making news in america this morning, the mystery remains. this morning the high-tech aircraft searching a new area for flight 370 and the fishermen who say they saw the plane before it vanished. ukraine crisis. russia warns the west on sanctions as the conflict turns more violent after a soldier was killed. we are live with the latest. near disaster. a truck becomes a speeding missile hurled in the air headed right for a state trooper. and we have winners. this morning more than one lucky person is holding a winning lottery ticket worth millions. new details about where they were sold. good wednesday morning. i'm john muller.

>> and i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. 12 days later and still no answers as to what happened to flight 370, but clues this morning from military radar and fishermen are creating new theories. >> abc's nikki battiste is in perth, australia, and she filed this report moments ago. >> reporter: this morning the u.s. navy's most advanced surveillance plane, the p-8 poseidon, has joined aircraft from australia and new zealand. they're scanning a million nautical miles far off the western coast of australia. >> those are really, really treacherous, deep seas. winter is coming. the rescue effort just continues to get difficult by the day. >> reporter: with all the high-tech equipment, it may end up being a human eye that spots any sign of the missing flight. >> it's not even a needle in a haystack. it's a needle in thousands of fields of haystacks. >> reporter: abc's bob woodruff tracked down some malaysian fishermen who claim they saw the plane the night it disappeared in almost the exact spot

the plane was thought to have made a left turn off course. >> they said they were here when they suddenly saw a jet barreling by them flying low and bigger than any plane they had ever seen in the sky. >> reporter: thailand's military announced their radar picked up an unidentified plane on the night of the disappearance, in a strait west of malaysia, which roughly fits the current search area. earlier today at the kuala lumpur airport the flight took off from, people came to a viewing gallery to write messages showing their support and hope for the 239 people on board. the u.s. navy's high-tech p-8 poseidon has landed here in perth, australia, and with its 1200-mile nautical range, it's able to reach and search the southern portions of the indian ocean. nikki battiste, abc news, perth, australia. >> all right. our thanks to nikki. our team in australia, malaysia and the u.s. continues to work every angle. we will have the very latest on "good morning america." and now to the conflict over crimea. russia moving swiftly to bring

it back into the fold. the rest of the world alarmed at what might be next. it's a fast-moving drama that could mean the return of the cold war superpower standoff that prevailed for decades. abc's tahman bradley has more. >> reporter: the situation in ukraine is making europe very nervous. >> the crisis in ukraine is the most serious test of european security in the 21st century so far. >> reporter: according to news reports, a ukrainian soldier was killed during an attack on a military base. it's the first death since russian troops seized control of crimea last month. in response, ukraine has authorized its soldiers to shoot back in self-defense. ♪ the incident comes as russians celebrate vladimir putin's annexation of crimea. in an emotional speech, putin lashed out against the united states for behaving rudely, irresponsibly and unprofessionally in ukraine. the u.s. hit back calling putin's moves "dangerous." >> nobody doubts russia's interests in crimea, but that

doesn't legitimize just taking what you want because you want it. >> reporter: although putin claims he will not try to push further into ukraine, more nations have announced travel and economic sanctions against russia including japan and australia. vice president biden traveling in europe tried to assure u.s. allies. >> we're exploring a number of additional steps to increase the pace and scope of our military cooperation including rotating u.s. forces to the baltic region. >> reporter: but even though his actions could leave russia isolated, putin seems undeterred. president obama will discuss the situation in ukraine with seven world powers at a security summit next month in the netherlands. john and marci. >> tahman bradley live in washington. thank you. well, moving on to south africa where a police ballistics expert got back on the stand this morning

at the murder trial of oscar pistorius. he testified that reeva steenkamp's wounds indicate that she was standing facing the bathroom door when pistorius fired four bullets through it killing her. pistorius says he thought he was firing at an intruder in the bathroom. prosecutors believe the expert's testimony could help show if pistorius intended to kill steenkamp. to los angeles now and the results of a report on a deadly shooting at l.a.x. that review found that poor communication and a lack of coordination between agencies hampered the response when a shooter entered the airport's terminal 3 last november. the gunman was in custody seven minutes after he arrived at the airport, but not before he allegedly killed a tsa agent and injured two other agents and a passenger. new insight this morning into the possible state of mind of fashion designer l'wren scott before her apparent suicide. an essay in "the new york times" claims scott was to announce the closing of her business today because of apparent financial difficulties. records show her company was nearly $6 million in debt at the start of last year.

