, they are boycotting the parade over the policy banning gays and lesbians from marching openly. we'll take a look at the backlash and join our conversation on twitter. you can find me @tamronhall.

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now to the weather. this is just not a headline we should be reporting in mid-march, but we are. for the fifth time this winter, government offices in washington, d.c., were shut down for snow despite that man still running in his shorts there. schools were closed, too. south jersey and delaware, same story. up to nine inches fell. meantime, new york city was spared the powder but not the cold as the city prepared for the st. patrick's day parade this morning. temperatures were fighting to get to the mid-30s. already this morning, more than 450 flights have been canceled thanks to the swath of snow and cold. let's get try to the weather

channel meteorologist jim cantore who is in d.c. jim, when -- i guess everyone is asking the same question. when will the break finally last? >> well, first of all, the guy with the shorts is my hero. i've got to be honest. it's mid-20s -- mid-20s and he's wearing shorts and a t-shirt. that's pretty strong. >> the blood that rolls through him is not through me. that's for sure. >> it's really amazing. you look at the pattern going into early april, nothing is changing. we'll stay in this cold bowl of air over the great lakes and eastern part of the country. so could there be another snow event? yes. i feel like in the middle of the groundhog day movie here. i've been to d.c. four times. it's the same thing on the mall. it's accumulate 7.2 inches. our biggest snow since 1999 in the month of march. but notice what's happening in march. especially in these areas

right -- pretty much right where the snow is meeting the ground surface. you've actually had radiation absorbed from the 68-degree high saturday. you're asking what's happening over here? this is all grass. the snow is sitting on a little bit of elevation there. just enough air to insulate it and not allow it to melt. so march is trying to come through. unfortunately mother nature won't there. the biggest trouble we had was at reagan and dulles. they shut down the airports for snow removal. everything got back on track at 9:00. the damage is done. during the rush hour you cancel all those flights now, people have no planes to get on as they get on board this afternoon. we're seeing new cancellations toward charlotte and toward the rush hour toward philadelphia. so of the 800 cancellations today, it's really the mid-atlantic region that endures about 80% of all of those. three inches of snow last year. this year. we're closing on 30 here in d.c.

back to you. >> thank you very much, mr. cantore. up next, the first medical device to treat migraines. it's coming to the u.s. will this headband help millions of people? we'll took the director of the headache institute about this new technology. and here's a look at what's happening today, monday, march 17th. right now the president is preparing for a working lunch with palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas. the two are meeting in the oval office now. we'll have any news from that meeting once it is released. and jury selection begins in the second penalty phase against jodi arias. the arizona woman was convicted of first-degree murder of her ex-boyfriend last year but the jury could not reach a decision on that sentence. and actress kate winslet will receive a star on the hollywood of walk of fame. james cameron and kathy bates will be on hand.

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for the nation's migraine sufferers some long-awaited news to report. the fda just gave a green light to the first ever device to treat migraines. it's a battery powered headband that's been showing significant results in studies and overseas where it's already sold. joining me now, dr. lawrence newman, director of the headache institute at mt. sinai hospital. we were just talking at the commercial break. do babies, for example, get migraines. and you said that kids as young as 2 can start showing signs of migraines. >> they usually start in the teens but children as young as 2, 3 can start showing signs of mike rains. >> what age group, according to the information you have, suffers the most from migraines? >> migraines peak, people get more affected between 25 and 55 when they can least be able to

have them, when they are trying to go to work, trying to go to school, take care of themselves. that's when they tend to get struck the most. >> in severe cases, your point, people can't work. they can't function. they are rendered helpless. >> in fact, part of the diagnostic criteria implies that the patient needs to retire to a dark quiet room. and if not treated properly, they need bed rest. >> the green light has been given to this device. a small study, sample of people, have used this. nevertheless, when you have that kind of crippling pain, news like this certainly gets your attention. >> it definitely gets their attention. in the last three days i've gotten about 100 phone calls and e-mails from our patients asking about the device. >> what can you tell me about it and how it works. >> it's a gentle stimulator placed over the forehead for about 20 minutes every day. according to the studies, by doing this it was able to give a little stimulation to the branches of the nerve that

