for more, download the cbs news app on your cell phone or connected tv. i'm shanelle kaul, cbs news, new york. it's friday, march 3rd, 2023. this is the "cbs morning news." alex murdaugh found guilty. the jury in the disgraced former attorney's trial taking just hours to convict him in the deaths of his wife and youngest son. his reaction the moment the verdict was read. millions of americans under the threat of severe weather. tornadoes and large hail lashing the south. weaver got the latest. a clash over that toxic train derailment. frustrated people confront the train company mpt we'll take you inside the fiery meeting. good morning, and good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we begin with the guilty verdict of alex murdaugh's

doubling-murder trial. the jury deliberated for less than three hours last night before convicted the former attorney in the shooting deaths of his wife and youngest son. murdaugh blinked repeatedly but remained stone faced as he stood in court as the guilty verdicts were read. nikki battiste has been following the case since it broke and has the latest. guilty verdict. >> reporter: jurors found alex murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife maggie and his son, paul. >> justice was brought for them. we can't bring them back, but we can bring them justice. >> reporter: they were shot to death in june of 2021 at the sprawling property the family owned in south carolina. >> i would never hurt maggie murdaugh. i would never hurt paul murdaugh under any circumstances. >> reporter: during the trial, the once-prominent lawyer took the stand in his own defense, insisting he did not kill his wife and 22-year-old son, but he did admitted to stealing millions from his clients and firm. he also admitted he lied when he

told investigators he hadn't e . >> once he took the stand and had to admit that he lied for 20 months about not being at the murder scene, i think they saw him as a liar, as well. >> there's only one person who had the motive, who had the means, who had the opportunity to commit these crimes. >> reporter: prosecutors argued murdaugh's financial crimes were about to be exposed, so high killed his wife and son in an effort to move the focus away from the missing money. his defense lawyers called that motive theory outlandish. >> totally illogical, irrational, and insane. words i wrote down, for someone to kill their loved ones when their criminal conduct is being exposed. >> reporter: the case had been circumstantial. investigators never found the murder weapons or bloody clothes, and there were no eyewitnesses. nikki battiste, cbs news, walterboro, south carolina. you can watch more coverage

of the verdict on a special episode of "48 hours.". it airs tomorrow night at 10:00, 9:00 central on cbs and paramount plus. a powerful winter storm is moving across the country this morning after unleashing damaging tornadoes in texas and louisiana.thnado w spotted yesterday east of dallas. the storm also brought large hail and torrential rain knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people. jarred hill is in new york. what is going on with mother nature? >> reporter: i wish i knew, anne-marie. this weather system has been wreaking havoc says it moves across the country. there is crazy. you got people in california still trapped in their homes from the snow. now these tornadoes in the south, and officials say this will be -- they're going to be going out to survey some of that damage today. severe storms in texas produced large hail and tornadoes. >> crossing the street right in front of us. >> reporter: 70 to 80

mile-per-hour winds brought down power lines, leaving thousands of texans in the dark overnight. strong winds also brought a tree down onto this house in hurst. the owners were still inside. >> we were running -- only thing i could hear on top of the houses -- boom, boom, boom, everywhere. i didn't know where to run. >> reporter: the roof of this dallas county amazon warehouse partially collapsed on workers. no injuries were reported. authorities are looking at how bad the damage is. >> once we get some daylight tomorrow we'll be able to get some more accurate information. >> reporter: a gas station in shreveport, louisiana, now mangled metal after a twister ripped through. >> it just came up, 20 seconds later, it was gone. and i mean, total chaos. wind -- glass breaking out everywhere. >> reporter: the severe storms slamming the south are from the same weather system that buried mountain communities in california under feet of snow. contain her excitement. her brother-in-law rescued her and her family after they were

stuck at a crestline airbnb for more than a week. >> we're so ecstatic and happy. family back home is like really worried and nervous. >> reporter: many others are still trapped at home. san bernardino sheriff's deputies loaded up food to take to desperate snow in residents. the governor has declared a state of emergency for several counties. you know that these mountain communities are still not in the clear quite yet. heavy rain and snow are expected to start up again as soon as tomorrow, and that same system with the tornadoes is headed east where we could see heavy snow and ice over the weekend. >> oh, no. not -- at least it's over the weekend. better than during the workweek. jarred hill in new york. thank you so much. >> reporter: no problem. almost a month after a toxic train derailment in ohio angry residents demanded to be relocated during a town hall with the rail operator. people who evacuated shortly

