the mclaughlin group is brought to you by seamans. every day, seamans answers are helping build a future of america. seamans, answers. >>> just wanted to check and make sure we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind. >> mom and dad, i have great news. >> issue one, pacific pivot. >> i said many times, the united states is and always will be a pacific nation. america's security and prosperity is inseparable from the future of this region and that's why i made it a priority to renew the asian pacific. in the corner stone out of our strategy and the region's security and economic progress is our historic treaty alliances. including with japan. >> president obama is in asia on a four-nation tour that brings him to japan, malaysia, and the philippines. it's a trip that has long been on hold, the president had to cancel his scheduled asian trip last year. during the government shutdown and canceled twice in 2010. the bp oil spill and debate. forcing our traditional asian allies to feel skeptical. about the so-call the pivot. not

erin mclaughlin in perth.thank you. >>> this morning there are also new developments in the investigation into why flight 370 turned off course. a u.s. official tells cnn a cell phone tower in penang, malaysia, tried to make contact with the co-pilot's cell phone some 30 minutes after the jet made its left turn and headed back over the malaysian peninsula. now, the phone was apparently turned on at that time. let's go to kuala lumpur senior international correspondent nic robertson there this morning. he's been covering this investigation. nic, walk me through what this means and what authorities believe was going on at the time of this contact with the cell phone tower. this is not a live phone conversation, it's a cell tower and the phone making contact. what does that mean? >> reporter: sure. so, let's look at the location here. penang is on the west coast of malaysia, the malaysian peninsula. so, the aircraft we know makes that sharp left turn, comes back across the malaysian peninsula. penang is right on

erin mclaughlin live from perth, australia, this morning. and erin, it is the tenth dive going on right now. the first nine turned up nothing. >> reporter: that's right, john. it seems that hope may be fading fast, at least for just this portion of the search. now, four planes actually were up in the air today, despite the fact that that aerial search had been suspended due to weather, and even though officials said that the conditions out there were difficult, even hazardous. it has to be said, for that aerial search for debris, that there have been hours and hours and hours of searching for any signs of this plane and not a single piece has been found. nevertheless, searchers are dedicated to this. they want to be able to get some sort of closure to the families. now, as for the bluefin-21, it is still in the water, as far as we know, on its tenth mission, having completed its ninth mission earlier today. and this is really mission critical. this is the area where they believe is the most likely place that they're going to find the black b

let's go to erin mclaughlin. she's live in perth, australia, this morning. erin, it seems as if this portion of this search is wrapping up and still no answers, day 45. >> reporter: that's right, victor, and weather could be a factor in the search over the coming days as well. we're hearing of a tropical cyclone named jack striking to the northwest of where they're searching for debris, and that could, of course, complicate those efforts. very difficult to spot debris as it is. australian officials saying that it's unlikely that they'll find any sort of debris at this point. so, the fact that this cyclone, which is not making a direct impact on the search area but could cause more waves and more swells, could make it even more difficult, but for right noxsion the focus of this search effort very much on the work of the bluefin-21, currently on its ninth mission as of this morning. it's traversed about two-thirds of this very narrow search area with no signs of the plane so far. and this is a really critical area, because this is the place where australian au

>> erin mclaughlin for us in perth.he flight 370 families are still demanding answers from investigators. they held a prayer vigil in beijing. cnn's ivan watson will be live with details on that in a few minutes. >>> other major news this morning. expectations were low, but four-party talks produced a deal aimed at ending the volatile situation in ukraine. now the united states says it is up to moscow to follow through on its pledge to get militants to put down their arms and get out of government buildings that they have overrun in cities in eastern ukraine. in the meantim, there is international outrage over these leaflets distributed in the eastern city of donetsk, in which jewish people were told to register with pro-russian separatists. our phil black is live in that city right now, and phil, such a combustible, historically loaded document, but the authenticity seems very much in question this morning. >> reporter: yes, john, that's right. but just to take you back to the start, four men were first seen outside a

let's go live now to aron mclaughlin in perth. when do we expect to get full results from the first day on the ocean floor, and when might it begin its next full day on the water? >> reporter: hi, john. well, no timetable has been given for that analysis of those results. also, we don't know exactly when they're going to put the bluefin 21 back into the water. but this is a really critical time in this search operation, the bluefin 21 having completed its very first mission. it scanned some 34 square miles. that area is really important because it's the area that officials have, in part, identified as the most likely place to find the black box. and that is based on analysis of pings according to the u.s. navy, the second ping that was detected on april 5th. in particular, it lasted some 13 minutes. it was the strongest signal detected. now, if the bluefin had, in fact, found something, it is possible that they could fit it with an actual camera. it's using sonar technology now to go down and take pictures of what it's found. but

