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Malaysian Airlines Flight Disappeared Not Long After Takeoff; Secretary of State John Kerry Talks Tough with Russia's Foreign Minister; Ukraine's PM to Meet with Obama This Week; University of Rochester and Georgetown Researches' Game-Changing discovery; 2-Year- Old Helps Mom

Aired March 09, 2014 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not just, you know, imagine it is not off a system, the spun on it, imagine if the system to you delivering an early EMS package, imagine if the system to you find a lost child using camera vision. There is a ton of things these things can be used for in the commercial space, then your safety space, public safety space, but also personal space.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: My goodness.

All right, Laurie joining us now.

OK. So Laurie, it is funny but it is not. I mean, this is something that can be used in law enforcement. I heard him just talking about, you know, looking for the search of a child or someone who may be involved in that. But tell us more about the launching pad of this.

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: Sure. First of all, I definitely did not volunteer to get stunned. This is -- that was a very good thing. When I came to this science technology. But it was really unreal to watch this happen and to see that this could be a possibility. So obviously, the first thing you think about is law enforcement. You know, this is the conversation law enforcement is going to be having.

Also, you know, (INAUDIBLE), the guy behind this is that celebrities are requesting drones to actually fend off paparazzi drones. So, all sorts of use cases in such to even when it comes to delivering packages, you know, very interesting time, in fact, to see it moved beyond the smartphone -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, fascinating stuff. Money tech correspondent, Laurie Segall. Thank you so much.

SEGALL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the top of the hour. These are the top stories we're following this hour. Fresh new clues today on the missing Malaysian aircraft. Investigators are looking into new leads.

Also, Ukraine's prime minister will be meeting President Obama this week. But Vladimir Putin is showing no signs of backing away from Crimea.

And a new blood test could predict your chances of developing Alzheimer's disease. Researchers and doctors are calling it a game changer for future treatment.

First up, search crews and investigators from across the globe teaming up to solve a baffling mystery, the disappearance of Malaysia airlines flight 370. The jetliner vanished on its way to Beijing more than 48 hours ago, 239 people on board, including at least three Americans.

Today investigators got two significant leads. One in the gulf of Thailand. Some floating objects spotted by the Vietnamese aircraft in that area. And search boats are on the way to the site right now.

Meantime, Malaysian military officials say radar data indicates the plane actually turned around before vanishing. And because of that they are asking crews from Thailand to refocus their search on the (INAUDIBLE) sea, that is the small or circled area to the left there. We're also learning more about the tickets purchased by two passengers onboard that flight who were traveling on stolen passports. The passports were stolen in Thailand. And the tickets were apparently bought together.

The FBI says it's ready to send agents to Asia to help with the investigation. And a team from the NTSB and FAA are actually already on their way to the region.

CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes is in Washington and Andrew Stevens is joining us from Beijing.

Let's start with you, Andrew. What are authorities saying about the search right now?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's 3:00 in the morning here, Fred, so there's little movement in Beijing. And there has not been much movement with the Beijing government since this crisis first began. What we do know is that the Vietnamese air reconnaissance did see what they think is debris, some think it may be a door or may be part of the tail section of the plane. But I do stress these are just unconfirmed reports of what it could be at the moment.

There could be false leads before. The Vietnamese thought they saw something which turned out to be a piece of coral. Now, as far as the Malaysian authorities, they seems to be leading as far as giving information out. Their last press conference a few hours now, they were very, very clear in saying that everything is still on the table. I mean, they were asked point-blank was this a terror attack. And they said that we cannot say this is a terror attack but we can't say, we can't rule out that possibility either. So such is the position in this search. That no one is really prepared to say anything until you get conclusive evidence, some conclusive proof that the plane did go down in the gulf of Thailand somewhere. As you say, the search has been expanded. There are reports that the plane may have turned around. What I have been hearing is that there's a possibility of the plane turned around as opposed to it definitely turned around. So there's still a lot of gray areas in the search at the moment.

WHITFIELD: All right. Andrew, thank you so much.

Let's turn now to law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes.

So Tom, what can you tell me about the stolen passports and these two passengers that were traveling with them? What we understand thus far is that investigators have examined surveillance video and they have also determined that these tickets were purchased at the same time. What kind of questions do you have in terms of advancing this investigation of the whereabouts and the origins of those passengers.

THOMAS FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Fredricka.

