heard from the u.s.-based company who says that 20 of its employees were on the plane. 12 were malaysian and 8 are c i chinese. and the company from austin, texas, says that we are solely focused on the employees and their families. our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event. the plane took off from kuala lumpur, the capital of malaysia with 239 passengers and crew on board. no wreckage has turned up, but one clue is giving people a bad feeling in that several miles of oil slick have been spotted in thailand on the general flight plan that it was on and looks possibly like jet fuel. we are joined by andrew stevens there in beijing, and andrew, for those people there, a gutting and painful moment for them, and are they getting any new information and has anybody

from the airline used the word crash in their discussions with the families? >> not so far, jim. they are being very cautious of any linkage of the fuel slick that is spotted by a vietnamese reconnaissance plane and the crash of mh 370, and so they are not linking the two together at the moment. as you point out, having that sort of evidence in that region, does give a very, very worrying tone to the developments which will occur over the next few hour hours. what we do know is that two chinese warships have been dispatched to that area. one of them is called a dock loading ship, and it is basically amphibious assault ships in the navy of the chinese. it is carrying underwater detection equipment, and divers

and helicopters, and the area where the slick is, it is act l actually shallow and up to 70 meters or so deep which could make it more quick to discovering wreckage on the seabed there, but certainly the families of the passengers on that plane, 120 family members of passengers have gathered here in beijing. there were 154 chinese nationals on the plane altogether. malaysian airlines is saying that they are focused right now on very much not only seeing what is happening in that area of sea, but also on looking after the families of the victims. listen to what one of the senior managers at malaysian airlines had to say a couple of hours ago. >> sorry, andrew. we don't have that sound. we can paraphrase that, but as they are dribbling out the

information to the family member membe members. >> yes, jim, sure. basically, they were saying that our priority very much is with caring for the families and doing whatever we can to help the families in this incredibly difficult and tough period they are facing. malaysian airlines has reached out to have contacted all next off kin of the 239 passengers on that plane. it has offered them the flights to either beijing or to kuala lumpur in that region to be together. and malaysian airlines also said that if a crash site is identified, they will take the family members to that crash site to let them see with their own eyes where their loved ones may be resting. at this stage though, jim, very little concrete information coming out, and the day has just begun here sh, and the search g ever more intense. we are waiting now for further details. >> well, such a difficult period

there in the middle of them and seeing the families and part of it is just not getting information. very hard. thank you very much andrew stevens in beijing, the destination, again of that missing plane. and something unusual also has officials concerned about the flight. two people's names who were on the passenger manifest were not on the plane at all. they say that their passports were stolen. that means that two people walked on that flight with passports not issued to them. we spoke to our law enforcement analyst tom fuentes, and he said that is something that should have a close look into as the investigators are looking into the flight. >> jim, it is an important issue to resolve of who used those passports to get on the plane and why. in a case like this, yes, it is too early to speculate, however, the law enforcement, and the intelligence community can't wait until pieces of the plane are recovered or the flight data recorder or the voice cockpit recorders are found and analyzed

and then a year or two decide it was terrorism, and we should look at that. they need to look at every possible issue right now. >> we learned a lot of lessons and one, previous bombers and terrorists have traveled on foreign or fake passports and not foreign, but fake passports and including very significant bombers associated with the 9/11 terrorism, and also concerns me where the plane was headed. i have gotten chinese visas, and they are exacting and it takes time and not a bad process, but you don't up and decide to fly into beijing. >> and the investigation into the flight is just e beginning. back here in the u.s., senator rand paul is number one again at the area gathering of conservative activists known as cp cpac. he ran away with the straw poll for the second year in a row picking up 31% of the votes among conservative activists. as you can see, he was well

ahead of the competition. senator ted cruz of texas second, and dr. ben carson third followed by new jersey governor chris christie and then rick santorum, and congressman walker with just 7%. president obama on the phone today with counterparts talking about the situation in ukraine. we will get details from the white house about those calls, and what everybody is tauklking about at south by southwest, and the house that is being dubbed the home of the future. [ male announcer ] this is joe woods' first day of work. and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest.