i want to start with erin mclaughlin right now. this was an incredible breakthrough news conference just 90 minutes ago, or so. let's go over all of the information that we received. because certainly, angus houston, the chief searcher officer here, chief marshal, angus houston was very cautious. he stayed way from saying this was mh 370. but he got pretty close to it, didn't he? >> that's right, rosemary. promising, encouraging, extraordinary, all words angus houston used to describe the findings of the australian vessel the ocean shield. he spoke at a press conference just 90 minutes ago. take a listen to what he had to say. >> clearly, this is a most promising lead. and probably in the search so far, it's the -- it's probably the best information that we have had. and, again, i would ask all of you to treat this information cautiously and responsibly until such time as we can provide an unequivocal determination. >> well, the ocean shield detecting not one, but two separate acoustic events. the first lasting a total of two hours

cnn's erin mclaughlin is live in perth. erin, after hearing yesterday, the signals had been lost, this was a huge development for investigators and rescuers overnight. >> reporter: that's right, christine. the bottom line is they are now more confident that they are looking in the right place than they have ever been before. angus houston is the chief coordinator behind this multinational search operation. he gave a press conference earlier today in which he talked about these new detections. take a listen to what he had to say. >> i can now tell you that "ocean shield" has been able to reacquire the signals on two more occasions. like yesterday afternoon, and like last her time. a detection team yesterday afternoon was held for approximately 5 minutes and 32 seconds. the detection late last night was held for approximately 7 minutes. >> houston saying that those detections noticeably weaker than the signals detected on saturday. and he says that's most likely because the batteries on the black box pinger likely to expire.

erin mclaughlin live in perth this morning. thanks so much. >> and understandably, many flight 370 families are reaching their breaking point. they're furious with malaysian officials over what they call a lack of information and unwillingness to update them on the search for the plane. our flight 370 coverage continues with sumnima udas from kuala lumpur. communication has really been an issue for these families, hasn't it? >> reporter: that's right, alison, and particularly, these briefings. i mean, they don't happen very regularly here at all, so there's always a lot of expectation around these briefings. in fact, the last time that family members and family members of those on board mh-370 and crew members, the last time they were called to a briefing was at least two or three weeks ago. so, as you can imagine, there's a lot of expectation as those families are walking in, they're very anxious, they're prepared with a list of very specific questions, about 26 questions for the officials. we have some of them here. they want

cnn's erin mclaughlin live in perth with the latest on this search and the discovery of these new pingserin. >> reporter: hi, john, well, news of these new detections certainly encouraging. angus houston, the man responsible for coordinating this multinational search gave a press conference earlier today in which he expressed his optimism. take a listen. >> but if you had asked me, let's say, when i arrived last sunday night, i would have been probably more pessimistic than i think now. i'm now optimistic that we will find the aircraft, or what is left of the aircraft. in the not too distant future. >> reporter: houston went on to say that the signal detected was weaker than the detections on saturday. and he said that was most likely because the battery of the black box pinger was likely expiring. has a shelf life of some 30 days. we're now on day 33. so the focus of this mission very much on the australian vessel, the "ocean shield" equipped with the american-operated towed ping locator, which is still out there scouring the waters trying to reacquire those signals. and that's really

erin mclaughlin, good catch on that. great to have you this morning. >> now to the investigation and the new information cnn has learned about just what may have happened in the cockpit of that boeing 777. malaysian officials now believe the plane did drop in altitude after crossing over malaysia and disappeared from radar during that time. it's a story first reported by senior international correspondent nic robertson. he's live for us this morning in kuala lumpur. so, nic, does this change the focus of the investigation right now, the significance of this drop in altitude? >> reporter: it certainly gives investigators something more to go on. the concerns initially, way back in the beginning of the investigation, mechanical failure or somebody taking control of the aircraft. this seems to add up in the direction of somebody intentionally taking control of the aircraft, the aircraft itself not undergoing such mechanical stress that it couldn't perform this maneuver. what we are told is that after the aircraft flight 370

cnn's erin mclaughlin live in perth, australia.ome new resources heading to that now narrowed region. >> reporter: that's right, john, new resources in the form of the "hms echo," the british vessel. i spoke to the spokesperson from the ministry of defense there in the uk this morning. she told me that it is on route to join the australian vessel, the "ocean shield," to offer its support. she said it's been deployed because they have discounted those detections made earlier over the weekend by the chinese vessel. she also says that at the moment, the "ocean shield" is obviously the most promising lead. now, the "hms echo," interestingly enough, is equipped with sensitive audio detection equipment, but it also has technology capable of mapping the ocean floor. so, the question being, does its arrival perhaps signal a new stage in this search? well, authorities in australia simply aren't saying. as far as we know, the "ocean shield"'s still out there carrying out that very sensitive audio detection work. john. >> erin mclaughlin live