after the train derailed have complained of feeling sick since returning home. one mother at last night's meeting described how she gets sick within a half hour every time she goes home. residents said they don't feel safe staying there. >> this is not something we asked for, sir. i'm begging you, by the grace of god, please get our people out. >> yes. >> we're going to clean up the site -- >> no, you're not! >> you should have the first time! [ inaudible ] >> the rail company said it hopes to remove all the contaminated soil by the end of next month. federal and state officials say harmful levels of toxic chemicals have not been detected in the air or water. there's an update on multiple civil lawsuits against former president donald trump stemming from the january 6th attack on the u.s. capitol. the justice department is arguing trump can't -- rather, can be sued by injured capitol police officers.

now the agency also says members of congress who rushed for cover during the riot can also take legal action. the justice department urged a federal appeals court to allow the lawsuits to move forward and says trump's presidential immunity does not apply in these cases. the house ethics committee has launched an investigation into embattled congressman george santos. the new york republican is facing mounting legal issues and calls to resign. that's because he extensively lied about his resume and biography. caitlin huey burns has the latest from washington. >> reporter: the house ethics panel is looking at a wide range of potential violations including whether congressman santos engaged in unlawful activity during his 2022 congressional campaign and failed to disclose required information on statements filed with the house of representatives. new york democrat dan goldman filed one of those complaints. >> all of his lies about his background, his education, his employment history, his

religion, that doesn't violate any laws as it stands right now. so our ethics complaint really focused on the specific laws we thought he may have violated. >> reporter: the panel is also looking at whether santos violated federal conflict of interest laws and engaged in potential sexual misconduct toward a volunteer staffer in his congressional office. the move by the ethics committee comes as cbs news exclusively learned that santos was questioned by the u.s. secret service in 2017 about an atm skimming operation and forced to hand over his cell phone. a santos associate seen here pleaded guilty to stealing atm numbers in seattle and sending them to brazil. santos was never charged, but in a court hearing he's heard allegedly lying about his work history. >> what do you do for work? >> reporter: he will fully comply with the ethics

committee, he says, and would have no further comment at this time. there are also federal and local investigations into his campaign finances. caitlin huey burns, cbs news, washington. well, overseas, secretary of state antony blinken met face to face with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov for the first time since russia invaded ukraine. the two met briefly yesterday on the sidelines of the g20 meeting in india. blinken said that he told lavrov that russia must end the war and that the u.s. is committed to defending ukraine for as long as it takes. blinken said that he also urged moscow to reverse its decision to pull out of the new s.t.a.r.t. nuclear arms control treaty. coming up, online threats. michigan's attorney general says that she was the target of a plot to kill jewish officials. and protecting abortion rights in the u.s. why the united nations is being urged to step in. this is the "cbs morning news." your record label is taking off.

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a greek station manager was charged with multiple counts of manslaughter and other crimes after a deadly train crash. the 59-year-old man was charged following tuesday's high-speed collision between a passenger train carrying 350 people and a freight train. at least 57 people were killed. greek state media said the man was assigned to his role about a month ago. the united nations is being asked to protect abortion rights in the u.s., and a suspect is arrested for making threats on twitter. those are some of the headlines on the "morning newsstand." the "wall street journal" reports a michigan man is being accused of threatening to kill jewish government officials in the state. michigan attorney general dana nessel says she was one of the people targeted. federal prosecutors say 41-year-old jack carpenter used twitter to make the threats. the names of the officials were not revealed. carpenter wa

