aerial survey of what was going on at that power plant being protected by those sheriff's deputies, then i have some bridge over some creepy teal toxic blue water to sell you and i'll sell it to you cheap. now it's time for "the last good friday morning and thanks for joining us, everybody. right now on "first look," air, sea and space. the search continues to narrow on a specific site in the indian ocean for flight 370. stakes rise. the european union gets tough as russia becomes more isolated by the west. teen threat. a seemingly average teenager eludes tight security and climbs to the top of the freedom tower. pure excitement. college basketball's biggest tournament is off and running with bracket busting excitement to tell you about. thanks for joining us, everybody. on this friday morning. i'm betty nguyen. so right now a dramatic search is underway in the indian ocean. they are looking for possible debris from that missing

malaysia airlines jet. china is sending several ships to scour one of the most remote places on earth. satellite photos show what could be large parts of an airplane, one as long as 80 feet. and we want to get the latest on this. we're covering it in many different directions. right now we understand jeffrey thomas is the editor of airlineratings.com. he's joining us from perth. jeffrey, thank you. there was a frenzy with this. they sent airlines to the search zone to determine if they could lay eyes on these objects. so far, nothing. what does that tell you? jeffrey thomas, are you there? all right. we are having -- >> hello. >> there you go, jeffrey. can you hear me now? >> i can hear you. yes, i can hear you, betty.

can you hear me? >> yes, i hear you loud and clear. so yesterday we were in a frenzy because we got word that there were these satellite images that showed two objects out there in the indian ocean and then an aircraft was sent to the area between yesterday and as of right now there's still no word on them finding anything of significance. so what does that tell you? >> well, what it tells us is a tremendous challenge to locate the debris because of the distance it is from the base perth in western australia the aircraft are operating from. it's 1 1/2 thousand miles. it's like flying from chicago to los angeles searching for two hours and then flying all the way back to chicago. it's a big task and when you get out to the location, there's rain showers, low clouds, deep seas a little bit like a north

atlantic storm. a very significant challenge to find debris in the water under those conditions. >> indeed. so if these objects are, in fact, in the water, one. two, if they are the missing plane, how difficult will it be to recover the wreckage and those black boxes that all of us have been talking about? >> look, it's going to be very difficult because the depth of the ocean is approximately two to three miles deep and, again, the weather will be a major factor because we're coming up to winter in the southern hemisphere. winter storms will make it extremely difficult for ships in the area and they'll have to -- like they did with air france 447, they'll have to use submersibles to locate the black boxes. they'll have to get the wreckage off the sea floor if that's what

they decide they want to do, that will be an enormous challenge. >> the difference is they found the wreckage. but until you know where the wreckage is, it's pretty much like that proverbial needle in a haystack, correct? >> look, indeed. they did find the wreckage of 447 on the surface, indeed. they didn't actually find the airplane itself for two years. they didn't find the black boxes for two years. >> right. >> that was a huge challenge. and so, you know, this is -- this is a very, very difficult situation for -- first of all to find the debris, to identify the debris, and then find the wreckage and the black boxes if that's where it is. and, of course, we don't know that. this is the strongest lead we've had so far but, you know, there's still a possibility this may not be the location at all. it may be somewhere else.

>> yeah, there's a lot of possibilities being floated out there. this is the only thing we have going at the moment. jeffrey, thanks so much for your insight joining us on the phone this morning from perth, australia. >> thank you, betty. one world trade center has been billed as the safest commercial structure in the world, but now a security breach is raising some questions. 16-year-old justin casquejo of new jersey managed to sneak through a foot wide hole in a security fence. he scaled a scaffold to the 6th floor, took the elevator to the 88th, then walked up a staircase to the 104th floor. he got by a security guard who has since been fired. he climbed a wire to the an ten know and snapped some photos. casquejo was arrested in the lobby and faces criminal charges. simmering tensions between russia and the u.s. president obama is leveling more