meteorologist francis mclaughlin is up next with the forecast. >>> i'm rick quan. coming up in sports, it >>> covering cupertino, concord, wine country, and all the bay area, this is abc 7 news. >> it really does happen. san jose firefighters rescued a cat from a tree this afternoon. the department snapped these pics to prove it. the feline managed to climb 50 feet up a tree. firefighters used a ladder to reach the cat and blocked road access to the area while doing it. the cat is fine tonight. >>> if you were watching abc 7 news yesterday, you saw this misspelling painted on the road in oakland at the corner of mlk way and arlington avenue. the word stop clearly misspelled. it's been updated but not by the city. someone has taken red chalk or a marker as if a teacher used a pen to grade the work there is no word when the city will fix that misspelling. >>> good weather because no rain in sight negative, rain in all seven days, but we do have a warm-up in store for us tomorrow. i'll show you with live doppler 7 hd. clear skies around the bay area. but there are som

cnn's erin mclaughlin is live for us in perth, australia, this morning. erin, bring us up to speed on what's the latest. we know that they've searched that -- they've narrowed that search area, but it is still slow going as they listen for more sounds, more acoustic events, as they call them, from these black boxes. >> reporter: that's right, christine. a short while ago, i spoke to a spokesperson from the british ministry of defense, who told me that the "hms echo," which is a british vessel, is currently on its way to join the australian vessel, the "ocean shield." she says it's making its way there because the "ocean shield" currently has the most promising leads in this search. she also said that they've managed to discount those chinese detections made by the "haixun 1" over the weekend. as for what it does when it gets there, she says that's not clear, that the "ocean shield" is currently taking the lead on the search. but it's worth saying that the "hms echo" has sophisticated sound-detecting equipment, but it's also capable of mapping the sea floo

cnn's erin mclaughlin live in perth, australia. so much hope, erin, in this underwater search in the bluefin. >> reporter: good morning, john. overnight, the bluefin-21 reaching new depths in the search for missing malaysian flight 370. during that fourth dive, it managed to go down some 4.7 kilometers beneath the ocean surface, compared to the 4.5 kilometers originally believed to be on the upper reaches of its depth capacity, and it's really important that the bluefin be able to go down into some of these deeper waters. you may remember, it had to cut its first mission short. and this is the area where they believe is the most likely place that they're going to find the black box, based on that very detailed acoustic analysis that they did of those four pings that were detected. so, it's a good sign that the bluefin-21 overnight was able to reach those depths, but of course, as you mentioned, it has found nothing of interest as far as we know. and today, malaysia's acting transportation minister tweeted out this morning that they

erin mclaughlin in perth. thank you. >> meanwhile, we're learning new details about what may have been going on inside the cockpit of that 777. a u.s. official tells cnn the co-pilot's cell phone was turned on during the flight and that cell phone tried to make contact with a cell tower over penang, some 30 minutes, 30 minutes after the plane made its turn off course. senior international correspondent nic robertson live for us this morning in kuala lumpur. he's got the latest on the investigation. nic, what does this new information mean about what might have been happening on board that jet? >> reporter: well, penang is on the western side of malaysia. and what we understand is that the aircraft, as it made that left turn, crossed back over the malaysian peninsula, we understand that once it had gone about 80 miles offshore, it was down to about 4,000 or 5,000 feet above sea level. it now appears that before it was even crossing over the shoreline over penang, it was already coming down, lowering in altitude

>>> from washington the mclaughlin group the american original. for over three decades the sharpest minds, best sources, hardest talk. >>> the mclaughlin group is brought to you by ... >>> u.s. canada easterring ♪ oh, canada, our home and native land >> and my bias is declared upfront i am a merger i am an american canadian. i think they are already merging -- >> diane francis is editor at large of the national post, a newspaper based in toronto. diane has a big idea, and she has set it forth in a 400 page book, merger of the century. she argues, get this, that the united states and canada should merge into one nation. francis is serious. she notes that the two nations have plenty in common, quote they share geography, values and a gigantic border. their population study, travel and do business together and intermarry in great numbers and each country has what the other needs the u.s. has capital, manpower, technology and the world east strongest -- world's strongest military canada has vast reserves of undeveloped resources canada is the u.s.'s n

>> erin mclaughlin, a busy week for you this weekend in australia. thanks very much. >> moving on to the investigation of why flight 370 flew off course. this morning, malaysian officials poring over data after revealing to cnn that they believe the jet dropped altitude and disappeared from radar right after crossing over malaysia. our senior international correspondent, nic robertson, broke this story. he's been working it ever since. it has been causing quite a stir in kuala lumpur. nic, what's latest this morning? >> reporter: well, john, what they're saying is that it disappeared from military radar, and their assessment of all the data that they have available, they believe, therefore, that it descended to about 4,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level. this is way below the normal uprated minimum for aircraft in their normal flight, before reappearing almost right at the edge of the military radar capability in malaysia. their assessment based on this data is that whoever was piloting the aircraft at that time was trying to avoid this sort of busy c