Right now, it's going to be a difficult process to use those videos and actually link the videos to the two individuals who used those fraudulent tickets. You know, that will be ongoing and they will try to do that but it's not going to be an easy match. And you know, there is the possibility that stolen passports or the individuals carrying those passports had nothing to do with what happened to the aircraft. It could be a coincidence. It's too soon to tell that. But the authorities can't wait to confirm if it's a terrorist act before they start looking at the passenger list and the backgrounds of as many passengers as can be identified.

But I want to add the reports about the FBI being on the way there. The FBI is already there. The FBI has agents full time in the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur, full time at U.S. embassy in Beijing, fulltime at U.S. embassy in Thailand. So they already would be providing assistance, accessing information, systems and databases of the FBI from the very beginning of this incident or beginning when the plane disappeared.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, given that proximity, then, that's a real advantage. To what extent, you know, are they assisting and is that kind of cooperation just a given by virtue of the fact that they are already there or does it has to have a special request have to be made?

FUENTES: No. It is not that -- no. They work closely with Malaysian police every day and with the ministry of public security in China every single day. So, this would be immediate. They wouldn't have to be doing formal requests because they are already there. And that's the basis of being there and already having the permission of the country to have that office in the embassy in the country. So they would already be working.

Now, the question about whether additional resources need to be on the ground there is another story, especially since again through the computer databases those systems can be accessed here in the United States from the offices in the embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the other offices.

WHITFIELD: Sorry, Tom. What other sort of things are being examined. You know, we talked about the surveillance tape, you talked about, you know, the correspondence of how these tickets were purchased and tracked, et cetera. But what else, you know, can the FBI assist in in trying to determine, you know, the real motivation here potentially by the two passengers with their fake passports?

FUENTES: Well, the FBI and other agencies involved in this would be inquiring of all their sources and contacts and databases worldwide to see if there was some reported threat or some group taking credit if it's possibly a terrorist act. So, you know, looking into that is an extensive operation. As far as individuals with the stolen passports, you have drug smugglers, you have human traffickers, you have, you know, any number of people has are up to no good that might have been the ones using those passports that are not terrorists, that may have had nothing to do with what happened in the aircraft but did travel on fraudulent documents.

WHITFIELD: Tom Fuentes, thank you so much, from Washington. Appreciate it.

FUENTES: You are welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right. Another big matter overseas. Ukraine's interim prime minister now will meet with President Obama in the U.S. this week as his country scrambles to hold onto Crimea. The White House says the two will talk on Wednesday. The prime minister has called upcoming Crimean vote on the referendum to join in Russian illegitimate decision. It's a vote that is deeply dividing Crimea, in fact. Pro Russian supporters pack the capital city for a huge rally and pro-Ukrainian supporters are also demonstrating telling Russian forces to get out of Crimea.

Well today, Russian president Vladimir Putin called British Prime Minister David Cameron and Germany chancellor Angela Merkel. And according to the Russian government, the leaders have a different assessment on what's happening on the ground in Ukraine. But they did agree the situation needs to be deescalated. Putin also said Crimea is step to join Russian are being taken by Crimea's legitimate authorities. And he says the moves are based on international law.

Joining me now via Skype is CNN's former Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty. She is now a fellow at Harvard Kennedy's school of government.

Good to see you, Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Hey, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So, how do you interpret conversations voluntarily taking place between Putin and Cameron and Merkel? And what can really happen from that conversation? And is it more meaningful that any kind of conversation that Vladimir Putin would have with President Obama than he did last week.

DOUGHERTY: You know, I think one thing, if you look at Vladimir Putin and how he traditionally acts, he tries to present his position as being legal. You know, he is a warrior by training. And so, he's always saying we are abiding by the letter of the law. So in this circumstance, you have president Putin saying the vote -- there will be a vote in Crimea, as you've been reporting, seceding from Ukraine joining Russia. That's entirely legitimate. Why? He would say that the government in Kiev, that revolutionary new interim government is actually illegal, that it was a coup. And so, the people in Crimea have the right to leave and to go to Russia.

Now, of course, the United States and west have a very different viewpoint. In fact, I think President Obama at one point says, look, I think we've got different lawyers here. Because it is a legal issue. But the problem is no time for lawyers at this point on the ground. It is very dangerous and highly unstable.

WHITFIELD: Now, there are some experts who say, you know, Putin doesn't want to isolate himself. But isn't in fact he is putting himself and his country in that situation?

