Three weeks now. Still no contact, no proof of where it is. But today five different planes spotted at least something. Tonight there is a new search area. Its sharply to the north now, closer to australia. Its based on the belief that the plane flew faster on its way down than first believed, used its fuel up faster, and then went down at a different point. Its where we begin tonight with nbcs tom costello once again in our d. C. Bureau. Tom, good evening. Reporter hi, brian. A week after searching in an area 1600 miles off of perth, now this new refined search zone hundreds of miles to the north. And half the air crews that went out today spotted what they thought what was debris. Those photos are now being analyzed. From an australian p3 search zone today, an up close look 21 days after flight 370 disappeared. At a low pass, the crew members thought they spotted something. Now ships are heading that way. 11 objects in total is what weve come across. A varying range of shapes, sizes, objects that were sitting on the surface of the ocean, some just below. Reporter this photo of possible debris unconfirmed by nbc news was reportedly spotted by a new zealand air crew also operating in the new zone, nearly 700 miles northeast of the previous search area. This is our best estimate of the area in which the aircraft is likely to have crashed into the ocean. Reporter with the help of u. S. Investigators, engineers took the planes last known altitude of 35,000 feet and projected its fuel burn. Then they recalculated the possible flight paths. If the plane was flying at 539 or 546 miles per hour, it likely would have taken one of these two paths. But if it was 360 miles per hour, the flight could have ended hundreds of miles to the east and much closer to perth. Experts say the ocean there is not as rough. It is very different in terms of conditions, the wave conditions are much, much calmer, less than half of what it was in the southern ocean. Reporter if the black boxes are found, the malaysians could ask for help from the ntsb lab in washington where investigators are experienced in removing salt water that could have leaked into the memory compartment. We make sure we wash the board several times and get all the salt particles out of it because it does have the ability to corrode some of the other parts that are on the memory board. Reporter the goal, to upload hundreds of pieces of recorded flight data and lay out the planes final moments. Meanwhile, another team listens to what was said in the cockpit just before a final crash. I would think this could be emotionally taxing to listen to this kind of a conversation. I always relate it to what trauma surgeons must go through. Youre there trying to get the job done. Reporter the ntsb says it goes through 175 black boxes a year. A third of them are from foreign governments. Also the pentagon is confirming they are trying to find imagery to help in the search, although it will not be more specific than that. Brian . Tom costello starting us off from our d. C. Newsroom tonight. Tom, thanks. And we turn out west to Washington State where it has been almost a week since a mountainside gave way, consuming a square mile below and consuming just about everything and everyone in its path. All week a slow and exhausting search has been going on for the missing, in mud up to 40 feet deep in some places. And tonight, the awful news that the death toll has worsened. Nbcs Miguel Almaguer remain theres for us tonight. Miguel, good evening. Reporter brian, good evening. The official death toll remains at 17, but rescue officials tell us it will certainly climb dramatically. Tonight 90 people are missing as hope fades. Boots in the mud. Its thick and waistdeep. More than 200 search in slow and dangerous conditions. It could take five months to scour this debris field. The rain and weather is basically working against us. Reporter fresh crews are headed in to relieve teams who are exhausted. Even the search dogs are tired. They come into waist deep and mud that they have been going through. They have been digging through stuff. Theyve seen things that people shouldnt have to see. Reporter with so many still missing, there is fear tonight this could become one of the deadliest mudslides in u. S. History. Rescue crews are focusing their efforts on steelhead drive, where amanda lennock, a young nurse, had just bought her home. She spent saturday working on repairs with bill welsh, a vietnam, veteran, steve hadaway, a marine and steven neil, a family man. His daughter had to break the news to his grandchildren. He is watching over all of us, and he loved you very, very much and that he is always going to be watching after you. Reporter with 49 homes destroyed at least 11 were built since 2000. A year after this report prepared for the u. S. Army corps of engineers warned the potential for a large catastrophic