nbc's keir simmons is in kuala lumpur for us tonight. keir, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. after today's announcement, it was a terrible loss for many of the families. some chinese families accused the malaysians of murdering their loved ones as others tried to simply make sense of this terrible loss. family members overwhelmed by grief. this woman who had lost so much was inconsolable. many first heard the news by text message. then in a private meeting. it left them in tears. others were furious at officials and the media swarming around them so soon after they heard that flight 370 was gone forever. nbc's eunice eun was with family members in beijing. >> i saw people crying and wailing and absolutely devastated by the fact that their families were gone. >> reporter: in kuala lumpur, grieving families listened to the prime minister's announcement in disbelief. this person's 29-year-old son was on flight 370. "it's my worst fear," he said. his family had no warning today. >> reporter: you didn't even get a e-mail or any

>> keir, thank you very much for that.stating news for the families and i want to go back now to retired airline captain john cox and bob hager joins me on set. as much as we want to find this plane, i think sometimes we get lost in the fact that these are families and there are loved ones on board that plane, and i guess, mr. cox, being a pilot, a former pilot, and watching this play out, how devastating is it, especially when you don't have proof, you don't have a wreckage at this point. all you have is still a search that is fully under way to try to digest the fact you've been told your loved one is gone. >> well, i think, certainly, for the victims' families, it is traumatic, it is traumatic in every sense of the word, for the crew members, for the passengers, for their families, for aviation in general. this is a very traumatic event, and most importance, it is unprecedented. we have never seen an airliner go 17 days and not know where it was, and i think that has made it even more difficult, but it's one where the i

>> keir simmons, thank you. a full look at this story for three hours on "morning joe" straight ahead starting at 6:00 eastern time. >>> the united states and russia are going back and forth swapping sanctions as tensions rise between the two countries over the crisis in ukraine. president obama yesterday issued new sanctions aimed at the inner circle of russian president vladimir putin. the president warned russia that it risked further isolation and more sanctions. he also admitted the sanctions could impact not only russia's economy but the world's as well. the sanctions target a top bank and 20 russians including putin's chief of staff, his banker and a childhood friend who is also his judo partner. president putin fired back issues sanctions for white house aids including lawmakers and house speaker john boehner to name a few. senator harry reed and senator mccain. senator mccain seemed a little bit faced by this in a tweet, i guess this means my spring break in siberia is off, gazbgazprom k is lost and sec

nbc's keir simmons is in kuala lumpur. good morning, keir. >> reporter: this is a navy p-3 orion on board advanced submarine detection sensors that can look even beneath the ocean. today it is going to be flying over the indian ocean as the search for flight 370 is vastly expanded. it is now 25 countries involved in helping this search, and as well over the ocean, they are searching across 11 separate countries and incredible operation to try to establish what exactly happened. meanwhile, the investigation continues back here in malaysia. now the focus is increasingly on the pilot, zaharie shah and fariq hamid. both their homes were searched over the weekend. their friends tell us they were both honest, decent men and shocked they should be the subject of any kind of investigation. the authorities here are making clear that they are not just looking into the two pilots, that they are looking into the passengers, and the crew, but the news through the weekend that flight 370 was being determined to be controlled by someone

within seconds, keir couldn't move or speak. her husband alerted a flight attendant and a doctor who just happened to be on board. the pilots sped up the plane ... and sent word to a hospital in boston that kicked into stroke mode. 30 minutes after the plane landed, keir was sent into surgery. >> he kept telling me to move my arms or legs. but i couldn't do it. if i had been a home would i be like this? probably not. >> doctors say the speed of keir's treatment prevented a large portion of her brain from being damaged. they hope to make her outcome standard everywhere. medical marijuana will now be legal and available in las vegas. the key word is "available." medical marijuana is already legal throughout nevada. but now, the city of las vegas will allow the creation of pot dispensaries within city limits. the businesses will be allowed to grow, test and cultivate marijuana plants for medical purposes. until now, anyone who wanted pot, had to grow it at home. that cat that made headlines for attacking a family in oregon will soo

our report tonight from nbc's keir simmons in kuala lumpur. >> reporter: day after day, this military transport plane has been searching. today we took off with them. life jackets are needed because we will fly so low, sometimes at just 500 feet, scouring the ocean above naval ships, all looking for a plane that simply vanished. we're flying over the malacca strait, the water stretches out on either side of us, you can see ocean on this side, ocean on that side. all day we fly, looking for any clue. we seem to be banking around as if they saw something? the plane turns hard to get a closer look at some debris. false alarm. it took us eight hours to cover 30 square miles. just a tiny fraction of the 10,000 square mile search area. time to head back for now. we're going to keep looking? >> yes, we'll just keep looking. >> reporter: more flights like this? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: they still call this a search and rescue mission, but so far, it's one with nothing found and no one rescued. keir simmons, nbc news, kuala lumpur. >>> now, back in this country, in washington today, tensions