-- last month and charged with using interstate communications to make a threat, and he's due in court today. the "boston globe" says the operator of addiction treatment centers in massachusetts and rhode island was charged in an alleged multimillion dollar health care fraud scheme. recovery connections centers of america, its owner, and an employee are accused of fraudulently billing health insurance problems. they're also accused of depriving treatment for patients with substance abuse disorders. >> not only was this scheme, as we allege, designed to defraud by enriching these defendants with federal and private health care dollars that they did not earn, but that in the process it cheated a vulnerable population of recovery patients. >> authorities say about 1,500 patients were affected. and "the washington post" says almost 200 human rights groups called on the u.n. to intervene over access to abortion in the u.s. the groups including amnesty international issued an urgent appeal yesterday claiming

america is violating its obligations under international human rights law. it comes after the supreme court overturned roe v. wade last year, and some republican-led states implemented near total bans on abortion. still to come, popcorn with a spicy kick. we're going to tell you the celebrity couple who launched a new popcorn flavor. suffering from sinus congestion, especially at night? try vicks sinex for instant relief that lasts up to 12 hours. vicks sinex targets congestion at the source, relieving nasal congestion and sinus pressure by reducing swelling in the sinuses. try vicks sinex. i'm still riding toward what's next. even with higher stroke risk due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin... that's a trail i want to take. eliquis. eliquis reduces stroke risk better than warfarin. and has less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis has both. don't stop taking eliquis without talking to your doctor as this may increase your risk of stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding.

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the majors that led to the lowest paying jobs were education and the arts. mortgage rates surged for a fourth week in a row, and a hollywood couple is putting the pop in popcorn. shanelle kaul has your cbs "money watch" report. >> reporter: stocks closed higher thursday as traders tried to shake off concerns over higher interest rates. the dow gained 341 points, its best day since february 13th. the nasdaq added 83, and the s&p 500 was up 29. mortgage rates have climbed for a fourth straight week. the average 30-year fixed rate almost doubled since last year to 6.65%. inflation has been a lose-lose situation for the federal reserve as it tries to control rising prices with higher interest rates. economists expect more rate hikes from the central bank in the coming months. some of the biggest retailers here in the u.s. say consumers are spending less on

the frills. macy's and best buy say they expect sales to fall this year as fewer americans are splurging on clothes and electronics, instead spending on groceries and other necessities. this as stubbornly high inflation levels continue to weigh on shoppers. and nick jonas and his wife priyanka chopra have teamed up to create a new popcorn flavor. it's for the jonas brothers company called rob's backstage popcorn. the flavor combines indian flavors like cumin, onion, garlic, and red peppers. it's available starting today in store and on line. that's your cbs "money watch" report for this friday morning. i'm shanelle kaul, cbs news, new york. up next, "yellowstone" drama. some members of the hit series weigh in on rumors that the show will end. will end. ♪

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of "succession" has dropped. it's filled with alliances, power plays, and revenge. the siblings are seen planning what could be their last attempt to gain control of the family business from their father. "succession" season four premieres march 26th. and some of the stars of another hit series are addressing rumors that this may be their final season. "yellowstone" actors lainey wilson and piper perabo spoke at an event in los angeles this week. and they said they have no knowledge of the series ending and believe "yellowstone" still has a lot to say. and grammy-winning saxophonist and composer wayne shorter has died. shorter is credited with helping to shape the sound of contemporary jazz during a career that spanned more than half a century. wayne shorter was 89. coming up on "cbs mornings" now, actor angela bassett talks with gayle king about her best

supporting actress oscar nomination for her role in "black panther: wakanda forever." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." " : clan man: i'm not slowing down anytime soon. forever." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." forever." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." forever." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." forever." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." forever." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." forever." i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." . hi. i use febreze fade defy plug. and i use this. febreze has a microchip to control scent release so it smells first-day fresh for 50 days. 50 days!? and it's refill reminder light means i'll never miss a day of freshness. (febreze plug.) wondering what actually goes into your multivitamin?

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life being taken for eyes to open and people to actually realize that this isn't a joke. >> fear and anger. parents sharing stories of other violence on campus following a deadly stabbing at a santa rosa high school. >> the stabbing has frustrations mounting over lack of security at santa rosa schools. students tell us the next steps in hopes that another tragedy does not happen. >> reporter: another stretch of express lanes along highway 101 just opened at 5:00 a.m. we are driving along 101 to show you how it works. >> that will be a change for drivers. if you are commuting, it is friday light on the freeways. that includes bay area bridges. we'll have a live look at conditions in a second. it is a beautiful friday for us weather wise but rain returns this weekend. i will time each of the sting foisgrowing ar an us