making news in america this morning, guilty. the swift decision in the american sniper trial overnight taking little time to put away the man that shot chris kyle and his friend. the danger zone from texas to virginia. a rare accumulating snow coating roads and closing schools. caught on camera. the moment a quiet street became a disaster zone. the blast littering homes with debris. could this actually happen in your neighborhood? say cheese. the ultimate selfie 268 miles up. good wednesday morning to you all. thank you for spending time with us. this verdict came quickly.

late last night in the american sniper trial, i case we were all watching closely. >> jurors finding eddie ray routh guilty of murdering chris kyle and his friend chad littlefield. apparently not buying the insanity defense. it was a highly emotional end for the victim's families. here's abc's bazi kanani. >> we the jury found the defendant eddie ray routh guilty. >> reporter: a quick verdict deciding eddie routh knew what he was doing when he attacked the navy's most famous sniper chris kyle and his friend chad littlefield. abc's ryan owe wince covered the trial from the beginning. >> the clerk tells us of that 2 1/2 hours an hour of it was for dinner so a very quick decision from a jury of ten women and two men. the defense had argued strenuously for not guilty by reason of insanity. a jury rejecting that sending eddie routh away for the rest of his life. >> we've waited two years for god to get justice for us on

behalf of our son and that's always god has proved to be faithful. >> reporter: their families leaving the court in tears after two weeks of testimony from 30 witnesses includeing kyle's widow who was back in the texas courtroom tuesday after a weekend trip to represent her husband at the oscars where the blockbuster film recounting his heroics in iraq was nominated six times. taya kyle told the court about the last time seesaw her husband. >> that we loved each other and gave a kiss and hug like we always did. >> reporter: later that day at a shooting range routh gunned down the fellow veterans who were trying to help him cope with ptsd. defense attorneys argue he was stuffering from system frienden schizophrenia. they say despite any mental health issues he knew what he

did was wrong. bazi kanani, abc news, washington. we turn to another major story, and, yeah it's weather again. much of the south facing a third round of severe winter weather. worst of it stretches from northern texas across to virginia and includes a band of rare accumulating snow. >> the southern storms have caused a lot of traffic accidents as you can imagine in dallas it took look at this took almost 24 hours to remove that a truck dangling from an overpass. other travel a nightmare as well. hundreds of flights delayed or canceled. atlanta schools canceled and in north texas schools should re-open on time or might have to wait to later this morning. choking shipping lanes on the great lakes. more than 80% of the surface covered by ice. as much as two to three feet thick here. so far, this winter the coast guard has come to the rescue of nearly 250 ships some running low on supplies while stuck in the ice. >> the full wednesday forecast from the guy who knows what he's taking about accuweather's justin povick. good morning to you, justin.

>> t.j. and reena, thanks. good morning. a very slippery start to the day over the deep south. yes, more rain more snow and more sleet. we only got a brief break in between storm systems. there was a flood potential along interstate 10 with several inches of snow from little rock on eastbound. in fact here are some cities impacted. well like i said little rock all the way into the carolinas right through wednesday night. t.j. and reena, back to you. >> all right, justin thank you very much. there has been an arrest in connection with that commuter train derailment near los angeles. that man jose ramirez mistakenly turned on to the tracks when he jumped out. dozens of train passengers were hurt in the crash. four people including the train's engineer in critical condition. ramirez facing felony hit-and-run charges. no doubt about where the truck was headed. >> it was not as if it it was stranded on the tracks and that would be a fair statement.

it was not stuck, bottomed out on the track or something like that. it had traveled down the railroad track itself. >> officials say it could have been much worse except for new technology which allows the front of the train to crumple and absorb the energy of the collision. new this morning four students from wesleyan university in connecticut have been arrested on drug charges after nearly a dozen of their peers were hospitalized over the weekend. the sickened students had taken the party drug molly. two till in the hospital. all four suspects were immediately suspended from the university. george zimmermann will not face federal charges in the shooting death of trayvon martin. the justice department found there was not enough evidence to prove zimmermann killed the unarmed florida teenager because of his race. zimmermann was acquitted of murder charges and the shooting sparked national protests two years before ferguson. martin's parents expressed disappointment but thanked the justice department for its