joining us now is keir simmons. >> good morning. the tension is here, because in this very hotel, are journalists and we believe relatives of those missing, all waiting for news. the journalists cram into this news, where government ministers come out to give the latest updates. they're having to say that what happened is simply a mystery, there have been some sightings of debris, but they said they haven't turned out to belong to the aircraft. they're still doing tests on oil found off the coast of vietnam. and the latest sighting is the possibility of an overturned life raft. as but as we speak, simply no news. a u.s. fleet is involved in the search as well, it has a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft. but the commander onboard there says that the waves are likely to get higher, he's talking about four to six-foot waves tonight, which will make the search more difficult, which is exactly not what these people searching need. there are people searching from all over the world. >> nbc's keir simmons reporting for us. >>> new ukrai

nbc's keir simmons is in kuala lumpur where many families have gathered. i understand the families received a text message, some of them, with this grim and very sad news. >> reporter: that's right, tamron, actually, i'm going to talk quietly just out of respect, because one of the families is trying to talk to reporters just right over to the right here, but a little earlier on, we did watch them sitting together quietly in this corner of this hotel where they've been staying, listen on television to the prime minister make that announcement and just looking stoney faced. the father of 29-year-old boy on flight 370 has sat quietly. his wife, the step mother of the 29 year old on the flight, and she was gently stroking his arm and in tears as the prime minister made that announcement and then he isn't really able to speak english very well, so a relative leaned in and explained what the prime minister had announced, and he just got up and walked away. and he's been now for about an hour collecting his thoughts, as you can imagine, and just having some time

that we know of anyway, but that didn't stop a family member from lashing out in frustration, nbc's keir simmons was there and has our report from kuala lumpur, malaysia. >> reporter: her son was on flight 370, desperate for help she came here to talk to reporters, ahead of an official news conference. she came with other family members, frustrated with the government, stricken by grief. then, malaysian security arrived. there were shouts of protests. she is dragged away, a mother overwhelmed by grief. she collapses. and officials carry her off. screaming. she and another relative are taken to this room, kept from journalists for more than an hour. then security guards escort the women through the hotel lobby. the families have now been taken through this part of the hotel, extraordinary, crews battling with officials just trying to speak to them. one official told me they removed the grieving mother and other relatives because the news conference was not their platform. do you think this is the right image for malaysia, sir? the malaysian transport minister apologized for what happened

in keir's report from kuala lumpur, night fall is falling there.fore they can see with their eyes. >> if these new satellite images turn out to be wreckage from flight 370, just say it is, it's not at this point, but say it is. what changes should we expect to see so planes don't disappear off the radar map? >> that's interesting. even if we never solve this, in the case of crashes, there's lessons learned. that's when legislation and regulations happen after the sering intensity of a crash investigation. even if we don't know what happened, already, it suggests things about tracking planes better, about whether you should hook these black boxes up to a realtime up load to a satellite of the information as the plane is flying along. there are a lot of things to think about, improving the pingers, should we figure out a way to make them last longer. already, without findings, there's a lot of suggestions of things that ought to be improved. >> there's a lot of suggestions, but are people working on this? are you hearing anything in the industry? >>

officials are taking a much closer look at the pilots of the plane, keir simmons has more. >> reporter: this is a navy p-3 ryan an advanced submarine sensor that can look under the ocean. today it will be flying over the indian ocean as the flight for 370 is vastly expanded. there are 25 countries helping in the search. over the ocean they are searching over 11 separate countries. an incredible operation. to try to establish what happened, the investigation continues back here in malaysia. now the focus is increasingly on the pilots. harry shaw and fariq muhammad. they're honest men. the authorities here are making clear that they are not just looking into the two pilots, that they are looking into the passengers and the crew but the news through the weekend that flight 317 was being controlled by someone is resetting the investigation and opened up a whole new set of questions about what exactly happened. back to you. >> keir simmons reporting. >>> as far as russia is concerned, the country is set to become bigger. voters in crimea adopted yesterday to leave it behind and join the rus

keir simpson? >> reporter: good morning, the families of those who are missing continue to wait here for news as they have through the weekend, among those missing said to be three americans, two children, and one a 51-year-old ibm staffer, whose family has described him as a man of integrity and honor, a man of god, generous, creative and intelligent. meanwhile the investigation into what happened to flight mh370 continues. a search of 50 nautical miles of sea is under way, involving asht and 40 ships. while the investigation continues into the two men who boarded the plane using stolen passports, surveillance video is being studied. the ntsb is involved in the investigation. but, whether or not they will discover exactly where the plane is, a note of caution, an air france plane that disappeared in 2009, it took two years to find that aircraft. veronica sf. >> that's right. keir simpson, thank you. >>> the latest on the crisis in yao crane, on sunday, tens of thousands of gathered in kiev's indep

