a psychological one as well. that part of the battle is officially joined. neener neener. good thursday morning. right now on "first look," disaster toll. the number of missing or unaccounted for drops as the situation turns to grief. president obama set to meet with pope francis for the first time this morning at the vatican. nine-alarm tragedy, two firefighters pay the ultimate price. plus search suspended as another storm sometime efforts. and a major decision that could impact sports forever. searchers are doubling their efforts in the deadly mudslide in washington state. it shows the hill and how it was battered by days of treacherous rain.

it sent a mountain of mud down below. the mud makes rescue efforts that much more difficult. >> reporter: from an enormous search area, 90 people are now missing and unaccounted pr. that's a firm number now and 35 others were like ly in the area and can't be ruled out among victims. word that more bodies were recovered, they are not counted until they arrive at the medical examiner's office. >> i think we need to take a step back and look the at the magnitude of what happened. the debris field is huge. it is complex, it is dangerous, and i don't think we have a lot of answers. all i can say is we have a number that is 90 and we're going to pursue it as much as

welcome. >> reporter: cell phone video -- >> you're finding cars that are basically compacted to the size of a washing machine, it pretty much alleviates all hope. >> reporter: a firefighter lost his wife and grandchild. his stepdaughter says while his mother's body has been recovered, her baby girl is still missing. >> i lost my mother. i have lost my baby. and my mom, she was the most beautiful woman. she's in a good place. she didn't die this horrific death. she died and she has my baby with her. >> reporter: jennifer borkland, nbc news. tragedy in boston where the mayor says words cannot do

justice for the grief the city feels. a blaze trapped people in the basement. a marine corps veteran and edward walsh are being described as heroes. 13 other firefighters were injured and several police officers were also taken to the hospital. none of the buildings residents were hurt. 45 to 50 mile per hour winds fed the fast-moving blaze, which fire officials say appears to be an accident. and we're hearing from a construction worker who a firefighter heroically rescued in houston earlier this week. you remember this dramatic video. he climbed on to a ladder seconds before part of the apartment building collapsed in flames just feet away. take a listen to what he said. >> i thought i was going to do right there. i said, god, you have to get me out of here. i'm not a hero.

i was save iing my own skin. the heroes are the firefighters that risk their lives to help us. >> coming up today, an interview with the fireman. president obama in an historic first vetoing with pope francis is hitti inting back at russia. this morning it's all about the pope. and white house kor spon sent peter alexander is there. what are you expecting? >> reporter: we expect to see president obama arrive here. he will drive right behind here. he will have 50 minutes to spend with pope francis. this is historic for a variety of reasons. the first african-american president, the first latin-american pope. these are two individuals who obviously unlike any others in the world understand that the other has every word parsed for meaning. the two of them share many

interests. the white house trying to focus on the desire to overcome income inequality, global poverty. there's also some complex elements to this relationship as well. the vatican putting a statement out within the last 48 hours or so acknowledging that this will take place in its language in the context of a complex relationship marked in particular by the controversy over the implementation of the health care law having to deal with the rules of mandatory coverage of comped contraception. secretary of state john kerry and susan rice will visit with the vatican secretary of state. >> are reexpecting to hear anything afterwards? will there be any comments? will there be any statements? what are we expecting? >> well, we know e we will hear

from the president later today, but it won't be taking place here at vatican city. that will be the first opportunity for reporters to ask the president about the experience about the time he spent with pope francis about their shared interests and differences and also an opportunity for the president to compliment the pope on what he's done to inspire not just catholics, but people around the world. >> peter alexander, thank you very much. we're told that the president's motorcade is rolling so when he arrives, we will have that for you. time for a look at the weather. check this out. one meteorologist got more than he bargained for. he was checking off an item on his bucket list. braving winter temperatures and hurricane-force winds in nova scotia. everything looked fine until a strong gust of wind knocks them out of the frame. now for a look at the weather, here's bill karins. >> notice the cameraman stayed up and held on to that camera

