Hello, everyone. You are watching cnn newsroom, and im rosemary church. Im john vause. Wed like to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Well, tornadoes are ripping across states in the central and southern u. S. Parts of arkansas are seeing some of the worst damage. A section of this town was completely destroyed after a storm system moved through on sunday night. Officials say at least 12 people have died across the state. The mayor of one hardhit town explained how extensive the damage is and what emergency crews are doing right now to respond. The downtown area seems like its completely leveled. Theres a few buildings partially standing, but the amount of damage is tremendous. Utilities, theres gas lines spewing. Of course power lines down. Houses are just a pile of brick. When i came up through town to get to city hall, there were people everywhere bandaged and bloody, people trying to help them. They set up a Triage Center just across from city hall thats the old freds store. We do have some folks that have that were killed in the storm. I dont know how many yet, dont have a count. We have an area back stationed right here across from city hall and they have several helicopters are flying in, flying people to local hospitals. And right now were just trying to do a search and rescue and see how many people we do have injured and trying to help those first and wait till the sun comes up in the morning to see what the damage is. Other parts of the country are also being hit. A storm chaser shot this video of a funnel cloud forming over kansas. And while this twister touched down just a bit further north, emergency Officials Say dozens of homes are destroyed there in the neighboring state of oklahoma at least one person is reported dead. So who is seeing the Severe Weather at this hour . Lets turn to our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri who joins us from the International Weather center. Of course the big concern when its just after 3 00 in the morning on the east coast, that these are the overnight hours and this is the worry, when people are asleep. Yeah. These tornadoes definitely tend to be the most deadly as far as that is concerned because of course a lot of people being sound asleep and storms come in into the overnight hours where typically you lose that daytime heating, sow dont expect the storms to be as extensive. In fact at this hour eight states, at least parts of eight states underneath tornado watches. No active tornado warnings to speak of at this hour meaning no tornadoes occurring at this hour or the k. Conditions are not imminent for them. But you take a look, memphis in a watch area. So certainly possible there to spark a few storms, but the most active weather well to the north. Poplar bluff southern missouri. Paducah, western kentucky. Evansville, southern indiana. All of these areas in line for Severe Weather as this storm certainly has had the history of producing tornadoes. In fact on sunday 30 reports of tornadoes. 105 reports of hailrelated damage. 97 reports of windrelated damage. Scattered about much of the really southern and Central Plains across the u. S. And that pattern again expected to continue. We know some 27 million were in line for that Severe Weather on wednesday on sunday, and of course that verified. Look what happens come monday afternoon. 55 million. So if youre tuned in from atlanta, from birmingham, from new orleans all the way out toward, say, lexington and nashville, Severe Weather a possibility. And in a lot of areas a probability into the afternoon hours. That extends to some 29 Million People come tuesday afternoon. So a multiday event setting up here. And of course weve seen the destruction left in place. Take you out to mayflower, where officials calling it absolutely a devastating event set up here. We know parts of i40, which is the third longest highway in the United States, goes from california to the coast of north carolina, parts of i40 that went through this region so damaged, so much debris left on the ground that they had to shut down the highway in both directions. The initial reports are reports of this tornado will put the damage in line with what would be considered an ef3, winds up to 165 Miles Per Hour, possibly an ef4 in place here as well. And whats incredible about this, natalie, weve gone im sorry, rosemary, weve gone so many months with no tornadoes, no significant tornadoes to speak of in the United States, no fatalities to speak of. And of course this is the time of year you begin to see it pick up in intensity, and it picked up with pretty impressive intensity on sunday afternoon. And some of those images so disturbing. The damage so extensive. Just incredible. And well talk about this coming up soon as well. Thanks so much, pedram. John. The search for flight mh370 is heading into a new longterm phase. For two weeks officials sent the bluefin21 an unmanned sub into a narrow search area based on possible pings from the missing airliners black boxes. But after 16 missions it has found no trace of anything related to the 777. Australias Prime Minister, tony abbott, says the ocean floor of the entire probable impact zone will now be searched. Thats about 60,000 square kilometers. Anna curran joins us now live from the australian capital canber canberra, where the Prime Minister made those remarks. The costliest and longest search in aviation history is about to get a lot longer and cost a lot more. Reporter yeah, thats right, john. The pricetag that Prime Minister tony abbott put on the search operation was 60 million. And thats just for australia alone. Not taking the cost being borne by malaysia, china, or the other countries that have been searching for the last month or so. Australia has of course been, you know, leading these operations the last 41 days. Its now more than seven weeks. 