we want to head right to nbc's keir simmons, who is live in kuala lumpur.e you learning about these two men? >> reporter: hey, chris, good morning. the mystery surrounding the pilots just deepens every day, to be honest. what we heard today was the authorities saying that they don't believe that anybody else on the plane had the capability to fly a 777, and that they also believe that at least one of the turns that it made was pre-programmed. so that's pretty mysterious. and at the same time, we have spent the last few days looking at the pilots, who they are, their background. we were there today at the area where the pilot lives. it's an upscale neighborhood, to be honest. it's a gated community. security guards. he's a well-off guy. he's a family man, he has three children, a grandchild, we understand. in fact, the house that we were at today, we're told, is one of two houses. so friends are saying to us that it just doesn't make sense. why would he be being investigated, whatever they exactly think happened, why would he be being investigated for this.

keir, what do we know? >> reporter: hey, luke.l, we just got news in the last -- over the last hour that the prime minister of malaysia would make a statement at around 10:00 p.m. local time, which is 10:00 a.m. eastern, so we are waiting for that. it may happen earlier. it may happen at 9:45, quarter of the hour. and we don't know what he's going to say. we're actually on our way now to the hotel where the families are staying to be with them when the announcement is made. we think, we're speculating, that it will be something of a major announcement since the last time the prime minister stood up and gave a press conference like this, and he's done it only once during the search for flight 370, he announced that they believed that the plane had been deliberately diverted. it was a key change in their assessment, a key moment in the investigation into what happened to the plane. so it may not be as dramatic as that, but they do appear to be bringing the prime minister out to make a statement at 10:00 in the evening, and that will

nbc's keir simmons has more. >> reporter: as the search for flight 370 continues, malaysian officials are now looking at how the plane could have disappeared, and who might be involved, including the crew. the flight's captain in his 50s, highly experienced. he had logged 18,000 flight hours. his copilot, farik hamid, 27, relatively new, with 2800 flight hours. both are being investigated, but so is everyone on board. the key questions, who else on board could fly a 777 who might have a motive to commandeer the aircraft and for what purpose. and if the plane was hijacked, where was it going? during the crucial first hour of the flight, there would have been an opportunity to break into the cockpit despite security precautions. >> if there were to be a real takeover, that would be the time where the crewmembers would be moving in and out to serve the cockpit the drinks. >> reporter: there were prayers for flight 370 today at the co-pilot's local mosque. friends here call him a quiet, respectful man, living with his parents in this middle class home. less is known about the pilots seen

as nbc's keir simmons shows us, the wait for answers excruciating for families. >> reporter: relatives awaiting news of loved ones who have simply disappeared. even a life raft on closer inspection turns out not to be connected. an oil slick spotted off the coast of vietnam, they've taken a closer test of that, that is not connected either. it is a tent here. journalists are crowded into a room for officials to say that they are still mystified as to what happened. >> our aim to find is intensified. that is very important. we are unable to determine the cause of this incident. that is very, very important that we find the aircraft. >> meanwhile, off the coast, a coalition of nations. aircraft from around the world, including from the seventh fleet, are searching for clues and they simply cannot find. back to you. >> thank you, keir. >>> graphic testimony this morning in the oscar pistorius murder trial that made the olympian sick. he reportedly broke down and vomited as the pathologist described the autopsy of reeva steenkamp the night she was killed. the double amputee track star shot

keir, what is the latest? >> reporter: there is real tension here with journalists and we believe some of the families of those who are missing staying at this hotel, all waiting for news. and every few hours, few hundred journalists cram into this room where government ministers give out the latest update. and simply having to say at this point that what happened to mh-370, the aircraft that disappeared, is simply a mystery. there are vessels out searching 50 nautical miles, airplanes and ships including a ship from the u.s. seventh fleet. the commander there is saying that although he has a helicopter and a fixed wing aircraft that can help in the search, he's expecting the waves to get higher tonight, four to six-foot waves which will make the search more difficult. so far, though, there have been reports of debris spotted, those have turned out to be wrong. the latest report is that there may be an overturned life raft that has been spotted. they're going to check that out. meanwhile, they are looking at a

we'll get more on that tonight from nbc's keir simmons in kuala lumpur. >> reporter: video on youtube, unverified, appearing to show the pilot and co-pilot passing through security. the pilot, zaharie shah, was known to love flying. he posted pictures on facebook with toy planes and helicopters. he had a flight simulator at home. that flight simulator is now in the hands of the police. they searched the pilot's home this weekend. it also emerged that the pilot had been active in malaysia's political opposition, but friends say that would not have motivated him to hijack his own plane. can you imagine him ever commandeering his own plane, putting his own passengers at risk? >> i cannot for one minute imagine him making that sort of decision. >> it just wouldn't make any sense that he would have anything to do with any sort of deliberate action on his part. >> reporter: officials say captain zaharie and his co-pilot fariq hamid had not requested to fly together. and they are investigating everyone aboard flight 370. but the co-pilot's house was also searched. detectives were seen leavin