cnn's erin mclaughlin gives us the latest from perth, australia. good morning, erin. >> reporter: good morning, john. well, just a short while ago, i talked to the spokesperson from the british ministry of defense, and she tells me that the british vessel, the "hms echo" is currently moving towards the australian vessel, the "ocean shield." she said that it's moving because the "ocean shield's" detections at the moment, the most promising leads in this search. she also says that they have discounted those detections made over the weekend by the chinese vessel. as for what it's going to be doing when it gets there, she says that's unclear. at the moment, the "ocean shield" leading this search. it is worth noting that the "hms echo" is equipped with sophisticated sound-detecting technology, but it's also equipped with capabilities of being able to map the sea bed. now, authorities here in perth are not commenting at the moment on this development, not saying whether or not this potentially signals a new phase in this search. as far as we know, the "o

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erin mclaughlin from perth. we appreciate it. thank you very much. >>> as we check our clocks, it is just past 9:00 a.m. in south africa. >> that's where oscar pistorius has just arrived in court for another day of cross-examination. you see the pictures from a moment ago as he makes his way in to court. you see scene outside the court in pretoria. the assembly of media and general public. this is attracting a huge amount of attention, not only in south africa but around the world. focusing in on what is happening, the olympic track star facing his fifth day on the witness stand on charge that he killed his girlfriend, stereeva steenkamp, last february. prosecutors say the couple had been arguing the night of the shooting. >> that's right. it's been an emotional week of testimony for pistorius. at one point this week he was so seemingly distraught the judge called an end to the prosecution for the day. then he sinkholed gerry nel. here's a look back at the -- scolded gerry nel. here's a look at the testimony. >> the phrase "i lov

erin mclaughlin in perth. thanks so much. >>> now to kuala lumpur, where malaysia airlines is stepping up security on its jets, even though there is no sign yet of terrorism behind the disappearance of flight 370. that has some crew members upset, insisting, look, they did nothing wrong here. nic robertson live in kuala lumpur for us this morning. nic, what are they saying? first, how is the airline changing procedures inside the aircraft and what are the airline workers saying about it? >> reporter: christine, what the airline has done is told now that whenever a pilot leaves the cockpit, that somebody of the air crew on board has to take his place inside the cabin. and also, they need to do sort of blocking procedures, if one of the pilots is leaving the cockpit to go to the bathroom or whatever. they're saysaying, the crew mems are saying that they haven't been trained for this sort of security procedure, that they are trained to help people get off the aircraft in the case of an emergency. but really, what

the search is headquartered in perth, australia, that's where our erin mclaughlin is and has been covering this for the past few days. she joins us live. erin, bring us up to speed on where the search stands right now. >> reporter: hi, let's first chat a little more about what the australian president, prime minister, rather, tony abbott had to say at that lunch in shanghai. he admitted that he was holding back some details about this search ahead of his meeting with the chinese premier. take a listen to what he had to say. >> we have very much narrowed down the search area, and we are very confident that the signals that we are detecting are from the black box on mh 370. >> reporter: he also said that out of respect for the families, the -- the families and friends of the chinese passengers that were on board that he was withholding some detail about this search ahead of that meeting with the chinese president later today. as for the search itself, the -- angus houston, the ma not responsible for this -- the man responsible for this joint coordination effort, issued a statement today. he'

i'm paul mclaughlin. >> what is your role?e managing partner pushing forward everyday to provide a great experience for our guests. >> thank you for being here. tommy about the restaurant business right now and if you can, describe the different restaurant because you have different themes. oceana is the flagship restaurant and we have been in existence for 22 years. has been established for 15 or 16 years. a retail restaurant specializing in homemade pasta. >> 600 pounds of lobster, 30,000 a week. >> 3000 oysters we are going for 30,000. >> is it true to not eat oysters in a month -- >> most are cultivated and grown so you can have them year-round. >> what is the biggest challenge in the seafood business? >> sourcing out a good product. good pricing in the marketplace. we have a great buyer in the market that is a daily market for us, making purchases. we are lucky in that matter. >> what kind of trends are you hoping to -- >> the bar and cafÉ scene is one that we are very happy with. .e have seen a 20% growth rate people enj

