once again, this air asia indonesia flight gone missing near belitung island. as soon as we get more information we'll pass it to you >>> also ahead - the minimum wage - many want to see it raised to $15. what is could mean for employees, business owners and the economy. >>> tonight we take a deeper look at the minimum wage a subject of debate. the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 was set in july 2009. the minimum wage was introduced in the 1930s adjusted to $2,012, it peaked in 1968. back then it was $1.60. the equivalent today is $10.94. a full-time working making minimum wage earns over $15,000, just above the poverty line. if that person is the soul earner for a family of three, it puts them $3600 below the poverty line. as of january 1st, '29 states plus the distribute of columbia will have a minimum wage above the federal level of $7.25. in some states it's a quarter more. like main junior, and new mexico mexico. next year connecticut, california rhode island vermont, washington will have a minimum of $9 with the district of columbia hitting $10.25.

i spoke to the first marshal in charge of the search and rescue operation on belitung island. the closest area where the plane lost contact with the air traffic controllers. it is still 240 nautical miles by 240 nautical miles. he said they don't have the data to be able to hone in on a particular location. as soon as they have that they will do it. i also asked him does he think there is a possibility of survivors. he said if the plane landed or crashed into the water, it is highly unlikely. he told me this several hours ago. he said it is possible if it managed to crash on land. there are jungles to the east of here. a small account of living through the crash if it landed online. if it did land on water, he said it is highly unlikely there are survivors. >> a report from the australia search plane that there is debris in the water. the debris can be anywhere in the ocean. what is he saying about the sightings? >> reporter: at least here on the ground on this island the official i spoke to said he had not heard that report or not giving it credibility. we don't know what tha

paula hancocks cnn belitung island indonesia. >> our thanks to paula for that. such a big search area paula was talking about and we know the weather has been rough. very rough there in recent days. so what's the situation now and how will it affect the search efforts. ? let's bring in chad myers at the cnn weathercenter. chad, what do things look like right now and tomorrow at first light? what will they see then? >> i was very encouraged by the pictures that we just saw from paula how things have really calmed down. the winds have calmed down they have been rough, the seas have been rough, this is a shallow part. in you've ever thought about lake erie where lake miami is deep and there's rollers, lake erie all those waves are very sharp because the waves bounce off the bottom and you get a sharper steeper wave action tomorrow will be a much better day for ships. remember, there's still those pingers throughout they'll be looking for as well. we learned about those on mh-370. this plane had a very rough trip. i'm sure the pilot just said "keep your seat belts o

they say the a320 plane likely crashed into the ocean between kalimantan and belitung islands. the weather was stormy when the aircraft lost contact. indonesia's government has expanded the search area to over 150,000 square kilometers. they're being assisted by 43 ships and 37 planes including those from singapore, malaysia, and australia. the u.s. china, and south korea also sent vessels to the region. >>> japanese stock prices ended lower on this last trading day of 2014. political concerns in greece weighed on market sentiment. but, on the year the benchmark nikkei was up more than 7% and the year-end closing price was the highest in 15 years. ramin mellegard from the nhk world's business desk gives us the details and looks back at the year's trading. [ clapping ] >> well despite the lower share prices markets were in a pretty festive mood here. there was a ceremony to mark the last trading day of the year and market players here will now have a five-day break for the new year. but let's have a look at how the nikkei and top pix ended december 30th. the nikkei closing at 17

search teams are scouring the java sea, looking for the plane around the belitung island and banka and singkep. the head of the search operation says it's likely the plane is at the bottom of the sea. scott heidler is with us from surabaya, where the plane departed. just get us up to date on to the latest on the search and rescue mission. >> for the very latest in the search and rescue mission is it's a true multinational operation. you have assets in the sky and on the sea from malaysia singapore, and also australia. p3 orion, a sophisticated aircraft has been deployed and searching the 200km stretch in the java sea. we heard earlier from officials from search and rescue. we are at terminal 2 this is where the plane took off from. there's a small area inside just for family and friends on board. they briefed them in private, and came out and briefed us and said they are expanding the search and rescue operation because the weather conditions are better and they have a bit more of an idea where it might be. they have more assets. singapore agreed - sorry, there has been agreement betwe

