READ about Piers Morgan's long career in journalism here.
A dozen days into the investigation surrounding missing Flight 370, there are far more questions than there are answers.
However, among the possible theories exists the notion that the aircraft may have been hijacked, with a plan to be used in a terrorist attack.
Among the many nations that could be potential targets within such a scheme, it is perhaps Israel that finds itself most vulnerable, thanks in part to its size and location.
"Israel's a tiny country. It's situated along the coast. A jet that's been hijacked flying at 600 miles an hour will take about a minute and half to cross the entire country of Israel. It's where Israel's most populated cities are right along that coast. So Israel has close to zero margin for error in countering and protecting itself against a hijacked airplane," explained Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States. "If this Malaysian jet has been hijacked, and there's a sense among Israeli intelligence officials that that is a possibility, then Israel feels that it has to take the necessary precautions. The government met with security officials this week and decided on a number of emergency measures." FULL POST
More than a week into the mystery surrounding missing Flight 370, new theories are popping up each day, and with information scarce, nothing feels out of the realm of possibility.
On Monday evening, Bill Weir filled in as "Piers Morgan Live" host, welcoming retired American Airlines pilot Jim Tilmon for a live, primetime interview.
Joining the program via satellite from Phoeniz, Ariz., Tilmon said he wished to "roll something by you," admitting it was "far-fetched" and might sound "crazy."
Searching for answers on behalf of the network and its audience, Weir invited Tilmon to "go ahead, bring it."
Laughing, Tilmon noted that "yeah, I'm going to bring it", before offering his theory.
"What would happen if they did in fact find a way to land, refuel, take off again and then threaten the integrity of certain kinds of structures, structures like the White House, the Eiffel Tower," he wondered. "What if they had threatened those in a 9/11-type approach?"
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As the mystery surrounding missing Flight 370 moves into its second full week, theories continue to pour in, while data analysis becomes increasingly more critical.
As "Piers Morgan Live" continues its coverage, on Monday evening Guest Host Bill Weir will welcome Radar Expert Greg Charvat for a live, face to face primetime interview.
In advance of his appearance, the author of “Small and Short-Range Radar Systems” took some time to delve into his area of expertise, in the process posing – and then answering – some questions geared toward radars, with the entire experience being presented on the backdrop of the on-going investigation.
1. We've all seen it in our favorite World War Two movies, in laymen's terms, how does radar work?
Radar is a WW2 acronym that stands for Radio Direction And Ranging (RADAR). A radar consists of a radio transmitter and a radio receiver.
Imagine that we can turn on and off a radio transmitter at will. The radar simply measures the time it takes for the transmitted signal to travel from the transmitter, scatter off the target and travel back to the receiver:
The total time measured is proportional to range because the speed of radio waves in air is approximately the speed of light. Range proportional to time.
Conventional radar as we may think of it provides a round image and 'blips' representing all targets within view, angle vs. range. To do this, the radar uses a directional antenna shaped like a parabola (just like a flashlight's reflector). This antenna rotates, thereby 'sweeping' the horizon. Any targets within line of sight are ranged and plotted on a screen as the antenna rotates, mapping these targets and their associated antenna angles onto a screen, providing an image of all targets around the radar:
2. We've all been pulled over once or twice. What is the difference between air traffic control radar, military radar and the radars used by law enforcement?
An air traffic control radar, such as the ASR-9, operates out to ranges of approximately 60 nmi. It's job is to locate and track commercial and civil aircraft. It follows a similar architecture to the figure above.
By contrast, a law enforcement radar is a small short-range device operating out to 100-200m that simply provides the velocity of anything within its field of view. You point it like a flashlight beam, the speed of the fastest and brightest target within that invisible radar beam is displayed. These radars are not capable of ranging nor do they rotate around and plot positions of targets. They are very simple.
Military air search radars are a lot like the air traffic control radars, except that they must work out to significantly longer ranges, must be portable and often meet more rigorous specifications. Published specifications of some older military radar devices (for large aircraft) are on the order of 150 to 200 nautical miles or greater.