. >> that is correct, let's get more information from perth, australia, where we find erin mclaughlin. truly, erin, an incredible turn of events. we are right at the edge of battery life for the black boxes. just walk us through what mr. houston announced moments ago. >> that is right, errol, very encouraging news announced this morning. they are now confident houston says that they are searching in the correct place. they detected not one, but two signals as he mentioned there. the first lasting a total of five minutes, 32 seconds. that detected yesterday afternoon. the second lasting a total of seven minutes, detected in the evening. houston did note that these signals were weaker than the first two detections picked up on saturday. and he attributed that to either one of two scenarios. the first scenario being that they had possibly moved away from the source of the signal. he said that that was unlikely the more likely scenario that the signals were weaker due to the diminishing battery life of the black box pinger. now as for next steps, the australian vessel, the ocean shield eq

in the meantime, erin mclaughlin live with the latest on the search. we understand you have new information. >> reporter: that's right, john. we have new information from the joint agency coordination center, responsible for organizing the search efforts here in perth, telling us that western australian police have attended to a report of material washed ashore. 10 kilometers east of augusta in australia. they have secured the material. they say the australian transportation and safety bureau is currently examining these photographs to see if it has any reallevance to the search for m 370. they provided photos to the malaysian investigation team as well. we have reached out to the western australian police for comment on the latest development. no comment so far. there have been plenty of leads in this search, john, so i think it's important to say that authorities really make a point of considering all these leads and trying to rule them in or either rule them out as being potentially connected to missing flight 370. the last lead we heard of was an o

so, let's quiget the latest fro erin mclaughlin live in perth. erin, what can you tell us this morning? >> reporter: hi, john. well, officials are disappointed, but not exactly surprised that that object of interest that washed up on shore on the coast of western australia, about 190 miles from here, did not turn out to be connected to mh-370. that determination made after a thorough analysis by the australian transportation and safety bureau photographs of the object. they're not exactly saying what it is, though it would seem to be just another piece of sea one kind of sea junk that really has muddied the waters, so to speak, for this ongoing visual search. every day, around a dozen planes and a dozen vessels go out on to those waters searching for any signs of mh-370, and so far, found nothing but garbage. australian officials even saying that at this point, it looks very, very unlikely that they will find any sign of mh-370 from that visual search. so, the focus really now on the bluefin-21. as of this morning, we understand the joint agency

erin mclaughlin, thank you for that live report. overnight, the frustration of families of those from flight 370, they marched to the malaysian embassy looking for answers. we will take you to beijing for what it was like in just a few minutes. >>> now to the crisis in ukraine and new word into cnn this morning that new sanctions could come as early as today against some in russia, also possibly some of putin's key allies. russia says the u.s. is behind what is happening in eastern ukraine, talking about it as a pawn in this geopolitical situation, but the white house is insisting that it is russia that is stoking the unrest. a lot of finger-pointing here. the administration promising action. listen. >> let me be clear, if russia continues in this direction, it will not just be a grave mistake, it will be an expensive mistake. >> our diana magnay is live in moscow this morning. hello to you, diana. i know that our elise labott did get word that sanctions from the white house may come as soon as today. you know, up until now, these s

erin mclaughlin live from perth, australia, this morning. erin, it's certainly promise 'but there's still a lot of work to do. bring us up to speed. >> reporter: hi, christine. well, they're saying these findings are absolutely extraordinary. the australian vessel, the "ocean shield" detecting not one, but two separate acoustic events. the first event lasting 2 hours and 22 minutes, the second event lasting 13 minutes, consisting of two separate signals, signals that authorities are saying are consistent with the cockpit voice recorder and the inflight data recorder, but at the same time here in perth, they are urging caution, saying it will take some time to verify these findings. take a listen to what angus houston, the man spearheading this international search effort, had to say at a press conference earlier today. >> i need to be honest with you, it could take some days before the information is available to establish whether these detections can be confirmed as being from mh-370. in very deep oceanic water, nothing happens fast. >> rep

cnn's erin mclaughlin live with the latest. and it seems again from the body language from the announcement overnight that they seem fairly optimistic that these signals are coming from the black boxes and they are narrowing down that search area. >> john, this is very encouraging news. angus hughson is the man responsible for coordinating this search effort. he gave a press conference earlier today. hear how he characterized these new detections. >> i can now tell you that "ocean shield" has been able to reacquire the signals on two more occasions. like yesterday afternoon and late last night. the detection yesterday afternoon was held for approximately five minutes and 32 seconds. the detection late last night was held for approximately seven minutes. >> houston went on to say that the signals detected were noticeably weaker than the saturday detections and that significance, he said that's most likely because the batteries of these black box pingers are expiring. they have a self life of some 30 days and we're now on day 33.

our erin mclaughlin live in perth. what's the latest this morning? >> hi, john.thorities all along had treated that object with interest, with caution. treating it as any other lead. a lead that either needs to be ruled in or ruled out. and in the end, the australian transport and safety bureau ruling it out based on detailed analysis of photographs. not saying exactly what it is that was found. just simply that it's not part of the missing plane. now it would seem to be just another piece of space junk. the kind of junk that has really muddied the waters of this visual search so far which is an ongoing visual search. today some 11 planes and 11 ships still out there despite some adverse weather conditions, scouring the waters trying to find any signs of debris. has to be said that they have spent hours and hours and hours looking and have turned up so far nothing more than garbage. and australian officials saying it's becoming increasingly unlikely that they will find any piece of this plane as a result of that visual search. and the focus really now on the effo

