ed and why. loved ones arrived near the crash site on thursday hours after hearing the horrifying news about how their relatives were killed. the search for victims and debris now on its fourth day. crews are looking for anything that can help identify people. the plane was at its cruising altitude when the pilot could be heard leaving the cockpit. the pilot tries to get back in first knocking and then banging on the locked door but the co-pilot ignores him. he sets the auto pilot to descend to 100 feet. for eight minutes he can be heard breathing normally as he lets the plane plummet, failing to answer calls from callers, and from the cabin. passengers spent their final minutes screaming before the plane smashed into the mountains. the co-pilot is andreas lubitz a german with no criminal record

or known terrorist ties. >> normally when we commit suicide, one commits suicide alone. that's why i can't speak about the suicide high to the sis. when there are 150 people in the back, it's difficult for me to use the term suicide or to qualify this as a suicide. >> joining us now, bill neely live from alps france near the crash site. what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, mika. the police helicopters are coming and going bringing investigators to the crash site. as you say, they are trying to recover, jewelry, clothing body parts, anything that will identify the people who are still lying scattered on that hillside. they're also looking, of course for the second flight recorder. all the evidence that brought yesterday's stunning announcement was from the cockpit voice recorder. they're still looking for the

data recorder. families have returned. one family that has not is the family of the co-pilot andreas lubitz. they are due to the questioned again today in about an hour's time trying to work out what it was that drove this young man who drive his plane into the soid side of a mountain. we're learning a few more details. police recovered items from his apartment and one of them they say is a significant clue. they say it's not a suicide note but they have sent something for testing in a laboratory that they say is significant. now, we know this young man suffered from severe mental depression. he had to suspend his training at the flight school in phoenix, arizona some years ago and he stopped training for a year and a half during that time. he underwent medical examination

and on his pilot's license, there was a coding saying that he had suffered from mental issues in the past and it's also thought that he may have broken up with his girlfriend recently. now, whether any of that had anything to do with why on earth he drove his plane into the side of the mountain, we don't know but the parents will be questioned again later today and the police are still searching his belongings for clues as to what drove him to this terrible tragedy. >> thank you. we'll see you once again coming up on "morning joe" straight ahead. as bill mentioned, we know the identity of the co-pilot but why he decided to crash the germanwings flight remains a mystery. for more on that we go to katie terr in jeremy. >> the co-pilot was 27 he spoke fluent english and friends say had dreams of flying.

he began training in 20 08 including time at this facility in phoenix. he was certified as a co-pilot in september 2013 but accumulated only 630 flight hour the until officials say he deliberately crashed this flight into the side of a mountain killing everyone on board. no one saw it coming. he had no criminal record. no known terrorist connections. >> he passed all tests because nobody gets into the cockpit without passing the tests. >> they say he took a break from flight school in 2009. it hasn't said why. the ceo of germanwings said he was readmitted a few months later after passing all tests. investigators searched his parent's home removing items including what appeared to be a computer and escorts out an unidentified person. boxes of potential evidence were taken from his dusseldorf

apartment. those who know him were stunned. knowing andreas, he said this is inconceivable to me. >> you're confident in your pilots? >> i wish you understood my german because i said and i releeted in english without any doubt my dirt confidence in the selection of and training all of pilots and the qualifications of all pilots and the work of all pilots. it has not been touched by this single tragedy. >> it just doesn't stop. now to new york city where the family of a man tells "the new york times" he had just paid his check at a sushi restaurant when it exploded causing a fire across several buildings in the east village. they say the 23-year-old has not been heard from since. 19 others were injured in what was believed to be a gas explosion.

their investigation is underway for both the cause of the fire and if anyone is unaccounted for. firefighters on the scene captured this video at the moment one of the buildings collapsed in a cloud of fire, ash, and dust. >> we did hear when the buildings collapsed. there was a pretty loud sound, obviously. we walked outside to see no building being there at all. >> i saw the debris all over and i saw two person laying on the street middle of the street and i saw a lady was climbing down trying to get out of the building but she got stuck there and one man climbed up to help that lady and let her come down. the guy, again, he went up to see whether there was any other people trapped out there or not. >> >> and was this a fire fighter? >> a civilian. >> city officials said private contractors had been working on plumbing and gas. the gas company had been in the building about an hour before