failure here. First off, they were in love. Reporter larry and sandy miller were building their dream home. They were very cognizant that there was a certain amount of risk that goes with living in a location like that. Reporter but not every homeowner was aware of the danger. Nobody warned anybody. We had no knowledge. We bought that place specifically because it was a quarter mile from the river and it was up on a bench above flood level. There is nothing that should have hurt us there. Reporter tonight, this entire community is hurting. Next week, the first of too many funerals. Linda macpherson was the Town Librarian everyone knew. Leaning on each other, this community is finding strength as tonight 24 Community Shares its grief. With days of rain in the forecast, there is worry another landslide could be triggered. In fact, First Responders are so concerned, they have put devices in the ground to check for the soils movement. Brian . Miguel almaguer in teenager, washington on a friday night. Thank you. And lets turn overseas, there is word of a phone call from russian president putin to president obama who is traveling overseas right now. White house says putin called to talk about u. S. Diplomatic proposals to resolve this crisis in ukraine. Officials are telling us the president urged putin to move his troops back from the border. This is important because the pentagon has been very worried about the opposite, worried that putin is about to move on the rest of ukraine. Jim miklaszewski is at the pentagon for us tonight. Jim, good evening. Reporter brian, that phone call tonight between the two president s may have warned ukraine at least a short reprieve from a russian invasion. Defense officials here tell us that as of tonight the russians already have in place enough military firepower to invade ukraine. There is an estimated 40,000 heavily Armed Russian troops that are positioned near the border. Theyre armed with tanks, attack helicopters, even field hospitals to treat any possible wounded. Now, all of those troops are currently buttoned down and out of sight at three remote Russian Military bases that are located about 40 to 60 miles away from the ukrainian border. Intelligence officials believe that russia wants to seize a large portion of southeastern ukraine. That would provide the military with a direct and open land route from russia to crimea. Now if those upcoming talks with russia should break down for any reason, u. S. Officials here worn that russia would still be able to launch an invasion without warning and admit the u. S. And ukraine would be unable to stop it. Brian . Jim miklaszewski at the pentagon, where theyll be keeping eyes on this all weekend. In new jersey today, governor Chris Christie tried to move beyond the bridge scandal that has consumed his administration for a time. He is pointing to a legal review that he commissioned that cleared him of any wrongdoing. He announced the resignation of a key ally and said he will embrace reforms recommended in the report. We get more tonight from nbcs kelly odonnell. Reporter today in his first News Conference in 11 weeks good afternoon, everybody. Reporter governor Chris Christie defended the new report commissioned by his own office. That concludes he was not involved in the bridge traffic lane scandal. Democrats have dismissed the findings as a whitewash. I think the report will stand the test of time, but it will be tested. Reporter the report recommends an overhaul of the Port Authority, and today christie accepted the resignation of his top appointee, david samson. He believes that the best way to start a new year at the Port Authority is with new leadership. Reporter while christie acknowledged his reputation suffered, he insists none of this will derail his future. How it is possible that this controversy will not impact a choice to run for president or even how you might do . Im just telling you that it wont. And the fact of the matter is that i had nothing to do with this, as i said from the beginning. Reporter christie claims voters will forget the bridge controversy. In considering my candidacy, if there ever is one, i got a feeling it will be a very small element of it, if any element at all. Reporter the internal review heaped all the blame for shutting down lanes on former Port Authority official David Wildstein and christies former top aide, Bridget Anne Kelly. The governor says he must become a better manager. That i need to be even more direct about what ill permit and what i wont permit. Reporter today christie recharged his combative style. And i dont know whether you cant take notes or youre not listening. Christine, stop. You have to get the fax right if youre going to ask me a question. Reporter and acted like the worst of this was behind him. Id like to say i missed you, but i didnt. Reporter but its far from over. State and