he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. in fact, they depend on a unique set of nutrients. [ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help protect your eye health. as you age, your eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite is a vitamin made just for your eyes from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. ocuvite has a unique formula that's just not found in any leading multivitamin. your eyes are unique, so help protect your eye health with ocuvite.

so help protect your eye health so our business can be on at&t's network for $175 a month? yup. all 5 of you for $175. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line, anytime, for $15 a month. low dues, great terms. let's close! new at&t mobile share value plans our best value plans ever for business. spcan go 795 highway milesen on a single tank. huh... so you could drive from los angeles all the way philadelphia with just three stops for fuel. that's just a hop, skip, and a jump. try that in another midsize sedan. it's more of a hop... a skip... a jump... a leap... maybe a schlep... probably a hurdle... a little bit of a trek... avo: during the tdi clean diesel event, get a $1,000 fuel reward card and 0.9% apr for 60 months.

afghanistan, in 2009. orbiting the moon in 1971. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. welcome back. i'm jim sciutto in washington.

the ukrainian crisis is getting volatile with more forces going into crimea. a new warning was issued by secretary of state kerry to his counter part sergey lavrov. he said that there may be little space for diplomacy. and he insisted that russia is not militarily involved in the standoff. in crimea, masked men seized control of an offices at the capital. and today, leaders called president obama today about the crisis. erin mcpike has more details on the president's calls. >> reporter: while the president is vacationing with his family in florida, he is traveling with dep si adviser tony lincoln, and to that end, he placed calls to a number of foreign leaders this morning. he spoke with british prime minister david cameron, and

france president francois holland hollande, and the pressure was just as much about ramping up assistance to crimea as it with was to impose questions on russia. they essentially say that the russian troops would constitute that to the region the united states has provided six u.s. fighter jets to the region, and the leaders of the states are essentially concerned because they border russia, and concerned about all of this activity. now sh now, on top of that, secretary of state john kerry also called russian foreign minister sergey

lavrov today, and he said that if the provocation continues, then there is no room for a diplomatic solution, and the united states has remained optimistic about solving the crisis through diplomacy, but it is clear that the tension has been ratcheted up this weekend. erin mcpike, cnn, white house. and new york times columnist nicolas christoph is weighing in on the critics that say that president obama's so-called weakness in foreign policy led to the situation in ukraine. and rosa flores is joining us, and sounds like the president is pushing back from that argument? >> well, he is, jim. good evening. he is saying that all of the talk about president obama's weaknesses leading president putin to take over crimea is unfound unfounded. he said that the facts are not there. take a listen. >> there is plenty of legitimate reasons to criticize president obama's foreign policy, in the case of syria, there is not much of a policy. he has appointed some really

weak am bbassadors, but in the case of ukraine, it is not that his weakness led president putin to do anything there. i think that the notion that somehow obama weakness led putin to seize crimea is just completely unsupported by the facts. >> and what about the response from the u.s. and also from european leaders? i know that will there is a lot of moving parts here, and the responses also count a lot, and how would you rate the responses? >> well sh, clearly much less w from the west to act than in russia. ukraine is something that russia cares an awful lot more than the united states does or that germany does and a lot of the things that europe in particular could do to make russia hurt economically would also hurt europeans and at a time when the

european economy is weak, they don't want to undermine their own economic prospects, and it would be great if we could see more german leadership on this issue. i think that would raise the cost for russia a lot more effectively than anything that we in the u.s. could do alone. i'm skeptical that germany is go g going to show that much leadership for that reason, that it is looking after its own narrow economic interests. >> and he also mentioned something else that stood out to me, and that is that it is not practical for crimea to join russia, and jim, i had not thought about this, but he said, it is the little things that you have to look at. and he said things like power, water, communications, and they all come from ukraine, so what would happen if there was an annexation, and it is an interesting question, and of course, with we don't know the answer to that at this point in time, but he points it out as something that definitely would be considered. >> no sh, a fair question and