DOUGHERTY: He is. And you know, I was just checking the Russian wires. And one leading person who is a member of their parliament who often is kind of a bellwether for what the Russian government thinks, said look, it cuts both ways. You have, you know, sanctions on us. We will do something to you. So be prepared for a boomerang effect. That's what government, the Russian government is indicating as well.

If there are these sanctions, and there already are some, that if they get even harsher, that they, perhaps, might take over businesses, western businesses that are located in Russia. So there's a game -- I think, you know Fred, have you to look at this with two thing going on. Military, troops on the ground, even though president Putin says they are not Russian troops. And then you have the economic situation. And all of this is very -- the timing is really important. Because in a week, you're going to have that vote in Crimea. And that could be -- who knows, you know. It could easily in an unstable situation like this, to have a vote over the future of Crimea is maybe not the best timing. You know, if you put it off to when cooler heads prevail. But there are not many cool heads.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jill Dougherty in Washington, thank you so much.

All right, onto health matters straight ahead. Would you want to know if you're developing Alzheimer's disease? A new study released today said there might be a way to find out.

Also, a small community in Florida is in big trouble after a lot of money simply vanished from the city's coffers. We'll follow that money trail straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Now to a significant breakthrough in research that may predict if you can get Alzheimer's disease. And estimated 5.2 million Americans have Alzheimer's, a disease that causes memory loss. And a short time study -- rather, short time ago, a new study was released on the first blood test that can predict if someone is on the brink of getting it.

I want to bring in senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

So, who is releasing the study and why?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, University of Rochester and Georgetown researches did this. And they and others describe this as game changing. It will be game changing if we can tell someone you're on the way to get Alzheimer's , but there's a number of things to think about. So let's take a listen.

WHITFIELD: All right.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): There is no way to predict who will get Alzheimer's disease. Whose brain will get the flacks entangled that destroy memory and concentration and who will be spared. But in the first of its kind study, a simple blood test was able to predict who will get Alzheimer's.

DR. HOWARD FEDEROFF, NEUROLOGIST, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: This is a really wonderful piece of science. It is the most significant observation that we've been able to report in my entire scientific career.

COHEN: The researchers looked at the blood of healthy elderly people, checking for ten fatty molecules called lipids. Those who had lower levels of lipids, were more likely to develop Alzheimer's or the memory problems that precede Alzheimer's.

On average, the change from healthy to sick took just two years. And the test was over 90 percent accurate. The researchers and the Alzheimer's association point out more studies need to be done to check and see if this test really works. And even if all goes well, the test won't be in doctor's offices for several years.

So who would want a test to predict Alzheimer's ? After all, there's nothing you can do to stop it.

Dr. Howard Federoff, a researcher in the study, says he would want to know.

FEDEROFF: I would want to plan. I would want to work with my family to make sure that I attend to issues that are important to us.

COHEN: But some people might not want to know they are destined for a devastating disease.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow, that is incredible potential breakthrough. I guess it is a breakthrough, not even potentially. But then, how might this help in treatment? I guess that's the potential there.

COHEN: Right, exactly. So when doctors want to test prevention, that's what you really want to do is prevent Alzheimer's, you want to start with a group of people who you know are pretty much destined to get it. You can't start with a bunch people, some of them might get it, some of them might not. But then you can't really test a drug in that group. You need a group of people you know are going to get it. And if they can get that group of people, boy, it can make the research go much faster.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And so, are there certain people who would be better candidates for this, besides those who show, you know, a potential of getting it. Are we talking about a potential age group?

COHEN: Well, you know, they did the test now in 70-years-old. And I asked a doctor --

WHITFIELD: Seven?

COHEN: Seventy.

WHITFIELD: OK.

COHEN: And so, I said would this work that you gave too much to 50- years-old or 30-years-old or 20-years-old. And they said, well, that's really the big question. And so, you know, at some point, we will test it on younger people. But then the question becomes do you want to know at age 40 that you are destined, at some point, in your life.

WHITFIELD: Would you want to know?

COHEN: You know, I had this discussion with the doctor because he was so convinced that he would want to know. And I said I don't know. I think it would be incredibly depressing to live the rest of my life knowing I'm destined for Alzheimer's. And you know, I would worry that for some people, it really sort of put them over the edge emotionally knowing that that's where they head is.