becomes activated during a migraine. and it was shown to decrease the frequency of future attacks. doesn't stop an individual attack but may reduce the frequency going down the road. >> what triggers a migraine, the list seems endless. >> it's a laundry list. what may be a trigger for me may not be a trigger for you and what may be a trigger for me may not be a consistent trigger. >> with that said, a device like this it seems again that it could potentially only help a limited number of people because of the cause of the certain migraines? >> it's a prevention. we use prevention for people that get frequent headaches, four or more a month. it decreased the requency. it's not wonderful but if someone can't take a medication or doesn't respond optimally to another medication, it's another weapon they have to reduce the frequency of the headaches.

>> doctor lawrence newman, thank you for joining us. we really appreciate it. >> thank you. right now, 26 countries are searching for the missing malaysian airplane after officials release two new paths. where they believe it could have gone. and now the probe has become a criminal investigation. we'll have the very latest developments. and now who is leading part of the search. plus, senator rand paul wins his second straw poll. this time in new hampshire. he's now the top gop contender for president in 2016. we'll talk to senior political editor about rand paul's plan, including a speech at berkeley. and the mayors of new york city and boston are boycotting st. patrick's day parades. so are the makers of guinness and sam adams. can it change parade policies against gays and lesbians? that discussion is coming up.

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new signs that senator rand paul is leading the pack of potential gop contenders in 2016. over the weekend in new hampshire, senator paul won his second consecutive presidential straw poll. the kentucky republican took home 15% of the vote in saturday's northeast republican leadership conference in new hampshire. and a new cnn poll shows that paul leads the gop pack with 16% of independents and republicans favoring him over other contenders. earlier this month, rand paul won the cpac straw poll beating ted cruz. joining me now, nbc news senior political editor mark murray. a lot of talk about rand paul's strategy, which we know includes outreach to young people. he's targeted and gone to a number of university campuses. we also know it's what he sees as an open dialogue with young african-american voters. so his plan is very clear at this point. >> he wants to expand the

republican voters and the universe of people who actually might vote republican in the 2016 presidential race and beyond. he's gone to african-american campuses. he's going to berkeley to speak to that normally very liberal campus there. he wants to change the republican party's orthodoxy. particularly when it comes to foreign policy, national security. also on some social issues like drug sentencing. what would be fascinating about a rand paul presidential run would be that he would be trying to campaign against some of the things that have been so engrained in the republican party, particularly its hawkish foreign policy. >> to your point about this speech at berkeley. he's going to give an nsa spying speech. we know of all of the audiences if you break it down in age group, it's the younger people and you saw that it's south by southwest as well who really want to know and hear more about what's happening with the nsa. >> that may be his way to get

into the younger voters. he gave that big filibuster speech that talkathon several months ago. the administration's drone policy. something that is also controversial with younger folks. although it is interesting with younger voters and who might be complaining against the nsa surveillance programs. and a time in which, if you are a young person on facebook, you know how much facebook tracks you, how when you go and buy something online, all of a sudden, you are getting pop-up ads from that company that just sold you something. so there's a kind of -- there's a difference between the government doing things and corporate america. but we're in this surveillance state whether it's the government or whether it's private america. >> good point, mark. thank you very much. we'll talk with you tomorrow. oscar pistorius murder trial, we're in week three with no end in sight. with potentially damaging testimony today, when will oscar himself take the stand? a gun dealer who sold gowns pistorius testified today saying

that pistorius correctly answered a firearms questionnaire about gun safety before buying his guns and getting his licenses. he said pistorius knew when he could and could not shoot someone, breaking into the home or to -- breaking into his home. the prosecution asked the gun dealer a question from the test and he gave oscar pistorius' answer. >> explain the importance of target identification. how did he respond? >> know your target and what lies beyond. >> meantime, reeva steenkamp's mother was in court today. the first time since she appeared on day one of the trial. she left before more crime videos were shown. joining me now from pretoria is nbc's mike taibbi. you have some legal analysts in south africa who say this trial will be almost at a lull until we hear from oscar pistorius.

