one day after this gas explosion blew in ocean county hundreds are still feeling the effects this mo. we are live as crews prepare to go door to door. the verdict is in. the man who killed the american sniper knows how long he'll spend in prison as we hear new reaction from the families of his victims. plus we are also a cold morning with much of the area in the teens as we take a live look at the chilly boathouse row along the schuylkill river. it is not windy at all this morning, which is helping, and we are headed to the biggest warm up of the week so far. good morning this is "nbc 10 news today." i'm chris cato.

let's go to bill henley with a first-alert forecast. it's a windless wednesday morning. we are in the teens right now. 17 degrees at philadelphia international. 15 here at nbc 10. and with clear skies, the temperatures are still falling at this hour. it's a live view from the comcast center in center city. 10 degrees currently in millville. 14 in pottstown and trenton. a cold start all around but we'll see sunshine. the sun will come up this morning and warm to 24 degrees by 9:00. by lunchtime up to 34 degrees and climbing. we'll go through it hour by hour with the future weather when i'm back in ten. now we'll go to jillian mele. good morning. this is a live look at new jersey on route 73 and 295. 73 is free of accidents. 295 is also quiet. we are not reported any big problems on the highways across the area, that includes 76. if you are waking up and heading

out the door in the next few minutes, drive times range between 11 and 13 minutes between the blue route and the vine. chris? new this morning, we have reaction to the verdict that came down late last night in the american sniper trial. >> we the jury find the defendant, eddie ray routh, guilty of capital murder as charged in the indictment. >> the jury deliberating just two-and-a-half hours before convicting routh, a discharged marine. he was shot and killed or rather he shot and killed chris kyle portrayed in the movie "american sniper" and also his friend chad littlefield whose mother spoke after the verdict. >> we have waited for two years for god to get justice for us on behalf of our son. >> routh's conviction carries an automatic life sentence without parole. his lawyers are expected to appeal. happening today, governor tom wolf will be in the lehigh

valley to make an announcement about pennsylvania's economy. he'll meet with business leaders in bethlehem and is expected to talk about his general plan for economic development and tax reform, but he's been tight-lipped about the exact details about the budget proposal. yesterday he told reporters they had to wait until tuesday, referring to the state of the budget address. this morning in the philadelphia school budget crisis, the school district and teachers union face a legal battle this morning. americans for fair treatment will announce a lawsuit against the district and the lawsuit of the philadelphia federation of teachers. it will allow teachers to use public money at the expense of students and taxpayers. the group claims that's illegal. and happening today, lawyers will continue picking a jury in the retrial of a local priest who is accused of molesting an altar boy. the reverend andrew mccormick is charged and a jury deliberating four days last year without reaching a verdict.

prosecutors say mccormick assaulted an 11-year-old boy at st. john's cantius church in 1997. the archdiocese suspended him in 2011 for possible inappropriate conduct with children. new information this morning, both state and federal authorities issued an arrest warrant for a father who abducted his two sons. investigators want to find christopher dahm who took his two sons earlier this month in new jersey. dahm and the two boys 8-year-old parker and 7-year-old jackson, were last seen on february 6 on i-95 in baltimore. police believe dahm may have changed the boys' appearances, possibly shaving their heads. today the authorities will work to bring back the delaware man who sparked an amber alert by kidnapping his 3-year-old daughter. a story we brought to you as breaking news yesterday morning. the fbi arrested michael trotta in massachusetts yesterday afternoon. he had his daughter with him. police say monday night he assaulted his ex-girlfriend at her home in new castle and took

his daughter touching off an amber alert across several states. yesterday was the girl's mother's birthday and she said getting her daughter back safe was the best present she could have asked for. >> i got to talk to her on the phone, so she's shaken but she's ready to be back with me. >> and the fbi actually flew the woman to massachusetts to reunite with her daughter last night. and investigators are looking into the possibility that someone helped trotta with the kidnapping. now he's facing charging of carjacking and reckless endaymentendanger endangerment endangerment. and it will take a few more days before this roadway can open in penssauken. a guardrail and light pole destroyed in the explosion has to be replaced. and the crews have to make sure the roadway is not slippery from