52 days ago that mh370 disappeared on that scheduled flight from k. L. To beijing with 239 people on board. Tony abbott said it was with regret that they havent been able to find anything in their search of the last few weeks using the bluefin21, that submersible which has been operating within a 400 squarekilometer area. He believes that there will now be no debris found on the surface, that if there was any debris it would have sunk by now, it would have been waterlogged and sunk. So this is now moving into the next phase. Its going to be underwater. As you say, covering now an extended area of some 60,000 kilometers. And you know, according to the Prime Minister and according to air chief Marshal Angus houston, he said that this at a minimum could take six to eight months to cover this area. So it certainly is going to be a protracted operation, john. Yeah, six to eight months if everything goes according to plan, and it rarely does. What was interesting, though, about that News Conference that tony abbott had just a few hours ago, i remember a couple of weeks ago when he was meeting with the chinese, he said that he was very confident that those black boxes would be found. He gave every indication that it would happen relatively soon. Now hes saying hes baffled and disappointed. Did he explain what happened . Not exactly. You know, and he was pushed on that by reporters in the press gallery, saying what has changed. You know, both the Prime Minister and air chief marshal houston both said that you know, as far as they were concerned this was the area that was detected as the crash site for mh370. And Angus Houston said that they still maintain that theyre in the right area, theyve just yet to find the debris. So no explanation as to why he was so certain a few weeks ago and now its a complete mystery as to where the debris is. But certainly the Prime Minister said that australia will not skirt from its responsibilities, skirt from its responsibility to try and find the debris and to try and i guess bring some sort of closure to the families and relatives of the 239 passengers on board. And finally, they will hand the search over to two commercialing contractors. Do we know who the contractors will be, and do we know when theyll actually start . Reporter we dont know who the contractors are. They havent been named. We understand the Australian Government is in negotiations with those contractors. And also, as to the availability, if you like, of these submersibles. Theyre talking about new equipment being brought in. And this would be like a sonar towed behind a boat. It would be able to go deeper and cover a much larger area. But as for details of who will be actually conducting these missions, we just dont know. Were still waiting for answers on that. Yeah. Were still waiting for a lot of answers on a lot of questions. Anna coren there reporting live for us in canberra. Thanks so much. Now to south korea where prosecutors say more arrests have been made in the aftermath of the ferry disaster. Three members of the Korea Shipping Association have been arrested on suspicion of destroying evidence. One of those arrested is the director of the associations incheon office. And we have new audio which is shedding new light on the last moment on the ferry as it was sinking with 300 students on board. Were also hearing from the captain of the doula ace. That was the first ship to come to the sinking ferrys rescue. Paula hancocks brings us some neverbeforeseen images from that day along with that newly found audio, which some of you may find upsetting. Reporter this is the first image of the doomed ferry. Calm seas belie the horrors unfolding within the ship. This is the view from doula ace, an oil tanker that is first on the scene. Captain moon yashik receives a call to help a ship in distress at 9 06 a. M. , 11 minutes after the sewal says it is in trouble. He soon has the ship in his sights. I could tell the ship was sinking just by looking at it, he tells me. The situation was so bad i assumed the evacuation was well under way. It wasnt. This was the scene inside the ship at around 9 06 a. M. , filmed by a student who did not escape. His phone was retrieved with his body and given to his father. Joking and unaware of the danger they are in at first, they then ask, why cant they tell us whats going on . They ask us to wear life jackets. Does that meant boat is sinking . Then an announcement. The third of its kind we hear on this recording. Saying, once again. Please do not move from your current location. Absolutely do not move. So they dont. Captain moon and his men are on deck ready to deploy the life rafts to save anyone in the water. Moon tells cnn he is 200 meters away but the sewal keeps asking over the radio where the rescue boat is. 9 14 a. M. Doola ace talking directly to sewal says people should escape. A full ten minutes later a sewal crew member is still asking if passengers escape can they be rescued . This person was inexperienced, says moon. In an emergency it should be the captain on the radio. You need to make decisions fast. But it is unclear where the captain was at this point. He was one of the 174 people rescued along with 20 of his crew. Moon says hes angry he left his passengers behind. This is dangerous, this water . Yeah. This is very strong current. Reporter moon had been tracking the ship. He says the ship made a right turn at a rapid speed. The ships tracking system was off, he says. Moon wonders if the ship had lost power. He says he will never understand the actions of the captain and has decided this is the last time he will speak about what happened. Hoping that not talking about it will stop the nightmares he still has about the children he couldnt save. Paula hancocks, cnn, on the yellow sea, south korea. Barack obama is meeting with philippine president Benigno Aquino at this hour. The u. S. President arrived in manila just a short time ago and was greeted by a formal welcoming ceremony. Washington is seeking to boost military, economic, and trade ties with manila. Topping mr. Obamas agenda, a