>> i think that's true, tamron. and that could be weeks. it could be after a break is scheduled to start april 4th. we don't know how long that break will take. we're on witness 15 of 107 on the prosecution list. not all of them would be called but it suggests flo s there's af work to be done. a lot of evidence suggested not only pistorius knew what the rules were of engagement, when to engage his weapon. also a lot about the blood spatter that was away from the death scene in the bathroom. it was those photographs that drove june steenkamp from the courtroom. at the entrance to and inside his master bedroom. it left the questions hanging there. plood spatter on items in the bedroom. duvet cover on the floor. watch box on a chest of drawers and spfrkally on the wall above the headboard and the bed stand cable back in in back of the

bedroom. no explanation about why that happened. back to the gun dealer. he said a number of things that were not accusatory but said a lot about pistorius' love of guns. he had two handguns two semiautomatic rifles, to shotguns. he kept coming back to the range 10 to 12 times the gun dealer said to not only fire the weapons on the range but to talk about guns. he even told his gun dealer, according to the dealer himself, about one time in his own home when he drew his weapon for real. >> he went into what we call code red or combat mode. in other words, draw his gun and go and clear the house as anyone would if they heard a noise inside the house. and when he came to the source of the noise it was the laundry or something in the laundry. >> the noise was from the laundry room. that was about ten months that conversation was ten months

before he drew his gun for what he thought was an intruder. ended up being his girlfriend crouched behind the locked bathroom door. if will now extend far beyond what they intended. the stars come out to ban the word bossy. >> girls are less interested in leadership than boys. >> and that's because they worry about being called -- >> bossy. >> so beyonce, jennifer garner, jane lynch, just some of the stars joining the campaign that aims to uplift girls instead of putting them down with that word. we're going to talk live with one of the organizers behind the cruicide. it's gone viral but there some are critics throughout. we're going to discuss that. a passenger a frightening view on board a delta plane. it's one of the stories we're following around the news nation.

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a bit of developing news. the president just met with palestinian president mahmoud abbas in the oval office. president obama hopes in see progress on the mideast peace talks in the coming weeks. the president urging abbas to make tough decision and that it will take risks to achieve peace in the middle east. we'll have more on the president's meetings and the developments. also turning to the latest on the investigation into missing malaysia airlines flight 370. malaysia authorities are focusing on the pilot and co-pilot. they removed the pilot's flight simulator from his home and are now reassembling it into to determine if he practiced flying in areas not covered by radar. as it stands some 2600 countries are involved in the search divided into two corridors. one toward central asia. the other toward the central indian ocean and australia. three months after armed

libyan rebels captured an oil tanker, navy s.e.a.l.s raided the ship today and took control. president obama approved the mission after the libyan government asked for help. at stake was $36 million worth of crude oil. passengers with a window seat on yesterday's delta flight from orlando to atlanta got an eye full. look at this. that's a piece of the wing that fell off. delta says it did not impact the plane's ability to fly and the plane landed without incident. that is not something you want to see. and get your brackets ready. march madness is upon us. and you can see there are a lot of surprises during last night's selection sunday. north carolina state who barely made it in with a 12 seed. this year's top seeds are virginia. in the east. and arizona wildcats in the west. the wichita shockers in the midwest and florida, in the south, the gators are the number one seed overall. and by now you also know about

the billion-dollar challenge backed by warren buffett you get the whole thing right. billionaire or millionaire? >> billionaire. >> it could be the new rallying cry for young girls. ban bossy. facebook's c.o.o. sheryl sandburg launched the ban bossy campaign last week. it's gone viral. sandberg creator of lean in says when a little boy asserts himself, he's called a leader. when a little girl does it, she's often called bossy. several celebrities are on board including beyonce, jennifer garner and former secretary of state condoleezza rice. >> listen to your own voice. >> there are no limits. >> dare to be good. >> let's ban bossy. >> be brave. be you. >> ban bossy. >> join us to ban bossy. >> i'm not bossy. i'm the boss. >> and joining me now, rachel