cnn's erin mclaughlin live in perth, australia, to tell us more.rter: hi, carol, as far as we know that tenth mission still underway no signs for the planes maybe fade for this portion of the search but they're already planning for phase two. no end in sight, as investigator, now only days away from completing the search in the targeted area. and still, no sign of flight 370. back in the water this morning, bluefin 21. after turning up empty, scouring two-thirds of the intended seabed so far. the search in the air drastically scaled back due to rain, poor visibility and heavy seas from tropical cyclone jack. the targeted area, six miles in radius, represents the best guess as to where the plane may be. if nothing is found, the search area may widen dramatically with more equipment. investigators say they're in the early stages of talks on long-term search plans, as far out as july. on monday, chinese families of those on board flight 370 arrived at a beijing hotel, expecting a briefing with technical experts from malaysia. but that meeting was canc

erin mclaughlin in perth this morning. thank you so much. >> as for malaysia airlines, it's not talking about what it thinks happened on board that jet, but the airline has implemented new security measures that has some in the flight crews upset this morning. that as a malaysia airlines 777 again flies this route from kuala lumpur to beijing with, of course, a new flight number. nic robertson is live in kuala lumpur this morning. he joins us on the phone. nic, let's talk about these new security measures. what is the airline implementing and why is that making some people in the flight crews so upset? >> reporter: well, what the airline has done is make sure that whenever one of the pilots leaves the cockpit, he is replaced by a crew member from the cabin. also, those crew members, when the pilot leaves, or when one of the pilots leave the cockpit, they are also instructed to block the galleyway with one of the carts for delivering food to passengers. this is what's upsetting the crew members. they say that they're not tr

. >> aaron mclaughlin is in perth, australia. what are we learning about the shift and has the level of optimism changed? >> reporter: hi, victor. i don't think the level of optimism changed. people are very, very determined here to solve this mystery. the bluefin did have to cut short the 13th dive due to a software technical glitch. resetting the software. by morning time here in perth, it was back in the water on the 14th dive having scanned 95% of the narrow area, identified as the best guess as to where the black box may be. officials already discussing what to do next if they, in fact, do rule out that. that search area, more to the north, where they detected the first ping. no mention of introducing a different underwater submersible. something people have ask iing about a mile deeper and stayed out for weeks on end. it's something malaysian and australian officials are discussing and hammering out a longer term search agreement based on a malaysian proposal to broaden the search area out and introduce more underwater equi

our correspondent on the scene, erin mclaughlin. give us an updated, erin, what's happening right now. >> reporter: hi, wolf. we're still waiting for the results of that analysis of the bluefin-21's very first mission that 35 square mile stretch you mentioned is absolutely mission critical, where officials believe is the most likely place they are going to find that black box based on a detailed analysis of the acoustic pings detected earlier. a second according to the u.s. navy the most significant lasted 13 minutes, the strongest signal detected. we do not have a timetable for the results of this analysis as yet. at the moment, officials being pretty tight-lipped whether or not the bluefin-21 is even back in the water. what we are getting more information on is this cost of all of this. according to the australian transportation and safety board, it's estimated a prolonged privately funded underwater salvage will cost a quarter of a billion dollars separate from this ongoing visual search for any signs of debris and search by air

. >> erin mclaughlin is live for us. thank you very much. >>> a big week in u.s. diplomacy. in a few hours, president obama touches down in tokyo. he'll visit south korea, malaysia and the philippines. he spends time in japan. that's where michelle kosinski is. give us an idea of the goal of this long delayed trip. >> hey, john, good morning. this is seen as extremely significant by both sides. you might say pivotal. this is what they have been wanting for president obama's second term. will this be seen by the four nations as credible in the form it's expected to take, economic, military and diplomatic and what kind of progress could we see from this in the near and long term. trade is a big part of it. president obama is pushing for a trade deal that could involve 12 different countries. china has been pushing for their own regional trade deal that does not include the u.s. that's going to be important here in japan, although, the u.s., some officials said japan needs to step up more for more progress, open up parts of its economy. so far, it's at a point of stalemate. we

cnn's erin mclaughlin is in perth, australia. >> reporter: wolf, today's weather may have had an impact on the aerial search for debris. didn't seem to have too much of an effect on the bluefin-21. now, as far as we know, in the midst of its tenth dive. now, as of yesterday, two-thirds of that narrow search area had been scoured. still no signs of the missing plane. some are wondering what are going to be the next steps. now, an official with the u.s. navy telling cnn the key stakeholders are in the early stages of those discussions. there's been talk of a broader search area, possibly introducing more submersibles into the mix to be able to cover more area in a shorter period of time. what they're doing right now is they're searching a six-mile radius around the point of the second ping that was detected on april 8th. they're doing that because it was the strongest of the four pings. but some analysts suggesting perhaps they should search in the areas of the other pings as well. that spokesperson for the u.s. navy telling cnn that they're planning for as far out as july. their long-ter