investigation. no surprise here president obama has promised vetoed the keystone pipeline bill. republicans had hailed it as a way to boost the economy. environmentalists opposed it. it's only the third veto of the obama presidency. there are not enough votes in congress to override it. overseas police in london believe three teenaged girls have reached their goal crossing the border from turkey into syria to join isis. >> while they step up their recrewment a different breed of young warrior taking up the battle against isis including one 28-year-old army veteran identified only as brett. he's not serving with the military anymore but alongside the local militia in an abandoned christian village near mosul where terry moran caught up on him. >> you'll see isis flags lined up and down that road. >> reporter: they're out there. >> that's our motivation down. >> you want to get those flags down. i've had a lot refer to me as the american crusader.

i'm not here for violence. i'm here for peace but sometimes it comes at the end of a sword which today is the end of a barrel. >> the detroit native makes no apology for becoming what he calls a soldier of christ. also new overnight chicago mayor rahm emanuel faces a new hurdle in his quest for a second term. he fell short of the 50% needed to win outright and avoid a runoff election. he is now going to face a contest in april with the second place finisher. and if you can vastly outspend everyone else you could have a really good selfie. >> a good picture. >> this snapped by butch willmore during a space walk outside the international space station. >> you can see another astronaut in his helmet visor. the earth behind him, as well. these guys have another space walk planned for today. maybe they'll get some work done instead of hanging out and taking pictures i'm kidding. well coming up the new top

cars from "consumer reports." grounding dozens of planes forcing many cancellations and the faa with an announcement that could help southwest out a bit. not so fast the gas station theft caught on camera. would you

breaking overnight the faa agreed to allow southwest airlines jets to fly despite a maintenance issue. earlier the airline had grounded 128 planes because a routine inspection on a backup system had been missed. that resulted in about 90 flights being canceled but late last night the faa said they could fly as long as the

inspections were completed in the next five days. "consumer reports" is out with annual car rankings including successes for makes and models. the tesla model s is rated the best car you can buy for a second year in a row. maybe it should. it starts at about 70 grand. the buick regal was named best sports sedan beating out bmw model which won the past two years. best midsize sedan went to the subaru legacy which topped the honda accord and honda odyssey was named best minivan for the third straight year in a row. stocks and the dow and s&p will open at record highs. the nasdaq will be seeking its 11th consecutive advance today. all three posted small gains yesterday following comments from the fed chief janet yellen. she told congress the fed will be patient about raising interest rates. well kids are cashing in and the tooth fairy is feeling the pinch leaving a bundle under pillows across the country. >> average payment for baby teeth these days has jumped 25%.

jumped 25% last year check this out. l.a. kids are raking in over $9.50 a tooth. 6 bucks in chicago. a little over $5 a pop in dallas and boston. look at the kids you little brats in new york they are getting over 13 bucks a tooth on average. >> this can't be right. come on. >> well you said you got a dollar. >> i got a dollar. >> i got 25 cents. >> you got to talk to your parents. >> i'll deal with that later. coming back when we come back the stunning demands being made in the divorce of a billionaire couple. lots of money for stuff like stationary. >> also details on that house explosion in new jersey. neighbors telling us what they felt when this happened. in a race, it's about getting to the finish line. in life, it's how you get there that matters most. like when i found out i had a blood clot in my leg. my doctor said that it could travel to my lungs and become an even bigger problem. so he talked to me about xarelto®. >>xarelto® is the first oral prescription blood thinner proven to treat and help prevent dvt and pe that doesn't require regular blood monitoring or

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treatment with xarelto® was the right move for me. ask your doctor about xarelto® today. can you make that out, folks? seeing dense fog here. all but shut down the port of tampa. only one ship was able to dock yesterday and that was an overdue cruise ship that had to be escorted carefully in by the coast guard. more than 2,000 passenger as

board "the bill yance of the seas" got an extra day and a half on their cruise. i guess they couldn't see much but dense fog, but hey. >> it's tampa. it's fantastic there. >> oh wow, spoken like someone who might be from the area. >> you'll probably be late if you're driving the deep south today. roads will be icy from north texas to the atlantic coast and wet along the gulf coast. snow will make roads slippery in the upper midwest and in the rockies you'll also find wet roads in the pacific northwest. if you're trying to fly airport delays likeliest in dallas atlanta, charlotte and boston. well an extraordinary scene in a new jersey town as a natural gas explosion levels a house a odor. found 75 to 100 homes evacuated as a precaution. all those folks outside in that bone-chilling cold. it felt like they had been hit by an earthquake, they say. >> felt like the house moved. and come outside and see that plume of smoke.

