Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room 20140422

Cnn is learning about a new agreement in the works right now to set critical guidelines in the search for flight 370. Standby for exclusive new information. Also this hour, the air search is expected to resume after being disrupted by a tropical cyclone. And the bluefin21 is now on its tenth dive. Its almost finished scanning the current under water search area. Cnn has a major presence in perth, australia, the base of the operations for the search, and we have our team of experts here in the situation room to break down all the new developments. Lets bring in our justice correspondent pamela brown with the latest information. Pamela . Thats right. Were learning malaysian and australian officials are working together to come up with a longterm game plan if nothing turns occu s up in this targeteh area. The bluefin21 is almost done searching here. The underwater sixmile radius zone considered the most likely area where the plane went down. If they were thinking, if you remember, this was the bulls eye, they were going to through the one dart into the bulls eye, i think it might be time to make the bulls eye bigger and expand that area. Crews could finish searching in the next day. If nothing is found, investigators will regroup, but its not necessarily back to square one. We only have a specific amount of data, a certain amount of data thats led us to this part of the world. I think we have to be encouraged by the fact weve been led to this very specific and small part of the indian ocean. The bluefin has only searched around the second ping, which was thought to be the most likely area. Now officials are working out an agreement for what comes next. It includes what happens to any debris when it is found. How human remains will be treated, and the undersea search. Investigators could widen or ship the underwater search zone, perhaps to include more pings, or change techniques, like using a towed underwater vehicle that could cover a larger area, but the passengers families arent convinced experts are doing everything they should. Well keep going back to wanting to start over with the investigation. What they are doing now, searching in the ocean, is like continuing to try to bail out a boat when the hole in the boat hasnt even been found yet. Meanwhile, surface ships continue scouring the seas for wreckage, search planes were curtailed today. Its the second time a major storm like this has torn through this area since the malaysian plane went missing. In beijing today, families of passengers on the plane hoping for a Technical Briefing were disappointed for a second day in a row. It comes after a briefing monday where expected technical experts did not arrive. Theres nothing much i can tell you. And, meanwhile, the head of the investigations next of kin committee is traveling to beijing to meet with chinese officials and families. And one more note, wolf, we know experts are still examining the hard drives of the captain and copilot, but so far nothing too suspicious. Fbi experts . Malaysian officials, as well, poking around on the hard drives and following up on leads. The hard drives from the computers from the pilot and the copilot and the simulator that the pilot had in his home . They are still examining it as they have in the very beginning. Not that they are going back to look at it, its been an ongoing process since the fbi received those hard drives. Stand by. Lets go to perth, australia now. Miguel marquez is our man on the scene for us. Youve got more exclusive reporting on the next phase of the search, miguel. What can you tell us about a time table . Reporter well, look, theres two different time tables. One, they want to finish the search they are doing now and looks like they are just about completed with that. If they do not find that airliner down there, they will regroup, go back to the drawing board, figure out whether or not they are going to search in that area or if they are going to broaden out that search in a much bigger fashion using different devices in order to scan larger parts of the ocean, or as in the case of 447, air france 447, use several underwater vehicles all at the same time, so they are on a 24 7 sort of basis looking at a wide swath of the ocean there. They know the plane is down there, its just a matter of finding it. At the same time that is happening, malaysian officials talking to australian officials and others about the way forward once they find that wreckage, how that debris is processed, and most importantly, how the dead, the individuals who remain on that plane, how they are taken from that and how they are processed and identified once they are brought to the surface. Wolf . I take it the weather has improved the Aerial Search on this day at least will continue . Reporter yeah, we believe the Aerial Search will be back up. The cyclone has now turned into a low pressure system and its rainy out there and theres lots of waves, so that tends to make the surface search very, very difficult. Theyve flown in worse conditions, but it is so many days on since that plane went down, it would be difficult in perfect conditions for them to find something, so they may let it go for another day. Wolf . Miguel marquez in perth, australia. Thank you. If and when the planes black boxes are found, experts in australia, they say they are ready