WHITFIELD: Or maybe depends on certain stage of your life. I mean, I could see the real advantage, you know, for knowing maybe later on in my life so I don't have plan, just like that doctor said. But at the same time, yes, you don't want to change the way in which you live your life, but if you know too far in advance.

COHEN: How would you get that out of the back of your head? I think that's the question. How would you get it out of the back of your head that you are going to get Alzheimer's. But he said look, I would want to plan. So maybe, the key is to win. You want to know at age 70, but would you really want to know at age 40.

WHITFIELD: We did some unscientific polls, just people here in the studio, and most said they don't want to know.

COHEN: And the people why under unscientifically called, did want to know. (CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Right. All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much. I appreciate that.

All right, meantime, there are something very odd going on, rather underhanded in fact say some in a small Florida city. And lawmakers say they plan to shut it down after investigations are over. We'll explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: State lawmakers in Florida are trying to shut down a small city called Hampton. They say officials there are corrupt and suggest up to a million dollars could be missing from the city's coffers and they are investigating how a highway speed trap was turned into a moneymaking scheme.

Here is Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to twilight zone of government gone wrong, Hampton, Florida, population 477.

GORDON SMITH, BRADFORD COUNTY SHERIFF: All I could relate was duke hazard. They made boss hog look like a Sunday school teacher.

LAVANDERA: It started a few years ago when the city of Hampton sanction a speed trap along 301. The tiny town had 19 police officers. That's one officer for every 25 residents, writing tickets to boost the city's coffers. Sheriff Gordon Smith says one of the officers was nicknamed Rambo.

SMITH: He was actually getting out of the car with AR-15 strapped to his shoulder, tactical gear on.

LAVANDERA: To write tickets.

SMITH: To write tickets. This is crazy.

LAVANDERA: It wasn't illegal but in three years officers wrote about $600,000 in traffic fines. But when state auditors examined the city's books they found a rotten cesspool in this swampy landscape.

For starters, how the money was spent is unclear. And it has triggered a state criminal investigation. A few years ago this bombshell was dropped on the front porch of city hall, an audit of the way the city of Hampton has done business. Inside 31 findings of inappropriate action, questionable recordkeeping, accusations of nepotism, money that's missing. You name it, it's in here. And now some state lawmakers want to make the city of Hampton disappear, wipe it off the map.

According to the audit several city employees were overpaid roughly $9,000. A city credit card had $27,000 worth of questionable charges and $132,000 were charged to a city account at a convenience store next to city hall. The city official says they are reviewing their operations and considering the audit's recommendations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a lot of money.

LAVANDERA: But nothing symbolizes Hampton's woes like this. We found the elected mayor sitting in the county jail. He was in office a month and a half when he was arrested in undercover sting and charged with selling Oxycodone. He denies dealing drugs and he is connected to the city's financial mess.

The question out there now is that the people who have been running Hampton are just a bunch of crooks?

BARRY MOORE, HAMPTON MAYOR: Exactly. That's not very far from the truth at all. They are a bunch of crooks or a bunch of stupid people. I hate to say it like that but it's the truth, you know. It looks more like they are crooks than anything.

LAVANDERA: But you, given the situation where you're in --

MOORE: Yes. I look like a crook sitting here in an orange suit, don't I?

LAVANDERA: The city's former clerk Jane Hall is one of the central figures in the state's audit. She hasn't been accused of crimes but the audit was highly critical of how she handles business.

After we left Hall e-mailed us. She wrote the questionable expenditures were for city related business and is documented. She added there has been a deliberate campaign to make me look like some kind of criminal mastermind. That would be like saying Snoopy is Cudjo's twin brother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Told us to make sure we watch the no trespassing sig. Give them a chance to talk to us. And maybe want to . What the heck is wrong?

Former mayor Jim Mitzel walked off the years ago. He's not suspected of wrongdoing. But he said the mayor's paycheck isn't worth the headache. State officials are asking lawmakers who want the city to shut down for one last chance to fix its problems. The former mayor should get the chance.

The former mayor thinks they should get those chips.

SMITH: It governor bailed out General Motors, the government bails out Chrysler, why not Hampton. Don't shut our town down. Our town should not be shut down.