There are many more radar types. As many radar types as there are radar engineers, but these are the most common.
3. Can a large aircraft like a 777 really 'fall off the radar'?
Conventional radars only detect targets within direct line of sight. Imagine placing a straight edge ruler on a basketball. Where the ruler meets the ball is the radar location. As you get further from this, the distance between the ruler and the ball surface increases. This area is where you can 'fly below the radar.' The further you are from the radar the higher you can fly to be 'below the radar.'
If the ruler is elevated slightly above the basketball, then the area below the radar is reduced to the ruler's height and where a straight line from that hits the basketball. So when installing an air-search radar sensor, be sure to place it as high as you can.
4. What limits a radar's maximum range on land?
Take a flashlight, place it on your head and turn off the lights in a room. Rotate your body. Whatever you see bouncing off that light beam is within your line of site, this is similar to how a radar 'sees' the world. What if there is a large sofa or other obstacle in the way, can you see around it? No. In fact, there is a shadow behind that object. This is the shadow zone. Radars can be shadowed by obstacles too, like mountains, buildings, etc. It takes planning to locate radar sensors in the right locations for optimum coverage. If blind spots exist, you must add more radar sensors or be willing to work with the blind spots.
Tune in this evening at 9 for Charvat's full interview with Weir. And, for more of the work presented by tonight's guest, check out his book, and follow "Mr. Vacuum Tube" on twitter.
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As the mystery surrounding missing Flight 370 passes the one week mark, information and data continues to trickle in. As such, theories and hypotheticals continue to mount up.
On Friday evening Piers Morgan welcomed David Soucie and, as the host was heading to the first commercial break, his guest presented a unique possibility, one that for the first time thus far takes the emphasis off of the cockpit, and re-positions it onto the aircraft's cabin.
As "Piers Morgan Live" returned for its second block, Morgan asked Soucie to further elaborate.
"There's a hatch that goes down into the equipment area which is the Avionics Bay, or E & E, is what it's referred to as. With a special screwdriver – what it takes – you can open the hatch, you can crawl down into this area, and from inside of there is where all the circuit breakers are for all of the equipment that we've been talking about that's turned off, and even more could be turned off from down there. So that's the access," explained the author of "Why Planes Crash." "Finally I have an answer in my head as to why and how this could have occurred. Now, why it occurred I don't know, but I can tell you how." FULL POST
With an entertainment career that has spanned more than half a century, an Academy Award on his mantle and a place in pop culture lore for his iconic portrayal of "the Dude" in the famed 1998 film "The Big Lebowski," actor Jeff Bridges has shown a voracious appetite for the movie business. However, off camera, the 64-year-old is making sure everyone eats, in particular children.
In 1984, Bridges joined forces with others in the industry, founding the "End Hunger Network," and in 2010 he became the official spokesman for the "No Kid Hungry" campaign.
Check out the above video as Bridges joins Piers Morgan to speak further about the cause that's been close to his heart for more than 30 years, including the forthcoming “Breakfast After the Bell” initiative which is designed to give children more nutrition in the morning, so as to help them better learn in the classroom.
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As the mystery surrounding missing Flight 370 approaches the one week mark, and with new theories and fresh information seemingly on the hour, Thursday evening saw "Piers Morgan Live" welcome a wide-ranging collection of guests, each tasked with offering their own brand of insight and perspective.
Just moments into the one-hour primetime program, Piers Morgan welcomed his first interview subject – Barbara Starr – who joined the program live from Washington with fresh information.
"There is a strong likelihood that the flight is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean," said CNN's Pentagon corespondent, sourcing the information to "a Senior U.S. official."
According to Starr, during the course of the last day the Malaysians have released information containing "key data" that puts the missing aircraft over the Indian Ocean, between four and five hours off course. In evaluating satellite information, and specific audio frequencies, the United States has formed their current working theory. FULL POST
Nearly a week since Flight 370 went missing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, family and friends are being forced to entertain the possibility that their loved ones may never be coming home.