sanctions against president vladimir putin. this time it's his inner circle and his chief of staff and four russian billionaires close to the president. they're pleading with moscow to pull back in crimea so economic sanctions will ease. putin has given them no assurances. >> the world is watching with grave concern as russia has positioned its military in a way that could lead to further incursions into southern and eastern ukraine. >> within hours of that announcement russia hit back. house speaker john boehner, senate majority leader harry reed and senator john mccain are nine prominent officials banned from entering the country. senator mccain got a kick out of making the list. he actually tweeted, i guess my spring break in siberia is off and my secret bank account in moscow is frozen. let's talk bracket busting games. >> a lot out there, betty. thanks for being with us this morning.

everyone, it was an exciting first full day for the men's ncaa tournament. north dakota state was headed for an early exit before hitting this three-pointer. the 12th seed upset 5th seed oklahoma. san diego state, oregon and wisconsin secured spots in the third round out west. down south, dayton followed its 60-59 upset over sixth seed ohio state. the one-point win gave the flyers bragging rights in ohio. florida, pittsburgh and syracuse also took care of business to advance. last year was no fluke. harvard secured back-to-back trips to the round of 32 by defeating cincinnati, 61-57. next, harvard plays president obama's pick to win it all, michigan state. ville nova and connecticut advance in the east. three seconds. jumper. austin for three. at the horn! >> and it's good.

yes. hook 'em horns. >> hook 'em horns for you, betty. what is march madness without a buzzer beater. nonexistent. the seventh seed moves on with 87-85 win keeping the midwest region free of upsets for now. louisville, michigan, and st. louis, also they lived to play another day. all right. so you're going to hear about this and go, shocker. productivity in the work force and at schools apparently tanks as the games begin each afternoon. look at these tweets. >> of course it does. >> they show students getting very little school work done as the games get underway. all that productivity that's lost. >> right. >> costs businesses about $1.2 billion. that's a whole lot of money. that's every hour. you throw that in during the first week alone. i like your idea, throw the monitors up, cave in, everybody have a good time. >> you have to. it's going to happen anyway. good thing we work in tv. easy for us to say.

>> whether you're behind that tv screen or not. >> thank you, frances. a three alarm brush fire is under control after, just check this out, ravaging parts of northern california. the thick smoke could be seen high in the sky. helicopters filled with water were used to douse the flames. let's get the latest now nbc washington meteorologist veronica johnson with us today. a bit of a busy week to be hanging out. >> yeah, there's so much going on. the california story with the brush fires. they've got an exceptional drought going on. >> they need some rain. >> they didn't get any snow this winter. that is a big part of the water base. they're not doing so good. hopefully they can replenish that. we have water out there. take a look at storm tracker radar, fargo and around chicago, you'll need the umbrella. light snow up across new england once again. that snow will continue to accumulate. folks, the arctic air wagon is

circling. the season has changed, but cold air still up there. billings at 31 now, 31 minneapolis. that's the cold air that will start coming in the latter part of the weekend. right now, 60 degrees forecast in atlanta, 75 in dallas for a high. 45 in denver. back to you. >> not too bad. day two of spring and we're still talking 40s and 30s. all right. we have to work on that. thank you. 61 million gallons of contaminants dumped into a river, so which company did it? we'll tell you. plus, turning a $14,000 investment into over $30 million. we have those details next. ♪