tex ploegss. checking out a new meter installation but wouldn't sign off on it. plumes of smoke were visible across manhattan on thursday but the city's health department says the lingering affects of the fire will not pose a risk to the public. now to overseas. it can be tough to look alee january sis in the middle east. the united states is often stuck somewhere in the middle and it's playing out in yemen where there is a new battle ground for these long standing rivals. nbc news richard engle reports. >> saudi arabia has long been known for getting washington to fight its battles, not this time. these saudi fighter jets are on their way to attack rebel positions in yemen targeting a command center and aircraft used by the rebels who have been trying to overthrow the

government. the rebels all rueties now control large parts of yemen. they're backed by iran. to fight them saudi arabia says it's bombing with 100 jets imposing a no fly zone and mobilizing 150,000 ground troops. no invasion yet but that's clearly an option. the saudi coalition of ten muslim nations includes jordan and egypt which sent warships to defend the yemeni coast and offered to send forces. >> iranian officials protested the strikes in sitzerland for nuclear talks. >> we believe it is a dangerous situation and we advise against any escalation. >> the war in yemen has now become a battle between iran and saudi arabia. two old and well-armed rivals. and neither side appears willing to back down. >> all right.

meanwhile in iraq the u.s. and iran have a common enemy in isis but their shared interest in defeating the terror group is far more complicated than meets the way. iranian back officials have pulled out in tikrit. the shiite militia say they are protesting u.s. involvement in an offensive insisting they could have taken the city without western help. the estimated 10,000 fighters roughly one-third of the government aligned forces there are now on the sidelines of the battle. some militia say they might even turn their weapons against american planes. for weeks isis fighters have been able to repel the iraqi counteroffensive despite being outin your opinioned. an illinois national guardsman has been arrested for trying to

plot attacks on behalf of isis. a specialist in the national guard since 2011 was arrested at chicago's midway airport en route to cairo to fight for the islamic state. the other, the cousin planned an act of terror on an unnamed military base in northern illinois. according to federal officials. an undercover agent friended him on facebook who claimed to be saving up for a trip. they met with an foibz employee and were arrested. now to serious allegations facing the u.s. drug enforcement agency. this is almost hard to believe. almost. given everything we've heard. according to a report from the department of justice, dea agents posted in columbia engaged in six parties with prostitutes supplied by local drug cartels. in addition the report noted most of the parties occurred in government-leased quarters.

where agents, laptops and government-issued equipment was equipment and at least three of the special agents were given money and weapons by cartel members. after the investigation seven agents were issued suspensions ranging from two to ten days. we're going to turn to business now. u.s. stocks fell for the fourth stagt day. the dollar is trading higher against the eweuro around the globe. what could this mean for the markets and u.s. manufacturers? >> it's a nervous time for manufacturers and exporters across the board. the strength is the problem. everybody is buying dollars. the dollar is going up against a whole host of currencies notably against the euro here in europe as well and it is making exports for big american companies in some cases 15 to 20% more

expensive. we're just coming to the entd of the first quarter and that will come through in earnings. it will show concerns about the strength of the u.s. dollar. elsewhere facebook is trying all kinds of new technology. they have a plan called internet.org and they may have a drone they're going to start testing to beam internet. potentially weighing only as much as a small car. back to you. >> and steve, apple's tim cook has big plans for his enormous fortune. tell us about that. >> small plans for his nephew. his nephew is one of the people who's going to get anything from his money. apparently he's going to pay for his nephew's education and then he's going to give away the rest which is a great tradition. he's worth about $120 million

plus he has restricted stock in apple. that's nearly $800 million and apart from the college education of his nephew he's going to give a lot of away and this follows a pledge from many other million airs. extraordinary amount of money and gift. he doesn't want to just sign a check. he wants an approach to philanthropy that goes further as well. >> thank you. still ahead on "way too early." four teams move onto the elite eight. twhos in and who's out and is your bracket still any good? and really? a top magazine now branding this guy one of the world's top thinkers. they obviously have their reasons. this is perfect. lewis is going to explain what those reasons could be and a check on whether when we come back.