to help analyze the data, a job thats a lot more complicated than you might think. Michael holmes gives us an exclusive look into a lab where that investigation might play out. Reporter in a nondiscrypt government building, the secrets of Malaysia Flight 370 might one day be unlocked. Whats this room, neil . Well, this is our audio laboratory. Its a specially designed screen room so its shielded. Electronics and audio . Outside signals. As well, its got very good soundproofing. Reporter inside the australian transport laboratory where neil and his team forensically examine recorders from planes, trains, even ships. There are very few countries in the world, just a handful of them, that have the technical know how to work out whats inside one of these things, and this lab is one of those places. Boxes from other investigations torn apart, burned, damaged in many ways, suggest a tougher assignment, but here they say the story of what happened is usually found. A lot of our work is with undamaged recorders and its easy to download. Really with really damaged ones, your success rate in getting the information off is good. Yes, weve been able to recover the information from the recorders weve received. Reporter hes a measured, cautious man, prerequisites for a job that includes not just knowledge, but patience, lots of patience. We obtain a raw data file, which contains just ones and zeros. Reporter the boxes contain a wealth of information, up to 2,000 separate pieces from the data recorder alone. High technology built into a waterproof, fireproof, shockproof shell. At the end of this complex chain of information and analysis can be this, an animated representation of the tragedy. This one from a 2010 training flight, two dead after a simulated engine failure went wrong. A lot of the symmetry, which couldnt be controlled, and the aircraft ended up impacting the terrain, unfortunately. You were able to recreate this thing from the black boxes. Thats right. This is based on flight data recorder information. Reporter the size of the boxes is deceptive in some ways. The vast majority of it containing technology that supports the brain very deep within. Surprisingly small, but containing everything Neil Campbell needs on a handful of computer chips. In a box this big, thats what you need . Yep. Thats the crucial bit. Reporter but they have to be found first. Malaysia, not a country with the technical ability to decipher the boxes. Nothings been decided, but it is highly possible that if they are found, they will end up here, where Neil Campbell and his team say they are ready to attempt to unlock a mystery like no other. Michael holmes, cnn, australia. Lets bring in our panel of experts, our aviation expert, peter goelz, tom fuentes, and jeffrey thomas, editor and chief of airlineratings. Com. The australians or the u. S. , who should take charge of investigating the socalled black box, the flight data recorder, if its found . I think theres a good chance that if the australians get it, theyve have some help from the ntsb when they go through the analysis, so i think it will be a joint effort, but from all accounts, both are the best. Both are outstanding. I know your former colleagues at the ntsb, the National Transportation safety board, theyd like to get the first crack at this. They certainly would, and they feel they have the most experience of any safety board in the world at taking down and getting the data out of a damaged fdr, but, you know, theyve worked with the australians, theyll work with them again. This is going to be a joint effort and its going to go to the lab thats got the right equipment to do the job right the first time. Technically, jeffrey, the malaysians have control. Supposedly authority to give this recovered flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder, to anyone they want to inspect it. I assume politically it might be more advantageous for malaysia to let the australians have a crack at it other than the u. S. Whats your sense . Well, thats an interesting observation, but possibly the thing that might govern this is the fact that the locality of australia with malaysia, its much closer, obviously, and as has been suggested, i believe that if australia does get the boxes to examine and decode, theyve got all the equipment necessary, the same as the United States, obviously, but the u. S. Would work with australians on this, so it really would be a joint effort based possibly in cambra because of the geography of being so close to malaysia. Whats the latest, jeffrey, youre hearing on the ground in perth about the search operation, the Aerial Search, the underwater search, whats going on . Reporter my sense on this now is that there may be one or two more missions of the bluefin to cover this initial second ping area that they are looking at. This is where the strongest ping was. My understanding is, by then may move it to the first ping, which is further north, but i dont believe theyll then go to the third and the fourth ping, so thats what i believe theyll do with the bluefin21, but there is serious consideration now to bring in other assets like the towed orion, which gives data in realtime. Also able to go deeper. So i think the next phase will probably be a twopart situation, where we move to the first ping and possibly deploy the orion, as well. Tom, there was an interesting tweet today from the acting