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now for your first look at business we turn to cnbc's courtney reagan. good morning. happy friday. >> hi. good morning, betty. happy friday to you. gm ceo mary barra will testify next month on why they didn't recall 1.6 million cars. barra has apologized for the

recall and named a new head of global safety. don't be surprised if you get carded at starbucks. because the coffee chain plans to expand the number of stores that serve beer and wine to potentially thousands of locations. sales of alcoholic beverages tend to attract the nighttime customers when business is slower. brian krebs, the blogger who exposed the breech at target, is headed to hollywood. it's going to turn his life into a cyber thriller. what an exciting thing for a journalist. >> leave it to hollywood. some stories making news this morning, oscar pistorius's murder trial seems to be taking a financial toll on the athlete. he's selling the house where he killed his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. the unexpected length of the trial is causing him to expose of his asset. duke energy, listen to this,

dumped 61 million gallons of contaminated coal ash into the cape fear river. this is the eighth time that the company has been cited for environmental violations. the world's oldest profession is causing quite a stir for honolulu lawmakers and police. a law that allows undercover police officers to have sex with prostitutes is now under review by a senate committee. honolulu police say they need the legal protection while on a case, but critics say not so fast. the law further victimizing sex workers. they have said no to pot brownies, space cakes and other weed-laced sweets. medical marijuana dispen sarris cannot sell the items because they may be attractive to children. sugar makes it easier to take the bitter marijuana medicine. scrambled politics is coming up as russia's putin targets our

politicians. their replies are priceless. (laughs) it's more than just a meal, it's meow mix mealtime. with wholesome ingredients and irresistible taste, no wonder it's the only one cats ask for by name. i can't believe your mom has a mom cave! today i have new campbell's chunky spicy chicken quesadilla soup. she gives me chunky before every game. i'm very souperstitious. haha, that's a good one! haha! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right. yeah. i heard about progressive's "name your price" tool?

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and being there. yeah! nailed it! unlike the bargain brand, depend gives you new fit-flex®, our best protection. it's a smooth and comfortable fit with more lycra strands. hi sweetie! get your free sample at depend.com. time for your tgi friday edition of scrambled politics. vladimir putin's sanctions list is a who's who of d. krmp. house speaker john boehner, senator bob menendez, a series of people. being sanctioned by putin is a badge of honor. majority leader harry reid made the cut either. putin, it's one thing to pick on me but i wouldn't mess with mary

landrieu. we are learning about a dinner with cory booker and ted cruz. they had a great intellectual discussion and no filibusters, but the hardest part? >> he's a texas meat eating cowboy. >> good ole boy. >> i'm a jersey boy, vegetarian. so choosing a restaurant alone. >> wonder what they ordered. okay. well, the ellen show, president obama was on there. he made sure to get in a jab about how she broke his four more years of retweets record with her oscar selfie. >> i thought it was a pretty cheap stunt, myself. >> yeah, right. >> getting a bunch of celebrities in the background. >> only thing i could -- i -- that's the only -- >> you feed them a pizza. >> yeah. >> well, his tweet game may be a bit off but how good is the president's hoop game. so good that kobe bryant said on the dan patrick show that the president could make the current

lakers roster. well, the lakers are in last place in their division, mind you, and won't even make it to the playoffs, so what are you saying, kobe? >> break it down. ♪ ♪ >> now if that doesn't make you happy. that was congressman john lewis getting happy. the georgia democrat is a big fan of pharrell's song. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. let's talk about politics because it is friday. that means we are joined by politi politico's kevin ser really. >> i think we should get more people dancing through that song. >> maybe you can dance through this. let's talk about our lawmakers for a second. some of america's top politicians are as we heard laughing off putin's travel ban against them. is this a so-called sanction

doing anything more than providing insight into the who the kremlin views as to who holds power in washington. >> this is a who's who list for dc right now. no, i don't think the sanctions are going to do anything but provide fodder for us to talk about here inside the beltway. i think there are some questions being raised about the type of sanctions, the economic sanctions that the obama administration is wagging against putin's inner circle and whether or not those are the most effective or if they're having any effect at all. >> yeah, i want to talk about that because even white house officials acknowledge that putin doesn't seem moved by those sanctions that president obama and other world leaders are looking to impose on him. if that is the case, what is stopping him from moving further into ukraine, which is the fear? >> that's a great question. there's two points that i want to make. number one is that crimea, the region in which they have declared as now their own, was