raises the question that you could have an effective takeover without a official takeover, and the russians with so many troops there that they are in charge, but not keeping the lights on. >> what if you cut the lights and the power and the communication, and what happes s there? that is one of the things that he raises the questions, and he says that, you know, ukraine has probably thought about that, but it would be the diplomatic thing to do, but probably not, because it would enrage the russian, and so, again, he said something to consid consider. we take the little things for granted, but you know that they are important. >> and yes, it is an immensely complicated situation. thank you, rosa flores. >> and this is complicated, but it brews your coffee, and tells you the weather outside and next the home that you wish you lived in. it's got 1080p video, three times zoom, and a twenty-megapixel sensor. it's got the brightest display, so i can see what i'm shooting -- even outdoors,

and 4 mics that capture incredible sound. plus, it has apps like vine -- and free cloud storage. my new lumia icon is so great, even our wipeouts look amazing. ♪ honestly, i want to see you be brave ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you're watching one of the biggest financial services companies in the country at work. hey. thanks for coming over. hey. [ male announcer ] how did it come to be? yours? ah. not anymore. it's a very short story. come on in. [ male announcer ] by meeting you more than halfway. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. what's precious to you is precious to us. and from your family, to your belongings,

to your dreams for retirement, nationwide is here to protect what you love most. we put members first, because we don't have shareholders. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side

welcome back. i'm jim sciutto in washington. the woman who is accused of trying to kill her children by driving her minivan into an ocean appeared in court for a bond hearing after this dramatic incident on daytona beach.

she faces three counts of first-degree murder, and could be sentenced to up to 30 years in priz sson. the judge set the bond at 1.2 million brz because we learn wilkerson had checked herself out of a hospital before the attempt, and her sister urged her to turn herself in before she could injure herself or her children. and a handy man eventually found a mummified body of a woman in a garage after five years in michigan. her sister and she didn't speak, and so was not alarmed, and a neighbor cut the grass, and so the house was kept tidy, too, and the mail went to the post office. the police are treating it as a homicide to help preserve the crime scene. wake up and you are home, and your home wakes up with you. open up your eyes and the light turns on.

no need to check for the weather, because you know what it is before you check out of going out doors. and now we have another look at this home of the future. >> reporter: we are here at the south by southwest tech festival. and we are learning that tech is moving beyond the smartphone. we have cool applications. we had an exclusive look of the internet connected home, and it sounds crazy, but check it out. >> welcome to the home of the future. >> reporter: from the moment you step out of bed. ♪ fly me to the moon >> reporter: in this house, everything is connected by smartphone, and it is owned by tech entrepreneur who is an investor in smart things, and the company responsible for all tof the technology. the home is smart, and what can you do? how does it know you are waik? >> well, it senses motion or you

can say good morning, and then opening it up, and then you can see the house sensing that the lights are coming on in the bedroom. >> reporter: and walk into the kitchen. >> we have started to brew the coffee for you. >> reporter: and the coffee brewing behind me? >> yes. >> and how is your commute? and the kitchen lamp will tell you, and green means no traffic. >> and you put in the commute pattern and it will check the traffic and tell you with this lamp to change colors depending upon the timing of the commute. >> reporter: and your home can tell you the forecast. open the door. >> the current temperature is 53 degrees. >> reporter: smart things makes use of a hub almost like a router, and once it is installed, you can attach more devices. >> it is the same way that you can even install on the app what kind of coffee you want brewed. >> reporter: it sounds like it