the same essay calls reports that scott had broken up with mick jagger "rubbish." well, winter is not going out quietly in parts of the upper midwest. in fact, much of minnesota will be under a winter storm warning until later this morning. >> and we aren't talking about a few stray flakes here. parts of central minnesota could get up to a foot before the storm moves out. the good news is that this is probably the last time this year that those shovels and plows will be needed or at least for this season. >> i'm not so convinced about that. i'm knocking on the wood here. >> we're trying to be optimistic here. >> all right. let's be optimistic about the massive mega millions lottery we mentioned in the headlines. there were two winning tickets. >> the jackport was worth $400 million. a single winner could have taken the cash option of 224 million. the winners were sold in merritt island, florida, and in maryland. the winning numbers, 11, 19, 24, 33, 51, and the mega ball was 7. sounding the alarm. why experts are warning about a big change coming to almost every atm. and a news helicopter comes crashing down killing two people

on board. this morning, witnesses are talking about what they saw and heard. plus, a routine traffic stop turns into a near-fatal accident for a state trooper.

i train wi, a team that shares my drive and commitment. that's why i serve in the united states coast guard. maybe you were born ready. find out at gocoastguard.com. toyota may agree to a huge settlement with the department of justice as early as today, abc news has learned. prosecutors have been investigating the company for years over cars that suddenly sped up. they suspected that toyota misled regulators and investors about what it knew about the problem. the company is expected to pay up to a billion dollars to avoid criminal charges.

and those same investigators are now pursuing general motors over a defect that has been linked to 12 deaths. ceo mary barra apologized for those deaths and the delay in recalling 1.6 million cars with a faulty ignition switch. barra has named a new head of global safety and promises to fix the company culture that allowed that problem to go unresolved for so long. check your bank account regularly starting april 8th. that is the day microsoft stops supporting windows xp. the operating system that runs 95% of the world's atms. xp is considered the best version microsoft ever made, but the company wants users to switch to a newer, more secure operating system. >> well, if you think you're spending more at the grocery store these days, you're right. you are. the government says food prices were up 0.4% last month, the most since september 2011. the western drought is among the reasons for the jump, and those increases are expected to accelerate this year. all right, speaking of expensive food, how about a $25

corn dog. you might have to go to phoenix to get it, though. >> the arizona diamondbacks will be offering the d-back dog this season at their stadium. it is an 18-inch corn dog stuffed with cheddar cheese, jalapenos and bacon served with french fries. the team -- it's for sharing with your family. >> i was going to say, that would feed a family of three. it sounds pretty good actually. >> i don't know. >> jalapenos and cheese. >> you don't think you could handle one of those on your own? >> well, maybe. maybe actually. all right. when we come back, important health news for women. a brand-new study looks at the risk for alzheimer's and has some surprising results. plus, portable, popular and pricey. burglars get away with some high-tech loot, and it's how they broke in that's getting all the attention. and delay of game. a spring training game is brought to a buzzing halt.

in texas, dry and windy conditions kicked up a dangerous wall of dirt. visibility was near zero on the roads around lubbock. the winds gusting to 55 miles an hour. south texas gets those sustained winds today. in colorado, fierce winds are sending out waves of tumbleweeds. they are blowing onto roads into towns and neighborhoods piling up against fences, burying cars in some cases, swamping homes. everything from garden rakes to snowplows are being used to clear these tumbleweeds away. well, this morning's ride to work will not be easy around minneapolis and other great lakes cities where ice and sleet will slow things down. rain is also likely to cause slowdowns around the mid-atlantic and in the northwest. and if you're flying, the only likely airport delays will be at minneapolis/st. paul international, especially in the morning. and today they are mourning at komo-tv, our abc affiliate in seattle, after the death of two colleagues. they died after komo's news helicopter took off from the station's roof and crashed almost immediately not far from