for dear life. >> that's never happened to you? >> nothing like that. that was quite a storm. it was even windy all the way back to new york city. here went the monster storm. we don't get them that size all that often. for the most part, not a lot of shoveling. that storm is gone. still some gusty winds with it. it will be a nice day. it is a very cold morning in the eastern sea board. temperatures are very chilly. finally the weather pattern we have listen waiting r for. but we are about 25 degrees warmer right now in minneapolis than this time yesterday. 20 degrees warmer in chicago. so the southerly winds are finally taking over and head in to the eastern sea board. after a cold start, at least the afternoon will be back up into the 40s. for the middle of the country,

alo along with the warmth comes the threat of severe weather. this is severe weather season. we're in late march. april and may are the big tornado months. damaging winds and hail possible in kansas city, st. louis and little rock later this afternoon. here's a look at the forecast today. 41 for boston. thunderstorms in the middle of the country. i would love to tell you, you have a beautiful weekend coming. it will be in the 50s and 60s but you'll need the rain boots. >> it's time to do spring clean i ing. we should say the guys who were blown over, guess where the cameraman was? safe inside a vehicle shooting out the window. >> smart guy. >> word to the wise. thank you so much, bill karins. we're waiting for the president and pope's first meeting. the motorcade is rolling. we'll have that for you live. and a pink planet the size of

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it's a beautiful day in rome, italy. you see some soft of the cars carrying the president. they are hoping to talk about similarities, a commitment to income equality. we'll have full coverage for you when we see the president, who will be heading into those papal apartmen apartments. weather is hampering the search efforts for the missing flight. the information and space technology agency says a thai satellite detected 300 objects near the search area. let's get to ian williams live

in perth, australia. what do we know about the new satellite images? >> good morning. we're still gathering information on precisely what's been seen by this satellite, but the initial reports talk about 300 objects ranging in size by about 6 feet and up to 50 feet. they say that these images were taken on the 24th and they say that it's in an area which is about 200 kilometers, that's maybe 110 miles from the current search area. but what's going to be crucial is comparing this location with those images seen in the french satellite, which was the day before. if it's the same area, then that does tend to reenforce the hopes. but if this isn't a very different area, it's hard to see how they can be the same objects because there's only so far they can travel overnight, if you like. but certainly adding to the frustration here because right

now the bad weather means that the planes have been able to get out there to start checking this or any other of the images. >> ian williams with the latest on the search for that plane, thank you very much. let's take a look again in rome. we are starting to see the president's motorcade as he makes his way to st. peters square and this meeting with pope francis. the convoy is going to stop in the courtyard. he will get out of the car and be greeted by vatican dignitaries and escorted to an elevator. joining me now is father david. good to see you. >> good morning. >> popes have been dealing with world leaders since the time of father. we see back to woodrow wilson. but i think something changed when we saw the relationship between ronald reagan, pope john paul ii, the impact they had on a common cause against communism

that truly changed the world. . there are high expectations for this meeting between pope francis and the president because of their similar backgrounds and feelings about economic equality, about helping the poor. are the expectations too high? what do you think is going to happen here? >> i heard everything that this is going to be an alliance on the issue to pope francis is going to be taking the president to task for the hhs mandate and religious freedom. and probably the truth is somewhere in the middle. there won't likely be the kind of political appliance that there was between president reagan and john paul ii against communism, and yet there are so many things they share in common, particularly with expect to poverty and world peace. >> i want to talk about the issues, but one of the things that help ed to propel ronald reagan and pope john paul ii was a personal chemistry.

these two men liked and respected each other. they understood where the common ground was. they understood the goal that they wanted to achieve. i think a lot of people will be watching closely to see whether or not the president and the pope have that kind of chemistry. they will be reading the tea leaves, they will be reading the photographs that come out of this meeting. >> and if that chemistry is important, probably right from the get go president obama might tell stories of his time in chicago where out of law school he worked at a parish. he used to take smoke breaks with the priest up on the roof and received a grant from the catholic arch diocese of chicago to begin his community organizing work. that might establish a bit of a rapport. >> the way "the new york times" put it is a little known and appreciated part of his life, but it really did help in the development of a social conscious in his commitment to these kinds of issues that he has said are the defining issues of our time, which is to close