rescue crews are focussing efforts mere belitung island. airasia said in respect 162 passengers and crew members on board, most indonesian. gerald tan has more. . >> the airport crisis at srabaya in indonesia, people waiting for news. 162 passengers and crew on board qz8501surabaya in indonesia, people waiting for news. 162 passengers and crew on board qz8501 the plane an airbus 320 lost communications with air traffic control 42 minutes after taking off. bev bev bantayan island tcks bel. >> tung . >> >> translation: we will provide updates of developments on an hourly basis. >> reporter: at singapore's changi airport those waiting for the flight are given the same scant information. the plane lost contact as it flew obvious the java sea. the area was crowdy. the pilot requested to change course due to weather. this is the first major incident for the malaysian low-cost carrier which has significant presence across south-east asia it trails two of the malaysian tragedies this year both involving the national carrier. in march, mh370 disappe

search teams are scouring the java sea looking for signs of the plane over the islands belitung island, banka and singkep. the head of the indonesian search operation says it's likely the plane is at the bottom of the sea. scott heidler is in the indonesian city of surabaya from where the plane departed. scott, we know indonesia accepted offers of help from the neighbours. what can you tell us about that? >> there's a lot of accepted assistance. it's a multinational effort. there's malaysia singapore, australia involved. singapore recently in the last couple of hours have come out that they'll supply underwater assistance. it comes to both technical machinery, and for personnel who are expertise in this. that has been offered and accepted by indonesian officials. the australians had provided an australian aircraft. a sophisticated aircraft and that has been searching through the area. it's a big area about 200km stretch, if you will in the java sea and they have been searching since the sun rose this morning, hours ago. we are expecting to hear from the vice president of this country,

right now search and rescue teams are focusing on the area around the belitung islands between indonesiassisting in all of this. indonesia has most resources, 12 ships, helicopters, planes. singapore added a c-130. malaysia has given a c-130 and other ships and now australia has gotten involved giving an ap 3 c orion air patrol aircraft. they searched all day yesterday. they searched all day today. they stopped for the nighttime. they're going to stop once it gets dark and so far they see no sign of the plane and weather conditions are becoming a factor. it is cloudy now which means visibility is less than ideal and they expect it to rain tomorrow and for the next few days which means that it will be even harder to spot any wreckage if there is any on the surface of the water. weather could have been a factor which contributed to the plane disappearing. while it was in the air, about 45 minutes into the flight pilots called air traffic control and said they wanted to change in altitude to avoid some weather. that was the last that anyone heard of this plane. now, indonesian officials are

the flight was last seen on radar three minutes later at 6:16 am, near belitung island in the java sea. a minute later, it was gone. according to an indonesian transportation official, no distress signal had been sent out. search and rescue teams from indonesia, singapore, and malaysia spent several hours sunday searching for any sign of the plane, an airbus a320. but as night fell, officials halted the search until morning. the united states, the united kingdom, australia, south korea, and india have all volunteered search and rescue teams. >> ( translated ): i heard many rumors from people and i said the rumors are not true that the plane has been found and wreckage has been found-- this is not true. >> reporter: tony fernandes, chief executive of airasia, a budget carrier based in malaysia, also cautioned against speculation. >> we do not know what's happened yet, so we'll wait for the accident investigation to really find out what's happened. our concern right now is for the relatives and for the next of kin, there is nothing more important to us for our crew's family, and for our

the helicopters and planes have come here to the airports on the island in belitung. this is the closest land mass to the area where the plane lost contact with the controllers. this is the area where the helicopters are coming to refuel and briefing and where they should go next. we spoke to the head of the search and rescue efforts here in belitung. i asked him, does he think there could be survivors still. he said if the plane did land in the water, it is very unlikely. if it did manage to crash or land on land there is a jungle area. he mentioned to the east of here. he said it is still possible. the area that they are searching is large. 240 nautical miles by 240 nautical miles. they sliced it up to be systematic about it. they have to make sure there is no overlap and they are not missing any areas. they are combing through that area. not just at sea, also on land, to see if they can find any sign of it. john. >> paula, is there word that an australia plane spotted some debris within that wide search area. we know there is a lot of debris in the ocean to begin w

