breaking news on "early today," guilty. the jury returned a swift decision from the american sniper trial. details and reaction straight ahead. a mysterious upped ground tunnel has national security officials searching for clues at the pan am games in toronto. an earth shaking gas explosion sends concussions a mile wide while injuring 15. the clock is ticking on our department of home lant security, one step closer to deniner babies. here is one way to take on old man winter. it's wednesday, february 25th early today starts now. good morning. i'm francis rivera. breaking overnight, a verdict in the american sniper murder trial. >> we the jury find the

defendant eddie ray routh guilty. >> the jury's decision capping off an emotional day. at one point the widow of chris kyle stormed out of the courtroom. nbc's jay gray with more from stephenville texas. >> reporter: the decision came quickly, 2 1/2 hours after it began. routh watched quietly as the jury was polled. their decision june announce and then stood as he was sentenced to life in prison without par role for the murder of american sniper chris kyle and his friend chad littlefield. >> many including members of the jury were openly weeping do you recall an emotional victim's impact statement from littlefield's father don immediately following the verdict, which ended with him staring staring directly at routh. you said you didn't know chad's name when you brutally murdered

him. you will have the rest of your waefted life each and every day to remember his name. let me remind you, his name is chad littlefield and he slowly spelled it outlet ter by letter. littlefield's mother wimd away tears as she spoke outside the courthouse. >> we've waited two years for god to get justice for us on behalf of our son and, as always god has proved to be faithful. >> reporter: kyle eats widow taia walked out of the courtroom during closing arguments by the defense. she did not return when the verdict was announced. jay gray nbc news stephenville texas. now to new jersey and a violent gas explosion all caught on police dash cam. a home is disintegrated as debris shot into the air. the blast so booming. it was felt a mile away. a fire chief said people nearby were treated for concussion-like

injuries. it happened as a crew in the area searched for a gas leak. two gas company employees are in critical condition. now to washington where there could be a breakthrough to avoid a shutdown of homeland security. mitch mccanal is willing to pass a clean deh bill. he would put his party's plan to repeal president obama's executive action on immigration up for a vote. nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. what are the chance democrats and congressional republicans will sign on to senator mcconnell's deal? >> reporter: it's looking more possible but we're not quite there yet. we're learning today, homeland security secretary jeh johnson is speaking this morning, and then this afternoon he's taking a new approach to convince these lawmakers to get something done.

this afternoon homeland security secretary jeh johnson is bringing in new fire power, his two predecessors, both republicans, urging congress not to let the agency run out of money friday. >> we should rnt compromise our homeland security just because republicans want to pick a political fight. >> reporter: if homeland security shuts down will the public really notice? border patrol the coast guard and airport screeners would all stay on the job unpaid. cleanup from super storm sandy and hurricane katrina could slow down. office workers who cut those checks would stay home. >> this is government gridlock in congress at its worls worst. >> what is their purpose? what is their purpose? why don't they just do the right thing? >> reporter: senate republicans are offering a compromise rolling back president obama's immigration orders. >> i don't know what's not to like about this.

>> reporter: before voting democrats want assurance house republicans will go along. >> we have to make sure we get a bim to the president, not that we send a hot potato to boehner. >> reporter: house speaker john boehner hasn't said if he's got the votes. but in a statement a boehner spokesman said democrats in the senate are into krits if they oppose the president'sism grags orders and then don't vote to block them. >> tracie potts out of wad, thank you. a california truck driver is in police custody. jose alejandro sanchez ramirez allegedly abandoned his trucks on the metrolink commuter train tracks causing a collision. his lawyer says his vehicle got stuck. 28 people injured, four critically. three of the five cars ended up on their side. that rail crossing is noted one of the most dangerous in all of california. the national transportation safety board and the federal

railroad administration are investigating. a mysterious tunnel is 33 feet long it was found underneath a tennis venue in toronto for july's pan am games. no one was inside. there were signs of life light bulbs, a gas generator, food and a rosary. cops are pus ld over who is behind it. >> we're trying to find and establish who built it why they built it what were their intentions? >> some officials want a security review ahead of the gaels. here is an extreme sport you don't often see. think of it as ski racing with the help of a horse. more than a thousand people came out to watch this competition in silverton, colorado. nice to see someone has pretty perfect weather, in the sweltering 60s. >> 60s? they'd have to turn the ac on. the south is in for it.