transport minister of malaysia. Ill put it up on the screen. I was told that the chinese navy also has deep sea search capability. Going to check with them tomorrow. The chinese are not going to be brought into the underwater Search Operations . Good question. I dont know, you know, whether hes making that statement politically to, you know, show cooperation with china, you know, we dont know as far as you know, peter, do the chinese have an excellent underwater search capability that maybe the u. S. Or the australians dont have . I would guess anyone thats got a serious submarine fleet has underwater search capable. Im surprised this is the first time theyve asked the chinese what their assets are. I would have asked within the first week or ten days all the countries involved would have let the malaysians know what assets they have. Maybe you know more about this than i do, a couple weeks ago the chinese do have something, the blue dragon, something along those lines, that can go deep under water to incredible depths. Do you know anything about this . Look, indeed, they do have that capability. Im not exactly sure of the name, but it does end with dragon, i do know that, but they do have that capability. Theyve demonstrated it recently, and, in fact, wolf, as you suggested, its pretty well Common Knowledge that they are one of the handful of countries that does have that capability. Jeffrey thomas, peter goelz, tom fuentes, guys, thanks very much. More on this story later. But lets get to another major story were following right now. U. S. Troops, they are on the move to response to rising tensions with russia and ukraine. The pentagon announced its expanding military exercises in poland and the baltic region. A total of 600 u. S. Troops will be involved, all this as ukraine ordered a new antiterror crackdown, citing the recovery of two tortured bodies and claiming the crimes were committed with prorussian forces. Daniel bayer, with the group trying to monitor this crisis in ukraine. Ambassador, thanks very much for joining us. First of all, what do you make of the two bodies, one member of parliament who were apparently tortured and killed . Well, obviously, wolf, there have been a series of very concerning Human Rights Violations that have gone on, particularly since the russian incursion in crimea began. Theres been many reports of torture in crimea since Russian Troops came in there, and these two latest incidents of torture are deeply concerning. In addition, weve seen journalists taken hostage in recent days. Tonight theres a Young American journalist reported to have been captured. We, obviously, have great concern about all of these human rights abuses and its part of the reason weve been working so hard to bring a solution to the instability. Youre talking about the american journalist, is that who youre talking about . Exactly. Hes been really intrepid, wolf. Hes been doing reporting on the ground for the last few weeks, and i think a lot of us who follow ukraine day by day, hour by hour, have depended on him and a bunch of other young independent journalists just like him who have been really getting information out in the midst of really, really tough circumstances. So certainly our thoughts are with him and his family tonight. So whos responsible, based on everything you know, ambassador, for the abduction of this american journalist . Well, i dont think we know exactly whos responsible right now. We have heard reports that hes been taken. There have been some things on social media in the last hour. I was seeing reporting that he is not harmed, but, obviously, its a very murky situation, and this really underscores the need to deescalate the situation. Weve been making clear for weeks now that russias participation in the instability is unhelpful, its unjustified, its not contributing to a deescalation on the ground, and, obviously, after the talks last week in geneva on thursday, we had some hope that immediately steps could be taken to deescalate the situation. Unfortunately, russia has not taken the steps that it needs to take to implement that statement in geneva. These monitors who have been sent in from the organization for security and cooperation in europe, and youre the u. S. Ambassador, how secure are they, how safe are they, when they go into these areas . Well, obviously, they are intrepid and doing great work on behalf of the whole international community. There are over 40 countries represented in the monitors on the ground right now, and we care a great deal about their safety and, in fact, today in a special permanent counsel meeting in vienna, i called on all 57 states in the osc to take steps to ensure the safety of those monitors, because we do depend on them, on the information they are providing, the independent assessment they are providing on the ground. Today in vienna it was also decided wed immediately take steps to raise the levels, number of monitors from 100 to 500, which is allowed in the mandate. Those photos that the ukrainians released yesterday showing russian Paramilitary Forces being responsible for at least part of the takeover of Eastern Ukraine, those buildings of the ukrainian government, do you have any doubt that this is an operation thats being undertaken by the russian government . I think there are more than just one set of photos. Theres plenty of video evidence. All of the evidence