is it a new lead or just creating more false hope? an obscene by satellite floating off the coast of australia. what exactly is it? on day 15 of the missing plane drama. today, there are more planes covering a wider area. will the new images help in the search? will anything ever be found? a live report from australia, next. the president gets ready to embark on a critical overseas trip. how might the turmoil over ukraine play a role in that? and in the search for jobs, what city is the best place to get hired? the answer in today's number ones.

hello, everybody. has high noon in the east, 9:00 in the west. welcome to "weekends with alex wi witt. woegs i'm betty nguyen. a chinese satellite spotted this object floating in the southern indian ocean. but it's just a satellite photo and whether it's debris remains a mystery. the world got the news this morning when the malaysian acting transport minister was handed a note during his daily news briefing in kuala lumpur. >> i just received, the chinese received satellite image of floating objects in the southern corridor. and they will be sending ships to verify. the beijing government will announce this in a couple hours. this floating object is 22 meters long and 30 meters wide. >> all right. so right now china is sending ships and planes to investigate the object. and according to authorities,

its location is less than 80 miles from the debris spotted by australia earlier this week. six aircraft and 26 countries, including new zealand and the united states are involved in scouring this remote stretch of the indian ocean some 1,500 hundred miles off the coast of australia. and today that area was expanded yet again by 50%. now families of the 239 passengers and crew on board the missing jet grow more frustrated and heartbroken as we enter a third ex usualating week without any answers. for more on this discovery and search efforts, let's go to ian williams. i want to start with the satellite image. what do you know about it? >> reporter: this is a tantalizing image, revealed in a dramatic fashion there. we know it was taken by a chinese satellite on the 18th of this month, so that's four days ago. and it was in an area about 75

miles away from where those other australian satellite images taken six days ago showed apparent debris. now, the area where that was seen happened to be an area that was being searched today. so those people who were flying today exercised a little bit of caution. it's an area where they have already been looking. but they will be going back there tomorrow to check this out further. the size of the debris was about 74 feet by 43 feet. so conceivably a part of the fuselage. hard to say, of course, precisely at this point. now, it will give encouragement to the search operation, an operation that's been getting up to speed. the australians determined to push ahead with this. the deputy prime minister visiting the search operation headquarters today. and this is what he had to say. >> we intend to continue the search until we're absolutely satisfied that further searching

would be futile. and that day is not in sight. we will continue the effort. we will continue to lias, and we are planning for it to continue indefinitely. >> and today, of course, we saw four military aircraft, two civilian aircraft, three ships out there. and that will be stepped up tomorrow. already with the arrival of two chinese planes, a japanese plane and more chinese ships. so this effort will be stepped up considerably on sunday, betty. >> there's a lot taking place in this effort. but ian, australian authorities say these search aircraft have really sophisticated radar technology. much of the searching is being done with the naked eye. help us understand why that is? >> reporter: that's right, betty. we have seen binoculars replacing some of the most sophisticated radar that the australian or any other military

has. i think part of the reason for that is because of the rough seas. part of it is because they have been over areas, again and again. and they have just concluded that perhaps the most effective way of spotting debris is in the old-style, using their eyeballs, using binoculars. and it is perhaps testament the limits of some of the most sophisticated technology the military has. that they are -- they are still using radar, of course. but they are resorting to looking out the windows and seeing what they can spot by eye, betty. >> i guess sometimes you have to go back to the basics. thank you,een. we appreciate it. let's go to kerry sanders in our washington bureau. kerry, could this object spotted by the chinese satellite be the same obscene earlier this week by australian authorities? >> reporter: possibly. let's take a look at the chinese object, first of all. this is the photograph taken by the china satellite, released on state-run television. and as we take a look at it, the

demonstrations we heard them talk about it in meters. let's convert to feet. 74 feet by 42 feet. now take a look at the images that i have here. these are the images released by australia from satellite. and this one here is 79 feet. so when you consider that we're talking about 74 feet, 79 feet, it could very well be the same image. on top of that, when we take a look at where they're looking, it's about, well -- there's the general area. so you get an idea where it is near to perth, australia, where they're flying these flights in and out. it's less than 1,500 miles out here to what was initially the target search zone, okay? and now when we get in a little bit closer take a look, this just southwest of that target search zone, that's where the australians said that they believed this item was based on the satellite images. right here, 79 miles away, that is where the chinese say they found a piece of debris. is it the same piece of debris?

possibly. just remember, there's no confirmation at all that any of this is debris from flight 370. it could very well be just garbage floating in the ocean. and there was a tremendous amount of garbage floating in the ocean here. it is not uncommon, because of the merchant shipping traffic in the area. that sometimes a container will get washed overboard. nobody retrieves it. it floats out there. sometimes it breaks up and the debris spreads. plus you have just the currents of the ocean that flow like this. and so you have the possibility of something that was here winding up way down here, because of the way the ocean currents flow. so it's clearly an effort by the australians, by new zealand, by now the chinese will have dispatched two arizona craft to the area applying out of perth and the australian naval vessels, chinese vessels, and

civilian vessels mostly cargo ships in the area all lending a hand. but so far, nobody has seen anything that reflects what is showing up in these satellite photographs, betty. >> well, we are watching very closely. hopefully they find something soon, kerry. thank you for that. want to bring in msnbc aviation analyst and former airline pilot, john cox. john, thanks for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> john, what do you make of this new image of possible did debris from the missing jet? a lot of people have their opinions. it could be cargo dumped off of a ship that it actually made it into the water. it could be trash floating. what do you think this thing is? >> well, i think it's awfully early to tell. it's very large, which means that if it is from the airplane, it's from a very limited area, either the fuselage or maybe the wings. but that's -- the fuselage is a bit unlikely, because it doesn't have a tendency to float. so that's going to limit it down. i'll be glad when they get their hands on it and they can look and definitively say. but right now i'm a little skeptical. >> yeah, i think a lot of people

are wondering, how is it that you can see it on a satellite image, way up in outer space, but then when they're looking with their naked eye and these aircraft, they can't seem to find it. i want to ask you, this photo was taken four days ago on march 18th, some 79 miles southwest of where australia spotted the debris, two days before that. so when you consider the currents in the indian ocean, is it possible an object could travel a distance like that in a two-day period? >> i think fortunately, we have got experts and more importantly very good computer models that they will be able to run that and is see. a really greater interest is not so much the large pieces, but when we find the small floating pieces, things like the seat cushions, potentially some baggage out of the overhead bins, those things are going to tell us definitively, it's from the airplane. that will give us a starting to point to figure where the main wreckage is on the ocean floor. >> so if those things are indeed in the water, this thing crashed and hit water, those things

indeed would be floating somewhere, correct? >> yes. that's true. history has shown us that when you have an airliner that goes into the water, that when it opens up, when the fuselage opens up, a lot of light it material will float to the surface. and it will stay -- it will remain floating for a very, very long period of time. that's really what i'm looking for, is one of these very professional, very expert search groups, to start finding things such as seatback cushions. such as the -- something out of the overhead bins. something from the airplane that gives us a starting point. and i'm confident that we'll find it. >> but why haven't they found it yet? is it just because it's too small to see by satellite and they have no -- it's such a vast area to search that they just haven't pin pointed that exact zone, if you will? >> yeah. the thing to realize, and i say this, and i realize it sounds simplistic. but we have been looking where it isn't. so by elimination, we keep knowing where it isn't. eventually, as we further develop these bits of evidence