the gas company was turning everything off. it's going to be a long night so loaded up. >> there's insulation hanging in the trees outside. i mean ash all over the deck but we're blessed. we're blessed. >> two of the injured workers are in critical condition. the house was under construction at the time. it was unoccupied when it blew. we have now something to show you here which is a pretty compelling reminder of why we all should take things a little slowly there on slick roads and you need to buckle up. police dash cam, the highlighted image. that's a crash on a cleveland highway. what happens here, the man is going some 70 miles an hour loses control, slams into another vehicle and then he is ejected from the car. he staggers to his feet. you see him there able to get up and that's something in itself but apparently he was not wearing his seat bell and was toss fwrd that car. well we turn now to a

violent confrontation, caught on video at a houston gas station. see a man reach nothing a woman's car filling up her tank on the other side and notices what's going on decides she's going to fight back. leaps over the seat ends up happening on to the door of his vehicle even as he's pulling off. she suffered a few bumps and bruises but managed to snatch back her wallet and her cell phone. it's worth noting as always as we say, reena, this worked out this time but police don't recommend it's worth putting up a fight. you never know even though it worked out this time. >> i probably wouldn't try that one. well important medical news for women. a new study finds young women dismiss early warning signs of a heart attack because they're uninformed embarrassed and not taken seriously when they do seek help especially troubling given the fact that heart disease is still the number one killer for men and women. yet another twist in one of the nation's biggest divorce settlements. the former wife of hedge fund owner ken griffin is seeking $1

million a month in child support. the couple has three kids that are all under the age of 10. need four nannies to take care of them. the monthly expenses include $14,000 for food they eat it per se apparently once a week. $300,000 for a private jet, how else are the kids supposed to get to school 160,000 for vacations. it costs to go to the south of france and 2,000 for stationery. >> how much the nannies cost? i'm willing to apply. >> they're probably underpaid in this whole thing. that's something. some criticism being directed at the creator of the new look of the cleveland browns. >> yeah there's the old look of the team's logo. the one you're seeing own the new look. it's coming from the fact they don't look all that different. that's the issue. the browns still playing in orange helmets, you see them in september so why even change anything. what's the big deal. >> there you go. another one of cleveland's teams features in our nba highlights.

>> we get those from our guys at espn. >> good morning, welcome to our "sportscenter" set in los angeles along with chris hassel i'm stan verrett. steph curry missed the first game of the six-game road trip and lost against the pacers. >> they certainly missed him. he was back though rested that sore foot and, well he put a into the -- >> yeah curry going baseline 14 third quarter points. warriors were up 3 heading to the fourth. fourth quarter, warriors up 3 with under 4 to play. andre iguodala. 32 points 8 assists, the rest does him good. look at that shot. warriors at cavs on thursday. can't wait for that. >> you say cav here'ses? >> yeah. taking on the pistons. cleveland won 16 of 18 coming in. lebron has five assists away

from scott pi pippen throwing it up for mozgov and ties with that one and then later hooks up kevin love who hit eight triples for 24 points and james passes pippen. the nba's all-time assist leader among forwards and scored 19 points had 11 assists, 7 rebound, cavaliers win it 102-93 17 of 19 for cleveland. looks like the east is theirs to win because derrick rose is having surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee once again. bad news for the bulls. >> he's stan i'm chris. >> back to you. >> "the pulse" coming your way next. what to do when there's nine feet of know in the front yard. you could try to sell it. their type 2 diabetes... ...with non-insulin victoza. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza. he said victoza works differently than pills and comes in a pen. victoza is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once a day, any time.