that weve seen leads to the inevitable conclusion theres a russian hand behind what is going on in Eastern Ukraine. What is happening in Eastern Ukraine would not be happening without russias engagement. That doesnt mean there arent other actors engaged, but when we see these highly armed, highly professional paramilitaries taking over public buildings, its clear they are being coordinated and organized and this is the reason we have called on russia to deescalate, send the message to those illegally occupying these buildings that moscow does not support this illegal occupying of buildings. Moscow wants to take advantage of the amnesty and arms buyback that is available to them. That was what moscow committed to do through the foreign minister in geneva last thursday, to support that plan for those initial steps. Were still waiting for the Russian Federation to make good on its commitment. Daniel baer, ambassador for the organization of security and cooperation in europe. Thank you very much. The Obama Administration is struggling to handle the worst confrontation with russia since the cold war and is now facing similar challenges in response to the civil war in syria. Our Foreign Affairs reporter is taking a closer look at all this for us. What are you seeing . The president has effectively taken the military option off the table. When the u. S. Threats and consequences, do either president assad or putin find the or else threatening enough . Horrific images of a possible chlorine attack in syria. Children gasping for breath, men choking and foaming at the mouth. Even as inspectors on the ground rid syria of its most deadly chemical weapons, the regime continued to gas its own people. Violating a deal which scrapped plans for u. S. Military strikes. A deal held today by the secretary of state. We now have the majority percentage of chemical weapons moved out of syria, and were moving on schedule to try to complete that task. Reporter critics say u. S. Policy to contain president assad has been high on rhetoric. The Syrian Civil War is not solved. And yet syria has never been more isolated. Reporter but Administration Officials stress they are trying to change the military balance, sending american antitank missiles and other equipment to the opposition. Yet assad seems unimpressed, even taunting the world this week of talk of reelection. Its a similar u. S. Playbook for dealing with ukraine and a similar problem. With no military threat, will other pressures work . Were united in our determinations to isolate russia and impose costs for russias action. Reporter the white house says it wants to sever russias political and economic ties to the world, suspending russia from the g8 and halting cooperations with nato. But putin has laughed off those costs. What you end up with is a big gap between western rhetoric and western action. Reporter joe biden warned moscow the price will go up if moscow reneges on a deal made last week to ease tensions. We have been clear that more provoktive behavior by russia will lead to more costs and greater isolation. And, wolf, u. S. Officials cant point to any signs russia is holding up to its bargain struck in geneva and warn a new round of sanctions could come as early this week, but analysts say there isnt a sense sanctions can change in moscow. Putin has determined as long as he doesnt launch a fullon invasion of ukraine, he can live with the current costs. Wolf . Thank you, elise. Still ahead, is an al qaeda bombmaker dead . Could be one of the terror groups biggest losses since Osama Bin Laden was killed. They reach a location where many teenage passengers may have been hunkered down. [ male announcer ] great rates for great rides. Geico motorcycle, see how much you could save. 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You should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. Make the most of every moment. Ask your dermatologist about humira, today. Clearer skin is possible. Cross fire wont be seen tonight so we can bring you some new developments in some of the urgent stories were following here in the situation room. Yemeni officials are now working to determine if this man, take a look, this man, al qaedas chief bombmaker, was among those killed in a massive raid that targeted the groups branch in the Arabian Peninsula. Our pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is over at the pentagon working the story for us. Barbara, whats the latest information youre getting about these very dramatic weekend raids . Wolf, ebrahim al asiri, al qaedas master bombmaker, was he there . Right now u. S. Officials are telling us they dont think so. They know dna is being tested and will await the results, but for now they dont think they got him in this raid. What is so interesting, wolf, we have learned yemeni commanders were flown into southern yemen on sunday in russianmade helicopters piloted by americans. They are not saying whether they were cia, u. S. Military, special forces, but it was americans that piloted those helicopters, russianmade helicopters, into southern yemen to carry the yemeni commandos in. They wanted to maintain a low profile and didnt want it to look like American Helicopters were there, but they needed expert pilots to go after these targets, including a major terrorist training camp. Wolf . I know the u. S. Government has had some time now to digest the videotape. You