Shooting that left 26 people dead. What he says he now thinks about his own child. Good morning, and welcome to early start. Im christine romans. Im john berman. It is monday, march 10th, 5 00 a. M. In the east. Hope you had a great weekend, but its all over now. Sorry about that. Thanks, john. Were going to start, though, with the latest on this tragic mystery surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370. Every minute that passes, there seem to be fewer clues and more questions. Still no sign of the jetliner, despite an exhaustive International Effort involving dozens of ships, planes and search crews from eight countries. It has been nearly three days now since this plane vanished in Southeast Asia en route from kuala lumpur to beijing. Reports of possible debris sightings have so far turned up nothing. Theres been no link to terrorism so far as we have found yet. The search for answers has investigators focusing on two passengers who were traveling, though, with stolen passports. Cnns david mckendzie is live in beijing. Whats the latest, david . Reporter john, the latest is more Unanswered Questions at this hour. Vietnamese Officials Saying that they have seen a yellow object floating in the ocean. Now searchandrescue vessels are on their way to investigate that. That might raise some hopes of an answer to this mystery. This plane, which early saturday was flying over Vietnamese Air space, which vanished. No real theories at this point as to what happened, but as you mentioned, two passengers which boarded that plane were on stolen passports, who were going on from kuala lumpur to beijing on to europe. They havent ruled out terrorism at this point or hijacking. In fact, they havent ruled out any possibility of what exactly happened. The most of the passengers, more than 150 of them, chinese nationals. Many of the families of those people are in this hotel behind me waiting, wondering, frustrated, not knowing what has happened. They are going to be flown to malaysia, like family members of others on that plane. More than a dozen nationality, including at least three americans on this illfated mh370 jetliner. So many Unanswered Questions at this point, but they say it could take days, weeks, perhaps even months to figure out what happened. A priority for them is to find any concrete sign of where this plane presumably went down. John . And so far, no sign. And you could tell the unknown is wearing on those families. David mckenzie for us in beijing, thank you. No distress call, and the two people traveling on those stolen passports bought them from the same travel agency, so at the same time, consecutive numbers. Really interesting. So a lot to still follow and so many mysteries. Now to the crisis in ukraine, where russia seems to be tightening its grip in crimea. President Vladimir Putin defending the breakaway moves by the regions prorussian leaders. In phone conversations sunday he had with british Prime MinisterDavid Cameron and german chancellor angela merkel. Cnn has an exclusive look at the situation on the new border between russiancontrolled crimea and the rest of ukraine. By all indications, moscows military is dug in. Cnns anna coren has that, live for us in crimea this morning. Good morning. Reporter hi, christine. There is no doubt about it, a new border is being erected between crimea and ukraine. We drove up there yesterday, and we came across a checkpoint. Our car was searched, equipment was searched, one of our cameras was taken and turned off. But the soldiers eventually spoke to us. They said we could not film the area. What we saw were camps of russian soldiers. When we moved a little bit further, we could see that there were armored personal carriers that are being dug in. They were rolling out barbed wire. They were digging holes for fence posts. And they were also putting up signs that would indicate a mine field. And we spoke to a local, christine, who said that a local dog, one of his neighbors dogs had been blown up after he ran into the area a few days ago. So, there is real concern that this area is now part of russia, effectively. They didnt want us to film, they did not want us to show the evidence, but i can assure you, christine, it is happening. So, the referendum, anna, is less than a week away. What is the mood there now . Reporter well, weve been seeing clashes pretty much on a daily basis, certainly here in soferapol and sevastopol, clashing with people who want to remain part of ukraine. They start out peacefully and then turn ugly very, very quickly. There is also a media crackdown under way here. There are no ukrainian tv stations being broadcast in crimea. It is statesponsored russian tv. They want to control the message in the leadup to that referendum, which takes place, christine, on the 16th of march. Anna coren, thank you so much for that. Again, that referendum to ask the people who live in crimea whether they want to be part of russia or part of ukraine. That will be the next big hurdle. Thank you, anna. Six minutes after the hour right now. Breaking overnight, the father of adam lanza speaking publicly for the First Time Since his son massacred 26 first graders and staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School back in december 2012. Peter lanza