as they come in, eventually we'll come up to where it is. and that will lead us in it time to the main wreckage. >> well, malaysian authorities have taken a lot of heat for holding back information. i want to talk to you about this. australian officials have actually seemed confident with their information, though we haven't seen anything just yet. so how do you strike the right balance, trying to be transparent, yet at the same time not offer desperate families false hope. because they are on a bit of a roller coaster ride here. >> the families are clearly going through an absolutely terrible time. it's very, very very difficult. i don't think there's any country in the world that ever would have expected to be 15 days in and have an airliner lost and not have evidence of where it is and some idea about what happened. so i think that the malaysian -- the government, the investigative agency, i think they have struggled in places. but it seems to me that they're -- the intent has been very good. the australians, the new zealanders, the chinese, everyone involved, 26 countries

involved, have stayed focused. and tried to provide as much evidence as quickly as possible. and in some cases, even when they weren't absolutely sure what it was or validate it or verified it, they still put it out there in an effort to try to give as much information as possible. >> well, quickly, we don't want to get ahead of ourselves here, but what kind of information will the black boxes hold, if they're not found for months or say a year or more? >> well, if you look at the recorders from air france 447, what you find is, even though they were on the ocean floor in 15-plus thousand feet of water for two-and-a-half years, they retained all of their information. they were maintained in very, very good order. it was easily retrieved. and we got all the data. that digital flight data recorder has thousands of parameters. and it will tell the tale of what happened to malaysia 370. >> all right, john cox. thanks for joining us with all this valuable information today. and we have breaking news

right now in crimea. russian troops have reportedly stormed an air base, where ukrainian forces resisted handing over control and associated press journalists reported hearing gunshots. and at least one ukrainian service man injured. the commander of the base was detained. the air base is one of the few remaining ukrainian posts in what vladimir putin now calls russian territory. how the missing plane may complicate things if the search drags into april. we'll explain that. and gop senator rand paul says he's done answering questions on one topic. we'll ask our panel if he can avoid them in the future. estro . baron of the build-out. you need a permit... to be this awesome. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. and only national is ranked highest in car rental customer satisfaction by j.d. power.

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michigan has handed out its first same-sex marriage license

today. just a day after a federal judge in detroit overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage. marriage equality advocates are celebrating the decision, and several same-sex couples are lining up today for marriage licenses. michigan's attorney general has asked an appeals court to intervene. former president, jimmy carter, is sharing a revealing detail about his relationship with president obama. in an exclusive interview airing this sunday on "meet the press." >> does the president ask you for advice? do you have that kind of relationship? does he call you? >> unfortunately, the answer is no. president obama doesn't. but previous presidents have called on me and the carter center to take action. president clinton did and president george w. bush and president h.w. bush and even ronald reagan when the united states didn't have relationships with kind of unsavory characters. they would ask me as a -- you know, as a private citizen to do so.

new reaction today from first lady michelle obama to malaysia airlines flight 370. mrs. obama is currently in the middle of a visit to china. she spoke about the missing jet during a meeting today with students at peking university. >> as 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 float in our thoughts and in our prayers at this very difficult time. >> let me bring in white house reporter for the "washington post," david nakamura and washington correspondent for the daily beast, eleanor cliff. thanks for joining us. david, let me start with you. president obama next month is set to become the first sitting president in nearly 50 years to visit malaysia. and your latest article is titled "missing airliner complicates president obama's plans to visit in increased highs with malaysia."

explain to us, how so? >> reporter: this is a long-planned trip by the white house, supposed to happen last fall, but people may recall president obama cancelled during the government shutdown. they promised to reschedule that trip. this is it. he's going to visit four countries and malaysia was most interesting in some ways, because u.s. president has not visited in such a long time. and the white house was saying we're going to try to embrace malaysia. they believe malaysia is modernizing its economics and broadening its world economy so they want to encourage that. but now, especially if this plane is not found, there is a lot of questions about security issues that have come up and about how malaysia's government has handled this. china's government has been critical of malaysia's handling of this, and at times also frustrated u.s. officials. and i think this will vault to the top of the agenda, whether the president likes it or not. the white house says this offers a good opportunity toin continue to increase highs ties and build on that relationship. this will be the dominant narrative. >> that federal judge's

decisions in michigan is the latest in a string of rulings on same-sex marriage. and the momentum increasing at the state level since the supreme court struck down the defense of marriage act last summer. so how might this play into the upcoming mid term elections? >> well, the judge that made this ruling was appointed by ronald reagan in 19 88. so i think it's another example of the barriers coming down concerning attitudes towards same-sex marriage. but you do have the attorney general of michigan fighting it. and i think it elevates the issue to a point where it might not otherwise have been going into the fall elections in michigan. and then you have to wonder where the intensity is. in the past, the intensity was always on the side that opposed same-sex marriage. and, in fact, the ballot measure passed was in 2004, part of the

then bush white house strategy for re-election to energize people on the really -- really on the religious side opposed to same-sex marriage. but i think there is now equal, if not greater intensity on the other side. so i don't see how this particular ruling will adversely affect the democrat that's running in michigan for the senate. but it's a close race, and, you know, this adds yet another question mark as to who will benefit. >> speaking of questions. david, potential gop presidential candidates might not embrace the trend that we're seeing. so how do you see this issue playing out? >> well, i think, yeah, more broadly beyond michigan. this is a trend you're seeing in several different states. i think for democrats, they do hope these progressive rulings can help generate excitement, interest, in the candidates. and i think, you know, you have seen the white house warning that, you know, they need to make sure that turnout and critical states and critical senate races in some of the

swings states is as robust as can be. they thought the florida election was a big-time warning shot to democrats. and so i think they're hoping these kind of things, the president and others can sort of show, this is our agenda, we're going to keep moving forward and paint republicans as, again, having sort of older-school, older-fashion opinions and try to capitalize that way. >> i want to get to a quote i want both of you to take a close listen to. senator rand paul spoke this week to students at uc berkeley, and asked about the gop's appeal. and this was his reaction. >> part of it might be that the republican party is -- i've said they have to either evolve, adapt or die. you know. it's a pretty harsh thing. i was telling somebody the other day. remember domino's finally admitted they had bad crust? think republican party admitted, okay? bad crust. we need a different kind of party. >> eleanor, quickly. who is he trying to reach here?