showed it to our viewers, the first reporter to do so last week of that massive meeting that these al qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula militants had in yemen, what, in march. What are the latest thoughts youre hearing from u. S. Government sources . Well, look, theres a couple of things they are looking at there that have been quite unsettled, you know, obviously, 100 al qaeda fighters thought they could get away with meeting out in the open, but look at that. Look at those terrained features. They even went a step further, they allowed themselves to be filmed with mountains, shrubbery, terrain showing, pretty easy for the yemenis to understand exactly the region where this was taking place when they see those terrain features. This is an area in two provinces. It looks like this, so it began to provide the key intelligence to figure out perhaps where some of these people were. And the key question is, was that intelligence critical enough, was it crucial, did it lead to those raids we saw over the weekend . Wolf . Barbara, stand by. I want to bring in peter burrgen and one of the few western reporters reporting from yemen. What are you hearing about this military operation . Wolf, its fascinating how much the yemenis are talking about this now. They are clearly hopeful that this was, in fact, Ibrahim Al Asiri. There have been times in the past theyve been premature announcing the death of a high valued target. Yemenis are saying theres very credible evidence they did kill him. They know they got a saudi, believe it was a high value target. The intel led to this area and they believe theres a chance now that they got him. If they did, that is a huge victory for them, but the yemenis are also saying its not enough to take out the high valued targets. They need to continue the massive operations theyve been under going with the americans, and they need to really try to degrade the capabilities and go after the Training Camps and those recruitment camps. Peter, remind our viewers who al asiri, the master bombmaker, is. This is somebody thats pretty coldblooded, sent his own brother to kill thenminister of the interior in saudi arabia. That was the first time he came to public notice. That attack didnt succeed, but killed his brother. Somebody who would send their own brother on a suicide operation is somebody coldblooded. He also has great skills. Hes managed to get undetectable bombs on both american passenger planes and cargo planes bound to the United States. Both of those were detected. What are you hearing, barbara, when you hear reports of u. S. Yemeni cooperations, drone strikes, helicopter strikes going out to the targets, is this a new phase for the United States . Is the u. S. Now engaged in what they call boots on the ground in yemen . Not boots on the ground per se, wolf, we are told no u. S. Combat forces on this mission over the weekend on the ground. They did pilot the helicopters. What the u. S. Has been doing off and on very quietly, u. S. Special forces had been assisting in training the yemenis in counterterrorism. Why might we be seeing so much progress now to get after aqap, al qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula after months of it seeming to be on the back burner, well, theres a new government in yemen. They want to get after this group, but the yemenis are also seeing al qaeda come after targets in their own country, so they now have a much more motivation, perhaps, to get after al qaeda in their country and willing to take the u. S. Assistance to do it. What the u. S. Is worried about is people like Ibrahim Al Asiri plotting to attack u. S. Targets. Thats the big worry, wolf . I assume, say they got this master bombmaker, Ibrahim Al Asiri, he has trained apprentices that can fill the void. They think asiri has trained others. His techniques can certainly survive him. There will be others who can get the job done, because usually when the u. S. Or others go ahead and kill al qaeda elements, theres others who fill that vacuum. Absolutely. Time and again, wolf, weve seen toptiered leadership figures in yemen taken out, and yet al qaeda and the Arabian Peninsula is a resurgent organization, they are still recruiting people, they are still plotting terror attacks, not just in yemen, outside of yemen, as well. What im hearing is the fact there are yemeni boots on the ground in these areas. These are very scary, difficult places to enter. The Yemeni Military does not want to go into places like this, so unless they feel sure they can take out high valued targets, they are not going to make that attempt. This indicates how serious they are. Mohammad, peter, Barbara Starr, trio of excellent journalists helping us appreciate whats going on. The mounting death toll as divers continue with a very dangerous search through a sunk l ferry. Well have a live report on the developments. Kyung lah, shes on the water. Were going there live in just a moment. Why relocating manufacturingpany to upstate new york . 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Talk to your doctor. This is humira at work. The expedia app helps you save with mobileexclusive deals download the expedia app text expedia to 75309 expedia, find yours breaking news. Another jump in the death toll in the vooes yan ferry disaster. 