seattle's famous space needle. abc's lana zak is there. [ sirens ] >> reporter: in the shadow of the seattle space needle -- >> we have report of a helicopter into the space needle down on the ground now. cars involved on fire. >> reporter: -- the chopper flown by abc affiliate komo-tv had just refueled and was lifting off from the station's roof when it dropped suddenly to the street below and exploded. >> it was unstable. it was pitching and going up and down. >> it was like its tail wobbled, so it did like a couple tailspins, and then it just swooped down and hit. >> reporter: flames and dark smoke engulfed the cockpit, and the chopper came crashing down on three vehicles that were driving by. >> somebody forced their way out of one of the vehicles. they were still on fire, ran into the street, and we beat out the flames. >> reporter: two drivers escaped. a third man was severely burned. killed on impact, the two in the chopper, beloved komo photographer bill strothman and pilot gary pfitzner. >> we have reached the point

here where we can talk about the two people that we have lost. this will be a very difficult time. >> reporter: investigators say that they hope to have a preliminary report in as little as five days, though they caution that answers may take much, much longer. lana zak, abc news, seattle. back to you, john and marci. >> lana, thank you. federal officials -- health officials say a drexler university student died last week from the same rare type of meningitis that caused an outbreak at princeton university last year. sophomore stephanie ross had been in close contact with students from princeton about a week before she got sick. the concern now is that despite a massive vaccination effort, the strain might still exist at princeton. a new report shows that women are being hit harder by alzheimer's disease than men. the alzheimer's association study says women have a one in six chance of developing the condition. that's compared to 1 in 11 for men. the report says 5 million americans are now living with alzheimer's. well, some rough moments for an iowa state trooper.

he was parked off interstate 80 when a pickup truck suddenly careened off the highway and -- check this out -- it almost smashed into his squad car. it turns out that the pickup had been hit by a semi, and that force sent it airborne right there. amazingly, the trooper and the pickup driver did not suffer any major injuries. a gang of thieves caught by surveillance cameras in north carolina pulling off a sledgehammer smash and grab at a computer store, and they head straight for the apple laptops and ipads and gone within minutes. they grabbed about $100,000 worth of goods. well, the legal battle is growing between the nfl and the singer/rapper m.i.a. she was seen giving the finger during the halftime show of the super bowl two years ago. well, since then, the nfl has been seeking $1.5 million claiming m.i.a. breached her contract. well, now the league is demanding an additional $15 million in what it calls restitution. m.i.a. says the restitution claim lacks any basis in law. all right. a bizarre interruption to yesterday's red sox/yankees preseason game.

>> the game was delayed when a swarm of bees took over left field. boston left fielder mike carp said he heard the buzzing and immediately went toward the infield. >> the grounds crew member there, they were the heroes. they chased the bees away with pesticide. still don't like the looks of that at all. the yankees went on to win the game, 8-1. i think he's just making them madder. all right. as for the games that actually counted, there were a few of those last night. >> we get the highlights from our guys at espn. good morning. welcome to our "sportscenter" set. along with neil everett, i'm stan verrett. lebron james used to play in cleveland, the hometown team. he went there as a visitor, but it was his house again. >> how about if you're a cavs fan, you're just like, oh, please make it stop. here's this guy, took his talents and left our town, and he was our guy. he had 25 in the first. he said he thought he was going to go for 50 or 60. he ended with 43. 10 of 11 in the first quarter, and, listen, stop looking at my

lemonade. james and miami run the cavaliers. bucks and blazers. pick this one up, fourth quarter, 9.6 to go. trail blazers down two. damian lillard, just finding a way. 98 apiece. they would go to overtime. in overtime trail blazers up 2. wesley matthews, he says, i'll take that, and, hey, dame, you take that. lillard finished with 20 points. trail blazers up 4. 1:30 to go. trail blazers up 4. matthews, step-back three. high degree of difficulty on that one. he had 26 points, and the blazers go on to win it, 120-115. ncaa tournament opening round, don't call it play-in games. n.c. state and albany moving on thursday to orlando. >> don't call them play-in games. >> we won't. >> okay. thanks, guys. up next, "the pulse," sweet and somewhat healthy. scientists now know why dark

chocolate is good for you. and insta-star, the grandma who's now worldwide famous because of social media.