>> young people. and he is a libertarian. young people are attracted to that brand of politics today. he's trying to modernize the republican party. i think he's doing some good work and kind of shaking up the high-bound stereotypes of the republican party, some of which he points out need to go. >> and david, not only this topic, but he doesn't want to talk about his father. why is that, and can he really avoid that? >> no, it's hard to avoid that. but i think, you know, his father, while very popular among a small section -- cross section of people, he doesn't enjoy the broader support that rand paul would need and is trying to build. and that comment could also be sort of a subtle shot at guys like ted cruz and some of those who are his biggest competition right now for potential nomination. so i think he has been trying to talk about that. also his foreign policy has come under attack from john mccain and others in the republican party. so he may also be subtly saying, again, as eleanor said, i'm the

future, and you've got -- we've got to rethink how we talk to people. and that's how he's doing it. >> david, eleanor. thanks for joining us today. >> thank you. >> thanks. and the city that offers you the best chance of finding work is in today's number ones. also, what is it? the picture released by the chinese government. could it be the clue searchers have been looking for in the missing malaysia air flight, or is it just a false lead? ♪ [ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong, and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing.

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i'll. now to the tax foundations list for the most shop-friendly state. those with little or no sales tax. delaware, new hampshire and oregon are the country's three states without a sales tax. but of those that levy a tax, alaska is the best with 1.7%. that's a combination of the state tax and average local tax. hawaii is second-best at about 4.3%. and that's about a point lower than third-ranked wisconsin. shoppers pay the most taxes in tennessee, almost 9.5%. arkansas and louisiana are second and third with rates around 9%. and finally, the cities are most marriages last. "men's health" magazine says madison, wisconsin has the lowest divorce rate. listen up, folks. followed by pittsburgh and philadelphia. so the highest divorce rate? charleston, west virginia. who knew? it is the capital of marital meltdown. albuquerque, new mexico, and

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let's get back to breaking news. malaysia officials say a chinese satellite has spotted a large object in the indian ocean where teams have been searching for any sign of malaysia airlines flight 370. this is the image released by china's official news agency. take a look. nbc news has been unable, though, to verify its authenticity. but nbc's keir simmons was news conference in kuala lumpur when officials announced this satellite image. here's what he told me. >> now we hear from the chinese state media, as you say, this satellite picture taken on the 18th of march at around noon. so the question is, and it is about 100 miles, we think, from the other satellite picture, if you like, the one that has been motivating the search off the coast of australia. now the question is whether or not this is the same debris that has moved it away. will this help the search and

rescue teams to look in the right place. and, of course, betty, for the families, it's just more anxious waiting, worrying. they wake up every day hoping to hear news and not hearing anything, all we get so far are these satellite images. >> that was keir simmons reporting. we said to head now to london and nbc's duncan golestani. what's the latest from what you're hearing there? >> reporter: hey, betty. well, the search has been intensified in the area expanded. more ships from the chinese navy are headed to that area in the southern indian ocean. it will take them several days to get there. but the australian navy has ships looking, as well as merchant ships helping out too. but still, as we enter the third week, nothing. the planes that headed out search are from perth, western australia, have returned to their base without founding those first reported objects that satellites picked up. now there is this new potential lead.

new images that as keyer says, were photographed about 100 miles away. whatever is that in satellite object is very large. the chinese authorities believe 22 meters by 13 meters. the image was taken two days after the australian image that started this hunt. nobody knows if they are the same objects or perhaps they're a cluster of smaller ones. remember, these search planes are using radar and the human eye from thousands of feet above the water. and these waters are treacherous, with strong current. oceanographers estimate currents move at around 1 meter per second. at that speed, a floating object could, in theory, travel more than 100 miles in two days. so not only are they searching this vast, vast area of ocean, but they're potentially looking for objects that are moving great distances from where the satellite images first detected them. unsurprisingly, the australian government, while leading the

search, has been trying to manage expectations, because whatever is in those images could be parts of flight 370. but could also be ocean junk. maybe something that's fallen off a cargo ship, for example. add to all that, there is a low-level warning of a tropical cyclone north of australia. betty, back to you. >> all right. thank you for that. and i would like to bring in oceanography expert arnold gordon to talk about the satellite image adding a new wrinkle. professor, what can we tell from this image and its location? what is it showing to you? i know it's a satellite image that's kind of hard to tell. but what are you surmising from this? >> it's interesting. the debris that was spotted by the trainee satellite is about the same size as what we saw from the australian satellite two days before that, on the 16th of march. what surprises me about it is the orientation is the same.

the long axis is northeast to southwest. and that might indicate to me there might be some material dangling into the water at the southwest end and the currents are moving in that direction. and this feature is just being dragged along. by that. >> so do you think it's the same object? >> it's very difficult to say. 80 miles -- 80 miles in two days. that's about one meter per second, that was said before. however, the currents in that area, on average, move from west to east at about a -- less than -- less than half a meter per second. and however, there are strong eddies in the area that will conto contort. and it's true, looking at the satellite images, the currents did have a slightly southerly motion. but i find it difficult to believe it would move 80 miles

to the south. >> that's just a long way. but even if it is debris from the plane, how can the searchers figure out the location of the other pieces, if there is a wreckage there? >> yes. first of all, they have to see if that debris is from the aircraft. then you have -- we have a pretty good idea of where the aircraft went down, just on the timing when the fuel would run out. and then we use the ocean currents from observation satellite observations and from models to work our way backwards from that photograph of the 16th to the oh -- you know, over a few days to i think the 9th or the 10th of march to see exactly where it went down. and once they do that, then the big challenge is to then locate the remains of the aircraft on the sea floor. won't be easy. >> but first you've got to find out if these objects are, indeed, a piece of the plane. and in doing so, they're trying to track these from space, if

you will, satellite imagery. how fast and how far can the ocean's currents actually move debris, and how does that really complicate this search? >> yes. now, it's not just the ocean currents, interesting enough. as i said, over a period of a week or two, the currents would move the debris towards the east. over a period of a few days, there could be a lot of north-south movement, too, from the eddies. however, there is also waves. if this is floating at the surface, and you have strong waves in that area, because of the strong wind. and that pushes the floating material in the direction of the waves, which i believe in that case, and you can see it in the images, are from southwest to the northeast. so i think that the combination of currents and waves, wind and waves, need to be taken into consideration. >> absolutely. okay. well, they're continuing to search. we're continuing to cover it.

hopefully we can find some answers soon. thanks for providing your expertise today. >> all right. thank you. searchers for flight 370, the debris -- it's keeping an eye on a potential cyclone, in fact. joining us is nbc washington meteorologist veronica johnson, to talk about the weather's impact and what searchers could be facing next. >> yeah, that's right, betty. this, of course, is an area of the ocean that is indeed very extreme. you've got chaos in the air, you've got chaos in the water. take a look at the latest satellite imagery here. this is the debris field we're looking at right now. to the north of there, this mass of white, those are clouds. and you can see which way the movement is, and the motion here on the loop. they're heading down toward the south. toward that debris field. so when the sun comes up at around 6:20, 6:30 on sunday, they're going to be in and out of some clouds and rain. here's the first debris field, about 1,500 miles southwest of perth, australia. now we've got that other one that's 7 4 miles just south of

that. the area they're monitoring even larger right now, a lot of what's going to be taking place is contingent on those weather systems. you heard the gentleman say, westerly winds. that's because high pressure is just to the east of that debris. you've got those westerly winds here, but as they come around, they're out of the north, again, pushing the clouds toward the debris field. so tomorrow they could have a pretty decent day in and out of the clouds, maybe some rain to get some good observations. but take a look. just off the coast of indonesia, an air of low pressure that is a cyclone, headed southbound toward that area that they're monitoring. now, good news is, it's going to be dissipating on wednesday. but as you know, this is an area that's also very turbulent. as it dissipates, it's really going to churn up the water and make for conditions that are not very good. so the waves are going to increase, the winds are going to increase on sunday. but i think that they'll still get a couple of good observations in. betty? >> it's tricky in this search. okay, thank you so much for that, veronica. does the malaysian

