looks good right now. just sayin . early start continues right now. life in prison awaits the man who shot and killed the american sniper and his friend. a texas jury took just hours to reach this verdict. reaction and brand-new individualvideo from the trial moments away. christians held hostage. isis militants kidnapping more than 100 in syria. can anything be done to save them? the latest on their situation coming up. no, you cannot hibernate. winter weather hitting the deep south again. a region not used to snow and ice. just can t escape it this winter. i even said summer. look who s getting hits hardest today. good morning, welcome to early start. christine romans very tired of the weather. i m john berman. great to see you. it s wednesday, february 25th. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. breaking overnight, a verdict in the american sniper murder trial. eddie ray routh was found guilty of the murder of chris kyle and his friend chad littlefield.
n. this morning on world news now, decision reached. the jury in the american sniper trial wasting little time finding eddie routh guilty in the murders of chris kyle and chad littlefield. we will hear from their families as they react to the news. new details in the university students hospitalized from the party drug. four students arrested as their fellow students are recovering from a bad batch of molly. an alarming investigation. school buses caught speeding dangerously through neighborhoods. even blowing through stop signs. why it s happening more than you think. 50 shades of green. could the wife of 50 shades of grey sexy lead man jamie dornan force him to bow out of the performance in the planned sequel? that s in the skinny this wednesday, february 25th.
illinois history. his lump sum payment $127 million. that is after taxes. that money is in the bank. those are the top stories on this wednesday, february 25th. announcer: from abc news, this is world news now. give me my money now. talking about the lump sum. of course you want the lump sum. no payments. a lot of people win the lottery and blow it. give me the opportunity to blow it if i choose to do so. good morning. thank you for being with us here on this wednesday. we have new developments overnight following the commuter train derailment. this happened near los angeles you might have seen. driver arrested after authorities say he turned too soon getting his truck stuck on the tracks. he is expected to be charged with felony hit and run but his wife says it was all a terrible accident. ted rowlands is at the crash scene. reporter: the collision between the commuter train and a
announcer: from abc news, this is world news now. wednesday, right? got that right. always a good start when i get the day right. i feel good about the rest of the show now. no chance of flubs after that let s not be crazy here. hello to you all. i m t.j. holmes alongside reena ninan. this happened short time ago. overnight we are getting this breaking news out of texas. verdict in the american sniper trial. the jury took three hours to find eddie ray routh guilty of murder. he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. here s abc s juju chang. all rise. reporter: after nine days of an involved and emotional murder trial, the judge delivered the jury s verdict in this hushed courtroom. we, the jury, find the defendant eddie ray routh guilty of the felony offense of capital murder charged in the indictment. reporter: eddie ray routh found guilty of capital murder the killing of navy s.e.a.l. sniper chris kyle and his friend chad littlefield.
in fact, 15 more states are now considering legalizing medical marijuana. there are other people in this room who need the immediate gratification of that drug. the ever-growing support of mainstream medicine doesn t hurt. in a recent poll of nearly 2,000 doctors, 76% said they re in favor of using medical marijuana for a needy patient. now six medical marijuana states have expanded their laws to allow card-carrying medical marijuana patients to bring cannabis medicine into their home state. yet unfortunately for the wilsons, new jersey is not one of them. it will not happen on my watch, ever. i am done expanding the medical marijuana program. literally the same hour he said that, our friend s daughter was taken off a ventilator after a 26-hour seizure. 15 months old. and you re like, yeah, that could be vivian, you know? tuesday, february 25th,