telling the new yorker, with hindsight, i know adam would have killed me in a heartbeat if he had the chance. He says he believes when adam shot his mother four times, each bullet was meant for a member of their family, including himself. Pete were lanza also says he wishes his son had never been born. Just days after rejecting a bill that would have stripped military commanders of authority in prosecuting sex assault cases, the senate is poised to pass another measure dealing with how top brass handles alleged sex crimes. The bill, sponsored by michigan senator claire mccaskill, would get rid of the socalled good soldier defense that takes the Service Record of the accused into account. In cases of dual jurisdiction, when a crimes committed off base, the victim would have a say on whether its handled by a civilian or military court. Happening today in massachusetts, we will get more details about what will be done to keep this years Boston Marathon safe. Emergency officials are expected to speak about how they will screen the crowds and what spectators will be allowed to carry along the marathon route, 26. 2 miles worth of security there. The race is set for april 21st. The bombing at the finish line last year killed 3 and injured more than 260 people. This morning authorities in mexico trying to confirm that a notorious drug lord is really dead after a weekend shootout they claim killed nazaroi moreno, head of the Knights Templar drug cartel. The questions, because this guy was declared dead in 2010 after another gun battle with police. This time, Authorities Say they have his body and theyve checked his fingerprints. This guy keeps dying. This time they say its for real. Happening today in austin, nsa leaker Edward Snowden expected to take part in an interactive conversation about Online Privacy at the south by southwest festival, appearing Via Video Conference from russia, where he is now living in sil yaum. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange also spoke to the festival from the Ecuadorian Embassy in london. Hes been there for two years since britain called to extradite him to sweden for charges. Chaos at amherst leaving dozens arrested. Police in riot gear went to the campus to break up the blarney blowout. They say drunken revelers threw cans and snowballs at them. They had to use pepper spray and some taking part were treated for alcohol poisoning. Breaking overnight, a strong 6. 9magnitude earthquake reported off the coast of northern california. This quake centered some 50 miles west of ueureka in the pacific. Were hearing reports of people feeling the ground shake for up to a minute. No damage or injuries reported. Well follow up on that. So, spring not yet here, but this weekend was awfully nice here in new york. Almost there. No snow, nice temperatures. Almost there. We are almost there. Will it stick . Indra petersons, its all on you. Good morning. Im going to try, how about that . Is that good enough . Good enough. We are already starting off this morning, it feels pretty good. A couple weeks ago, i would say these were afternoon highs, but already this morning new york city 38. Not bad, right . Providence 33, and new jersey about 34. So, lets talk about what we are expecting. Now, by the afternoon, look at this, guys, it looks amazing out there, especially anywhere into the south. These temperatures in the mid70s today for new orleans. D. C. Going for 60s. Looks like new york city 51, even boston looking for the 40s today. So, thats how it looks today. Tomorrow, believe it or not, actually gets nicer. Hard to believe. Were talking about 60s in towards new york city, d. C. Gets 70s, but you really want to check out maybe what happens about wednesday in through thursday, especially thursday. D. C. Goes from 63 down to 35. So, theres still another big change in our forecast. A couple things going on. First, a little clipper kind of makes its way north of us today. Not going to be a big deal. Its the system coming in behind it that we will have to start to watch. The cold air and warm air combines again. That system makes its way through the upper midwest, the ohio valley. Then tuesday, wednesday, in through thursday, its all about where the system goes and how much rain or snow we get. Good news now, a lot of it staying north of us. We will keep you posted. Enjoy it while it lasts. All right, indra. Thats your weather look. Now the market look. Huge drop in exports for china, sending stocks lower worldwide. Markets in asia closing sharply lower. Wow. Japan and hong kong suffering, yep, but not as much as chinas stock market. Big losses there, down almost 3 . Stocks in europe started negative and are clawing back. U. S. Futures indicating a mixed open at this hour. We head into today with the s p hovering around, you know, a record high. Shares of boeing dipped about 2 in afterhours trading on friday. Boeing manufactured the 777 Malaysia Airline plane that disappeared and is presumed to have crashed into the ocean off the southern tip of vietnam over this weekend. You know, boeing has a stellar safety reputation. Separately, though, weve learned that hairline cracks were found in the wings of 40 dreamliner jets being built for boeing. Boeing says the wing cracks are being addressed and that none of the dreamliners currently being flown are affected. Well watch that today. Well also watch the parent of the Malaysian Airlines plane, that stock getting hurt a little bit today, too. So well watch that as well. Very good. All right, coming up next, a scary close call at a florida airport. Look at this skydiver and a plane meet just a few feet off the ground. The whole thing caught on camera. We will have more with these oh, my goodness well show you the full story and these frightening pictures, coming up. First, held captive for three months, a group of nuns now free. We are live with their dramatic release, next. The secret is out. Hydration is in. 