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breaking news from crimea. shots have been fired at a ukrainian air force base in crimea that has been blocked off by russian forces. this is unfolding as president obama leaves tomorrow on what's expected to be a high-stakes foreign policy trip to europe. nbc's kristen welker is live at the white house. kristen, what's the late yef test on this you're hearing from there. >> reporter: good afternoon. officials are monitoring the situation out of crimea. so far, no response from the white house, though.

so the question is, why should americans care about all of this? as you know, the united states is inextricably linked with all of europe, economically and politically. so that means what's happening in ukraine could ultimately hurt the united states, could hurt its economy. all of this is the backdrop as president obama heads to europe tomorrow. president obama heads to the netherlands tomorrow for a nuclear security summit. but now his more pressing goal, dealing with the escalating crisis in ukraine. this week, russia annexeded crimea, a move the white house called illegal. >> reporter: on friday, national security adviser, susan rice, said the u.s. could impose more sanctions if russia continues its provocations. today, russian troops at the order of president vladimir putin are amassing along parts of the ukrainian border. >> the russians have stated they are intendsing military exercises, obviously given their

past practice and the gap between what they have said and done, we are watching with skepticism. >> reporter: in russia, fireworks as they celebrated the return of crimea, 60 years after the soviet union gave it away. the white house says it won't resort to military force. only more sanctions. >> further escalation will result in further isolation and higher costs. >> reporter: foreign policy experts warn, further action could have an impact at home. >> it becomes a precursor to more moves, more instability, that's going to affect the united states sooner or later. >> reporter: from wall street to main street, americans are keeping an eye on a conflict that is impacting nations and those too young to understand. ambassador ross says while neither the u.s. nor russia is looking for a military fight, a miscalculation on either side could lead to one. could also hurt the united states' standing abroad. betty, back to you.

>> live from washington, kristen welker, thank you. a possible new clue today in the search of the missing la measure airlines jet now 15 days since it disappeared. this morning, china released a satellite image of a large object float nth indian ocean. i would like to bring in security expert and pilot, anthony roman, for the security implications of flight 370 and the search going on right now. anthony, what do you make of the location and the size of the object, and both of these satellite images? >> well, the size of the object is similar to a wing. its movement, the professor was absolutely right, can be affected by a variety of factors. and could, in fact, be the same debris that was photographed by the australians several days ago. the wires could be hanging out. there could be material acting as a drag on the debris. so it's difficult to tell whether or not it is from the aircraft. but -- but because the debris

field that's known in the area has pretty much smaller dimensions to it in terms of the particulate matter there, it's worth looking into. >> that's key information there. we have also seen a lot of theories in the past couple of weeks. we have been talking about this for a little while now. theories from terrorism to hijacking to accidental explosion. is there a scenario that we haven't discussed that you think is plausible? >> well, i think just about every scenario that possibly could be imagined, including space invaders, has been discussed. >> yeah. it's been kind of crazy, hasn't it? >> it's gotten a little out of hand. and my hearts go out to the families in that regard. but let's stick with the facts that we do know at the current time. we know that the aircraft made a standard rate left hand turn, returning and overflying malaysia. we know that it followed

subsequent right and left turns following standard navigation waypoin waypoints. from an investigative perspective, what that suggests is that those navigation waypoints were entered into the flight management system, which is the navigation computer of the entire aircraft. so it looks like human hands, whether pilot or passenger. no one knows. >> but if it was by human hands, why go south? what is in that direction but a lot of ocean? >> there is nothing, other than australia in that direction. and the area that we have been pinpointing for the search, there is very, very little there, a few atolls. >> so it doesn't make sense then. >> oh, it makes no sense at all. considering the pilot's history of security breeches, allowing passengers into the cockpit, it does leave open the scenario, the hypothetical, that a mentally disturbed passenger or

motivated passenger could have breached the cockpit and held them hostage. >> security expert and pilot, anthony roman, thank you for your insight today. >> pleasure. a new article by the news anchor who worked for russian television tells me why she quit on live tv. but first, the court decision that changed the lives of so many in michigan today. we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness if you qualify,

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gay marriage is taking a step forward in michigan. gays and lesbians are lining up to take their vows, just a day after a federal judge ruled the state's ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional. i would like to bring in msnbc legal analyst, faith jenkins, to talk about this latest development. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> michigan voters approved a gay marriage ban in 2004 by a land side vote, a 59% approval. what was the legal reasoning behind the judge's decision? >> they since last summer when the supreme court heard the federal defense of marriage act and also ruled on california's

proposition 8, there hasn't been a single federal judge rule in favor of same-sex marriage opponents. if you look at the 31-page decision here, he talked about that, the same language the supreme court wrote in their decisions last summer. he said that this same-sex marriage amendment violated the united states clause against equal protection. and he also talked about the harm. because the plaintiffs here really talked about the harm that would be rendered to children of same-sex marriages. and he looked at the evidence, he heard testimony in the case, and he found that was not substantiated, based on the evidence. >> okay, so what happens next now. could a challenge reach the u.s. supreme court? >> it could. the attorney general of michigan has already filed a notice of appeal, asking for two things. he's asking for an emergency stay of the decision of judge friedman. also asking that the appellate court review and reconsider the substantive nature of judge friedman's decision. i think that in this case, you

might see an appeals court grant a stay, based on the precedent we see in other cases, and even the supreme court earlier this year actually granting a stay in utah in a case similar to this that was heard in utah. so i think you may see a temporary stay. i think long-term, i think the judge's decision will be upheld. >> all right. i want to switch gears now to something that may shock some of our viewers. a case in florida. the head of crime stoppers in miami dade county got a slap on the wrist after a judge found him in contempt of court. he actually ate a piece of paper with an anonymous tip about a cocaine case on it. the judge ordered masston to hand over that information to the defense lawyer. so instead, as punishment, he has to write a report about anonymous tip laws for the judge. i mean, is this grade school here? are you surprised by that ruling? >> the judge found he was in contempt of court. he denied -- he actually defend

her specific order to turn over the information. so she has a range of sanctions she can give. and it can be a fine or it can be imprisonment. and i think in this case she wanted an essay, because he just misunderstands the law. and he's a former police officer. and so she wanted to make the point that he defied her order in such a public way, and in such a specific way by chewing a piece of paper in front of court, in front of the cameras. and i think she wants to set the example that you can't defy a judge's order in this way, especially when you're so wrong on the law. which i think he is in this case. >> i mean, this guy ate a piece of paper that was evidence. okay. so he says he is still going to refuse to give up any information, regardless, okay? so is he playing with fire here? i mean, is this a guy who should or could go to jail for this? >> well, he could. and it depends on what happens when he comes back into court. there is an important reason why the judge wants this information. this is a criminal trial. a defendant has been arrested and charged with a crime that

came from an anonymous tip this individual received. so in every criminal case, the defendant has the right to know some specifics from the anonymous tip that leads to their arrest or even leads to their stop and frisk. so this judge ordered this information on this paper be turned over. she did not say she would turn that information over to the defendant. there is a possibility, but she nonetheless wanted to see it for herself. even to do an in-camera review. and this individual refused to turn that information over. so he could possibly be looking at further sanctions, including jail. >> not only did he refuse, he ate evidence. all right, faith. thank you very much. we don't make this up, folks. okay. so all eyes on a new satellite image showing a large object floating in the indian ocean. we'll have a live report on the search for flight 370. stay with us. [ male announcer ] nearly 7 million clients.