federal investigations are still under way, and tonight a lawyer for Bridget Anne Kelly is disputing how she was characterized and the conclusions in the Christie Administration internal review, saying kelly would cooperate with the u. S. Attorney if given immunity. Brian . Kelly odonnell at the State Capitol in trenton tonight. Kelly, thanks. More trouble at gm tonight. Word the company is greatly expanding a recall involving those faulty ignition switches. And there is a separate problem the company has just disclosed. Nbcs Anne Thompson has more on all of this for us in our newsroom. Anne, good evening. Reporter good evening, brian. First, lets talk about that expanded recall. It involves the same models of cars that were recalled, those 1. 6 million cars that were recalled last month by gm. But these are just Newer Versions of those cars. These cars were built from 2008 to 2011. And the vehicles include the chevy cobalt and hhr, the pontiac g5 and solstice and the saturn ion and sky. Unlike the older vehicles, no deaths have officially been linked to these models. The problem, gm says, is those ignition switches could have been repaired with faulty parts. But gm says it does not know which cars got those faulty parts. So out of an abundance of caution, ceo mabara says this recall is being expanded. This comes on the same day they told retailers to stop selling the 2013 and 14 models of the chevy cruz. You can bet the ceo mary bara will be asked about those questions when she testifies before Congress Next week. Brian . Anne thompson in new york with us tonight, anne, thanks. Still ahead with us on this friday evening, big trouble at the movies. A changing american tradition. Now heaters are thinking outside the box to get the audience back inside. And later, the incredible moment of a woman captured on camera as a woman hears for the very first time in her life. The movie noah is the big opener this weekend. The New York Times says its occasionally clumsy, occasionally ridiculous and almost never dull. To prove they have the sense of humor, the headline in the times for the noah review, reads rain, heavy at times. Hollywood is going to need a sense of humor to get through a changing time from actual film itself to the new stats showing fewer of us are actually going to movie theaters. Our report on all of it tonight from nbcs Gabe Gutierrez in los angeles. Reporter out in theaters tonight, the latest hollywood epic, noah, starring Russell Crowe and jennifer connelly. But the industry built on big screens and big budgets is now dealing with what has become a big problem. This is my first time going all year. I will wait a year for a movie to come out rather than going to the movies and paying 13. Reporter according to the Motion Picture association of america, the number of frequent moviegoers ages 18 to 24 plummeted 17 last year. The total amount of tickets sold over the past decade has plunged 11 . But there is a hollywood plot twist. We had a Record Box Office in 2013. Were 10 almost ahead of last year at this point. Reporter that is because to compensate for falling attendance, ticket prices have soared, now averaging 8. 13 more in some cities where imax can run close to 10 . To lure people back into the seats, the movie industry is considering discounted weekday movie nights, some are offering luxury amenities like Gourmet Foods and reclining chairs. But it will be hard to compete with the convenience of louie spencers apartment outside l. A. Where movie night is on demand. Its like a night out now. I can choose what i want to watch. I can pause it. So i think the flexibility is which makes it really easy to watch things at home. Reporter but for ariel powell, old habits diehard. I dont think i will ever stop going to the movies, it will never be replaced for me. Its the entire ritual. Its buying the ticket, selling the popcorn, seeing the big screen. Reporter an american pasttime, for many others now seen in a whole new light. Gabe gutierrez, nbc news, los angeles. When we come back, remembering an American Hero who always said he survived the very worst by living for the moment. Jeremiah denton has died, and the most important thing to remember about him is following his release after eight years as a prisoner of war in vietnam, four of those years in solitary confinement, he said it had been an honor. Denton was a native of alabama, a father of seven, an annapolis grad and a former test pilot. He was thoth shot down on his 12th mission over vietnam in 1965. He was routinely tortured, often to the point of losing consciousness. But one day when it stopped, he was cleaned up, given new clothes and he suspected something was up. He suspected something was up and he was right. They sat him down for a more or less staged interview with a japanese tv journalist. During his interview, he blinked his eyes to show the word