thomas, the president of lean in. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you for having me. >> we know words can hurt and certainly there's a lot of words that are used against women and men. why, though, did you and the team there hone in on this bossy? >> as you said, words matter. when a little girl's called bossy, pushy, know-it-all, it sends a message. don't raise your hand. don't use your voice. don't lead or people might not like you. and we know girls hear this message loud and clear. by middle school, they are less interested in leading than boys. and that's a trend that continues life-long. >> how important was it for you to get some of the celebrities involved in this. what do they add to the conversation? >> so they are helping drive the conversation and that's what's so important to us. and what's interesting is every woman you talk to has a bossy story. a story of being hurt by the language of discouragement and

we are thrilled by all the women who have come together. you mention so many of them to join us to ban bossy. >> i was reading one piece in an article that was written. it was a response to the ban bossy campaign from new york magazine. and it says it's so frustrating to watch lean in try to expand girls options by restricting the way we talk about them. it's counterintuitive and it makes feminists look like thought police rather than the expansive forward-thinkers we really are. and you have some others who say, listen, boys are called if they are too aggressive, jerks and other words that i can't say on air and the argument is also, why not ban, for example, the "b" word which seems to be something that women even toss around to one another quite casually. >> it's very clear that we discourage our girls and the data shows this. they are less interested in leading and it happens early. but this campaign is really about what we doon to encourage girls to lead.

at ban bossy.com we have tips for girls, parents, teachers and even managers on the small but powerful things we can do every day to encourage girls and women to step forward and take the lead. >> i think that, you know, any steps that -- with the heart behind it to improve the lives of girls, how could you be against that. it's always perplexing to me when people are but that's my two cents because i'm perhaps someone that was once called bossy. anyway, thank you very much. i greatly appreciate it. controversy hangs over the country's biggest st. patrick's day celebration that's under way right now. new york city's mayor, even the makers of guinness beer all boycotting what they call a policy of exclusion. plus, outrage over a red light camera placed outside a florida hospital. people rushing to get in for medical help in a hurry. well, they are getting tickets. it's a "news nation" gut check. how did we do it last time? i don't know... i forget.

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welcome back. decked out in green, crowds are line upped along new york city's fifth avenue to take part in the biggest st. patrick's day parade in the country. in a stung announcement late yesterday, irish beermaker guinness dropped its sponsorship citing the event's policy of exclusion of the gay and lesbian groups. under the parade organizers policies, members of the lgbt community are allowed to march. however, they cannot carry signs identifying their sexual orientation. the company which is the biggest sponsor of the parade released a statement saying in part, guinness has a strong history of supporting diversity and being an advocate for equality for all. the bold move by guinness joins a growing list of those protesting the policy including heineken, which pulled out last week and new york city mayor bill de blasio who is boycotting the parade as well. the almost exact situation clouded boston's parade yesterday with the city's mayor marty walsh also boycotting and

the maker of sam adam's beer withdrawing its sponsorship. joining me, contribute tor to the "o'laughlin" magazine. thank you for your time here. >> time here. >> happy st. patrick's day. >> i'm curious by the actions taken by major sponsors if the policies will change this time next year? >> i think they will. back in 1995, the supreme court said these organizers had a right to discriminate and we support their free speech rights but sponsors and politicians also have the right not to participate. there's been an impressively fast shift in support for same-sex marriage and lgbt rights. it's not surprising there's a lot of backlash. >> so people understand, if you're a firefighter whose gay, you can walk with your group and go along. but if you're an organization that identifies itself as a lesbian/gay organization, you cannot have your banner in the

parade in new york city? >> sure, it's important to remember, for lgbt people who have been kept in the closet for so long, it's not helpful to ask them to march back into the plaza and not identify with a core part of themselves. >> what do you believe is the hold up at this point? listen, you see polls across the country where people in their views of same-sex marriage and gay and lesbian greatly change over the last ten years or so. we're talking major cities as well. boston and new york which bucks the perception that these only happen in small towns like where i'm from. these are big city problems that are counter to the polling nationally. >> no one loves tradition like the irish. unfortunately part of the tradition of irish catholicism was bigotry against lgbt people. with pope francis and other leaders saying let's take