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this debris discovery is from the plane? anger and anguish. the agony of the flight 370 for families. also this. shots fired in crimea. a ukrainian air base blocked by russians is the flash point and it is breaking news right now. a new article from the american tv anchor who quit her russian network job. what led her to take a stand. hello, everybody and welcome to "weekends with alex witt." i'm betty nguyen. here's what's happening. breaking news in the hunt for malaysia airlines flight 370. ships and planes investigating an object they say is floating in the indian ocean some 1,500 miles off the coast of australia. the malaysian acting transport minister got the news by surprise, actually, during his

daily news briefing this morning in kuala lumpur. take a listen. >> but the news i just received is that the chinese ambassador seven-day forecast satellite image of floating objects in the southern corridor. and they will be sending ships to verify. the beijing government will announce this in a couple hours. this floating object is 22 meters long and 30 meters wide. >> according to authorities, the object's location is less than 80 miles from the debris spotted by australia earlier this week. meanwhile, the vast search area in the southern indian ocean is expanding yet again. several aircraft and more than two dozen countries including the united states are now involved in scouring this remote stretch of what is called the southern corridor. they're hoping to find something before severe weather is expected. and it's going to be moving into the area sometime tomorrow. for more on this new discovery and the latest in the search efforts, let's go straight to nbc's ian williams in perth,

australia. let's start with the satellite image. what do you know about it? >> reporter: hello there, beatt beatt beattie. tantalizing image revealed at the press conference. this came from a chinese satellite, taken four days ago. that's two days after the original images an australian satellite gave us of what looked like other debris. now, the size, which is about 43 feet by 74 feet, would be consistent with perhaps an aircraft wing or perhaps part of the fuselage. and it's about 75 miles away from that original australian siting. the autstralians themselves hav been cautious. they point out this area was at the center of today's search that the area scoured today by six aircraft included that area, which is shown in the chinese satellite photo. but they will be returning there again tomorrow. and also, the australian acting

prime minister, who has been here in perth visiting the operation center, was cautious as well, pointing out there is a lot of rubbish out there floating out in the sea. this is what he had to say. >> 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 as to what this -- these items actually are. >> reporter: nevertheless, we can expect to see this operation stepped up quite dramatically over the next few days. we have got those six aircraft out there today. they have been joined by two chinese aircraft, japanese aircraft, as well. as well as vessels, ships out there, including japanese and chinese ships, which will be scouring that area tomorrow. but as you point out, the weather isn't doing us any favors. we had a couple of days of flat

seas, good visibility. but warning of pretty severe weather, a tropical cyclone about to sweep in, betty. >> that's all they need, is a cyclone to come in to hamper these efforts. all right, ian, thank you so much for that. let's write bri in nbc's kerry sanders in our washington, d.c. bureau. kerry, what do you make of this image from the chinese? we have seen images before. they all kind of look similar. could this be a new clue? >> i think what's really most important is to note that the images being released by the chinese and state-run tv are perhaps as useful ass the image released by the australians, which you see over my shoulder right here. they give a suggestion of something that's in the ocean. but not much more. and so as we take a look here at the map, you can see they're flying out from perth. so you can see the distance here, which is quite a distance. it's more -- almost 1,500 miles. and the area they're really primarily searching is right

here. in fact, where the debris is showing up is just a little bit further to the south of the target zone. so this is where that australian image was discovered. and about 79 miles or so to the southwest is now where that satellite image released by the chinese suggests there may be debris. important to note that nobody has come to the conclusion that this debris on the satellite images is from an airplane. just that there is debris. and as ian just told us, in this area here, there have been six aircraft flying during daylight hours, looking for something. it's now nighttime in australia. those flights have all returned back to perth. but they will resume the flight. but during their flights during the daylight hours, nobody saw anything. and they're working with gps coordinates provided by those satellite images. so they have a pretty good idea of where they're looking. so quite frankly, it's

disappointing. and no real strong indication that we can even know for sure that this is even the general area where flight 370 went down. >> but kerry, i think here is something that people don't understand. how is it that you can see it from outer space, via satellite, but you can't see it if you have coordinates and aircraft flying over that specific area? >> it just goes to show the difficult nature. i happen to, betty, have gone up with the u.s. coast guard on an eight-hour search and rescue mission in the gulf of mexico. this was in an helicopter, not in an airport. important to note, these planes are flying much faster. helicopters fly much slower. and just going out what they call mowing the grass. they go out, make a turn, come back, go out, make a turn, come back. just going on that mowing the grass routine, looking out, can be incredibly a., monotonous. and b., you have the wave action. and in this case, the waves have been as high as nine feet. so that wave action picks up the

reflections of the sun. you think you see something and then it turns out it's nothing. plus, debris is not painted orange floating on the surface. this is some sort of debris, if it's from the aircraft. it's the color of the wings or the fuselage. and so it doesn't really kind of stand out. >> right. >> and so you have to look very closely. and it may be partially under the water. so when you add all of that together, betty, it is a very difficult job to spot the debris, any debris. >> indeed. and with bad weather moving in, not making it any easier. thank you, kerry. we appreciate that. i want to bring in dr. allen diehl, the author of "safety investigators: using science to save lives one crash at a time." he also spent 40 years investigating aviation crashes. thanks for being here with us. >> thank you, betty. >> what is your take on this newly released satellite image and how do you feel this investigation is being conducted so far, in your eyes? >> two questions. obviously, this is very tent active and we all know most of

the airplane's exterior is painted white and so we've got white caps. so these guys have a tough job. as far as i'm concerned, the big mistake the malaysians made was not calling president obama and asking for a full ntsb go team on day one. that's what -- >> what difference would that have made? >> i'm sorry? >> what difference would that have made? >> oh, i think it would have made a lot of difference. we would have had a lot more evidence. i'm not -- i'm trying not to be critical of the malaysians. they just have never done anything quite like this. the ntsb does it on a regular basis. and you know, if you're going to play in the super bowl, you want to bring your "a" team. and they really don't have anybody with the type of experience that the united states has. same thing with locating this wreckage. we're the only country in the world that has the resources to get out there and scour that indian ocean. it's the third largest ocean in the world, as you probably know. >> yeah, there's a lot of work to be done. i also want to bring into this

conversation aviation expert matthew robinson. he has investigated aircraft accidents for the u.s. navy and marine corps. matthew, it's been more than two weeks now since flight 370 just vanished without a trace. and there is still no concrete clues as to its whereabouts. and in all your experience, can you say this is truly an unprecedented mystery of modern aviation? >> hello, betty. yeah, thanks for having me. so far, yes. i've been asked, has the trail gone cold? no. it's just the fact that the trail is very, very long at this point and very vast. it's going to take an insurmountable amount of time to actually locate this physical evidence. the satellite imagery, we have been down this road before. up north with the first suspended area suspected area of wreckage. through basic triangulation with the maximum range of the aircraft and the route, this is some corroborating evidence. so it definitely needs to be examined.