torture in morse code, a signal to the pentagon that americans were being mistreated. Following his release he was elected to the u. S. Senate for alabama for a single term. The senator and his wife were married for 61 years. Jeremiah denton was 89. A prominent republican is leaving congress. Mike rogers of michigan, chairman of the house intelligence committee, leaving after seven terms. He has become a tv news regular on intelligence issues. The 50yearold former fbi agent says he is going to host a National Radio show. An emotional scene in the u. K. Has been chronicled by our international partner, itn. A woman named joanne miln who was deaf from birth is shown hearing sounds for the first time thanks to cochlear implants. Could you hear those words . Yes, yes. Because she longed to hear music, her best friend made her a play list of great music she needed to hear right away. Starting with john lennons imagine. There is also some mccartney, bruce, prince, elo, fleetwood mac, steely dan. Now she has time to make up for lost time. He is now making her a mix of Christmas Music because to date she has never heard a christmas song. When we come back, those who are making a difference in a real time of need. Our making a difference report tonight comes from Washington State, the scene of so much tragedy this past week, but like so much of the bad that we have to witness, like so many of the awful events we have to cover and the stories we must tell, great people have come forward, and they have performed great deeds. Their stories tonight from nbcs joe fryer. Peas, carrots, corn. Reporter few things in tough times offer more comfort than a onlyhomecooked meal. Enter this woman, better known as mama. Ee that is hot. This bighearted Restaurant Owner is part of the group known as the soup ladies. Yeah, that is perfect. Reporter volunteers who spent this entire week feeding search crews at the site of the oso mud slide. I would never want to do their job, but i can cook. Reporter they have been doing this for ten years now serving food to First Responders after hurricane katrina, the tornado in joplin, missouri, and superstorm sandy. Now the disaster has landed just 70 miles from their own back yard. I have heard that when they know on the radio that you know mamas going to be at the base camp, that it lightens their load. Reporter mama says theyre just a tiny cog in the wheel of giving. Help for mudslide victims reporter this week boy scouts braved the rain for a food drive, and high schools packed more than 1300 lunches for First Responders. These kids are making sandwiches. For my boys . For the people on the front lines who are doing what we cant. Just stick it in there. Reporter as for the soup ladies, theyre putting out more than 200 meals a day. I feel so privileged and honored that i get to do this. And i love those people. I love them. They are my heroes. Reporter when this world is at its worst. Mama is a witness to its best. You see a lot of heartache, and when i look into some of their eyes i get to see into their hearts. Reporter she promises to stay here until theyre told to go. So oso can take some comfort in knowing while the road ahead is long it will not be traveled alone. Joe fryer, nbc news, arlington, washington. And if you wish to help the folks in Washington State there is information on how to do just that. Its on our website tonight, nbcnews. Com. That is our broadcast for this friday night and for this week. Thank you for being here with us. Im brian williams. Lester holt will be here with you this weekend. We, of course, hope to see you right back here on monday evening. Have a good weekend in the meantime. Good night. Breaking news in the south bay. Another 49ers player in trouble with the law. Good evening and thanks for joining us on this friday. Im raj mathai. Im jessica aguirre. The 49ers on damage control. Chris just walked out of the jail after being arrested for hitandrun after hitting a cyclist. This happened around 10 20 this morning. When officers caught up with him, they found brass knuckles, which are illegal in his car. Nanette joins us. Reporter chris culver was just released from the Santa Clara County jail behind me. Here is his mug shot after being booked on felony hitandrun, reckless driving, possession of brass knuckles and driving with a suspended license. It began this morning around 10 20. Police say he struck a bicyclist with his ford mustang around the intersection of tully road and fled the scene. Police also say he struck a witnesses car while leaving. That witness followed him and blocked his mustang at a nearby area and waited for police to arrive. Police found the brass knuckles while searching his car. The 49ers released a statement saying in part, the 49ers organization is aware of the recent matter involving chris cu culliver. He made headlines before the super bowl for his ant