nbc's keir simmons is at the airport in kuala lumpur from where flight 370 originated. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. those who had loved ones on flight 370 have been waiting at this airport for many days now, but not just here. many more have been waiting in beijing, the aircraft's final destination. for family members of those on the missing plane, no answers, no comfort. for some, the frustration was too much. water bottles thrown at airline officials in beijing. "malaysians are liars", one man shouted. others pleaded for calm. most aboard were chinese or malaysian, but there were passengers from a dozen other countries as well, including three from the united states. philip wood of texas works for ibm. his brother said on "today" he had just recently been home for a visit. >> it was a gift that we did get to see him a whole week and we got to spend some quality time eating a dinner or two together. >> reporter: mai ling ching lived in pittsburgh. neighbors are heartbroken. >> i have been crying since i got the phone call. >> reporter: greg candelari

keir simmons has more from kuala lumpur. >> reporter: good evening, lester, a stunning development here, the very job for the pilots whose job is to protect their passengers at all cost, they're under investigation by police. police were in the home of pilots whose responsibility was to fly flight 370 safely. they left the co-pilots' houses after two hour, apparently with two family members. earlier the same detectors left the pilots' house, and searching their home. the pilot, zaharie shah was in his 50s, he lives in an upscale neighborhood with his family. in his home, he has a flight simulator, the co-pilot, fariq hamid is said to be engaged and a very private, quiet man. >> he is a very nice man, he comes, goes to work, then when he comes back, he says hello, hi, that is all. >> reporter: detectives will have many questions about the men in the cockpit, what motivation might they have for hijacking their own plane? have either of them been behaving strangely in weeks, and perhaps crucially the investigators will examine the simulator in the pilot's home to see what kind of flights h

tom costello joins me and keir simmons from kuala lumpur. tom, let's go through the wall street journal report and possibilities. what are the theories out there? >> bottom line is that six days after this plane disappeared, we still have no trace of it whatsoever. you'll recall chinese satellite images that came out late yesterday afternoon from the chinese government that showed what they thought might be some debris or wreckage in the sea. the malaysians say they sent their own forces to that area today, air assets, i believe and found nothing whatsoever. the chinese saying they should not have released those images. the wall street journal separately reporting today that the engines were transmitting data as part of what's called an automated burst of data which transmits updates on the plane, that they were transmitting updates on the status of the engines for hour hours after the plane disappeared, somewhere over the gulf of thailand. however, today the malaysians came out and definitively knocked that down saying the very last transmi

keir. >> reporter: andrea, good afternoon.t will really have impacted these families that that word from the australian prime minister saying this could be a long haul. they already waited and had the news yesterday that there was news from australia. and now today they wake up not knowing really what that news means. and they had a two-hour meeting with officials which we're told by relatives they asked a lot of questions but a lot don't feel they got any answers different from what they've been getting for days. and andrea, they were even asked to fill out a form to let the officials know details if they wanted to be contacted urgently if there's any important news. we're two weeks in, pretty stunning that they are only being asked if they want that type of communication. meanwhile, after those terrible scenes with the mother in tears, getting carried away, they've now got police here and barriers up only to prevent only the media from going in to this hotel. they appear to be trying to keep media and families apart. some re

keir simmons, a shaky connection there with him all the way in the field. we appreciate that update on what it's like in the thick of the announcement. >> let's drill down on that question i just asked, how is it that malaysian authorities have come to a definitive verdict and why now? joining us for the latest is nbc's former veteran aviation correspondent bob hager. thank you so much for joining us. >> sure. >> you're one of the smartest voices -- >> thank you. >> been through this a lot of times. >> a lot of times. >> the fact that the united states is dispatching and i want the terminology right, a ping locater, this black box. >> like a microphone under water. >> what does that tell you about the search? apparently the latest is this is being lootded on a plane bound for perth and you see a picture of the device right there. what does it say to you about what they found or haven't found that they are deploying this device? >> the mere fact they are shipping it out there, they want to get it near the action. because take -- sending anything halfway arou