but it's going to take a long time. this is very challenging, finding this type of evidence out in the open ocean. >> speaking of time, allen, black boxes only send signals for up to 30 days before the batteries die. do you think this technology actually should be given an update, if you will, because of its importance? now this becomes a race against time. >> certainly, betty. i'm sorry, go ahead. i don't know who is speaking. >> allen. >> al. okay. short answer, yes. ironically, i investigated crashes for the air force. their c-5s have floating data recorders. c-5s are giant air force transports. and when you had one crash in germany, not in the water, the recorder was ejected. had it been over the water, we would have been on it right away. what we need is some kind of streaming data from these black boxes. now, there's a lot of arguments, is there enough bandwidth and electronic wavelengths to send all the information. but i know when i was working

for the military years ago, we learned how to compress data. so let's say an aircraft gets in trouble over gs, rapid drives. the black boxes could do a data dump to satellites. i can almost guarantee that will be one of the recommendations after this crash. >> wow. that is very interesting. matthew, let me bring you in here. australian officials have said they have no plans to end this search. there are, what, 26 countries involved, multiple aircraft taking part in this painstaking effort just to find something out there. but realistically, how long can this continue? >> realistically, years. and i've seen that. with -- we have the deployable flight data recorders, as well, in the navy and marine corps. we didn't have one of those found for after two years. after this. >> but you also had wreckage in that. kind of gave you a clue as to where it could possibly be, correct? >> well, and that wreckage, again, on the open ocean, i've

had had wreckage down in key west that was found six months later on the coast of ireland. so this could be spread out. that is definitely going to increase the amount of time it's going to take to retrieve all this evidence. so, you know, get comfortable. it's going to take a long time. >> i want to ask this question of both of you, considering your experience. is there something investigators can be doing in this search effort that they haven't already thought of? allen, you start. >> well, i think the investigators are kind of hamstrung. first of all, the malaysians are technically in charge of this, and they are struggling to figure out what questions they should ask. and, again, i'm not accusing them of cover-up or incompetencies. they just haven't done this before. what we need is a lot of assets. and i think matthew would probably agree with me. the navy has 150 p-3c aircraft. i worked with them before i went with the ntsb. those sort of assets need to be deployed to the indian ocean. another quick thing that could happen, the air force has

mc-130s. these are not the sub hunters or not as cape blg as the p-3s but they can be refueled in the air with aerial tankers and stay on station. they can only scan, look, they don't have the radar and the infrared like the p-3s have. but that is something somebody should ask for and ask for quickly. because we have to find the wreckage to lead us to the black boxes to lead us to the surface wreckage. >> right. matthew, quickly weigh in here. >> yeah. find the wreckage. that's first and foremost. at that point, the two other searches begin for the flight data recorder and then everything else that would hopefully be on the bottom of the floor of the ocean. >> all right, gentlemen. thank you for your insight today. >> you're welcome. it is a painful time for the families of those on flight 370. and there is an organization here in the united states that is reaching out to help those people deal with the emotional trauma. we'll talk to the founder of the support group who lost a loved one in the crash of twa flight

800. new developments out of ukraine. reports of shots fired as russian troops storm a ukrainian base. we're going to bring you a former u.s. ambassador to russia, next. ose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! then a little time to kick back. earn double hilton honors points with the 2x points package and be one step closer to a weekend break. doubletree by hilton. where the little things mean everything. doubletree by hilton. ...return on investment wall isn't a street... isn't the only return i'm looking forward to... for some, every dollar is earned with sweat, sacrifice, courage. which is why usaa is honored to help our members with everything from investing for retirement

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next is information and entertainment in ways you never thought possible. welcome to what's next. comcastnbcuniversal. breaking news. russian troops have stormed an air base in crimea, where ukrainian forces resisted handing over control, while armored vehicles smashed down the gates. journalists on the ground reported gunshots were heard. at least one soldier was injured. now, this comes as tensions seem just to reach a new height in the eastern ukraine, where troops dug trenches reminiscent of european war a century ago. joining me now is former u.s. ambassador to russian, michael mcfoul. thanks for joining us. the white house just issued a

statement, saying in part, reports of attacks against ukrainian military personnel and facilities highlight the dangerous situation created by russia and believe president putin's claim that the intervention in crimea has brought security to that pat of ukraine. russia should begin discussions to ensure the safety of ukrainian forces in the region of ukraine. that is the statement. so how close is the region to an out and out conflict? russians are doing. disappointing. disappointing in crimea, way this. shooting at that been negotiated

happen. escalation. but in parallel, you have to also keep an eye on eastern ukraine. where so far, there has been limited violence, but a lot of nervousness that people could start again, ukrainians shooting at russians or russians shooting at ukrainians. if that happens, that could be a much more dangerous conflict that could include russian troops against ukrainian soldiers. case in ukrainian military? been well. honest. that now. so they're not prepared. they do need to regroup, and they most certainly do not want to have to fight a conventional war with russia today.

>> thousands of residents in eastern ukraine have been rallying to secede and join russia. do you expect that to go anywhere? do you expect it to spread? dangerous. russia. ukraine russia. story with what happened in crimea. nationalists, you would have a lot of people rallying around the flag, saying we need to do something. i applaud the government in kiev that they have not so far. that they have been very cautious, cool heads have prevailed. but you've got to imagine that there are vigilante groups,

individuals that are deeply done situation. >> i think the question too, will diplomacy prevail. the sanctions did take a toll on but real impact in kremlin? sanctions thinking. going over time. over months, over years, over decades, for those russian officials involved in this egregious act against the international system. that's where we'll see the effect. not in days and weeks. but over months and years. >> but how much of a difference will it make? difference. russians that the ago. to be

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♪ breaking news in the hunt for missing malaysia airlines flight 370. this image, check it out right know, chinese officials say this was picked up on their satellite, and it shows a large floating object in the southern indian ocean. now, it's still unclear, however, if it's related to the missing jet. take a look at its location. authorities say it is less than 80 miles from where australia spotted debris six days ago. search efforts are ramping up as 26 countries, including the united states, take part in this painstaking hunt over thousands of miles of ocean off coast of australia. officials there say they are not giving up. >> we intend to continue the search until we're absolutely satisfied that further searching would be futile.

and that day is not in sight. no, we will continue the effort. we will continue to lias with our international allies in this search. but at this stage, we are planning for it to continue indefinitely. >> joining me now, aviation expert and former american airlines pilot, jay recall ins. thanks for being here. >> my pleasure, thank you. >> these chinese images, and authorities say they have spotted possible debris and satellite images they have acquired. what was your first reaction when you heard yet again we're looking at satellite images? >> well, my first thought was dejavu. china sending satellite pictures that really, from the images that we are allowed to see, anyway, are not very clear. and more worrisome to me are the dimensions, which tend to be large, square objects. and most aircraft pieces tend to

be angular. so i'm just not sure what this is. i also have heard stories from s.e.a.l.s and others who have been in that area and they say there's lots of garbage and just floating things in that area. one of your earlier guests said that it could be reflections off the water, large clumps of plastic. you know, any number of things that could be doing this. >> a lot of theories floating out there. i just spoke to a former ntsb official who said this whole investigation could have gone differently if u.s. agencies were called into help immediately. do you agree with that? >> yes, i do. and i understand a country like malaysia is very proud and they probably had had no idea it was going to be this difficult. and perhaps that's why they didn't bring the u.s. in earlier. but i believe he's correct, that the u.s. has the best chance to find out what has happened here.