128 people are now confirmed dead. 174 are missing, many of them teenagers. Were also learning more about what went wrong and who made that first desperate call for help. Cnns kyung lah is on a boat off the coast of south korea, very close to the submerged ship. Kyung, what is the latest youre seeing and hearing . Reporter there is a desperate search, wolf, happening right under the water, under this sea that youre seeing right here. Divers are using their hands to feel around the sunken ferry, because they simply cannot see. Thats how murky this water is, so it is very dangerous. If you look and scan across the horizon, youll see all of these military vessels. The reason why there are so many is that they are worried that bodies may drift out of the ferry and disappear. While all of this is happening, the investigation into why this accident happened continues. Today we learned that the first call for help came not from the captain, but from a boy onboard. The south Korean Coast Guard tells cnn that call happened a full three minutes before the ships crew made its first distress call. More grim news from the search zone, as search and rescue divers plunge into the cold, murky water, hoping to find survivors nearly a week after the tragedy. The search here is dangerous. Divers swim down more than 100 feet, following guide ropes that lead them into the submerged ferry, where they can barely see a foot in front of them. The low visibility and debris make it nearly impossible for them to find their way around. Authorities say the efforts are still a search and rescue operation, but no survivors have been found since 174 people were rescued last week soon after the ferry went down. Divers entered the ships cafeteria on the ships third floor tuesday and continue their focus on the third and fourth level inside the lounge and cabin areas where they believe many of the students are located. The tough conditions and high body count are taking a toll on divers. Translator the conditions are so bad, my heart aches. Were going in thinking there may be survivors. When we have to come back with nothing, we cant even face the families. Reporter meanwhile, two more crew members were arrested tuesday, bringing the total of those facing charges to nine. Their heads bowed and covered. They said they tried to reach the life boats as the ship was tilting over. Translator well, we slipped, so we could not do that. Reporter the ferry operator has posted an apology on its website. We prostrate ourselves before the victims families and beg for forgiveness and pray for the dead. Small consolation to family members on the shore, called into white dome tents to identify the remans of their loved ones. What youre looking at live back here at the search site, that is a crane. There are five of these cranes that are dotting the area. They are not being used yet. They signal the next phase of recovery. They will head toward the ferry and attempt to lift this ferry, it is 6,000 tons, wolf. It will not be very easy. Wolf . Based on everything youre hearing, kyung, do they really believe there are air pockets left inside that sunken ship and they might find some survivors . Reporter the government isnt saying that this is a recovery. They are calling this a search for survivors, but what you say and what you believe, they are two different things. Everyone here is saying that they are going to try to find survivors, that there may be air pockets, but what they believe every time you ask them, is this even a possibility, a lot of these divers start to cry. Even government officials, police, they start to break down, because the possibility is so slim. Heartbreaking story, indeed. Kyung lah, thank you very much. Just ahead, the United States Supreme Courts historic ruling today. Could it mean the end, yes, the end of affirmative action on College Campuses . Well explain. And president obamas visiting with the families hit hardest by Washington States mudslide as the death toll climbs even higher. Really. So our business can be on at ts network for 175 dollars a month . Yup. All five of you for 175. Our clients need a lot of attention. Theres unlimited talk and text. Were working deals all day. You get 10 gigabytes of data to share. What about expansion potential . Add a line anytime for 15 bucks a month. Low dues. Great terms. 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They said we dont want any affirmative action, 58 of the voters in michigan in a referendum said get rid of affirmative action. The Supreme Court said the voters had a right to do it. So, this could be a road map for other states, voters, state legislators, that want to get rid of affirmative action because now the Supreme Court is giving it the okay. It was a 62 decision, alanna kagan refusing herself, but what are the political implications of this . As jeffrey just said, it could on a larger stage, i think this puts the issue of race front and center again as we head into 2014, as we head into 2016. You look at this Supreme Court, you look at what it did with the Voting Rights act not too long ago. Youll be able to point to this decision and say oh, is this the beginning of the end of affirmative action . And democrats are clearly going to use that on the campaign trail. And i guarantee you during a 2016 campaign, the Supreme Court will be high on the debate list. And its not just state colleges, private colleges are potentially involved as well . Absolutely. The issue here is, you