keir simmons is in sochi this morning with more. keir? >> reporter: hey, lester, good morning.00 miles across the water behind me here from sochi, and the tension there has certainly traveled across the black sea to here. at last night's opening ceremony, the russian athletes came out to a song that included the lyrics, "bye, bye, america," as these paralympics are overshadowed by political events. presiding over the opening ceremony of the paralympics, a lavish display of russian culture and national pride -- ♪ president putin, less than two weeks ago he was in this same stadium to close the winter games. so much has changed in that short time. the ukrainian team sent one lonedell gate to carry their flag, a solitary protest against russian intervention in ukraine. in an emotional press conference, the head of the ukrainian delegation said they will stay, unless russia invades. >> the worst-case scenario, we would leave. >> reporter: his country just 300 miles from sochi. here, 547 athletes from 45 countries will compete for 72 medals in five sports over ten days. never before

joining me now is nbc's foreign correspondent keir simmons and tom costello from washington. tom, bring us up to date on the false alarms and what you know. >> much of the evidence that we thought we were getting over the weekend, my point as to where the plane is has turned out to be false. the fuel slick spotted by the ve vietnamese came from a ship of some sort. the debris over the weekend was nothing from a plane either. there's the fuel spill there that comes from a ship. all of this is now yet again putting us back at point zero and that is that they have no idea where this plane went of the the malaysia military said the plane started to bank or turn around according to military radar. if that's true, where did it end up? because it is clearly at this point not in the water. the search zone off of the south china sea and gulf of thailand, although there's new reports of debris closer to saigon. ships are en route to that location to inspect it. all of the reports of debris have proven to be false. if the plane did a bank, making a turn, a theory could be back over mala

. >> and nbc's keir simmons joins us from kuala lumpur. you are there with the families and some are them are saying this could be closure but others or hoping it isn't the debris. talk about what you're hearing from the families. >> reporter: hey, kristen. this is a double-edged sword, a difficult and tense enough as it is anyway period of time where they are feeling they want news but they don't want bad news. and different families reflecting differently on that, is a some saying we're we're crossing our fingers this isn't a sign of flight 370 and others are hoping it is because we would like something to tell us what happened to relatives. kristen, there's been a meeting in the last two hours and speaking to the relatives since they came out of that meeting. less emotional than the scenes yesterday where relatives were in tears here. now they had this meeting and told us as a result of this meeting that they are not planning to go to australia, reflecting really what greg and michael were saying in terms of caution. they were told at t

joining us from kuala lumpur with the latest on this unfolding saga is nbc's keir simmons. keir? >> hey, alex, a somber atmosphere here at the hotel where relatives are staying. as we said, they are staying in a number of hotels across kuala lumpur and in beijing but here we watched a small group of relatives gather in the area behind me to listen to the prime minister's statement. they sat quietly, the father of a 29 year old who was on board flight 370, stony faced, really, just still as the prime minister made his announcement. next to him his wife, his son's mother-in-law just gently stroked his arm. she was in tears. then at the end of the prime minister's statement, this father couldn't actually speak english, so one of his relatives leaned in and just told him what the prime minister had had to say and he just walked away to try and take it in. disbelief here, and given the distrust of the malaysian government amongst many, many more questions that they will want to ask before they are happy to just accept what's been announced here. alex? >> thank you, keir. >>> joining m

simmons in kuala lumpur for us, thank you so much, keir. >>> meantime, violent pr tests as vladimir little sign he's willing to take concrete steps to ease the crisis in ukraine. on wednesday, president obama will host the oval office meeting with ukraine's new prime minister in another show of support for the pro west government. the tension in ukraine was on full display in a pair of duelling protests yesterday. pro ukrainian demonstrators were attacked by russian supporters and in another eastern ukraine town, russian sympathizers called for secession. vladimir putin remains defiant in phone calls with angela merkel and david cameron, putin said it supports crimea's move to break away, even offering crimea's government a billion dollars in aid if voters choose to seceed. >> i do not believe we're going to -- that crimea will slip out of russia's hands. >> you think crimea's gone? >> i do. >> i think the door is clearly open to resolving this diplomatically. secretary kerry is engaged with his russian counterpart, lavrov, as has been the president. >> let's bring in former u.s. am

nbc's keir simmons is following the developments from kau la lumpur.here we are in the search now. >> reporter: hey, chris, good morning. yeah, just a number of developments that you've mentioned there. this ship on its way. we think it's likely to get there at some point tomorrow. they are being incredibly cautious. they do appear to have video pictures of whatever it is they've spotted, but they are not talking about it. they are not releasing that imagery. they are analyzing it, getting the ship out there to try and see what exactly it is, and it does come on top of those other developments today, which have been this extraordinary, this stunning shift in the search area. the reason they did that is they say they did some calculations based on the data they already had and what they found was they think the plane was going faster, so it would have run out of fuel quicker, so it would have gone into the ocean at a different place. just under 700 miles different, by the way, so really quite substantial place. as you point out, it's an easier area to s