the gap between the rich and the poor. very similar kind of message that we have heard from the pope. not just since he became pope, but back to his days in argentina when he saw him going into ghettos, working with the poor, riding the bus, cooking his own meals. >> and president obama most likely has a lot more to gain out of this meeting than does pope francis. >> let's talk about their popularity. pope francis tremendously popul popular. not as popular as pope john paul at the height of his presidency, but here as we see the presidential motorcade and should see the president getting out of this suv. there is a line up of vatican dignitaries who will be meeting him. talk a little bit, if you will, about the protocol. because i think this is one of the places on earth that has the most historic and clearly defined types of protocol.

>> the protocol will be as we see the president greeting the archbish archbishop, who is the head of the papal household, who is in charge of that. all the protocol that would happen, dignitaries not only religious but secular, civil dig any tears will greet the president. also what vounds this protocol is stunningly beautiful. i have been inside the halls he's about to walk through, which i can't imagine even whatever agenda is on his mind he can't be humbled by the beauty. >> it's extraordinary when you walk inside that area, which is not generally open to the public. i have only seen a small part of it, but also have been fortunate enough to be in those areas. it gives you a bit of pause. and you understand the history that has happened there and the history, the possibility of something taking place, the establishment of a relationship. and the question really becomes can there be something that has

a true influence. obviously, one of the things that the president would like to see happen is that this does, again, focus that message on these issues that they do share in common as opposed to those where they are apart. >> one of the big issues that they do share in common that they are both proponents of is intending to eliminate income equality around the world. one might say in the stark opulence of the space they are walking into, that might seem an oxymoron, but not with pope f n francis. . he will be coming out of his humble studio and greeting the president in an official diplomatic way, but we know after little bit more than a year that this man is not one who is enthralled with the trappings of power or the opulence of the vatican palaces. >> yet it is spectacularly beautiful. he's entering the courtyard. he's going into the entrance, one of several entrances to the

palace. this is where the swiss guards are sworn in every year since we talk about the ceremony that goes on there. he's going to walk past two rooms between an outer room. and the pope's library. the pope's library is where he works. it's where he receives his private audiences. and in the middle, we should say there are three huge windows in this library that let the beautiful light in. it looks like a lovely day will. there's a broad ma hagny table that's yards long, a case around all four walls and exquisite paintings. so it is that kind of historic, momentous setting for the kind of conversations they will surely have. talk a little bit, though, about the pope himself. one of the few things that has

officially been said by folks inside the vatican is that there will be a pastoral greeting for him. this is a pope who we have seen very much get into audiences to take the babies, to hug and kiss audiences. we also know he's greeted a number of other dignitaries recently, vladimir putin. >> it's too bad the president did you want have toddlers to bring along. the protocol will surround a lot, but the pope is calling all of us to regardless of our station, regardless of the authority or power we might hold in the church, to first and foremost be pastors and to be shepards. there will be a moment of this pope being a pastor and a shepard to president obama. he was strongly affected by the archbishop of chicago who brought to the world his

seamless ethic of life. erg from conception to natural death including war, poverty, is part of the church's pro life message. >> let's talk a little bit about that area where they disagree. there's a divide. and we can start with what happened just two days ago. the u.s. supreme court hearing arguments on the validity of the religious exemptions of the contraception mandate. it's something that the conference of catholic bishops, which is a powerful lobby within the vatican, there's a political component to this as well. they have the pope's ear. this has been very important to them. no doubt there's going to be a conversation there. i don't know it's going to be a conversation that's going to change any minds. >> also two days ago, i believe it was just yesterday the pope was having a meeting with vatican staffers that deal with health care. he once again reemphasized the

church's position that we must guard and protect life everywhere from conception until natural death. so certainly the topic of the administration's hhs mandate, which puts the church and many catholics in a difficult position. you mentioned the supreme court hearings just a couple days ago about violating their conscious. when president obama and pope benedict met in 2009, certainly the topic of religious freedom and the protection of life was high on the agenda. >> let's listen for just a second because this is one of the beautiful ceremonies that we see inside the walls of the vatican. >> this will be a protocol leading a procession. may even feel a little prayer ritual. we see the men surrounded by the swiss guard. this is their domain.