when the tanker overturned. and thousands are waking up denied after waking up after a meeting at a charter school. 150 students entered a lottery to get into a mass charter in philadelphia but only 96% made. mass charter is a high-performing school to specialize in math science and technology. nbc 10 caught up to one family who says they are so frustrated that the child was not enrolled that now they plan to move. >> we are living three blocks from here and cannot get in here. >> last week the school granted five applications for charters around the city. one is another massive charter in northeast philadelphia although the exact details have not been worked out. and there's a call for more charter schools in camden. last night at the school board meeting parents and students handed over a petition for more than 1,000 families calling for more high-quality schools in the city. this comes after mastery schools

of camden announced they are opening a new charter school by 2017. getting a dry start this morning and a cold one, too. the temperatures have dropped into the teens. it's 17 degrees here at nbc 10. and dry at cape may. in fact, the entire area is dry this morning. and we'll stay that way today. but tomorrow we could be looking at some snow in the morning at the shore. this morning it's cold enough for snow. but we don't have it. calm conditions for most of the region. and clear skies have allowed the temperatures to come down. not to record levels this morning, but still plenty cold. for tomorrow we're watching that storm system which is in texas and moving into portions of arkansas and louisiana. that's going to produce a little bit of snow right along the coast, but not today. today we'll be watching the temperatures climb. still cold at 7:00 with the sun coming up 18 degrees in philadelphia.

22 in dover. 20 degrees in reading. bright sunshine and a pretty good warm up today. warmer than yesterday. in fact, by 11:00 in the morning we'll be warmer than yesterday. 33 degrees in philadelphia at that hour. and still climbing. well above freezing this afternoon. by 2:00 36 degrees. you can see some scattered clouds off to the north. maybe even a brief snow shower with a higher elevation in the pocano mountains. but the rest of the area will be dry. so stand by and get your sunglasses ready and plan on bundling up this morning. but it actually turned out to be a nice day even though it's below normal. normal high temperature is in the middle 40s. we'll see high temperatures today in the 30s. a closer look at the potential for snow at the shore tomorrow morning with the extended future weather when i'm back in ten. all right. eight minutes after 4:00 on your wednesday now. we'll get you ready for your drive or ride to work, depending on the transportation you take. jillian mele is here with a look at the roads, jillian? good morning to you at home. starting things off in center

city philadelphia. majors are looking good. this is a live look at the vine street expressway very quiet out near 95. later in the morning we can see volume westbound, especially as drivers head out to 76 but for now not reporting any accidents on the vine. 95 is clear along with the blue route. in the suburbs, route 100 southbound from route 30 is look. route 340 to route 113 is also clear. chris? going door to door that's what a gas company is doing in the jer zoo shore before it can get the all clear from the house explosion that happened yesterday still being investigated. matt delucia is live for us this morning in ocean county. matt, how many holes are involved in this process this morning? >> reporter: chris, we are talking roughly 300 homes. the first hurdle is getting the gas main restored but now the task of getting each home's gas line restored is what is going

on out here this morning. here's the video that people have been talking about. the police dash camera recording the house here on oak avenue exploding, not long after a natural gas leak was discovered here. a total of 15 people were injured including firefighters and gas workers. two of them are in critical condition. now the explosion happened an hour and a half after the gas leak was reported. some of the workers were standing right by that house at the time. now, the new jersey board of public utilities is trying to figure out what caused the leak. as we take another live look out here, it's very dark but the home is just down the road here. for now, the people who have been forced out of their homes are back inside trying to get their gas turned back on but they have to be home in order for that to happen. again, 300 homes in all so that's expected to take all morning. for now, we are live in stafford township, matt delucia, "nbc 10 news." we are now one day closer to a homeland security shutdown.

next, what lawmakers are doing today to strike a deal and who will suffer if that doesn't happen in time. and the meals on wheels program, it's a lifeline for some people especially during the winter months. but it can be this time of the year that is most challenging for the program to run. we'll look at that coming up in just a few minutes. plus a popular rocker's new efforts to help superstorm sandy victims still struggling to recover.