On Wednesday evening, Piers Morgan conducted an emotional interview with Danica Weeks, an Australian woman whose husband Paul is among the 239 people missing. Left to care for her two young sons while scarce details trickle in, Weeks revealed the challenges the family is currently facing:
"We're taking it slowly and [I'm] just trying to keep myself distracted as I'm sure every family member is. You just hear all the news, and I'm trying not to take too much of it in," Weeks told Morgan through a teary Skype conversation. "One minute it's this and then the next minute that's not confirmed, so that's the toughest part, every day waking up and just ... looking on the news and seeing that there's nothing and there's no cause for Malaysia to say 'we've found something.'"
More than five days since reports of a missing flight first emerged, hope is dwindling: FULL POST
Of the 239 people missing with Flight 370, among them are the crew, including co-pilot Fariq Ab Hamid. In the days since the aircrafts mysterious disappearance, new information from Hamid's career has surfaced, including an occasion in 2011 during which he's said to have invited a pair of young women into the cockpit for an unauthorized visit.
On Tuesday evening, one of the women – Jonti Roos – joined "Piers Morgan Live" to describe the event:
"My friend and I were standing in line at the boarding gate with all the other passengers waiting to board. And the co-pilots and pilots walked past us, and then came back to us and asked us if we would like to sit with them in the cockpit during the flight. We said 'yes,'" explained Roos, appearing via Skype from Australia. "We boarded the plane normally with all the other passengers and went to our seats. A short while after taking our seats, an air hostess came to us and asked us if we would like to move into the cockpit, after which we did. And that's where we spent the flight." FULL POST
Not once in any of her previous "Piers Morgan Live" visits has Chelsea Handler pulled any punches.
Not when she stressed the importance of "sleeping around with people you work with".
Certainly not when she spoke of her attempt to read "50 Shades of Grey", before giving up, and ultimately describing the book as "poorly written" and "trash".
And not even when the television personality and comedian weighed in on Sarah Palin, referring to the former Alaskan governor as "not a serious person".
So, it should come as little surprise that the 39-year-old star of "Chelsea Lately" held nothing back when sitting across from Piers Morgan on Monday evening.
As the topic turned to social media, the host attempted to pay his guest a compliment, noting "you tweet very amusingly."
In classic fashion, Handler fired back, and not in a loving way:
"I wish you did."
Knocking the host for his lack of focus, the author of the new book "Uganda Be Kidding Me" really lit into her fellow late-night colleague.
"You can't even pay attention for sixty seconds. You're a terrible interviewer," she said.
Attempting to defend himself, Morgan offered the following explanation:
"Well, you just weren't keeping my attention."
Handler, however, wasn't having it:
"That's not my problem ... this is your show. You have to pay attention to the guests that you invited on your show ... it doesn't matter how interesting I am. You signed up for this show," she insisted.
Morgan continued to suggest that it was the guests fault for not being interesting enough. At this point, Handler went where only she could go, unleashing a zinger that left an embarrassed Morgan speechless:
"Well, maybe that's why your job is coming to an end."
Trying desperately to redeem himself, Morgan went to the well with one of his usual questions, asking Handler about the prospect of reliving one hour of her life.
Without hesitation, she hammered him once more:
"It would be spending this hour differently."
Watch the above clip for more, as the host begs his guest to "be nice." And, for the next episode of "Piers Morgan Live," watch CNN every night at 9p.
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Dating back to the shows origins in January of 2011, television personality Chelsea Handler has been a welcome breath of fresh – if not inappropriate – air, as one of the most unabashedly honest and least censored "Piers Morgan Live" guests of all-time.
With the 39-year-old set to return Monday evening, we've taken the liberty of revisiting some of Handler's most noteworthy comments and moments. FULL POST