know, who decides . Who will decide whether race will be a factor in admissions . And what the Supreme Court has said now is that the voters can make that decision. State legislators can make that decision. So politicians cant pass the buck to the universities anymore. They have to say are they in favor or are they not in favor of the use of race. So i think it just injects race again into the politics of every state, the country, even more dramatically than its been in the past. And Justice Kennedy said look, this is not about how the debate over race is going to get resolved in the end, but its about who should resolve that debate. In this particular case, the court said the voterress solved it. They made a decision, and thats what you ought to stick with. A very, very important decision by the u. S. Supreme court today. Thanks for that analysis. Just ahead, scenes of devastation seen from the president s helicopter. The Performance Review. That corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. And yet, theres someone around the office who hasnt had a Performance Review in a while. Someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. Im looking at you phone company dsl. Go to comcastbusiness. Com checkyourspeed. If we cant offer faster speeds or save you money well give you 150. Comcast business built for business. President obama is in Washington State right now. He is touring the damaged communities hit by a massive mudslide. Its his last stop in the United States before beginning a weeklong fournation tour of asia, including malaysia, the philippines, japan, and south korea. Cnns anna cabrera is joining us now from Washington State, the scene of where the president has been touring. This is still a heartbreaking experience, not only for him, but ana, from the folks who live there. This is a Resilient Community, wolf. We do know the president is just wrapping up his meeting with family members of the victims of the landslide, as well as first responders. He has witnessed the overwhelms devastation here, and he has also seen lines like this, signs of a Resilient Community really united by this tragedy. We can tell you two bodies were pulled from the debris just this week. Two more people are still missing. And we had a chance to go into the landslide zone to give you a look at what the search effort is like today. Is this the last zone to be searched . No. Its not the last zone. Reporter the work seems never ending. Its been one month since a mountain slide plunged into the town of oso, washington. Searcher ben woodward took us right into the heart of the slide. What was here before the landslide . You know, houses, sparse houses, trees. Records we walked along what was once a highway. The surroundings dont even resemble the community that once flourished here. Yet this is progress. Where were standing was under at least 10 feet of water a few weeks ago. Reporter water and mud still creating the Biggest Challenges for these search crews. Were told water was above my head when that landslide first hit. What they had to do is create a water channel with pumps to be able to move the water out of this area just to give search crews access to look here. Special machinery like this floating excavator just arrived to help search for the missing in the obstaclefilled wreckage. This gives you an idea of what search crews are up against. Logs, mud, piles of debris stacked 20 to 40 feet high in some places. The slow, sloppy, and dangerous work comes with an emotional toll. So far at least 41 victims have been recovered in the disaster zone. A washington spruce tree left standing in the middle of the slide area now serves as a makeshift memorial to honor lives lost. This is a special place for the searchers that are out here. Reporter absolutely. Woodward says it provides a source of strength for the ongoing recovery effort. Now, when the search itself is over, there are still months ahead of cleanup and rebuilding. Wolf . And ana, the official death toll now is . Is 41. But we do know there are at least two people still missing. Its really amazing when you look at where we were a month ago. And at one point, there were well over 100 people missing. And even as they have continued to whittle it down, theyre keeping out that hope that theyll be able to bring closure to all of the families that are affected in this community. This is one of the biggest natural disasters ever to hit Washington State. Its been comparable to mount st. Helens and that eruption that claimed 57 lives here in washington. Ana cabrera, thank you very much. Thats it for me. Thanks very much for watching. Remember, you can always follow us on twitter. You can tweet me wolfblitzer. You can tweet the sh show cnnsitroom. Be sure to join us tomorrow live or dvr the show so you wont miss a moment. Erin Burnett Outfront starts right now. Next, exclusive new details about the search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370. The underwater search could be completed in hours. 10 what is next . Plus, the sun just coming up off the coast of south korea. Divers in the water, racing against time to find survivors in the capsized ferry. It may have a major breakthrough tonight. And were learning more about the 15yearold stowaway who Officials Say flew five hours inside the landing gear of plane. Well looked into this today. How exactly did he survive . Lets go outfront