another look at these things, i think the church and military and boston parade sponsored by a military group, they've both come around and said it isn't right. it will be slow but hopefully this time next year there will be a compromise. we almost saw a compromise in boston this year with openly gay soldiers marching. >> and give it a year and the list of sponsors who may pull out of these parades could be longer as well. i'm curious, usually when a company pulls out sponsorship and they have core values and heineken said we believe in equality for all. we all know they are in fear of losing business. >> sure, and public perception increasingly supports lgbt people, i think companies realize they need to be on right side of history. it's great a few sponsors decided to take that step and support. >> just support the right lgbt people to be themselves. >> you wrote, it wasn't long ago in this country that the irish

and roman catholics were both subject to extreme bigotry. i think it's a significant point as we have this conversation. as you pointed out in your piece. >> sure, my father keeps a sign in our kitchen at home, no irish need apply just to remember the irish experienced in this country when they first came over. it's unfortunate some irish people are passing that bigotry on. i'm hopeful in the next few years we'll see a change. >> all right, michael, thank you so much for joining us "the advocate" magazine. happy st. patrick's day by the way. >> you too. >> time for the gut check. drivers already love to hate the red light cameras mounted at intersections, but when tickets were handed out near a hospital emergency room, anger rose to a whole new level. a driver in tam ar ak florida was rushing to his hospital fearing he was having a heart attack when the light near the hospital did not turn green fast enough, jacob decided to run the

light. his health scare ended safely but this week did not. he got a ticket, $158 ticket in the mail. he fought it and showing his hospital discharge papers but the judge ruled against him and fined him another $125 for the court aegs time. he says he believes the city is crossing the line in an effort to make some bucks. >> i understand why the red light system exists but at the same time i don't think they should take advantage of people who are sick or, like i said something could have happened to me worse and it didn't, thank god. i just don't think it's correct and they should remove the light in that particular spot or any hospital, you know, that can take advantage to the people. >> we spoke with the mayor's office this morning which stands by the use of red light cameras. they told us running the red light at any time is danger and illegal and those cameras are there to protect the public. if you have a medical emergency,

you should call 911. you think you're having a heart attack and keep driving and don't want to pull over because you need help. do you agree with the decision to place the red light at the interest of the hospital? that's tough. take a look at what the news nation is saying about friday's gut check. should the u.s. end the ban on transjendser troops? 73% said yes, 27% said no. i'll be back here for you tomorrow. happy st. patrick's day and tomorrow on "news nation," we've got a great lineup for you. check out our website to see what we have planned. up next, andrea mitchell.

right now, the mystery deepens as 26 countries continue the search for the missing plane. investigators zeroing in on the pilots and passengers on board

flight 370. who was at the controls and what was their motive? >> the two possible tracks of this plane based on those limited satellite pings, six of them, suggest the plane overpassed over some of the world's most volatile countries with advanced air defense systems or over one of the largest bodies of water on earth with no radar and limited satellite coverage. >> now for the first time we're hearing from the partner of american passenger phillip wood as she waits for news in beijing. >> my gut feeling is they are still alive. i've had that feeling the whole way through. i don't believe that the plane has been charged. i haven't ever believed the plane has been crashed. it just doesn't make sense to me. and i don't feel like that's the right answer. >> punishing putin. will anything stop russia from moving to ratify crimea's vote and what will putin do next? president obama ordered sanctions to increase the cost on putin's inner circle. >> we're imposing sanctions on

specific individuals responsible for undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity and government of ukraine. we're making it clear that there are consequences for their actions. >> senator john mccain joins me this hour just back from kiev. a sliver of light, the three american hikers held captive in iran, share full details of their night mamare for the very first time. good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington. day 10, the search for flight 370 continues with 26 countries involved in the land and sea effort. as the focus moves to the south, india's military dropped out of the search. among other theories, investigators are focusing on the two pilots and what role they could have played in the plane's disappeara