really something -- a region that they had always really wanted. at this point it wouldn't seem that russia's interests are to expand beyond that, that there really wouldn't be an economic or political motive for them to go beyond that. if their motive is purely just to get a region that they feel is theirs. but, you know, if they do go beyond crimea, i think that the issue then becomes where and how far is russia willing to go? how far is the west willing to go to stop them? and what are russia's true motives? >> yeah, we're going to be watching very closely. in the meantime i want to bring you back home because president obama is meeting today with tech leaders. this comes a week after facebook ceo mark zuckerberg called the president to discuss his frustration with nsa spying. what's on the agenda today? >> betty, he called him on the phone and he went on a political rant, a facebook rant, if you will, that really got him a lot

of attention for it, ceo founder mark zuckerberg. what's on the agenda with leaders from facebook, yahoo! and google all meeting again for the second time with the obama administration. they're going to talk about the transparency of the web. this comes with a backdrop of edward snowden, nsa leaks and all of the nsa programs. it will be fascinating to see what they talk about. >> thanks so much, kevin cirilli. >> thank you. thanks for having me. frances rivera and veronica johnson are back with "first buzz." we're talking about an unbelievable moment on "wheel of fortune." nascar is ab.out excitement but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media

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welcome back, everybody. time now for "first buzz" and talk about incredible. i have veronica and frances with me today. i'm still in awe of how this happened. >> i am, too. i am, too. there was a lot of talk on twitter on wednesday because some of my friends were tweeting this out. this is unbelievable. "wheel of fortune" on wednesday. a guy named nil who turned two letters into $45,000 in the buzz round. take a look. >> you're a very good puzzle solver. ten seconds. keep talking. maybe the right thing will pop out. good luck. >> new baby buggy. new baby -- new -- >> that -- >> oh. >> it's not like he tried to -- pure luck. come on. >> i think it was -- i don't know. again, it was the first thing that came out of his mouth. it's not like he went through a whole series of things.

>> maybe he passed a baby store on his way there. >> maybe. >> that's not normal terminology. >> it's a catch phrase. >> he's a guy. >> i never said that. >> that's incredible. you've got a lot to follow through with off of that story. >> here's the thing, this time of year especially with high schoolers, it's a big deal when you ask somebody to be your date for the prom. now it's the entire new level. they're called a prom posal. it's blowing up on instagram. they're one upping each other. >> jacob use your brains and go to the prom with me. they get really, really clever. this guy used post-its all over his truck to ask his date. look, this one went full on in the track field. prom or nah? at least they have -- look at this. mud. >> right. i was thinking it was more along the engagement type. that's a little much for the prom. >> i've got a 16-year-old and she loves to be creative so i'm going to put a -- maybe 55%

chance that she'll do it. >> you say you like it. wait until she gets one of those romantic prom posals and you'll be singing a different tune. >> i will. >> that was so long ago. those were the days when life is fun. not that it isn't now. have a great weekend. "way too early" with thomas roberts starts right now. it is an extremely remote part of the southern indian ocean. it's about 3,000 kilometers southwest of perth. it's about the most inaccessible spot that you can imagine on the face of the earth, but if there is anything down there, we will find it. >> the search for debris of malaysia flight 370 may be more focused than ever, but the recovery effort is still facing incredible challenges. we'll have the latest from kuala lumpur as the effort ramps up in australia. the back and forth between the u.s. and russia continues to escalate as both the russians and the ukrainians ramp up their

military presence along the border. and the madness is upon us. four overtime games. some major upsets. and one incredible buzzer beater. this is "way too early." good morning, i'm mika brezinski in for thomas roberts. this is "way too early." planes are back in the air this morning looking for possible pieces of debris from the missing jet in the southern indian ocean. it's been 14 days since the malaysian plane last communicated with air traffic control. these satellite images gave officials a renewed sense of hope that the mystery surrounding flight 370 would be solved. crews are currently looking for two objects about 14 miles apart. one is 79 feet long. the other about 16 feet