not all swiss guard wear the decorated uniforms. some would look like secret service agents. we can see president obama really as we talked about a moment ago soaking in the ambience. he's on his way to be greeted by the pope as the pope steps out of a door and shakes his hand. so the first thing we will see will be a very brief greeting and then their meeting will take place behind closed doors and in secret. >> it's very interesting when you look at the ways in which these two men have come into public life. two of the most charismatic figures in modern times. again, these are two men who have been on the cover of "rolling stone", of "time" magazine, the personal relationship here that we will certainly hear reports about, but as you say, we will not see is the kind of relationship

that's going to set the tone moving forward about whether or not this is what has been traditionally the president goes to mete the pope at one time or another. we should remember that this president also met pope benedict. very different kind of meeting because in that meeting in 2009 cordial. they did talk about foreign policy, but the first thing that benedict did was give a copy of bioethics to the president that condemned embryonic stem cell research, two things that the president supports. >> here's a little gift to begin our meeting. >> the president said now i have something to read on the plane home. it was a very vivid, in-your-face kind of statement. there will be an exchange of gifts. >> likely all the dignitaries that pope francis has met with over the last several months he has given a copy of his latest

exercisation. he does talk about many of the important issues including immigration reuniting of families, including the great gap he sees in income inequality and the fact that there are many countries around the world that have certainly economic systems that seem to promote what pope francis calls a throw away culture. we're used to getting a brand new iphone. but that also happens with people and that cannot happen in a society that respects a human person. >> there we see the meeting and the smiles from both men. and the cameras. >> this initial moment will be merely that brief handshake. they will be taking another photo opportunity. and then they will sit down for

a schedule to be about 50 minutes when pope benedict met with with president obama in 2009. they were scheduled for 15 minutes and met for 35. these two men are scheduled to meet for close to an hour. we'll see if they exceed their time as well. >> president obama, you're in my office as the pope sits down behind that desk. >> you may notice though, maybe we can hear something here. >> good morning, how are you? so nice to see you. good to see you. nice to see you. >> it is very rare that pope francis speaks in english in

public or private. there's a translator that has sat down next to each of the men. but at first, the initial greeting there was an exchange without the translators. >> we may be able to hear a few more words now that the cameras have stopped clicking. we should say that as popes do and there we see the press secretary, he speaks multiple languages. i have heard him speak eng lush. the first traditionally audience they give to the press. i was there. and his english is certainly completely understandable and good. it's mot a language he feels particularly comfortable spoo speaking. >> he almost always uses a translator, but will say something like i think i understand what you said, but i'd really like the benefit of

the translator. so that initial very cordial greeting in person. i'm sure he spoke a few words in english, but they will rely mostly on the translators. >> you see secretary of state john kerry who has had meetings leading up to this. we should also say there are international issues that they are going to be talking about beyond what we have said before. they will talk about the conflict torn regions in the middle east and africa and we'll remember last september when the obama administration was thinking about military trikes, pope francis condemned the violence and held a prayer vigil. we expect a wide ranging conversation now behind closed doors. president obama and pope francis for the first meeting. that's going to do it for me. i'll be e heading over to studio 3a where thomas roberts will continue our coverage. thomas? >> chris, i look forward to seeing you in a second. i'm thomas roberts and welcome to "way too early." and we continue with these

glorious optics. president obama just beginning his audience with the pope. it's their first official visit. minutes ago the president arrived for this private meeting. we know that the other people in attendance right there, we had images of secretary of state john kerry and the press secretary jay carney. as the president was received by the pope, the wo men sat down at the pope's desk. they were both saddled with interpreters. the two men conversed moments before the cameras were pulled away. we can see how the prestige of all of this is taking place. and there we see secretary of state john kerry. but obviously, africa, the middle east, syria, all topics that will most likely coming up. people understanding that these two men, one being the president in his s