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it's your year. it's time for sports. take a look. >> now mcconnell three. good. wow. >> mcconnell. the arizona wildcats outscore the xavier musketeers. book door. beautiful back door pass.

what a move. grant gets the pick and roll. he goes the over r other way. va vas tore ya. >> take a look at that kentucky spacing. >> oh the lob. >> the team that shoots over 50% for this. oh. >> no. it counts. it counts. >> oh my goodness. jackson. you couldn't have skritcripted it any better. >> comings up with this pickpocket. chased the other way. gets it to go. wisconsin trailed by 4 with six and a half to go. they go onto win it and make it to the elite eight again. >> stage manager joe, how's you're welcome bracket? is it good.

the second set of sweet sixteen teams tip off tonight. nc state versus louisville. duke against utah and last oklahoma facing michigan state. it's going to be fun. good games. late hall of fame north carolina basketball coach dean smith is making an impact on his player's lives. he set up a trust to send $20 to each of his letterman after his death. it went with a letter that read enjoy a dinner without compliments of coach dean smith. that's nice. let's get a check on your weather with bill karins. >> that's classy. dean smith, i've never heard a bad thing about the guy. his career was just off the charts and with michael jordan

and everything. crazy stuff. this weekend very quiet weather for the most part. we are watching really heavy rain for your friday. it gets better throughout the around. if you're driving i 95 this morning from southern connecticut and down through philadelphia and baltimore and d.c., the wipers are on. it will improve as the day goes on. also the outer banks, you're going to think there's a tropical storm. a lot of heavy rain. showers in charlotte. and down in florida, storms rolling through fort myers a little bit ago. just about approaching there. there's some lightning with this too and that's going to move across the sun shine state and west palm beach. not a lot of stormy weather. we get rid of this mess throughout the day but we have a lot of extreme temperature. for the most part this is the pattern we've been in all winter

long. here's when the jetstream controls the weather. we have a big ridge in the west a big dip in the jetstream in the east and because of that it allows the cold air to come down from canada. 38 through saturday. the great lakes are raw and chilly into saturday but in the west 24 record highs yesterday including seattle and portland. we're going to continue with the warm area. we continue this very unusual weather pattern. it's been for the most part about the last 18 months we've been in and out of this weather pattern where the west is hot and dry. and the east is chilly. sunday is the best day this this weekend. ee even have a freeze warning for tennessee. no nothing too severe but we're trying to get into spring but it's a struggle. >> bill thank you very much. still ahead, we have russell

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all right. we're going explain russell brandt and get a check on the other headlines with louis burgdorf who's going to get us through this. >> hbo launched the launch of a new news broadcast. the deal includes five half hour shows a week. and the vice series on hbo series this increase episodes and be extended. the chief executive told new york times over the last few years our relationship has morphed from a great partnership and a ground breaking deal that are l create a new voice in news. this is the first time hbo has ever had a daily news. it'll be interesting to see how that works. when you here the name rustle brandt you might think actor. what about one of the world's

moat influential thinkers? that's what a top publication in britain has crowned him. he's been selected from a list of 50 names to have found profound ways to engage in the world's most central questions. how did he qualify? he called for the -- what do you think? >> i'm, i'm not a loss of words. that's all i'm going to say. we had quite a performance with him on the set. let's get a preview of what's coming up on "morning joe." let me toss to mika. airlines around the world are now looking at changing cockpit rules after learning the co-pilot of germanwings flight deliberately crashed the plane. why no one saw it coming and is it even possible to spot a threat when the signs aren't

obvious? plus, a tangled web of war in the middle east as the u.s. finds itself on both sides of a war fighting alongside iran and iraq but against iran and yemen. what exactly is the u.s. trying to accomplish and is this the best way to go about it. former cia director and nbc east amen mole dean is here to discuss what's going on. that and much more straight ahead on "morning joe." w with the skin of then olay total effects vitamin-enriched. to fight the 7 signs of aging. in 4 weeks skin looks up to 10 years younger. 7 in 1 from the world's #1 olay. your best beautiful ♪ turn around ♪ ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing good around ♪ ♪ turn around, barry ♪ ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ [ female announcer ] fiber one.

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♪ it's 6:00 on the east coast. welcome to "morning joe." live from washington where it's shaping up to be another very big news day. we're following developments in a number of major stories. in just a moment we're going to get grand new details of the crash in the passenger plane in the alps. the questions continue to mount almost as fast as we get answers. why did a