>> but the u.s. is assisting at this point, and we still haven't found anything just yet, right? >> yes. i think slowly but surely the u.s. is starting to lead the way. but a lot of things were lost in the beginning. we spend a lot of times with information that then got changed around and someone else would walk up and tap someone on the shoulder and say, no, that's not correct. so there was a lot of misdirection, if you will. and at the end of the day, many days were lost that perhaps other paths could have been explore explored. >> yeah. i want to ask you about that. a large time frame has passed. we're two weeks into this now. and you said a lot of missteps in between there. what is the possibility of perhaps anyone surviving from this at this point? >> if they are at sea, it's going to be extremely difficult for two reasons.

one, they hit the ocean presumably under the most likely scenario is that there was no one really at the controls. and that aircraft eventually just hit the sea. and most likely close to the same indicated air speed, anyway, which would still be slower. but at a very high speed, let me just put it this way. so to survive that. and then to continue to survive at sea for almost -- it's been about two weeks now. it's a daunting challenge. the biggest problem is water. >> absolutely. how unprecedented is all of this? we have 26 countries now. we've gone two weeks. this is modern day technology being used and still we can't find this plane. >> yes. i think in our high-tech world, we think that the entire world is covered and there's cameras everywhere. and there's no part of the earth we don't control. and the fact is, that's just not

the case. this is a very vast ocean. it's very deep. and unfortunately, there are no air fields close by. so even when we send aircraft from perth, they can only stay on station for a limited amount of time. there's so many daunting challenges here. however, i do agree with your earlier guests that they are not going to give up very easily. there is one other thing that i think that has not been fully fleshed out. and that was originally, when the aircraft made the hard left turn, we saw points that they had put into the autopilot system. well, at the end of the day, that aircraft was hooked to fly what the course was by the autopilot. then at the last point, the aircraft would have continued going straight ahead. and i've never heard anyone clarify if they took a ruler, basically, to a chart and

determined that if you go out six, seven hours on that last heading that this is the same area. >> interesting point there. jay rollins, thanks for joining us today. >> my pleasure. so 15 days later, still no answers for the families of the 239 missing souls on board flight 370. just what are they going through? and where can they find answers? joining me now is heidi snow, founder of the nonprofit, aircraft casualty, emotional support services. heidi's fiance died aboard flight 800 that crashed back off the coast of long island in 1996. you understand what the families are going through. i understand some of the loved ones of the missing passengers have actually been reaching out to you. what are they saying? >> right now, as we all remember, so many of us at a.c.c.e.s. remember remember this waiting time. so many air disasters we didn't have answers for so long.

be it we didn't have the remains or that it took some time to actually locate an aircraft. and right now they're going through what we all remembered going through, which is really fluctuating between clinging on to hope and then that looming specter that in some way they may never come back to us. and we have had thousands of calls for help to a.c.c.e.s.s. over the years and an increase in calls from people affected by past air disasters who are really reliving this and remembering this window. this early on time with all the air disasters is so difficult. it takes so long to get answers, and to understand what happened. and we really all have been through this before. and that's really why i founded a.c.c.e.s.s., because every step of the phase with air disasters are so difficult. >> right. >> and there really just aren't answers for so long. >> and this 24-hour-a-day news

cycle, little bits of details emerging like today's debris image that may not even be the plane. how does that play on families' emotions? >> it's extremely difficult. at one point people are very excited to start to get some information. but at the same time, the idea that they could potentially be gone is also extremely difficult. and i remember fluctuating back and forth and really waiting for answers for so long and actually being at the -- we had the ramada inn where we all met in new york and just listening to these press conferences. it's extremely difficult. and you're clinging on to hope. you hear something and you think it might be true. and then that suddenly changes. and that's no longer true information. and that -- going back and forth with that is extremely difficult. and that's really why we're here, because we all know, air disasters are just so unique. all losses are difficult. but with this, it really just takes so long to make sense of

it. and even when information is found, we never know what their last moments were like. we never know if they were scared, we never knew if they knew it actually -- something bad was happening to them. and still, many years later, for me, i still wonder, what were michelle's last moments like? what did he know? and a lot of us still hold on to that, years later, trying to make sense of what they went through. and we never really have that answer. >> no, it doesn't seem like you ever get that closure, at least some sense of it. i'm sure you've seen the videos of family members, just overcome with grief and anger. it's really actually been so difficult to watch. some of them screaming at the press conferences, because they just want some information. what is your advice to them as they try to cope with what is surely unimaginable? >> what we have learned over time and from -- i've interviewed hundreds of people affected by air disasters and how they have gotten through it. and all of them really -- at this time really need to be able to eventuallity their emotions

in the way they do. i remember in that room we had people who were extremely quiet. we had people who were crying. we had people who were extremely angry. and just accepting that each person is going to go through their grief differently and they're going to react in different ways. and embracing that and letting them vent in the way they need to. because each person has their own way of coping with this horrific incident. everyone is going to have their own way of expressing the emotion. and the most important thing the people there who are there to care for them can do is allow them to go through that process. give them a safe environment to vent. give them a safe environment to talk about their loved one and keep them alive. even if it seems impossible that they could be alive. we needed that. we needed to hold on to that to get through. and then the next hour we might accept the fact they could truly be gone. but i just remember the

fluctuation was continuous throughout this time. and really having the support of others who allow people to grieve and do it in their own way is really what we found most critical. >> yeah, it's very hard. >> to be able to do what they need to do to get through it. >> yeah, because everyone experiences it a little bit differently, although they're going through essentially the same thing. heidi, thanks for sharing your story and what you're doing to help those who are in desperate need at this time. thank you. >> thank you so much. well, that american tv anchor who quit our job on russian tv joins us about why she resigned on the air. that's next. in the nation, we reward safe driving.