4:13 now and happening today, republicans on capitol hill will spend their next move in the standoff with democrats over homeland security funding. without that money it faces a partial shutdown on monday.

house republicans are said to meet privately today. and several will vote on the immigration funding without other changes opposed by democrats. without a vote, several tsa workers would have to continue to work but not get paid. and a bill to approve the keystone xl pipeline will go back to congress. this is the third veto of mr. obama's presidency. and new details are emerging about the life of philadelphia's so-called black madam on trial for murder. she's accused of killing a british woman after giving her an illegal buttocks injection at a philadelphia hotel in 2011. yesterday a montgomery county doctor testified he had enough with the doctor but the doctor denied she ordered liquid silicone for winslow. and he never showed her how to

inject substances in the body. and look at this a suspect uses a car to crash into the doors of several units at this public storage building. there he goes kind of ramming in there a couple times. the man left and later came back. it's unclear what he took, but they are looking for a dark-colored sedan with a possible broken passenger rear-vent window. and in burkes county school officials are notifying parents after a girl said a man tried to kidnap her as she walked home from school. police released this sketch of the suspect. the 11-year-old girl told police he had a skeleton tattoo on his right arm. the man pulled up alongside her on monday avenue near wilson street. the cold told police the man was in a black suv with tinted windows and rust on the hood. she said he grabbed her when she refused to ride with him but she kicked him, got away and called for help.

lawyers for bill cosby plan to ask a federal judge to throw out the defamation lawsuit filed against the comedian. three women filed the suit. they say cosby publicly branded them liars after he accused them of sexual abuse. three dozen women have made similar allegations. cosby denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. the justice department will not file civil rights charges against george zimmerman in the shooting death of trayvon martin. there's not enough evidence. a florida jury acquitted zimmerman of criminal charges in the 2012 shooting. he claims he was acting in self-defense when he killed martin during a confrontation in stanford, florida. new this morning, homebound and hungry. local meals on wheels groups get through to people in need but what happens when the weather prevents that food from being delivered? nbc 10's katy zachry is live in chestnut hill this morning to tell us how one chapter is getting around winter's obstacles. >> reporter: that's a big

concern among organizers how to deliver food when it is bad like we have seen over the last few weeks. that's often when these people need it the most. we met up with members of the chestnut hill meals on wheels programs. we have seen they have a group of drivers with suvs who are comfortable to get around in the snow. and they have rock salt to navigate the icy sidewalks. ahead of the recent storm they had, they doubled up on deliveries so they would have hot meals and lunches to get through. >> the volunteers came a little bit later, took the 225 meals and delivered them all that day so our clients had meals for monday and tuesday. >> reporter: so obviously, those volunteers are very flexible for the most part. but it is not just food they are delivering, they are also delivering a simple hello. coming up next hour we'll look at how that simple hello can really ensure the safety of these clients. katy zachry, "nbc 10 news."

thank you. check this out, a water main break in pittsburgh has a woman looking for a heavy-duty ice scraper. jasmine hand says her car is frozen in place and has been stuck in the middle of the street since monday night. she called police for help but the car still won't budge. >> one cop tried to push my car but he couldn't get it budge out of the spot it was stuck in. >> she said she was just driving down the street when her car froze in place because of a water main break. she's frustrated that her car is still stuck there. and it is a cold one. anything outside is frozen this morning, so temperatures are in the teens once again. it is falling at this hour. clear skies in center city. ice is flowing past the city on the delaware. that's the view from the adventure aquarium. we'll see a lot of sunshine. it will be a nice sunny day. and that will warm us from 17 degrees to closer to 37 this

afternoon. a 20-degree increase. the wind is calm, that's part of why it's getting so cold this morning. pretty quiet scene in the pocano mountains. this is the view from camelback this morning, which you'll see temperatures in the 20s this afternoon. that's an improvement over yesterday. mostly temperatures are warmer than yesterday but it's cold. doylestown, 10 degrees. 15 in northeast philadelphia. and wilmington is 13 degrees right now. down to 11 for lafayette hill. glenside and willow grove, 15. 9 degrees in collegeville. farther land you can see dover at 13 degrees. 12 in upper province. a very cold start this morning. 14 in pottstown. it won't last. we'll see sunshine today with a few thin clouds moving through. sunshine today clouds building for tomorrow. lots of clouds across the south. and behind the clouds we could see wet weather. a combination of snow and rain over texas and moving to the east. that's going to be impacting the