cnn's aron mclaughlin is in perth, australia, with more.porter: good morning, carol. we're learning more about that object of interest that we chatted so much about yesterday. it was a piece of metal found about 190 miles to the south of perth. officials now, of course, ruling it out as having no connection to missing malaysian flight 370. but cnn has managed to obtain photographs of that object. and in looking at those photos, it is perhaps easy to see why authorities were so initially interested in it. it's essentially a long piece of metal with rivets. but, of course, in the end, it turned out to be just another lead turned disappointment. but officials at the moment not exactly saying what it is. but it does appear to be just another piece of garbage like all the rest of the garbage that has sort of muddled the waters of that aerial search for debris that is ongoing today. another 11 planes and 11 ships out there scouring the waters, trying to find any sign of this plane. australian authorities now even acknowledging that it's highly un

>> erin mclaughlin in perth, australia.e to have the conversation about between these countries. >>> richard quest now and mary ellen o'tool. richard, let's start with the most recent discussed flight path avoiding radar. does one country know where one country's radar ends and the other picks up? >> yes, they will certainly know where a country's radar ends, civilian radar, maybe not military radar because they will be handed over from one country to the next. the moment i saw this map of the turn and then the twist around the top of indonesia and that was on the very first map that we got some weeks ago, that, to me, was always the most telling point moving from mechanical to nefarious. that spoke volumes in the way this plane was flown. we have already been told several times, that the plane had been flown deliberately. the authorities have been extremely careful not to say nefarious and not to say criminal, although there is a criminal investigation under way, but they always said deliberately. the moment you look at th

erin mclaughlin is there. quite encouraging developments, erin. they're stressing that nothing is confirmed but something perhaps is happening. >> reporter: that's right, natalie. this is certainly a significant development in this search. they are deploying a number of assets to the area in response to the "haixun 01" find. angus houston, who is spearheading this search saying this is the most promising lead they have so far, the chinese search vessel detects not one but two acoustic events some 24 hours and 2 kilometers apart in an area that it seems to be at this point pretty significant. houston also saying that based on news information about the condition of the inmarsat satellite, they are revising the most likely area that the plane went down further south, which he said is pretty close to where the chinese vessel detected these acoustic events. so in response to this new informations are the search team deploying the search vessel "echo" expected to arrive in 14 hours and the "ocean shield" is about 24 hours away in another area. houston

erin mclaughlin is live in perth. it came back to the surface for technical problems and they downloaded the data from the earlier search. did they find anything? >> reporter: hi, christine. no, they did not find objects of interest. the good news here is they put, despite the technical glitch, they put the bluefin-21 back into the water to begin searching again. many wonder if it's up to the task at hand. it's operating in the upper region of the depth capacity. it can go 5 kilometers beneath the ocean surface instead of the 4.5 originally thought. the important thing to remember is it's very, very difficult to operate at the depth. consider the pressure. some 2.5 family vehicles worth per inch on any underwater submersible operating, then the terrain. relatively unknown to man. they think it's flat and rolling, but they are not entirely sure. whatever is down there, the bluefin-21 is going to have to be able to navigate. consider on top of that, the silt on the ocean floor. they think it's there, they are not sure h

our own erin mclaughlin is on the scene for us, once again joining us from perth. first off, what are officials actually telling you about that new so-called object of interest? >> hi, wolf. well, we understand it was found about 186 miles from here to the south of perth. the head of the safety bureau martin dolan telling cnn the atsb is currently analyzing photographs of this object. he described it as a metal sheet with rivets. we're also hearing from a source inside the defense force describing it as having a fiberglass coating, described as a rectangular object but torn and misshapen. dolan adding a note of caution, saying that the more the authorities and the atsb are looking at these images, the less excited they are getting about it. now, we are aware of australian media reports that multiple objects have been found. so far, cnn has been unable to confirm that. we're also trying to get more information about the size of the objects. our sources -- some of our sources saying they've only seen one photograph of this object and, therefore, it's difficult to det

let's go live to cnn's erin mclaughlin.as there been any change in the size or scope of the search area? >> reporter: well, jake, they continue to refine the search area today. by another 500 square miles, really a quarter of the size of what it used to be, which has allowed them to intensify the efforts of some 15 aircraft and 13 vessels out combing the waters for any signs of debris. but it has to be said after hours and hours and hours of searching we're now some 35 days since the plane went missing, not a single, physical sign of the plane has been found. so the focus of this search effort very much on for the elusive pings. overnight, they have been analyzing this data that they have obtained from one of the sonobuoys, one of the dozens or so that they have parachuted out onto the water. they said they hope to get an update on that today. meanwhile, the australian vessel, the ocean shield, continues to be out there combing the waters with the american operator, the towed pinger locator, making detections, four so far w