tenyear defense pact that would give the u. S. Military more access to bases and ports in the philippines. The u. S. President returns to washington on tuesday. Manila caps earlier stops in japan, south korea, and malaysia. Well, still to come here on cnn newsroom the crisis in ukraine. One european monitor is free, but seven others remain in the clutches of prorussia separatists in ukraine, and we will have an update on their status. Also, the owner of basketballs Los Angeles Clippers is under the gun, accused of racism after a recording goes public. The league is investigating. But should Donald Sterling be suspended . On angies list before i do any projects on my home. I love my contractor, and i am so thankful to angies list for bringing us together. Find out why more than two million members count on angies list. Angies list reviews you can trust. There were eight monitors in the hands of prorussia separatists until sunday, and that is when their captors let one team member go. The swedish observer was released on medical grounds. His colleagues, though, were put on display earlier in the day, and they told the world theyre being held against their will. Reporter perhaps his biggest catch yet, the selfdeclared mayor here wasting little time parading overseeing military observers that he says are nato spies in front of the cameras. Their leader, german colonel axel snyder says their diplomatic protection didnt protect them from being asked to do this. We are not fighters. We are diplomats in uniform. He acts as a local commander. And that is when he said i want the officers to show up here for an International Press conference. And we accepted that because we wanted that our families sees us. Reporter they say theyre treated well and not threatened, but even moscows calls for the situation to be resolved havent been heard yet. The decision to put these observers, who say theyre here fully mandated by the osce, on display like this marks a substantial escalation by the selfdeclared administration here in slovyansk. Reporter in the back the real power here, increasingly relaxed. Do they look like soldiers to you . Translator i have nothing to say about that. Where are you from . Translator im not local but i am from earth. Im not extraplanetary. Reporter one of them tells me how they were detained just outside town. Getting rid of all things that we own. The clothes, slirpz, everything, every personal belongings, there was not a single thing we have private credit cards, we have picture from our families, we have everything that you have when youre going on holiday. Reporter then their captor announces another osce delegation has arrived to discuss release. Outside, that appears true. There will be talks. But the new face of power here is emboldened. Nick peyton walsh, cnn, slof yans k. The u. S. And e. U. Are expected to level new economic sanctions later today aimed at russian officials and those close to president vladimir putin. According to western diplomats, those targeted are believed to be undermining the stability of ukraine. They could face asset freezes and travel bans. The west blames moscow for engineering the Current Crisis in ukraine. Those new sanctions, though, are expected to fall way short of targeting the entire russian economy. And to explain why were joined now live by ian bond in london. Hes the director of Foreign Policy at the center for european reform. Ian, thank you for being with us. Does this now all come down to hesitation within the e. U. . Are the europeans going a bit wobbly here . Well, i think the europeans have been wobbly throughout this crisis. And well have to see whether today the americans have moved them a bit further along. But no, i think were not really looking at broadscale sanctions at the moment. Well, some republican lawmakers in washington, they really want the u. S. To go get a lot tougher for the americans to lead on this. But president obama has made it very clear over the last couple of days hes not prepared for the u. S. To get out in front of europe because he says that simply wouldnt work. They need to have this united front. Is he right . Well, broadly speaking, i think he is. The extent of u. S. Trade with russia is somewhat under 20 billion a year. The extent of european trade with russia is somewhat over 250 billion a year. So theres such an enormous disparity in the scale that clearly it has much more effect if the u. S. And the europeans can Work Together on this. Well, then if you look at i guess the difference in the economic ties here, how does that then boil down to the difference in approaches when you compare what the americans are really pushing for what they would like compared to what the europeans are willing to do despite the french warning of incalculable consequences . Well, what it would be good to see today from the europeans, and i believe european ambassadors are meeting in brussels today, is some move against some of the key russian companies. So not necessarily singling out whole sectors of the economy and particularly, lets say, the energy sector, which is so important to europe. But targeting companies which are particularly close to president putin and his circle. Isnt the problem, though, targeting those particular companies which they really havent done yet, theyve just been doing the individuals. And it looks like from what were being told from our sources that it will be just more individuals. That isnt really moving the needle when it comes to the desired impact on changing Vladimir Putins behavior. So will they continue to do this . Putin will continue to do what he does. Well, there are two things to say. One is that some of these individuals and some of these companies that are close to putin are very closely bound up with his own financial wellbeing. And so one would hope that over time that would have some impact on his calculations. And the second is that there is a Chilling Effect on the russian economy as a who