is out of the world, but it is part of the routine for matt. >> what is happening in the connected homes is that it is a system where it is going to be used with a platform for the apps. >> reporter: and it is to keep your kids safe. >> the medical cabinet has been open. >> reporter: and the connected home plays the music of choice when you step inside. ♪ let me play among the stars >> reporter: it is part of a trepd of technology moving beyond the smartphone. it looks like you are texting with the home. >> and yes, we wanted to make it intuitive and people are used to texting with each other, and we call it hello home, and you can say hello and good night and have it react around you. >> reporter: it is the called the intere net of thing, and it is fascinating and we are going from the chaotic studios and we

go to this office of mad scientists i call them, and they have technology starting conservations. behind me is a drone that can stun somebody. we will have a demo of that for you tomorrow. and it sounds unbelievable, but the idea of south by southwest is to have a conversation about the future, and what technology is going to be big in where we are headed. >> well, if you have seen the movie "her" it sounds familiar. that is lori seigel down there at south by southwest. >> a man and lottery ticket and the camera recording the whole thing. and then an encounter that will bring tears to your eyes. us my fico® credit score... is that new? yup, you have our discover it card, so you get your fico® score on every statement. and, it's free. that's pretty cool of you guys. well, we just want to help you stay on top of your credit and avoid surprises. good. i hate surprises. surprise! whoa. is it your birthday? yep. cheers. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you.

free fico® credit score. get the it card at discover.com. i reckoreckon so.s a brewin'. reckon you gotta hotel? reckon, no. reckon priceline express deals will get you a great deal. wherever you...mosey. you reckon? we reckon. vamonos the spring hotel sale is on at priceline.com. save up to 60% on any express deal hotel, when you use code: spring '14. i reckon this is one deal you won't want to miss.

well, maybe it was a prank,

but it is a story of jeanne moos of how a lottery ticket may have changed the life of a homeless man forever. >> reporter: this is the story of a homeless man who was pranked with a lottery ticket. >> so i am going to make him think that he won the lottery. >> reporter: and this is a good deed prank, and this is the prankster. normally, he is doing things like dressing n ining up in a c costume to scare the drive-through driver, but instead of a laugh, expect a tear from a homeless man who has a good reputation for hanging around a station. >> i don't have money, but i have a lottery ticket. >> reporter: they head to the nearby store to cash it in.

>> and this is $10,000. >> reporter: as the clerk counts out 10 $100s, the man wants to share it. >> no, that is yours, man. >> i was thrown off, because i did not expect somebody to do that. >> i would like to share it with you sh you, big guy. >> reporter: and when he insistsed for him to keep all of the money, the shot of the sunglasses shows the eyes of the homeless man welling up. and when they were done hugging, it was not just the homeless guy who had to wipe his eyes. >> i have not had anybody do what you just did. >> reporter: he was not aware that rahad was recording everything. and eric the homeless guy knows that there is a video, but what he does not know is that the lottery ticket was not a winner. >> i did not want to ruin the moment of him winning the

lottery ticket, and i wanted him to just like, capture that moment, that memory. >> reporter: he says that he is going to break it to him soon, but though most think that the video is touching, some have qualms. good deeds on camera or exploiting people as props was the headline. >> i am not going to give him $1,000 and walk away and say, have a great day. >> reporter: he set up a website for him, and the next day it was $6,000 and count iing. eric did not win the lotto, but he did hit the jackpot. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> great story. and how much money has been raised for eric? the website has totaled $29,000 in donations. insomniacs, good news for you sh you, you have one less hour tonight before dawn. it is daylight saving time, and spring forward and if the phone alarm is set to go off on sunday, and you wake up tired,

you know why. i'm jim sciutto in washington, and stay with cnn and cnn.com to get the latest on the missing plane and ongoing developments in ukraine. a and now we have the latest on the oscar pistorius trial. oscar pistorius who sprinted into the olympics went into the south african courtroom charged with murdering his girlfriend reeva steenkamp, a stunning up and coming model. we speak to those who were there that fateful valentine night. you could hear him crying? >> yes, i know. you could hear it. >> reporter: we hear from those who saw oscar away from the track. >> you get violent, and you get too far with peopl