it's their turn for the big winter weather' haven't. 25 million people in the south going from tlooef sport all the way to raleigh and some areas here could get significant snow. we could be talking enough to plow maybe even enough to shut down some of the cities for a short period of time. here are the snowfall amounts, three to six inches. the heaviest totals look to be from charlotte, asheville, raleigh, norfolk. six to nine inches of snow. that's a lot for southern cities. in the west we'll watch a little system diving down a little more pacific energy will be heading into the northwest. that will bring you stormy weather in the days ahead. today in seattle, watch for increasing clouds, chance of a shower beautiful and warm. salt lake city not bad san francisco and l.a. 63 and 74 in l.a.utiful

forecast in areas of the southwest? 70s and 80s for all. a little wet weather in the days ahead into the northwest. but not a huge storm. bill thank you very much. a major airline has 128 aircraft taken out of service for missed inspections. she's been gone a while, keeping quiet, possibly planning. hear what she's been up to next. bargain paper towels. but i had to use so many sheets per spill... the roll just disappeared. i knew i should've bought bounty. bounty is 2x more absorbent and strong when wet. just look how much longer bounty lasts versus one of those bargain brand towels. with bounty, the roll doesn't disappear and that's a good deal. bounty.

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military for over 75 years. some stories making news this morning. southwest airlines has reached a deal with the faa to continue flying some 130 passenger aircraft it says missed inspection. the planes can fly for the next five days as the checks are completed. southwest initially grounded the boeing 737s when it realized the backup hydraulic systems were

not inspected. they serve as a backup in case of problems with the rutter system. the department of justice will not be filing civil rights charges against george zimmerman citing insufficient evidence for the fatal shooting of trayvon martin. tomorrow marks three years since the teen was shot and killed. the martin family released a statement saying although we are disappointed in these findings it is our resolve to continue spreading the message of the trayvon martin foundation which is dedicated to protecting our youth. in 2013 zimmerman was found not guilty of second degree a murder in martin's death. the jury also found him not gimity of the lesser charge of manslaughter. zimmerman says he acted in self-defense. after a week's long absence from the spotlight, hillary clinton popped up at a conference in silicon valley. she had to deal with the lingering issue of whether she's running in 2016.

>> what you do does not have to be big and dramatic. you don't have to run for office. although, if you do more power to you. >> i interviewed president obama last week, and i'm very eager to interview another president. [ cheers and applause ] >> that's good. >> worthy of a hillary clinton high five. the potential front-runner has three scheduled speeches next month. britain has become the first country to approve in vitro fertilization using the dna of three people. the procedure will prevent mother from passing on degenerative diseases to their babies. let's get down to business with cnbc's lana dowdy. >> fed chair janet yellen paves the way for a potential interest rate reich sometime this year. she's not tipping her happened

as to when that might happen. speaking on tuesday she said the fed is in no hurry. while the job market is improving, inflation remains low. investors liked what they heard, the dow closing at a new record high. consumer reports is out with its top cars for 2015. lexus is number wurn again, due to solid reliability ratings. mazda, toyota audi and subaru round out the top five. buick is the first american to crack the top ten at number seven. purina is facing a class action lawsuit claiming its ben any fulldog food is killing pets. two similar suits have been dismissed in the past. see how one school is using chris farley to recruit athletes. sports is up next. i'm going to share a photo of my eggo waffle when it pops up. that's so interesting honey because i'm going to share a photo of my eggo waffle when it pops up. l'eggo my eggo

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this morning on "today," a mystery out of paris. drones are being spotted over closely guarded sites even though it's illegal to fly them in the city. nbc's bill neely will have the latest on the hunt for the pilot at the controls. now to sports. one step closer to an l.a. football team. late last night the inglewood city council voted unanimously,

clearing a path for the nfl team for the first time in two decades. the council gave a green light to the $2 billion, 80-000 seat stadium which includes st. louis rams owner as a partner. supporters say the stadium would bring the city more than 10,000 jobs and tens of millions in new tax revenue. they hope to have the venue ready by 2018. 14th ranked maryland upsets number five wisconsin. dez wells leading the way. unranked syracuse takes down notre dame 65-60. the orange improve to 18-10 overall and beating the irish for the sixth time in their last seven meetings. to the nba and another milestone for lebron james. he passes scottie pippen to become nba's all time assist leader's forward in the win over the pistons. deja vu for the bulls.

he'll undergo knee surgery for the third time in three years. an mri revealed he has a torn meniscus in his right knee. last season rose played in only ten games before surgery for the exact same injury. that injury came 18 months after tearing the acl in his left knee in the 2012 play-offs. ohio state coach urban meyer is finally back on land after the use ship he was on got stuck at sea an extra day because of this. dense fog. looks like a movie scene, doesn't it. around 2,500 passengers were aboard the royal caribbean ship for the annual buckeye cruise for cancer fund-raising event. the boat spent nearly 36 hours circling the waters getting caught in the fog just 20 miles off the coast. royal caribbean pr they tweeted this. this welcome back to the buckeyes with this play-off photo. tilt your head sideways what does that spell?

right, ohio made them happy. the university of wisconsin released this gem of a recruiting video. >> if you don't go to the university of wisconsin, you're going to end up eating government cheese and living in a van down by the river! >> the old van down by the river. that's the late comedian chris farley playing matt foley, one of his iconic characters from "saturday night live." people will sign up just for that. just ahead, the bris kit bandit strikes again. the robbery suspect who is all about the meat. "fifty shades of grey" rumor that has fans in a frenzy, but not in a good way. oh yea, that's coming down let's get some rocks, man. health can change in a minute. so cvs health is changing healthcare. making it more accessible and affordable with walk-in medical care, no appointments needed and most insurance accepted.