keir simmons in kuala lumpur, thaush. >>> the u.s.vy's 7th fleet has been in the thick of things since early on. commander marks joins me from manila where he's on the "uss blue ridge." what can you tell us about search conditions? i know it's dark, so basically the search is called off for the night. >> yes, our p-8 poseidon, which is flying out of perth, australia, wrapped up its flight just a couple of hours ago. the p-8 is our fixed-wing patrol aircraft, the newest and latest technology we have. and they fly in nine-hour chunks of time, really long flights. this location, as mentioned, is such a long distance away, so it takes three to four hours just to get there. once they get there, they have about three or so hours on station, and then they have to fly back. so it's a challenge getting way out to that site. they flew out there today, actually they'll past two days, flew over that area. we've not seen any indication of wreckage or debris associated with an airliner. >> commander, our reporter on the ground in perth, australia,

joined by nbc's tom costello, who has been covering every aspect of this investigation, and nbc's keir simmons, covering the story from kuala lumpur. first to you, tom, bring us up to date. the fbi is now involved in this forensic search and there's probably no one better in the world than the fbi at going back and trying to restore things that have been erased from hard drives. what hope is there that they can get any information? and we should point out, as you have been so careful to point out, there's no indication of anything awry, but this is one or two very important leads. >> yeah. on every level, i think that's absolutely right. the fbi is coming in to try to see what's on the hard drives of those computers taken from the homes of both the captain and the first officer, and presumably, although we don't know for sure, presumably that would include the hard drives from the flight simulator. these are copies of the hard drives, the malaysian authorities have given to the fbi. so as you suggested, there isn't much expertise better in the world than the fbi can offer on that. now,

officials are taking a much closer look at the pilots of the plane, keir simmons has mo.

bobby ghosh has a question for keir. >> i'm curious, keir.ow the malaysian authorities have been mishandling. that you have access to the family members. are they forming support groups of their own? since they are not getting the information they need from the malaysians where are they turning for support for help and for information? >> reporter: well, they are not really able to turn anywhere, i don't think. we had the incredibly distressing scenes where a mother came here to where a large number of the journalists were gathered to ask for help and information and some of them wanted to seem to want to protest. she was carried away by officials. they now have security in there. they have police officers guarding the hotels that only the media can be allowed in. you do get the impression that they are trying to keep the journalists and the relatives away from each other although it has to be said i think some of the relatives want that. at the same time, i think some of the criticism is unfair. some are saying the australian government are

nbc's keir simmons is live in kuala lumpur with more on that. keir?er: hey, mika, good morning. i've been hearing have those families all morning. here's the painful part of this. they are torn between wanting news and not wanting bad news. 8-year-old isha's older brother was on flight 370. she plays while the world waits for news. a hug for her father, selemat, bracing himself to be told his son's plane did crash into the open. you're not sure -- >> yeah, yeah, not sure this object is 370. >> reporter: his son is in his late 20s with a wife and child. his uncle says the family are prepared. >> we can handle anything. >> reporter: even the worst? >> yes. because it belongs to god. >> reporter: in preparation for news from the search and rescue teams, ambulances have been stationed outside the relatives' homes in case some cannot cope. >> for now, we are on more stand-by. >> reporter: you're on stand-by? >> yeah. >> reporter: on stand-by in case the worst possible news? >> yeah. >> reporter: counselors will help. for now, they say relatives are hanging

keir simmons joins us from kuala lumpur.u're outside a meeting where the families are. what can you tell us? >> reporter: yeah, i have been outside the meeting. we still have our producers out there. it was about 45 minutes, i would say, a number of families there. they had families gathered in different hotels around kuala lumpur, but actually they have all come together in this room to talk about what the findings are so far, about the news, and i understand what to do next. it's clearly an important meeting. you can understand that given the importance of the news today. many are considering whether or not to move to australia, whether that's the right thing to do, how they would do that. clearly it's difficult, chris, because they don't know for sure what it is that's been discovered. they don't know how long it would take to find the debris that's been discovered. all all. without involved to move the location and everybody. so very, very different for them. that's what's being discussed. they also will likely get a bri

>> thank you, keir. of course, the chinese government said all the chinese citizens, they believe, had nothing to do with that. nbc's kerry sanders has been looking at where things stand with the search today. kerry, you know, how involved is the u.s.? it seems that there's still some uneasy balancing act between malaysian officials and u.s. officials. >> really, i think the question at this point is for all the countries that are involve sd how long will they continue to search this huge area where they're finding very little? in fact, what they're doing is ruling out areas but they're not finding anything in the areas that are still left. as you pointed out, more than 2 million square nautical miles to continue searching. the u.s.s. kid, which has been in the area operating, hases pulling back. the aircraft that the u.s. has in the area, the p-8 and p-3 are still participating in the search. thailand has pulled back. india has pulled back. if we take a look at the map here we can show you what we're lo