deep south by later today. atlanta could have travel troubles this evening with snow and rain to the south, but this system is on the move. and we'll likely see it give us snow tomorrow morning. thursday morning at 4:00 light snow is developing in southern delaware and in cape may. the snow will be accumulating at the shore. inland we might see a few light snowflakes, but as far as accumulation it doesn't look very likely for philadelphia. dusting for no snow. the snow will be done by early in the afternoon and then we'll see clearing skies. and another round of cold. for today, a nice warm up actually. sunshine will warm up temperatures above freezing this afternoon. 35 to 38 degrees. the winds will be picking up out of the west at 15 miles an hour later this afternoon. weekend plans, count on sunshine for saturday. 33 on saturday. turning warmer on sunday but the sunshine won't last. clouds are moving in and that is

going to lead to wet weather as we head into the workweek. i have the full seven-day forecast to show you what to expect coming up in the next half hour. looking forward to the weekend warm up. thank you. 4:21 now, we'll look at traffic and see what is happening on the roadways for you. jillian mele is standing by with that. >> good morning to you at home and to you, chris. this is a live look at 476 near the mid-county toll plaza. the blue route is clear and the northeast extension is also looking good. as far as area bridges go we are not reporting any significant problems. however, we still have the ramp closure on the betsy ross bridge route 90 eastbound, the ramp to route 130 remains closed because of the tanker fire that happened earlier this week. that ramp is blocked but the ben franklin walt whitman, everything is quiet this morning. nbc 10 was in center city philadelphia last night for an event to wrap up black history month. the exalonce black history

museum hosted the event. monique braxton was there to host the event called leave a legacy. one of new jersey's most famous residents is lending support to a charity to help people struggling after superstorm sandy. jonbon jovi is helping out to serve food to those in need at the union beach firehouse, but last month it lost funding. if you want to eat, you can make a donation or volunteer an hour of your time to earn a dining certificate for themselves and four family members. new from overnight, city officials near los angeles approved the construction of a new football stadium hoping to bring the nfl back to that city. the new $2 billion stadium complex will be built in the city of englewood. the opener of the st. louis rams is a partner in this project meaning the rams will likely return to l.a. where they planned in 1994.

they are hoping to open that stadium for the 2018 season. lunches and cash stolen from kindergartners. still ahead, the local school worker who is accused of looting those children's bags. plus changing the way food stamps are used. what lawmakers are doing right now to lead to that program getting an overhaul.

happening today, the house committee on agriculture program will look at food stamps to see what is and isn't working in that program. the republicans say this could lead to groundwork for an overhaul. democrats are weary of the

review process saying it's a program that works. as in billboards with a 3-d look they could soon be coming to philadelphia. this is a rerndndering of what they will look like. you may find out where they may wind up and why some are opposed to them in a digital exclusive story available right now on the nbc 10 app. the word addiction is commonly associated with drugs and alcohol, but experts say so-called soft addictions can be just as dangerous. these are compulsive behaviors like working out too much obsessively shopping and constantly checking your smartphone. i don't know anyone who does that. experts say it can have a negative relationship on finances and health. first you need to put limits on your habit to break the pattern

and some people may need professional help. no help with this cold except to bundle up. it's frigid this morning and temperatures have dropped into the teens, including the pocano mountains, which actually is running 20 degrees warmer than yesterday at this time. 17 here at nbc 10 at 4:27. jillian mele is in the first alert traffic center. good morning jillian. good morning to you, bill. heading out on the pennsylvania turnpike things are looking good with no accidents or delays. drive times between ben salem and valley forge are 22 to 23 minutes. new at 4:30 putting the pedal to the medal. a local highway that will soon let you drive faster.

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a tedious task. this house exploded in ocean county yesterday and hundreds of neighbors are still waiting to get their gas turned back on. we are off to a cold start this morning with many people waking up to temperatures in the teens, but we are looking ahead to a bit of a warm up. we'll find out how warm that is. good morning, this is "nbc 10 news today." i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm chris cato. spoiler alert, mid-30s. how does that sound? >> bill is that right? the warm up is in the mid-30s? >> upper 30s. don't mess with my two degrees. mid-30s is 35. we're going to rock it to 37 degrees this afternoon. this morning we're at 17 so that will be a 20-degree warm up. there you can see traffic is moving along just fine on that roadway. no ice has been falling from the sky. nothing has been falling from the sky. just the temperatures have been falling this morning. and they are still coming down. 15