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We helped sydney manage her debt and prioritize her goals, so she could really turn up the volume on her dreams today. And tomorrow. So lets see what we can do about that. Remodel. Motorcycle. [ female announcer ] some questions take more than a bank. They take a banker. Make a my financial priorities appointment today. Because when people talk, great things happen. Mayo . Corn dogs . You are so outta here aah [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of greattasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. Nutrition in charge™. We are following new developments this morning from syria. Reports say 13 nuns and 3 convent workers kidnapped by rebels, held for more than three months, are now free. The group was released sunday, reportedly in exchange for some 150 prisoners being held by the syrian regime. Cnns Mohammed Jamjoom is following developments, live for us this morning in beirut. What can you tell us this morning . Reporter christine, this was a very dramatic and tense negotiation process, months in the making, and last night here in lebanon, officials started talking about how the nuns were going to be released imminently. Then there was a lastminute hiccup. There were what were called logistical difficulties. Other officials were saying, though, if there were problems with the negotiation. Finally, hours after that, the nuns were released. There is very dramatic video showing the nuns as they arrived on the Syrian Lebanese border, taken into the custody of lebanese government officials. What happened after that is that they were then transferred back into the custody of syrian officials. So, in essence, they went through lebanon and then went back into syria. In exchange for their release, 150 women that were being held by the Syrian Government were released. That was the exchange, or the terms of the exchange. Now, lebanese government officials are telling us today that these nuns are all back in syria, that they are safe, that they told them that, in fact, they were well taken care of in the custody of islamist fighters. There is, however, some discrepancy about why these nuns were taken. Originally, the Syrian Government stated the nuns were kidnapped by islamic fighters. After that, opposition groups in syria stated, in fact, that the nuns were only being held to protect them, because the part of syria where they were, malula, was under attack by the Syrian Government. Christine . All right, Mohammed Jamjoom for us this morning in beirut, thank you. 17 minutes after the hour. Its the 66th birthday of an american missing seven years in iran. Bob levinson, the fbi agent whose family says he was working for the cia when he disappeared, has not been seen or heard from since 2010. The iranian government says they have no idea where he is, but his family will be asking questions, especially as negotiators sit down for a deal. Although its been seven years, weve never been more hopeful with the continued developments between our two countries. Were going to keep pressing officials on both ends, and were not going to go away until this is resolved and my dads home. The state Department Says it is committed to levinsons safe return and is asking iran to work with the United States to find him. Meanwhile, a top european negotiator warning there are no guarantees the Nuclear Talks between the west and iran will be able to reach an agreement. Catherine ashton called the process challenging and difficult after meeting with irans foreign minister in tehr tehran, and the iranians said they wouldnt agree to any deal that doesnt respect their countrys rights. Breaking overnight, he has to finish his 28year murder sentence first, but peru has agreed to extradite joran van der sloot to the United States to face extortion charges in alabama. The 26yearold remains the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in aruba, and her mother says he extorted money from her by offering false information about her daughters whereabouts. The extradite likely will not happen until 2038, when van der sloot is expected to complete his sentence for murdering a different woman in a Peruvian Hotel room. Incredible pictures to show you from florida, where a skydiver and a pilot are both very lucky to be alive today after a small plane got tangled up in a skydivers parachute strings just about 75 feet above ground. Wow. The pilot lost control and nosedived. The 49yearold skydiver was flipped and thrown to the ground. Wow. The plane caught the side of the canopy, spun the airplane completely 180 degrees, flipped