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network-funded by the russian government. that white washes the actions of putin. i'm proud to be an american and believe in disseminating the truth. and that is why, after this newscast, i'm resigning. >> and joining me now is liz wahl. thanks for being here, liz. >> thank you. >> you note in your article that you had been thinking about quitting for a long time, due what you call the network sugar coating atrocities by one brutal dictator after another. so why now? >> why now. that's a good question. and the reason now, the crisis in ukraine, the coverage of the crisis in crimea, was a red line for me. i realized how the station was being used as a propaganda tool to justify russian military intervention as a guise for protecting ethnic russians. i saw that the station was being used as a tool to push this message, to push this narrative, that the kremlin wants to

portray. and it was really, really troubling for me. and in a part of the world where the future is very uncertain, very unstable, we have world powers here watching what's going on there. and this station was being used to peddle propaganda, to shape what's happening there in the eyes of the kremlin. and i found that to be really troubling. it was a red line for me. and i didn't want to go silently, because i wanted people to know what this network was about. >> well, but at the same time, you know some people are looking at this and asking this question. the fact that it's never been a secret that the rt is a government-funded and pro kremlin network, okay? that was never a secret. yet you went to work for them. so why did you take a job there in the first place, if you were against what they stood for? >> right. well, when i took the job, it was a different time. they pitched it to me as an opportunity to cover stories that the mainstream media ignores, to do hard-hitting

news. and to cover stories of national and international significance. it was different times back then. the cold war was over. we were supposed to be mending ties. perhaps maybe i should have -- i should have asked tougher questions. maybe i ignored some red flags when -- they pitched the opportunity to me and told me that this would be an opportunity to bring a voice to the voiceless and to cover stories that other networks refuse to hear. there wasn't much information at the time about this station. now, knowing what i know now, i would not join. and, yes, there were absolutely atrocious ways that the network sugarcoated the actions of di dictato dictators. i was on the news, i was hired as a reporter, not a propagandist. so i resolved to stick to the facts and that's what i consistently did. but i saw that in the wake of the crisis in ukraine, the station was ramping up its

propaganda in a way that i never, ever had seen before. it went from sometimes horribleness to strange to bizarre to dangerous. >> okay. well, let's get to those details. you talk about propaganda, you talk about sugar-coating. what was the environment like in the newsroom? was there ethics training, traditional news culture or was that totally blown out of the water? >> no, no. what the station does is they tend to hire younger people, inexperienced. they don't have much experience in the newsroom. and they try to mold -- they try to mold reporters and their producers into journalists. journalists that they want them to be. so that didn't work for me. i guess. i was very, very stringent about sticking to the facts. and this is something that the network doesn't -- they stray from the facts, especially from the opinion shows. and this is very dangerous, i think. because this was something that i was not privy to in the past.

one of the opinion -- one of the opinion hosts is a 9/11 truther that plays into this conspiratorial paranoia of a very fringe extremist audience. >> okay. >> and it's dangerous. >> let me jump in now. i want to read a portion of rt's statement in response. they said, quote, when a journalist disagrees with the editorial position of his or her organization, the usual course of action is to address those grievances with the editor, and if they cannot be resolved, to quit like a professional. but when someone makes a big public show of a personal decision, it is nothing more than a self-promotional stunt. so i have to ask you, in all honesty, was this self-promotion? >> absolutely not. honestly, betty, i didn't know how this was going to be received. i knew it was something i had to do. yes, they would want me to go silently so they could continue on business as usual, or propaganda as usual. but i would hope, in no matter what profession, whether it's business, law, accounting,

finance, whatever it is, that if you see wrongdoing, that there is a red line and that you do speak up and that you do -- that you do something about it. and this is what i felt i had to do. i didn't know how it was i had to do. i didn't know how it would be received, and my plan was to go home to hang out with my dog. >> and this is the journey and now you are here and home. and thank you, liz, for joining us. >> thank you. the big three with the showdown at the town hall. did paul ryan get the message? that is next. yeah, yes. the "name your price" tool. you tell us the price you want to pay, and we give you a range of options to choose from. careful, though -- that kind of power can go to your head. that explains a lot. yo, buddy! i got this. gimme one, gimme one, gimme one! the power of the "name your price" tool. only from progressive.

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all right. time for the big three and the one top thak we are going to hit today is the confrontation that with was at congressman paul ryan's town hall. and goal ldie taylor is joining, and joel watkins and james reed.

and let's get to it. during a radio interview this is what congressman paul ryan said in last week. >> we have a tailspin in the cultures of men just not working and just generations of men not even thinking of working or learning the value and the culture of work. so there is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with. >> and then this. the reaction of one constituent in the wednesday's town hall and taking issue with the fact of his term "inner city." >> the nextt day you said that statement was inarticulate and i don't believe it. you said what you meant, fine, and the bottom line is that the statement is not true. i want to point out to you why it is not true. as a code word for black -- >> there is nothing whatsoever in my comments about race at all. it had nothing to do with race. >> all right. joe, this is the fellow republican paul ryan, joe, and what is the reaction to this?

>> well, mr. gardner makes a great point. i'm an african man and very sensitive to that and as all african-american men are and we want to find work and work and we don't want to be labeled by anybody, and we don't want inner city to be a code word for black, but i know kopgman paul ryan and he is a good man. he is not inclined to categorize people that way, and he means making it better for everybody by dealing with with the issue of poverty, and paul ryan's point is one that should be taken at heart. >> and mr. morris, he also said that there are people who are black and his pan ig, -- hispanic, and armenian and all types, and what is the explanati explanation? >> well, you can take it at face value, and joe can explain it away because of the friend, but we don't have a race problem, but a work problem. we need to have opportunities of wherever you live to get a job

if you want a job. so people need to be prepared to work and stop pointing the fingers at who does not want to work. >> and goldie, you heard what paul ryan heard, and do you buy it? >> no. no, i don't buy it that he was not using inner city as a euphemism for black. he is using a bell curve that has affected the discourse in such a way, and infected the public policy? such a way that we can't craft meaningful policy to meet people at their point of need, and we can't solve the educational issues that we are having, and the problems that we rare havin in the inner cities and we cannot effectively solve those issues and create meaningful jobs and wages for people for whom those things are out of reach for them today. and so rather than take thing a holistic look at how we are shaping public policy that meets people at their point of need rather than demonizing and pointing fingers which is what paul ryan is doing, and it is

unfortunate and disingenuous of him to not say exactly what he meant. >> and thank you all. this is abbreviated because of the breaking news obviously, but thank you all of you and we appreciate it. that is going to wrap up "weekends with alex witt" and we will see you next weekend. up next is t.j. holmes. like this: dozens of tax free zones across new york state. move here. expand here. or start a new business here... and pay no taxes for 10 years. with new jobs, new opportunities and a new tax free plan. there's only one way for your business to go. up. find out if your business can qualify at start-upny.com i'm bethand i'm michelle. and we own the paper cottage. it's a stationery and gifts store. anything we purchase for the paper cottage goes on our ink card. so you can manage your business expenses and access them online instantly with the game changing app from ink. we didn't get into business to spend time managing receipts,

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this...is jane. her long day on set starts with shoulder pain... ...and a choice take 6 tylenol in a day which is 2 aleve for... ...all day relief. hmm. [bell ring] "roll sound!" "action!" the news we have just received is that the chinese ambassador received an image of the floating object in the southern corridor and sending the ships to verify. >> hello to you all, i'm t.j. joemz -- t.j. holmes and craig is off today. we have a new satellite image and maybe it is a clue to what happened to flight mh 370. >> we don't know, but we are hoping against hope that the plane will be found with