LAVANDERA: The saga of a town lost in the woods, mired in a mess that might shut it down forever.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Hampton, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And new information coming in on that missing jumbo jet overseas. An update on the search for answers and the plane itself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All scores of teams from around the world are now joining in on the search for that Malaysia airlines flight 370. The plane was on its way to Beijing more than 48 hours ago when it vanished. Two hundred thirty nine people were on board, including at least three Americans. Vietnam's Navy spotted a floating object in the gulf of Thailand. Malaysia's military says radar data indicates the plane turned around before disappearing. An International police agency Interpol says it is examining additional suspects' passports with the missing plane. Two passengers were traveling on stolen passport.

And the FBI says it is ready. It is actually has agents in the area there to help out with the investigation. A team from NTSB and FAA are also on the way. U.S. military taking part in the efforts to find the plane, there is a lot of area to cover. It started with the search over the South China Sea. Now, the search area has been expanded to include the un-demand sea.

And in our map here you will see a smaller area circle to the left of a Cambodia there. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is on the phone with us now.

So Barbara, what can the U.S. military do to help out with the search?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, Fredricka, this is just such a massive area of water. This is a real maritime situation here to try and cover that water in try and search. And so, the U.S. Navy, as always, tries to join in when there's a maritime crisis and a number of countries joining in in the region.

What the Navy is doing is out of Okinawa they are flying a patrol aircraft, six wings, it can stay up in the air for hours. It has sonar. It has search capability over wide areas. It has already spotted some debris. Sadly, it turned out to be a false alarm. But this is the kind of thing that stay up to many hours at a time and search very wide areas of water.

There is also a Navy ship in the region that has helicopters, also with sonar and other search capability. And then perhaps, a sort of sad fine, a supply ship on the way out of Okinawa so it can reach supply these efforts that remain ongoing. That U.S. navy supply ship sailing out of Singapore early today. So, you're beginning to see the U.S. both offer assistance in the law enforcement side of this of this situation and also in the search -- in update of this still very mysterious situation of where exactly this plane went down. It's going to take a lot of capability to locate it.

WHITFIELD: All right, mysterious indeed. Thank you so much, Barbara Starr. Appreciate that.

All right, we've also heard that one man who was listed as a passenger on that missing flight is actually alive and well. This is Luigi Meraldi (ph) at a police station today in Thailand. He's an Italian national. He told police he caught wind of the mix-up after friends and family contacted him through social media. He said his passport had been stolen last year. And as we mentioned earlier, Interpol confirmed today at least two passports were reported as lost or stolen. His being one of them. They were used by passengers on that missing plane.

So flight recorders could prove key in this investigation. Why one expert says we shouldn't have to wait for the plane to be found and actually to learn what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The jumbo jet that vanished 48 hours ago continues to be a huge mystery. Primary focus will be to locate flight recorders. Earlier I talk with Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general whit the U.S. department of transportation about that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY SCHIAVO, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: To search the ocean through the grid and its coordinated. It is close to coordinated because you want to make sure that you don't miss anything. And then also, the Navy, particularly submersibles will be looking for and listening for pingers from black box, and the cockpit voice recorder and a slight data recorder. They give off an audible sound. They are powered by a battery. The battery lasts for about a month. So, they want to get it before the seawater takes its toll.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Aviation reporter Clive Irving says we shouldn't have to wait that long. Clive joins me now. He is the contributor to "the Daily Beast" and senior consulting editor for Conde Nast Traveler.

So Clive, you say the technology is actually antiquated. Why? What other means would there be to locate if not the ping device.

CLIVE IRVING, CONTRIBUTOR, THE DAILY BEAST: Well, this is a very serious accident with large loss of life. And I think it's amazing today we still rely on a principle and system devised in the 1960s when there was no alternative to it. The principle is very simple. It is the crucial evidence all goes down to the play and then you go out and try to find the so-called black box flight recorder. We all live in a very digital world today. We have numerous devices we use every day. And technically, it's a relatively simple thing to have live realtime transmissions from the plane. The plane flies in the air. The air is monitoring its systems. It is like a person is monitoring their own heartbeat and their own systems, all that information about what is happening to the plane is being collected as it is flying. The problem is it's not getting from the plane to anywhere else.

My argument is that it should now be necessary to end this very difficult search situation that we face with the crash. If that information were being transmitted the whole time the plane was in the air, as soon as it disappeared we'd know two things. We'd know where it was, we don't even know that yet and we'd know if anything was wrong with the plane before that happened.

WHITFIELD: Just so I understand you correctly, you're saying once the crash is resolved or investigated, there should be other means in which we should be able to locate aircraft. But for now this is the primary or a primary tool in which to locate any remnant of this crash, right?