♪ i want candy ♪ i want candy all right, time to check "the pulse," stories you'll be talking about today beginning with more good news about chocolate. >> love it. researchers at lsu found that certain bacteria in the stomach eat dark chocolate and ferment it releasing anti-inflammatory compounds. >> really? all right. well, that apparently reduces inflammation of the cardiovascular tissue, which benefits the heart. it reduces the risk of stroke, and they found that the effect was even stronger when dark chocolate is combined with solid fruits such as pomegranate, so let's go eat some chocolate, marci. >> you got it. all right.

well, most would say chocolate is appropriate for fifth graders, but what about beer? not so much. >> not so much. all right. a michigan teacher is getting a lot of heat after allowing her fifth graders to sip o'doul's as part of a colonial history lesson when children were allowed to drink beer. >> oh, boy. well, it turns out that despite claims that it is nonalcoholic, o'doul's does actually have trace amounts of alcohol. the teacher is now apologizing, big time, i would imagine, saying it was an honest mistake. parents say alcohol or not, it's still a bad message for children. yeah, that's something you might want to -- >> you know, if you're a teacher, you got to always be on guard for like anything, and that would be definitely a red flag. >> one of those things. >> yep, all right. where is that little man in your head saying, don't do it. earlier we told you about the two winning tickets in last night's mega millions lottery. well, they were bought in florida and maryland. >> well, this guy is a lucky lottery winner, as well, in virginia. robert manning was cleaning out

his wallet, and he found several old powerball tickets. the one he bought on march 5th, it turned out, matched five winning numbers, which means he won a million bucks. >> man, oh, man, i think i have a few old ones in my wallet. >> you better check them. >> manning says the money comes at a good time. he has one kid in college and another a year away. is there such a thing as a bad time for a million bucks? >> very good point. but check those tickets. great reminder. so this woman goes by the name of grandma betty, and she is a social media star. back in january after the 80-year-old was diagnosed with cancer, her great grandson zach set her up on instagram. well, he hoped it would keep her happy and not down in the dumps. >> well, a week ago grandma betty had 5,000 followers. not so bad, right? >> not at all. >> all right. well, today she has nearly 300,000, and she has a message for each and every one of them. >> wow. >> i love y'all. i don't know who you are, but i love you. that's a lot of good people because they're watching good old grandma. >> good old grandma. among her army of followers, pharrell williams. >> and here she is appropriately

enough dancing to his song "happy." >> a pair made in heaven. good for her. for some of you, local news is next. for everyone else, we'll be back with a young man's wish coming true at the white house.

live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> go wednesday morning at 4:28. >> we have breaking news: a mess for drivers in the east bay. >> a car carrier hit a fire hydrant in san lenadro at 1:30 this morning. you can seat result after the water was sent into the air. this happened at the on-ramp to northbound 880 in front of the honda dealer help. the on-ramp is still flooded so it could impact drivers in the immediate area. >> businesses pay not be affected. we will find out more from leyla gulen who is back. >> good morning, everyone. what a mess. i saw an ann tailor -- taylor

back there. northbound 880 is clear. marina boulevard on-ramp to be shut down. if you cannot get open, use davison. 580 westbound tracy to dublin is 23 minutes. 101 southbound from san rafael to san francisco is 17 minutes. in walnut creek southbound along 680 from pleasant hill traffic is flowing smoothly. to highway 24 junction it is all moving along fine. mike nicco? >> good morning, everyone, live doppler 7 hd shows not a cloud to be found and less clouds along the coast this morning. from the east bay hills, it is not bouncing around like yesterday but calm with the light offshore wind that will keep the clouds away from us until high clouds show up. mostly sunny. highs climbing, low-to-upper

60's along the coast and 69 to 74 around bay and 72 to 75 inland. above-average temperatures. >> minimum wage workers in richmond could start making more money. the city council took a step last night to boosting the minimum hourly rate. katie marzullo is in richmond. >> pretty dramatic shows richmond minimum wage goes to $12.30 by 2013 the highest in the safety california compared to the rate which is $8 an hour and san francisco pays $10.74 an hour and san jose at $10.february. originally the mayor of richmond was to put this to public vote on a ballot but she changed her mind. >> it is clear we want a minimum wage increase