cnn's erin mclaughlin joins us with the latest on this story.es will the bluefin-21 go down, do you think? it's on the ninth mission as we said earlier. >> reporter: hi, pamela. that's unclear. i think it really depends on how long it takes for the bluefin to continue searching or finish searches, rather, this very narrowed area that's really critical to rule in or rule out this current search area because it's been identified by officials as the most likely place that they're going to find the black box based on the albeit very limited information that they have. they're focusing in on the second ping that was picked up by that towed pinger locater on april 8th. it was the strongest of the four signals detected so what they're doing right now is scanning a 6-mile radius around the point of that detection. we know they have searched about two thirds of that area so far. australian officials saying that it could be within the next week that they complete that search. but that's depend ent on the bluefin-21's performance, also dependent on the wea

. >> straight to the base of operations in perth, australia where we find cnn's aaron mclaughlin. let's start with the search zone. after shrinking all this past week why was the area suddenly expanded tooed? >> reporter: officials today didn't say specifically. but they have been steadily refining the debris search zone. they really only expanded around 6,000 square miles today which isn't all that much when you consider that the current debris field is about a quarter of what it was some ten days ago. while they've been really successful at refining this search field, narrowing it down, they've been less successful at actually finding anything. after hours and hours and hours of meticulously combing, they still have yet to find a single piece of this plane. that being said, they have had some 36 days of oceanic drift to contend with. >> they have. they have a lot to contend with. we heard those statements from the australian prime minister, tony abbott, over the last couple of days expressing some level of confidence of finding these black boxes. but let me ask you this. how clo

i want to begin this hour's coverage live in perth, australia, with cnn's erin mclaughlin. we know the bigger and more capable vehicles are out there, they exist to continue this search. do we know why the search teams are sticking with that bluefin? >> not at the moment, ashleigh. that is a question that we have put to the joint agency coordination center here in perth, the center responsible for coordinating this search efforts. and no comment so far because, you're right, there are more capable underwater submersibles out there such as the orion. it can stay down there for weeks on end. now, we do know that this is something that both australian and malaysian officials are discussing. they're currently in the process hammering out a longer term search agreement based on a malaysian proposal to broaden out the search area and introduce new technology. it's something the australian defense minister has talked about. technology he says like they're considering the kind of underwater submersibles that discover the titanic. so we know they're discussing it. it's not clear whe

erin mclaughlin there's been another possible ping heard. how is the search changing based on the latest signals? >> i have lost my feed. >> apparently having trouble with her. that happens when it is live. how has it changed since it is 18,000 square miles and the fifth ping. >> every time they get another ping, it increases the certainty that what they found is the right thing and that allows them to decrease the area that they are searching in. we haven't had this fifth ping confirmed, but if it is confirmed -- it's like we saw last night with tom foreman, you keep getting pings. you draw the circle and the more pings you get the closer it becomes. so your search area is greatly reduced. that's why angus houston wants to try to get as many pings as possible. >> as many pings as possible because number one the battery life, the battery is weakening every single minute. that's important to find it as soon as possible. >> the battery life is weakening. he doesn't have a second chance. once the pinger has died, that's it. so why not spend the

many thanks to erin mclaughlin reporting live from perth, australia. >>> rosemary, in the u.s., kansas city is in shock after a gunman opened fire at two jewish community centers on sunday killing three people. one of the victims was just a 14-year-old boy. >> yeah. as we report, the suspect is described as long-time white supremacist. >>> four and five shots have been fired interest the front door. there's a male with a shotgun. >> reporter: bill corporan had just pulled into the community center parking lot with his grandson. >> and now 12 shots have been fired. ♪ o say can you see >> reporter: 14-year-old reit underwood was about to audition for a singing competition, but he never got the chance. ♪ >> we've got two down. that's all we're aware of at this time. >> reporter: frasier glen cross shot and killed them. >> they literally pulled in, and i opened the doors to get out. they were ambushed. >> reporter: investigators say cross didn't stop there. he then drove to a nearby jewish assisted living facility and shot and killed terry lamano, who was visiting hear mother. three lives

anderson. >> erin mclaughlin, we appreciate that. we will check in with erin and as i said if you are just joining us we are waiting to hear from authorities. we do not know what they will be announcing at this press conference. it is a little past 11:00 a.m. in australia and in the search area. obviously the search is already underway. we don't know if there are new developments, though, beyond the refining the search area. we anticipate some sort of announcement being made. we will bring it to you live. we want to bring in our panel. author of why planes crash, investigator fights for safe skies and doing calculations on the search. boeing trip 777 captain and miles o'brien, former department of transportation inspector who represents accident victims and their families. richard, let's start with you. you were with me in the 8:00 hour. you heard from captain mark math thi mathies from the u.s. navy. he said the life of the pinger is 30 days and may go up to 45 days and may allow that much time to focus the search on trying to get a