you get a sense, keir, that they have gone from anger to frustration to sadness to just a sense of okay, what more can you tell us? i mean it's just unbelievable to try to put yourself in their position. >> reporter: yeah, it really is. i don't think you can say necessarily the relatives are going to be less angry. the chinese relatives in beijing have been furious. they are planning to travel to kuala lumpur. they want to be more engaged than they have been. i don't think they are going to be any less angry. some of that is the emotions anyone feels. you can imagine, when you go through this, some of that is the reality, the authorities have not handled this in the best possible way. you can say this is unprecedented sequence of events, but it's clearly learning on the job. the reality remains there's text messages they sent, the way they haven't communicated at times. not everything has been done in a way if you step back and look, you would hope it's in relation to the relatives. >> keir simmons, thank you very much. >>> searchers are battling heavy rain looking for mudslide victims

nbc's keir simmons is following that part of the story. he joins us by phone. keir, do the family members believe they were getting the information they desire this we've seen so many upset and frustrated. >> by the way, that meeting has just broken up. there's a lot of security there. one family member or someone speaking for them, is -- and what that person has to say, he says that they had lost a lot of confidence in the military's ability to conduct the search, but he also said they had been told me meeting that they should expect to get some answers in the next few days. so there's speculation this may move quickly, or at least that's what the families have been told, and moving, they had in the statement that they remain hopeful. that's. a long meeting, two hours, a lot to talk about. we understand the relatives, at least some of them, contacted before the statement was made by the australian prime minister. so they got some advance notice that this was coming along earlier on today, but now this meeting, two hours long, so clearly they've been heavily br

>> yes, thank you, keir simmons, and we want to switch gears in a moment and take you back in time, aback to 42 years ago today. no surprise that the equal rights amendment calling for equal pay and protection for all regardless of the sex passed congress. and despite the opponents on capitol hill many saw it as a foregone con clugts that it would be ratified by the states. >> male opponents to the it called pit unisex amendment and said it would detroy men and women relationships and decrease family ties, and increase hokrc homosexuality, and mississippi's john stennis said that women would have to put on combat boots and march off to war and fight just like men, and one congressman said that women would be maim and killed by bullets just like the men. in some years this would be persuasi persuasive, but this is an election year, and more women than men vote, and so politicians know that, and the senate was not swayed here, and so 49 years of a struggle, there is a constitutional amendment claiming that women have the same rights of all other sexes. >> and it was not that easy. the b

keir simmons is in kuala lumpur with the latest.hey, there, lester. good morning. that's right, there are reports this morning that police searched zaharie shah's house, the pilot of the plane. we were there to see them arrive, and then a few hours later, they left. so, who are these two pilots? well, zaharie shah is in his 50s. he is highly experienced. he's logged 18,000 flight hours, whereas fariq hamid, who is the co-pilot, he's 27, he's relatively new with 2,800 flight hours. now, we've been talking at the same time to the president of the cabin crew union here, and he outlines what would be possible if passengers were involved, if this was some kind of a hijack. he says in the first hour of the flight, there is a moment at which the cabin crew served drinks to the pilot and the co-pilot. there are safeguards in place for that process, but at the same time, perhaps, perhaps that's the opportunity whereby this could turn into a hijacking. there are so many questions here, lester. who was flying the plane? where were they flying

keir, what is the move there? what are you hearing from malaysian authorities in reaction to the announcement from the australians? >> reporter: i think the mood is depending who you are. if you're a relative, the mood is frustrated. there was this moment yesterday morning, this morning for you, because, of course, here, it's just light here. we're in completely different time zones, if you like. there was this moment when folks woke up and heard that there had been this debris spotted and that they thought it might be flight 370. you can imagine how painful that is for the relatives because on the one hand they are wanting news, and on the other hand, they don't want the worst possible news. then, through the day, we hear questions of whether or not it is flight 370. the fact we're going to need to have it found and then we need to get our eyes on it and then they're going to test it. all of that, and to the relatives, it is incredibly difficult. and then they are already unhappy with the way that the authorities

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anyway, keir simmons on the phone in kuala lumpur.hank you very much. >>> turning now to domestic politics. red-hot race that's emerging out of tuesday's illinois primary, meet bruce runner, a multimillion air, venture capitalist, first-time politician, and now in the run for illinois governor. the win sets up what's likely to be one of 2014's most bitter and expensive governor's races in the country against perhaps the most vulnerable incumbent democratic governor in the country, pat quinn. >> this is about shaking up springfield, ripping the construction out at its roots by getting term limits on everybody in springfield. you look at our signs and hear our message, it's also about bringing back illinois. let's bring back illinois. >> we in the democratic party and all across illinois, we respect our workers. we understand that there's some who do the hardest jobs in our society. and that's why we intend to raise the minimum wage in illinois this year. >> rahner broke state record by pouring $6 million of his own money into the race.