the search area is at sea, although it is conceivable the aircraft was, there are land masses, belitung islandnd also borneo nearby. so in theory, it could be related to the aircraft. but the key is for investigators to go there in a helicopter or send guys on the ground and find out what happens. sometimes when an aircraft goes down in a more remote wilderness environment it takes a few days to locate it. >> indonesia has admitted they're not equipped to do this kind of search, but they remain in charge of the search. is there any question about their ability to deal with what is turning out to be a very complicated international effort? >> i think they're pretty well situated to take care of this. indonesia, malaysia and other countries in the region will continually conduct search and rescue operations. when this happens, they can come together, and they can work together as a coordinated team. so i am fairly confident that, you know, this will be managed in a professional manner and at some point we'll find out what happened to that aircraft and where the location is. >> does it bother you

surabaya in indonesia, encounter severe weather 40 minutes into the tripe near the island of belitung island. the pilots asked air traffic controllers to change the flight path, but lost contact. 162 were on board. veronica pedrosa has more. >> reporter: from air and sea a search for airasia qz8501. the airbus a320 was carrying 162 from surabaya to sink -- singapore. 42 minutes after take off it loft contact. >> translation: i hope for a miracle. i should have been with them i cancelled two weeks ago. i had two friends on board with five family members. >> reporter: those with relatives on board have been demanding answers. indonesia's crisis management set up a crisis center at the singapore airport. >> translation: the national search and rescue agency navy and air force have orders. we have extended the full extent of our air force to find information. >> reporter: there's little information. the plane last contact after the java sea. the area was cloudy. the pilot requested a change of course because of bad weather. this is where they were supposed to arrive. air transport authorities at

media outlets reporting that it was on a place called long island south of belitung island.re was no information at this point that the smoke is related to this missing jet. but it is something we're told by indonesian authorities. the authorities saying it was spotted by an air crew and they are going to take a closer look. "outfront," a norm he faa safety inspector and the author of why planes crash. and we have retired united airlines captain. he flew the exact planism wonder if could i begin with you. it is early and we learned very well during mh 370 that early signs of possible wreckage could turn out to be completely unconnected to the plane. you have here at least something that indonesian authorities are checking closer. an island within the search area. some smoke. would you have any other signal? here we're here as you're seeing our viewers. that red little arrow, within the search area where the smoke was spotted. what other information would you get if the plane did hit land instead of water? the elt would have gone off? >> if it was an impact. it is a decelerat

the family members will be given a charter flight tomorrow so they can fly around the belitung islands. it's the last known location of the plane. they're going to be given a chance to pray for their loved ones there. when the search effort resumes tomorrow divers will be going, weather permitting into an area where they saw a large shadow. they hope that's where the bulk of the wreckage is. they're hoping that's where the black boxes are. if they're able to recover it it will be taken back to a lab and begin the process of trying to analyze the data to figure out what wept wrong in the flight and whether or not bad weather was a factor or something else. they want to interview other pilots flying around at the same time who managed to make it to their final destination without a problem. they want to know if they have any insight into the matter. tomorrow they'll begin the search begin. five countries in total looking including two navelal ships from the u.s. navy. >>> thank you very much. let's bring in command eric burgess, also retired airline captain tom bun who has over 40 years

ships, helicopters and planes scoured the sea around the belitung islands. halfway between surabaya and singapore for the plane. the flight took off from surabaya at 5:85 local time. there was no distress call. >> we don't have a lot of good data to pin point the location of the wreckage. >> reporter: pilots had asked to change altitude to avoid bad weather, a request that was denied because of traffic. >> we know this flight was traveling at about 32,000 feet, and there was a very tall thunderstorm ahead of the flight, which they did try to get around but were not cleared to. and it's possible that they encountered very strong vertical winds. there are updrafts and downdrafts that can exceed 80, even 100 miles per hour. >> reporter: at surabaya, relatives were comforted by airasia's ceo tony fernandes who flew down hours after the disappearance. ? we don't want to speculate, until we find the aircraft, we'll look into it and see. >> reporter: a marked difference from the way malaysia handled mh 370. comparisons between the two flights are inevitable, but th