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connections. that's preferred rewards from bank of america. well we are continuing to watch the unbelievable temperature trends in february. this map color codes who has been colder than normal, who has been warmer. in the east many cities will set their all-time cold records. while in the west as you know it has been incredibly dry and incredibly warm especially the intermountain west where some people will come close to the warmest february of all times. as far as rainfall goes over the next 48 hours, really not looking at anything too impressive out there. in the portland area and seattle, we could pick up especially tomorrow more significant rain maybe a half inch to an inch at most. >> you west coasters are being greedy with that warm weather.

send it our way. >> that wall is called the rocky mountains. time for entertainment news this morning. >> one last ride for the parks and rec gang. who is in? >> parks and rec ended its epic seven-year run on nbc. no spoilers if you haven't watched it but there were some flashes into the cast's future like a funeral, space flights and high political office for some. plenty of former cast members, a certain vp who is a sor loser. the show ended with a tribute of co-executive producer harris whittles who passed away. lead actor vin diesel is a little busy. his partner is expecting their third child around the time of the movie's release. on the oscar red carpet viola davis confirmed she's in for

"suicide squad." the actress said she will play government agent amanda waller. >> her career is just -- >> skyrocketing, right? this is going to be released august 5, 2016. according to australia's nw ag scene, actor jamie dornan will not be returning for fifty shades see callcee cee call. his wife is uncomfortable with the sexual situations. dornan responded saying all press reports are pure conjecture as the studio has not committed to a sequel yet. >> this is ridiculous. she knew what he was signing up for. i don't believe it. >> that comes with the business you sign up for that movie. >> you have to pretend to like me. just how it goes. >> pre tent is a key word. this is early today, just the first stop of the day. amopé and its premium foot care line. the new amopé pedi perfect foot file gives you soft beautiful feet effortlessly.

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astronauts aboard the international space station are on their second space walk in five days prepping the iss for future american crew capsules. it will take 6 1/2 hours, and they have another one scheduled for sunday. after that they'll have routed cables spanning two football fields all in zero gs. impressive up there. "the new york times," fcc net neutrality rules clear hurdle as republicans concede to obama. on thursday the fcc is expected to approve regulating internet service. rules for net neutrality would ensure internet service providers give consumers fair and equal access to all legal content. from the watch watch post a

historical tool or hitler's voice from behind the grave. reprinting the book has been banned since world war ii. the copyright expires in september and there's a new print version planted for early next year. a new volcanic island is forming off the coast of japan. the country's coast guard has released this video. it's larger than 50 sports stadiums combined. fascinating that that's -- >> i wonder how long it takes for life to start. >> a new member of "saturday night live" is getting presidential attention. davidson tweeted a this letter he received from bill clinton. as a fan of "saturday night live" i want to congratulate you on joining the cast. i can only imagine how excited you must be both as a comedian

and lifelong new yorker. impressive. straight out of texas. police are looking for this brisket bandit. in the last few month, this man is believed to have stolen hundreds of dollars' worth of brisket and pork from at least four restaurants in the san antonio area. one of the restaurants claims he also took ten cases of beer. >> you get thirsty eating all that brisket. >> smuggling that in his jacket and pants. >> brisket tastes good after the first case. now for a look ahead, president obama is heading to miami today to participate in a town hall on immigration. the event is hosted by telemundo and msnbc. the white house says this town hall will give the president a platform to reach latinos across the country while engaging with miami's vast immigrant community. the event takes place at 8 clong p.m. eastern. comedian chelsea handler is 40, taiaea leoni is 49 and former

wres

a missing mother found, but her baby still out there this morning. bay area crews stepping in to help. fliers beware. why your flight may be cancelled this morning and it's not because of the weather. plus illegal gambling prostitution and drug deals. newel numerous arrests. >> taking a look outside at the beautiful bay bridge. it is february 25th. this is "today in the bay." >> from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." >> a very good morning to you. it's 4:30. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'm sam brock. much more on those stories coming up in just a second. first, let's start in the logical place, find out what your day is