joining us now is keir simmons in cue allkuala lumpur. and tom costello, we're learning new information that the shows the plane changed course. which explains the 180 when the search went from the east side to the west side of the malaysian island. >> there is also a little bit of lost in translation issue going on about whether they are definitively saying it changed course or may changed course. there's no denying the fact the malaysia military has shift the search area to a large extent off the west coast, the strait of malacca with some evidence suggesting the plane may have been in that area as well. you're going to hear from ke riir shortly. we also know that the malaysian authorities have now identified those two individuals who had false passports. they are now identified as two iranian teenagers, an 18-year-old and 19-year-old, the 19-year-old was on his way to germany to meet up with his mother and trying to get immigration status there, we're not clear on what exactly the 18-year-old's issue was, why he was on a false passport

others saying they waited a week -- >> we did see keir simmons and his team were out front when they took the computers. >> that's right. >> and that was only a day or two ago. >> that's right but we don't know if that was the first visit. and we've been led to believe maybe they were there earlier. this has been if you're frustrated, we're all frustrated in trying to get straight answers but clearly they did not take the flight simulator until sunday. the other thing we're struggling with -- it may have been saturday. the other thing we're struggling with, there's nothing that we have seen so far in either the background of the pilot or co-pilot that suggests in any way that they were -- that there was anything suspect there. both of these two individuals seem to have very good clean backgrounds, family people, co-pilot was about to get married to another pilot, a captain with another airline, a woman. the captain himself was a father and grandfather and had kids who had gone to school in australia and the like. this is really hard to try to pin down. >> and finally, michael goldfar

nbc's keir simmons has been following the plight of the families from kuala lumpur, malaysia. >> reporter: hey, joy. the search for that debris off the coast of australia has been suspended today, so another day wasted. families as furious as they have ever been, particularly in beijing, with a group marched to the malaysian embassy to protest. incredibly emotional scene, following the emotional scenes yesterday in beijing, after the families were told about the news that the malaysians believe that the evidence shows that the plane ended over the ocean. now, the families say that they don't believe it, they want to know where the debris is, they want to see that there is evidence that that debris does belong to flight 370. meanwhile, the australians telling the malaysians, according to the malaysians, they will not issue visas for families to go there until that positive identification of debris from the flight is made. so, again, another wait for the families for news, for some kind of closure here, and so many more questions. >> joy? >> all right, nbc's keir simmons from kuala lumpur,

keir simmons, obviously, a lot of attention on the families and their heartbreak, this as the search today suspended due to weather again. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. suspended, and that means that, again, another day lost in trying to find some of this debris that has been spotted by satellites, but which hasn't been found by aircraft or, indeed, by the ships crucially, because they might be able to drag it onboard and take it back to australia and get it tested to establish whether it is connected to flight 370, and it is so difficult for these relatives, because until now or until last night at least, they had been expecting that that would be the conclusive proof and instead you have this announcement that says scientifically research suggests or has proven as far as the malaysian government is concerned, that flight 370 did end in the southern indian ocean. and they have been protesting, as you say, today. and even last night, immediately afterwards, incredibly emotional scenes, tamron, as relatives emerged from a meeting in beijing, walked out having been given this news.

let me go to keir simmons, in kuala lumpur, watching the families, been in the room with the families. >> reporter: hey, chuck, good morning. we are hearing here that the families are in meetings -- that's right, chuck, we're hearing the families are in meetings here now, discussing whether or not to -- well, the news, and whether or not they might make that move to australia. it is incredibly difficult for them. what i've been hearing from various relatives is that some are crossing their fingers that this is something to do with flight 370, because they just want to know what's happened. others are saying that they are hoping that it's not, because while they want news, they don't want the bad news that would represent. so we're told that the families were given the information early in the morning here, perhaps even 5:00 a.m. they are trying to give them the information first, perhaps if they move them to australia, that might make it easier. the trouble with that decision, of course, would be if this doesn't turn out to be related to flight 370, well, then, they'd have made that m

nbc a nbc's keir simmons has more on the co-pilot. >> reporter: i'm outside the house of the co-pilot of flight 370. there's an ordinary middle-class street. on either side of the house are nurseries. all day children have been playing in this street. he is 27 years old. people here say that he's a nice guy, dedicated to his work, they say. he is often away. pretty constantly away flying. but when he is here, they say he is deeply religious and goes to the mosque to pray. let me just show you right at the end of the street here, just a short walk away is his mosque. about 1,000 people pray here, apparently. we're told that when fariq is here, he will go pray at the mosque five times a day. we've been talking to people out here in the street, too, about that one speculative possibility that the pilots might be investigated to see if they were in control of the plane. people here looking absolutely shocked when that possibility is put to them. back to you. >> keir simmons, thank you for that report. >>> and nbc's tom costello continues our coverage now with the very latest on the search