are scouring the area looking for signs of the plane around the islands of singkep, banka and belitung island. the head of the indonesian search operation says it's likely the plane is at the bottom of the sea. we have reporters in singapore and indonesia following the story, we'll hear from veronica pedrosa who is at singapore's changi airport, but first to scott heidler, who is in surabaya, from where the plane took off on sunday. as i understand it vice president is where you are earlier today. what did he have to say? yes, he was here. first he went into a waiting room, if you will that has been turned into the crisis center for the family members, a private room off to my right. he visited with family members, he came out and addressed the media, tackled questions, reports that had been out about sightings of - potential sightings of objects in the water, in the search areas. he said that he looked - he touched on other examples of how long the process will take for them - potentially take for them to find evidence of where and how the aircraft went down. >> he said that people need to b

the airasia flight went missing between the islands of kalimantan and belitung after taking off from surabaya. the weather was bad when the plane lost contact. former japan airlines pilot say many large storm clouds develop this time of year between indonesia and the malay peninsula. >> translator: the plane might have flown into storm clouds, and that triggered a mishap. i assume the pilot could have failed to regain his position after the plane was rocked violently in the clouds, where there were vertical torrents of air. >> families and friends of those on board have been waiting to learn the whereabouts of their loved ones at the airport in surabaya. they say they're frustrated at the lack of information. >>> more than 400 people have been rescued from a ferry fire disaster in the adriatic sea but authorities in italy said they have confirmed at least eight people dead. the blaze started sunday morning after the ship left patras in western greece for ancona in central italy. 478 passengers and crew members were reportedly on board. italian authorities said they have not confirmed

the airasia flight went missing somewhere between the islands of kalimantan and belitung after taking off from the indonesian city of surabaya. leaders from indonesia, singapore, malaysia and australia have sent military ships and aircraft to the region. the weather was bad when the plane lost contact. storm clouds were seen in the area. >>> more than 100 passengers are trapped on a ferry that caught fire in the adriatic sea. one person has died. italian and greek rescue crews are battling rough seas and bad weather to reach the vessel. the ferry was heading from patras in western greece to the central italian city of an kona. it caught fire off greece on sunday. a greek company operating the ship carrying 478 people. about 300 of them have already been rescued. but many are still stranded on board. italian media say one person died after jumping into the sea to escape the blaze. the fire is believed to have begun around the vessel's car deck. the italian and greek navies are using helicopters to take passengers to safety. strong winds and choppy seas are hampering their efforts. but

we are at the airport on the island of belitung.ters have been coming in. they're going out on sorties, come back here to refuel have a briefing to find out where they should be going next and heading off. this is becoming one of the staging areas for this search-and-rescue operation. now, this island is one of the closest areas to that last point of contact that the plane had and this is the area that much of the search-and-rescue operation is focusing on. according to one official we just spoke to, the search area now is 240 by 240 nautical miles so a very large area. they're cordoning it off, sectioning it off to make sure there's no overlap, to make sure they don't miss any areas. they're doing this very systematically. i spoke first to marshal sipcypriot cyprioti and he says they haven't been able to narrow the search down. >> translator: we're searching all areas. later if we get new data we can narrow it down. >> i asked the first marshal if he believed the possibility of any survivors still. he said that if the plane crashed

the last known position over the java sea between the islands of belitung and borneo. >> we're devastated by what has happened. we do not know what's happened here. >> reporter: indonesia is leading the search with help from malaysia singapore and australia, the united states has been asked to join the effort and will soon send assets to the region. so far there's little to go on no sign of the wreckage no signals from the plane to help pinpoint its location. >> the chief operation in this area and airplanes and helicopters operating, it is no issue of of course being operated in the sea especially in the bad weather like this but instructions to all our peoples do their best and fast and hoping this leads to finding the plane. >> flight plans show the entire route was over the sea. our evaluation of the coordinate coordinates that we received suggest it is under water, he says so our presumption now is that the aircraft is under the sea. and suragaya's airport distraught relatives gather. still hoping their loved ones will be found alive. >> are you still hopeful that your relatives are