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reena did a toss across the room. let's till you about a winter edition of "the pulse." >> a resident of canada's maritime provinces has a solution to shoveling all that snow off his driveway. he's dug a tunnel through and began his great escape after a storm dumped three feet of snow on prince edward island. >> took him six hours to dig it tall enough to stand up in. >> i'm about 5'9" so there's -- i'm just about at the top here but there's still about three feet above our heads. and there's another car a few feet to the left of here that i've yet to excavate. >> yeah car is not out yet but eventually that will be a light at the end of this tunnel and it will be the headlights making news in america this of his vehicle. >> a record-breaking winter in boston with the super bowl championship and an incredible amount of snow. >> and now you can be a part of it all even if you don't live there. an area resident will sell you, sell you a bottle of guaranteed

genuine local snow for 20 bucks or get six pounds of the stuff in an insulated box shipped overnight for 89 bucks. finally in this pulse winter edition, winter aussie style. >> summer down under. a bump of guys who do great trick shots posted a video taking advantage of the beach catching a frisbee after jumping off a boat. >> there it is. >> but they're hitting basketballs while being pulled on an inner tube. got a boogie board off the ramp and alley-oop shot. oh that looks good. for everyone freezing here at home take note temperatures in sydney will feel like the mid-80s for the rest of the week. it's just over threes weeks away, spring. >> you promise? >> ginger zee told me that's the case. trust that woman. >> i do. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everybody else we are going to clean up reena's mess around here. i did. i put the script as way. >> and we'll be right back.

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>> ♪♪ >> hey everyone. good morning. i'm matt o'donnell. it's -- 4:27. it's wednesday february 25th. we're following a developing story. the verdict is in in the american sniper murder trial. the story inspired a blockbuster movie. this is jaw dropping moment when a house exploded in ocean county new jersey. coverage of the cleanup and return of residents. a delaware mother reunites with her little girl while police consider charges against the girl's father. new reaction this morning and we're tracking warmer weather today. warmer in quotation marks. okay? "action news" is next. well finally this morning, a show of appreciation from the biggest police force in the country. >> new york police got a chance to meet a texas girl who showered them with love and lifted morale when they knee it most. we get more from wabc's sandra

bookman. >> reporter: it was the kind of reception usually reserved for visiting dignitaries but showered upon a 10-year-old girl from tyler, texas, who touched the hearts of new york's finest in their darkest hour. [ applause ] savannah was so moved last december when she learned of the killings of officers wenjian liu and officer ramos and watched their grieving colleagues on tv she hand made and then mailed 200 thank you cards to the nypd. >> i received a small box but when i opened it it was a lot of love coming out of that small box. >> the 41st precinct in the bronx where many of those cards first arrived to the family acquaintance savannah was honored for her kindness and compassion. >> thank you for reminding us that across this country people like appreciate folks like us. >> savannah you will always be a member of our family, the nypd

family. >> my goal is to tell as many police officers as i can that i love them and that i am thankful for all that they do for us. >> reporter: when asked if there were any other new york city landmarks she'd like to visit like times square or central park the 10-year-old said no just precincts. >> i asked her if she wanted to see the empire state building. she doesn't know what that is. she's like no her main dream is to meet officers. >> reporter: and to one day be one. >> i will wear the badge with dignity and honor. >> what a great heart. >> that's fantastic -- 200 handwritten. >> a lot of time. >> that's a great story on this wednesday. that's what's making news in america this morning? stay with us. robin roberts has a great interview with u.s. women's goalie hope solo. stay tuned for that. have a great wednesday.

>> ♪♪ >> "action news." delaware valley's leading news program. with matt o'donnell, tamala edwards, karen rogers and meteorologist, david murphy. >> brand new stories coming up on "action news" on this wednesday february 25th. a texas jury issues a quick verdict in the "american sniper" trial the one that inspired a blockbuster movie. >> video from a police officer's cruiser shows the moment a house exploded in ocean county, new jersey. over a dozen people are injured. >> and breaking right now more than 100 southwest airlines planes are grounded for missed inspections but some could fly again in less than a week. >> good morning, it's 4:30 now. let's head on over to david and karen. david, it didn't feel so bad