IRVING: Yes. The whole purpose of this operation now is not to find anything other. The priority here is not to find anything other than those flight recorders. I've had no mention so far of a solar beacon being part of this. A solar beacon is something that drops in the ocean with the plane and transmits 30 days to tell searchers where it is. The problem with that idea is, if the plane -- the mystery about the crash, it happened instantaneously, without any chance for the decree to communicate anything wrong. So, if it happened in that way and the plane broke up at 36,000 feet, all the parts of it could be scattered over an extremely large area. We're not talking about one place. We're talking about wreckage strewn over a large area. And part of that wreckage will be the sonar beacon and flight recorders.

WHITFIELD: So, why hasn't better technology come about thus far?

IRVING: Well, I think priority has always been given to, for example, the entertainment in the cabin. And we're soon going to be making cell phone calls from cabins. I think it should have been made apparent long ago. For example serious crash of air France flight 447 in the south Atlantic several years ago. And by pure chance that plane transmitted 24 so-called maintenance messages. So, a maintenance engineer in Paris looked to the shaded place and realized something was wrong with the plane before it disappeared. It turned out in fact that there is fault messages were a clear indication of what was happening to the plane. It was losing its flight control system. That was pure chance. In the case of every -- you don't have to do this with every plane flying over land but I think priority should be given to planes that fly long distances over water.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, thus far, it is a very perplexing mystery that has so many intrigued, whether you fly or whether you're an investigator, still unresolved.

Thank you so much Clive Irving from London.

All right, also overseas with more Russian troops on the move in Ukraine. The Baltic States worry if they will face Russian tanks. What they want the U.S. to do. Next.

But first, 2014 Paralympics games are happening right now in Sochi. Sanjay Gupta has the story of one of those remarkable athletes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Overcoming obstacles is nothing you for Tatyana McFadden. You see, she was born with spina bifida. That is a birth effect that prevents the spinal cord from properly closing while the baby in still in the womb.

As unwanted, disabled child in St, Petersburg, Russia, Tatyana was immediately sent to an orphan of after her surgery.

TATYANA MCFADDEN, 2014 PARALYMPICS: I didn't have a wheelchair. So my legs are actually behind my back and I walked on my hands all the time.

GUPTA: Six years later, a chance visit by an American to the orphanage changed her life.

MCFADDEN: I immediately knew she was my mom.

GUPTA: Adoption gave Tatyana an instant family. Her mom pushed her to get involved in sports.

MCFADDEN: Getting involved in sports saved my life. I wrote down goals and said I really want to be a Para-athlete and be in (INAUDIBLE).

GUPTA: The 15-year-old became the youngest member of the U.S.A. track and field team at the Athens Paralympics games. McFadden won four more medals to Beijing. And in London, she finally won gold. In 2013, McFadden won the grand slam title for marathon wheelchair racing and then traded her wheelchair for a sit ski.

Now, McFadden is back in Russia where she's competing in the Sochi Paralympics cross-country Nordic skiing event.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As the crisis in Ukraine grows by the day, the pressure is on the Obama administration and NATO to do something to stop what secretary of state, John Kerry has called an invasion in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. The president is to meet with the Ukraine's prime minister, the interim prime minister on Wednesday. And Vladimir Putin talked to Germany's Angela Merkel and UK's David Cameron today. But will those talked result in anything more than just talking?

CNN's chief political correspondent Candy Crowley is anchor of "STATE OF THE UNION," joining me now from Washington.

Good to see you Candy. So today, you talked with three ambassadors from the Baltic States who live right next door to Russia? What is their fear about Putin and what do they want the U.S. to do?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, they were all went out of their way to thank the United States for their reassurances. Now remember, they are clear on different category here in Crimea. They are NATO countries and that is a, you know, one for all and all for one entity. So they feel good about that. But I think if I could -- I had to describe how they all sort of felt about what was needed, I think the answer is more. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZYGIMANTAS PAVILIONIS, LITHUANIA AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Another thing was if you have a big country, powerful country, turning like North Korea with missiles and armies, that is serious, you know. That can make a huge impact on our family. So, that is why I think our response should be stronger than in usual cases.

CROWLEY: What does he want?

PAVILIONIS: I think he is weak. He is frightened. And the only way for him, you know, to stay in power is to have a war.

CROWLEY: With?

PAVILIONIS: With (INAUDIBLE) of course.

CROWLEY: With Ukraine.

PAVILIONIS: Yes. I don't see psychologically why should he stop? This popularity is rising.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: So in general, they do not feel as though they are at this point vulnerable to a Putin invasion as it were. But they do think that it changes the dynamic of the region, of the neighbor as we say. And are applauding and supporting the other western European countries or Western European linked countries. I asked if the move in because they are not sure as you heard that Putin is going to listen to as much persuasion at this point.

Meantime, a lot of conservative Americans there are critical of all of the Obama administration this leading up to the 2016 presidential politics talks. In fact, this weekend tea party favorite Senator Rand Paul actually one that straw poll taken at the conservative action conference again this year for the second time in a row what does this mean for his second potential run for the nomination? Does this give him any, you know, additional point? Feathers in the couch.

CROWLEY: It give him a good week. And weeks can add up if you have a lot of good ones in a row. And that is really where we are. When you look at the race, in November of 2016. This is about building now. So, it is better to build now. So it is better to build on winning this and on our talking about it on the people that were at that group of activists talking about it. So it is a good win for him but sure not a permanent one.

WHITFIELD: All right, Candy Crowley in Washington. Thanks so much. Have a great week.

CROWLEY: Thanks Fred. You too. WHITFIELD: All right, you have heard of children dialing 911 in a crisis right? But this is 2014 and there is an app for that actually. What this 2-year-old dead that call for help and they got there on the way fast.

And another winter blast is coming. We will tell you where it is headed now.

And believe it or not, all of this year's snow is actually a blessing in some parts of the country.

CNN's Tom Foreman takes us on an American journey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Through all the bitter cold and blowing snow through the misery and madness, the long running winter has brought long awaited water. And the head of the Maryland farm bureau Chuck Fry is after some dry years that is a big relief.

CHUCK FRY, MARYLAND FARM BUREAU: Whether there is a dairy farm on the east coast or whether you live in dc or whatever you leave. Your food comes from a farm and it is hedged on that water.

FOREMAN: Winter water counts?

FRY: Absolutely counts.

FOREMAN: As a rule, every 20 inches of snow will melt into one inch of water and that may not seem like watch. But a year ago well over half the country was in drought conditions. Now the dry spots are about to 25 percent and that is mainly in the west places like California.

BRIAN FUCHS, NATIONAL DROUGHT MARYLAND CENTER: They are not getting even get to normal by the time the wet season ends later the spring.

FOREMAN: In simple terms, it comes down to this, with enough snow and enough raid, a form like this can more than double. It is out for the corn and soy beans and so much else.

So, as John prepares for planting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope it does look at summer time. Lots of snow but precipitation.

FOREMAN: If this keeps up?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, if this keeps up.

FOREMAN: I hope in the midst of high waters that winter is leaving behind.

Tom Foreman CNN, Tusco, Aurora.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, just a few minutes from now, the latest on the search for that missing Malaysian plane. How could an airline simply vanished without a trace? And can it ever be found who was that apparent doomed flight? All that straight ahead at the top of the hour.

But first, a 2-year-old got help from his mom when she needed it. But it didn't even call 9/11.

Ricky Mitchell from our affiliate KGUN picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICKY MITCHELL, REPORTER, KGUN (voice-over): Panic started to set in when Laura Toone says she desperately needed paramedics but couldn't dial 911.

LAURA TOONE, MOTHER: I begged them to call dial 911 and therefore , so they were quite afraid to even touch my phone because it was covered in my owned blood.

MITCHELL: Toone says a foster dog she cared for attacked one of her owned dog. When she tried to break it up, the dog bit part of her finger almost clean. She continued to lose blood and when she thought she was going to pass out.

TOONE: Here comes my son from the kitchen bringing me our dish tower and he came over with a dish towel and proceed to call my friend on Face Time. 2-year-old didn't know how to call 911, but he know how to Face Times. In fact, he face Time tomorrow's friend Connie Guirerro so often she usually just ignores it.

TOONE: (INAUDIBLE). All I could see was his little forehead and it was quiet for a little bit and then I hear Laura screaming.

MITCHELL: from there, help was called. Ben will even unlocked the door for firefighters and now Laura is so faithful for her little hero.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. These are the stories toping our news this hour.

New clues surfaced in that battling disappearance ion the Malaysian jetliner while the mystery surrounding stolen passport deepens.

And major development today in Ukrainian crisis.

END